It is the mission of Divine Mercy Academy to enable all children to develop their unique, individual potential by blending knowledge and faith to become leaders of tomorrow.

The curriculum at Divine Mercy Academy is consistent with the philosophy of education which recognizes the value of the person. In keeping with the students’ individuality, the core curriculum provides content and instructional levels based on students’ abilities and performances. Diversity necessitates that instruction for all students take place individually or in small groups. In reading and math the sequential and continuous development of skill is based on the Pittsburgh Diocesan Guidelines for continuous growth.

The classroom teacher is encouraged to effectively utilize the auxiliary services available in providing approprieate levels and modes of instruction. The teacher is responsible for identifying students in need of special assistance or motivation, and in conjunction with the principal, arrange for them to be enrolled in either remedial or enrichment classes.
 

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Divine Mercy Academy uses a Spanish teacher in grades Kindergarten through eight. It is weekly instructional lessons that allows students in grade one to understand basic vocabulary words and expressions along with responses to simple questions and commands. In grade two there is continued emphasis on listening and speaking skills. The program increases in content as the students progress through the curriculum to grade three, where the scope widens to include the Spanish alphabet and exploration of how different sounds are spelled. In grades four, five and six, the students begin to read and write in Spanish. 

LANGUAGE ARTS

The language arts program includes phonetic development, English, reading, spelling and handwriting. English and spelling are taught through grammatical and literature-based methods. The Diocese of Pittsburgh guidelines are implemented in every aspect of the language arts program. Proper handwriting techniques are practiced and taught daily. The reading program offers various forms of literature to develop an understanding and respect for people of all ages and backgrounds. Reading and phonetic skills are developed through the reading program. Vocabulary, oral reading, predicting and summarizing are some of the skills stressed in this area of the curriculum. These skills are facilitated through whole class, small group and individual instruction. A variety of activities encompass each student’s individual learning style and ability level.

MUSIC

All students attend music classes once or twice a week depending on grade level. Fundamentals of music are taught, as well as learning songs for Liturgy. Students may cantor for school Liturgies. During the year, our students perform in programs before Christmas and in the spring. All students are expected to participate in the school and evening performance.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION

All students are required to take physical education classes either once or twice a week depending on grade level.

RELIGION

In accordance with our philosophy of providing a Christian atmosphere of learning and developing the whole person, prayer is a central part of our day at all grade levels. The Eighth Grade students begins each day with a prayer. A variety of materials and resources, such as scripture stories, class discussions, projects and prayer services, are employed to foster both spiritual growth and moral development. In addition, each grade level participates in a service project to benefit the local community. Students are expected to attend 9:20 a.m. Liturgy once a week. Students participate in these Liturgies as lectors, altar servers, cantors or musicians. Grades 1,2,3 participate in Monday Liturgy, grades 4,5,6 participate in Wednesday Liturgy, and grades 7,8 participate in Friday Liturgy. If the total entire school is attending Liturgy, the Monday and Wednesday Liturgies will not be attended that week. Parents are always welcome at the School Liturgies.

SCIENCE

Students are taught the inquiry methods and the use of the scientific method. Areas of study in science include life science, physical science, earth science and the human body. Students engage in hands-on science experiments in the classroom and the designated science laboratory. The goal of the science program is to develop thinking skills that will serve students in becoming better problem solvers and intellectual decision-makers.

SOCIAL STUDIES

In the primary grades, the social studies curriculum emphasizes people, neighborhoods and communities in our world. The students acquire a basic knowledge of mapping skills, geography and history. Intermediate grades are taught United States geography and history. In fourth grade, there is an emphasis on the history and geography of Pennsylvania. American history is studied in grade five, and world geography in grade six. Students in grade seven study United States history up to the Civil War. Eighth grade students study history from the Civil War to the present. At all grade levels, geography, history, economics, civics and multicultural awareness are key elements that are explored.
 

COMPUTER

Divine Mercy Academy follows the Diocesan Elementary Curriculum Guidelines for computer instruction.

Beginning in Kindergarten with awareness of computers and their use, the children go to weekly computer lab for eye-hand coordination, use of a mouse, reinforced skills, drill and practice of early learning skills, and basic understanding of care of the equipment.  Divine Mercy Academy has Smart Boards in all classrooms for use daily by the teachers.  Smart Board lessons are interactive and provide stimulation and excitement in partnership with the daily lessons so the children can interact within the lessons to enhanced learning.  Divine Mercy Academy teachers incorporate Smart Boards in all classes daily. 

In grades one, two, and three, awareness expands to include keyboarding skills, drill and practice of language arts, math and spelling and fundamental knowledge of school, business, and government applications along with general care and use of equipment.  Programming is introduced using the code.org site and also Tynker.com.  Both sites are a wonderful way to introduce programming to students from Kindergarten to 8^th grade and beyond.

In grades four, five, and six, the children continue working on word processing skills and graphics. They are given projects to accomplish as members of a team and use word processing skills for their project submissions. PowerPoint and Excel along with Word are used for their lesson submissions.

Grades seven and eight begin using computers as learning tools. The daily use of data bases, spreadsheets, Word 2003, PowerPoint, and Excel become their responsibility for completion of their projects and assignments. They use Chromebooks daily in their classes and have daily use of the Cloud for assignments and lesson submissions. They also extend programming to Robotics and competition in the IEEE competition yearly!

Coding:  “Coding is especially beneficial to students who are struggling with reading and math. In addition, students often feel empowered when they can create digital media and share it with others instead of just being consumers of digital media.”  –Catapault Learning

Grade 2 through Grade 8 participate in the Hour of Code. The Hour of Code is organized by Code.org, a public 501c3 non-profit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. An unprecedented coalition of partners have come together to support the Hour of Code, too — including Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the College Board.  Divine Mercy Academy is a proud partner with Code.org. 

The students in Gr. 2 through 6 work with Flappy Bird, The Artist, The Artist 2, The Farmer, Zombie Artist, Code Attack, Code Monkey, Minecraft, Code Combat and Elsa and Light Bot.  These programs highlight coding techniques and introduce computer programming in fun and entertaining way for the elementary learner.

The students in Gr. 6 through 8 work with Infinity Play Lab, Play Lab, Earobics (music programming) and Course 2. Course 3 and Course 4 from Code.org.  These courses begin building at the elementary level and continue into higher levels of programming.