Departments & Courses

St. John's Prep Curriculum

Art Department

Art education aims to make students more sensitive to their perceived world, more attuned to human feelings and more aware of the physical and emotional environment in which they live.  It is the hope of the Art Department that students will experience a desire to create, design, express, exhibit, produce and discover something new and original.  The Department's objective is to raise students' cultural standards in order to benefit themselves and society.

Business Education Department

The Business Education Department aims to teach students the skills and competencies they need to live productive and satisfying professional and personal lives.  The curriculum is designed to provide students with course offerings of a personal, vocational, and college-preparatory nature.  It is structured to meet the needs of students interested in continuing their education in college or in entering the business world immediately after completing high school.

Computer Science Department

The Computer Science Department aims to teach students the skills needed to function in a technologically changing world.  The curriculum is designed for students to acquire the tools necessary to move on to college or step into the business world.  Since technology is changing everyday, the members of the Computer Science Department strive to keep students informed and involved.  Courses and curricula are monitored and adapted to meet these changes.  It is our hope that when leaving St. John's Prep, students have the life skills necessary to live in a technological society.

English Department

The members of the English Department strive to create an environment in which students increase their pleasure, involvement, appreciation and fluency in reading literature.  We also teach students how to write.  Two objectives of equal importance underlie the instruction in writing.  First, the students will develop their ability to communicate effectively.  Second, the students will discover that writing is a powerful tool for thinking and analyzing the world around them.  The curriculum encompasses all aspects of the medium of language:  Thinking, reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Health and Life Skills

The Health and Life Skills Department strives to foster in students the value and dignity of human life at all stages.  The primary goal is to improve the quality of life by outlining current knowledge on health, practical life skills and other related issues, fostering positive attitudes in handling the challenges of life and inculcating supportive behaviors that preserve, enrich and enhance life.

Language Department

The ability to communicate effectively prepares students for life in a world that grows smaller day by day.  The Language Department strives to help students develop oral and written communication skills in languages other than English.  Students may choose to study French, Italian or Spanish.  Listening, speaking, reading and writing are the skills of language which develop and sharpen with practice and time.  The Language Department seeks to encourage proficiency in these four skills.  Students are also introduced to the culture, civilization, and literature of the French, Italian or Spanish-speaking world.

Mathematics Department

The goal of the Math Department is to develop the full potential of each student to understand and apply mathematical skills and concepts.  The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of the students, follow New York State requirements, and provide a solid college preparatory course of study.  Correct student placement, good student-teacher relationships, excellent instructional techniques, and a modern, responsive curriculum are all priority items in the Math Department.

Music Department

Music is an integral part of life.  It is the goal of the Music Department to teach students the basic elements of music.  By doing so, the Department hopes to instill in students a respect of all types of music.

Physical Education

Physical Education strives for the total development of the individual student.  Activity-centered learning situations and conditions are provided that will help students become healthy, active and responsible members of society.  As students are encouraged to grow in skill and practice leadership, sportsmanship and fellowship, they will be challenged to develop as competent, emotionally-sound individuals.

Religious Education Department

The Religious Education Department challenges students to rethink their beliefs, reflect on their experiences and become committed to a Christian way of living.  The goals of the Religious Education Department are as follows:

• 1. to foster worship and an active sacramental life.
• 2. to provide students with knowledge of the content of the Catholic faith as it has emerged throughout the centuries.
• 3. to assist students in making mature, moral judgments, i.e., a comprehensive conscience formation program.
• 4. to encourage students to seek a personal relationship with Christ.
• 5. to enable students to achieve an appreciation of self and of self in community.

The chaplain and the associate spiritual directors are available to help students to develop their faith.  Retreat days, the Christian Awakening Program, prayer groups, school liturgies and individual counseling are available to students to foster their spiritual growth.  Students are supported as they focus on their personal spiritual journey.

Science Department

It is the goal of the Science Department to stimulate in students a greater appreciation of the Natural and Technological world.  Critical and analytical methods of thought are emphasized through the development of keen observational skills and orderly problem solving techniques.  We plan to prepare our students for their future where knowledge of and about Science and Technology, will be as necessary as reading, writing and math.

Social Studies Department

The Social Studies Department aims to develop in students the understanding and an appreciation of our global community and the ability to make informed and reasoned decisions for the public good as citizens of a culturally diverse, democratic society in an interdependent world.  The more we know about the past, the better we can understand how societies have evolved to their present state, why people face certain problems, and how successfully others have addressed those problems.  Our primary goal is to promote a knowledge of and involvement in civic affairs.  Since civic issues include crime, the law, health care, government, and foreign policy, we offer elective courses, which may be taken in the junior and senior years as a formal introduction to the various social science disciplines.