When I first arrived on campus of the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in January of 2005, my intention was to hold a part time teaching position while investigating future options. Options that were going to be bigger. Options that were going to be better. Options that were clearly going to make a much bigger difference than my teaching at this school was going to make. The Immaculate Heart of Mary School was a temporary stomping ground meant only to provide a small wage while exploring what I was really meant to do. I can say with all certainty that while teaching math and science to what was once a classroom full of strangers, God certainly did help me find my future options. They were all there right in front of me. My future options were the students of IHM.

The mission of the Immaculat...

Nothing could be more distinctive of the age in which we live than the overpowering prominence of mathematics. All through the Catholic centuries, arithmetic and geometry constituted all the mathematics that an educated Christian was asked to learn. Even these two subjects were treated from a more contemplative point of view, which made them far more harmonious with other liberal studies. Arithmetic consisted in the study of the properties of numbers; geometry in the study of shapes and figures. When not overdone, and when counterbalanced by the proper correctives from the other types of knowledge, geometry and arithmetic, as they used to be taught, cultivated a few desirable virtues of the mind like clarity and precision, and sharpened the mind for the perception of harmony, rhythm, and p...

Repetitio est mater studiorum. This consecrated phrase is the basis for every effective teaching method there is. It means: Repetition is the mother of studies. At IHM, it is our secret of learning success. There are so many fun ways to "repeat" information that the students end up learning a surprising amount in an effortless process. Games abound in almost all of the subjects and grade levels.

We Sisters daily finish our teaching only to become students ourselves. And, this same method applies. For example, when we learn the chant for the propers of the Mass, we use the same principle of repetition. However, instead of playing games as we do with the students, we systematically  listen to a tiny portion of a new chant, repeat it, then learn the next tiny portion the same

way, and then we s...

Immaculate Heart of Mary School is offering a course on journalistic writing for the 2017-2018 school year. This is the first year that such a course is offered at IHM.

Brother André Marie is teaching the course as this year’s required High School English subject. He explains that the class will focus on the written part of journalism, not on graphic design, layout, or any elements of broadcast journalism, although, he says, the disciplines of information gathering and good writing learned in this class would carry into broadcast journalism.

There are two reasons the class came to be offered this year, according to Brother André and other IHM School Administrators. Given the size of IHM, several of the High School subjects, including English, are offered to the entire High School on a four-y...

Our two graduates, Luke Bednar and Lucia Bosonetto, and faculty and friends of Immaculate Heart of Mary School, were honored with a commencement address by Professor Ryan Topping, D.Phil. (Oxon.), of Saint Thomas More College in Merrimack, NH. A native of Saskatoon, Canada, Dr. Topping earned an MA in Philosophy from the University of Manitoba and a Doctorate in Theology from the University of Oxford. He is currently a Fellow at Thomas More. Our speaker has authored several books and has written extensively on Catholic themes and luminaries, from Saint Augustine, to Dante, to G.K. Chesterton.

Dr. Topping peppered his incisive talk with just the right amount of humor to keep a counseling exhortation from being overly admonitory. Presenting his theme of life “as a story,” he stressed that the...

At the beginning of August, four of the teachers of Immaculate Heart of Mary School were able to attend two seminars on Teaching Writing: Structure and Style. The seminars were taught by IEW's senior educational consultant Linda Mikottis, who did a fantastic job of presenting the methods and materials. Here at IHM, we are excited to put into practice the training we received and to implement this wonderful program in our classrooms.

IEW stands for Institute for Excellence in Writing, and Andrew Pudewa is the director. Here is a description of their program from their IEW Handbook for Administrators and School Leaders:

Our methodology presents a powerful method of teaching writing, which consists of two main components.

Structure refers to organizational models for writing, which are explored...

Good afternoon Br. Andre, Professor Grinstead, Doctor Topping, Sister Mary Peter, Sister Maria Perpetua, Luke, teachers, Mum, Dad, friends, and guests. Thank you so much for being here this afternoon. I remember having a conversation with Sister Mary Joseph when I was in second grade. I was all worked up about today. I asked Sister what I was going to say in my graduation speech, and I think her answer was something like, “You have a long time to think about it; don’t worry.”

Well, here I am. The time is gone, the thinking is done, and the worrying about the why’s and how’s of my inescapable ten minutes at this podium is over. My goal now is to show my teachers, my classmates, and my family what eleven years at school and seventeen years at home have given me. What have they given me? What...

Dear (Father), Brother Andre, Professor Grinstead, Sr. Mary Peter, Sr. Maria Perpetua, Mom, siblings, Brothers, Sisters, and dear friends, I would like to express my gratitude to you all for joining Lucia and me in celebrating one of the greatest accomplishments of our lives. It means more to me than you know. Having achieved the second best grades in the class, it is an honor to stand before you as IHM’s 2017 salutatorian. Before I begin, I would like to give a special thank you to a few people who have had a profound impact on my formation.

Mom, what you have accomplished is astonishing. I have so much to thank you for and it’s hard knowing that anything I say won’t even come close to satisfactory. They say that people do the best with what they can. Well, you did better than the best. Th...

We are introducing our “Hybrid Homeschooling” program beginning with
the fall 2017 school year. You can now send your homeschooled child to
one or more of our classes. Here is what we offer:

Grades 1-6:
Music
Art

Grades 7-12:
English-Drama
Algebra I
Geometry
American Literature
American History II
Latin I
Latin II
Music: Music Theory (1st quarter only)
Music: Fiddle or Choir (2nd to 4th quarter)
Art
Geography
Religion

For more information or to enroll your child, contact Brad Grinstead.
603-239-6495