THE PROGRAM

A 5 days a week half day school with one day of shop and agriculture. The school will begin with elementary and in the future add grades through High School. Students will take Arts and Letters, Mathematics, Sports, and Shop Class

MATH

In the Western classical tradition, from Greece through the Christian synthesis, mathematics is understood as a formative language that first orders the soul and mind by training bodily and mental excellence in proportion, measure, and necessity. It disciplines imagination and daring by placing them under the rules of God’s created order that must be known and obeyed. Once the soul is ordered, this same mathematical language equips men to act faithfully in the world by revealing God’s order and then subcreating in accordance with it—bridges, cathedrals, submarines, and spaceships. In this way, mathematics helps form boys into men capable of orderly thought and responsible, daring action, uniting contemplation and creation in faithful obedience to taking dominion of God’s creation.

In our practice of teaching mathematics, we must be faithful to the tradition and body of knowledge we have inherited and mindful of the kind of man we want our students to grow into. Our pedagogy must not only order the mind with the knowledge of mathematics, but also require the student to demonstrate the proper use of this knowledge on his path toward mastery. 

Lessons that encourage teamwork, imagination, daring, risk-taking, and pushing past fatigue are therefore examples of knowledge and wisdom aligned toward the formation of a pious mathematician.

ARTS & LETTERS

In the beginning, God created the world through the spoken word and declared His creation good. When God created man, He gave him the task of naming the animals. Adam, following in the footsteps of his Creator, exercised dominion through the classification of creation. The spoken word became truth; the vision in the mind gained power through the utterance of the mouth. Adam and Eve named their children, recognizing what was already true—that they were their own. This naming and recognition of the order of creation through language is an exercise of subcreation.

As generations passed, it became necessary to remember what God had done and how our ancestors acted, and so stories and poems were handed down from one generation to the next. Through God’s goodness toward man and woman, and through the obedience or sin of our ancestors, we learn what it means to be sons of Adam and to await the destruction of the curse. Just as God wrote the Ten Commandments with His finger, so man codified the spoken word in order to preserve it more faithfully. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, He fulfilled the promises of God to His chosen people and revealed fully what the pagans had only grasped for in part.

The followers of the Way preserved His word and recognized the canon of Scripture given to them. As generation after generation gained knowledge and reinterpreted the pagans in the light of truth, a Christian tradition of educating the young emerged. It is not enough to be a master of words without love for the Creator and His order; one must speak the truth of the goodness of God to instruct and persuade others. The writings of the pagans, once seeking first principles, now served a completed purpose. The light of the Gospel expelled the darkness of the mind and inspired great works of literature, art, music, philosophy, history, mathematics, and more.

We recognize the relentless labors of our Christian Western heritage in helping us answer fundamental questions of identity, origin, and purpose, so that we may stand upon their shoulders to better serve our communities and bless future generations. In light of this inheritance, we study our history and literature and learn to write and speak well in the pursuit of knowledge, wisdom, and piety.

In our practice of teaching Arts and Letters, knowledge must be demonstrated first in practice and then in performance. Through the progymnasmata and declamation, students are trained to use language well, not merely to possess it. Written words should not be wasted, but delivered before an audience, where the student speaks and defends truth publicly. Students will memorize beautiful poems and Scripture in order to treasure them forever in their hearts.

With the progymnasmata as an interpretive system, students learn to become careful readers of good books and to defend the truth through persuasive words. This work is completed when students are able to defend, unprompted, the Christian virtues they have read about, using their own words and actions. Such formation can only occur through the repeated practice of these habits in the classroom, where imitation, memory, judgment, and performance are patiently trained.

SHOP & AGRICULTURE

"Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it." The command to take dominion over this Earth requires a man to use his hands. To sweat. He must spend his energy and master skills to build a home and provide for his family. Building the endurance and skills required cannot be done in the comfort of a classroom.

The student must go out and work.

When he is led by masters in their craft and surrounded by eager classmates willing to conquer a challenge—whether it be breaking the ground for a garden; building a fence or a chicken coop, digging a trench—a boy will develop a passion to do hard and worthwhile work. He will grow in virtue as he hones his skills and begins to explore his calling. He will naturally be good at some crafts, and will want to gravitate towards those. Yet the test of character comes when he tries things he is terrible at. A boy should struggle and fail, and learn to deal with failure humbly and bravely. When he learns from his failure and has the courage to try again—we build character.

The Shop and Agriculture class will give students the opportunity to learn many skills throughout the year in a high energy communal environment. Mens Sana in Corpore Sano means a boy should not only work with his mind, but he should work with his body in a productive fashion, such as working the land and exploring various crafts.

SPORTS

Throughout the centuries, the education of boys has included deliberate physical training. Properly ordered, sports serve not only to strengthen the body but also to form the character. Through physical exertion, boys learn discipline, courage, teamwork, and endurance.

It is our goal that sports play a formative role in a boy’s education without consuming excessive time or eclipsing academic formation. Sports such as rugby, wrestling, and running provide boys with the opportunity to test their limits, submit to discipline, work within a team, and develop resilience through effort and hardship.