Dear Global Companions: 

Once again,  you -- our JSN educators -- have left me speechless with the commitment, expertise and depth of caring you show for students, each other and our schools. Read this issue of Hemispheres for ideas and plans for DEI programming with parents, alumni involvement from across the world, service and collaborative efforts with West Africa, France, Poland and Scotland, as well as printable Global Citizenship Examen cards! Additionally, we have included a PDF of detailed lesson plans for Fratelli Tutti, the results of a comprehensive study on the effects of COVID on our students by an alum of Regis, now a Professor at Marquette University, as well as various opportunities from our JSN partners.

Keeping in mind that the worldwide scope of Jesuit education invites us to engage with 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.

"To act as a universal body with a universal mission" GC35, D.2 #20

~Kitty Hooper

During my time as a high school student at Saint Ignatius College Prep in the 1980’s, there was no formal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programming for parents/guardians. Since that time, over the years, our DEI initiatives have expanded; they are primarily centered around students; faculty/staff; and on occasion, families. In the wake of this past summer’s national reckoning and community outcry against racism and racial injustice, we knew this had to change. Peter Corrigan, our Director of Student Formation and Ministry, and one of my partners in DEI work at Saint Ignatius said it best: “Catholic Tradition has long prioritized the role of parents and guardians as the primary teachers and role models for their children.”

One of the mission-centered programs the events of this summer inspired us to develop and invite our parents/guardians to was a Mandatory DEI Parent night in October 2020. This 90-minute virtual event, a collaboration between the Diversity and Formation and Ministry Departments, was a program which included presentations and discussions around the following:

~Jennie Ehalt

In a “normal” year, here at Boston College High we would expect to have about 19 different international travel opportunities for our students. As we started this year we knew that travel would look different, but we wanted to be sure to create opportunities for our students to form meaningful connections. Each school we have worked with in previous years, was entering with different challenges, opportunities, and technological abilities. We started with conversations with each of our partner schools - what feels possible in this year? What sounds FUN in this year? As we pieced this together, we also asked our students the same questions – what were they willing to sign up for and put their time into?

Given this, none of the things we are trying this year look the same which is exciting. With our colleagues at Lycee St-Marc in Lyon, France we have partnered our AP French Language and Culture class with one of their World Citizenship classes. Students use Flipgrid to post videos about a topic, and then the other class watches and responds. For example, French students shared videos of some of their favorite foods, and US students posted videos about their Thanksgiving traditions. At the close of the calendar year they shared thoughts on what they were grateful for, and where they could see the positives of the year that has passed. Most of these activities are asynchronous, allowing freedom to complete and review without worrying about the time difference. 

In coordination with KOSTKA in Krakow, Poland we have set a schedule of monthly zoom meetings with a set group of students, which we hope to run through May. Our first meeting was led by the faculty of each country and was primarily getting to know each other. The second meeting will be led by the Polish students, trying to teach our boys some Polish words and phrases, with a Kahoot to test their knowledge in conclusion. Meetings 3 and 4 will be introductions to each school and a glimpse into a “day in the life” and meetings 5 and 6 will be a movie history exchange about each city. 

Over the next few months, we will work with St. Aloysius College, our partner school in Glasgow, Scotland on a “Care for our Common Home” project inspired by Laudato Sí.  Dr. Lorna Gold will present to a cohort of BC High and St. Aloysius students.  Dr. Gold will be discussing the new context we are facing in the light of COVID, some of the recent developments she has been involved in with the Vatican - the new Laudato Sí seven year plan, the COVID commission, the Green Entrepreneurship initiative - and what role business leaders, inspired by Laudato Sí, could play in addressing the ecological crisis.  The students will compare and contrast the efforts of their respective schools with regard to climate care and make suggestions if there is room for improvement.  Ultimately this project will culminate in a cleanup day in both Glasgow and the Boston area. 

Our world seems increasingly divided — on social, economic and political lines. In his recent encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” Pope Francis calls Catholics to break down these barriers through reconciliation and genuine encounter. Written by Georgetown Prep teachers Marianne Gallagher and Cappy Russell, this resource is designed to help high school students understand the vital teachings of “Fratelli Tutti.” Our guide offers three distinct lesson plans for high school theology students, which are adaptable for three time frames: a one-day lesson, a three-day lesson and a five-day lesson. 

Each lesson plan guides students to reflect individually and as a group on portions of the encyclical. The lessons also contain project suggestions, which will encourage students to apply what they have learned to their local communities. We encourage classes to share their discussions and projects through the "Fratelli Tutti" Group on EducateMagis. Click the image below for the plans or go to Jesuits.org.

~Maria Virginia Dinnella-Borrego 

At Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in Miami, FL we place great emphasis on cultivating the Magis as our boys become men for others. The Hope For Kasai Club was started by Belen Jesuit students Manuel Rincon '21 and twin brothers David and Nicolas Alarcon '21. Rincon's mother, Ana Lucia Rincon, founded the not-for-profit Hope for Kasai which serves the communities in the West African region of Kasai in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In addition to raising funds to provide water and building projects, Hope for Kasai encourages students to create projects where they can give of their time and effort. Students, not only

at Belen, but also in other schools throughout South Florida have sewn dresses, collected soccer uniforms and equipment, school supplies and much more. At Belen, the Hope for Kasai Club began with a pencil drive which collected hundreds of pencils, their last project focused on providing a recurring revenue source that would allow families to be able to provide an education for their children. The boys traveled two days to the village of Mpiana Ntita and were able to personally deliver 27 goats to the families. 

Read more about the boys' adventure here. Learn more about Hope for Kasai here.

Tag your social media posts with #JSNGlobal and SHARE your global journeys in & out of the classroom.

At a time when reflection on our place and responsibility in this increasingly interconnected yet divided world has become more important than ever before we would like to share these Global Citizenship Examen cards with you. Carefully created by members of the Secretariat Taskforce on Global Citizenship they combine our Ignatian Global Citizenship definition with a simple yet powerful Global Citizenship Examen which you can do individually or as a group, online or in person with faculty and students. The cards can be printed out, folded up and placed on your desk or carried around in your wallet and come with three different images. They are also available in Spanish should you wish to incorporate them into your Spanish class. 

~Joe Parkes, SJ

UEA  PASE  Joe Parkes, SJ did regency at the Ateneo de Manila High School (’69-’71).  He was the last of some 200 East Coast Jesuits to do regency  in the Philippines.  Joe was NY Province Provincial when Loyola Jesuit College (Jr/Sr high school) was built in Abuja, Nigeria in the mid-‘90s.  As Provincial he visited the NY men in Micronesia several times (Xavier H.S. Chuuk; now also Yap Catholic H.S. Yap) and in Nigeria-& Ghana.  Almost all the Jesuit high schools in these countries, as well as some in Jamaica (New England Province), Chile and India (Maryland Province) have had alums of our East Coast high schools on their faculty/staff. Joe is doing research on these men to find out which of our now East Coast Province schools had alums who worked at our schools in the above-mentioned countries. His hope is to match one of the 15 UEA classic schools with one of the above schools that had alumni from the match school. If anyone has information that would assist Joe in this project  ---  EAST COAST JESUIT HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN TURNING OUT GLOBAL CITIZENS FOR A CENTURY – please let him know at JParkes@Jesuits.org

~Dr. Gabriel Velez

With this in mind, researchers at Marquette University collaborated with the Jesuit Schools Network to study how adolescents are processing and experiencing the current moment. This research is important not only to support these students now, but also to understand how the pandemic might impact their development and life trajectories.

We administered one survey for middle and high school students in the spring of 2020 and conducted a second round in the fall. In the end, over 1,000 adolescents participated in the first round and almost 3,000 in the second, which included 12 Jesuit High Schools. Key highlights include that levels of hope about the future and social responsibility were high in both rounds, though many participants expressed low trust in institutions other than their schools. For the fall survey, five themes emerged in open-ended responses:

For more details, please see the study webpage or the Fall 2020 survey report linked below. If you have any questions, feedback, or would like to be in contact with the research team, please email Dr. Gabriel Velez of Marquette University.

Take part in a Q&A with Nate Sessoms, Ph.D., Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Antiracism expert, on his presentation “Becoming Anti-Racist During a Racial Reckoning.” Participants will be invited to watch the presentation ahead of time, in which Sessoms details the history of anti-racism, presents and reviews shared language, and proposes specific steps to incorporating anti-racist principles and actions into their personal lives. Then on February 18, participants will be invited to engage in Q&A with Dr. Sessoms as well as small group conversations around anti-racism. Register here. 

During Lent, how can we persevere in our work for justice with a steadfast spirit, rooted in love? Walk with us as we seek to answer this question during #Lent2021. Contributors include Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., Fr. James Martin, S.J., Fr. Bryan Massingale, Sr. Norma Pimentel, and Olga Segura. Subscribe as an individual here, for Spanish here, and consider registering as a group! We'll provide you with email addresses of anyone who subscribes from your school so you can organize discussion groups or common prayer times. 

Join JRS/USA for our annual Advocacy Day on Thursday, April 15, 2021. This virtual event will provide students with the opportunity to learn about issues facing refugees and to encourage the new 117th Congress to take action on their behalf. JRS will help prepare students for the day and we will schedule meetings with congressional offices. Sign up TODAY here! Contact: Josh Utter

Use these Stations of the Cross to accompany Jesus on his journey, as we watch and pray over displaced people around the world.

JRS’s 40^th Anniversary Video – Educator’s Cut

Thanks to our partners at Educate Magis, this Educator’s Cut of JRS’s 40^th Anniversary event is available online. This video highlights the work JRS has done over the last four decades, expressing JRS’s commitment to continuing to provide service to refugees, and honoring those who’ve helped JRS along the way. Educators can use this video to help students learn about the mission of JRS and what it means to accompany refugees and displaced persons.

Join us for the online Global Lent Retreat, "A Shoot Will Spring Up... Return to Me with Your Whole Heart". Through this experience, Pat Nolan SJ and Casey Beaumier SJ hope to help us reflect upon the changes that have occurred during this global pandemic and how some might be of value in the long-term as we move into a time of gradual restoration and healing. This is a Retreat grounded in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Register here.

In our global community you can find support for the process of reflection and discernment on Ignatian Global Citizenship Education. One way to do this is by sharing your questions, learnings and/or reflections through global conversations. These are not just online conversations where you share your opinions, the advantage is that you get to explore this concept and co-create ideas for its implementation with teachers from other Jesuit schools around the world. Click here to learn more.

Chloe Becker, mural artist and author of the prayer below, is an intern at ISN before starting her graduate degree at Harvard. View her talk at the 2019 ISN Teach-in here and visit her website.

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