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Religion Grade 9
The course of instruction for this year is the first part of a 4 part series covering the first 3 years of High School. It will begin to review in a more mature manner the major tenets of the Catholic faith. From the Baltimore Catechism as the basis of previous instructions in religion, the student will begin to understand the richness and beauty of what God has revealed to us in His creation and His revelation.
Included will be a review of Church History, what God has done to reveal Himself to mankind through the office of the Catholic Church. Also, the student will be instructed in Catholic Morality and its application in the everyday life of a Catholic.
Prerequisites: None
Optional Religion 9 - 12th Grade Course: Mary, the Fairest Lady and the World's First Love
De Maria numquam satis: “Of Mary, there is never enough.” She is the cause of our joy, “our life, our sweetness, and our hope,” and the one “solitary boast” of mankind. She is the golden thread that runs through Scripture from beginning to end, and Jesus is for eternity intimately and totally united to her. Who is this Woman? What is her role in Salvation History, in our own lives, and in the world? Who is she to God? What is our relationship with her, and what should our relationship with her be like in practice? Why do we need to be intimately united to her? This course will be a sort of portrait of Our Lady, so that we may come to know her better, and more fully belong to her like Jesus Himself does.
This course will include: a foundational understanding of Mary in the Old and New Testaments; Mary in the Sacred Tradition of the Church (particularly the 4 Marian Dogmas and the Doctrine of Mary as CoRedemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate); Mary as our Mother, and as Queen; Mary in the lives and writings of the Fathers and Saints of the Church; St. Joseph in the life of Mary; Mary in art and poetry; in her apparitions (those approved by the Church); and the crucially important realm of Marian consecration. Open to all 9th-12th grade students, as well as mature 8th grade students.
Prerequisites: None
Spanish 1
Students will learn the basics of reading, writing, listening, and speaking Spanish, as well as simple sentence structure and grammar rules. Vocabulary development will be done through different methods, including topical themes covered in the text as well as through conversations in class. The content of the course will include studying Spanish grammar, vocabulary, learning to speak through practice in class, through listening to music and playing games. Also, each student will do a presentation on a Spanish-speaking country to give them more exposure to Spanish culture.
Prerequisites: Senior High Students and those who have completed Pre-Latin: English Grammar for Students of Latin and Spanish
Latin 1A
Latin 1A is a gentle introduction to the Latin Language. We begin by studying English Grammar as it relates to Latin and getting comfortable translating simple Latin sentences. After this, we begin to read the adventures of the Julii family from Hans Orberg's Lingua Latina, using a translation-composition method. By the end of this course, students will be comfortable reading simple Latin sentences and narratives and will be able to answer simple questions in the Latin Language. Credit for this course is .5 credits and fulfills .5 credits of 2 credits required for graduation.
(Scope: Lingua Latina, Chapters 1-9; ancillary stories)
Latin 1B
(Continuing course for Latin 1A) - In Latin 1B students will continue to read the adventures of the Julii family while learning more about the various cases of Latin nouns. Students will begin to learn about participles and will complete their knowledge of the five "families" (declensions) of Latin nouns. Along the way, they will learn about the Roman calendar, military, and the Latin names for several animals, all of which are relevant to other fields of study. By the end of this course, students should be able to read basic Latin stories in the third person, identify the use of all nouns in a Latin sentence, and distinguish between active and passive sentences. Credit for this course is .5 credits and fulfills .5 credits of 2 credits required for graduation. (Scope: Lingua Latina, Chapters 8-15; ancillary stories)Prerequisites: Latin 1A (Scope: Lingua Latina, Chapters 10-18; ancillary stories).
Algebra 1
In Algebra I the students will build on the concepts mastered in Prealgebra. Topics covered include: working with linear equations, inequalities, and functions; adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing polynomials and rational expressions; factoring trinomials; solving quadratic equations; evaluating roots and simplifying radicals.
Along with live class meetings, students will complete their daily assignments using an online homework and tutorial system, MathXL. Access to MathXL is provided by Queen of Heaven Academy at no charge. Video lectures, audio lectures and flash animations are also available in the online text.
Students will be required to:
- Study daily text assignments and submit homework
- Participate in four live classes each week
- Submit quizzes and chapter tests
- Complete quarterly exams
Prerequisites: QHA Prealgebra or Placement Exam. A placement test is administered, as needed, to determine readiness.
Algebra I (Honors) Option
The honors math program allows students to earn the honors designation on their transcript by doing additional work beyond the regular classwork and exploring additional concepts not covered in the class. Honor students attend regular classes throughout the week (Monday-Thursday), doing homework and taking quizzes and tests according to the class requirements. In addition, students will be assigned work in IXL Math to be completed each week. At the end of the year the honors grade will be combined with the grade from the regular class for the final grade on the transcript with the honors designation (80% regular class grade/ 20% honors grade). Each week there will be a 1-hour peer-assisted study session (Fridays 12 Eastern Standard Time) in which students can work together on any of the concepts covered that week (the teacher will be present, but the session is run by the students). Attendance at the study session is not required.
Prerequisite: Students must have earned an A or B in their previous math class.
History 1
The 2-part Western Civilization sequence begins with the story of pre-Christian civilizations including those of the Fertile Crescent and Egypt, the Hebrews, Persians, Greeks and Romans. As the Roman empire rises to the pinnacle of earthly power and wealth, Jesus appears and His Church is formed. Three hundred years of persecution fails to extinguish its mission, and Christianity expands in spite of fire and sword. The Middle Ages births a flowering of art and culture the like of which humanity has never seen but disorder within the Church and enemies without damage Western culture nearly to the breaking point. The beginning of the "modern world" brings a fracturing of Christendom and a general acceptance of a man-centered universe. The course terminates just as the "deluge" is about to fall in France.
History 1 (Honors) Option
The History I honors program is designed for students who would like to delve into history through primary sources. In addition to the regular coursework, students will be assigned a primary source document each week and will answer 1 or 2 questions based on the content. The grade earned by the student in the History I honors program will be averaged with the History I grade for a final grade on the transcript. Honors students will receive an honors designation on their transcript for the course. This would indicate to colleges that the student has taken a more advanced history course. The additional weekly work should take 1 –1 ½ hours for completion. Cost $250.
Prerequisites: None
English 1 - Great Books
A course in the classics of literature that introduce students to great authors and masterpieces of literary art--books that honor traditional values, defend Christian morality, evoke a sense of wonder, and inspire a love of life. Readings will include:
- Household Stories by the Brothers Grimm
- Tom Sawyer
- Huckleberry Finn
- Little Men
- Little Women
- The Wind in the Willows
- Animal Farm
- Hard Times
- The Secret Garden
- The Princess and the Goblin The Hobbit
Students will be required to:
- Read assigned readings before class discussions
- Give evidence of class participation and evidence of preparedness for each week's homework (Students receive a class participation grade)
- Take regularly weekly or semimonthly multiple choice quizzes (open book) on the assigned reading
- Take an exam (open book) at the end of each quarter over the assigned books (short paragraph answers of 150-200 words over 5 or 6 questions)
- Complete 4 required essays (3 are also required in History) - 7 total essays, one submitted each month. Essay topics will be drawn from the important themes in the book discussed in class and from the central ideas of the work emphasized during each week's class.
(The required editions of these books are listed on the Grade 9 textbook page.)
Prerequisites: None
Physical Science
Physical Science provides the basis for understanding the fundamental physical and chemical laws that inform all the physical and biological sciences. Hence, it is the prerequisite for all high school science courses. This particular course reinforces basic algebra in most chapters to some degree and encompasses many visuals, online tutorials, animations that compliment course work, and of course, interactive live class meetings. Students are kept on track with both daily lesson plans and assignments submitted online weekly. This first year course does not offer labs as they are offered in subsequent high school courses online.
Prerequisites: None
Composition Assistance
CA is for students enrolled in QHA English or history, which require students to
write bimonthly essays. CA provides one-on-one instruction on each writing assignment.
Starting a month prior to the due date, the student prepares and submits a series of drafts to
the CA instructor for review, up to four total following a structured schedule:- Week 1: the student brainstorms the essay topic and creates a structured outline.
- Week 2: the student writes a first draft of the essay, focusing on a sound thesis statement and 3-4 body paragraphs led by strong topic sentences.
- Week 3: the student continues to refine the body of the essay as well as the introduction, conclusion, and “Works Cited” section.
- Week 4: the student polishes the essay for one last examination by the CA instructor.
The CA instructor reviews each submission and provides feedback to the student in the form
of written comments and edits that guide him to strengthen the essay. Instruction focuses on
key elements of composition including thesis development, argumentation, evidence, flow,
grammar, and syntax. The teacher responds to the student within 48 hours (excluding
weekends and holidays) using the QHA course management system. CA is appropriate for
high school students of all ages and skill levels.Prerequisites: None
Required Texts:
- None mandated, but the course does have optional enhancement lessons
that use two workbooks ($48). These lessons consist of weekly reading and exercises that
teach grammar, self-editing, and other concepts of good writing. They take the student about
an hour per week to complete and are a highly recommended supplement to the CA course.
Math or Latin Tutoring
Math or Latin assistance is a once a week, one hour a week, individual tutoring session. Students will log in through Adobe Connect each week and spend the hour one-on-one with the teacher working through homework problems, preparing for upcoming tests or quizzes or reviewing math concepts covered in class. Assistance can also be used for those students seeking more challenging work than what in covered in the classroom. The student will use a microphone and webcam, as well as write on the “whiteboard.”
At the start of the school year the student and teacher will agree upon a time and day of the week for the tutoring sessions which will cover all 36 weeks of the Queen of Heaven Academy academic year.
Math or Latin assistance is available for all grades and all levels.
Prerequisites: None
Required Texts:
- None Required.