Serviam
Global Citizenship
AP Capstone Diploma
Innovation
Sustainability
Leadership
Visual & Performing Arts
Wellness
Salesianum Exchange Courses
Curriculum
Ursuline is committed to providing students with the critical thinking skills necessary to succeed in college and beyond. Because of our small class sizes, students get personalized attention from our faculty and staff to help them master practical tools and lessons to reach their largest goals.At Ursuline, we are committed to developing leadership abilities in every student. To this end, we have a unique leadership initiative that includes:
Serviam
Serviam – meaning “I will serve” – is the core of Ursuline Academy’s mission and inspired by the spirit of Saint Angela Merici. Serviam projects teach students to recognize needs and ultimately become changemakers in the world. Each year, they support more than 50 nonprofit organizations, such as the Ronald McDonald House Charities and the Special Olympics, through fundraising, and charitable efforts.
Global Citizenship
Essential to being a leader is understanding and respecting other cultures. Through a network of 105 Ursuline schools worldwide, students have unique the opportunity to meet and learn from a worldwide network of sister schools and global partnerships. This rich international exchange program invites students to connect on virtual projects, Skype with Ursuline students from across the globe, serve as a host family for visiting students, and represent Ursuline as a delegate on domestic or international exchange trips. Most recently, students visited Australia, Italy, Ecuador, Germany, and France and hosted students from Peru, South Africa, Brazil,and France.
For students that show a particular interest in global studies, Ursuline offers a Global Scholars Program. Students earn this distinction through course study and service hours related to global issues as well as literacy projects that include reflections on the student’s experiences. This distinction is recognized by colleges and universities as a significant selection criterion in the admissions process.
AP Capstone Diploma
AP Capstone consists of two mandatory courses, AP Seminar and AP Research. Students learn to think critically and creatively to construct meaning or gain understanding, plan and conduct a study or investigation, propose solutions to real-world problems, plan and produce communication in various forms, collaborate to solve a problem, and make cross-curricular connections.
Innovation
In partnership with The McConnell Youth Initiative and the University of Delaware’s Horn Program in Entrepreneurship, Ursuline is now home to The 1313 Innovation Center. In conjunction with the University of Delaware, juniors and seniors can now take a college level class on entrepreneurship and earn 1-2 college credits.
Sustainability
Part of being a global citizen is being a good steward of the environment. Through involvement with The Delaware Pathways to Green Schools, Ursuline is engaging students to help make the school more sustainable. Our students participate in action plans in a variety of areas to help them understand their responsibility in protecting our natural resources.
Leadership
Our students are required to participate in classes that focus on developing leadership skills. The instruction is comprehensive and helps each student develop a pathway to leadership using her own unique gifts and talents. Topics are varied and include essential concepts such as ethics, financial literacy, and communications skills.
Visual Arts
Ursuline Academy’s visual arts program promotes visual awareness and imaginative expression in non-verbal media. Students are exposed to both traditional and contemporary techniques and concepts from both Western and non-Western sources. Drawing is emphasized as both a “thinking” tool and as a means of developing sophisticated observational skills. The critically important elements and principles of art are integrated throughout all the courses. These courses cover, but are not limited to, painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, photography, ceramics, digital art, video, and graphic design.
Performing Arts
Ursuline Academy’s Performing Arts Department encompasses all aspects of Theater and Music study. From the staged plays and musicals to the lively performances of the chorus and ensembles, excellence is held out to students as a goal, and then the process of reaching that excellence is taught. One of the strengths of Ursuline’s Performing Arts program lies in the notion that anyone can perform. Each year students take a risk, commit themselves to disciplined study, and enjoy the fun and camaraderie that results from working towards a shared vision.
Wellness
Focused on educating the whole student, Ursuilne’s wellness curriculum focuses on enriching your physical and emotional health through activities both in and out of the classroom. Our Physical Education courses help you work on improving your existing kinesthetic abilities and instilling a lifelong appreciation for physical fitness. Our Health curriculum addresses issues and topics of interest to you and reviews the scientific components of wellness and human anatomy.
Our Physical Education classes are designed to meet your individual fitness needs whether you are moderately active or compete on a Varsity level sports team. Our teachers work to instill the athletic skill set needed for lifetime activities and sports, including golf, yoga, kickboxing, tennis, weight training, and conditioning, while also teaching a variety of team sports to encourage interest in our athletic programs.
Our Health curriculum focuses on relevant topics for today’s adolescent woman: time and stress management, Drug and Alcohol education, body image and eating disorders, communication with peers and parents, relationships, gender issues, mental illness, stress management, and safety/awareness. The class is discussion centered, focusing on student participation.
Salesianum Exchange Courses
Ursuline Academy partners with Salesianum School to offer you broader curriculum choices and diversify your academic experience during the first period of the school day. Students who participate in the Exchange Program must abide by the rules of conduct of both schools and travel by the designated bus to and from the Exchange school. Exchange courses are available to Juniors and Seniors unless otherwise noted.
Courses currently offered at Ursuline as part of the Exchange Program are:
- AP Literature and Composition
- Honors Human Origins and Archeology
- Innovation
Courses currently offered at Salesianum as part of the Exchange Program are:
- AP Environmental Science
- Business Law
- Drafting
- Marketing
- Wind Ensemble (available to all grades)
