A Global Partnership Initiative of the Jesuit Schools Network |
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Dear Global Companions:
Happy New Year! Welcome to the ever-changing rhythm of the second semester of this unprecedented school year. With many lessons learned in fall, we look to the months ahead with new eyes and aim to share the fruits of your hard work in this issue. Read on to see how your colleagues from around the Jesuit Schools Network are leaning into the realities of our life in Jesuit education today -- inviting virtual speakers, continuing to develop international relationships, re-imagining service experiences, exploring the stories of refugees, collaborating for mission virtually, and so much more.
Each of the authors cited below has their email linked if you would like to reach out directly for more information.
Keeping in mind that the worldwide scope of Jesuit education invites us to engage in our Jesuit mission in a manner that recognizes the interconnectedness of our local, regional and world community, we encourage you to continue to share your good work with Hemispheres in this new year, so we may continue to get the word out around the JSN of the many remarkable efforts that are underway in our schools. Thank you for all you do for Jesuit education.
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"To act as a universal body with a universal mission" GC35, D.2 #20
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Catharine Steffens
Director of Global Partnerships
Jesuit Schools Network
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Global Perspectives over Zoom
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With the various ways that the pandemic has caused a strain on the educational experiences of students and staff, our class has found a way to utilize the world’s new found fluency with Zoom to connect with people around the world. This Senior elective class, Global Perspectives, seeks to journey around the world studying current events and geopolitical issues outside of a traditional classroom. When discussing impacts of Covid-19 around the world, we zoomed with health professionals at the United Nations. Our guest speaker illustrated Central African challenges facing the global pandemic without industrialized infrastructure. We learned of the secondary impacts that devastate progress made in women’s health in developing countries as funds are reallocated from sanitary kits to medical masks and soap. We also zoomed with European educators as they braced for new rounds of pandemic restrictions comparing the Italian and Swedish responses to better understand their approaches facing a second wave ravaging Europe.
Beyond these endeavors, a larger enjoyment has been connecting with other Jesuit students and Loyola Alumni around the world. We established a burgeoning connection with Prepa Ibero in Mexico City zooming over holiday customs and lamenting the new virtual learning realities. We also have had discussions around immigration’s push and pull factors in Central America and Mexico. Finally, we connected with several Loyola alumni in Uruguay, Brazil, and Venezuela to showcase that our graduates can connect with their school in other ways than just our Advancement office. Alums donate their time and talent from thousands of miles away to speak about conditions in their country from human rights to environmental sustainability and the ever present Covid response as well as the joys of their country's culture. Through all of this, our students reflect on each experience with a verbal or written Guest Speaker Examen that further embeds the experience into Loyola’s Global Education mission.
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Building a Culture of Encounter over a Virtual Platform
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I am currently leading a year-long conversation series between my sophomores and a cohort of young women taught by my colleague Marcel Meyer, an English language teacher at Clara Fey Gymnasium, a secondary school in Schleiden, Germany that has been an innovative collaborator with St. Peter’s Preparatory School in Jersey City, NJ for decades.
By introducing our students to one another and thus to other cultures and languages, Herr Marcel and I have promoted global competencies our two schools value. Conversations are scheduled between partners at times convenient for both. Once students got to know each other on a basic level, they leaned into deeper topics. Most recently they shared a few conversations dedicated to faith: what is “faith” exactly and what are the benefits of living a Christian life in the 21st century context? While the German students have cited improvements in their English, all students have expressed how their perspectives have expanded and changed as a result. The student response to a post-conversation reflection below is evidence of this learning:
Reflect on your conversation by citing a direct quote from your partner. What was something she/he specifically said that provoked thought for you? Why?
“Something that provoked me in a good way was when we talked about the benefits of living a Christain life. She [Meret] answered the question saying “Benefits of living a Christian life is having the ability to always lean onto someone or something”. She then elaborated talking about how we as Christians are connected to a larger family and how we are able to seek help from others in this “Church”. I totally agreed with her on her point because it really made you think about how life would be if I was not a Christian and it made me think of all the things that wouldn't be accessible to me. For example, during hardships churches do their part in getting you back on track in life through not just prayer but action. My church personally helps people with employment and housing and I've seen similar churches do so too.” -Bryce Anderson (Class of 2023, Saint Peter’s Preparatory School, Jersey City, NJ)
Providing students with opportunities to encounter and forge friendships with peers of different cultures and contexts prepares them for navigating the diverse, interconnected, and increasingly superficial world ahead of them. Herr Marcel and I intend to shift ownership of the experience to our respective students during the second half of the year, inviting student partners to create projects focused on social issues, integrating shared research with course content. The series will conclude with each student writing a reflective narrative recounting the journey they and their partner traveled together, describing how their conversations and the collaborative work shared between them cultivated a friendship.
I encourage anyone in the Jesuit Schools global community interested in conducting a similar web-based conversation series to consider the following question sets when envisioning outcomes, plotting the course, and framing reflection during the project and afterwards:
● What are the ramifications and opportunities of building a culture of encounter over a virtual platform? What are best practices for building a culture of encounter in one’s own classroom?
● How does an educator provide structure and support to their students’ field research and in their collaboration and project building with international peers?
● Is friendship building measurable? If so, what are some ways it can be measured?
Resources to download:
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The Ignatian Distance Ministry (IDM) Program
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In response to the unique set of challenges and circumstances presented at the start of the COVID-19 quarantine in the Spring of 2020, Fairfield College Preparatory School evaluated their Christian service program and re-imagined what students’ service to the broader community would look like given recently imposed travel constraints, both locally and abroad. Not only was Prep’s basic service program re-designed to accommodate new safety protocols implemented to protect those involved, but our global immersion opportunities also required reconsideration. At a time when service-oriented young men and women are needed the most as conduits for justice and change, they are unable to be physically present with their brothers and sisters in need here in their local communities, as well as globally. With this great irony in mind, Fairfield Prep created the Ignatian Distance Ministry Program, a fully virtual opportunity designed for students to foster meaningful connections and relationships with their peers and others outside their school community, to be educated on universal global issues by those who experience them daily, and to be empowered to take action rooted in Jesuit mission, global citizenship, and the Universal Apostolic Preferences. The elements of this program provide a unique blend of Christian service, campus ministry, and global citizenship. Though the current pandemic has halted the efforts of thousands around the world in their pursuit of serving others, the mission and ministry of Jesuit education does not cease; it simply evolves.
Having laid the groundwork for the IDM program over the Summer, it was always Fairfield Prep’s goal to pilot the program in partnership with another Jesuit high school as a means of assessing the viability and sustainability of the experience in real time by fostering new relationships among Jesuit schools and students. Given Prep’s ties to Belen Jesuit in Miami, Florida through Prep’s current principal, Dr. Thomas de Quesada, both schools made the decision to implement this program together and make it a memorable, engaging, and worthwhile experience for the student participants despite it being fully virtual. Although the domestic program isn’t set to be piloted until the Spring of 2021, the collaboration between Fairfield Prep and Belen has already proved fruitful. The Ignatian Distance Ministry initiative has added a domestic service component in addition to the global component, and plans have been put into place that will allow for continued networking on multiple levels.
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Fine Arts and International Virtual Exchanges |
Robert Chura shares some projects he and his colleague Maria-Paz Campos have been working on at St. Louis University High School with their partner schools. Check out their wonderful work here.
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#JSNGlobal
Tag your social media posts with #JSNGlobal and SHARE your global journeys in & out of the classroom.
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Ignatian Intercultural Communication Training Module |
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Building on from the Global Citizenship work carried out by the Secretariat Taskforce in 2019, Educate Magis and the Secretariat together with a global group of Ignatian educators put together an Ignatian Intercultural Communication Training Module for educators which was piloted in November and December 2020 with 30 participants from the 6 Jesuit conferences of the world. Here is a summary of this enriching and fruitful experience. We look forward to sharing more on this with you in the coming months.
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Coaches Collaborating for Mission |
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St. Louis University High is organizing a virtual Jesuit Football Coaches Summit for Saturday January 30, 2021. Contact Chris Muskopf for information. This first Summit seeks to connect the JSN football coaches across the network to share and highlight culture building activities and off the field curricula of Jesuit football programs. As Chris states: "One positive take away from all the circumstances related to the pandemic is the use of technology to connect people across great distances. This idea has certainly benefited segments of employees at Jesuit schools through the "coffee shops" and other regular meetings. This event offers coaches the same opportunity to connect. Once we learn from this experience, we certainly intend to make improvements and offer similar opportunities to coaches in other sports."
Contact Chris to attend, or for more information.
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Dying to Live: Discussion Guide and Video Series
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And stay tuned for more information about our upcoming Lenten challenge – 400 Minutes 4 Refugees. More details to come! Please email Josh Utter if you’d like to learn more and receive updates.
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Looking to give up something for Lent? Why not give up 10 minutes every day and dedicate it to solidarity with refugees? Join JRS/US in our Lenten challenge by offering moments of your day to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in solidarity with refugees. Starting on Ash Wednesday, February 17, the goal is to reach 400 minutes of solidarity by Easter Sunday, April 4. That’s 10 minutes each day for the 40 days of Lent. You’re welcome to make this challenge your own by giving 20 minutes one day and 5 minutes another, for example. Find what works best for you. Email Josh Utter for more details.
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ISN Opportunities for Collaboration and Action |
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Virtual Arrupe Leaders Summits
Session 1: Tues. 2/23 & Wed. 2/24
Session 2: Fri. 2/27 & Sat. 2/28
Register your delegation today for one of the two 2021 Arrupe Leaders Summits, this year taking place in a virtual format. Learn more | Register
Ignatian Family Advocacy Month
March 2021
Join us in taking our virtual voices to Capitol Hill to advocate for more humane immigration and environmental policies this March. Learn more | Register
Virtual Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice
Don't miss your chance to access 70+ hours of faith and justice videos from the 2020 Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice! Access through June 2021 for just $15: igsol.net/iftjnow
Steadfast: A Call to Love
Lent 2021
Join the Ignatian family during Lent 2021 as we respond to the Gospel call with a steadfast spirit, deeply rooted in love and transcending injustice in our work to uphold the dignity of people and planet. Subscribe | Sponsor
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Xavier: Missionary and Saint is a PBS documentary about St. Francis Xavier narrated by Liam Neeson and produced by Jeff Johnson, S.J., before he became President of Strake Jesuit in Houston.
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The film is about the first Global Citizen of the Society of Jesus! It ends with a reminder that Xavier’s mission “was an expansion of the heart, an opening of the mind, a discovery of love.” Let that be our mission as we begin the year in a continuing turmoil of racial and political tensions, slow pandemic response, and distancing from one another. Like Xavier, please believe in God’s presence with us no matter the trial so that we will expand our hearts, open our minds, and discover love in each other and in all we are called to serve. ~Bill Muller, S.J.
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The Jesuit Schools Network promotes the educational ministry of the Society of Jesus in service to the Catholic Church by strengthening Jesuit schools for the mission of Jesus Christ. |
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