Educators at De La Salle aim to provide every student with a
foundation in three areas: writing, reading, and mathematics.
Whether it is Science, Religion, Language Arts, or Math, the
curriculum at De La Salle is geared towards preparing our middle
school students to be successful high school and college students.

Religion

Religion classes focus on learning prayers and discussing, through
writing and speaking, the tenets of a moral, just, Christian life. In
reading the Old and New Testament, the Religion curriculum
encourages students to see themselves as students in a Lasallian
school where they are valued and are expected to value the
uniqueness of each individual just as God does. In the eighth grade,
as students mature and are capable of more abstract, challenging
thought, they take World Religions and consider how human beings
across the world, consider and formalize their experiences of God.

Social Studies

The Social Studies curriculum draws on the humanities and social sciences, including history, geography, government, and economics. The goals of the program are to teach citizenship (social responsibility), the value of diversity, and the importance of personal responsibility (character education). A graduate of De La Salle will have been exposed to World Geography, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, the Islamic World and the Middle East, and American History.

Math

Since our students come from various math programs, De La Salle addresses a wide array of needs in addition to more traditional content objectives. The goal of the program is to assist students in gaining mathematical competence as well as confidence. To this end, the sequencing of the program remains flexible to meet the needs of students who may benefit from additional reinforcement and those who progress at an accelerated rate. A second goal is to develop thinking skills, so adequate time is spent on problem solving abilities. It is critical that students demonstrate mastery in number sense and operations and a basic understanding of measurement and problem solving before moving into more complex concepts, such as data analysis, probability, geometry, and algebra, which will be constructed upon prior competencies. Instruction will include activities in which the students actively work to pose and solve problems both individually and collectively.

Language Arts

The Language Arts curriculum strives to improve students’ skills in six areas: thinking, reading, writing, speaking, listening, and study and organizational skills. Books are read both independently and orally in class. In addition to the study of literature, interdisciplinary work with other departments is emphasized throughout the curriculum. Students will develop vocabulary through text using roots, prefixes, suffixes, context clues, a dictionary, and thesaurus. Student writing strives to have an effective flow and rhythm with a strong control of standard writing conventions.

Science

The De La Salle Science curriculum is designed to provide students with a foundation in the physical, biological and earth sciences. Multiple activities and laboratory experiences enrich each unit. This inquiry based curriculum (FOSS) allows students to develop their own understanding of the basic concepts of science. Guided by thought provoking questions, students collect information through a variety of activities that leads them towards a deeper understanding of how science works. In preparation for future science courses, the De La Salle Science curriculum emphasizes critical thinking skills, problem solving, lab work with data analysis, and a mature level of understanding of the material. Topics include geology and plate tectonics, biology and the human body, and force and motion.