Accreditation
St. Pius X School is fully accredited by Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA) and the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools (NAAS) and is recognized for providing and maintaining a high-quality and well-balanced educational program.

Curriculum
St. Pius X School provides a broad and relevant curriculum that is based on our Mission, Philosophy, and School-Wide Learning Expectations. St. Pius X School students are held to high academic standards. This is evidenced by a strong curriculum including: religion, reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, math, science, health, social studies, physical education, foreign language, computer science, library, music, and art.

Utilizing a variety of learning modalities, students are given opportunities to acquire and practice academic skills including problem-solving, critical and creative thinking skills, active listening, public speaking, writing with purpose and clarity, and reading for understanding, knowledge, and enjoyment. Archdiocesan grade level curriculum expectations provide the basis for curriculum planning and scope and sequence at St. Pius X. They foster academic excellence equipping each student to develop moral excellence as they grow into life-long learners witnessing the real presence of Jesus Christ in our global community, the Body of Christ. Core subject curricula and methodologies are reviewed yearly on a rotating basis using a Process for School Improvement outlined by the Western Catholic Educational Association (WCEA).

Highlights

• Completed an in-depth study of the science curriculum and instruction for school improvement.
• 15 to 1 student to teacher ratio in middle school ability grouped language arts and math classes.
• 4th through 8th grades competed in the MATHCOUNTS American Online Math Challenge.
• Subscribed to Mathletics online math drills and competition for K-8.
• Welcomed a Japanese-American interned during WWII.
• Student-written creative writing was professionally published in several grades.
• Portland area award winning author, Rosanne Parry, spoke to all students and guided them through a spiritual writing exercise based on her own Catholic faith.
• Middle school social studies included an 8th grade court tour and PT boat visit, a Civil War simulation, and 6th grade simulations on Ancient Greece, annual heritage fair, and Mock Olympics.
• 5th grade held an Invention Convention.
• 4th grade participated in Lewis and Clark and Oregon Trail simulations and visited the Stauffer-Will Farm for pioneer life activities.

Beyond the Classroom
Learning certainly also takes place outside the St. Pius X School classroom. Students are encouraged to serve in other areas of life to develop and grow.

Student Council
The purpose of the Student Council is to provide leadership to the student body for various activities, and advise the principal and teachers regarding student interests and concerns of a general nature. Each class has a representative at General Council meetings as elected or designated by the 7th and 6th grade teachers. Elections for the officers are held each spring for the upcoming school year.

Service Projects
St. Pius X School students participate in various service projects throughout the school year. The St. Vincent de Paul food drive, Christmas giving programs, and the annual Penny Power competition are all-school projects. Individual classes frequently head up various smaller projects, and all middle school students complete a minimum of three hours per trimester of Christian service.

Highlights

• Penny Power competition raised over $1700 during Lent for the Downtown Chapel’s Pennies for the Poor program.
• The Student Council’s Hats-On-Day raised over $500 for the Children with Cancer Foundation.
• Middle school students completed well over 1,000 hours of community service.
• St. Pius X students participated in the American Heart Association “Jump Rope for Heart” raising over $8,000.
• School held 12th annual Veterans Day celebration assembly for our veterans in the school and parish community.
• Collected food for St. Vincent DePaul food drive.

CYO Sports
Governed by the Catholic Youth Organization through the Archdiocese of Portland, students are able to participate in girls’ volleyball, boys’ football, and cheerleading in the fall, basketball and swimming in the winter, and track and field in the spring. Practices are typically twice per week (weekday afternoons/evenings), and competitions are on weekends.

LEGO Robotics
The LEGO Robotics program develops teams that compete in the First LEGO League (FLL) competition that is held in December every year. These teams that include 3rd-8th graders who are presented with the national challenge that is released in early September. The challenge each year has a theme which is chosen from relevant world science topics. The students develop mindstorm robots to tackle physical LEGO challenges set up on a challenge course. They also develop an approach to the research project that they in turn present to a team of judges. The LEGO robotics program is designed to introduce kids to basic engineering principles while they develop their creativity, teamwork, and gracious professionalism.

Math Festival
Math Festival is an annual event hosted by Central Catholic High School (usually on a Saturday in January) in which four 7th graders and four 8th graders compete with students from other Archdiocesan schools in a variety of math related games.

Speech
Speech is offered after school twice a week for 6th-8th grade students beginning in January and ending with the Valley Catholic Speech Tournament (usually held in March). Students practice memorized elocution, impromptu speech, and extemporaneous reading.

Pentagames
Pentagames is an annual state-wide math competition held on the last Friday of April for teams of three students each of 7th grade math, 8th grade math, and algebra. Practices are twice a week during April.

Battle of the Books
Battle of the Books is a reading competition that encourages and recognizes students who enjoy reading, broadens reading interests, and increases reading comprehension. Middle school students compete in a statewide sponsored competition each winter, in addition to a spring competition with Cathedral School students. 4th and 5th graders participate each spring in a separate competition with Cathedral School students.

Highlights

• 5th and 6th grade Spanish students wrote in Spanish to pen pals in Chicago.
• Students participated in the PTO sponsored after school science program, Mad Science.
• Student council hosted spirit week which included the 3rd annual all-school talent show lunch.
• Student council hosted a logo contest.  Winning entry used as model for new school sports logo.
• 5th grade presented two end-of-the-year plays: Blame it on the Wolf and Live: It’s fairy Tale News.
• The whole school participated in Shape Up Across Oregon.
• Students participated in the Knights of Columbus free-throw contest.
• All students participated in the Christmas Concert, “Child of the Light.”
• All students participated in a spring concert, “All the Ends of the Earth,” and the middle school art show.
• 4th and 5th grade students participated in the Library Page program learning valuable library skills and assisting their peers.
• All students participated in Drop Everything and Read, celebrating the love of reading.