Trinity faculty selected as the only school in Illinois for the University of Notre Dame Seminar
Trinity was the only school in Illinois and one of 20 schools in the country chosen by the University of Notre Dame to participate in a seminar that encourages 'dialogue between science and religion in Catholic education.
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Members of Trinity High School's faculty have been selected to receive specialized professional development training at the annual Science and Religion Seminar presented by the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life, which will equip educators with “teaching methods that enhance the dialogue between science and religion in Catholic education, challenging the notion that the two disciplines are in conflict.” Team members Kara McBride, Tim Foley, and Dr. Roz Iasillo, Chairperson of Trinity’s Science Department, will receive the 60-hour training in-person at Notre Dame July 11-16, 2021, and Mary Panik will join via video conference.
The award-winning all-girls Catholic high school in River Forest was chosen from over 90 applicants from around the U.S. to participate in the seminar and is the only school from Illinois to be awarded an invitation. Last year, faculty at Trinity, worked together on the seminar application in hopes of securing a top spot — a goal that will now come to fruition in the summer of 2021.
Both science and religious studies educators will attend the conference, with science teacher curriculum focusing on “how to engage the Catholic vision of creation and the human person while upholding the integrity and value of independent scientific investigation,” while religious teachers will “explore how science informs and enhances their appreciation of God's creation and action.” Overall, all seminar attendees will leave with a “deeper understanding of the task of Catholic education” — with particular emphasis on integrating culture, faith, and “all the different aspects of human knowledge...in the light of the Gospel.”
