Employment
Prayer for God's Blessing on Saint Andrew Academy
×

Prayer for God's Blessing on Saint Andrew Academy

O Lord Jesus Christ our Savior, the Wisdom, Word and Power of God, true Light from the True Light — Who illumines every human being who believes in Thee, it was Thou Who didst command Thy disciples saying, “Let the children come to Me, for to such belong the Kingdom of God” and it was Thou who didst say, “Whoever receives one such child in My Name receives Me; but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

We thank Thee for the gift of the children of our parish, and with Thy help we embrace the sacred responsibility for their care. Send down the grace of Thy Holy Spirit upon us to make us adequate for the continuation of this great work. Steady us in our unwavering commitment, that we might not falter when faced with adversity. Enable us to run the race with endurance both in our joy and commitment.

Protect us from the many temptations that encircle us as we negotiate the Orthodox Christian education of our children. Keep far from us, O Lord, the complaining of the ancient Hebrews in the wilderness that so sorely grieved Thee and banned them from the Promised Land. Inspire us to expect constant challenges in so great a task as the proper upbringing of our youth, and to greet these challenges with faith, devotion, creativity, and calm.

As we nourish our youth grant also that the sense of community, mutual responsibility, and love might grow between all who are co-laboring, especially between our Headmaster, faculty, staff, parents, and supporters.

We sincerely thank Thee, gracious Lord, for providing us all the resources we have needed in these first years — and do now, O Lord, open the windows of heaven in Thy great generosity and provide us in our need all the resources we need to continue and expand Saint Andrew Academy.

Give to Saint Andrew Academy, O Lord, Thy blessing so that in all things needful we might abound and be wholly Thine and bring honor to Thine All-Holy Name, together with that of Thine Unoriginate Father, and Thine All-Holy, Good and Life-Giving Spirit, now and ever, unto ages of ages. Amen.

UPPER SCHOOL

Upper School Years: Grades Seventh - Twelfth

Upper School

The Upper School at Saint Andrew Academy (grades 7–12) deepens students’ formation through a rigorous classical Christian education. Building on the foundations of the earlier years, students begin to engage great texts, develop disciplined habits of thought, and grow in their ability to reason, articulate, and pursue truth.

What Defines the Upper School Experience

At this stage, the focus turns more fully to logic and rhetoric—training students to think clearly, speak persuasively, and write with precision. Across the humanities and sciences, they encounter the richness of the classical tradition, learning to recognize order, seek wisdom, and delight in what is true, good, and beautiful.

Course Descriptions

Students engage deeply with Great Books, Holy Scripture, mathematics, science, language, the arts, and practical disciplines within the life of the Orthodox Christian worldview. Courses are organized according to developmental stages and are designed to form students intellectually, spiritually, artistically, and physically. Offerings remain subject to staffing and enrollment.

Introduction to the Great Books of the Christian Tradition

MWF

Students begin their encounter with the classical tradition through selections from Scripture, the Church Fathers, and foundational works of Western civilization.

Sacred & Classical History: From Creation to Christendom

MWF

Students survey world history through the lens of Divine Providence, tracing the unfolding story from the ancient world through Christian civilization.

Holy Scripture & Orthodox Catechism

MWF

Students study the Old and New Testaments alongside the teachings of the Orthodox Church and the development of a prayerful life.

Mathematical Foundations: Pre-Algebra in the Classical Tradition

MWF

Students strengthen arithmetic and logical reasoning skills while preparing for formal algebraic study.

Algebra I: Order, Logic, and the Language of Numbers

MWF

Students study equations, functions, and proportional reasoning while developing disciplined problem-solving habits.

Latin II: Language of the Church and the Classical World

MWF

Students deepen their understanding of Latin grammar and translation through classical and Christian texts.

Spanish II: Language, Culture, and Christian Hospitality

MWF

Students continue building Spanish reading, writing, listening, and conversational skills while exploring culture and communication.

Natural Science: Exploring God's Creation

TTH

Students investigate the natural world through observation, experimentation, and scientific inquiry rooted in wonder.

Liturgical Arts: Beauty in the Worship of the Church

TTH

Students explore iconography, sacred symbolism, liturgical design, and artistic craftsmanship within the Orthodox tradition.

Sacred Music: Choir & Byzantine Chant

TTH

Students participate in choral singing and Orthodox chant traditions while developing musical skill and attentive listening.

Writing & Composition in the Classical Tradition

TTH

Students develop foundational writing skills through narration, imitation, grammar, and structured composition.

Physical Education: Stewardship of the Body

TTH

Students participate in physical training and cooperative activities that cultivate discipline, coordination, and teamwork.

Great Books I: Foundations of Classical and Christian Thought

MWF

Students read seminal works from the classical and early Christian traditions through Socratic dialogue and discussion.

Spanish I: Foundations of Language and Culture

MWF

Students begin the study of Spanish through grammar, vocabulary, conversation, and cultural exploration.

Algebra II: Advanced Mathematical Reasoning

MWF

Students deepen their understanding of equations, functions, and advanced mathematical problem-solving.

Geometry: Harmony, Form, and Mathematical Beauty

MWF

Students explore proofs, spatial reasoning, and classical constructions as studies in proportion and harmony.

Holy Scripture & Orthodox Catechism

MWF

Students examine Scripture alongside Orthodox theology and the teachings of the Church Fathers.

Introduction to Physics: Order and Law in Creation

MWF

Students study the foundational laws governing motion, matter, and energy through scientific inquiry.

Common Arts: Practical Wisdom and Classical Skills

TTH

Students cultivate practical competencies including craftsmanship, stewardship, etiquette, and everyday problem-solving.

Rhetoric in Action: Speech & Debate

1 Semester • TTH

Students practice persuasive speaking, formal debate, and logical argumentation in the classical rhetorical tradition.

Justice in Practice: Mock Trial

1 Semester • TTH

Students participate in simulated courtroom proceedings while exploring justice, ethics, and civic responsibility.

Cinematic Arts & Film Studies

TTH

Students engage film as a storytelling medium exploring narrative, symbolism, virtue, and moral imagination.

Writing & Composition: Logic, Clarity, and Persuasion

TTH

Students refine essay writing, rhetoric, analytical structure, and persuasive argumentation.

Great Books III: The Christian Intellectual Tradition

MWF

Students engage advanced readings from theologians, philosophers, and literary masters through seminar-style discussion.

Pre-Calculus: Preparing for Higher Mathematical Study

MWF

Students study functions, trigonometry, and advanced algebraic concepts in preparation for calculus.

Calculus: The Mathematics of Change and Motion

TTH

Students study limits, derivatives, and integrals while applying mathematics to motion and change in the natural world.

Chemistry: The Structure and Transformation of Matter

TTH

Students investigate atomic structure, chemical reactions, and laboratory experimentation as studies of creation’s order.

Creative Writing: Imagination, Story, and Truth

MWF

Students write fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction while exploring storytelling as a reflection of truth.

Culinary Arts: Hospitality and the Art of the Table

1 Semester • TTH

Students learn cooking, nutrition, and hospitality through practical meal preparation and shared table traditions.

Technology & Life Skills: Wisdom for Modern Living

1 Semester • TTH

Students develop budgeting, organization, digital literacy, and vocational awareness for thoughtful modern living.

Physical Education: Strength, Discipline, and Stewardship

TTH

Students engage in physical training that promotes endurance, teamwork, discipline, and stewardship of the body.

Potential Sacred & Classical Arts Offerings

Iconography Foundations

Students learn the meaning, symbolism, and theology of Orthodox icons while practicing simplified icon drawing and painting techniques.

Sacred Art & Symbolism

Students explore illuminated manuscripts, mosaics, icon borders, and liturgical artistic traditions connected to worship and Church history.

Classical Drawing & Illustration

Students study proportion, shading, perspective, and composition through nature, architecture, and sacred imagery.

Creative Crafts & Sacred Design

Students create handcrafted works including mosaics, candles, bookbinding, and liturgical decorations.

Visual Storytelling: Art & Narrative

Students illustrate stories from Scripture, saints’ lives, and classical literature through visual narrative projects.

Upper School Schedule

Below is the proposed Upper School schedule for the 2026–2027 academic year. Courses meet according to a rotating weekly structure designed to balance rigorous academic study, sacred arts, physical formation, and practical disciplines.

Period Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Orthros • 8:00–8:30 AM
Period 1 8:35–9:55 Pre-Algebra Science Pre-Algebra Science Pre-Algebra
Period 2 10:00–10:55 History Visual Art & Storytelling History Visual Art & Storytelling History
Period 3 11:00–11:55 Latin II Choir & Chant Latin II Choir & Chant Latin II
Lunch • 12:00–12:50 PM
Period 4 1:00–1:55 Bible Writing Bible Writing Bible
Period 5 2:00–2:55 Great Books Study Skills / PE Great Books Study Skills / PE Great Books
Period Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Orthros • 8:00–8:30 AM
Period 1 8:35–9:55 Spanish II Science Spanish II Science Spanish II
Period 2 10:00–10:55 History Visual Art & Storytelling History Visual Art & Storytelling History
Period 3 11:00–11:55 Algebra I Choir & Chant Algebra I Choir & Chant Algebra I
Lunch • 12:00–12:50 PM
Period 4 1:00–1:55 Bible Writing & Composition Bible Writing & Composition Bible
Period 5 2:00–2:55 Intro to Great Books Study Skills / PE Intro to Great Books Study Skills / PE Intro to Great Books
Period Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Orthros • 8:00–8:30 AM
Period 1 8:35–9:55 Great Books I Writing & Composition Great Books I Writing & Composition Great Books I
Period 2 10:00–10:55 Spanish I Speech & Debate Spanish I Mock Trial Spanish I
Period 3 11:00–11:55 Bible & Catechesis Choir / Storytelling Bible & Catechesis Choir / Storytelling Bible & Catechesis
Lunch • 12:00–12:50 PM
Period 4 1:00–1:55 Geometry Performing Arts Geometry Performing Arts Geometry
Period 5 2:00–2:55 Intro Physics Common Arts Intro Physics Common Arts Intro Physics
Period Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Orthros • 8:00–8:30 AM
Period 1 8:35–9:55 GB I Writing & Composition GB I Writing & Composition GB I
Period 2 10:00–10:55 Algebra II Speech & Debate Algebra II Mock Trial Algebra II
Period 3 11:00–11:55 Bible & Catechesis Choir / Storytelling Bible & Catechesis Choir / Storytelling Bible & Catechesis
Lunch • 12:00–12:50 PM
Period 4 1:00–1:55 Spanish II Performing Arts Spanish II Performing Arts Spanish II
Period 5 2:00–2:55 Intro Physics Common Arts Intro Physics Common Arts Intro Physics
Period Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Orthros • 8:00–8:30 AM
Period 1 8:35–9:55 GB III Chemistry GB III Chemistry GB III
Period 2 10:00–10:55 Algebra II / Pre-Calculus Speech & Debate Algebra II / Pre-Calculus Mock Trial Algebra II / Pre-Calculus
Period 3 11:00–11:55 Bible & Catechesis Choir & Chant / PE Bible & Catechesis Choir & Chant / PE Bible & Catechesis
Lunch • 12:00–12:50 PM
Period 4 1:00–1:55 Spanish II Performing Arts / Cooking & Tech Skills Spanish II Performing Arts / Cooking & Tech Skills Spanish II
Period 5 2:00–2:55 Creative Writing Photography / Film Studies Creative Writing Photography / Film Studies Creative Writing
Period Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Orthros • 8:00–8:30 AM
Period 1 8:35–9:55 GB III Chemistry GB III Chemistry GB III
Period 2 10:00–10:55 Pre-Calculus / Calculus Speech & Debate Pre-Calculus / Calculus Mock Trial Pre-Calculus / Calculus
Period 3 11:00–11:55 Bible & Catechesis Choir & Chant / PE Bible & Catechesis Choir & Chant / PE Bible & Catechesis
Lunch • 12:00–12:50 PM
Period 4 1:00–1:55 Spanish II Performing Arts / Cooking & Tech Skills Spanish II Performing Arts / Cooking & Tech Skills Spanish II
Period 5 2:00–2:55 Creative Writing Photography / Film Studies Creative Writing Photography / Film Studies Creative Writing

High School Great Books Reading List

Great Books I: Greco-Roman Foundations

Theme: The Virtuous Republic | 200BC - 400AD

Iliad

Odyssey

Hesiod, Theogany (selections)

Aeschylus, Agamemnon, Libation Berears

Sophocles, Oedipus the King, Antigone

Herodotus, War for Greek Freedom (selections)

Thucydides, Justice, Power and Human Nature (selections)

Plato, Euthyphro

Plato, Phaedrus

Plato, Crito

Plato, Republic

Aristotle, Nic. Ethics

Lucretius, on the Nature of Things (selections)

Ovid, Metamorpheses (selections)

Virgil, Aeneid

Cicero, On Duties

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Gospel of Mark

Gospel of Matthew

Gospel of John

Great Books II : Medieval Foundations

Theme: City of God, City of Man | 400BC - 1400AD

The History of the Medieval World, Susan Wise Bauer
The History of the Renaissance World, Susan Wise Bauer
History of the Church, Eusebius of Caesarea 
On the Incarnation, St Athanasius of Alexandria 
Five Theological Oration (On God and Christ), St Gregory the Theologian 
Confessions, St Augustine of Hippo
Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius 
Beowulf
Song of Roland 
On Loving God, Bernard of Clairvaux
Journey of the Mind of God, Bonaventure
The Triads, St Gregory Palamas

The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri 
Canterbury Tales, Geoffory Chaucer                                                          The Prince, Machiavelli 
Hamlet, William Shakespeare 
The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity
City of God, St Augustine of Hippo
Hildebrandlied
Ascetical Works, St Basil the Great
Rule for Monasteries, St Benedict of Nursia
Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Venerable Bede
Mystagogy of the Holy Spirit, St Photius the Great
Proslogion, Anslem
On the Eternality of the World, Thomas Aquinas
Magna Carta

Great Books III : American Foundations

Theme: Freedom & Slavery | 1500AD - 1900AD

Exodus, The Bible

Leviathan,Thomas Hobbes

Patriarcha, Robert Filmer 

2nd Treatise on Government, Locke

The Norton Anthology of American Literature 

A Jonathan Edwards Reader

The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville

The Portal, Edmund Burke

The U.S. Constitution – A Reader Edited by the Hillsdale College Politics Faculty

Montesquieu

Supreme Court Cases

Evangeline & Other Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

The Way of a Pilgrim translated by R. M. French

Up from Slavery,  Booker T. Washington

A Testament of Hope: Essential Writings and Speeches, Martin Luther King, Jr. [selections]

New Testament (Thesalonians-Jude)- The Bible

On Ephesians, Saint John Chrysostom

Great Books IV : Modernity

Theme: Madness & Heresy | 1500AD - 2020AD

Milton, Paradise Lost

Hume, Treatise of Human Nature [selections]

Descartes, Discourse on Method [selections]

Bacon, Novum Organum [selections]

Darwin, Origin of Species 

Freud, Ego and Id, Civilization and its Discontents [selections]

Nietszche, Beyond Good and Evil [selections]

Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment

Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamazov

CS Lewis, Abolition of Man

Pascal, Pensees [selections]

St. Nektarios, Saint of our Century

Kant, Prolegomena, Foundations of Metaphysics [selections]

Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit [selections]

Kierkegaard, Fear and Trembling

Chesterton, Orthodoxy

Chesterton, Everlasting Man [selections]

Seraphim Rose, Nihilism

Seraphim Rose, Survival Course

Fr. John Strickland, Age of Utopia

Bible: Elijah, Daniel, Revelation