History
St. Bernard’s Catholic School was opened on September 17, 1958, with grades one,
two and three. The south side of the school was left undivided and served as a
Parish Hall until 1960 when work was started on the gymnasium.
The faculty consisted of four Daughters of the Cross. The congregation, whose
Mother House is in Liege, Belgium, still serves the school, parish and
diocese. The superiors had signed a contract to send out one sister a year
until the school was complete, and by 1963 all eight grades were in
existence. The school operated in this way until June 1966. At that point
lay teachers began to join the faculty. Now it is staffed almost entirely by
lay teachers. The school currently serves approximately 300 children, the
majority of whom are from the parish.
In 1964, the school playground was enlarged. In 1968, an extension was built
onto the hall and included locker rooms and showers, a coach’s room and
offices for C.C.D. In 1975, a separate C.C.D. building was erected to
provide more office and meeting space. The original rooms off the hall are
now used for storage.
In 1981, the front room of the convent was converted into a classroom for
kindergarten. Because of the size of the room it was decided to have split
sessions. The children used the sisters’ back yard for their play area and
playground equipment was installed.
In 1984, the staff room was enlarged and the convent garage was extended and
converted into a computer lab. It also contained a large screen TV and a VCR.
That room has now become the present site of the kindergarten classes and
the front room of the convent is now a chapel; the computer lab has been
moved to a room which housed the former library; the library has moved to a
room which was used for art.
In 1999, the Parent Teacher Club purchased and installed air conditioning
throughout the school. In 2001, the faculty room was extended south to
provide a larger meeting room for the staff.
In December 2008 the kindergarten classroom underwent
extensive renovation. The room was expanded by converting storage space
located on the west side into a new second room. The original room for
kindergarten also received new tile flooring, cubbies, upper cabinets, and
paint. A new heating/air conditioning system was installed in the room and
additional desks were brought in. This allowed enough space for the
kindergarten students to extend their day by combining the morning and
afternoon kindergarten sessions into one class. Library, computer lab,
music and physical education classes were added to the kindergarten
curriculum and the school day was extended from 3 hours to 5.5 hours.
St. Bernard’s has a strong tradition of providing quality Catholic Education.
This fact was born out in 2003-04 when the Western Association of Schools
and Colleges (WASC) conducted an evaluation for accreditation for St.
Bernard’s and awarded it the maximum 6-year accreditation.
St. Bernard’s motto is “Learning with God’s Guidance”
a statement that has
reflected the attitude of staff and students who have attended St. Bernard’s
the past 46 years; and it is a statement which will continue to influence
the learning atmosphere at this institution dedicated to educating the whole
child: soul, mind, and body.
Our Curriculum
The curriculum at St. Bernard's Catholic School is designed as a careful
balance between academic and non-academic programs, as described below.
Religion - Religious instruction forms the basis for the total development of the
student. All students are required to participate in all regular religion
classes, liturgical preparation and school oriented church services
during school hours.
Language - English, Reading, Spelling, Phonics and Writing provide the basic tools
for gaining knowledge and understanding of the spiritual, educational,
social and vocational experiences of life. These skills are correlated
with all other subjects.
Math - Our Math program is designed to help each student learn the basic mathematical
structures, language and principles in order to develop skills in computation,
use of vocabulary and symbols, reading and interpreting data, measuring
and solving problems.
Science and Health - The Science program gives students an understanding of the basic truths
of nature and man's relationship to them. Health imparts to the students
an understanding of the importance of physical well being.
Social Studies - The goal of this program is to develop knowledge, understanding, skills
and attitudes necessary for effective citizenship in our society.
Physical Education - Physical Education
is a necessary extension of the Health program. It
provides an opportunity to learn the importance of exercise to maintain
a healthy body.
Art and Music - These programs are provided to develop creative potential.
Technology- This program teaches computer literacy and software applications to
help prepare students for a high technology future.
