Upper Campus (5-12)

The Upper School is located in East Ventura and includes Grades 5-12. The upper grades focus on the logic and rhetoric aspects of the trivium.

Around the ages of 11-13, students will naturally begin to question and argue. Rather than squelching this natural instinct, St. Augustine Academy instead tries to make the students better at questioning and arguing. This is done through logic. The curriculum and teaching style are well suited for logic. The curriculum has a distinct change during this time.

The students are introduced to a formal study of Latin in middle school, and they continue it through most of High School. Latin is integral to a Catholic Liberal Arts education. It is integral both because it is the universal language of the Catholic Church and because of the logical structure of the language. Learning Latin opens up the rich history of the Church through the Mass, prayers, music, and academic writings of many of the saints and popes. The structure of the language will guide the students to clearly see and understand grammar and the complexities of language. In addition, so much of our own language is derived from Latin that it has a natural use in today’s world as well.

Science begins to focus on the development and history of the subject. In order to maintain a sense of wonder about the natural world, teachers at St. Augustine Academy will typically focus on going from the more-known (i.e. the visible) to the less known (i.e. the invisible). St. Augustine Academy wants each student to have an overview of the main sciences in order that they can have a proper view of the material world. To this end, Physics, Biology, and Chemistry are studied the first three years of High School. In their Senior year, the students will take a natural sciences course, in which they will look at the place of Science in the realm of knowledge, comparing and contrasting the different modes of knowing and seeing where Science begins and ends.

As students enter middle and high school, they are introduced into higher levels of Mathematics. While much of the liberal art is focused on language, the quadrivium (Arithmetic, Music, Geometry, and Astronomy) are all math based. The quadrivium are how we know and interact with the world around us. Mathematics is the St. Augustine Academy is more concerned with students receiving a deep understanding of math, rather than a broad understanding. There is a focus on proofs over algorithms, number theory over word problems, and beauty over practicality.

In English, students will begin the study of Analytical Grammar. Analytical grammar is essential to the formation of critical thought. Along with the study of analytical grammar, St. Augustine Academy also introduces students to some of the greatest works of literatures, including The Iliad, Canterbury Tales, The Confessions of St. Augustine, The Divine Comedy, The Tale of Two Cities, and the works of Shakespeare. St. Augustine Academy focuses on literature that has withstood the test of time over modern literature. These books not only build the imagination, but also allows students to be a part of the great conversation that has been taking place for centuries.

History goes hand-in-hand with the literary works studied in English. There is a focus on studying original works as the students also the Hand of Providence in the development of the world and their own country. Students should come away from history class admiring the heroes and wrestling with the great questions of history. Studying the development of the world will lead students to a more thorough understanding of where we are today.

Theology is crown jewel of all our studies at St. Augustine Academy. Theology is the formal study of God, His revelation, and our salvation history. While the particulars of Theology are studied in the various Theology classes, the wonder of God and His creation exude from every aspect of the school. God is our creator and all of creation reflects the glory of God. To ignore this would lead to “[us] becom[ing] futile in [our] thinking and [our] senseless minds [being] darkened.” (Romans 1:21)

The studies at the upper campus are capped off in their junior and senior years, as the students are required to write and defend their own thesis. This gives the students a firm foundation in the art of rhetoric. Students will spend their junior year guided through the process of writing a thesis, and then will research and write a thesis of their own choosing during their senior year. This culminates in a public defense of their work to a panel of teachers.