Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

Pat Bassett, president of NAIS (National Association of Independent Schools) shared this festive video with students and educators at the annual People of Color / Student Diversity and Leadership Conference. My favorite quote from the video is "The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader..." I share it with you for your reflection. What do you think?

Apply NOW to host & travel in Spring 2011 !

UA Students, this week is the final week to apply to host a student from our sister-schools in Chile and in Peru. Both groups will be visiting us for 2 1/2 weeks in January! A new friend is waiting to know you and your family! Come by the Global Village to pick up your Host Student Application today!

Also, we are now accepting applications from Freshmen, Sophomores and Juniors who wish to join the 2011 Spring Delegation to our sister school in Chile. The group will travel in March, over Spring Break and the week following. These applications are also waiting for you in the Global Village! See Ms. Vander Linden to pick up an application - She and Ms. Nipp are available to answer any questions. We look forward to receiving your applications for these life-transforming events!

POCC Closing Day

Our last day at POCC was fantastic! We began with an adult / student dialogue about diversity in our schools (we paired up with our friends from Parish Episcopal). Then, we attended the spirited closing ceremony with keynote speaker and Latino activist, Roberto Lovato. We learned a lot from him about standing up against oppression and about having the courage to speak truth to power. He brought our attention to The Dream Act and to the exceptional young people who are working to make The Dream Act a reality. Another highlight of the Closing Ceremony was the POCC choir - their performance is a highlight every year!

We spent our last two hours in San Diego at the San Diego marina, shopping for souvenirs and enjoying our last taste of the fresh California cuisine. We were thrilled to discover an almost empty flight home which gave us a most relaxing trip back to Big D.

We return home strengthened, challenged, informed, empowered and grateful for the time spent at POCC. We are eager to share the lessons learned with our school community and we are already looking forward to POCC 2011 in Philadelphia!

POCC & SDLC 2010!

At last, here we are at the 2010 People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference, sponsored by NAIS (The National Association of Independent Schools). The theme this year is Catching the tides of change, Riding the waves of opportunity, Coast 2 Coast, Seek to see, Anchoring ourselves in the community harbor. The feeling this year is bright and energetic - full of optimism and hope!

We are staying next to the San Diego Convention Center at the beautiful Marriott Hotel and Marina so we have spectacular water views which serve as reminders of our wavy ocean theme. We immediately got swept away in the excitement during the opening session when we were welcomed by mariachis to his grand event. The opening keynote speaker was author Phoebe Eng who spoke to us about the evolution of The United States and about how the American dream has evolved beyond a dream that one has to accomplish alone - now we know that teamwork and collaboration are also admirable paths to a bright future. I was struck by Ms. Eng's focus on the skill of fluency which she describes as a person who can understand different cultures and can serve as a bridge between people of different cultures. She was dynamic!!

Since the opening session, the students and adults have separated into the 2 different conferences and we will all come together again for the closing session tomorrow. One speaker who both groups were privileged to hear was Mr. Ernest Green, a member of the now famous "Little Rock Nine" students who were the first students to integrate Central High School in 1957. It was a tremendous honor to hear Mr. Green and to learn more about his experience as one of the major figures of the US Civil Rights Movement. I was particularly struck by his humility and about how he knew at a very early age that education and excellence would serve to combat racism. It was an emotional moment for so many educators of color to be in the presence of Mr. Green, knowing that we were able to attend schools and now lead schools today because of what he and other brave people accomplished for us decades ago.

Other highlights of our time at POCC have included networking with our colleagues from Dallas as well as all over the USA. Additionally, we are bringing back ideas for future school assemblies and readings. One person who we hope will visit us at UA is Ms. Sarah Culberson. Sarah's story is a fascinating tale of discovery and identity... Sarah was a multiracial child adopted by a loving family from West Virginia. Unbeknownst to Sarah, her biological father was from a royal family in Sierra Leone and she is actually considered a princess in Sierra Leone. Since making this remarkable discovery, she has traveled to Africa to meet her extensive family and is today helping to rebuild a school in her father's country. She is today an actress, an educator and an author. We were lucky to have the opportunity to chat with Sarah today (she was so kind and gracious to us!) and we told her that we hope she'll consider coming to Ursuline to meet and inspire our students.

Well, there have been numerous other impactful sessions and discussions over the past two days - and it's not over yet! We are looking forward to another wonderful day of conversation and the closing ceremonies tomorrow!

Greetings from San Diego - Day 1

On Tuesday, a jovial group of 10 UA students and 3 adults left Big D for the beautiful destination of San Diego, California. Now we are in sunny California attending the annual NAIS People of Color Conference and Student Diversity Leadership Conference.

We have much to report about the conference but first we want to report on this fantastic city where most of us have never been before. Because we arrived one day early for the conference (due to an astronomical difference in airfare for the earlier flights), we had the special thrill of a one-day exploration of San Diego. After registering for the conference (which was super easy and smooth since we arrived ahead of the other 3000 participants), we headed directly to the San Diego Zoo - known more accurately as the World-Famous San Diego Zoo.

Well, we soon discovered why it is known as the one of he best zoos (if not THE best) in the world! It was magnificent and HUGE! How we walked! And when we couldn't walk anymore, we rode the express bus and the Sky-fari where we enjoyed fantastic aerial views of Balboa Park. Of course, the most thrilling part of the day was being so close to the animals and to see them in natural environments. Among our favorites were the pandas, koalas (by the way, they're marsupials, NOT bears), polar bears and giraffes! And other than the hour that we lost Ms. Estes on the Monkey Trail due to being distracted by gorillas, it was a flawless day!

Our day ended with a festive Baja California cuisine dinner and review of our conference program in anticipation of the big day ahead!

Our Global Experience Photo Exhibit

Be sure to check out the photo exhibit currently displayed in UA's FFC atrium. It s titled Our Global Experience and the photos highlight our adventures and learning moments from all over the world. All photos are from UA experiences from 2006-2010 and they are divided by country. Also featured are some of our favorite "creature" photos as well as some unexpected faculty photos. The photos are primarily from the collections of Mr. Thompson and Ms. Nipp but there are a few from other generous guest photographers. We'd also like to thank Mr. Thompson for the awesome set-up of the entire display!

Welcome Home!

We are delighted to report that our Brazil delegation has returned to Dallas, safe and sound (and rather tanned). As you can see, we were so happy about their return that we were at DFW airport waiting for them at 6am with great enthusiasm! All report that the time in Brazil was the experience of a lifetime and that they treasure the memories. We are happy to have our friends back home and we are already looking forward to the next Brazilian adventure!

Happy Moments in Brazil ... Farewell!

Our Brazil Delegation is now headed home to Dallas after a farewell celebration and Mass at the Ursuline School in Ilheus. They will return home with memories of fun, friends and a wonderfully different world. Here are a few photos from the last days in Brazil - the school photos with the children are from the service project at the daycare center that is run by the Ursuline sisters. The photo of Elizabeth with "the clocks" is from the end-of-year celebration at Piedade where the whole school celebrated biodiversity through an Alice in Wonderland theme. Our students contributed to the celebration with a Texas line dance lesson and guitar accompaniment which was received with great enthusiasm.

We wish the delegation a safe trip home and we thank them for representing Ursuline and Texas so beautifully!

Brazilian Adventures...

Well, it's been a few days since our Brazil Delegation checked in with us and now we know it's because they have been busy making presentations on life in Texas, zipping through the rain forest, touring cacao farms, playing with children at an Ursuline-sponsored day care center, eating freshly-made chocolate, chasing monkeys, studying sea creatures (particularly crabs), dancing at birthday parties, sailing to near-by islands, practicing Portuguese phrases, trekking through the jungle, cooling off in waterfalls and, of course, being honored guests at the end-of-year school celebration and research project presentation which, I hear, involved a dramatic ending featuring a faculty "chicken dance". WOW, we're so sorry they've had nothing to do in Brazil ("NOT", as the kids say).

Ms. Chinuntdet has graciously passed along these images of the adventurous group from the afternoon when they were zipping through the rain forest. That is, in fact, a photo of Ms. Chinundet, our fearless delegation leader, zipping along the tropics of Brazil - "good times" indeed!

We are thrilled to report that despite a few health challenges in the first days (2 stomach viruses w/ fever, 1 sinus infection, 1 severe sunburn, 1 case of excessive bug bites and 1 sore throat), everyone seems to be in excellent health and spirits now (parents, if you haven't heard from me, your daughter has escaped these issues, no worries).

We can't wait to hear what additional adventures the last days in Brazil will bring!

Greetings from Brazil!

Our cheerful travelers have reported that they are well and happy and enjoying their first days in Brazil. Some highlights on Monday were visiting a cacao farm, touring the city (including the spot where the famous Brazilian writer, Jorge Amado, used to sit in the local cafe) and seeing the cathedral. In the chapel of the school (picture above) the students also enjoyed a lesson about the history of the Ursulines in Brazil. Later in the day, there was time for a visit to the local chocolate factory and the craft market. As you can see, it's quite hot but the group tells us that there has also been a gentle breeze. It looks like they are all delighting in "the thrill of Brazil!"

UA's Brazil Delegation Departs from DFW!

After much anticipation, our 15 member Brazil Delegation departed from DFW airport last night. They could not have been more enthusiastic! And their enthusiasm was not dampened by the fact that they left almost 3 hours late due to a problem with the airplane thermostat. The group did indeed miss their connection in Sao Paulo but they were quickly rerouted through Salvador and finally arrived safely and happily (and, we hear, a little "sweaty" from the extreme humidity) in Ilhéus, Bahia this afernoon. We know that they were met by the faculty, parents and teachers from Nossa Senhora da Piedade, our sister-school, and that all are being welcomed and celebrated this evening. We can't wait to hear more news and to see a few photos - stay tuned!

DADYO Meeting

Tonight we participated in the November DADYO meeting at Jesuit. DADYO stands for "Dallas area Diversity Youth Organization" and the members are students from local private schools including UA, Jesuit, ESD, Parish Episcopal, Hockaday, St. Marks and Greenhill. It's a fantastic organization and it's always fun to make new friends. Tonight the topic was "The American Dream"and students discussed the impact of circumstances that one is born into as well as the impact of the choices we make. After a casual pizza dinner and a little socializing (of course!), the students gathered in small groups and discussed the topic as well as what it feels like to be part of the "mainstream" vs. "the fringe." The discussions were intense and emotional but never without humor and voices of support. It was great to see so many Ursuline girls at the meeting and we remind all UA students that everyone is welcome at DADYO. We will actually host the next meeting of DADYO on January 12 at UA from 6-8 pm- mark your calendars!

UA's Brazil Delegation 2010 prepares for departure

This Thursday, 3 UA faculty members and 12 students will depart for our sister school in Bahia, Brazil. The group has spent weeks preparing for the journey, learning about Brazil and about Brazilian culture. In these last hours before departure, the students are busy packing summer wardrobes (yes, it will be hot as it is the end of Spring in Brazil) and working ahead in classes. While in Brazil, their responsibilities include a major presentation on themselves, Ursuline Dallas and life in the USA. The students are most eager to meet their host families, learn about student life at our sister school and to see the gorgeous beaches of Bahia. We know that they can expect the experience of a lifetime and we'll be sure to report on their adventures in the coming days.

Boa viagem!!

Farewell to our Brazilian Guests!

Saturday was a sad day as we had to say goodbye to our friends from Brazil. We hated to see them go but we are grateful for our good times and happy memories of the last two weeks. Saturday was also a day of severe weather here in Dallas so, regretfully, the group left a few hours late which caused them to miss their connection in Miami. So, our friends ended up with a surprise excursion to Miami where they finally left last night - 24 hours later than expected. As always, international travel is full of surprises!

We at Ursuline are profoundly grateful to our five host families who helped to make this exchange such a success! Thank You for your kindness, generosity and flexibility!