Course: Salvation History          
Instructor: James J. Bitting Jr.
Contact: BittingJames@bcchs.org 

           This course on Salvation History is designed to help the student come to understand the overall story or ”big picture” of salvation history as communicated through the Word of God.  By the end of the course the student will have a solid foundation for any future Scripture study.  The Goal of the course in essence is twofold; That the student, through study of primarily Old Testament texts, will come to a deeper understanding of God and His relationship with the people He created and that they receive the invitation from God, through His Word to embrace the Christian life for themselves.

READINGS, TESTS, QUIZZES, HOMEWORK, GRADES

READINGS

–The Bible - Students will be required to read sections of the Bible regularly.  It is necessary to own a Catholic Bible (NAB or RSV will be fine).  Instructions will be given on how to find and use the Bible online as well. www.usccb.org    

Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation [Documents of Vatican II] aka
Dei Verbum (means the Word of God in Latin) is a document of the Church which explains how God has revealed Himself.  We will be going over this document in class.

Understanding the Scriptures [high school textbook] Midwest Theological Forum’s Didache Series

Selected passages from the following works will be addressed in class as well:
–Catechism of the Catholic Church
-Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed
–The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
–You Can Understand the Bible by Peter Kreeft
–A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn
–Making Senses Out of Scripture by Mark P. Shea

*Other works may be selected by the teacher as needed

Tests & Quizzes

–Will count for a large portion of your grade.
–Quizzes will be given occasionally on the assigned readings and/or material gone over in class.
–Tests will be given after each section and will include questions on material covered in class and readings assigned for homework. Tests may include material from previous tests or quizzes.

Homework

–Is expected to be completed by the student before the deadline given by the teacher. (Each individual student is expected to do his/her own homework unless a group homework assignment is given).
–Written homework assignments will be collected and graded.
–Failure to do a homework assignment will result in poor quiz and test grades.

-Missed assignments
–You are responsible  – I will Not hunt you down

GRADING

Grades are made up of tests, quizzes, classwork and homework.  *behavior will influence your grade.
**90% of Semester Grades will be made up of tests, quizzes, classwork, & homework.
**10% of Semester Grades will be made up of the Semester Exam.
For example:  at the end of the first quarter you have taken three tests worth 30 points each, five quizzes worth 10 points each, and done 5 written homework assignments worth 5 points each.  So if you earned 145 out of 165 possible points, your progress report for the quarter would read 88%.  If you earn the same for both quarters you would have 290/330 = 88%.  At the end of the semester 90% of your semester grade would be 88%. 

***DRT Exams will be given December 16th – If a student fails the DRT summer remediation will be required.

****Stewardship Hours – Freshman are required to complete 10 Stewardship hours with their Family.  Failure to complete the Stewardship requirement will result in a Failure for the course.  See website for details.

Course: New Testament          Instructor: James J. Bitting Jr.
Contact: BittingJames@bcchs.org 

           This course serves as an introduction to the New Testament at the high school level. Students will come to a deeper understanding of the relationship between the Old Testament and the New. The words and deeds of Jesus Christ as conveyed through the four gospels will have preeminence in the course. Students will also be introduced to the birth and initial expansion of the Church in the Acts of the Apostles, the catholic letters and epistles, as well as the book of Revelation. Principles of biblical study will be addressed throughout the course.

READINGS, TESTS, QUIZZES, HOMEWORK, GRADES
READINGS
–The Bible - Students will be required to read sections of the Bible regularly.  It is necessary to own a Catholic Bible (NAB or RSV-CE will be fine).  Instructions will be given on how to find and use the Bible online as well. www.usccb.org    
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation [Documents of Vatican II] aka
Dei Verbum (means the Word of God in Latin) is a document of the Church which explains how God has revealed Himself.  We will be going over this document in class.
Understanding the Scriptures [high school textbook] Midwest Theological Forum’s Didache Series
In addition to the texts mentioned above selected passages from the following works may be addressed in class as well:
–Catechism of the Catholic Church
-Theology and Sanity by Frank Sheed
–A Biblical Walk Through the Mass by Edward Sri
–You Can Understand the Bible by Peter Kreeft
–A Father Who Keeps His Promises by Scott Hahn
–Making Senses Out of Scripture by Mark P. Shea
*Other works may be selected by the teacher as needed
Tests & Quizzes
–Will count for a large portion of your grade.
–Quizzes will be given occasionally on the assigned readings and/or material gone over in class.
–Tests will be given after each section and will include questions on material covered in class and readings assigned for homework. Tests may include material from previous tests or quizzes.
Homework
–Is expected to be completed by the student before the deadline given by the teacher. (Each individual student is expected to do his/her own homework unless a group homework assignment is given).
–Written homework assignments will be collected and graded.
–Failure to do a homework assignment will result in poor quiz and test grades.
-Missed assignments
–You are responsible  – I will Not hunt you down
GRADING
Grades are made up of tests, quizzes, classwork and homework.  *behavior will influence your grade.
**90% of Semester Grades will be made up of tests, quizzes, classwork, & homework.
**10% of Semester Grades will be made up of the Semester Exam.
For example:  at the end of the first quarter you have taken three tests worth 30 points each, five quizzes worth 10 points each, and done 5 written homework assignments worth 5 points each.  So if you earned 145 out of 165 possible points, your progress report for the quarter would read 88%.  If you earn the same for both quarters you would have 290/330 = 88%.  At the end of the semester 90% of your semester grade would be 88%. 
***DRT Exams will be given December 14th – If a student fails the DRT summer remediation will be required.
****Stewardship Hours – Sophomores are required to complete 15 Stewardship hours with their parish.  These hours are due towards the end of the semester in which they are taking the Christian Morality course. Failure to complete the Stewardship requirement will result in a Failure for the course.  See website for details.
*Honors 
In addition to the course description above honors courses seek to increase the level of information shared and the depth of understanding of the Church’s teachings through intensified lectures, the addition of supplemental readings, higher expectations for classroom participation and classroom discussion. In order to be accepted into an honors course students must achieve an A or B and “meets standards” on their DRT in both courses of their previous school year. This is verified by signatures obtained from both religion teachers of the previous year.