K3 & K4
At Divine Redeemer, our three and four-year-old age classes focus on teaching young children the importance of the world around them and how important they are in that world. We want each child to know they have been fearfully and wonderfully created by God and He has a plan for their lives.
We explore the world by seeing, smelling, hearing, touching, and tasting. It has been proven through research that young children learn best by doing. We use the Creative Curriculum for teaching and Teaching Gold for assessing. Assessment reports are sent home three times a year.
Young children are egocentric at this age and we introduce them to understanding not only their feelings, but the feelings of others (empathy). Most young children do not know how to get along with others, it is our job to teach them this in a developmentally appropriate way. We use Conscious Discipline in our K3 and K4 program.
Special Areas for our K3 and K4 include Religion, Spanish, Art, and Music. K3 and K4 children attend mass weekly beginning in January of each year.
Lower School
Our lower school students engage in a rich curriculum meant to serve as a foundation for their academic and spiritual growth. The curriculum includes reading, writing, penmanship, social studies, science, religion, technology/digital literacy, art, and Spanish language. Students attend and participate in leading mass every Wednesday.
In addition to our daily lessons, our teachers find creative ways to engage our students in their academics while building upon values of empathy, teamwork, confidence, and faith. Maintaining a strong sense of community and care for others is an integral part of our Catholic education.
Middle School
We offer two blocks of English instruction each day. One class addresses ELA with an emphasis on grammar, including parts of speech, sentence structure, punctuation, and vocabulary. With an understanding of correct grammar, students are able to clearly convey their thoughts through their writing. Additionally, through literature, students are exposed to a variety of authors and literary genres.
In our religion classes, we journey through Salvation History starting with how the Bible is put together. Then, we walk through the Old Testament starting with Genesis and ending with the Wisdom Books. We explore who God is in the Blessed Trinity. We come to understand Creation and the uniqueness of the human person. We learn what it means to love as God calls us through two personal loving communions.
In social studies, we learn about ancient civilizations through the Middle Ages in 6th Grade. Beginning with the Rennaissance, the 7th graders continue world history up through modern times. The 8th graders cover American history from a South Carolina perspective. We use plenty of primary sources from the topics we are studying and do various types of projects throughout the year.
In their science classes, students learn about God’s design and the great wonders of our Earth. Students explore our planet by studying plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, atmosphere, water cycle, oceanography, weather, climate, and energy resources. Living organisms, the processes needed for life, genetics, adaptations, the human body, and ecology are other areas of focus. In their final year, our students discover how physical science plays a role in our lives. They learn about atoms, chemical reactions, energy transformation, forces and motion, physics, and alternative energy. Every week, each grade level receives a new challenge in our brand new, state-of-the-art STEM Lab. In this weekly class, our students work on a range of projects such as flying drones and comic illustrations.
We provide the mathematics program for 5-8 grade which adheres to the standards of both the Diocese of Charleston and State of South Carolina. With instruction in small-sized classes, our students perform well on standardized tests, as well as high-school readiness. For those students who demonstrate readiness, Algebra I is offered and is considered a high school class.
Our students receive Spanish instruction throughout their entire time at Divine Redeemer. It is an introductory program that makes communication in Spanish a natural, personalized, enjoyable and rewarding experience. It is also designed to help students attain a desirable level of proficiency in four basic skills – speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Once our students reach eighth grade, they practice basic grammar and vocabulary with emphasis on conversation. Verb study, speaking and writing proficiency are stressed. Spanish/Spanish American culture and geography are also a part of this course. Eighth grade students that maintain certain academic requirements may qualify for high school Spanish I credit. Most of our students excel with honors on the National Spanish Exam.
