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Academics

Overview

Curriculum

 

 

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Overview

Overview

Pietas Classical Christian is designed to form virtue and intellectual excellence in young people by exposing them to the liberal arts through the method of classical training. Our focus on moral formation flows from our commitment and allegiance to Jesus Christ and our obedience to the commission he has given to His people: make disciples of all nations. A disciple is simply a student and follower of Christ. Therefore, our entire project rests on the teachings found in God’s revelation to us, the Bible, and our chief aim is to help students grow a deep understanding of what faith in Christ means, and how to understand the world He has created for walking faithfully with Him in this present age.    

Since we are committed to that end, we recognize that the Bible is clear that parents are the primary agents responsible for the spiritual and intellectual formation of their children. Our program, therefore, does not seek to replace the parents, but functions to provide a robust weekly structure, carefully selected curriculum, and seasoned teachers to maximize the success of training children through a host of advisors (Proverbs 15:22). When you come to Pietas Classical Christian you are getting decades of experience in training children distilled down to a concentrated form and employed via a time-tested vision and method for education. 

Our program is for students from K-12th grade. At Pietas, we employ a unique approach of teaching students according to their individual skill levels by tailoring the program to fit their educational needs. It is our firm belief that children do not benefit from being categorized by and pushed through the modern educational grade structure. Rather, our aim is mastery of the material. We have the flexibility to continue training children in their weak areas while also allowing them to advance in the subjects they have shown competency in. This gives the students, teachers, and parents the freedom to take control of the educational endeavor rather than the one-size-fits-all approach of the current model. Students will be evaluated at the end of every school year and the parents and staff of Pietas will discuss a strategy for each student going into the next school year.  

Locations

Central Brevard facility – 5995 N. Wickham Rd. Building B, Melbourne, FL 32940 
North Brevard facility – 3757 N Cocoa Blvd, Cocoa, FL 32926 

 

Central Brevard

2024-2025 Academic Year  

Fall semester: August 12th – December 5th 
Spring semester: January 6th - April 24th

 

Central Brevard Weekly Schedule 

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday 

 

K - 2nd: 8:30 am - 12:30pm
3rd - 12th: 8:30am - 3:00pm

 

North Brevard

2024-2025 Academic Year  

Fall semester: August 13th – December 6th 
Spring semester: January 7th – April 25th 

 

North Brevard Weekly Schedule 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday

 

K - 2nd: 8:30 am - 12:30pm
3rd - 12th: 8:30am - 3:00pm

 

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Pietas Curriculum Grades K - 12

Grades K-6

Reading great books and discussing great ideas to the glory of our great God.

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom in learning from books as well as from nature.”
– Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren (How to Read a Book)

“Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.”
- Proverbs 23:12

Pietas Classical Christian Mission: To help students rightly order their loves by educating them in Truth, Goodness, and Beauty through the seven liberal arts and the great books, with Christ as the cosmological center.

Pedagogy (Method of Teaching)

In short, in-class narration (telling back what has just been read) and dialogue will be the heart-and-soul of Pietas's method of teaching, although dialogue will become more of a practice in the higher grades.  Regular instruction will also be implemented, but narration and dialogue are part-and-parcel of an active self-education, whereby the students become fully engaged in what is being learned, as opposed to simply receiving information to be memorized.  Charlotte Mason even referred to narration as “the act of knowing,” for knowledge is assimilated in the reproduction of what has been read.  She goes on to say, “All the acts of generalization, analysis, comparison, judgment, and so on, the mind performs for itself in the act of knowing” (A Philosophy of Education, 304).

Commonplace Book

Beginning in grade 3, each student will be required to keep a commonplace book (an example of the kind of journal notebook to be used). A commonplace book, in short, is a notebook that is used to write important thoughts, quotations, maxims, poems, proverbs, etc. They are not diaries.

 

Elective Programs: 

K – 2nd Elective Enrichment Program  
  
The Pietas Classical Christian (PCC) Elective Enrichment Program will be offered to eligible K-2 students who are enrolled at PCC in the morning K-2 educational program.  
- Time - 12:15 pm- 3:15 pm (Begins after K-2 program ends)   
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday – Central Campus (Melbourne)  
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday – North Campus (Cocoa)  
- Cost will be approximately $17 a child per day = $1,450/academic year  
- Must enroll for entire academic year - (3 days a week for 30 weeks)  
- Priority given to K-2 students with older Pietas siblings   

Students will participate in structured, fun, and educational activities including music, art, dance/movement/physical education, nature walks, story time, games, and free play.  

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit.

Fine Arts

K

Gentle and Classical

Gentle and Classical

Saxon -Kindergarten

Gentle and Classical

Gentle and Classical

Gentle and Classical

All About Reading

Handwriting Without Tears

Gentle and Classical

1

Gentle and Classical

Saxon – Grade 1

Gentle and Classical

Gentle and Classical

All About Reading

All About Spelling

First Language Lessons

Handwriting Without Tears

Gentle and Classical

2

Veritas: Genesis to Joshua

Saxon – Grade 2

Science in the Beginning

Veritas: OT and Ancient Egypt

All About Reading

All About Spelling

First Language Lessons

Handwriting Without Tears

 

 

 

 

 

Art – pulled from Veritas History cards

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit.

Fine Arts

3

Veritas: Judges to Kings

 

Saxon – Grade 3

Science in the Ancient World

Veritas: New Testament, Greece, & Rome

 

All About Reading

All About Spelling

Classically Cursive 1: Bible Primer

Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)

Literature novels (Charlotte's Web, Dr. Doolittle, etc)

Well Ordered Language 1A & 1B

Greek and Roman Art pulled from Veritas History Cards

4

Veritas: Chronicles Through Malachi and Job

Saxon – 5/4

Science in the Scientific Revolution

Veritas: Middle Ages, Renaissance, and Reformation

All About Spelling

Classically Cursive 2

Institute for Excellence in Writing (IEW)

Literature novels (Whipping Boy, Detectives in Togas, etc)

Well Ordered Language 2A & 2B

Renaissance Art pulled from Veritas History Cards

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit.

Fine Arts

5

Veritas: Gospels

Saxon – 6/5

Science in the Age of Reason

Veritas: Explorers to 1815

Literature Novels (Witch of Blackbird Pond, Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, etc)

All About Spelling

Well Ordered Language 3A & 3B

Classically Cursive 3

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Portraits and Early American Paintings – pulled from Veritas History Cards

6

Veritas: Acts to Revelation

Saxon – 7/6

Science in the Industrial Age

Veritas:1815 to the Present

 

Literature Novels (Treasure Island, White Fang, etc)

All About Spelling

Classically Cursive 4

Well Ordered Language 4A & 4B

Institute for Excellence in Writing

Modern Art – pulled from Veritas History Cards

 

Grades 7-12 (Central Campus 2024-25)

Reading great books and discussing great ideas to the glory of our great God. 

 

“Wonder is the beginning of wisdom in learning from books as well as from nature.”  
– Mortimer J. Adler and Charles van Doren (How to Read a Book) 

“Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.”  
- Proverbs 23:12 

 

Pietas Classical Christian Mission:

To help students rightly order their loves by educating them in Truth, Goodness, and Beauty through the seven liberal arts and the great books, with Christ as the cosmological center. 

Three-Year History Cycle 

The structure of our 7-12 curriculum is based on a three-year history cycle: Ancient/Classical, Medieval/Middle, and Modern.  This cycle by grade is as follows: 

7th: Ancient/Classical 

8th: Medieval/Middle 

9th: Modern 

10th: Ancient/Classical 

11th: Medieval/Middle 

12th: Modern 

The three-year history cycle allows the students to revisit historical periods, refreshing their memories and going more in-depth with more challenging resources. 

Two Key Emphases 

There are two key emphases throughout this curriculum.  First, there is an emphasis on primary sources.  While we make use of textbooks, these are often coupled with readings in primary sources.  This allows for a richer and more enjoyable education.  Second, there is an emphasis on great books and the great ideas (e.g. truth, goodness, beauty, wisdom, the one and many, law, rhetoric).  By emphasizing primary sources and great books/great ideas, the students will be caught up in the great conversations that have been going on for centuries.  They will learn from the masters themselves, with the teachers serving as trustworthy guides and dialogue partners. 

Pedagogy (Method of Teaching) 

In short, in-class narration (telling back what has just been read) and dialogue will be the heart-and-soul of Pietas’s method of teaching.  Regular instruction will also be implemented, but narration and dialogue is part-and-parcel of an active, self-education, whereby the students become fully engaged in what is being learned, as opposed to simply receiving information to be memorized.  Charlotte Mason even referred to narration as “the act of knowing,” for knowledge is assimilated in the reproduction of what has been read.  She goes on to say, “All the acts of generalization, analysis, comparison, judgment, and so on, the mind performs for itself in the act of knowing” (A Philosophy of Education, 304). 

Readings and Assignments 

As you look through our curriculum, one thing that may come to mind is, “They don’t seem to have as much reading as other classical curriculums.”  There are four things to keep in mind here.  First, the Notgrass history books include a book that consists of primary source readings related to the main texts.  For instance, Our Creative World accompanies the From Adam to Us history books.  Our Creative World contains primary source readings and is about 150 pages.  The primary source readings of In Their Words accompanies Exploring World History and contains about 400 pages.  Second, we don’t want students to rush through books.  This can be a problem with some classical curriculums that pack in a bunch of reading.  Instead, we want our students to contemplate what they are reading.  One way we help them do this is by requiring that they keep a commonplace book (see below).  Books will also be discussed during in-class days.  For example, they may discuss the significance of Tolkien writing that Smeagol became obsessed with the origins and roots of things, digging in the ground, and ceased to look up in becoming Gollum (from The Fellowship of the Ring).  What is it about looking up that orients our minds on the Good?  How is this directionality used in other literature?  These are things that can easily be overlooked if students are just concerned with finishing a book so they can get on to the next one.  Third, another way we help the students come away with a deeper knowledge and appreciation of these books is by having them do narration (oral and written) and write short essays.  All of this helps the students to better understand how these books contribute to the great conversation on the great ideas.  Fourth, and final, we will provide parents with a recommended reading list based on grade.  If it seems like your child is completing all of his assignments on time and needs more to do, this recommended reading list may be used to give your child additional reading.  While Pietas will not have assignments associated with the recommended readings, parents are of course free to come up with their own assignments if they wish. 

Commonplace Book 

Each student will be required to keep a commonplace book (click here for an example of the kind of journal notebook to be used).  A commonplace book, in short, is a notebook that is used to write important thoughts, quotations, maxims, poems, proverbs, etc.  They are not diaries. 

7th Grade: Ancient/Classical

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit./Fine Arts

Latin / Logic & Rhetoric

The Baptist Confession of Faith & the Baptist Catechism OR: this link

Know the Creeds and Councils (Holcomb)

Know the Heretics (Holcomb)

The Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan)

Socrates Children (Vol. 1) 

Saxon Math 8/7

The Stargazer’s Guide to the Night Sky (Lisle)

Along Came Galileo (Bendick)

Archimedes and the Door to Science (Bendick)

Signs & Seasons: Understanding the Elements of Classical Astronomy (Ryan)

Epic of Gilgamesh (David Ferry)

The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses (Davies W. W.)

Plutarch’s Life of Publicola

The Bronze Bow (Elizabeth George Speare)

The Bible (ESV)

 

Lost Tools of Writing Vol 1 (Circe Institute)

The Chronicles of Narnia (Lewis)

 

Lingua Latina

Apology (Plato)

Meno (Plato)

 

8th Grade: Medieval/Middle

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit./Fine Arts

Latin / Logic & Rhetoric

The Baptist Confession of Faith & the Baptist Catechism

Good and True Story (Paul Gould) 

Socrates Children  Volume 1 and Volume 2 (Augustine & Plato) 

Saxon Math Algebra ½

Science in the Atomic Age (Wile)

The Church History (Eusebius, tr. Maier)

The History of the Kings of Britain (Geoffrey of Monmouth, tr.Thorpe)

Lost Tools of Writing Vol 1 (Circe Institute)

Beowulf

The Hobbit (Tolkien)

King Arthur and Knights of the Round Table – Puffin Classics

 

Lingua Latina

Traditional Logic I (Memoria Press)

 

9th Grade: Modern

 

 

10th Grade: Ancient/Classical

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit./Fine Arts

Latin / Logic & Rhetoric

The Baptist Confession of Faith & the Baptist Catechism

How to Be Unlucky (Gibbs) 

Confessions (Augustine) 

Saxon Math Algebra 2

Discovering Design with Biology (Madtes Jr., Wile)

Exploring World History and In Their Words (Notgrass) (Chs. 1-13)

Exploring Government and We Hold These Truths (Notgrass)

Lost Tools of Writing  Vol 2 (Circe Institute)

The Iliad (Homer)

The Odyssey (Homer)

 

Lingua Latina

Fitting Words Classical Rhetoric  (Roman Roads)

 

11th Grade: Medieval/Middle

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit./Fine Arts

Latin / Logic & Rhetoric

The Baptist Confession of Faith & the Baptist Catechism

How to Be Unlucky (Gibbs) 

A Summa of the Summa (Aquinas and Kreeft) 

Advanced Math (Saxon)

Discovering Design with Chemistry (Wile)

Civilization of the Middle Ages (Cantor) 

Early Christian Lives (trans. White) 

Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Bede) 

Two Lives of Charlemagne (Einhard) 

Chronicles (Froissart) 

Lost Tools of Writing Book 3 (Circe Institute)

Inferno (Dante, translated Carlson) 

Aeneid (Virgil, translated Lombardo) 

Till We Have Faces (Lewis) 

Aristotle’s Rhetoric (Dover Thrift)

Classical Rhetoric (Memoria Press)

 

12th Grade: Modern

 

Christian Wisdom

Math

Science

History/Gov.

Lang. Arts/Lit./Fine Arts

Latin / Logic & Rhetoric

The Baptist Confession of Faith & the Baptist Catechism

How to Be Unlucky (Gibbs) 

A Summa of the Summa (Aquinas and Kreeft) 

Advanced Math (Saxon) 

Exploring Creation with Physics (Wile)

Civilization of the Middle Ages (Cantor) 

Early Christian Lives (trans. White) 

Ecclesiastical History of the English People (Bede) 

Two Lives of Charlemagne (Einhard) 

Chronicles (Froissart) 

Lost Tools of Writing Book 3 (Circe Institute) 

Inferno (Dante, translated Carlson) 

Aeneid (Virgil, translated Lombardo) 

Till We Have Faces (Lewis) 

Writing the Classical Way (Eileen Cunningham) 

Basic Economics (Thomas Sowell)