ANN ARBOR
ORTHODOX CLASSICAL ACADEMY

In his candid blog post, an Orthodox priest-monk (or Hieromonk) of the Russian Orthodox Church named Gabriel encourages Orthodox Christians in America to build Orthodox parish schools, so that our children are not abandoned “at the one moment of history in which they unquestionably need such [spiritual] help the most.” He calls this our “Christian Duty,” so that our children (and future generations) have access to a spiritually-edifying education that allows them to grow into

The Kindergarten students of our Academy's Blended Learning program continue to work diligently, in Christ, to further their knowledge and skills in the areas of language, phonics, and mathematics. Their learning is enriched by their engaging on-line lessons with Mrs. Anna Ramirez, as well as their exposure to and discussion of related science topics and quality literature, artworks, and classical music. Each week we continue to learn about and practice good manners (e.g., ‘

Over the past several weeks, the students of our Catechism class have been learning more about Great Lent. More particularly, our lessons have explored the purpose of Great Lent and how, during this ecclesiastical period, to spiritually prepare ourselves for Holy Week and Pascha (that is, through prayer, fasting, and helping the poor and needy). We have, also, discussed the focus of each Sunday in Great Lent. The students learned that on the First Sunday of Great Lent we cele

On Friday, March 17th, the Kursk Root Icon visited Ann Arbor Orthodox Classical Academy. We were grateful for the opportunity to start our school day with a brief church service led by our School Rector, the Very Rev. Fr. Gregory Joyce, as well as the opportunity to venerate the Miracle Working Icon that dates back to the 13th century A.D. and played a role in healing St. Seraphim of Sarov when he was a child. Here is a great article to learn more about the Kursk Root Icon:..

Our Kindergarten students continue to work diligently to grow their knowledge of phonics and various mathematical concepts (i.e., counting/recognizing numbers to 100, skip counting by 2s, 3s, 5s and 10s, ‘before’ and ‘after’ numbers, addition families from 1–7, patterning, and the monetary value of American coins). They, also, continue to develop their appreciation of the true, good, and beautiful through their exposure to (and discussions about) beautiful artwork and classic

On January 18th, our Catechism classes started up again for the winter 2023 when we learned about Jesus’s Baptism, also referred to as ‘Theophany’ (from the Greek word Θεοφάνεια, which means ‘manifestation of God’). It is the day when Jesus’s ministry not only begins, but, also, when all three Persons of the Holy Trinity are revealed to the world—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. During our January 18th Catechism lesson, we spoke about how Holy Water from the Great Blessing of W

On Monday, September 19, 2022, our Kindergarten On-Line Learning Program began with our on-line instructor, Mrs. Anna Ramirez. In addition to one-hour lessons with Mrs. Ramirez on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, she offers families support via e-mail and through meetings, as needed, to help guide them on their homeschooling journey towards successfully delivering the full curriculum at home. The on-line program, also, supports students' computer literacy skills as they le

We invite all parents of young children, even if their child is not enrolled in our Blended Learning program, to join us at St. Vladimir Orthodox Church (9900 Jackson Road, Dexter, MI) on Wednesdays this school year for Church service at 9:00 a.m. and Catechism class following service. Our Wednesday morning classes provide young children an opportunity to not only learn more about our Orthodox Christian faith in the House of God (and surrounded by icons of Christ, His All-Ho