Academics

Hours

Our 4 Year Old Pre-K class meets Monday through Friday from 8:15am to 2:00pm and ALL children must be fully potty trained to attend.

Please select from the following for more information:

• Curriculum

• The Year at a Glance
• Family Handbooks

Fine Motor Skills

• Using the correct pencil grip
• Using scissor and glue
• Strengthening hand muscles through playdough
• Puzzles, Legos, block building
• Letter formation and handwriting

Gross Motor Skills

• Sky Writing
• Jumping, skipping, dancing
• Throwing and catching
• Use of our climbing structures on the playground daily

Social and Emotional Skills

• Listening and following directions
• Sharing, kindness, and friendship
• Self regulation of feelings
• Expressing emotions appropriately
• Respect and responsibility

Literacy

• Literacy as a source of enjoyment
• Vocabulary and language
• Phonological awareness
• Letter identification
• Comprehension
• Speaking and listening

Math

• Counting (repetition)
• Operations
• Make sense of problems and solving them
• Model with mathematics (calendar math)
• Number and operations in base ten
• Measurement and data

Science and Social Studies

Science and Social Studies are taught using an inquiry-based approach.

• Observing, collecting, recording, and interpreting data
• Predicting, classifying, and drawing conclusions through meaningful activities
• Learn concepts as well as information

Religion

• Recognition of spiritual identity
• Understanding stories of the Bible 
• Be Kind, Be Respectful, Be Responsible and Be Safe

September
In September students kick off the year with self exploration by creating self portraits. We slowly move into the story of Creation which helps us to learn about one another and build our strong classroom communities. In Literacy, we start our study of letters creating phonological awareness as well as strengthening our fine motor skills for handwriting. We spend about two weeks on each letter. In Math, we start with the concept of 0 and go up from there. In Science, we dive into the fall season with many apple activities like celebrating Johnny Appleseed, dissecting apples, and making apple treats.

October
October is Fire Safety Month and we always have a visit from our local firefighters and police officers. The Pre-K visits Atlantic Market Avenue in Manasquan. We bring a picnic lunch, jump on a hayride, pick a pumpkin, and feed the animals at the petting zoo. Halloween takes over on Fun Fridays for the month of October. In addition to our annual parade and trunk-or-treating, we create Halloween projects every week, such as bats and skeletons.

November
As the leaves start to change color, we continue our discussions of Fall. We introduce Thanksgiving and Native Americans. Pre-K joins the Holy Cross Academy school wide feast to celebrate Thanksgiving. In addition, the Pre-K hosts a PowWow with a friendship (fruit) salad for parents to come in and enjoy. The children perform a few songs and poems in costumes they made at school.

December
Throughout the month of December, we celebrate Advent, Saint Nicholas Day, and most importantly, the birth of Baby Jesus. We create Advent calendars, Christmas tree ornaments, and special Christmas decorations to share at home with our families. In Pre-K we attend the annual Holy Cross Academy Christmas Bazaar with our parents to shop. Our favorite day is always our hot chocolate, pajama, and movie day.

January
In the New Year, we dive into the winter season by taking a look outside and understanding what is happening to our trees, the grass, and the sunset. We dive into what animals do in winter. We build igloos from marshmallows and study bears hibernating in caves. The Pre-K even hosts a Job Day for the letter Jj where students come to school in costumes to share what they want to be when they get older.

February
February is a celebration of love: love for school, love for family, love for teachers, and friends. We exchange cards in our classrooms and even gain a deeper understanding of who Saint Valentine was. In addition to Valentine’s day, we celebrate Chinese New Year, with crafts and a lion dance. 

March
In March we start to prepare for Easter during the Lenten season. We encourage kids to do something good each day. The penguins from Jenkinson’s Aquarium come to visit us at HCA. We have a few Wacky Wednesdays in March to help celebrate Dr. Suess’s birthday. In Pre-K we have the most fun with our leprechauns celebrating St. Patrick’s Day. Will we trap any this year?

April
April flowers bring May showers which is the perfect opportunity for our Pre-K to once again look at all the new life popping up around them. We will explore life cycles, the weather, plants, and trees. We will celebrate Easter with our own egg hunt.

May
In keeping with our beautiful Holy Cross tradition, we celebrate Mother’s Day with our annual Mother’s Day Tea. It is a special time where students get to show their mothers or loved ones how appreciated they are. The students prepare special gifts for this day. In addition, we join the school community at the crowning of our Mother Mary. 

June
In June, our students prepare for both their special graduation ceremony as well as honoring Father’s Day. It is wonderful to see and celebrate the hard work these children have accomplished throughout the year to get ready for Kindergarten. In addition to graduation, the whole Holy Cross Academy community looks forward to our annual Father’s Field Day.