Spiritual Life
Education in Virtue Program
At Saint Patrick Academy, we strive to help our pre-school, elementary and middle school students live the Truth of Christ, teaching students to cultivate virtue in their daily lives.
We must know and live the Truth
It has been noted that the longest journey we ever make is between our head — what we know — and our heart — what we do. Sometimes there exists a disconnect between what we know to be right and what our actions tell others we think is right. Said plainly: it is not enough to know truth. We must live it out. As educators and as parents, the responsibility of developing a lesson plan falls squarely on each one of us.
How our unique Education in Virtue Program works
Each month, our students learn one of 10 virtues that fall under the parent virtues of Justice, Temperance, Fortitude and Prudence.
When our children study obedience, for example, they learn its definition, what it looks like when it is practiced and what it sounds like when someone does it. Then, students make the long journey from head to heart by considering how they can cultivate it in their daily life – on the playground, in class and at home with you.
One of the greatest benefits to our Virtues Program is that our teachers, students and families are all thinking—in common—of the virtue of the month and how it can be lived out. Another unique benefit of our program is that it trains our teachers to look for the good in our students.
During the day, teachers recognize students for practicing virtue. In turn, students record it on a Virtue Tracker sheet that is sent home to inform parents. After they have made a record of the virtue practiced, they come and share their heroic tale with our Head of School!
