Madonna High School adds programs to curriculum
(Editor's Note: This article, written by the faculty at Weirton Madonna High School, is published in observance of Catholic Schools Week)
WEIRTON -- Madonna High School is proud to be one of the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, where we are all "Moving Mountains by being Empowered by Knowledge and Transformed by Faith."
In the 2019-20 school year, Madonna High School has introduced new programs to our academic curriculum in order to offer more opportunities to our students. For many years, our students have been able to take college classes through our partnership with West Virginia Northern Community College. The addition of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) allows our students to also take courses in Honors Engineering, Honors Healthcare, and Technology tracks. These courses are taught by professors from colleges and universities such as Yale University and Georgia Tech University. MOOCs help our students fortify the area of study they would like to pursue and give them the experience of online courses they will encounter in higher education. This program has recently been chosen as a curriculum and instruction category finalist for Innovations in Catholic Education awards.
This school year also brings a new prefect system for our students. This program includes a small number of students that are well rounded and go above and beyond expectations. Students earn their selection based on grade point average, attendance, service, and participation in extracurricular activities. These students will be the leaders at Madonna High School.
Madonna students and staff are continuously out in the Weirton area helping those in need. Every month a group volunteers at the Table of Hope and feeds members of the community. Multiple times during the school year, service days are held, when students and staff go to various organizations to help with different tasks. Several collections are done to benefit groups that help those with food insecurities. "Faith, Family, Service…Through Mary" is said and lived every day at Madonna High School.
Our students also will begin to benefit from a partnership with Blue Stream Farms, an aquaponics project-based learning facility. Our STREAM curriculum will be enhanced as students will learn the science behind aquaponics, accounting, and media production along with vocational projects such as plumbing and electrical work. Students will also become stewards of the environment as they find ways to be efficient in using resources.
Our students succeed in and out of the classroom as well. Madonna High School had two wrestlers win state titles in 2019, and our cheerleaders won Regionals this fall. All of our teams have contributed to being the overall OVAC A Champion for 10 years in a row.
Madonna High School is constantly working to improve our product and to continue helping our students become "Followers of Christ…Leaders in the World." Please call (304) 723-0545 or visit www.weirtonmadonna.org for more information about our school.