Academic excellence in the hallmark of a St. Cecilia Cathedral School education. From religion classes to core curriculum classes, from the fine arts to physical fitness and technology, our goal is to foster the spiritual, intellectual, social-emotional, physical and creative potential of each student.

Primary School

Five Day PreKindergarten Program

The goal of our Pre-K curriculum is to meet the needs of the whole child with learning opportunities for social, emotional, physical, and intellectual development. Students that attend our all day Pre-K are well prepared for the transition to Kindergarten. The curriculum introduces basic reading, math, science, and social studies concepts in an age appropriate manner. We also have an extended care program to accommodate working parents. In addition to classroom learning, students attend special classes such as Music, PE, STEAM, Art and Library.

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Kindergarten – Grade 2

All Kindergarten through Grade 2 classrooms are self-contained. Religion, language arts, math, as well as the social studies and science are taught at each grade level.

The Language Arts curriculum (Reading, Phonics, English, Writing, and Spelling) teaches students to build essential reading skills that will help them be active learners. The reading program has a strong phonics base. Kindergarten through 2nd grade students take the STAR Reading and Math assessments to help diagnose strengths and weaknesses. The English curriculum teaches not only grammar but also pre-writing and writing skills.

Math goals include teaching the students to become active learners and confident problem solvers. Our goal is to help each student develop tools for recognizing and applying math in his/her world.

Religion classes guide each student to learn, celebrate, share, and live his/her Catholic faith. Students attend weekly Mass and paraliturgies are celebrated throughout the year. All students participate in a service outreach program yearly.

Art, physical education, computer classes, and music are taught in the primary grades.

Intermediate School

Grades 3 – 5

The curriculum of the Intermediate Grades (3-5) meets the Archdiocesan and state curriculum standards in the subjects of English, reading, spelling, mathematics, social studies, science and religion. Specialists teach art, physical education, music, library/media and technology.

Technology: St. Cecilia is a 1:1 school and students in 4th and 4th grade are issued Chromebooks. Students have access to Sora, IXL, Pebble Go and Mystery Science. In addition to weekly technology classes, each grade level works with Prairie STEM for quarterly STEAM projects.

Service Projects: Students participate in yearly service projects.

Song Fest & Operetta: Students are all involved with the annual Operetta and perform songs and dance in the spring Songfest. 4th graders all learn to play the recorder and an optional band program is available for 5th graders.

Field Trips: Opportunities for field trips and guest speakers increase in the intermediate grades, enhancing student learning.

Middle School

Grades 6 - 8

St. Cecilia Middle School curriculum includes the following daily: Religion, English Language Arts, Math, Science, and Social Studies. Students also have weekly specials classes: Art, Music, Physical Education and Library / Technology.

Technology: St. Cecilia is a 1:1 school and each middle school student is supplied with a Chromebook. Some of the programs used are Google Classroom, IXL, Mystery Science and Sora. The students attend technology and library media classes once a week in collaboration with Prairie STEM.

Competitions: Each year, St. Cecilia 6th grade students present their Wax Museum projects to the school and parish community. Our 7th graders participate in Science Fair and 8th graders participate in History Days. 8th graders also go to the District Level National History Day competition. Middle School students also participate at local Math competitions.

Duchesne Advanced Math: St. Cecilia and Duchesne Academy have developed a partnership that allows some of our middle school students to participate in advanced math courses at Duchesne. We are so proud of the hard work this pilot group is doing and how they are paving the way for upcoming students.

Career and Technical Education Course: The CTE program is a comprehensive and forward-thinking initiative designed to equip students with essential skills and knowledge for future success. This program seamlessly integrates academic and technical content, offering students a well-rounded education that extends beyond traditional classroom learning. The program places a strong emphasis on fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and teamwork. This provides students with practical skills but also instills a sense of confidence and purpose as they transition to higher levels of education and ultimately enter the workforce.

Field Trips: Throughout the year, Middle School students have the opportunity to experience learning outside the classroom to enhance their curriculum.

Service Projects: Every grade participates in an annual service project.

Social Emotional Learning

We seek to develop the whole child, who is equipped with social skills to be caring, confident, and capable to have reverence for life and respect for all of God’s children. St. Cecilia is one of many Catholic schools in Omaha to offer a school-wide social-emotional (SEL) program.

Specialist Classes

ART

Learning Goals: To have fun learning about as many different kinds of art, artists, and mediums. To think creatively, flexibly, and critically allowing students to solve problems in a safe place where they can make mistakes.

The art curriculum is based upon the elements of art and the principles of design. We study various artists and time periods of art. We also look at current events through the lens of the art world and raise cultural awareness as well. In KG - 2nd grade, a lot of the stories and beginning activities that we do in art class help to build character and reach the social emotional learning of the student. Students do a lot of exploring and learn how to use materials. Students in grades 3 – 5 spend time working on technique. In middle school, students take what they’ve learned so far and develop their own artistic style. Students are encouraged to express themselves in positive ways through their art.

At St. Cecilia we are fortunate to have an art gallery on campus so we are able to have artists come in and work with our students.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

Learning Goals: To have a positive relationship with physical activity that carries over outside of the classroom.

In the primary grades we focus on gross motor movements such as running and jumping, throwing, kicking and other basic skills. In the intermediate grades and middle school, the focus is on the introduction of new activities and having the students try new things. We also look at the social aspects of activity such as teamwork skills, strategies, sportsmanship, and overall enjoyment of physical activity.

MUSIC

Learning Goals

Music Literacy -

Be able to listen to a piece of music and talk about it using music vocabulary
Be able to create and perform music using instruments and/or singing
Be able to read music notation

Music and Society -

Understand the role of music in our culture and cultures around the world
Understand the importance of music in history and have a general understanding of the history of Western music
Experience a wide variety of musical styles, exploring the ideas of expression and musical preference
Explore social-emotional and STEAM concepts through music

TECHNOLOGY

St. Cecilia is a one-to-one school. Weekly technology classes are offered for all students (grades PreK – 8). We incorporate the use of technology to enhance and support our curriculum and to allow for personalized learning. All students in grades K – 8 are taught computer programming skills using various programs.

STEAM

St. Cecilia has a fully integrated STEAM program in all classrooms. This builds a growth-mindset in all learners that focuses on the design process, critical thinking, and problem-solving.

LIBRARY

At St. Cecilia’s the goal of the library is to instill a love of reading by introducing students to books in all genres (both fiction and nonfiction) so they can cultivate their individual interests while reading for personal and academic success. We are committed to providing a wide variety of diverse books and resources that enhance and support the academic and Social Emotional Learning curriculum used by our teachers. Students are also given the necessary skills and tools to search and locate books using our database and to use this information to ensure that they are effective and responsible users of information and ideas.

Archdiocese of Omaha Curriculum

St. Cecilia Cathedral School follows the Curriculum Standards for all subject areas. These curricula incorporate the Nebraska standards for education and additional Archdiocesan standards.

Assessments used by St. Cecilia School include the STAR Math & Reading assessments, Fountas and Pinnell Reading Benchmarking, and the Archdiocesan Criterion Referenced Assessments, as well as on-going formative and summative assessments.