What: Establishing a solid school culture is the foundation of any successful institution. Here, the first principles of school culture will be discussed, including building relationships, establishing unique activities, and forming an ethos which makes your school unique.

Date: 

Time: 6-7PM (CENTRAL)

(Live attendance is encourged for an immersive experience. Recordings will be made available 48 hours after the session and will be available till Oct. 31.)

Cost: $30 (non-refundable)

About the Instructor:

John Heitzenrater is the headmaster of St. John Chrysostom Academy in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mr. Heitzenrater has nearly 20 years’ teaching and administrative experience in classical schools. He began his career teaching history and humanities at the Lady Margaret Roper School and St. Peter’s Orthodox Classical School in Fort Worth, Texas.

John received his A.B. magna cum laude from the College of St. Thomas More where he studied literature, philosophy, theology, classical languages, and history. In graduate school he attended the University of Dallas where he received his Master of Humanities with a concentration in history in 2016. He and his wife Christina have 11 children, seven girls and four boys, many of whom attend St. John Chrysostom Academy.

     "Beauty is truth, truth beauty,—that is all  

              Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."

-John Keats, Ode on a Grecian Urn

What: Stratford Caldecott's work Beauty for Truth's Sake is one of the most important books written about Classical Education, in particular for its emphasis on what was called in the Medieval world, the quadrivium. If you read anything about classical education, you will often hear the term trivium, bandied about. The Trivium had to do with literary arts (reading and writing) whereas the quadrivium had to do with the numerical arts (arithmetic). This work seeks to help us understand math as an integrated part of a classical education guided by ultimate questions about the world and how we relate to it properly.

Who: Educators and parents who are interested in the history of math and how math, or more properly, the quadrivium, relates to and is an integral part of classical education.

Class Limit: Places are limited so that we can all participate in discussion.

Course Dates: The course will run from October 9th to November 20th, 2024. There will be 7 live meetings.

Please note that this class is being held on Wednesday nights. There is also a Friday night option if Wednesday is not good for you. Please do not sign up for both.

Time: Wednesdays from 7:00pm-8:00pm (Central)

Course Overview: 

October 9th - Introduction, "To Sing with the Universe"

October 16th - Chapter 1, The Tradition of the Four Ways

October 23rd - Chapter 2, Educating the Poetic Imagination

October 30th - Chapter 3, The Lost Wisdom of the World

November - 6th - Chapter 4 The Golden Circle

November 13th - Chapter 5, "Quiring to the Young-Eyed Cherubims"

November 20th - Chapter 6, The Liturgical Consummation of Cosmology 

and Conclusion, Beyond Faith and Reason

Requirements: 

A copy of Stratford Caldecott's Beauty for Truth's Sake

Recorded: Our courses are interractive, so we encourage live attendance. All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

Cost: $40 (non-refundable)

About the Teacher

Aaron Mitchell has been teaching various disciplines in classical schools since 2012. He received his B.A. from Cornell College with a triple major in Classics, Philosophy, and Religious Studies. Upon graduation, he began teaching at Great Hearts Academies in Phoenix, AZ. While there, he taught Middle and High School Latin, History, and Music. In 2017, Aaron was privileged to return to St. Peter’s Classical School, his High School Alma mater, as a faculty member. During his tenure there he taught Greek, Latin, Literature, and Euclidean Geometry. He has spent the last few years doing curricular development for Math and Classical Language instruction at St. Peter’s, particularly focusing on classical language instruction using both inductive and deductive methods, and how an ancient understanding of quantity effects math instruction. He currently teaches Humanities and Euclidean Geometry at Great Hearts Academies. He enjoys reading poetry, playing music with his wife Corrie, and watching their son play youth baseball.

"We become what we behold." William Blake(ish)

"Virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions.” Aristotle

"We are what we repeatedly do... therefore excellence is not an act, but a habit." Will Durant

What: Human beings are natural imitators. From the time we're born until we die, we tend to learn many things best by copying the movements, words, expressions, and behaviors of those we love and admire. Join me to explore ways to harness the power of imitation in the classroom beyond conventional copywork.  

Who: Teachers for all ages are welcome. I will focus more on ages 11-18, but the principles are universal for ages 0-99.

Cost: $25 (non-refundable)

When: Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:00-12:00 AM CENTRAL.

Recorded: Our courses are interractive, so we encourage live attendance. All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

About the Instructor: 

Mariah Martinez has worked in education since 2015 as a teacher, curriculum developer, and mentor teacher. Mariah attended the Honors College at Houston Baptist University where she received a B.A., double majoring in Philosophy and English. In 2021, she received a Master of Humanities in classical education from the University of Dallas. She is certified as a 7-12 ELAR instructor in the state of Texas. She began her teaching career at a Great Hearts school in San Antonio and now works at a Founders Classical charter school in Texas. She has eight years of middle and high school teaching experience and is a founding faculty member of the high school at her current location where she now serves as the assistant headmaster for the upper school. She has experience not only with developing classical curricula for the high school environment but has also developed guides for creating house systems and student leadership positions. Mariah's goal is to help make the methods of classical education and the philosophies behind them accessible for all.

What: This course teaches how to produce Shakespearean plays with child actors.  Wouldn't you love to see Shakespeare come alive for your students? Instead of just reading Shakespeare, what if they could perform his work? Whether your students are ready for Readers' Theater in your living room or full productions of the bard's plays in a professional theater, this course will give you instruction on how to involve students from 4th grade and up in Shakespeare. Mr. Lyda will draw from his years of experience and offer step by step instructions on how to plan a production, run rehearsals, and make specific plays come alive with thematic ideas. 

Who: Everyone who will wants Shakespeare to come alive for their students through performance, the way Shakespeare intended. All experience levels welcome.

Cost: $25 (non-refundable)

When: Saturday, October 12, 2024, 10:-00 AM - 12:00 PM CENTRAL.

Recorded: Our courses are interractive, so we encourage live attendance. All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

About the Instructor: 

Benjamin was on The Beautiful Teaching Classical Education Podcast discussing his Shakespeare Academy. Click here if you want to listen to that episdoe.

Benjamin Lyda holds a Master of Humanities degree from The University of Dallas and is certified by the state of Texas to teach 6-12 grade literature, history, speech communication, special education, and debate. He is the author of Scriptorium – Writing with the Progymnasmata, a 3rd-8th grade curriculum. 

He has been head of a classical charter high school and founder of a Charlotte Mason inspired K-12 school.  His more than 20 years of teaching experience is wide and varied including teaching in urban and suburban settings.  In addition Benjamin regularly works with both advanced and struggling students in public, private, and homeschool settings.  He founded and ran The Children’s Shakespeare Academy, directing full productions of the bard’s plays for homeschool and private schohol children 9-18.   He is married to his high school sweetheart and together they are bringing up six children. 

Couse Description: This course will discuss the fundamental principles of history instruction in classical schools. Discussions will include content, socratic discussion, primary sources, the importance of memorization, and cross-curricular connections. 

Date: October 22, 2024

Time: 6-7 pm (CENTRAL)

(Live attendance is encourged for an immersive experience. Recordings will be made available 48 hours after the session and will be available till Oct. 31.)

Cost: $30 (non-refundable)

About the Instructor:

John Heitzenrater is the headmaster of St. John Chrysostom Academy in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Mr. Heitzenrater has nearly 20 years’ teaching and administrative experience in classical schools. He began his career teaching history and humanities at the Lady Margaret Roper School and St. Peter’s Orthodox Classical School in Fort Worth, Texas.

John received his A.B. magna cum laude from the College of St. Thomas More where he studied literature, philosophy, theology, classical languages, and history. In graduate school he attended the University of Dallas where he received his Master of Humanities with a concentration in history in 2016. He and his wife Christina have 11 children, seven girls and four boys, many of whom attend St. John Chrysostom Academy.

Class Description: A single class on how to integrate the arts into other subjects, including mathematics, science, history, literature, philosophy, and more. The talk will include practical how-to suggestions and implementation strategies. Fine art is mimetic, and all art forms (from music to painting, architecture to film) tell an aspect of the human story. The beauty of human art not only reveals truths about the subjects we teach, it deepens and enriches the classroom lessons themselves. Time will be set aside for questions and discussion. 

This class is designed to provide a framework and support for teachers learning how to integrate the arts if they do not yet know how to do so.

A resource list will be provided to attendees after the conclusion of the class.

Date: October 26th, 2024

Time: 1-2:30 (CENTRAL)

(Live attendance is encourged for an immersive experience. Recordings will be made available 48 hours after the session and will be available till Oct. 31.)

Cost: $15 (non-refundable)

About the Instructor:

Peach Smith is the Dean of Curriculum and Instruction at Koinonia Academy, the founder of Sacred HEART Academy, a consultant for Beautiful Teaching, and has been a classical educator for over 30 years. Peach has taught a wide variety of subjects, and works with both gifted and special needs students in classical, private, and home schools. Peach has led workshops on homeschooling, classical education, and school professional development seminars at conferences and schools throughout the United States. 

Peach specializes in classical curriculum development, transitioning schools to a classical model, Roman Catholic Liberal Arts education, Charlotte Mason pedagogy, differentiation and accommodation in classrooms and homeschools, college consulting, the Catholic Imagination, and in supporting homeschooling families.

Peach has been married to Domecq Smith for 30 years; they are parents to adult children, and are both active in teaching classes from elementary to the college level.

What: The art of toasting at holidays and special events like birthdays and weddings is a lost art. The toast expresses the values of a community, making a statement of the purpose of the celebration. This course will teach the why and the how of toasting, so at your next celebration, you can raise your glass with confidence. 

Who: Anyone who wants to learn how to give a toast.  Bring a drink!  

Cost: $20 (non-refundable)

When: Thursday, November 7, 2024, 7:00-8:00 PM CENTRAL

Recorded: Our courses are interractive, so we encourage live attendance. All courses are recorded and available 48-72 hours after the course and will be available for 1 month. You will be sent a YouTube link. 

About the Instructor: 

Benjamin Lyda holds a Master of Humanities degree from The University of Dallas and is certified by the state of Texas to teach 6-12 grade literature, history, speech communication, special education, and debate. He is the author of Scriptorium – Writing with the Progymnasmata, a 3rd-8th grade curriculum. 

He has been head of a classical charter high school and founder of a Charlotte Mason inspired K-12 school.  His more than 20 years of teaching experience is wide and varied including teaching in urban and suburban settings.  In addition Benjamin regularly works with both advanced and struggling students in public, private, and homeschool settings.  He founded and ran The Children’s Shakespeare Academy, directing full productions of the bard’s plays for homeschool children 9-18.   He is married to his high school sweetheart and together they are bringing up six children.