About
Our Mission
St. Andrew Catholic School provides a classical education built on Catholic faith, academic excellence, and community.
Our motto is Vitam impendere vero – “Hang your life on the truth.”
THE CLASSICAL APPROACH
The classical approach teaches students how to think rather than merely what to think. Our goal is to form within students a “sacramental imagination” that leads them to the Truth in wonder, humility, and a deep respect for the human person, created in the image and likeness of God.
Our vision rejects the modern utilitarian view of education’s purpose being the development of technical career skills. Instead, we have returned to the original purpose of education – now referred to as “classical”.
This vision begins with a correct anthropology of fallen but redeemed man and seeks to “draw out” (Latin: educare) what is natural: a desire for wisdom and virtue, which are more conducive to our authentic destiny, the end for which we are created. In short, students are prepared for heaven by building the habits to choose rightly, judging by the intellect after acquiring knowledge naturally through the senses.
The Catholic education we envision seeks a proper balance to academics and catechesis. Our integrated curriculum provides simultaneous intellectual and spiritual formation by immersing students in God’s love found both in the complex ordered beauty of the universe and in the authentic fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Ironically, this integrated “liberal arts” education in excellence not only forms saints, but beholding Truth for its own sake is the best way to develop practical skills as well. For the students are “in this world, but not of this world”.
Graduates of St. Andrew Catholic School are:
Virtuous Citizens
- Kind and respectful to everyone
- Imitate the life of Christ, the apostles and saints
- Respect the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit
- Accept responsibility for choices and actions
Enthusiastic Catholics
- Realize the importance of sacramental life
- Understand the teachings of the Catholic Church
- Committed to traditional practices of prayer, mortification and good works
- Espouse Catholic principles of freedom of religion and ecumenical tolerance.
Resourceful Learners
- Read, write and think well
- Utilize the tools of Classical learning (grammar, logic and rhetoric)
- Value the assistance of others in the quest for truth
- Articulate ideas coherently
- Think critically to analyze problems
- Value the time-honored classics of Western Civilization
Open Witnesses
- Engage the world with an educated charity
- Participate in the democratic process
- Use communication technology incorporating Catholic values to contribute to the positive development of society
- Share their gifts of time, talent and treasure
CATHOLIC FAITH
St. Andrew Catholic School promotes the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church in our curriculum; the school adheres to the teaching Magisterium of the Catholic Church and is committed to Catholic principles of freedom of religion and ecumenical tolerance. St. Andrew fosters strong Catholic spiritual lives through the historical Catholic practices of prayer, mortification and good works, as well as Catholic sacramental practices.
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
St. Andrew Catholic School is a classical school. By classical school, we understand: a commitment to the classical subjects of learning, particularly the Trivium (grammar, logic, rhetoric); a commitment to the “classical tradition” of learning, which stresses development of skills, particularly those of speaking well, reading well, and thinking well; a commitment to active learning: to the active involvement of each student, faculty member, and parent in the life of learning; and a general commitment to the liberal arts and liberal learning, realizing that the aim of all study and learning is to increase our love of the truth and make us more proficient seekers of it.
COMMUNITY
St. Andrew Catholic School is a community, united under God; we support each other and promote a spirit of goodwill to all. Embedded in the unfaltering knowledge and awareness that our Lord has given His life for us, we give our lives for Him. Community is achieved by modeling the Gospel of Jesus through consistent love and support for one another in and out of the classroom, creating a safe, respectful and disciplined environment anchored in core values, and generating an ever-present atmosphere of respect, unity and acceptance. Ours is a community of faith.