Catholic identity
The ultimate goal of Kingswood Academy is to assist parents in getting their children to Heaven. The Catholic faith is interwoven throughout Kingswood’s curriculum and has been an essential part of the school since its founding in 1996. Kingswood adheres to the faith formation standards established by the Diocese of Joliet and is recognized by the Joliet Diocese as an Affiliate Diocesan Catholic School.
Kingswood Academy assists parents by cultivating the human virtues and developing a strong moral character in their children so the children become competent, responsible men and women who live by Christian principles. Kingswood Academy inspires these principles by providing character formation and catechesis that adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The beauty of Kingswood’s Catholic identity is seen and experienced throughout the school. Our hope is that by providing an environment in which the children can grow in intellect, virtue, and in their understanding of the Catholic faith, they will have the tools necessary to live by Christian principles and to navigate life to its fullest.
For grades 1 through 8, Kingswood utilizes the Faith and Life Series from Ignatius Press. As stated on their website, “The Faith and Life Third Edition series presents Catholic teaching using the time-tested ecclesial methodology and spiral development of catechesis, in a beautiful, student-friendly, comprehensive format.” These thoughtful and student friendly texts have been reviewed by the USCCB Commission on the Catechism, and are in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
For grades Preschool and Kindergarten, Kingswood uses the Image of God Series, also by Ignatius Press. This series emphasizes dignity of the individual child and the creation of each human being in the likeness of God.
Kingswood provides an environment that nurtures the love of the Sacraments. Each week, students attend an all-school Mass. Each Mass is sponsored by a grade. This sponsorship encourages the students to participate in the Mass by leading the Readings, bringing up the gifts, and for our Junior High Students, the opportunity to participate as an Altar Server. We also have a beautiful children’s choir that is composed of children from grades 3 through 8. The choir sings hymns in both Latin and English.
Fostering a spirit of service is part of a well-rounded Catholic education. Throughout the school year, students make regular visits to nursing homes to play bingo with the residents or read to them. Students also organize food drives, clothing drives, shoe drives, and water drives for those in need or victims of natural disasters. Every year in the spring, families are invited to participate in Feed My Starving Children, where food is packed and shipped to third world countries.