Character & Virtue
At Embers Academy, virtue education is the cornerstone of our learning environment.
How does a “Spark” learn the faith?
At Embers, an integral part of a student’s journey is to discover their relationship with Christ.
1. Experience
By experiencing it being lived in family life and at school
2. Virtue
Embers faculty and staff are the examples of virtues to your child with their personal and professional lives.
3. Truth
Daily, your child is presented with the truths of the Catholic faith, communicated by a premier catechetical program. This approach is aimed at satisfying your child intellectual curiosity and answering his or her big questions: Who am I? Who made me? For what purpose? Where am I going?
4. Divine Filiation
Embers is imbued with the spirit of Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Church that seeks to support the laity in their striving for holiness in ordinary life in the middle of the world. In this same spirit, your child is presented with the truth of divine filiation, that he or she is a beloved and cherished child of God. This is a well of optimism.
5. Piety
Students attend an All-School Mass every Wednesday, along with faith practices and traditions that are incorporated into the school days, to resonate with the natural piety that exists in your child’s heart. For example, morning, noon, and end of the day prayers, advent practices, Eucharistic visits on First Fridays, doing the stations of the cross during lent, and May crowning, to name a few.
Faith
Embers Sparks learn the Faith by truth, piety and experience.
Truth
Students are presented with the truths of the Catholic faith, communicated by a premier catechetical program. This approach is aimed at satisfying your child’s intellectual curiosity and answering his or her big questions: Who am I? Who made me? For what purpose? Where am I going?
Religion Curriculum
PreSchool
Images of God (Ignatius Press)
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program
Kindergarten
Spirit of Truth (Sophia Institute for Teachers)
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program
Grades 1 – 5
Faith and Life Series (Ignatius Press)
Piety
Students learn to embrace the tenets of the Catholic faith through participation in faith practices and traditions that are incorporated into the school days and which resonate with the natural piety that exists in children’s hearts:
- All-School Mass
- Daily classroom prayers in the morning, at noon, and at the end of the day
- Visits to the Blessed Sacrament
- Weekly confessions made available
- Classroom and All-School Rosaries
- Stations of the Cross during Lent
- Celebrations of major feast days and special liturgical events, such as Our Lady’s May Crowning
Experience
Students’ learning environment and their school day incorporate Faith practices and traditions that resonate with the natural piety that exists in your child’s heart. For example, weekly all-school Mass; morning, noon and end of day prayers; Advent practices; Eucharistic visits during the week; Stations of the Cross during Lent; and May Crowning of our Lady, to name a few.
Calendar of Virtues & Virtue Book List
Order
Order is properly arranging things, being neat and tidy, and solving problems step by step. Order around you creates order inside you.
September Virtue Assembly will be led by 4th Grade.
Suggested Book List for Order
- How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
- I’m in Charge of Me by David Parker
- Know and Follow Rules by Cheri J. Meiners
- Winter on the Farm by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- Make Your Bed With Skipper the Seal by Admiral William McRaven
- The Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall
Friendship
Friendship is a combination of affection, loyalty, love, respect, and trust. Friendship seeks the good of others.
October Virtue Assembly will be hosted by 1st Grade.
Suggested Book List for Friendship
- Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel
- Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran
- Madeline and the Bad Hat by Ludwig Bemelmans
- The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
- Higgins Bend Song and Dance by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
- Making Friends by Mister Rogers
- Another Celebrated Dancing Bear by Gladys Sheffrin-Falk
- George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends by James Marshall
- Charlotte’s Web by E.B.White
Courtesy
Courtesy is polite behavior that shows respect for other people. Courtesy is being thoughtful of others.
November Virtue Assembly will be led by Preschool.
Suggested Book List for Courtesy
- Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller
- Interrupting Chicken by David Ezra Stein
- The Secret of Saying Thanks by Douglas Wood
- The Thank You Dish by Trace Balla
- Emily’s Everyday Manners by Peggy Post and Cindy Post Senning
- Madeline Says Merci by John Bemelmans Marciano
- The Table Sets Itself by Ben Clanton
Honesty
Honesty is being truthful in words and in actions.
December Virtue Assembly will be led by Mrs. Black’s 3rd Grade.
Suggested Book List for Honesty
- The Emperor’s New Clothes by Hans Christian Anderson, Illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton
- The Empty Pot by Demi
- A Day’s Work by Eve Bunting
- The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Koenigsburg
Fortitude
Fortitude is the courage to take on something difficult and patience and perseverance to endure suffering.
January Virtue Assembly will be led by Mr. Boville’s 5th Grade.
Suggested Book List for Fortitude
- Mirette on the High Wire by Emily Arnold McCully
- Brave Irene by William Steig
- The Glorious Flight by Alice Provensen
- The True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford
Prudence
Prudence is to understand our true good and to choose the right means of achieving it.
February Virtue Assembly will be led by Mr. Covington’s 3rd Grade.
Suggested Book List for Prudence
- I Can Make Good Choices by David Parker
- My Mommy is a Hero by Isabel Otter
- My Daddy is a Hero by Isabel Otter
- The Children’s Book of Heroes by William Bennet
Respect
Respect is treating others with kindness and consideration.
March Virtue Assembly will be led by Kindergarten.
Suggested Book List for Respect
- A Special Trade by Sally Whitman
- Grandma’s Favorite by Erin Dealey
- Angelo by David Macaulay
- A Hat for Mrs. Goldman by Michelle Edwards
Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a deliberate decision to acknowledge a wrong and release feelings of anger or resentment
April Virtue Assembly will be led by 2nd Grade.
Suggested Book List for Forgiveness
- Library Lion by Michelle Knudson
- Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola
- Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
- The Boxcar Children, The Garden Thief by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Responsibility
Responsibility is taking good care of the people, tasks and things entrusted to us.
May Virtue Assembly will be led by Mrs. Ptacek’s 5th Grade.
Suggested Book List for Responsibility
- Real Cowboys by Katie Hoefler
- Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina
- The Oxcart Man by Donald Hall
- Our Animal Friends at Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provensen
- Peppe the Lamplighter by Elisa Bartone
Virtue Vista
The Virtue Vista monthly newsletter aims to reinforce the collaborative relationship between school and home. This important communication provides parents with a brief explanation of the “Virtue of the Month” that faculty, staff, and students strive to cultivate at school throughout each day.
Virtue Vistas provide practical tips for parents to help their children strengthen virtue at home through practice. A brief list of suggested children’s literature that encompasses the virtue being lived that month is another feature of this communication. This reinforcement at home helps children to apply lessons learned at school to real-life situations which strengthen both their understanding and growth in the “Virtue of the Month”.