Dear SUA Community,

Lelia and I hope that this most recent long weekend allowed the opportunity for you to enjoy some fun and relaxing time with your daughter.  Today marks the beginning of the second quarter for our students.

One of the events that we look forward to this time of year is the SUA’s Community D.R.I.V.E. (Donate, Respond, Invest, Value, and Educate) that kicks off this Friday and runs through November 1.  Organized by our Department of Service, Equity, and Global Education, the D.R.I.V.E. is a school wide collection of personal hygiene, food, and cleaning supplies to support our neighbors in need.  The D.R.I.V.E. kicks off with a tailgate on Friday morning to generate excitement; later in the day the school gathers for a Gold Bell meeting to learn about how their donations benefit recipients and how this type of service relates to our Ursuline values.  This year the students are challenged to fill 20 barrels of donations.  If they do so, the students have suggested a school wide “no homework” evening on Halloween as their reward.

Service learning and global education are an important part of the SUA students’ experience.  We have three staff members who comprise the Department of Service, Equity, and Global Education:  Rachel Kemper, the department’s Senior Director; Laurel Fiorelli, Community Service Learning Coordinator; Pam Mallory, Diversity, Equity, and Belonging Coordinator.  They coordinate and support a large number of global education and service initiatives across campus and our curricula.  

Recently, the Department of Service Learning, Equity, and Global Education shared with our community some of their collaborations in the first quarter.  I am sharing the list with you because it provides such an interesting insight into how service learning and global education are integrated and supported at SUA by teachers and staff for our students:

• Two members of our community received their AFS Global Competence Certificate:  Laurel Fiorelli and Sarah Scoville.
• Mark Simcoe went to the Peruvian Amazon during the second half of June as part of Miami University's Earth Expeditions program. He took part in various research and inquiry projects, most of them focusing on forest and avian ecology, that he will share with his science classes.
• Joanne Elsbrock continues to offer Service Learning in her social justice classes each quarter where students serve at non-profits 4-5 times throughout the quarter. The students’ Food Justice displays are currently posted around campus. 
• Anthony Mussari worked with his Design students to create new logos and marketing materials for the Bulldog Boost. They had a real world experience by pitching their ideas to the client and having follow up meetings for feedback and changes. The new branding will be coming soon!
• Bere Smith supported the Canary Island Students as they shared cultural presentations to the school. Bere has also done Service Learning projects in her classes and with the Spanish Honor Society.
• Our Global Scholars adult teams (Katie Elsen, Andy Hittle, Lexi Luedke, Maddie Reilly, Sarah Scoville, David Tonnis, Chrissy Wainscott) support the SUA Global Scholars either by helping with Cultural Literacy or Capstones.
• Heather McClain created a great project in geometry with a global lens:  the Islamic Tile Project. Her students’ work will be on display during Open House.
• Brittany Gibson and Sarah Scoville are moderating the Bulldog Boost, our student- run coffee shop on campus whose proceeds support SUA service learning projects.
• SOS Moderators (Brittany Gibson, Andy Hittle, Melissa Lea, Pam Mallory, Monika Nunez) are helping moderate our biggest service group on campus and attending service events with students on the weekends and after school.
• Melissa Lea takes students in Big Sisters weekly to a mentoring program with Alliance Academy. 
• Anne Marie Ewart includes tours with Peaslee Neighborhood Center in her Cincinnati History class to incorporate a justice perspective to Cincinnati history. 
• Melinda Gilb and Joseph Gonzales coordinated Israeli guest speakers for their Old and New Testament and Church and Sacraments classes.

As we think about our new schedule and the opportunities that it presents for experiential learning, this list is a great example of how SUA students, teachers, and staff are already learning by doing and by reflecting on their experiences.  We have recently updated our New Schedule FAQs; the newest questions and responses are at the top of the document.

Go Bulldogs!
Kathy