St. Louis Catholic Classical Education Symposium presents
Includes: Mass, Keynote, Breakout Sessions & Immersion Sessions
Cost: $30 Early Bird Registration until December 31st, 2024; $40 Registration starting January 1st, 2025
Location: Held on the campus of Chesterton Academy of St. Louis, 12934 Marine Avenue, St. Louis, MO 6314
Sponsored by Chesterton Academy of St. Louis
Keynote Speaker
Most Rev. James D. Conley, D.D., S.T.L.
We are honored to have Bishop Conley as our keynote speaker. Currently the Bishop of Lincoln, Nebraska, he brings a unique personal perspective to Catholic classical education. As a college student, he studied in the well-known and groundbreaking Integrated Humanities Program at the University of Kansas during the 1970's. Although the program itself was non-religious and secular, Conley and many other students converted to Catholicism through reading the great books under the guidance of their Catholic professor and mentor, John Senior.
Truly, this experience of education had formed the young Conley's heart as well as his mind. It is fitting, then, that for his episcopal motto, Bishop Conley chose the motto of the great 19th-century English convert John Henry Cardinal Newman: "cor ad cor loquitur," which means "heart speaks to heart."
In his keynote address, Bishop Conley will delve into the application of this motto in Catholic classical education and how we can teach to the hearts of students in practical ways.
To read more about Bishop Conley, see his diocesan website. Also please read Bishop Conley's recent pastoral letter on Catholic education, The Joy and Wonder of Catholic Education: Developing Authentically Catholic Schools
Breakout Sessions
Preparing the Soil of the Heart
In this session, we will explore how parents can cultivate a family culture and atmosphere that prepares their children's hearts for the seeds of truth sown in a classical education.
Anna Haine, mother of 7 children and grandmother of 45, will present with her daughter, Elizabeth Schlueter, mother of 9 and grandmother to 1. They will share their personal experiences of and insights into nurturing a rich Catholic family life, demonstrating how the intentional "pre-suasion" and informal teaching in the home nurtures the habits of mind, will, and body needed to educate the whole person. They will provide practical advice for shaping an atmosphere that fosters the moral and intellectual development of children, ensuring that the lessons of formal schooling take root for a lifetime.
On the Grounds of the Lyceum
The ancient lyceum housed many functions, including worship, study, philosophical debate, physical exercise and contest. How can our modern classical schools aspire to be not merely centers of study, but of liturgy, civics, and leisure in teaching to the whole person? And how would this broader role draw our students into a deeper relationship with Our Lord first and foremost, and then with teachers, fellow students, and their own families and communities?
Fr. Ambrose Christe, a Nobertine father of the Corpus Christi Priory and Evermode Institute of Springfield, IL, will guide educators in how to transform the hearts of their students through a greater attention to education's environment, activities, and relationships. He will discuss how we can direct our students' affections to what is good and true through some of these tangible and intangible aspects of their learning experience.
Immersion Sessions
These sessions will allow participants to experience firsthand the beauty and wisdom of a Catholic classical education within a classroom setting. Led by educators from local Catholic Classical institutions—including Chesterton Academy of St. Louis, St. John Paul II Preparatory School, The Saint Austin School, The Augustine Institute, and others—these immersive experiences will offer both inspiration and practical application of the principles and methods discussed in our symposium.
