Faithful Stewardship: A Christian Guide to Personal Finance and Investments
Required Materials:
Books and supplies are not included in the purchase of the course.
- The Richest Man in Babylon
- Whatever Happened to Penny Candy?
Peter Belfry
[email protected]Peter Belfry has a range of teaching and tutoring experience in a variety of subjects and age levels from kindergarten through to adult education at the college level and has taught at several classical, Christian and public schools. He has enjoyed having the experience of teaching Programming and Logic classes to students, which ties well to his background in philosophy and computer science. In addition to serving as an instructor with Schole, Peter serves as a professor of Computer Science and Video Game Development with Canadore College, teaching courses on Operating Systems and programming languages such as Windows, Linux, HTML, CSS, C++, C#, and Visual Basic as well as Artificial Intelligence, Object Oriented Programming, Mathematics, Business and Workplace Skills. Peter holds an Honors BA from Trent University in History as well as a BA in Education, specializing in History and Computer Science. He holds an MA from Knox Theological Seminary in Classical and Christian studies, which provides him a background for teaching from a classical perspective. For his MA program, he read and reflected on many of the Great Books as well as studied Scripture and church history. Peter has completed a week-long teacher training with the Association of Classical Christian Schools and Rockbridge Academy. His favorite piece of classical literature is Dante’s The Divine Comedy.
In addition to teaching, Peter also has experience serving in a pastoral role and enjoys volunteering to serve in his local church and community. He helps in evangelistic outreach as well as teaching lessons from the Bible. Peter has experience and training as an English as a Second Language instructor as well. He has experience teaching both online and in person. He believes in Scholé’s approach in seeking “restful learning” and believes that education should be life-giving and freeing for the soul as it should acknowledge the Lord Jesus as the source of all that is true, good and beautiful. Peter lives in the North Bay, Ontario area with his wife, twin boys, and baby girl.
Peter has explored the subject of finances through reading and personal application, learning to make sound financial decisions in his own life. His passion for financial stewardship, combined with his teaching experience in business, careers and mathematics, equips him to guide students in developing practical financial wisdom. He cares deeply about helping others grow in their understanding of stewardship and responsible money management.
Peter teaches the following classes: The Art of Argument: An Introduction to the Informal Fallacies, Formal Logic: The Discovery of Deduction, The Logic of Computer Programming, The Art of Computer Programming, and Faithful Stewardship: A Christian Guide to Personal Finance and Investments.
Quarter 1
Biblical Foundations of Finance and Stewardship
- Biblical Stewardship and Economic Principles
- Exploring biblical foundations for managing resources responsibly.
- Work, Saving, and Planning
- Understanding the role of work, saving, and planning in stewardship.
- Introduction to Investing and The Stock Market Game
- Learning investment basics through a hands-on simulation.
- Budgeting and Debt Management
- Building effective budgets and avoiding debt traps.
Quarter 2
Building Financial Skills and Habits
- Saving and Compound Interest
- Growing wealth through saving and compound interest.
- Virtuous Financial Habits
- Practicing generosity, patience, and delayed gratification.
- Refining Budgets and Managing Challenges
- Adjusting budgets to handle financial uncertainties.
- Midpoint Review of The Stock Market Game
- Reflecting on investment strategies and decision-making.
Quarter 3
Investments and Wealth Growth
- Diversification and Investment Options
- Exploring stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, and discussing cryptocurrency.
- Informed Decisions in The Stock Market Game
- Applying investment knowledge ethically in the simulation.
- Long-Term Investment Strategies
- Planning for retirement and generational stewardship.
- Ethical Investments
- Evaluating investments through a Biblical lens.
Quarter 4
Virtuous Habits and Real-World Application
- The Psychology of Money
- Understanding emotions in financial decisions.
- Generosity and Major Life Goals
- Balancing stewardship with life’s financial priorities.
- Comprehensive Financial Plans
- Creating and presenting a holistic financial plan.
- Final Reflections on Stewardship
- Reviewing key lessons and their real-world application.
Computer: You will
need a stable, reliable computer, running with a processor with a speed of 1 GHz or better
on one of the following operating systems: Mac OS X with Mac OS 10.7 or later; Windows 8,
7, Vista (with SP1 or later), or XP (with SP3 or later). We do not recommend using an
iPad or other tablet for joining classes. An inexpensive laptop or netbook would be much
better solutions, as they enable you to plug an Ethernet cable directly into your computer.
Please note that Chromebooks are allowed but not preferred, as they do not support certain
features of the Zoom video conference software such as breakout sessions and annotation,
which may be used by our teachers for class activities.
High-Speed Internet Connection:
You will also need access to high-speed Internet, preferably accessible via Ethernet
cable right into your computer. Using Wi-Fi may work, but will not guarantee you the optimal
use of your bandwidth. The faster your Internet, the better. We recommend using a connection
with a download/upload speed of 5/1 Mbps or better. You can test your Internet connection here.
Webcam: You may
use an external webcam or one that is built in to the computer. Webcam Recommendations:
Good (PC only) | Best (Mac and PC)
Headset: We recommend
using a headset rather than a built-in microphone and speakers. Using a headset reduces the
level of background noise heard by the entire class. Headset Recommendations: USB | 3.5mm
Zoom: We use a web
conferencing software called Zoom for our classes, which enables students and teachers to
gather from around the globe face to face in real time. Zoom is free to download and easy
to use. 
To
download Zoom:
- Visit zoom.us/download.
- Click to download the first option listed, Zoom Client for Meetings.
- Open and run the installer on your computer.
- In August, students will be provided with instructions and a link for joining their particular class.
Scanner: In this
class, students frequently submit homework assignments by scanning pages from their workbooks.
Students and/or their parents should have easy access to a scanner and the ability to use it.
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First, read the available course descriptions, noting prerequisites, target grades, and course objectives. If you think your student is prepared for the course, go ahead and register. After registration, a placement assessment may be provided to students, depending on the course and the student's previous enrollment with Scholé Academy. Registration is finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.
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Our Assistant to the Principal will be in touch with you after your enrollment to help you with next steps, including any placement evaluations that may be required for your course selections.
This registration will be finalized when the student's placement assessment has been returned by the course instructor with placement confirmation.