Sophia Academy

If there was one subject or one activity that acted like a magic pill, bringing cognitive, social, health, and educational growth and benefits, wouldn’t you want that?

Of course you would– and so does Sophia Academy. Decades-long research shows that MUSIC is that magic activity. Here are just some of the benefits (from NAMM newsletter article “Benefits of Learning and Playing Music”):

• Music engages areas of the brain which are involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating events in our memory.
• Musicians are found to have superior working memory compared to non-musicians.
• Musical experience strengthens many of the same aspects of brain function that are impaired in individuals with language and learning difficulties.
• Those who played an instrument for two years showed a stronger “neurophysiological distinction” between certain sounds than children who didn’t get the instrumental training.
• Listening to music reduced heart rate, blood pressure and anxiety in heart disease patients.
• Music can trigger the brain to release chemicals that distract the body from pain.
• Music both makes [people] feel happier and results in increased blood flow in their blood vessels.
• Students involved in music programs scored 107 points higher on the SAT’s than students with no participation.  

At Sophia Academy, all students learn music theory and take guitar lessons. They had a great deal of fun at the end of the year producing their own music through a music tech program on mac computers. We thank Mr. Tucker for his faithful service to the students at Sophia.

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Sophia students use multiple senses in major subjects as well as in targeted interventions. Here, a student uses tiles on a website called Whizzimo to practice his spelling while another one uses syllable and sound lines on a whiteboard. Hearing, seeing, touching all work together to increase our reading comprehension.

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When we say we learn math hands-on, we sometimes mean that we use manipulatives and overlays to compute or to factor polynomials. But math at Sophia Academy took a serious turn towards hands-on when students used algebra, geometry, and trigonometry to design and build scale models of an airport, a baseball field, and a trebuchet. Understanding ratios and learning to measure precisely as students worked through their design soon turned to sawing lumber, drilling holes, nailing, sanding, painting, gluing, and more as they turned ideas into amazing works of creative genius.

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We turned Sophia Academy into a workshop for two weeks, learning many life skills while using our math. Consider a Sophia Academy education for learning differently. Call us at 267-595-4723 or fill out the contact form on this website.

Sophia Academy’s L.E.A.P. Program ( Literacy Education to Advance Progress) will operate this summer for any student in grades 2-10 who wants to halt the struggles with reading or math.

Students will receive either one-on-one tutoring or small group tutoring depending on their individual needs. Sophia uses the Barton Reading and Spelling system, suitable for ages 5 through adult as well as EBLI (Evidence Based Literacy Instruction) which focuses on automaticity and fluency in reading as well as comprehension. Students who struggle with arithmetic calculations will be re-taught using the hands-on approach of the MathUSee curriculum.

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The L.E.A.P. program includes art classes so that students can operate out of both sides of the brain each day.

Classes will run from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm Monday through Thursday. This four day a week schedule allows students to make good academic progress while still giving time for relaxation, leisure, and family activities.

The cost for the full L.E.A.P. program is $250 per week. Students may elect to take classes a la carte as well, in which case the cost is $30 per hour.

Call us at 267-595-4723 or email us at info@sophiaphila.org to register

In our pursuit of awakening genius in each student, we are raising money to develop a truly lab-driven, hands-on, discovery-based STEM program. Money raised through the auction will go toward a mobile science lab, the purchase of chemicals and scientific equipment through SEPUP, and the development of our MakerSpace.

To visit our silent auction and make your bid, click on our link.

Items for bidding include a wide variety of objects, skills, and experiences:

–from hand-crafted items to guided Adirondack High Peaks trips

–from shore houses to art

–from basketball skills training by a former professional athlete to gift baskets.

Bid on any number of items for a win-win: you get something great for a good price and Sophia Academy continues to provide a great hands-on education for students who learn differently.

During J-Term, students chose from one of three options: Robotics, Interactive Humanities, and Fiction World Building. The focus on only one course for an entire month was a welcome break for Sophia Academy students. Here, the Fiction World Building students find the most comfortable and inspiring places to write their stories.

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On January 20, students take a break from inventing worlds to watch history being made in this world as our first female vice-president is sworn into office.

We moved! Sophia Academy’s new home provides plenty of space for our multi-sensory, hands-on education for learning differently. And we have plenty of room to welcome new students. With rolling admissions, Sophia admits students throughout the year. Call 267-595-4723 or email us at info@sophiaphila.org for information. Now enrolling grades 9-12.

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Sophia Academy has been fortunate this fall to be able to hold most of our classes outside, which has enabled us to safely continue in-person education. Art classes, history classes, even math and science have been outside. When colder weather sets in, we will be using natural ventilation as well as air purifiers to continue to keep our students and staff free from COVID-19.

Moving from color theory to skills in copying pictures, students are eager to use the right side of their brains.

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Sophia Academy believes in learning the past by entering the past. So when we study ancient cultures, students take on the roles of archeologists as they decipher specific cultures created by their classmates. It’s a great way to understand the concepts of culture and civilization and tends to make learning ancient cultures more memorable. After studying early Mesopotamian and African cultures, students learned skills needed to carefully engage in an archeological dig: locating a site, organizing the site, carefully removing soil layer by layer, retrieving and possibly fitting “ancient” artifacts together, recording locations, soil types, and depths of finds, and finally, analyzing the artifact in order to decipher the culture.

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We are excited to announce that Sophia Academy is offering three one-credit courses during the month of January. Students will end the first semester on December 18 just before winter break. When they return, they will begin to study the course of their choice: Robotics, Fiction World Building, or Interactive Humanities: The Renaissance.

Studying only one course for four weeks enables students to learn deeply as well as widely. Exercising choice provides motivation just at the point of the school year when it begins to flag.

One of our teachers has vast experience in leading robotics teams and in judging robotics competition. Two teachers are writers and have completed novels under their belts. Our staff’s knowledge of art, literature, history, architecture and music provides a great base for studying the humanities.

As in all Sophia classes, emphasis will be on hands-on, multi-sensory learning. We are looking forward to a great year!