THEOLOGY

011 Facing History & Ourselves

Grade: 9 • Semester • .5 Credit

The intention of the course is to engage students in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism in order to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry. By studying the historical development of the Holocaust and the American history of racism, students make the essential connections between history and the moral choices they confront in their own lives. The course begins with exploring how identity is formed and building a lexicon of understanding around core social concepts of identity. The course then explores how misguided beliefs of identity such as anti-semitism and racism developed and fueled the atrocities of the Holocaust and the American history of racism. After an intense review, students will consider how societies judge and memorialize these histories. In the final unit, students will explore the many ways in which they can participate in creating a more just world in their own communities. Inspired by the Academy of Notre Dame’s mission to educate the whole person for life, students will receive a variety of opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency and application of learned material through classroom discussion, writing, quizzes, and projects. Students will develop their creativity, critical thinking, and writing skills through rigorous success criteria.

010 Hebrew Scriptures

Grade: 9 • Semester • .5 Credit

Students will be introduced to key personalities and stories from the Old Testament and learn the importance of seeing the whole Salvation History story from the perspective of the ancient people who lived these stories. We will engage in discussions, paper writing, projects and assessments that allow for creativity, thoughtfulness and interpersonal communication with peers.

The intention of the course is to introduce students to the relationship between God and the Israelites in the Hebrew Scriptures with a variety of theological perspectives that apply to their lives today. Core concepts of belief within the Judeo-Christian tradition will be explored. Inspired by the mission to educate the whole person for life, students will be encouraged to consider how the relationship between God and the Israelites helps them understand the fundamental human questions of faith, meaning and purpose, roles and relationships, power and justice in their lives today. Students will develop their creativity, critical thinking, and writing skills through rigorous success criteria.

020 Introduction to the New Testament

Grade: 10 • Semester • .5 Credit

This course serves as a sequel to the Hebrew Scriptures course and invites students to realize the types that are revealed as part of God’s Word and Salvation History. Students will learn about audience, purpose and literary genre that was used in Sacred Scripture and will engage in thoughtful conversations, group projects and personal journaling.

The intention of the course is to introduce students to the story of Jesus Christ and early Christian communities. Core concepts of belief within the Catholic Tradition will be explored. Inspired by the mission to educate the whole person for life, students will be encouraged to consider how the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, as well as the experiences of early Christian communities, help them understand the fundamental human questions of faith, meaning and purpose, roles and relationships, power and justice in their lives today. Students will develop their creativity, critical thinking, and writing skills through rigorous success criteria. In addition to writing papers, opportunities to express comprehension and application of course material include paintings, digital designs, and physical models.

021 Living a Christian Lifestyle

Grade: 10 • Semester • .5 Credit

The intention of the course is to accompany students with readings from prominent spiritual and intellectual writers of the Church as they begin to understand who they are and how they want to live. Students will engage in higher level thinking and responding as they learn that the world is a big place and that the Christian Lifestyle means so much, even to non Christians. Keeping in mind that many of our students are of other faith traditions, this course aims to include all students in respectful and compassionate dialogue as to what “Christian lifestyle” means for all of us.

The course begins with Mitch Albom’s memoir, Tuesdays with Morrie. Although the writer and the protagonist are not Christian, the book sets the tone of the course as a reading that traces the contemplations and insights about life from a dying man. The course will then cover topics including suffering and death, the self and spirituality, sexuality, intimacy, and dating, social media and the digital world, simplicity and indifference, and decision making. readings grounded in Church Tradition will be included as supplements to particular topics. Inspired by the Academy of Notre Dame’s mission to educate the whole person for life, students will discuss and write reflections about how the philosophies, practices, and insights from course Readings intersect with and can be integrated into their own lives. Students will develop their creativity, critical thinking, and writing skills through rigorous success criteria.

032 The Paschal Mystery

Grade: 11 • Semester • .5 Credit

This course will explore the Life, Death and Resurrection of Christ and the mission of salvation of the Church. Students will explore their relationship with God and seek to discover how they fit into relationships with Him and other people. Students will explore the goodness of Creation by contributing to the growth of plants in the hoop house as well as the Dome. By gaining an understanding of their connectedness to Creation, students will reflect on how their life is interconnected with the Paschal Mystery and how they can make sense of the world around them. Students participate in a weekly “self study” video and conversation program in which they hear about topics such as “Who am I and Why am I here” and after written reflection, can enter into dialogue with classmates on these important topics. This course explores how the Paschal Mystery informs our daily lives, our prayer, and our participation in the life of the Church.

031 World Religions

Grade: 11 • Semester • .5 Credit

This course introduces students to the basic dimensions of the world’s major religions. The intention is to develop a deeper understanding of those who adhere to particular religions and how each religion answers life’s major questions. Students will focus on an independent creative project on a religion of the world and share with their peers the facets of this, perhaps, unknown faith tradition. The course will engage students in investigations into why religion is a thread throughout cultures and how those cultures interact with each other based on their faith The Church encourages such exploration as noted by Pope John Paul II: “With the world’s religions we share a common respect for and obedience to conscience, which teaches all of us to seek the truth, to love and serve all individuals and peoples, and therefore to make peace among individuals and nations.” (The Challenge and the Possibility of Peace)

040 Ethics

Grade: 12 • Semester • .5 Credit

Ethics is the study of identifying the moral right and wrong in daily conduct. This course provides a framework and tools to navigate ethical issues. Students will be introduced to a four way method to understand how truth, consequences, fairness and character enable sound ethical decisions. Students will be presented with current news headlines and will engage in thoughtful conversation with their classmates concerning the ethical decision making in various cultures and communities. The second half of the course will be exploring the fundamentals of Catholic moral theology and the use of scripture in ethics. Students will write a paper after having chosen an ethical topic with which they do not agree. Playing the “devil’s advocate” will encourage compassion for and open dialogue with those who may view issues from a different perspective than their own. This course provides a firm foundation and language for the second semester when students will study Catholic social teaching and thought.

041 Catholic Social Teaching

Grade: 12 • Semester • .5 Credit

As Christians, we are called not only to a personal conversion in our relationship with God, but also to share the love of God with one another, and to find ways to bring that love of God to the wider world. This course examines the ways that the social teaching of the Church gives us a path and a blueprint of how we can work to build the Kingdom of God. The seven themes of Catholic Social Teaching are the foundation for this course. We will explore various issues of social justice present in our world today. Students will examine these issues and the Church’s response as it has developed historically and theologically, and how this call continues to be lived out today. Using primary sources, works of fiction and nonfiction, and films, students will examine contemporary social issues and work to discern the Christian response to these issues. The course also examines how a personal Christian faith compels one to pursue social justice through specific models in scripture and contemporary life. Students will be asked to identify a social injustice in our community or the world and to build an action plan to address the issue. Students will be regularly engaged in service opportunities that address social justice issues beyond the classroom.