Academy Highlights | Session IV, Week 7

Grammar School Highlight | 4th Grade With Mrs. Gast

During this session, the 4th graders have been learning about the Middle Ages including the role of the Christian church during this time. We’ve studied and discussed the Great Schism of the church, also known as the East-West schism, the major divide of the church into the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. In San Francisco, we have several beautiful examples of both of these types of churches so we took a field trip to visit an example of a Russian Orthodox Church, Holy Virgin Cathedral in the Richmond district often referred to as the “onion church”. We also visited St. Ignatius Church, a catholic church on the campus of the University of San Francisco.

One of the things we saw in the Catholic church and discussed were the huge paintings along the upper sides of the church, seven on each side depicting the stations of the cross. This was a perfect segue into our school wide art project where each grade created original art pieces depicting two stations. In fourth grade our two stations were Jesus carrying His cross and then a man named Simon who helped Jesus carry the cross the rest of the way.

It was a spiritually rich experience to visit these two churches, noticing things we’ve discussed in our study of both churches and a powerful experience for the students to depict our two stations of the cross through drawings and discussions leading up to Holy Week and Easter.

Upper School Highlight | Rhetoric With Mrs. Elchico

Our Rhetoric Class discussed how our country experienced over a decade of economic boom when many corporations rose to power, a period of time know as the Roaring Twenties. The life of the 1920s exemplified a time of affluence, extravagance, parties (food and alcohol), and leisure. The economic downturn of America when the stock market crashed in 1929 was known as the Great Depression. This period lasted for a decade and was soon followed by World War II.

The students saw a huge shift from the life of surplus in the 1920s to a life of desperate measures in the 1930s. We examined the economic boom and bust cycle that took place during this time, along with its causes and effects. They discovered the many attempts of the government to keep the American economy afloat, while our country battled with unemployment, hunger, and homelessness. Despite the economic downturn of the Great Depression, America came out financially robust during and after World War II.

Students reflected on the things they have learned, evaluated the information they have gathered, and shared their thoughts. We trust that through the enriching moments they have been given, they will be better thinkers and debaters of their time.