St. Timothy's Classical Academy

A Letter from the Community of

ST. TIMOTHY’S

Leading Students to Reverence Truth, Desire Goodness, and Rejoice in Beauty

Spring 2007

Staff at St. Timothy’s Rachel Bloomquist Head Teacher, Grades 2-5 Michelle McKernan Teacher, SK, Grade 1 Karen Young Teacher, Math and Music Helen Stathopoulos Teacher, French

Board of Directors Tim Kennedy, Chairman Dale Edmonds-Mutcher, ViceChairman and Treasurer Alan Kelm, Secretary David Sigston

Board of Advisers Margaret John, elementary education James F. Kennedy, lawyer Dominic Manganiello, Professor, University of Ottawa and Augustine College John Patrick, President, Augustine College Sally Patrick, non-profit sector David Stewart, Professor Augustine College Rev. Dr. Gregory Bloomquist, St. Paul’s University The Very Rev’d Ghattas Hajal, St. Elias Antiochian Orthodox Church Rev. Dr. Hing Wong, Ottawa Chinese Alliance Church

Contact Information St. Timothy’s Classical Academy c/o 350 Avondale Avenue Ottawa, Ontario K2A 0R5 School Telephone: 794-1750 www.st-timothys.ca

controlling elites of our society use the term “multiculturalism” as a battering ram to impose a controlling relativism and uniformity on its people that, ironically, eschews true diBy Tim Kennedy versity of belief and opinion. Several Parent and Chairman of the Board years ago, a former Prime Minister disallowed any religious person from speaking prayers at a national ne of the gifts of living in mourning service; likewise many of Canada is the great diversity our parents experienced in public of people that mingle together. It is schools a depressing imposition of remarkable that so many who are so expected behaviour at their schools, different, in a world and history where where true difference in belief (not the norm is war and chaos, can live just “opinion”) was not welcome. in relative peace. What, then, is the proper framework Such diversity is a great challenge in within which real differences amongst education. Public education, rooted people can coexist? True pluralism in the philosophy of John Dewey, can only be found when there is a expunged God from the classroom. reassertion of the principles and Yet faith in God was central to west- sources from which our own society ern history thus the teaching and has grown. Western history needs to value of history was strongly devalbe rehabilitated, together with a recued. ognition of the God who sits at the centre of this history. The Canadian The growing pluralism of Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor, just society, together with a naturalism introduced largely from the Darwinian awarded the prestigious Templeton prize for progress in science and retheory of evolution (where human ligion, has eloquently argued in many history was only the result of biochemical impulse), further weakened of his books how the key elements of the teaching in schools of history and our society make little sense without the personal and civilizational aspira- understanding their Christian influtions it embodied. Without the story ences. The Czech playwright and former President Vaclav Havel freof faith, God and providence, the West was only another story; all val- quently said that the survival of westues and traditions became “relative,” ern democracies is dependent on reclaiming the “transcendent” foundaall gods or atheisms granted equal tion and inspiration of our societies. value.

Diversity, Unity and Renewal

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While the aggressive atheism of Dewey and certain interpretations of evolution are to be rejected on first principles by Christians, living in a society of different races and people has many characteristics to be celebrated, within the proper framework of understanding. The prevailing framework at the present time is aggressively secular and generally atheistic, and a large portion of the

St. Timothy’s was founded on the belief that Christians from various backgrounds could and should dwell and learn together. This is not a soft ecumenism that falsely proclaims unity when there is none on many key issues, but rather a shared deep commitment of core doctrinal beliefs and moral interests, all despite important differences. (Continued on page 2 … Diversity)

St. Thomas Aquinas’ Prayer for Guidance O creator past all telling, you have appointed from the treasures of your wisdom the hierarchies of angels, disposing them in wondrous order above the bright heavens, and have so beautifully set out all parts of the universe. You we call the true fount of wisdom and the noble origin of all things. Be pleased to shed on the darkness of mind in which I was born, The two fold beam of your light and warmth to dispel my ignorance and sin. You make eloquent the tongues of children. Then instruct my speech and touch my lips with graciousness. Make me keen to understand, quick to learn, able to remember; make me delicate to interpret and ready to speak. Guide my going in and going forward, lead home my going forth. You are true God and true man, and live for ever and ever. --St Thomas Aquinas, 1225-74

(Diversity … Continued from page 1)

understood and explored.

A central part of what we do at St. Timothy’s is to reclaim God at the centre of history and to learn to speak this language to the world in which we live. We are not interested in reclaiming a Christian theocratic political regime, where Christianity “A central part of what once again becomes the state religwe do at St. Timothy’s ion as in the days of Constantine; history has demonstrated that religis to reclaim God at the ions too close to Caesar sell their centre of history and souls as well to Caesar. Rather, it is to learn to speak this a move towards reclaiming our identilanguage to the world ties as Christians in a deep and unin which we live. ” apologetic way. It is learning once again, as parents and students, to speak eloquently about our faith and challenges us. To those who would how this faith has formed the world in criticize the education at St. Timowhich we live. It is to learn again how thy’s as being “overly protective” or “too narrow” we must argue that our to propose, but not impose, the faith of Christ as a free gift to all who are internal confessional diversity is dynamic and causes healthy stretching, willing to receive it, and how this faith has been an essential partner in but we have a shared central core that is the essence of all that we are. forming a civilization that has allowed for such diversity and peace. Our A former public schooling mother in our community said that in our school small “experiment” of diversity within unity we pray may be leaven to the she is able to be different, unlike in her previous experience. She knows culture and land in which we live; a that there is a core commitment that gift not just to our children and each allows for a place of safety, and from other, but to the world in which we this place diversity can be truly lived, live. With already over ten denominations represented at our school, from Eastern Orthodox to Catholic to Reformed, the diversity of the Christian community found at St. Timothy’s

Peter Kreeft Speaks at the Weston Lecture the inter-relationship between education and faith. Scripture, for example, doesn’t teach 3 times 5. Nor does reason teach grace. Each, however, t. Timothy’s was privileged to partner with Augustine College touches such topics as truth, apologetics, and the natural world. They for their Weston Lecture series this year. Those who attended Dr. Peter cannot be independent of one anKreeft’s lectures were certainly given other, so they must be complementary. enough material to mull over for a good many days to come. After FriThe second session, “Faith Seeking day’s standing-room-only meeting on Understanding,” showed that we are the topic of the Meaning of Life, from all philosophers of varying levels of both Christian and Muslim perspecability. Philosophy’s merits included tives, Dr. Kreeft turned his attention to the significance of the contemplative the topic of Education within the life, reason as a guard against error, Christian perspective on Saturday. and the blunt fact that only philosophy and theology remain relevant at the The first session, “What is Christian deathbed. Education?” was designed to clarify By Wes Walker

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some misconceptions. Christian was defined by its original creed, “Jesus is Lord.” Education was explained as drawing someone out of ignorance, not the simple transmission of data. Some time was then taken to show

The final session, “”Surviving University” covered five dangers we face in university and society as a whole. Notably, the greatest threat to each (Continued on page 3 … Kreeft)

Peter Kreeft Continued ... sanctity. To save common sense, talk to your grandmother. To save comes from those who ought to demetaphysical sanity, centre yourself fend the faith, not from the open an- in Logos, or, in Paul’s words, “take tagonists. At risk are Faith, Reason, every thought captive to Christ.” Innocence, Common Sense, and Finally, Kreeft reminded us to be Metaphysical Sanity. The correcomforted as character grows by sponding threats are theologians, testing. All authority belongs to Jescient-ism (dogmas dressed as scisus Christ, so Christians should not entific learning), “ethics” teachers, simply survive but rather be bold in pragmatic “realism”, and various ide- our faith and we should not be afraid ologies. Kreeft’s solutions were help- to be fanatical about the Good, the ful: to defend faith, value fidelity True, or the Beautiful. (“Amen!” said above assent to beliefs, and pray. To the St. Timothy’s crowd!) save reason, apply the law of noncontradiction, read C.S. Lewis’s Mira- Just in case we have piqued your interest, Peter Kreeft’s website is: www.peter cles, and be mentored by thinkers kreeft.com. You can check Augustine Collike Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, lege’s website for information on next year’s Augustine, and Aquinas. To save Weston Lecture (which is always in early innocence, bring back the category of spring): www.augustinecollege.org. (Kreeft … Continued from page 2)

Memory Work A Spring Sampling Notre Père Notre Père qui es aux cieux, Que ton Nom soit sanctifié, Que ton règne vienne, Que ta volonté soit faite Sur la terre comme au ciel. Donne-nous aujourd’hui notre pain de ce jour. Pardonne-nous nos offenses, Comme nous pardonnons aussi à ceux qui nous ont offensés. Et ne nous soumets pas à la tentation, Mais délivre-nous du mal.

Venite Psalm 95 O come, let us sing unto the Lord : let us heartily rejoice in the strength of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving : and shew ourselves glad in him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God : and a great King above all gods. In his hand are all the corners of the earth : and the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it : and his hands prepared the dry land. O come, let us worship, and fall down : and kneel before the Lord our Maker. For he is the Lord our God : and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

The Third Year Draws to a Close

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s our third year of operation draws to a close one can almost hear the sigh of relief from our teachers, Board members, and parents; we have almost made it through another year. God be honoured for this and God alone (as we are all, by now, well aware that left to our own devices we would long ago have been driven out of existence). Happily, of our grown-up struggles our children are blissfully ignorant; all is

as it should be as the year draws to a close and summer looms large! And, despite many differences of opinions and longings for more of this, that, or the other, we, the adult school community, are content with the plodding onward that this next stage of our little school’s existence now requires of us. We continue to marvel at our good teachers and applaud their commitment to their students and this wild but inspiring idea of classical schooling.

Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts : as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness; When your fathers tempted me : proved me, and saw my works. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said : It is a people that do err in their hearts, for they have not known my ways. Unto whom I sware in my wrath : that they should not enter into my rest.

The Reader’s Nook scribe [the Christian] foundations, to say who we are and how we got here. Are we There Yet? A Journey Around The Cosmos and the Creator That is, to establish our real roots. It By Ross Hughes Australia has been a long journey, 2000 years, This book introduces the reader to By Alison Lester and neither it nor we have been unidifferent cosmological models and This is a humourous and informative read about a great continent with inter- explains (in a language easy to follow) formly benevolent. But this is our past, this is our family, and knowing why most astronomers acknowledge esting pictures. My children love it. who it is and what it has done is the the existence of God. Hughes also The Bravest Dog Ever: The True shows that this God is the God of the first step in finding our way home.” – Story of Balto Ted Byfield Bible. My favourite quote is taken By Natalie Standiford from God and Astronomers by Robert This is a very readable and very interThis is a good reader for grades 1-2 Jastrow (an agnostic astrophysicist): esting historical read. with a good story that is not too young for its intended audience. "For the scientist who has lived by his For The Surfer In You faith in the power of reason, the story Rowan of Rin ends like a bad dream. He has scaled www.reasons.org By Emily Rodda "Founded in 1986, Reasons To Bethe mountains of ignorance; he is Adventure/Fantasy (Ages 7 and up) about to conquer the highest peak; as lieve is an international, interdenomiThis is a story with a great plot. There he pulls himself over the final rock, he national ministry established to comis lots of good word play; children will municate the uniquely factual basis for is greeted by a band of theologians have fun reading it. It is particularly who have been sitting there for centu- belief in the Bible as the error-free suited to boys as it involves creepy Word of God and for personal faith in ries." spiders and other characteristics with Jesus Christ as Creator and Savior.” boy appeal. Billions of Missing Links http://ashbrook.org/publicat/guest/07/ By Geoffrey Simmons The True Confessions of Charlotte “From the blue whale to the virus, from pitrone/reading.html Doyle the macro to the micro, current scien- This site will lead you to a good (if By Avi somewhat overly rosy – for those of us tific evidence reveals Darwinism’s Adventure (about a girl but boys might most fatal flaw – the billions of missing who have been there) comment on the like it too) value of reading aloud to your chillinks in the story of chance developThis is the story of a girl who becomes ment of life.” This book is full of fasci- dren. a member of a sailing crew. Set in the nating tidbits of information – the miss- www.marriageinstitute.ca 1800s, this is a high-seas adventure. ing links - about this incredible world. One of the best sites for contemporary It is a lovely read-aloud for older kids – Canadian debates on marriage. Arabel’s Raven though somewhat addictive. By Joan Aiken www.thechristians.ca Silly British humour about a naughty The Veil is Torn, AD 30 to AD 70, We are so glad we are not alone in Raven called Mortimer who is loved by Pentecost to the Destruction of Jeruour efforts to create a better undera little girl called Arabel and all the salem, the first volume of the series: standing of our foundations. Others trouble in which he involves his The Christians, Their First Two Thou- are providing excellent materials for us adopted family. These are great readsand Years to use. Any one who would like to aloud stories for various aged children Edited by Ted Byfield donate one of these volumes to our (and adults). There are several books “The purpose of this series is to deschool would be more than welcome! about Mortimer and Arabel. Children’s Books

Adult Books

Please Pray for Our School The Lord Jesus Christ will always be the light for our school Thanksgiving for new families that have joined St. Timothy’s this year and for those joining in September The search for a Principal The search for an Administrator Our teachers - Rachel, Michelle, Karen, Helen, and Libby Our students Our Board - for God’s wisdom as they plan for next year Our wider school community

St. Timothy’s Notice Board We will be running our second skip-athon in aid of two orphanages in Southern Malawi. Last year we managed to raise $700 and have high hopes for this year! Please contact a student at St. Timothy’s if you want to support this cause. Our Annual General Meeting will be held on May 24th at Bromley Road Baptist Church in the Fellowship room from 7:00 - 9:30.