Catholic Education
Dear Mater Dei Community,
Blessings to you this Lenten season. As we pray and fast for peace in Ukraine and in the world, we are reminded to be grateful for our blessings. In this month’s newsletter, we consider the blessing of Catholic education as we discuss our literature curriculum, our service projects, and our recent open house. Thank you for your prayers and support for the many needs of our world, abroad and at home. May God bless you.
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Ad Jesum Per Mariam
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Day-to-Day at Mater Dei
The past month for freshmen literature students was all about Plato. They read Ion, Meno, Apologia, Crito, and Phaedo, as well as Plato's Allegory of the Cave. The topic of morality was explored through discussion using the Socratic Method.
The sophomores completed their journey with Dante through the Divine Comedy, and now they are beginning to study the Canterbury Tales, with Shakespeare to follow soon after that.
The juniors continue their exploration of a wide variety of Modern Literature. They just finished writing papers on The Great Gatsby and they are now enjoying Aldous Huxley’s dystopian novel “Brave New World”, in which they are recognizing parallels to our current society.
Service Project
In honor of Catholic Schools Week, we assisted two of our fellow Catholic schools with service projects in the first week of February. Some of our students helped Stella Maris Academy with maintenance work at their new high school campus in Duluth. Other students traveled to Queen of Peace Catholic School in Cloquet to present to their middle schoolers about living out their faith as a Catholic in high school. Their testimonies were inspiring. Praise God for the blessing of Catholic education and Catholic schools!
Open House Recap
Prospective students and parents had the opportunity to visit Mater Dei at our recent open house. They were able to tour the facility, meet the instructors, and mingle with other families. One guest at the open house wrote an article for Perfect Duluth Day, reflecting on his experience there. It was a thought-provoking perspective about Catholic culture and the impact on our local community. Most interesting, coming from someone who no longer counts himself as a Catholic. The article is linked below.
Do you know someone who missed the open house? No worries. We put all the information into a video. Please take a look at our “Open House Recap” video and then share it with friends and family. Anyone in grades 9-12 can register at Mater Dei, whether they are currently homeschooled, attend public school, or attend private school. Credits can easily transfer in any instance. We look forward to welcoming many new families for the 2022-23 school year!