Volume 6 | Number 6 | February 2, 2021
This Catholic Schools Week, we are honored to celebrate the tenacity, creativity and grace with which our schools have met the challenges of the last year, and we look forward to supporting them in the coming year of faith, excellence and service.

Ad majorem dei gloriam.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
On Thursday we celebrate the birthdays of Rosa Parks and Dietrich Bonhoeffer—an appropriate start to Black History Month.

"People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired ... the only tired I was, was tired of giving in." — Rosa Parks

"We must learn to regard people less in light of what they do or omit to do, and more in light of what they suffer." — Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bill Muller, SJ
Executive Director
JSN OPPORTUNITIES
COVID-19 And Its Impacts: Adolescent Perspectives
During 2020, the JSN supported a research study out of Marquette University on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents. The study was conducted by Gabriel Velez, who graduated from Regis High School (NY). A number of Jesuit high schools in North America participated. 
Join Us For Another Cuppa Coffee...
The JSN has resumed our Virtual Coffee Shops this semester. Our first wave of sessions, in February and early March will be organized by cohort. The second wave of sessions, in late March and April, will be organized around identified themes and be structured like our new Ignatian Colleagues Gathering model.

Keep an eye out for your invitation!
What JSN Educators Are Talking About...
All you need is an email address and a self-created password and you can share questions, ideas and resources in the mix!
Our Connecting Threads platform connects to and extends the conversations from our real-time Virtual Coffee Shops. These asynchronous conversations are open to all educators in our network.
Special Cohort Gathering: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
A special Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Cohort Gathering will take place from June 22 to June 25, 2021 in Cleveland, OH.
FROM OUR PARTNERS
Loyola School New York Teacher Invites All to Global Faculty Book Club
Harry Egner, a teacher from Loyola School in New York City, sends a warm invitation to other teachers to join his Global Faculty Book Club, where everyone can share thoughts on a book he is proposing but also have a brief reflection on how the book might fit into the curricula of the schools. The invitation is open to faculty of all grade levels. 
Jesuit School Musicians Find Creative Ways to Perform Remotely
Ensemble music has proven one of the most challenging things to create virtually, but that hasn't stopped Jesuit school musicians from playing and even performing live together. Brophy College Preparatory School's a capella chorus, Central Avenue Sound (above) recently performed U2's "MLK," while Fairfield College Preparatory's many vocal and instrumental ensembles recorded a full socially distant winter concert, which you can watch here.
Cristo Rey Houston Students Earn Full-Tuition QuestBridge and Posse Scholarships
Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston students Stephanie Lemus and Nevon Dinh have not only overcome the unprecedented challenges that all students have faced this past year, but they have also risen to the top of the Class of 2021.

Stephanie Lemus, '21 (above) is the recipient of a full-tuition QuestBridge National College Match Scholarship to attend Bowdoin College, where she hopes to study forensics, and Nevon Dinh, '21, is the recipient of a full-tuition Posse scholarship to attend the University of Virginia, where he will pursue a degree in Human Biology with a minor in Public Policy. Lemus and Dinh not only excelled in the Cristo Rey Jesuit rigorous academic environment, but as with all Cristo Rey Jesuit students, they also worked one day a week at major Houston-area corporations to gain workplace experience and to help pay part of their college-prep tuition.

Loyola Blakefield Alumnus Leads Major Effort to Support Local Restaurants
From crab cakes to crowdfunding, John Minadakis, Loyola Blakefield ‘01, is leading a massive effort to support local restaurants. Inspired by David Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports who began the Barstool Fund that raised millions of dollars for small businesses affected by the pandemic, the Famous Fund is providing immediate support to Baltimore restaurants. Recognizing the tremendous strain caused by the pandemic and local restrictions placed on businesses, Minadakis wanted to rally Charm City toward saving its locally-owned establishments, many of which are facing the prospect of closing for good.

Bellarmine College Prep Launches HyFlex Instruction
Following a successful pilot program in the fall, Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose welcomed limited numbers of students back to campus on January 28 for in-person academic instruction. Following all Santa Clara County and State of California COVID-19 protocols, including social distancing, mask wearing, and health screenings, those students who have opted to return to campus are divided into cohort groupings titled Ignatius and Loyola. Beginning February 3, all groups will follow the pattern of two days on campus then two days of remote instruction. Several faculty members continue to instruct remotely. The school hosts frequent COVID-19 testing for students and employees, and students who participate in on-campus activities (classes, athletics, or any other co-curricular activity) are required to complete regular testing. Health and safety protocols include upgraded filtration systems in classrooms and, where feasible, outdoor instruction space.
Award-Winning Author and Canisius English Teacher Paul Cumbo on the Virtual Book Club and Guest Lecture Circuit
Canisius High School English teacher Paul Cumbo, ’97, is an independently published author. He has been busy on the book club and guest lecture circuit over the past several months. In addition to being featured on the On Boys podcast and guest lecturing at Fordham Preparatory School, his second novel, Wilderness Therapy, won First Place in the Young Adult Fiction category of the 28th Annual Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Awards.

Former FDA Commissioner Speaks to St. Joseph’s Prep Community About COVID-19
Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, a 1959 graduate of St. Joseph’s Prep who served as Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration from 2005-08, offered his thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic: where we’ve been, where we are, and how the disease will impact our future. He spoke passionately on the work being done on vaccines, his confidence in the medicine, and, as a Jesuit school graduate (he also attended St. Joseph’s University and Georgetown University School of Medicine), spoke of the United States’ need to share our resources with the world, especially those countries without the means to create a vaccine for themselves.

St. Xavier High School's Pro-Life Club Honors National Sanctity of Human Life Day with Silent Display
St. Xavier High School's Pro-Life Club arranged a display of crosses representing unborn children in silent witness of the lives lost daily in the US due to abortion.


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.