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UA Global Education

UA arrives in Dallas!

The delegation of this very fun packed trip landed in the beautiful city of Dallas, Texas at 2:00 PM. When we arrived to the Ursuline Dallas School my host sister Taylor, along with all the other hosts greeted us with joy and an abundance of gifts. We went into the school’s “St. Ursula Hall” we all got to know each other a little better and eat some treats. I went home with my family and dropped off my bags and we went off to eat dinner at a nice Mexican Restaurant. After dinner we headed home and got ready for bed. A long day for everyone but it is going to be a great week.

Experiencing life in Paris!

Day 6:

Today I woke up and I ate cereal with my host sister Victoire, and then got ready to meet all the other girls at their school. We spent the morning in Le Marais, which is a cute neighborhood where there are many stores and coffee shops. We later went to Montmartre, which is also a big neighborhood with a basilica at the top of a hill that has an amazing view of Paris. We all took pictures of the Saint Angela, Saint Ursula and Saint Marie of the Incarnation windows. After Montmartre, we went shopping at a big mall called So Ouest with our host sisters where we bought pretty shirts and jeans and presents for my family. I later came back to my host sister's house and my host mother prepared a traditional french dinner. We had french cheese, potatoes, veal, and bread with butter which was really good! We also had chocolate mousse for the dessert and talked about politics because of their 1st tour for their presidential election. I learned a lot about their culture and I am so happy to be in Paris!! 

- Alondra Posada

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Day 7:

Every morning, although very early 😬, i wake up to an amazing breakfast with my host family! I absolutely love eating all together because it's something that my family never does ever, but makes me happy with a friendly morning of light talking about the day and good bread to start the day. I love starting the day with the coffee they taught me how to make and I love learning more about their family. At first I was surprised that they drank powdered chocolate milk from a bowl because we have nothing like that here, but i found it super cool to observe things like this.

At dinner Ophélie taught me how to make a simple dessert that the family makes when the baguette they bought for dinner a few nights ago gets stale. You simply cut the baguette into small pieces, then in a separate bowl you mix white sugar, one egg and milk. You dip these pieces into the bowl until completely soaked. After this you place the pieces on a heated pan with butter and pour sugar on the side facing upward. You flip when one side is done. Then VOILÀ! you have your dessert that tastes amazing, especially with ice cream and another light dusting of sugar :)

- Lilli Bifferato

Bienvenue a Sainte Ursule!

Today we checked out of a really nice hotel in the 9th district in the morning to meet our Ursuline sisters! When we arrived, they had made posters for us and they were very welcoming. We introduced ourselves to our host families and then went as a group to a French supermarket. All of the French moms knew that we Americans LOVE TO SNACK, so they wanted us to pick out our own. We then went back to their houses to unpack. After eating lunch, we met up with some other Ursuline students (French & US) and took the subway into the center of Paris. We walked around the city and visited parks and saw Notre Dame. Then we took the subway back to where they lived and went to a cafe. At the cafe we got coffee, hot chocolate, and crepes. Then a few other students from the Sainte-Ursule school from Paris stopped by to say hi to us. After this we went back to our hosts house and ate dinner. 

Delegation to France: Bon Voyage!!!

Day 1:

Remember the movie "Planes, Trains & Automobiles"? That was pretty much the majority of our day and we're all pretty grumpy. Chartres Cathedral was the highlight of our day. The stained glass windows were beaming due to the amazing, bright sunlight we were lucky to get.

After the final bus ride to Tours, we've finally sat down to dinner.

Our 3-course dinner started with bacon-wrapped warm goat cheese on a garden salad. The conversation went like this:

Student: "What kind of cheese is this?"

Teacher: "Try it first, then I'll tell you."

Other student: "It's goat cheese, isn't it?"

*Students react in various ways*

End result: Everyone tried it, but there was a lot of cheese left on the plate.

Time for sleep! We're exhausted but looking forward to a fun-filled day tomorrow.

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Today is our second day in France. In the morning we visited the Chapel of Marie the of the Incarnation (which is the patron saint of the Caps) and then in the afternoon we went to two different château's around the area of Tours. 

The chapel was gorgeous. It was early 15th century architecture that was still in almost pristine condition. The stone and brick was beautiful. When one of the sisters opened the door to the patio it took my breath away. The sight of all of the beautiful historical architecture mixed with the vines and flowers growing was a uniquely magnificent view for me. I don't think I have ever seen something like it. The sisters talked to and taught us about Marie of the Incarnation. She, along with two of her companions, were the first women missionaries ever to cross the Atlantic into Canada. This fact was absolutely fascinating to me because service is something many of us are passionate about and for a woman to undergo that type of journey alone was a dangerous & challenging task. She forged on and as a result founded a church and school for girls in Canada. The sisters that we met today were so kind and generous to us. We loved them so much and cannot speak highly enough of them!! 

The first château we visited today was Villandry, which has world famous beautiful gardens. The flowers were all different shapes, sizes, textures, etc. All of the girls and I were amazed by the fact that the gardeners had trained the apple trees to grow sideways along a horizontal rail. The owners, the Carvallo's, still live on the property to the day and can even sometimes be seen touring the gardens. When Joachim Carvallo bought the château in 1906, he restored the Renaissance gardens. One of my personal favorite gardens was The Ornamental Garden, which is easily seen from any room in the château and is nicknamed "the love garden." Each section of the garden was made to represent a different type of love: tender love, passionate love, flighty love, and tragic love. 

The second château we visited today was the Château de Chenonceau. It was built on the River Cher in the 16th century. We walked through a beautiful gallery with black and white checked slate-tile floors. This gallery was built by Catherine de' Medici as a magnificent ballroom. We went through multiple other rooms including the kitchen, a few living rooms, and a guards room. We learned about the history behind the château and each of the pieces of the paintings. For example, Henri II gifted Chenonceau to his favorite official mistress, Diane de Poitiers. It wasn't big enough for her so she had the gardens created and had the famous bridge over the River Cher built, making the architecture of Chenonceau unique to the world. After the death of Henri II, his wife and the Queen of France, Catherine de' Medici removed Diane de Poitiers from the château because I mean who wants to live with their dead husband's mistress longer than necessary? The gardens at Chenonceau are completely natural (no pesticides or chemicals of any kind). In fact, when they had a problem with snails they brought in hedge hogs to eat the snails and keep the flowers safe. 

Today was another amazing day in France!! Keep following the blog for more château's and fun tomorrow!!

St. Angela on the Emerald Isle - UA Global Education in Ireland!

On Sunday, Director of Global Education Amanda Neill landed in Dublin, Ireland to discover new friendships with our Ursuline sisters abroad.  

A 3 hour drive down the southeastern coast through the countryside brought Mrs. Neill to County Cork and the City of Cork, a lovely port town that captures all of the things that make Ireland a wonderful home away from home - quaint streets easily explored on foot, delicious Irish dishes, lush county-side and green rolling hills.  

Ursuline Primary School and Ursuline Secondary Schools are located in the Blackrock neighborhood of Cork, a quiet and residential neighborhood in this small city in the south of Ireland.  Like Ursuline Wilmington, these schools share a campus and educate children beginning in early childhood in a co-educational school and growing to a single gender school for ages 13-18.  

Primary School Sign

Principal Lucy Lambe and Deputy Principal Paula Goggin took Mrs. Neill on a tour of Ursuline, which is similar in size to UA Wilmington.  While on tour, Mrs. Neill had the opportunity to pop into some classrooms and meet some teachers which is always exciting.  One course that they offer to students that is different from UA is a modern twist on home economics which still includes cooking and sewing but now also includes home finances (mortgages, etc.), work-life balance, and technology.  The home economics classrooms were fascinating!

Secondary School

Secondary School Sign

While in County Cork, Mrs. Neill visited some of the local sites including the patron saint of Cork, St. Fin Barre's Cathedral and Blarney Castle in Blarney, about 30 minutes outside of Cork City.

St Fin Barre in Cork, Ireland

Blarney Castle in Blarney, County Cork, Ireland

Mrs. Neill also had the opportunity to visit St. Angela's College in the Patrick Hill section of Cork, which is just across the river from Blackrock.  St. Angela's is an all-girls Secondary School that sits in the middle of an incredibly steep hill overlooking Cork City.  Next to the school entrance sits the Ursuline Convent and up the street is the Christian Brothers Academy.  The school itself is quite modern in its urban setting, sitting amidst buildings that are hundreds of years old.  Girls wear bright green and enter through beautiful glass doors to the courtyard of their school.  The arts play a big role at this school and they have some incredible musical performances coming up in the near future.

St. Angela's College in Patrick's Hill, Cork, Ireland

Ursuline Convent in Patrick's Hill

St. Angela's College

Checking in for the school day at St. Angela's

Approximately 90 minutes north/northwest of Cork in lush and green County Tipperary sits Ursuline Secondary School in the town of Thurles.  Thurles is a quaint village surrounded by a rich agriculturally-driven society.  A few minutes off of the main square of Thurles on a quiet road sits the regal entrance to Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles.  Ursuline actually has both a primary and secondary school that are both single gender and housed on the same grounds.  Like Ursuline Wilmington, each has its own principal and leadership team.

Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles, Tipperary County, Ireland

Student artwork in school cafeteria

Mrs. Neill had the opportunity to spend some time with Secondary School Principal Mary Butler.  Mrs. Butler is a "lifer" from Ursuline Thurles just like Mrs. Neill from UA Wilmington.  Mrs. Butler shared all of the amazing happenings at Thurles including the artwork above (completed by a student), their amazing win in field hockey (their strongest sport), and their 500-student music academy led by Sr. Cecilia.  It was an incredible visit and certainly not the last time that Ursuline Thurles and UA will connect.  Mrs. Butler presented Mrs. Neill with a beautiful copy of their yearbook.

Mrs. Mary Butler, Principal at Ursuline Thurles presents
Amanda Neill with school momento

Ursuline Secondary School in Thurles entrance

Opportunity: Africa Conference

Last Friday, 8 Ursuline Global Scholar nominees attended the Opportunity: Africa Conference at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Wilmington.  Ursuline was invited by Senator Chris Coons to participate in this transformative conference alongside influential businesspeople, government officials, and world leaders all unified in their commitment to see the continent of Africa continue to grow and prosper. 

Keynote speaker Tony Elumelu spoke of the current issues facing African nations and discussed the importance of supporting business development.  The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program empowers young citizens to grow Africa from within, providing microloans and support to small business owners. 

Panelists from Heritage Link Brands, Save the Children, and USAID spoke about the importance of educating young women as they serve as the key influencers of domestic and foreign policies within the 54 nations of Africa.  Susan Markham of USAID remarked: “We cannot solve these issues (clean water, access to medical care, gender equality) without women and girls.”  Ursuline girls could not agree more and our nominees responded by wanting to learn more about the Let Girls Learn initiative co-sponsored by Save the Children and USAID. 

Our students networked with business professionals and navigating the exhibition tables, talking to leaders from Water is Life Kenya, Save the Children, Care, Results, Yes We Can and Start Up Africa.  The students who attended are: Jessie Falasco, Katie Shroyer, Carly Palkon, Noelle Shroyer, Lexi Romine, Ana Olszewski, Maggie Boyd, and Claire McFadden.

Our girls even had the opportunity to meet an Ursuline alumnae parent, Mrs. Mondoa - mother of Matanda Mondoa.  Mrs. Mondoa recognized the Ursuline uniform and introduced herself to the group, talking about her daughter's college experience and their recent pilgrimage to Cameroon.  The Ursuline network and family is EVERYWHERE! 

Thank you to Ursuline Lower School parent Brian Cunningham for the personal invitation from Senator Coons’ office.  We look forward to many more opportunities to connect Senator Coons with Ursuline.