ABOUT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
National Association of Catholic Schools (NACS) encompasses Catholic schools as well as those technological, comprehensive and preschool educational organizations of Catholic profile working in territory of Lithuania Republic.
The school is considered Catholic when it has the acceptance of the competent Church authority according to the canons of the Church Law. The school of Catholic profile is the one which accords high priority to the values of Catholic faith, reflected in the school regulations and implemented by the help of educational programs. NACS regulations, 1.2
- HISTORY
- MISSION
- GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
- COLLOBORATERS
- MEMBERS
- PROJECTS FOR EDUCATORS: Conferences, “AFFIRMS”, “A Development Program for Catholic Schools”, “The development of critical thinking”, A.P.P.L.E. courses, Retreats, Seminars for the leaders and the leading staff of the Catholic Schools
- PROJECTS FOR STUDENTS: Teenagers Encounter Christ (TEC), Little theatre days, Global Outreach, Kairos
HISTORY
- After the declaration of Independence in 1990, the first Catholic school – Bishop Vincentas Borisevičius’ Secondary School - was established in Telšiai. In 2002 it was granted the status of gymnasium.
- In 1991 there appeared more Catholic schools in Lithuania. They joined to the Union of Catholic Schools.
- In 1995 the Lithuanian Association of Catholic Schools Educators was officially reiterated.
- From 1996 the Association became the member of the European Committee of Catholic Education (CEEC).
- The Association used to organize conferences. In the period 1994-2004 the following conferences were organized:
– 1994 in Kaunas,
– 1996 in Kaunas,
– 1999 in Panevėžys,
– 2002 in Utena,
– 2003 in Alytus,
– 2004 in Kaunas. - In 2004 the status of Lithuanian Association of Catholic Schools Educators was changed to the National Association of Catholic Schools (NACS).
- In 2005 the Association helps to prepare rules common to all Catholic schools.
OUR MISSION
The mission of NACS is to consolidate all Catholic Schools n Lithuania and help them to convey the Church assignment to their mission.
OUR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
- To unify the members of the Catholic schools communities, to support their professional and spiritual development;
- To generalize and spread working experience of Catholic schools;
- To represent the interests of Catholic schools in the State institutions and others organizations;
- To make, to publish and to spread documents, which regalement educational, methodological, scientific and other activities of Catholic Schools;
- To organize scientific and practical conferences, seminars and other methodical events;
- To promote collaboration between different state and foreign educational institutions as well as among educators themselves;
- To consult the members of the Association and privies.
THE ASSOCIATION COLLOBORATES WITH:
- European Committee of Catholic Education (CEEC) – programs, conferences; www.ceec-edu.org
- Craighead Institute (Scotland) – courses for Catholic Schools’ principals and educators; www.craighead.org.uk
- St. Andrew's College (Scotland) – courses for Catholic Schools’ principals and educators.
- Global Outreach (USA) – students exchange program with USA Catholic Schools; www.globaloutreachprogram.com
- Lithuanian Catholic Religious Aid (USA) – financial support for educational activities.
- Communicantes – financial support for educational activities, staff wages and office expenses.
- Centrum Arrupe (Poland) – courses for educators; www.jezuici.pl/arrupe/ocentrum.htm
- The Institute of Life and Faith (Lithuania) – courses and spiritual programs for adults; www.jesuit.lt/gti
OUR MEMBERS
From 1995 the Association consolidates 30 organizations dealing with Catholic education. These institutions unite over 11, 500 pupils and more then a thousand educators.
OUR PROJECTS FOR EDUCATORS
Conferences
The Association organizes Annual Conferences of Members. The conferences focus on the issues of Catholic Schools, the presentation of annual reports and future plans.
The Association organizes Annual Conferences of Members. The conferences focus on the issues of Catholic Schools, the presentation of annual reports and future plans.“AFFIRMS”
This program is based on the model of the program for Catholic Schools created by Craighead Institute in Scotland. The program consists of 6 Reflection Exercises and/or 6 Faith Sharing Sessions. Their length varies from 80-120 minutes to 1-2 days. The authors of the program suggest to hold 1-2 Reflection Exercises and/or 1-2 Faith Sharing Sessions in one school during the academic year. So, the program is carried out within a period of at least 3 years in one school.
The aims of the program:
- to create an opportunity for the Catholic school community to take quality time for its staff
- to encourage the personal development of staff members as individuals and as a community
- to raise and reflect upon issues which are important to the Catholic school, in a structured and non-threatening atmosphere
- to encourage more personal reflection
This program is open to all members of the school, regardless their belief and practice.
“A Development Program for Catholic Schools”
“Faith and learning” program is developed by Catholic Education Commission, Scotland. There are 6 modules for Catholic School self-evaluation in this program. There is also a suggestion to implement not more than 2 modules each school year. The program would last at least for 3 years in one Catholic School.
The aims of the program:
- affirm the principles upon which Catholic schools are founded;
- assist the Catholic community to a clearer understanding of the purpose of the Catholic school and its distinctive character among other educational establishments;
- provide a forum wherein the Catholic aspects of the school may be discussed, evaluated and developed;
- assist Catholic schools to analyze realistically their present situation and provide guidelines for planning improvement;
- to propose practices and activities which could enhance the Catholic identity of the school;
- help senior management and School Boards understand the uniqueness of their educational responsibilities in the Catholic school.
“The development of critical thinking”
This program, prepared by Lithuanian Center of Modern Didactics, is meant to develop the pupils’ critical thinking skills. It is a series of workshops, presenting at large the notion of critical thinking, the methodologies that encourage pupils’ critical thought in different subjects. Moreover, it presents and analyses different teaching/learning strategies and schemes. The cycle consists of three workshops.
A.P.P.L.E. courses
Every year the Association is collaborating with the TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTER (www.pprc.lt) and organize A.P.P.L.E. (American Professional Partnership for Lithuanian Education) courses for the educators of Catholic Schools. Each year the topics are chosen according to the actual needs of the educators.
Retreats
Retreat is the time to calm down and to run away from the daily routine. It is the time to look inside ourselves and our relationship with others in the presence of God. Above all, it is an invitation to restore our relationship with God.
The Association organizes retreats for the principals and educators of Catholic Schools. Besides, it collaborates with the Institute of Life and Faith inviting educators to the organized retreats.
Seminars for the leaders and the leading staff of the Catholic Schools
The seminars help to take a deeper look into the Catholic dimension of education, to get information about Catholic school managing and planning, to consider nowaday challenges to Catholic education.
The seminars are lead by Professor Bart McGettrick, University of Glasgow (Scotland).
OUR PROJECTS FOR STUDENTS
Teenagers Encounter Christ (TEC)
It is a three-day program for senior pupils in schools. Youths are on the crossroad of values and this situation makes them to be open to the Gospel.
Is a national/international retreat movement, which offers youths an opportunity to experience the basic message of the Roman Catholic expression of faith, the Paschal Mystery of Christ, while entering young adulthood.
An integral part of the Church youth ministry, TEC seeks to empower youth to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today. All ministries with adolescents must be directed towards the presentation of the Good News of Jesus Christ, as well as invitation and challenge to become His disciples.
The ministry of TEC recognizes the power of the intergenerational faith community in sharing faith with adolescents. Faith-filled, caring adults who act as mentors and witnesses throughout the TEC experience support young people. Through TEC, youth experience a greater desire to belong and participate in the Church.
Building the community is one of the essential parts of the TEC weekend. This helps the students coming from different Catholic schools to experience a “new beginning” within a different environment.
TEC:
- helps to meet Jesus in daily life and make Him the center of all our goals and desires;
- helps to join the daily liturgy of the Church;
- helps students to transform their prayer experience into action.
More about TEC - www.tecconference.org
"Little theatre days"
Since 1997 annually the Association helps Kaunas Jesuit gymnasium to organize Little theatre days. This is a very important festival not only for the students of Catholic schools. Each year more and more students from different schools take part in the festival. That initiates friendship and collaboration among schools. Every year the festival has a different theme.
“Little theatre days” aims at:
- motivating pupils’ creative work development;
- sharing school theatre experience;
- developing interest in theatre and culture events;
- encouraging to discover and develop creative possibilities,
- looking for new and interesting forms of Catholic theatre.
Global Outreach
Global Outreach is committed to the building of a civilization of love in Central/Eastern Europe as well as in the United States through the formation of young Catholic leaders who are committed to rebuilding the Church.
Global Outreach achieves its mission by means of Catholic student exchanges between high schools and other Church organizations in the United States and Central/Eastern Europe.
In addition to the values of cultural sharing and personal growth, Global Outreach encourages students to grow in their Christian faith and servant leadership abilities with a commitment to the vision of building a civilization of love. The program supports the students in their efforts to grow as persons, becoming healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous and more likely to become servants, especially of those who are least privileged in society.
Global Outreach also seeks to promote links between Catholic leaders and institutions in Central/Eastern Europe and the United States, helping them to grow in their efforts to build a civilization of love through the renewal of the Catholic Church and its commitment to the new evangelization.
National Association of Catholic Schools is responsible for this program in Lithuania. Our duties are the following: to advertise this program, to make competitions and selections of students who want to participate in this program for one year. Since 1999, 25 students from Lithuanian Catholic Schools were studying in USA.
More about this program – http://www.globaloutreachprogram.com
KAIROS
Kairos is the Greek word to denote the Lord's Time. This retreat is an opportunity for pupils to explore their relationship with themselves, their community and God.
The key themes of this retreat are the following:
- knowing oneself,
- discovering Jesus in a personal way,
- recognizing and responding to Jesus' call,
- living the message of Christ.
Student leaders offer presentations on faith, spirituality, and self-reflection.
Retreatants are invited to reflect on their own faith journey and begin to deepen their spiritual lives. Conversation, prayer, social activities, and community reflection allow for a powerful and enriching retreat experience. The intention of the retreat is to gather a diversity of students to share their stories and listen to the stories of others with the goal of seeking the presence of God in all things.
There are many spiritual values that naturally flow from the experience of Kairos. Each retreatant learns that he is loved, lovable, and loving. The retreatant comes to see Jesus in a new light, as a real friend, loving and calling him. Each retreatant is challenged to grow in relationships at home, and to deal with personal problems, and as a result, often seeks more caring friendships.
Building of community is also important part in retreat. Therefore students for this retreat are coming from different schools.
Kairos helps:
- to know each other and step by step to create community;
- to meet Jesus in daily life and personally answer to His call;
- to transform prayer experience into action and working experience into prayer.
The motto, “Love is shown in deeds more than words” is a Kairos theme.
