Type Private, Coeducational Established 1993 Grades PK through 8th Mascot Cardinal | Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic Principal Alvin Caro Phone +1 210-478-5099 Founded 1993 | |
School district Archdiocese of San Antonio Address 10703 Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78230, USA Motto Excellence in learning, living, and serving. Profiles | ||
St. Matthew Catholic School is a private, coeducational school established in 1993 by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio.
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St matthew catholic school talent show 2013
Mission
The mission of St. Matthew Catholic School is to educate a strong, faith-centered community through a commitment to the spiritual, moral, intellectual, social, and physical development of each child.
History
St. Matthew Catholic School opened its doors on August 18, 1993 to just under 400 students and has since provided over 20 years of service to Catholic families in the San Antonio community. The school was dedicated by Bishop Joseph Galante on October 10, 1993, and Sr. Patrice Floyd, IWBS, was the first principal. From its foundation, St. Matthew has offered a full schedule for students from PK through 8th, and as school enrollment continued to grow and new classes were added at each grade level. Mr. Alvin Caro has been the Principal since 2004, and Fr. Dennis Arechiga is the Pastor for both St. Matthew Parish and the school. Today, St. Matthew Catholic School has grown to be the largest elementary school in the Archdiocese, educating and caring for over 700 students every school day.
School Grounds
The school complex, which has been partially renovated and updated many times since the school opened, includes a Library and Media Center, a science lab, two computer labs, a Gymnasium and athletic complex, a Music and choir room, and a full-service Cafeteria.
St. Matthew's Catholic School received a perfect score during their most recent inspection on Oct. 9, 2014.
Additionally, the school shares Parish facilities with St. Matthew Catholic Church that include the Church itself, the Parish Hall, and the Blessed Sacrament Chapel which provides Perpetual Adoration.
Curriculum & Academics
The curriculum includes age appropriate coursework in the following areas: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Religion, Health, Spanish, P.E., Computer Literacy, Art, Band, Choir, and Music.
Technology has an increasingly important role in education at St. Matthew, as indicated by the iPad initiative and the Cardinal Advantage Classroom. The iPad program at St. Matthew, which was launched in 2013, allows for the issue of an Apple iPad to each child in 4th through 8th grade for use both at school and home as a primary learning tool, to be used for note-taking, content creation, project collaboration, individualized assessments and communicating with other students and their instructors. Younger grades use iPads to complete work in the classroom. Similarly, the Cardinal Advantage Classroom is equipped with ceiling-mounted LCD projectors, computers, faculty iPads, and Mimio Teach Systems. Pre-kindergarteners through third-graders can access mobile learning carts that contain a classroom set of iPads loaded with grade-specific educational applications.
St. Matthew offers honors courses and elective programs for Middle School students, and participates in the National Junior Honor Society. Students of all ages can participate in a variety of academic clubs and competitions, including Private School Interscholastic Association (PSIA). PSIA is a statewide competition that motivates students to find new excitement in learning and achieve a higher mastery level. Students compete at three levels including a school competition, district competition, and state.
Additionally, St. Matthew encourages all students to take part in the Accelerated Reader and Success Maker programs. Honor roll recognition and Accelerated Reader awards are given out quarterly to encourage academic excellence.
Students are always encouraged to learn in a fun and creative way. For example, after spending several weeks studying and learning about colonial America in their history class, the cafeteria of the school was transformed into a colonial town square where eighth-graders traveled back in time to Colonial America.
In upholding the long-standing traditions of Catholic religious education, students have daily religion classes, undergo sacramental preparation, and participate in the Liturgy at weekly Mass.
Athletics & Extracurricular Activities
St. Matthew is known for its Sports Programs; its teams regularly win district and city-wide CYO competitions Students can choose from a wide range of afterschool activities including Chess Club, Scouting, Pep Squad/Cheer, Twirling, Music Lessons, and Hand Bell Choir.
In 2015 the St. Matthew Catholic School Chess Team participated to the 4th Rackspace Scholastic Chess Tournament, winning first place in the Primary K-3 U400, Elementary K-5 U400 and Primary K-12 categories U600.
In 2015 the San Antonio's Children Museum held a Grand Opening Gala Student Art Contest and one of the three winners in the "Private Schools" category was a St. Matthew Catholic School student, who presented a project called "Building with Scraps".
Charity
Among many charitable initiatives during the school year, St. Matthew Catholic School student council members conduct an annual canned food drive for the community food pantry at St. Vincent de Paul, collecting carts and containers of canned and boxed goods.
In 2015 during the "The Big Give SA (San Antonio)", a 24-hour online giving event involving hundreds of nonprofit organizations in San Antonio (TX), St. Matthew Catholic School received the second highest number of unique donors.
St. Matthew Catholic School students actively support disaster relief initiatives. For example, in 2005 they supported Hurricane Katrina efforts by donating supplies to Operation Ryan's Hope, a local relief drive, inspired by a St. Matthew Catholic School second-grader who told his mother: "God is always looking out for me, and now I want to help God take care others." In 2010, to help raise funds for the earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, the St. Matthew Catholic School and Girl Scout Troop 223 held a “Hearts and Hats for Haiti” drive.