St. Leo the Great faculty showcased by NCEA following faith, tradition course

July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
St. Leo the Great faculty showcased by NCEA following faith, tradition course
St. Leo the Great faculty showcased by NCEA following faith, tradition course


By David Karas | Correspondent

The faces of the St. Leo the Great School, Lincroft, faculty and staff have long been familiar to the student body there, as well as parents and other members of the parish and school community.

Those same faces made the rounds in the broader Catholic education community this fall, thanks to a special feature in the National Catholic Educational Association’s publication, Momentum.

Faculty and staff were highlighted for their participation in the University of Notre Dame’s Catholic Faith and Tradition Course, a seven-week experience encompassing the core elements of the Catholic faith and addressing issues related to Catholic identity and adult faith formation.

It all began after vice principal Deirdre Senkewicz and principal Neil Begley first took the course themselves several years ago. Following their positive experience, the administrators committed to having each of the school’s faculty and staff members participate.

“We are all educators of our faith in a Catholic school,” said Senkewicz. “The lessons of God’s goodness, and love and kindness are as important in the cafeteria and science class as they are in formal religion classes. It was important for us to encourage everyone to participate in the course, so that we are all role models of our faith.”

What was initially an option to fulfill continuing education credits, she said, quickly became an opportunity to engage in spiritual growth – and to do so in a way that embraced the school’s own community.

The Catholic Faith and Tradition course is specifically designed for school teachers and is a modified version of a similar program offered to a broader audience. The course incorporates the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults as the primary text, and is designed to provide Catholic educators with the opportunity to grow in faith with colleagues.

Units in the course incorporate everything from faith development to Scripture, saints to Church history, discussions and lessons related to the Sacraments, mortality and a range of other topics. While the course is conducted in a virtual classroom, participants complete weekly written assignments and engage in facilitated chat sessions with fellow participants.

To date, more than 850 Catholic educators from around the country have participated in the course, offered through the STEP program at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life.

Rosemary Devine, a fifth grade religion and social studies teacher, said that the experience included multi-faceted learning and interaction.

“Besides reflecting and answering thoughtful faith-based questions amongst ourselves and other schools, we also met weekly to faith share with our peers,” she said. “After we completed the program we mostly agreed, it was a beneficial class and provided us the opportunity for reflection and growth.”

The interactions between St. Leo the Great faculty and staff were an element of the special “hybrid” offering of the course, carried out between Senkewicz and facilitators of the program. While participants still interacted with an instructor online, the weekly discussions took place on the school’s Lincroft campus among the colleagues.

“This was by far the most impactful component for me, and for the other participants,” said Senkewicz, who became the campus facilitator for those discussions. “Our weekly meetings were opportunities for all of us to gather and journey our faith together.”

Eighth-grade language arts teacher Lianne Brock found the course to be more than simply obtaining some continuing education credits.

“I think that the weekly forums were thought-provoking and awe-inspiring,” she said. “For me, I grew stronger in my faith from taking this course.”

Patricia Tyrrell, fifth-grade science teacher, found the course to be “a spiritual adventure” that allowed her to evaluate her own faith journey.

“I appreciated the fact that such a feeling of closeness, compassion, and camaraderie could develop during a one hour a week chat session,” she said.

The program has been facilitated at the school’s campus four times.

“With almost all of our faulty now having participated in the Notre Dame STEP class, I find that we are a closer faith family,” she said. “Having shared our feelings and thoughts about our own individual faith journeys with each other has allowed us to think more compassionately about the journeys others have taken. Students then see their teachers as active and articulate witnesses to their Catholic Faith.”

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By David Karas | Correspondent

The faces of the St. Leo the Great School, Lincroft, faculty and staff have long been familiar to the student body there, as well as parents and other members of the parish and school community.

Those same faces made the rounds in the broader Catholic education community this fall, thanks to a special feature in the National Catholic Educational Association’s publication, Momentum.

Faculty and staff were highlighted for their participation in the University of Notre Dame’s Catholic Faith and Tradition Course, a seven-week experience encompassing the core elements of the Catholic faith and addressing issues related to Catholic identity and adult faith formation.

It all began after vice principal Deirdre Senkewicz and principal Neil Begley first took the course themselves several years ago. Following their positive experience, the administrators committed to having each of the school’s faculty and staff members participate.

“We are all educators of our faith in a Catholic school,” said Senkewicz. “The lessons of God’s goodness, and love and kindness are as important in the cafeteria and science class as they are in formal religion classes. It was important for us to encourage everyone to participate in the course, so that we are all role models of our faith.”

What was initially an option to fulfill continuing education credits, she said, quickly became an opportunity to engage in spiritual growth – and to do so in a way that embraced the school’s own community.

The Catholic Faith and Tradition course is specifically designed for school teachers and is a modified version of a similar program offered to a broader audience. The course incorporates the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults as the primary text, and is designed to provide Catholic educators with the opportunity to grow in faith with colleagues.

Units in the course incorporate everything from faith development to Scripture, saints to Church history, discussions and lessons related to the Sacraments, mortality and a range of other topics. While the course is conducted in a virtual classroom, participants complete weekly written assignments and engage in facilitated chat sessions with fellow participants.

To date, more than 850 Catholic educators from around the country have participated in the course, offered through the STEP program at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life.

Rosemary Devine, a fifth grade religion and social studies teacher, said that the experience included multi-faceted learning and interaction.

“Besides reflecting and answering thoughtful faith-based questions amongst ourselves and other schools, we also met weekly to faith share with our peers,” she said. “After we completed the program we mostly agreed, it was a beneficial class and provided us the opportunity for reflection and growth.”

The interactions between St. Leo the Great faculty and staff were an element of the special “hybrid” offering of the course, carried out between Senkewicz and facilitators of the program. While participants still interacted with an instructor online, the weekly discussions took place on the school’s Lincroft campus among the colleagues.

“This was by far the most impactful component for me, and for the other participants,” said Senkewicz, who became the campus facilitator for those discussions. “Our weekly meetings were opportunities for all of us to gather and journey our faith together.”

Eighth-grade language arts teacher Lianne Brock found the course to be more than simply obtaining some continuing education credits.

“I think that the weekly forums were thought-provoking and awe-inspiring,” she said. “For me, I grew stronger in my faith from taking this course.”

Patricia Tyrrell, fifth-grade science teacher, found the course to be “a spiritual adventure” that allowed her to evaluate her own faith journey.

“I appreciated the fact that such a feeling of closeness, compassion, and camaraderie could develop during a one hour a week chat session,” she said.

The program has been facilitated at the school’s campus four times.

“With almost all of our faulty now having participated in the Notre Dame STEP class, I find that we are a closer faith family,” she said. “Having shared our feelings and thoughts about our own individual faith journeys with each other has allowed us to think more compassionately about the journeys others have taken. Students then see their teachers as active and articulate witnesses to their Catholic Faith.”

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