St. Raphael School
Loading enrollment options…
If sections and pricing don’t appear, email support@scholeacademy.com and we’ll help you enroll.
Liberal Arts Level 1: Illustrated Classics is an early‑elementary course designed for young learners and their parents as they begin the adventure of learning together at home. Rooted in the rhythms of the Eastern Orthodox Christian faith, the curriculum nurtures a love of learning through stories, the natural world, music, art, and hands‑on exploration.
Students meet online for two hours each week in a joyful, prayerful classroom. Class time includes prayer, poetry recitation, read‑aloud stories, early reading practice, songs, music, and other engaging activities that help young minds delight in the learning process.
Families receive a rich collection of at‑home materials, including phonics‑building activities, early reading exercises, copywork, and weekly enrichment connected to nature study, cooking, music, and crafts. These resources support a gentle, holistic learning rhythm throughout the week and invite parents to participate fully in their child’s growth.
The course offers a beautiful beginning to the liberal arts, forming imagination, attention, and wonder in the life of the Church.
Required Materials: Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course. These resources are listed to help inform your decision-making as you make course selections and build your course schedule. Please reach out to the instructor if you have any questions about materials.
Poetry/Hymnography:
Phonics:
Scripture and Saint's Lives:
Story books:
.png)
Ava Nelson grew up in the Pacific Northwest amidst mountains, seashores, and plains. She studied language on the rolling hills of the Palouse and in the green pastures of Wales, earning a BA in Linguistics from Washington State University. Finding the classroom to be the true vocational home for her soul, she extended her learning to earn a Masters in Teaching, then taught in a first grade classroom, as a reading specialist, and later homeschooled her two younger siblings. She is now a mother to two lovely girls, as well as an avid reader and stargazer, and she continues to pursue restful, liturgical rhythms of living and learning in her home and parish life in Chesterton, IN. She strives to find ways that education can bless students and lean into their own keen desire to discover the truth, goodness, and beauty of the world, and how they fit into it.
She is eager to be teaching Star Stories: Myths, Legends, and Astronomy through St. Raphael School for the second year in a row, as well as Liberal Arts Level 1 and 2.
Esther.scholeacademy@gmail.com
Esther Deiana was born and raised in a little town by the sea, in the island of Sardinia (south of Italy). Growing up in a land of ancient traditions she was always fascinated by learning about the history, language and artifacts of her ancestors and that fascination quickly turned into unending curiosity for all different civilizations. She graduated with a B.A. in Italian Grammar and Literature and then pursued her passion for the symbolic lives of cultures through her master's degree in Anthropology. She has been teaching on and off for the last 20 years and has experienced a variety of learning scenarios; she has worked as an in-person and online private tutor teaching Latin, Spanish, Italian and English as a foreign language. She has also taught group classes for adults as well as children, in the three countries she has lived (Italy, Spain and US). Esther is now married with three kids, and she can't but recognize the fractal similarities between raising kids and the calling of being an educator. Her dedication to teaching is only exceeded by her enthusiasm for learning and her love for Beauty in all its forms; she is eager to share this new chapter of her journey with her family in Christ, at the Schole Academy. Mrs. Deiana and her family attend St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Loveland, Colorado.
First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student’s previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
Make sure they don’t conflict with other activities in your schedule or other courses you are purchasing. Our system will not catch double-bookings!
Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.
This registration will be finalized when the student’s placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
St. Raphael School
The Liberal Arts Level 2: Early Chapter Books course is designed to build on skills and love of learning built in our...
St. Raphael School
The Liberal Arts Level 3: Advanced Chapter Books course is designed to provide students with an overview of literary...
St. Raphael School
The Liberal Arts Level 4 course is designed to increase student’s communications skills through reading, writing,...
