OPTION A: WORKSHOP
Sign up to join fellow teachers for a day-long workshop (9am to 3pm) on the campus of John Carroll University. Attend keynote presentation and breakout groups. Network with others. $55 registration fee includes lunch and attendance confirmation.
REGISTER FOR IN-PERSON WORKSHOP
OPTION B: WEBINAR
Sign up to log into any or all of the three Zoom presentations. (9am, 11am, and 1pm), followed by optional break-out rooms. Links to the recorded presentations will be made available after the event. $10 registration fee includes attendance confirmation.
REGISTER FOR ONLINE WEBINAR
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Truly Happy
The Catholic Life of the Beatitudes
Dr. William C. Mattison, III
UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME
What does it mean to be truly happy? Prominent in Scripture, Jesus' beatitudes are rarely seen as providing an answer to this question—despite the fact that stalwarts of the tradition such as St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas viewed them in exactly this way. Our keynote presentation reframes the beatitudes to answer this perennial question, and offers guidance as to how they might be deployed practically in a Catholic school setting.
Dr. Bill Mattison is the Wilsey Family College Professor of Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He also serves as the Faculty Director of the Moreau Program, and was recently appointed the Chair of Notre Dame's Theology Department. His research and teaching focus on virtue, with expertise in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. He has authored or edited twelve books, including the recent Growing in Virtue: Aquinas on Habit (Georgetown, 2023) and the more popular Follow Me: Encountering Jesus in the Gospels (Emmaus Road, 2023), as well as the widely used textbook Introducing Moral Theology: True Happiness and the Virtues (Brazos, 2008). He and his wife Courtney have two sons, Billy, and Jack.
BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Right to Life as a Way of Life
Beyond Political Polarization in the Classroom
In an age when nearly every social issue is filtered through a red-or-blue political lens, Catholic educators are challenged to help students think with the Church rather than through partisan frameworks. This session will explore how the Church's consistent ethic of human life and dignity offers a compelling and hopeful way of life rooted in Catholic Social Teaching, accompaniment, and encounter. Participants will examine practical strategies for fostering meaningful dialogue, addressing contentious issues, and helping students connect faith, service, and moral formation in the classroom.
Tony Dipre serves as Director of the Office for Human Life for the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. Prior to joining the Diocese, he taught theology for twelve years at Walsh Jesuit High School, where he specialized in Catholic Social Teaching and Catholic Morality & Ethics. He is passionate about helping young people and educators encounter the Church's vision of human dignity as a transformative way of life.
Universal Joys
Happiness and Hope in Hinduism
So many people today find life empty, lacking in meaning or purpose. It can be a challenge to help our students look ahead with hope. The spiritual traditions of the East face this emptiness--this sense of lack--head on, offering insights that can serve people of all faiths. Drawing perennial wisdom out of a particular tradition, this highly accessible session introduces the basic literature, tenets, and teachings of Hinduism through an exploration of the four universal keys to a joyful life.
Laura Atmadarshan Santoro is an internationally recognized author and teacher, specializing in both theoretical and applied Eastern philosophy. Trained in India, Atmadarshan is a Certified Yoga Therapist, Senior Instructor for the Yoga Academy of North America, translator of the Bhagavad Gita, and an Aikido black belt. A student of JCU’s M.A. program in Theology & Religious Studies, she was recently hired as Staff Chaplain at the Cleveland Clinic.
Living the Mission
Bringing Our Guiding Principles to Life
What happens when a school’s belief statements become more than words on a page? At The Welsh Academy at Saint Ignatius High School, Encounter, Care, Deeper Teaching, and Deeper Learning have become a way of naming who we are and how we live our mission. Rooted in the Ignatian tradition, these principles shape our relationships, our classrooms, our decisions, and our understanding of what it means to accompany young people. In this session, we will discuss how such documents support the formation of stronger classroom and school cultures.
Mary Ann Vogel, Ed.D., is a lifelong Clevelander with over 30 years of experience as a teacher, educational leader, and innovator in schools across Northeast Ohio. Mary Ann has had the unique honor of being called twice to become the founding principal of schools in Cleveland. She first led Saint Martin de Porres High School and currently serves as the principal The Welsh Academy at Saint Ignatius High School.
