The Rhetoric Stage is the stage at which self-motivated learners are able to express themselves with ever increasing depth, clarity and originality. The student is able to engage not only in analysis of complex information, but is able to synthesize such analysis with other data and information and clearly express in both written and oral form the implications of their understanding. The student engages in in-depth reasoning as he looks at facts and data now accumulated over a twelve year career with us.
Critical evaluation and graceful self-expression is the fruit of this final stage. Advanced mathematical, scientific, and language skills are complimented by a rich appreciation of literature and poetry. In possession of “the tools of learning” and broadly cognizant of the human experience as reflected in the various disciplines of the liberal arts, the student is able to take responsibility of his own learning as he continues to advance through his college career, and beyond.
The high school combines literature and history into a humanities block which is largely taught in seminar format. High school theology is also largely seminar format and built on solid Catholic doctrine and spiritual classics. Continuous, intense Socratic dialogue with peers and experts to a degree not found in other schools or other schooling options.
Seniors complete an in-depth Senior Thesis which they publicly and formally present and defend before the community prior to graduation. There’s a lot that goes into every thesis. Here’s a quick overview of the program. To turn on subtitles, click the CC button in the bottom right corner of the player.
The best way to prepare students to encounter Christ and pursue excellence requires a shared vision among students, teachers and parents. Our Community & Culture Night series answers this need by showing our community the culture we instill at Donahue Academy. Each stage of the students’ education has a separate night devoted especially to it.
Lists of texts below are illustrative and not exhaustive.
Description: Creating something new by putting parts of different ideas together to make a whole.
Skills: Blend, build, change, combine, compile, compose, conceive, create, design, formulate, generate, hypothesize, plan, predict, produce, reorder, revise, tell, and write.
Description: Judging the value of material or methods as they might be applied in a particular situation; judging with the use of definite criteria.
Skills: Accept, appraise, arbitrate, argue, articulate, assess, award, choose, conclude, criticize, defend, evaluate, grade, judge, prioritize, recommend, referee, reject, select, support.