The Holy House of Our Lady & St. Benedict is an apostolate of the parish of St. Benedict Catholic Church that honours the theological order of the domestic Church, affirming parents as the primary educators of their children.

The wholesome environment of Holy House allows each child to mature academically and in virtue with gentle and charitable guidance. Studies are meant to emphasize and nurture the intellectual, historical, artistic and spiritual gifts of the faith. The ultimate goal is for students to discover the influence and beauty of Catholicism in every aspect of culture and their own lives, growing in holiness and drawing ever closer to God the Holy Trinity.

INTEGRATED PROGRAMME

At Holy House, we never teach just one subject at a time. Conversations in history naturally lead to topics from catechesis. Science experiments lead to a discussion of the historical context and theological implications. Analysis of a poetry selection or work of literature requires knowledge of the historical time period, an understanding of virtue and vice, and the recognition of allusions to Scripture or other literary works.

Thus there is a natural, not forced integration of the subject material into the curriculum content, just as there is a natural, not forced  absorption of the subject material by the children’s hearts and minds.

Aristotle said, “All men by nature desire to know.” It is the job of parents and educators to both guard and guide that desire in their children, leading them to search out and find, in many and varied places, the good, the true, and the beautiful, which are all unified in Him who is their source.

Every Class is a Catechism Class.   

There is almost no need for a class dedicated to the study of the Catholic Faith at Holy House.   It is impossible for the faith to not be vigorously discussed.  The discussions are natural, since there is no content that does not find its origin in the Truth himself.  The students and staff of Holy House and Gilbertine Academy are also edified by the daily homilies at Mass.

Every Class is a History Class.   

There are specific classes at Holy House dedicated to the mechanics of History (Dates, Events, Characters), but more importantly every other subject is informed by the period of history being studied in history class.   This year's focus is on the modern period. Thus, most of the content in art, music, science, literature, and poetry will connect directly to the modern period, where students absorb the period through its artifacts. Next year we return to the ancient world to begin again our four-year history cycle.

Every class is a Latin Class. We do have specific classes at Holy House this year dedicated to the formal study of Latin, but Latin is also ubiquitous at Holy House. Not only prayers and Gregorian Chant, but students listen to announcements and follow instructions in Latin, read calendars, signs, and homework instructions in Latin, greet each other in Latin, and occasionally take part in scavenger hunts, pictionary and charades in Latin. Latin, Latin, Latin. By the end of a few months at Holy House, a student will no longer view Latin as a strange dead language but as a familiar, living reality. Holy House has the only Latin as a second language programme in the Province of Alberta.

The Gilbertine Institute recognizes that:

• parents have an important part to play in the educating community 

• parents have a primary and natural responsibility for their children’s education 

• parents cannot delegate this unique role

• it is necessary to foster initiatives which encourage commitment, but

• at the same time the right sort of concrete support 

  • which the family needs and 

  • which involve it in all areas of the child’s education

• the constant aim should be contact and dialogue with the pupils’ families, 

• which should also be encouraged through the promotion of parents’ associations, 

  • in order to clarify with their indispensable collaboration that personalised approach which is needed for the Institute’s programs to be efficacious.

Taken from paragraph twenty of St. John Paul’s The Catholic School on the Threshold of theThird Millennium .