IT’S SILENT READING TIME in the administrative area known as The Commons at the Camino School, Orange County’s first K-8 Catholic classical school that opened last September.
The independent school – recognized by the Diocese of Orange but operating independently – is big on introducing students to literature and poetry as soon as they can read.
One third-grade girl, dressed in a uniform of crisp white blouse and blue plaid skirt, is immersed in a book about the medieval mythological character of King Arthur. Another is tackling Roald Dahl’s “Matilda.”
KRIZIA LIQUIDO SHARES WHY SHE PREFERS THE CAMINO SCHOOL OVER HOMESCHOOLING FOR HER DAUGHTER, LANE. PHOTO BY ALAN WENDELL/DIOCESE OF ORANGE
In a downstairs classroom at the school, which rents space from a Presbyterian church in Old Town Tustin, a half-dozen first- and second-graders greet visitors by saying, in unison, “Good morning, dear guests, and may God bless you.”
Then they launch into a spirited recital of a poem they memorized, “America for Me,” Henry Van Dyke’s patriotic take on America written in the late 19th century. They’ve already memorized nearly 10 poems.
“Our school is idea for young families who are serious about their faith and want to stick with it,” said executive director Chris Weir. “There is a real convergence with a lifelong love of learning as well as a lifelong love of faith.”
LARGER SPACE THIS FALL
Three Orange County families got together to launch the Camino School, which this fall will relocate to larger space at St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Laguna Woods as it continues to look for a permanent home.
Currently with 48 students, the goal is to reach an enrollment of 300 with a maximum class size of 18 – one of the appeals of the new school, parents say.
Krizia Liquido, who used to teach in the Bronx in New York, has three daughters enrolled at the Camino School, with another one set to enroll once she’s old enough.
Lane, 4, in kindergarten, can recite classic poems. Her sister, Dora, is in the fifth grade and Jude, her other sister, is in the sixth grade.
A parishioner of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Costa Mesa, Liquido said the small class sizes at the Camino School sold her – in addition to its emphasis on a classic education.
“The education children receive here is well rounded and challenges them,” Liquido said.
ATTAINING WISDOM AND VIRTUE
The Camino School, and the other half-dozen independent Catholic schools like it in Southern California, focuses on providing a classical liberal arts curriculum that goes back over 2,000 years. It views education as more than preparing kids and teenagers for college and careers.
“It’s about the attainment of wisdom and virtue and the developing of habits of mind and heart that free a human being to be who God is calling them to be,” the Camino School describes in promotional materials.
In a Christian context, classical education is oriented toward the realization of each human being’s potential to live in union with God, love others and enjoy the goodness of God’s creation, the school says. As a result, a Christian classical education renews human society by forming children into adults with powerful minds and high moral character who will transform the culture from within through the way they love and serve their neighbors, friends and families, the school said.
Headmaster Martin Boles says the Camino School aspires to adhere to the spirit of Opus Dei, an institution of the Catholic Church that was founded in Spain in 1928 by Josemaría Escrivá. Opus Dei, officially recognized within the Catholic Church, aspires to help its lay and clerical members seek holiness in their everyday occupations and societies.
‘OUR CURRICULUM WORKS’
The Camino School has five full-time teachers and an Opus Dei chaplain, Fr. Luke Mata. Courses include art, music, Latin, literature/writing/language arts, science, history/geography, math and religion. A key part of instruction is memorizing and reciting poems, listening to great stories, phonics, spelling, vocabulary and penmanship.
“Our curriculum works,” said Boles, a former corporate attorney who with his wife, Julia, helped to found St. Monica Academy, an independent Catholic classical school for grades 1-12 in Montrose.
“It makes kids smart; it makes them think, it makes them speak well and they leave school and have a lifelong love of learning,” added Boles, one of whose nine children, Molly, is one of the founding members of the Camino School.
‘BETTER CATHOLICS’
Hailey and Mike Schwalm enrolled their son, Andy, 7, in the Camino School and their daughter, Lucy, is in kindergarten. Molly, 3, is a future student, as is their 9-month-old.
“Our kids are making us better Catholics,” said Mike, noting that Andy has excitedly come home telling his parents about saints he’s learned about. “They are reading great literature and poetry,” Hailey said of Andy and his classmates. “He’s become a much better reader and is understanding his faith in a new way.”
It’s dismissal time.
A bell is rung, and Boles leads the students in reciting “The Angelus Prayer,” a short practice of devotion in honor of the Incarnation. Then, as he does every day at dismissal, he declares a parting exhortation: “Go and be excellent.”
For more information, visit thecaminoschool.org