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!