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ST. CLARE’S CLASSICAL

Grades 7th-12th

“A dead thing goes with the stream. Only a living thing can go against it.”

— G.K. Chesterton

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Proud to be part of the Chesterton Schools Network.

Discover St. Clare’s Classical

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Chesterton High School

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Junior High

Three children and a priest standing inside a church. The children are dressed in white robes with red sashes; the two girls are holding candles, and the boy is holding a cross. The priest is wearing a red vestment with gold embroidery. Behind them, there is a glass door with an exit sign above.

Joyfully Catholic Character

Two young female athletes in green sports uniforms with 'St. Clare's' printed on them, smiling outdoors, with one wearing a medal around her neck and the other with her arm around her friend.

Student Life

Several people constructing a wooden structure outdoors, with a young boy standing on the platform, and a woman, two children, and an older man working on the foundation and framing of the structure on a parking lot.

Project-Based Learning

Group of people climbing a large rock face outdoors with safety gear, helmets, and ropes on a mountain with trees and a blue sky in the background.

Outdoor Education

Why Chesterton?

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Silhouette of a person climbing a mountain at sunset with a flag at the peak.

Chesterton Academies are named for the great English writer and Catholic convert, G.K. Chesterton (1874- 1936). Chesterton exemplified the Catholic faith through a life filled with joy, wonder, and gratitude.

Chesterton was considered one of the world’s most outstanding men of letters in the early 20th century. An accomplished essayist, novelist, and poet, he wrote a hundred books on all different subjects. In 1922, he shocked the literary establishment by converting to Catholicism. He was later eulogized by Pope Pius XI as “a gifted defender of the faith,” and there is presently a popular movement to have him canonized. The Chesterton Schools Network has chosen him for its patron because he not only represents the fullness of faith and reason, but also Catholic joy and common sense.

The Three Pillars

Inspired by Saint Pope John Paul II, we take as our motto Cultura Vitae, the culture of life. We make it our mission to prepare our students to triumph over the materialism and despair that pervade our culture and to accept our Lord's offer to have life and have it abundantly. Our classical curriculum combines a broad, liberal arts education with a strong emphasis on the development of Christian virtues and an appreciation of beauty. Through our Three Pillars Model, we form our students in:

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Intellect

We teach the classics of Western thought from physics to philosophy, and the interrelationship of the great ideas; teaching students not merely what to think but how to think.

Three smiling young women at a pro-life RLC event, one holding a sign that says 'I AM THE PRO-LIFE GENERATION,' with other people wearing orange hats in the background.

Character

We help students grow in the four cardinal virtues of prudence, temperance, fortitude and justice, which we believe are the foundation of leadership.

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Spirituality

Our students come to understand and embrace the truth of why they exist: to know God, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world and be happy with Him forever in the next.

The Chesterton Schools Network

St. Clare’s Chesterton Academy is part of the Chesterton Schools Network based in Minneapolis. A collaborative venture of the American Chesterton Society and Chesterton Academy, the Chesterton Schools Network aims to inspire and encourage parent-led Catholic schools across the nation. The Network offers consulting services; templates for evaluating interest and operating a school; and the Chesterton Academy curriculum framework.

Learn more

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