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Every St. Thomas Aquinas Academy high school plan is built on the same classical spine, the Four R’s: Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, and Religion, with a fifth movement that lets each family personalize the balance of the day. Within each of these, a handful of our courses form the required backbone of the diploma program. We have marked those here, because they are, quite simply, too good to miss!

WRITING (Language Arts)

Our Writing and Reasoning sequence is carried alongside English Mechanics (cursive penmanship, grammar, punctuation, usage, and spelling), which accompanies each course to earn full credit.

• Composition I and II
• ★ Essay Writing B
• ★ Logic
• ★ Essay Writing A
• ★ Critical Reading
• Research Papers, carried inside European History IA (required for the Catholic Liberal Arts diploma)

ARITHMETIC (Mathematics)

• Pre-Algebra and Algebra I (the path toward the required courses)
• ★ Geometry
• ★ Algebra II
• Geometry with Advanced Algebra, Trig & Precalculus, and Calculus (for the college-bound student)

A student with significant remediation needs may, with an advisor’s guidance, swap a required math course for a gentler one in the same subject area.

RELIGION

• ★ Church History I, IIA or IIB, and III
• ★ Catholic Apologetics
• ★ Old Testament I
• ★ Moral Apologetics
• Old Testament II and New Testament (to enrich and complete the Scripture study)

READING (the content-rich courses)

This is the widest of the Four R’s, gathering history, government and economics, literature, the sciences, the fine arts in their appreciation and history, and advanced foreign-language study.

History

• ★ U.S. History and Geography I and II
• ★ Greek History I
• ★ Roman History I
• ★ European History I and II
• Greek History II and Roman History II (the second semesters, to go deeper)

Government and Economics

• ★ Government and Natural Law
• ★ Economics

Literature

1. ★ American Literature
2. ★ Greek Literature I
3. ★ Greek Literature II
4. ★ Roman Literature I
5. ★ Shakespeare
6. Dante (required for the Catholic Liberal Arts diploma), Roman Literature II, and English and American Literature. College Preparatory and General Education students may request a waiver of the sixth semester of literature or count Old Testament II, Greek History II, or European History IA or IIA as a literature credit.

Fine Arts (appreciation and history)

• ★ Art Practice and Appreciation
• Art and Architecture I and II (required for the Catholic Liberal Arts diploma), Greek Playwrights, and Shakespeare II

Science

Science requirements depend on the diploma; science labs are encouraged, not required.

• The Catholic Liberal Arts track sequence is usually:
  1. Introductory Physics I and II (with some labs)
  2. Astronomy I and II
  3. Biology I and II (preferably our advanced biology for Catholic students, Biology IA and IIA, or Biology IB and IIB with lab)
  4. Chemistry I and II (with lab)
• The College Preparatory track calls for one year of physical science (with or without lab), one year of biology (with or without lab), and, ideally, one year of chemistry with lab.
• The General Education track requires at least one year of physical science (such as Introductory Physics or Astronomy) and one year of biology (preferably with lab). At least one semester of chemistry is encouraged.

Advanced Foreign Language

The diploma standard is two full years of a single language: Latin, Spanish, French, German, or Italian. Catholic Liberal Arts students study a classical language. College Preparatory students may use a reduced option where their state or college allows, and General Education students may request a language waiver. Students aiming for a four-year university or seminary should plan on at least two years, and those considering seminary or mission work are encouraged to add a second language.

Personalize the Balance

Around the Four R’s, each family fills out the day with the pursuits that fit its student: Physical Education (four semesters of P.E. or health are required across the diploma program, usually scheduled as electives); Music Practice and the applied and making arts; lecture-based co-op classes; introductory language study; and vocational, technical, apprenticeship, or agricultural-science pursuits. Beyond coursework, every diploma also asks for two standardized tests with scores above the national fiftieth percentile, which your advisor helps you plan and track.

The Study Cycles: One Era at a Time

The Four R’s tell you what a student studies; the study cycles tell you when, and with what. Our high school courses are grouped into historical-era cycles, so that each school year turns on a single focus and the courses of that year illuminate one another. Pairing courses from the same era turns facts into a living story, and lets a student see connections that a single textbook cannot offer.

A student usually enters with U.S. Studies, then moves through Greek Studies and Roman Studies, and finishes with European Studies in the advanced track, the capstone of the journey. Families beginning in Grade 8 may start a year earlier with the European Studies B-Track cycle. Your advisor places each student in the cycle that fits.

Within a cycle, the history, literature, religion, and fine arts of the period move together, and the writing course draws its very assignments from that year’s reading, so an essay on Rome grows out of the Roman history and literature the student is already living in. In our live classes, paired courses from the same era meet in the same discussion. A single guiding narrative threads through the whole year, and the year’s courses are even bound together into one study guide. The result is a unit-study richness rare in high school.

Mathematics and science run alongside the cycles on their own developmental ladders, with a science companion recommended for each year: Astronomy with Greek Studies, Biology with Roman Studies, and Chemistry with European Studies. Families beginning in Grade 8 with the European Studies B-Track cycle study European History, American Literature moving into Shakespeare, and the foundational religion and fine-arts courses, all at a gentler entry pace.

How the Required Set Scales with the Diploma

The starred courses are the heart of the program, but the full required list is fitted to the diploma a family chooses. The Catholic Liberal Arts track, the fullest expression, asks for the most, adding Dante, Art and Architecture, Research Papers, and the advanced sciences. College Preparatory adapts the plan toward four-year college and competitive testing. General Education keeps the same spirit while allowing the most substitution and a few gentler options. In every case, your advisor maps the exact set of courses your student needs.