Dear Saint Ursula Community,

Amber and I often comment that each day is our first for that specific day of the school year here at Saint Ursula Academy.  This Monday was our first Faith in Action Day at SUA, the first of four dedicated days throughout the year to help our students and community grow in our Catholic and Ursuline core values.  One of things that I love the most about SUA is the commitment to developing the whole person.  This commitment is most thoughtfully laid out in “Becoming the Academy Alum, a Portrait of the Saint Ursula Graduate at Graduation.”  

Through the trajectory of a student’s time at SUA, the goal is that she is ready to make a positive impact on the world through her roles as a reflective thinker, an empathetic leader, a thoughtful nurturer, and a courageous prophet.  We talk regularly about being a thinker, leader, nurturer, and prophet, and this seems like a timely opportunity to share exactly what we mean by these terms.

• As a thinker, she has not only achieved academic excellence but also developed lifelong passions for learning, creative thinking, and problem-solving.
• As a leader, she has developed integrity, courage, and a respect for those she serves and is dedicated to leading by example.
• As a nurturer, she respects the dignity of herself and those around her and works to cultivate community wherever she is.
• As a prophet, she leads a faith-filled life and is determined to create a society where all people are respected.

So, as a parent and community member, you may be wondering what a Faith in Action Day looks like.  On Monday, Amber and I learned it looks like a variety of very interesting and thought-provoking ways to learn about yourself and others in your immediate and global community.  My letter would be way too long if I tried to explain them all, but I hope to provide some snippets to give you some insight into how Faith in Action supports our Academy Alum goals:

• As part of their Freshman day, our newest students analyzed their own VIA Inventory of Strengths and learned that diverse strengths make for a strong community.  They also learned about the Catholic Social Teachings regarding anti-racism through a speaker from St. Vincent de Paul and bonded over preparing bagged meals for those with food insecurity in our city.
• As part of their Sophomore day, the sophomores learned about global food and water issues and spent time participating in a packaging event to support the Lethoso Nutrition Initiative.
• As part of their Junior day, the juniors were off-campus at Mount St. Joseph for a Leadership Training Day.
• The seniors who were not resting up from the weekend’s Kairos retreat were participating in job shadowing.

One of the best parts of the day was observing how the students built community with each other through sharing ideas and enjoying each other’s company as they learned and served others.  It was a very worthwhile day - and another proud day to be a Bulldog!

Take care, 

Kathy