Morality & Chastity Curriculum

Faith and Morals

  1. Students will learn God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit form a community of love that we call the Holy Trinity.
  2. Students will learn that at Baptism, the Holy Spirit came into our hearts in a special way. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and we must treat them with respect.
  3. Students will discuss Genesis and what it means to be made in God's image.
  4. Students will discuss the effects of original sin and the challenge people have in doing what is right and good.
  5. Students will continue to identify ways to know right from wrong, how right conscience is formed (through Church teaching, CCC 1783-1785) and how to examine one's conscience.
  6. Students will grow toward a correct conscience that is neither lax nor scrupulous.
  7. Students will learn the difference between temptation and sin.
  8. Students will discuss examples of God's unconditional love for us in the Sacred Scriptures.
  9. Students will learn we love God and share in His life by listening to the Gospel, living by the Commandments, praying, worshipping at Mass, receiving the Sacraments, and practicing Christian charity.
  10. Students will learn that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God shows us His love and forgiveness in a special way and gives us the grace to become more loving people. (CCC 1422 ff)
  11. Students will identify that God loves us unconditionally and that we communicate with Him by praying.
  12. Students will learn about the teaching authority (magesterium) of the Church. (CCC 888-892)
  13. Students will learn Christ gave us the Church to help us to know and to do what is right and good, and that the Sacraments give us the grace to be able to do what is right and good.
  14. Students will learn God made man and woman for each other; they are equal as persons but different.
  15. Students will learn God gave man and woman the responsibility of taking good care of all creation so that all people might benefit from its beauty and goodness.
  16. Students will learn that the attraction of a man or a woman to the opposite sex is part of God's divine plan for man and woman. (CCC 1643 ff)
  17. Students will learn human life is sacred because of its origins and destiny and is to be respected from conception until natural death. (CCC 2270; 2276 ff)
  18. Students will learn God gives men and women who marry the special privilege of cooperating in the creation of a new person and the responsibility to take good care of the children God gives them. Parents are to guide their children to know what is right and wrong and to do what is right. (CCC 1643 ff)
  19. Students will learn families can become communities of love when all members care, respect, know, and accept responsibility for each other to do what is right and good.
  20. Students will learn about examples from the lives of Jesus, Mary and the saints related to family life and chastity.
  21. Students will continue to have opportunities to prepare themselves for a worthy and fruitful reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
  22. Students will know the reason for gender-separated or parent-child classes for some topics.

Personal, Health, and Safety

  1. Students will recognize that each person goes through many stages of life and that each stage brings new changes and challenges for the individual. This concept will be related to the student's current stage of life.
  2. Students will identify and describe ways to show respect for all human life from conception until natural death.
  3. Students will explain basic safety precautions related to emergency procedures.
  4. Students will recognize dangerous or uncomfortable situations and learn ways of avoiding them or getting out of them.
  5. Students will be given general information about what substance abuse (e.g., alcohol, drugs, inhalants, nicotine, food, etc.) is.
  6. Students will be encouraged to think of positive ways to handle negative peer pressure and stress.

Character, Family, and Social

  1. Students will review the special characteristics of the human person: why persons are more important than animals and things.
  2. Students will recognize the importance of family and religious guidance as they enter adolescence.
  3. Students will recognize that according to God's plan children are to be raised in a loving family unit consisting of a father, a mother and the child/children and that everyone should strive to reach and maintain this ideal plan of God’s (CCC 2202). At the same time, students will recognize that it is sometimes necessary for children to be raised by grandparents, single parents or others, and that these people make great sacrifices to raise the children under difficult circumstances.
  4. Students will identify family members and their responsibilities in contributing to the success of the family.
  5. Students will identify that their family cares for them: spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and intellectually.
  6. Students will learn the importance of following established family rules for activities with friends.
  7. Students will identify the characteristics which help people to achieve personal contentment and to make a positive contribution to their community.
  8. Students will learn that peer pressure can be positive or negative. Positive pressure helps us live the virtuous life. Negative pressure increases the temptation to do wrong.
  9. Students will learn the benefits of resisting negative peer pressure, and will suggest ways to deal with negative peer pressure.
  10. Students will learn to say "no" to behaviors or situations which are wrong.
  11. Student will recognize that friendship is very important to young people but that not all friendships are helpful.
  12. Students will learn that the media (books, TV, movies, magazines, newspapers, music, etc.) can influence their decisions, attitudes and behaviors, and that they must learn how to avoid and resist negative media messages. (CCC 2496)
  13. Students will review baby-sitting skills and responsibilities.
  14. Students will recognize the importance of making contributions at home, school, and in their local community.
  15. Students will learn elements of self-worth, fairness and justice, caring and compassion, social responsibility, personal integrity, pursuit of excellence, and appropriate expression of rights and responsibilities.
  16. Students will identify virtues as points of strength.
  17. Students will learn practical applications of the cardinal virtues (prudence, justice, fortitude temperance) and the theological virtues (faith, hope, charity). (CCC 1805, 1813)