Mission Statement
St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic School exists to form disciples of Jesus Christ. Educating students in the Eucharistic culture and classical intellectual tradition of the Catholic Church, they are led to encounters with the transcendental Good, True, and Beautiful. In wonder, confidence, and virtue, students are prepared to engage our broken world for the glory of God, the good of others, and for their own sanctification.
Our Parish
St. Thomas the Apostle is a Roman Catholic Parish in the Diocese of Lansing. Our mission reflects the life of our patron. When St. Thomas encountered the Risen Christ, his faith was encouraged and his heart was enlivened to become an apostle, spreading the Gospel and serving the early Church.
We encounter the Risen Christ in Word and Sacrament, most especially in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. We encourage faith in our Lord Jesus Christ through prayer, education, and the spiritual formation of children and adults. The love of God enlivens our hearts and we bear witness to the Gospel with lives of evangelism and service.
When he appeared to St. Thomas, Jesus said, “Be not unbelieving but believe.” At St. Thomas the Apostle Parish we seek to answer this call in many and various ways by encountering Christ, encouraging faith and enlivening hearts.
Our Catholic Faith
OUR RICH HISTORY AND TRADITION
· In 1868, St. Thomas School opened the doors on this site, staffed by Immaculate Heart of Mary Sisters of Monroe.
· In 2018, our school celebrated 150 continuous years of operation as the oldest Catholic school in the Ann Arbor area.
· In 1977, St. Thomas High School became Fr. Gabriel Richard High School, which moved to a new building in 2003.
· Now growing a new upper school, with a 9th and 10th grades in 2023, and a full Preschool-12th Grade School by the
fall of 2025.
HALLMARKS OF OUR CATHOLIC LIFE
· St. Thomas School is committed to passing on the life-forming worship, truths, and beauty of the Catholic Tradition.
· All-school Mass is offered Tuesday through Friday.
· All students (K-10) have adoration every Friday.
· Confessions are available monthly for the 3rd through 10th grades.
· Noon Angelus and end-of-the-day prayers are offered daily.
· All classes make a weekly school chapel visit.
· We mark the school year by celebrating and highlighting the major feasts of the Church’s calendar.
HALLMARKS OF OUR CLASSICAL CATHOLIC CURRICULUM
· Grounding students in the Liberal Arts, the Trivium (Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic) and Quadrivium (Arithmetic, Geometry, Music, and Astronomy), with the goal of passing on the ideas of Catholic culture
· Immersing students in the beauty of poetry and literature through memorization, recitation, and discussion
· Pointing students to the beauty of nature through studies of and experiments with the natural world
· Offering students a rigorous training in grammar and writing
· Developing students’ historical understanding and imagination, especially in the Western Tradition
· Guiding students to explore the harmony and logic of number through mathematical reasoning
· Training students in the Spanish (K-4) and Latin (5-10) as foundational to understanding the Western Tradition
· Forming students in the visual dramatic, and choral arts, in physical education and sports such as basketball and volleyball, and in after-school programs such as Robotics and Little Flowers
SERVICES
· Hot lunch 5 days per week
· After-school care 5 days a week