Academics

C.S. Lewis’ The Abolition of Man (1943) is a classic of classical education. While its clunky subtitle (Reflections on education with special reference to the teaching of English in the upper forms of schools) suggests a more immediate concern.

On the heels of a successful run of Disney's The Jungle Book KIDS, I sat down with Mrs. Rebekah Kurth, our theater arts teacher and director, to hear her stories and glean wisdom about the value of a theater arts program.

When we consider creation, we are drawn into wonder and worship of the Creator. This year our students saw the glory of God through star parties, a scale model of the solar system, the San Francisco Bay, and the Hayward Fault.

When one of my math students is struggling, parents often ask how they can help. There are a few simple principles that can turn around a frustrated child and help your student love math and thrive in it.

Fifth grade students describe how the Age of Exploration began in the late 1300s with Prince Henry's School of Navigation, and how the colonial period became America's great stride in architecture and community.

This past Friday, 24 of our students traveled to California Crosspoint Academy to compete in the local level of ACSI's Math Olympics. Of our 24 participants, 17 took home ribbons and 3 took home medals.

I've played classical music during quiet times, but always wanted to make it more meaningful. So I began to wonder if the first graders visualized anything while listening, and whether the pieces brought colors or feelings to mind.

Third and fourth graders took science outdoors, building parachutes to protect an egg dropped from fifteen feet, testing their creativity and knowledge of forces while cheering each other on.

For the past several months, our leadership team and a special committee have been conducting self-studies, gathering evidence, and preparing for the renewal of our accreditation through ACSI, our accrediting body.

Our 3rd and 4th grade students recently dove into the life of St. Jerome, translator of the Latin Vulgate, whose encounter with an injured lion inspired them to read Psalm 23 aloud in Latin and translate it together.

Our 5th-9th graders recently visited Oracle Park for their Baseball By the Numbers tour, with a behind-the-scenes look at the stadium and an interactive lesson on calculating baseball statistics. A great chance to see math in action!

Our 5th grade students studied the International Space Station with Pastor Toby Kurth, then designed, built, and launched their own rockets in Precita Park on April 21.

Our 4th graders studied the Great Schism of 1054, then took their learning outside the classroom to two beautiful San Francisco cathedrals: Holy Virgin Cathedral and Star of the Sea.

Donum Dei's 3rd graders capped their reading of Charlotte's Web with a trip to Borges Ranch, a historic cattle ranch in the foothills of Mount Diablo, where they pumped water, sawed wood, and met the goats.

The Rhetoric II class took a quick trip to Los Angeles this month where they toured universities, enjoyed the sunshine, and stood in the same room with VanGogh, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Monet during a visit to The Getty Museum.

From the beginning, Donum Dei has sought institutional accreditation as a means of ensuring high standards of quality. We received our certificate in 2021 from both ACSI and WASC.

In Ancient History, students have been studying the worldview of the Ancient Greeks by reading and analyzing Homer's The Odyssey, an immensely important historic work that is also a wildly adventurous read.

The year is 776 B.C. in the region of Elis, north west of Mt. Olympus. Fast-forward to 2021 in a small school in San Francisco, where full-blooded third graders converged on the basketball court for their own Greek Olympics.

A major component of the Quest for Space program is devising a solution to a problem, but an essential part of every experiment is the problem itself. Here is how student teams choose a topic for their ISS research.

In the current educational system, students are taught to succeed at all costs. The Quest for Space program turns this thinking on its head, teaching students that failure can be the quickest path toward success.

"Daddy, when I grow up, I want to be an astronaut!" Most children say this at some point. But there is far more to an astronaut's job than the roles romanticized in children's books, including earth-bound research and innovative experiments.

Proclaiming that the day is one the Lord has made and greeting our loved ones with a warm smile are ways to start the day well. Teachers can create the same joyful, welcoming morning environment for their students.

On our trip to Rome this summer, our guide Alessandra held a PhD in art history and was educated in a classical school in Rome. Four hours under her teaching inspired our affections for art history and the history of Rome.