Saint Ignatius Loyola School, a Catholic school in a Jesuit parish, recently added STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) classes and a working greenhouse. The Upper East Side school is also having its accelerated eight grade math students take the Alegbra I Regents.

Coding classes for students in the sixth to eighth grades through CodeSpeak Labs will begin this October. The organization has their own teachers and specializes in STEM classes. Saint Ignatius Loyola School hopes to expand the coding program down to third grade next year.

"Our students' emphasis and their interests are lying more and more in math and science," says Ana Zuck, director of admissions and high school placement. "Following the way our students are as learners is what prompted us to introduce this as an enhancement to all the technology that they're already getting here."

One of Saint Ignatius Loyola School's STEM initiatives has been adding iPads and Surface Pros in everyday lessons, which made adding STEM classes a normal progression, says Rosalie Savarese, assistant principal. "This year we're going to let the third grade [students] have a trial run taking their iPads home to do homework on," Savarese added.

Accelerated eighth grade math students at Saint Ignatius Loyola School, a National Blue Ribbon School, will now take the Algebra I Regents at the end of the school year to enhance their preparation for high school. 

Additionally, all students in kindergarten to eighth grade are encouraged to have hands-on experiences in the school’s greenhouse, a recent addition. "The greenhouse will involve all the classes here. All the grades kindergarten to eighth will be able to participate in some way in conjunction with student government in the greenhouse," Zuck says. "We also take some of the herbs and special foods down to the cafeteria to incorporate in our lunch program."

Saint Ignatius Loyola School teaches students in kindergarten to eighth grade. It is in the Archdiocese of New York and belongs to a Jesuit parish. The school introduces Latin in the fourth grade and follows the New York state Common Core curriculum in conjunction with Essential Learnings (the religion curriculum taught through the Archdiocese of New York).

Saint Ignatius Loyola School accepts families of all faiths. Tours of the school are offered throughout the fall and early winter by contacting the Admissions Office.

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Main image: One of Saint Ignatius Loyola School's STEM initiatives has been adding iPads and Surface Pros in everyday lessons.
Courtesy Saint Ignatius Loyola School