Middle School
Curriculum
Our school’s basic curriculum follows that which is set forth by the Catholic Diocese of Orlando and by the Florida Department of Education’s Sunshine State Standards. The curriculum is solidly based in skills and competencies with a strong emphasis on the arts and humanities. Daily religion instruction is required of all students, and Spanish is part of the core curriculum. Middle school students have a mandatory core curriculum but are also offered a wide variety of creative arts, technology, and athletic electives which enable the students to explore new subjects, to learn new skills, and to experience new activities which broaden their development. Integrated throughout all content instruction and explicitly taught as a core content area are the teachings of the Catholic Faith, the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Critical Race Theory is not included in any of those documents and is not part of the instructional standards taught in our schools. Teachers infuse rigor into instruction to challenge each student. In addition, the school emphasizes the education and development of the whole child: moral and spiritual, intellectual, physical, social and emotional, and artistic.
Technology
Annunciation Catholic Academy is committed to the integration of technology throughout the educational process. All grade levels utilize computers on a daily basis as part of their basic instruction. Each classroom has a minimum of five networked computers with Internet access, an interactive whiteboard, projector, television, and an overhead sound system. Additionally, iPads are 1:1 in middle school. Technology is also infused into daily lessons. For example, i-Ready is an online program used to encourage and engage students, and the Accelerated Reader Program assesses reading comprehension.
Academic Support
Academic support is available to help students reach objectives. The school counselor works with individual students and through classroom instruction to offer guidance with social and learning strategies.
Assessment
Student progress is monitored with frequent formative assessments and with summative quizzes/tests at the end of units. Our electronic information site, FACTS Family Portal, facilitates communication on assignments, grades, and special notifications to parents. During each year of middle school, students complete the TerraNova and InView Assessments, a nationwide standardized test that assesses student knowledge in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. In addition, eighth-grade students complete the ACRE test in religion to gauge their understanding of key religious concepts.
Annunciation Catholic Academy campus is located on Jamestown Boulevard, west of Montgomery Road, in Altamonte Springs, Florida. Four two-story buildings comprising more than 65,000 sq. ft. are configured around a central courtyard featuring a statue of Our Lady. A separate, fully air-conditioned gymnasium is located adjacent to the school.
The school has 22 classrooms; each features a special work area for students to pursue independent projects, work in small groups, or be tutored by a volunteer or teaching assistant. The school features dedicated classrooms for art, music, and Spanish instruction. The science center has both an instructional classroom and a dedicated science laboratory.
The school’s media center has a fully automated management system and catalog, a centralized media retrieval system, a video and radio production room, and a central reading room. The school also contains a “cafetorium” – a multi-purpose room used as both a cafeteria and an auditorium.