Recent Academy Updates
Holy Thursday Retreat
Thank you to Deacon Rob Shipp for teaching our students the importance of Holy Thursday & to our teachers who planned a wonderful day full of Holy Week activities.
Happy Easter break, students!
Our Kindergarten & 5th grade buddies spent quality time together this week when the 5th grade class traveled to each campus for Stations of the Cross.
Our students LOVE seeing their friends from other campuses. We are Catholic. We are one. We are Holy Cross Academy!
HCA collected cereal boxes for Lent this year. The boxes will be donated to Affton Food Pantry. Today the students lined up the boxes for ‘Cereal Dominos’ !
Father/Daughter Dance & Mother/Son Night at SLU! We 
our HCA parents!
our HCA parents! 
Kindergarten here they come!
Meet a few of our future HCA Kinders
Our third graders turned the cafeteria into a "Famous Missourians Wax Museum" today! Each student researched a notable Missourian, then delivered amazing speeches to parents and peers. So proud of these young historians!
Magic in motion at Holy Cross Academy! 
From curious minds gathered around nature exploration to story time adventures and colorful scarf dancing, our little ones are learning through discovery and play. Watch as they develop coordination, scientific thinking, and creativity all while having fun with friends!
Congratulations to our 8th graders on receiving their Confirmation!
May God bless each of you on your faith journey. We are so proud of you!
Our 7th graders took a field trip to Jefferson City yesterday to visit our state capital!
Today the Primary Campus celebrated Grandparents Day!
We are thankful to the special people in our students lives who share wisdom, stories, & love with our students. Thank you, grandparents!
Our 6th graders are working to create Pop Art character faces in art class 
They each chose their favorite cartoon character and were showed how to use a grid to scale them up in size. They will then use markers or Tempera paint to color their cartoons in!
Paper Bridge Design Challenge!
Our 2nd graders used cardstock to see how many pennies could support their bridge before collapsing
HCA loves the St. Louis Cardinals
Happy Opening Day!
We are many parts. We are all one body 
4th grade visited the Early Childhood Campus yesterday to celebrate mass with them! They taught and demonstrated activities over the human body to our youngest students.
Our students love spending time on other campuses, especially when they get to visit their siblings/cousins!
Our Primary Campus has had some very special guest readers!
Paige Hulsey, Anchor/Host on Channel 4 News & Author of the children’s book “Little Tree in a Big Forest”.
Rich Gould, Sportscaster & Author of the children’s book “There’s a Snake Down There”.
Our 3rd graders wrapped up their fractions unit by making fraction pizzas! 
They also practiced their reading skills by exploring cause & effect in fun pizzeria scenarios. Learning has never been so delicious! 
They also practiced their reading skills by exploring cause & effect in fun pizzeria scenarios. Learning has never been so delicious! 
Middle School Campus: Medical School Elective
7th & 8th grade students recently explored the use of medical equipment such as stethoscopes, light pens, and reflex hammers! They also got to put on personal protection equipment under the direction of two nurse practitioners. Our middle schoolers are gaining real life experience & preparing for their bright futures!
5th Grade Cardboard Arcade!
This quarter, the 5th grade STREAM classes have been working in teams to design and build an arcade game. Today, students and parents of the Intermediate Campus were invited to come and play in the arcade!
Building bright futures at HCA!
From creative Easter art and letter practice to sensory bins and LEGO building, our little learners at the Early Childhood Campus are growing through play everyday. Whether working together or enjoying quiet reading time, these moments of discovery build essential skills for our youngest students!
Primary Campus is enjoying the beautiful weather by taking learning outdoors! Students are also learning about patterns with rainbow fruit loops, conducting a science experiment that cleans pennies with ketchup, & practicing vowels. Keep up the good work, K-2!
We pulled up the final winter crop from St. Michael’s Garden— turnips! Our first graders planted these last fall, and after months of care, they finally got to see (and taste) the fruits of their labor.
Chef Kevin worked his magic and turned them into turnip fries!
Play, learn, grow!
Our little explorers at Early Childhood are discovering the world, one colorful adventure at a time. From building blocks to imaginative play, every moment is a chance for our students to learn
Fiction book report turned cereal box!
The 2nd graders were asked to read a fiction book and transform an empty cereal box into a book report. The boxes include all the important elements of a story, as well as a fun cover art and a game/activity on the back. Learning is fun here at HCA!
15 of our Middle School students competed in the Gifted Resource Council Academic Cup Challenge at UMSL. Then, they stopped by Ted Drewes for a treat to celebrate their hard work
Our 7th graders are diving into anatomy fundamentals through a classic science lab experience – frog dissection. Students are practicing real scientific methods while discovering biological systems firsthand!
During our AMI days this week, students were asked to get creative and find a way to make a cross with things they found around the house. Here is what they came up with!
Happy Valentine’s Day from! Today our hallways are filled with kindness, friendship, & love!
Earlier this week, the Primary students were asked to get creative for STREAM during the AMI day. Here are their creations!
Fourth grade scrubbed in to review the order of operations in math! Even Nurse Rita got in on the fun.
Thanks to the hard work of our Primary Campus students and the culinary creativity of Chef Kevin in the kitchen, St. Michael's Garden was recognized as an award winner in the 2024 Sweet Potato Challenge hosted by Seed St. Louis!
The Early Childhood students had a wonderful time showing their grandparents where they learn, play, and grow!
Starbooks Cafe!
Last quarter, the third graders worked hard on their poetry unit and their poems were made into poetry books. They celebrated with a day at the Starbooks Cafe! The students worked on how-to writing, coffee shop math sheets, and enjoyed reading each other’s poetry books.
Acceptance day! Congratulations to our 8th graders. We know you will continue to do amazing things in high school. We are so proud of this class!
Our STL pride is strong! Celebrating our roots, our community, and our faith at our All Academy Mass. From local landmarks to our shared love of Christ, we’re shining together!
Exploring our faith journey, one tacky tourist outfit at a time! Today, we’re celebrating vocations and the incredible paths God calls us to explore
HCA is Glowing
Our school community is sparkling with the light of faith, love, and service.
Our amazing teachers are lighting up minds and hearts! Today, we celebrate how education is a powerful way to grow in wisdom and reflect God’s love. Thank you to our teachers for continuing to shine your light on our students!
We also celebrated 100 days of school today! Keep up the good work, students.
Our students are starting Catholic Schools Week off by embracing Christ as our guiding light - even in their pjs! We are so thankful to our students for shining their bright light within our Academy
Snowflakes, LEGO mazes, and musical instruments - our students are exploring a world of hands on STREAM learning!
Our middle school scientists are in full discovery mode! 
From engineering challenges with straws and tape to investigating chemical reactions and hands-on dissections, our students are experiencing real-world STEM applications. Whether they're building towers, analyzing mystery substances, or exploring anatomy, these young minds are developing crucial problem-solving skills through engaging hands-on activities.
Third grade created their own magnetic field experiments with simple materials. Using magnets, paper clips, and string, they discovered the invisible forces that make everyday objects attract and repel!
Watching our little learners explore their world through hands-on activities! 
From arctic habitat building and letter practice to sensory play with snow, our Early Childhood students are developing fine motor skills and creativity while having fun.
Our Primary Campus students practiced essential math skills with hands-on money counting, enjoyed practicing lecturing at mass, and crafted beautiful crowns while learning about the Three Wise Men.
Pajama day!
Grinch Day at the Primary Campus 
Happy St. Nicolas Day
Today our Primary Campus had a visit from St. Nick on his sled!
Our Early Childhood students have been busy learning about Advent and Christmas, exercising, the Mass, the alphabet, and so much more
Art projects, science experiments, volunteering, & hands on electives give our students the opportunity to grow in their education & development of the whole person, while keeping Christ in the center of everything they do.
Keep up the good work, Middle School!
Lots of smiles from our Intermediate Campus!
We are so thankful for our HCA community. Happy Thanksgiving
Alien Project
The 1st graders drew aliens and the 8th graders made them come to life. The reveal was today and it was so much fun!
Gala 2024
It's Halloween at HCA!
From class activities, to Trunk or Treat, to classroom parties - all of our students and staff are in the spooky spirit
Donuts with Dad!
Here’s what’s happening in 4th grade!
Today in science class, the students conducted a volcano experiment
Students had to ask questions, write a hypothesis, write about what they observed, and then draw a conclusion. The students loved this hands-on learning experience!
Early Childhood Campus Highlight
First quarter was a success for our tiniest students!
Learning-by-doing has helped our students stimulate intellectual, social, emotional and physical development, while keeping Christ at the center of each day. Keep up the good work, Early Childhood Campus!
Intermediate Campus Highlight!
To celebrate the end of a great first quarter the third grade classrooms were transformed into haunted classrooms! The students completed Halloween themed Math challenges, used reading skills to solve a Halloween detective case, wrote some spooky stories, and did a witches brew Science experiment. It was a fun and spooky day of learning!
Trunk or Treat- Saturday, October 19th at the Early Childhood Campus. See the link for more information.
After School Spanish Program Sign Up
When your awesome eighth grade science teacher has you make polymers in the lab, and then go outside to let them fly! We love seeing our students have fun while learning!
Farm to Table Elective - Making Grape Juice
Last week, Farm to Table explored grapes and researched how to make grape juice. This week, they put our research to the test! Grapes were washed, mashed and then simmered on the stove before we mashed some more. The grapes returned to the stove for 5 more minutes and then they strained the grapes in a mesh sieve. Some students enjoyed their juice and others did not!
The 4th grade classes had their bible's blessed at mass this morning.
“Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.’ ” -Matthew 19:14
God bless the 4th graders!
The Early Childhood Campus celebrated their wonderful Moms last week! Each mom was given a wooden cross created by their child to hang in their home. Moms and students enjoyed activities in each classroom. It was a wonderful celebration!
We’re still thinking about how amazing our All Academy Mass was! The sense of community and love for God showed as the entire Academy was together in one place to celebrate the Exaltation of the Cross
