We are very proud that our Slovak community now includes a school where Slovak language and heritage is taught. The school teaches the Slovak language, literature, history and geography. In addition, the school offers religion classes and prepares students for sacraments.
In its first year of existence, the SAofC offered its classes at the St Simon the Apostle church; a church built for the Slovak community in the early 1900s. As of Sept 9, 2015, the school is officially recognized by the State of Illinois as a not-for-profit organization. The school also moved to a new location:
8840 S. Ridgeland Avenue, Oak Lawn, IL 60457
St. Louis de Montfort School
The school consists of:
- Kindergarten (4-5 y.o) where through fun activities and games children are taught the alphabet, colors, shapes and count up to 30
- grades 1 through 8 where lectures follow a curriculum as directed by the Ministry of Education of Slovakia
Our teaching staff is made up of qualified and college-educated teachers with prior teaching experiences either in Slovakia, USA, or both. With their dedication and efforts, the children find themselves in a pleasant environment every Saturday.
Lectures take place every Saturday from 9AM until 3PM. Students are assigned to classes in accordance with Slovak education system.
Slovak language lectures are made up of 3 lectures (55min each), religion takes one lecture. Parents have the option to choose – Slovak language and religion combined or just one subject out of the two.
We want to allow each student to obtain a report card recognized by the Ministry of Education of Slovakia. Some students already received such report cards in the 2014/2015 school year; a result of our working relationship with Andrej Hlinka School of Ruzomberok-Cernova.
At the end of a school year, students have the option to obtain a valid Slovak report card by passing a written and oral examination. The examination is administered and supervised by an exam committee from the Andrej Hlinka School.
We are still at the beginning stages and always look for potential improvements. As such, any comments, concerns or ideas are very welcome. We believe open communication between the school and the homeland is important if we are to further advance our purpose.
All of us work together for a common purpose – pass along to our children what each of us carries in his heart…
SAofC Staff