Robot Lab/VR
At St. Cyril, our Virtual Reality (VR) Program revolutionizes the learning experience by immersing students in dynamic, interactive environments that bring lessons to life. VR encourages participatory learning, enhances memory retention, and promotes collaboration by simulating real-world experiences. This innovative approach caters to all types of learners—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—while keeping students focused and engaged, ultimately supporting effective classroom management.
Through VR, students build emotional connections to the content, fostering empathy and deepening their understanding. These immersive experiences also encourage critical thinking through reflective discussions, helping students make meaningful connections with their learning. By leveraging VR technology, our teachers connect with students in new ways, enhancing the educational experience.
Our students have traveled the globe and beyond without leaving the classroom. They have explored outer space, dived into the depths of the ocean, navigated the molecular structures of human cells, and even journeyed through the human digestive system. History lessons come to life as students walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and the Revolutionary War, visit Anne Frank's House in Holland, and tour slave plantations in the American South. They have landed on the moon, explored the wreckage of the Titanic, visited the Holy Land of Jerusalem and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, toured the Space Station, and swam through the Great Barrier Reef.
Our students have also created their own 3D spaces on the computer and experienced them firsthand through Merge Headsets, fully immersing themselves in their creations. They’ve crafted 3D art and walked around and through their masterpieces, experiencing their own creativity from new perspectives.
By integrating VR into our curriculum, we provide students with unparalleled opportunities to learn through experience, boosting engagement and knowledge retention. Our Virtual Reality Program not only adds a “cool” factor to learning but also inspires curiosity and excitement, empowering students to explore, discover, and grow.
Code Rev/ Technology
This year in Technology Lab, students explored the exciting world of coding, robotics, and electronics. From designing interactive computer programs to building and testing robots and circuits, they turned ideas into reality. With hands-on projects and creative problem-solving, they tackled challenges, experimented with technology, and discovered how innovation shapes the future—one line of code at a time!
Academic
Decatholon
St. Cyril’s Academic Decathlon team has proudly competed in the San Fernando Regional Academic Junior High Decathlon for several years. In 2023, the team earned 3rd place in the Logic Team event, a testament to their dedication and hard work.
This rigorous competition challenges students to develop teamwork, critical thinking, and in-depth subject knowledge as they prepare throughout the school year. The event consists of ten challenges, including two team-based events—the Logic Quiz (testing problem-solving and reasoning skills) and the Super Quiz, covering Fine Arts, Literature, Religion, Science, and Social Studies. Additionally, students compete individually in eight subjects: Religion, English, Literature, Science, Mathematics, Current Events, Social Studies, and Fine Arts.
The Academic Decathlon is a proud tradition at St. Cyril, fostering academic excellence and school spirit year after year.
In 2022, St. Cyril identified a need for more consistent and effective writing instruction across grade levels. Without a unified approach, both students and teachers faced challenges in developing strong writing skills.
Recognizing this, a faculty member introduced the Jane Schaffer Writing Program, a structured and proven method designed to make writing more accessible and intuitive. Students quickly embraced the step-by-step framework, which helped them organize their thoughts, refine their work, and produce higher-quality writing.
Since its implementation, the program has significantly improved writing skills across all subjects, better preparing students for high school and beyond. This transformation has not only enhanced academic performance but also given students the confidence and structure needed to express themselves clearly and effectively.
Jane Schaffer
The Kushim Club
The Kushim Club is St. Cyril's visiting-author program. Every week, a published writer meets with the ELA class in 6th, 7th, or 8th grade via Google Meet to share a piece and help to lead a writing exercise. Among the authors whom we've hosted in 2024-25 are:
*David Browne, a veteran pop music journalist and correspondent for Rolling Stone
*Christopher Reynolds, a travel reporter for the Los Angeles Times
*Jenny Lundquist, the author of several young-adult novels
*Ellen Bass, a poet whose work recently appeared in the New Yorker
*Jim Washburn, a veteran Southern California journalist
*Victor Infante, the editor of Worcester Magazine in Massachusetts
*Bruce Roseland, the poet laureate of South Dakota
*Traci Brimhall, the poet laureate of Kansas
*Denise Lajmodiere, the poet laureate of North Dakota
*Marrie Stone, the co-host of the Writers on Writing podcast
*Nora Barth, a 16-year-old novelist from Omaha, Nebraska
