Academics

Craftsmanship is a unique feature of a Martin Saints education. Though the frequent cries from industries across our country about the need for more skilled labor are in themselves a good reason to consider developing one's knowledge and skills in areas related to trade jobs, this is not the primary reason for our incorporation of these classes at Martin Saints. Instead, we draw inspiration from our Lord himself, who worked as a carpenter under the direction of his father St. Joseph.

We follow the Judeo-Christian tradition of skilled craftsmanship as it developed particularly in the Benedictine order, through St. Benedict’s exhortation: Ora et Labora, Pray and Work. Working with one’s hands in a skillful way allows us a unique type of entry into, and cooperation with, the created world, deepening our reverence for the Creator. We tangibly come to understand the intricacies of creation, and participate in a centuries long dialogue between man and nature as humans seek to fulfill God’s desire in Genesis: “The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it” (Genesis 2:15).

9th grade: Fiber Arts, Paper and Cardboard Sloyd
10th grade: Cooking, Woodworking
11th grade: Drama, Fiber Arts
12th grade: Woodworking, Cooking

Architecture is the art of defining and composing 3-dimensional space for the use and delight of a human community. It is essential for society to promote a stable tradition of architecture because it is in and around our built environment that culture is developed and maintained. Using the architectural traditions of the Greek and Roman world as well as the Catholic Church, this class will teach the theoretical and practical principles of the design of buildings and cities. We will look at the education necessary to be a good architect, learn the tools of the craft, and produce scaled drawings of the three major orders of the classical tradition. As a capstone, each student will design a chapel using one of these orders.

“[T]he smallest, miniature wave from the saltcellar reveals to us more than domestic whiteness; in it, we taste infinitude,” writes the renowned Chilean poet Pablo Neruda in his “Ode to Salt.” This poem reveals one of the most beautiful aspects of cooking: in this ordinary and necessary activity of our lives, we can glimpse the “infinitude” for which our hearts were created. Cooking classes at Martin Saints seek first of all to instill in students this sense of awe and gratitude for creation through a rich sensory, poetic, and intellectual experience. In addition to regular recitation of poetry, this inner disposition is cultivated through careful sensory observation of the key ingredients for each lesson, which are often the most fundamental - so fundamental, in fact, that we could easily forget how essential they are! Salt, Water, Acid, and so forth; lessons for each week are rooted in these foundational components of the cooking process.

But, in addition to the obvious need for our survival, why do we cook? We also desire that students develop a sense of cooking and eating together as a sharing of communion with that carries a Eucharistic symbolism. This end is sought as students learn to serve one another’s meals, and further cultivated as we dedicate time during class to eat at table together, while reading and conversing about short excerpts from poets, philosophers and theologians who have reflected on the significance of food in human culture. Finally, if we return to the writings of the Fathers of the early Church, such as St. Basil of Caesarea, Saint Ignatius of Antioch, and Saint Gregory the Great, we find many admonitions against gluttony and steady reminders about the necessity of fasting and giving of all that is beyond our need to the poor. Thus, each semester of cooking class will include an element of charitable work, in which students will give to others from the bounties of the earth, all of which we receive from and must return to the Creator.

Drama is a microcosm of the Christian life. In it a story that was written by an author unfolds with each person given their necessary and irreplaceable role. Plato said that the most effective way to convey the truth is through the emotions, and this is especially true in drama where words, music, movement, lights, and the live presence of actors all come together to touch the depth of our hearts. Each student is directed and guided, yet each is completely free and able to add their own unique flare and personality. Each person is a piece, a very important piece, that only they can play in the drama being presented. The course aims to familiarize students with the vocabulary of the theater, introduce them to basic acting techniques, and present them with the opportunity to tackle rich literary pieces while exploring complex roles and plots. The class begins with an introduction into the sacramental quality of this particular art form – the great stories and ideas are told and shared through the human person. This will be the guiding principle of every discussion, reflection, or class assignment. The class will include basic discussion on the history of drama and its influence on society throughout the ages. It will include some basic dramatic exercises and then will culminate in the performance of a quality, dramatic work. All students will be expected to take on at least one speaking role, memorize their part thoroughly, and portray this character to the best of their ability for a public audience.

Fiber arts and textiles are intimately woven within the human experience. Not only do we wear and use textile products every day, but fiber arts also have a unique ability to image relationships and a sacramental worldview in the process. Each student gets to participate in holy labor by utilizing his or her hands to create something tangible and beautiful. Patience, community, and creativity are natural fruits from these ancient and approachable techniques. Our own St. Zélie Martin worked in textiles as an Alençon lacemaker and knew firsthand the value of handmade items. Fiber Arts courses will teach the students the foundations of textiles through exploring fiber, fabric, and embellishment. We will first learn the fundamentals of fiber through spinning fiber into yarn, then move forward with fabric creation via felting, weaving, knitting, and crocheting. Should time permit, we will practice embellishment techniques like embroidery, sewing, dyeing and repeat pattern design.

If you have ever attended school in Finland, Denmark, Sweden or Norway, then Sloyd (or Slöjd) will be as familiar to you as subjects like History and Biology. A method of handicraft education developed by Finnish clergyman Uno Cygnaeus in 1865, Sloyd was also taught in many U.S. schools until the early 20th century, and was also an important part of handicraft education in the schools and homeschools started by Charlotte Mason in England. It remains a required part of education in most Nordic countries in the present day. Meant to serve as a basis for any handicraft, from woodworking to embroidery, the early stages of Sloyd focus on building models of two- and three-dimensional objects using paper and cardboard.

Cygnaeus was just as interested in the ways in which training in handicrafts cultivated the character of students as he was in assisting his students in developing manual precision, and to this end, the educational method of Sloyd is based on the following seven principles: “(a) To instill a taste for and a love of labour in general, (b) To instill respect for rough, honest bodily labour, (c) To develop independence and self reliance, (d) To train in habits of order, exactness, cleanliness, and neatness, (e) To train the eye and sense of form. To cultivate dexterity of hand and develop touch, (f) To train in habits of attention, interest, &c., (g) To develop the physical powers.” At Martin Saints, we are incorporating this method into the beginning of our students’ craftsmanship education in order to lay a foundation in attention, precision, discipline, and interest for all craftsmanship classes they take during their high school years. However, students will also come away from this class with several completed projects that demonstrate their new skills, along with the ability to replicate them at home and develop new projects of their own creation.

Woodworking at Martin Saints aims to introduce students to this ancient craft, while cultivating a sense of appreciation for the natural properties of wood and for the human capacity to shape raw material into beautiful objects that are needed for everyday life. Gustav Stickley, a designer and furniture manufacturer who introduced the Arts and Crafts movement to the United States, wrote in “From Ugliness to Beauty" (1904), "A thing to buy should be a thing to have and to hold, to love and to cherish. This value our forefathers of the Colonial and early Federal periods understood, and this we ignore." From Scripture, we learn that Jesus Christ himself was a carpenter and the son of a carpenter (Mark 6:3. Matt 13:55), and we can imagine how the very God who fashioned us came into the flesh and entered into our experience of co-creation, himself building beautiful items "to have and to hold, to love and to cherish".

Students in Woodworking classes will learn to identify basic characteristics of wood and woodworking terms, measure with precision, identify and understand the distinctive properties of common hardwoods and softwoods, use woodworking safety practices, identify and operate basic hand woodworking tools, read and interpret a simple working drawing, identify basic abrasive materials, the eight basic wood joints, metal fasteners, and simple hardware used in woodworking, identify and use a wood adhesive and clamping devices, and apply an oil finish. Every semester will include one full completed project such as a small bench, a box with hinges, a planter box or similar.