Delegation to the UN spends final night in New York

Yesterday, the girls had the opportunity to tour the city. We went to Central Park and went to the Plaza Hotel. Additionally, we went to St. Patrick's Cathedral.  Afterwards, we had the chance to see all of the other Ursuline girls. The schools went to St. Agnes's church to discuss what parallel events each of the Ursuline schools went too. The discussion surrounded feminism and what it truly means. We learned this week that feminism means equality for men and women.

--Ana Olszewski

A Stellar Day at the United Nations CSW60 Events

Our delegation of 7 students and 2 chaperones had a jam-packed day at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Woman (CSW60) events today.  We are so proud of our students - they are representing themselves, their families, and Ursuline Academy with such incredible poise and professionalism.  They have engaged with presenters by asking question and challenging, when appropriate, as advocates for women everywhere.

Model UN learns about advocating for the victims of human trafficking

Today the delegation went to the UNCC building to listen in on girl advocates talking about the way that they advocate in their communities. We also listened to a seminar concerning domestic and foreign human trafficking and the affects that it has on the victim. In between the sessions we went to Grand Central Train Station to look around and have lunch. At night time we went to Planet Hollywood for dinner and went shopping around Time Square. 
- Carina Colon

Today was the Ursuline Model UN’s first day at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, a conference that is held yearly to discuss progress made on previously passed programs and coalitions to benefit women across the globe. This year’s major focus is preventing and abolishing violence against women, especially in more impoverished countries where the oppression of women is more common due to cultural views. I and the other members of the Ursuline Model UN got to work with many different delegates across the globe, including delegates from San Diego, Colorado and Kenya in a variety of different settings, from interactive stations to large group discussions on current goals that the real United Nations are working on.  The experience so far has been absolutely amazing and it is a real privilege to get to work with amazing delegates from across the world to discuss and debate issues that are relevant to all us and I cannot wait for the other events that are in store.—Carly Palkon

 

 

 

Model UN visits UN CSW60

The sixtieth session of the  Commission on the Status of Women will take place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 14 to 24 March 2016. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), a functional commission of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), is a global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women. The Commission was established by ECOSOC resolution 11(II) of 21 June 1946 with a mandate to prepare recommendations on promoting women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields.


On Sunday, March 13th 7 students from our Model UN at Ursuline Academy along with faculty moderator Jacqueline Wanner and faculty chaperone Meg Kane-Smith traveled to New York to begin 4 days of collaboration with students & faculty from five other Ursuline network schools: Academy of Mt St Ursula, Ursuline Academy of Dallas, St. Louis, Dedham, and St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati.  The group of 36 students and their chaperones attended the Youth Orientation Day at John Jay College to start off the Commision on the Status of Women, CSW 60.  

The delegation also had the opportunity to visit the 9/11 Memorial and museum as well as the Ground Zero site.

Preparing for voyage to Paris!

The Paris travelers met Tuesday 2/16 at lunch to share presentations. Each girl chose one of the days in Paris and researched each of the places on the itinerary. They made power point presentations full of information and pictures on everything that we have planned. The presentations gave details on the history and location of each site along with some fun facts. The girls were very interested in each other’s itinerary and were intrigued by some of the details. This exercise served to increase their excitement and anticipation of the real thing. Only 36 days until we leave!

Virtual Exchange with Ursuline Academy in Cincinnati, Ohio

On Wednesday, December 16th our junior English class participated in a virtual exchange with our sister school in Cincinnati, Ohio.  The Ursuline Academy students in Wilmington co-presented projects on The Canterbury Tales with their "sisters" at Ursuline in Ohio.

UA Wilmington and UA Cincinnati collaborate over Skype

Led by Tammie Sylvia of UA Wilmington and Dr. Kathleen Stall of UA Cincinnati, each of the girls created a new pilgrim on the journey of the Canterbury Tales and shared their new character with the group at large.  Students from both campuses then had the opportunity to ask questions which ranged from rationale for decisions in the creative process to cultural variances between the mid-west and east coast that were evident in their poems.

UA Wilmington applauds a presentation in Cincinnati

Throughout the exchange, both schools also had the opportunity to learn about the other.  Girls at both campuses introduced their schools, discussing details like school size, grade levels, class sizes, daily schedule, and other demographic information.  The students also shared details about their campus traditions some of which were similar to the other school and some of which varied greatly.  We even got an impromptu Adele performance by a student in Cincinnati - WOW!

Learning about UA Cincinnati

Sarah Looney '17 remarked: "I loved having the opportunity to share my poem, as well as listen to my fellow classmates and the girls in Cincinnati read theirs. I also loved how we were able to ask one another questions, have a few laughs and pretty much get to know one another as a class. It was such an amazing experience, being able to Skype with another Ursuline school, and I hope that we are able to participate in something like this again."

Junior Brooke Schmeusser shared: "This was a great experience that brought together Ursuline Wilmington and Ursuline Cincinnati. I felt connected to them even though they live hundreds of miles away and I have never met them before. There are so many similarities because we are both Ursuline schools.  I think that every English class should (have) this experience."

We look forward to many more exchanges with our sister schools.  What an incredible opportunity to virtually travel the world and experience different cultures through the strength of our unique Ursuline network.