What an amazing adventure we have had with our Dallas sisters!
On Monday, the Dallas delegation attended classes with their host sisters before presenting to the Upper School students at our Business Women's Lunch series. During the presentation, we learned so many things about Dallas including what a mum is, about UA intramurals, the fact that 108 "Delawares" fit into Texas, and other interesting facts about Texas, Dallas, and UA in Dallas.
Dallas Delegation & chaperones
The girls did an excellent job representing their school and answering questions from our student body. They even treated us to a freshman dance routine at the end - how fun! I imagine that this may be a tradition that our UA Wilmington girls might be interested in starting for their underclasswomen.
Allie, Isabel, Eva & Jennifer treat us to their Freshman Dance
That afternoon, Cathie Field Lloyd and Susan Heiss took the group out on a driving tour of Wilmington where Cathie treated the girls to some fun and interesting facts about our special First State of Delaware. They ended their afternoon with ice cream on the waterfront at Molly's - owned by a UA alumna of course!
Cathie Field Lloyd hosts a driving tour of Wilmington
On Tuesday morning, the delegation started their day in our Lower School with a presentation to the 5th graders. The students loved learning all about Dallas and answering the questions about Delaware.
Dallas presents for the Lower School
In addition to presenting for the 4th & 5th grades, the Dallas students also had an opportunity to go into our four Early Childhood
classrooms where they read to the students and participated in their activities
including the ever-popular “Kiss Your Brain” sing along. It was so wonderful to share our little
explorers of the world with our Dallas sisters.
Eva reads to our young students
Mia & Allie hang out in Mrs. Dooley's classroom
After spending the morning with the Lower School students, the Dallas students then presented to the Middle School students in the auditorium. The Middle Schoolers loved hearing all about the differences between UA Dallas and UA Wilmington. Many even got excited about the opportunity that when they come to UA as high school students that they would have the opportunity to travel to Dallas to learn more about life in Texas.
At 8:30am this morning, our combined group of students from Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, DE and Ursuline Academy in Dallas, Texas formed a prayer circle and prayed for a safe pilgrimage into Philadelphia to celebrate Mass with Pope Francis.
Our entire journey was smooth sailing - from the bus ride into Philadelphia, to parking & getting to SEPTA, to an easy SEPTA journey and walk to security - everything was well orchestrated and the sense of community amongst the hundreds of thousands with whom we traveled was palpable. We met people from all over the world and even some with connections to the Ursuline community.
Before mass, Pope Francis made his final parade journey around Philadelphia and we were there to see it all - just steps away from our Holy Father. What an amazing experience! We are so inspired by his teachings and are so blessed that we had the opportunity to be in such close proximity to him. The excitement and emotion shone on our girls' faces - they were beaming with joy!
Mass was a beautiful celebration of family in its many definitions. Pope Francis led us in a simple and prayerful celebration that helped us to all feel connected in our faith. Amazingly, everyone was able to partake in communion as the altar dispersed hundreds of priests into the crowds. How wonderful!
We are home safely in Delaware - forever changed by this experience and this man.
Our guests from Dallas had a very full first day in Wilmington! After settling in at their new homes for the week, the students arrived bright-eyed in the morning and had the opportunity to introduce themselves to the Upper School student body & faculty. Everyone did an excellent job introducing themselves and the Wilmington students welcomed them into our UA community!
Dallas students introduced themselves to the Upper School
Ms. Smith & Mrs. Briones working hard at the Food Bank
Packing bananas
More bananas!
Dallas delegation
Going bananas!!
A special Rita's treat for an afternoon of hard work & service
This afternoon, under the sunny skies of Wilmington, representatives of Ursuline Academy's students & faculty warmly welcomed a delegation of 10 students and 3 chaperones from our sister school, Ursuline Academy in Dallas, Texas.
Our schools have now participated in 4 consecutive years of exchange and look forward to continuing to strengthen the relationship between our schools. While in Wilmington, the delegation will attend classes with their host sisters as well as complete a service project at the Food Bank of Delaware in Newark, Delaware. This is a wonderful counterpoint to the service project that the Wilmington delegation to Dallas; when there in April, our students spent an afternoon volunteering in the North Texas Food Bank.
We are fortunate to have 10 hosting sisters who will "adopt" their guests into their homes for the week. Our families have been preparing for this day for weeks - readying their homes, planning activities, and setting an extra setting at the family table. We are so grateful to all of our girls and their families for so graciously opening their homes to our guests.
On Monday,
September 14, 2015 the Global Education Program kicked off its year by
leading an inspiring and exciting Community Day for our Upper School
students. We had several student
speakers from our delegations to Dallas & South Africa, as well as Theresa
Manganiello ’17 who participated in the Ursuline Links Program in Summer 2015.
This year, the Global Education Program has
launched several initiatives including new exchange trip locations to our
sister schools in New Orleans, Louisiana and in Lima, Peru.Information about applications to participate
in these exchanges will be released in early October – watch your newsletter
and the Global Education page on Edline for more
information!
Additionally, as you know, our school is part
of the Ursuline Education Network (UEN), a broader organization of 105 Ursuline
schools around the world. We are pleased to announce our participation in
the new UEN Global Scholars Program; a 4-year program designed to highlight our
students who have demonstrated a strong interest in international topics and
global studies.
To receive this distinction, students will
complete requirements in coursework, co-curricular activities, service
learning, and cultural literacy throughout their four years at Ursuline.Nominees for this distinction will present
their experiences in a culminating capstone presentation in winter of their
Senior year.
This program has already been recognized by
colleges and universities as a significant selection criterion in the
admissions process. Like Ursuline, they recognize the importance of
preparing globally competent students to be competitive in international
careers and anticipate that having the Global Scholar distinction could support students in receiving additional scholarship funds and preferred admissions status.
Look for more information as the program
unfolds. In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact Amanda
Neill, Director of Global Education at aneill@ursuline.org or on (302) 658-7158 ext. 6221.
On Monday,
September 14, 2015 the Global Education Program kicked off its year by
leading an inspiring and exciting Community Day for our Upper School
students. We had several student
speakers from our delegations to Dallas & South Africa, as well as Theresa
Manganiello ’17 who participated in the Ursuline Links Program in Summer 2015.
Brigid Morrissey '18 spoke about her experience in Dallas on behalf of the Dallas 2015 delegation, which also included Annie Colbourn, Julia Sparco, Carina Colon, & Mary Kate Kalinowski. Brigid shared her experience at the North Texas Food Bank and at Cowboys stadium but most interesting was her insightful comments about the experience that the delegation had entering another Ursuline community. "It was as if we were on campus in Wilmington, but it just looked and sounded different. We immediately felt at home and loved. I still talk with our group on a regular basis!"
Dallas 2015 delegation
Theresa Manganiello '17 presented about her experience participating in the Ursuline Links program this summer. She, along with student from 5 other Ursuline network schools, spent two weeks on a variety of service projects to support underprivileged youth in the UK.
During her two week stay in London, the group had two free days during which they were able to explore the city. They conquered a lot in two days including a walking tour of the city, some shopping in Trafalgar Square, a ride on the London Eye and an evening at the theatre where they saw "Wicked."
Lisa Moran '16 and Erin Davis '16 represented the South Africa delegation and talked about their incredible experiences in Cape Town, Kruger National Park and in Johannesburg where they exchanged with our sister school, Brescia House. The entire delegation, made up of seniors Sophia Simoes, Cecilia Iversen, Sofia DelPorte, & Kailyn Kampert donned their signature bucket hats as a symbol of the unifying bond that this trip provided. The delegation also shared a wonderful video of their experience - check it out here.
During Community, Mrs. Neill announced the destinations for our 2015-16 exchanges: Ursuline Academy in New Orleans, LA and Colegio Santa Ursula in Lima, Peru. Our sisters in Peru welcomed us to their school in a wonderful and unique way!
