With increasing frequency, parents contact our admissions office years before their sons are ready to enter high school with a single question. “What must my son know and be able to do in order to ready for St. Michael’s Prep?” Our current faculty and families answer the question with a list of ten things that will optimize every young man’s success. It is important to note that this list represents our ideally prepared freshman student. Given a boy’s own disposition and his opportunities for learning, the reality may be different.

Optimizing Success: Skills for Every Incoming Freshman

Academic Habits and Formation
1. In gathering information, an incoming freshman will be able to:

• Take basic notes from reading and/or class presentations
• Accurately copy information (from the board, math problem, phone message)
• Use notes for homework and study for exams
• Memorize poems, vocabulary, definitions, or formulas
• Use basic reference books such as atlas, dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, etc.
• Use classroom tools readily: ruler, graduated cylinders, scientific calculator, Internet search engines, word processing program
• Ask questions about what he is unclear

2. In showing understanding, an incoming freshman will be able to:

• Comprehend material read
• Recall, summarize, and interpret written works into own words
• Understand graphs, tables, charts, maps and work with the information they present
• Assemble information from differing sources
• Distinguish cause, effect, sequence, and correlation in [historical] events
• Evaluate facts, opinions, and inferences

3. In being organized, an incoming freshman will be able to:

• Bring all necessary materials to class
• Maintain an agenda/calendar to track daily and long-term assignments
• Follow [multi-stepped] directions with attention to the phases and the details
• Complete tasks on time
• Work independently
• Use class/study time to his advantage

4. In expressing himself, an incoming freshman will be able to:

• Read aloud, using punctuation and inflection to convey the author’s meaning
• Express ideas orally and in writing, using complete thoughts and sentences
• Write cursive in a legible manner
• Show a high comfort level with taking standardized testing (fill-in-the-bubble tests)
• Be proficient with 10-finger touch keyboarding

5. In manifesting emotional maturity, an incoming freshman will be able to:

• Accept responsibility and show age-appropriate follow-through
• Work with teachers/peers to master learning
• Accept correction with equanimity
• Show respect by how he dresses, speaks, and interacts in a situation
• Know the differences between activity appropriate for playground and inside
• Work well with others (demonstrated, for instance, by membership in a club/team/troop for one or more seasons/years)

Specific Knowledge in Subject Areas
1. In demonstrating competence in English, it is essential that an incoming freshman be able to:

• Demonstrate an eighth-grade level reading, comprehension, and vocabulary skills
• Write in complete sentences and shape them into a well-organized paragraph
• Do a basic outline (from a famous speech or from a history text, for example)
• Use grammar properly at the 8th grade level
• Diagram simple and compound sentences

2. In demonstrating competence in Mathematics, it is essential that an incoming freshman be able to:

• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide whole numbers (including zero), decimals, and fractions and be proficient at changing from one to another
• Use the order of operations (PEMDAS)
• Write story problems out as solvable equations
• Recognize simple geometric shapes and know how to find perimeters, areas, and volume
• Work with the X-Y coordinate plane and plot points when coordinates are given

3. In demonstrating competence in Physical Sciences, it is essential that an incoming freshman be able to:

• Plan, conduct and document a scientific investigation to test a hypothesis
• Use metric units and proper scientific notation
• Explain the structure of the atom
• Read and use the periodic table
• Solve problems involving time, speed, distance, length, area and volume

4. In demonstrating competence in History and Culture, it is desirable that an incoming freshman be able to:

• Explain why it is important to know about the Greek city-states (especially Athens)
• Identify those aspects of the Roman Empire which are important to the civilization which developed in Europe
• Explain the life and teachings of Jesus as described in the New Testament, and the contribution of St. Peter and St. Paul to the spread of Christianity
• Explain the sources for historical continuity in Western Civilization
• Describe why the teachings of the Catholic Church are important for an individual, his family, and society

5. In demonstrating competence in knowledge of Language and Fine Arts, it is desirable that an incoming freshman be able to:

• Recall from memory common Greek and Latin roots
• Recall basic Greek and Roman mythology
• Explain how a particular historic age expresses itself in art and music
• Use vocabulary correctly to describe what a particular piece of art or music expresses
• Recognize well-known pieces of Western Music
• Have a family background where instrumental and/or vocal music is valued

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