Saint Andrew’s Academy is a boarding school in the Catholic tradition for high-school boys. The academy aims to cultivate a genuine and masculine love for the true, good and beautiful in the hearts of her students, realizing, as John Senior writes, “the rich potential of their age, which is to know and love the Maker and the things He made with their whole heart, strength and soul as boys.”
St. Augustine speaks of “a great book: the very appearance of created things,“ and tells us to “look above and below, note, read. God whom you want to discover, did not make the letters with ink; he put in front of your eyes the very things that he made.“
Participating in a small sustainable farm and practicing traditional trades puts students in direct and regular contact with truth in its tangible and elemental form.
Experiences like witnessing the birth of a calf, watching steel begin to glow in a coal forge, cultivating seedlings, harvesting seasonal vegetables, and tending a beehive have a way of awakening the heart to the ever-present wonders of reality.
The word “desire” comes from the Latin de sidere, “from the stars.” The stars draw one’s gaze to the heavens and have always been symbols of eternal realities - “Truth is a fixed star,” (from the old Irish ballad Eileen Aroon).
Boys at Saint Andrew’s chant Compline together, serve and attend the Traditional Latin Mass, study the stars (under the stars), sing folk music, memorize poetry, discuss great literature, hike mountains, and learn to play instruments. These experiences have a way of drawing the heart of a young man toward the truth – of inspiring wonder, which Socrates states is the beginning of wisdom.
An integral education is one that addresses man as a whole, nourishing his mind, heart, body, and soul. Saint Andrew’s Academy offers not only challenging academics, but those experiences that give context and meaning to study.
The Academy seeks to communicate a delight in and vision of those truths woven throughout all areas of study. Our approach to academics involves lively conversation and discussion, practice in logical argumentation, handwritten papers, memorization of poetry, drama, regular reading, and scheduled time for study.
Saint Andrew's curriculum includes Religion, History, Literature, Latin, Mathematics, Natural History, Science and Music.
The boys regularly attend and serve the Traditional Latin Mass, have frequent opportunity for Confession, begin and end each day by singing the Divine Office, and celebrate major feasts with banquets. These experiences offer boys an opportunity to enter into the life of the Church, to better understand, appreciate and love its beauty.
*Saint Andrew's Academy is serviced by the Society of Saint Pius X
Plato famously states “Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its law.”
Music, both sacred and folk, has been a central and formative element in human history, and it is an integral part of life at Saint Andrew's.
The boys memorize and sing folk music, practice instruments, and learn how to read and sing Gregorian chant.
Tending and caring for plants and animals is something that most of men have done for most of time.
These elementary and fundamentally human activities provide nourishment not only for the body, but also the mind and soul because they provide regular experience with reality, experiences that are a prerequisite to reflection and abstract thought.
Trades such as woodworking, leather crafting, and blacksmithing provide a framework for developing an aesthetic sense and for imitating God as creator.
A cultivation of the manual arts develops an integral part of man, informing his understanding of himself and of his place in the world.
The word “adventure” comes from the Latin ad+venire, which means “to arrive at.”
Things like hiking a mountain, camping under the stars, pilgrimaging to a holy place, spending a few days canoeing down a river with their class, or Christmas caroling through the streets of a city, give young men an opportunity to “arrive at” a better understanding of themselves, a deeper friendship with one another, and a rich experiential knowledge that will support and nurture their intellectual and spiritual growth.
The culture and spirit of the school will begin to take shape in these early years, and our students have the exciting opportunity to take part in establishing the traditions and way of life that will become the identity of St. Andrew’s Academy.
Young men interested in attending Saint Andrew's must be up for an adventure, and be ready to give themselves generously to a way of life that will challenge them spiritually, intellectually and physically. They must welcome the opportunity for some time away from technology in order to experience the deeper joy that comes from fulfilling man’s natural desire to reflect, wonder, think, converse and develop friendship - all things that take time and attention, but things that bear much fruit.
Our school motto “Venite et Videte,” is an invitation to young men to “Come and See,” to discover the “ever present wonders of reality,” to realize, as John Senior states, “the rich potential of their age, which is to know and love the Maker and the things He made with their whole heart, strength and soul as boys.”
Ours is a labor of love, and we rely on Divine Providence and the large-heartedness of kindred spirits for the funds necessary to undertake this adventure in Catholic education.
Although we must operate on a budget, we believe that education is not a commodity that can be bought and sold. We aim to accept students regardless of their financial status, and thus, Saint Andrew's Academy depends largely on the generosity of supporters.
Saint Andrew's Academy is a registered 501(c)(3), and all donations are tax-deductible.
Saint Andrew's Academy
P.O. Box 213
Verona, Kentucky, 41092
Please make checks payable to Saint Andrew's Academy, Inc.
Saint Andrews Academy admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
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