The Academy doors open at 7:45 a.m. for nursery, kindergarten, and first through eighth grade students. Students are considered tardy if they do not arrive by 8 a. Nursery students are dismissed at 2:30 p.m., kindergarten at 2:35 p.m., first through fourth grades at 2:45 p.m., fifth and sixth grades at 2:50 p.m. and the seventh and eighth grades at 2:55 p.m. On the first Wednesday of each month, the schedule is modified and students are released earlier to provide professional development time for teachers, i.e., nursery at 12:30 p.m., kindergarten at 12:35 p.m., first through fourth grades at 12:45 p.m., fifth and sixth grades at 12:50 p.m., and seventh and eighth grades at 12:55 p.m.
The doors open at 8 a.m. for the Pre-K for All program. Students are dismissed at 2:20 p.m. each day – Monday through Friday.
The student population is approximately 450 students. While class sizes may vary, the average class size for kindergarten through eighth grade ranges from 20 to 25 students.
The Academy follows the New York State Teaching and Learning Standards and academic policies of the Diocese of Brooklyn/Queens. The Academy’s STREAM curriculum includes Science, Technology, Religion, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics. Students in kindergarten to eighth grade are scheduled for a weekly hands-on lab period in conjunction with the STEM aspects of the STREAM curriculum.
The Academy offers a wide range of co-curricular classes to the students including, yoga and mindfulness, art, music, drama, dance, physical education, Spanish, Mandarin, and coding.
The Academy offers a variety of clubs and activities that include the following: chorus, yearbook, art, the Aquinas Society for gifted and talented students in the upper grades, student council, altar servers, a Young Inventor’s and Robotics Club, band, and violin. The parish CYO program includes a full range of sports activities and scouts.
Generally, students bring their own lunch and drink from home. On a limited basis, hot lunch is available for purchase on certain days according to a published menu.
The Academy has wi-fi access throughout all classrooms and non-instructional areas. All classrooms are equipped with SMARTBoard technology as well. The Library is equipped with 25 personal computers and students in grades four through eight have access to iPads for instructional purposes. A portable laptop cart containing 25 laptops is available to teachers to be used with students in kindergarten to third grade.
An early morning drop-off at 7:10 a.m. is available each day as well as an afternoon program from dismissal to 5:45 p.m. daily.
To parents who qualify based on annual income, the Academy through the Futures in Education Foundation of the diocese as well as the Board of Directors offers tuition assistance to current students.
The Academy offers the Working Together Series – a program of daytime and evening workshops for parents on timely subjects at designated times during the year. Also, the Home Academy Association is always seeking interested parents to volunteer to assist with special events sponsored by the Association or the Academy.