The beginning of the new school year brings opportunities for JECSE to meet with school staff in Italy, Poland and Belgium.
In the first days of September the JECSE Director was invited to participate in the formation seminar for the staff of Istituto Leone XII and Istituto Sociale di Torino. Over 230 teachers gathered to talk about the mission and identity of our schools today in the context of the recent II Global Seminar JESEDU-Jogja24 in Jogjakarta. They also had the great opportunity to listen to Fr Jose Mesa SJ, who shared many pedagogical ideas with the teachers gathered in his talk “Our mission is our identity”.
In the evening, the JECSE Director took part in the meeting “The school I would like to have, I should have, I will have“, during which she took part in the educational debate with Fr José A. Mesa, SJ, World Secretary for Education of the Society of Jesus, and the lawyer and analyst Alessandro De Nicola, President of the Adam Smith Society. The discussion was moderated by Fr Leonardo Angius SJ, Director of Pastoral Care at the Istituto Sociale di Torino. The evening continued with an examination of the Ignatian pedagogical model, illustrated in its solid roots and in its application today, capable of speaking to the contemporary world. It was a proposal of broad scope in its value horizons and in its desire to be useful to every school, not only to Jesuit schools, touching on points such as excellence, freedom and the importance of inclusion.
At the end of September the JECSE Principal had the opportunity to attend the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Jesuit Schools in Gdynia, Poland. This unique celebration began with a solemn assembly at the monument to the Jesuits murdered during the Second World War – an important reminder of those who gave their lives in the service of others. This was followed by the reception of the first graders into the school community and a Mass presided over by Archbishop Tadeusz Wojda, with a homily by Father Paweł Brożyniak SJ, the Polish Delegate for Education. The ceremony was also marked by a concert prepared by the students of the Jesuit primary and secondary schools in Gdynia. There was also an opportunity to visit the exhibitions prepared in the school and to meet the students and teachers of this Polish school.
During her visit to Brussels in October, the JECSE Director had the opportunity to visit two of our ELC Belgium North schools. The Sint-Jan Berchmanscollege is a traditional secondary school with an excellent academic programme in classical education, science and languages. Care for others and individual support for those who need extra help is an important part of its mission. The school is constantly evolving and strives to combine tradition with modernity, using modern technology to support the holistic development of young people.
The Egied Van Broeckhovenschool is a new school that opened last year and is a very unique educational project where students can choose to follow either a continuous or a labour market oriented course. In a modern building, the newly created school is now shaping its Ignatian identity. “To love and serve in all things” is its motto.
We are grateful for all the invitations that help JECSE to be closer to our schools
and to support their networking efforts.
