Japhet Campus

St. Catherine’s owns three undeveloped acres and additional property in the Japhet Community, a pastoral enclave in Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward. Just five minutes from downtown Houston, the land is next to Japhet Creek, a mile-long tributary that feeds into Buffalo Bayou.

Since 2017, Japhet has provided our Adolescent Community students the opportunity to experience land-based learning as envisioned by Dr. Maria Montessori – delving into nature-related subjects and studying the relationship between nature and the human society around it. Montessori called the adolescent erdkinder; “children of the earth.” She observed a dramatic shift from childhood through a number of characteristics unique to adolescence - physical changes in their bodies, strong emotional experiences, the need for experiential learning, and the drive for self discovery. This calls for an equally strong shift toward a style of education that is hands-on and project based. Montessori found that working on the land introduces nearly limitless opportunities for scientific and historical studies. Japhet Campus meets those needs, as the environment fosters creativity, independence, and self-confidence in the adolescent as they practice adulthood.