Eatontown, NJ – The Office for Mission and Ministry held its annual Spring Workshop, March 12-14 in Eatontown, New Jersey. This annual Workshop welcomed educators from ten of our secondary schools to gather “together and by association” for the purpose of professional development and networking.
The theme for the Workshop was Lasallian Schools: Communities of Welcome, Learning and Encounter. The focus group was Vice Principals for Academics, Vice Principals for Student Life and Dean of Students.
Featured speakers were Brother Dennis Malloy, Visitor, who addressed the participants on the topic of Its Not Just Academics: Lasallian Schools as Fields of Mission for God’s Kingdom. Brother Dennis encouraged us as Lasallians to remember a primary reason for our schools is that of evangelizing the youth and that as we develop our academic curriculums we should pay particular attention to the way in which we support the Religion curriculum and the work of Campus Ministry. He also affirmed the vocational role of the participants in conducting schools that encourage each students to discover God’s calling in their lives.
The other keynote presentation was on Fostering a Safe and Supportive Learning Environment: A Trauma Sensitive Approach and was presented by Ms. Beth Lemee-Bixby LCSW and COO of TIDES Family Services, Rachael Yoder LCSW and Jessica Pawlowski LCSW. The presentation inspired the participants to consider the realities of the various expressions of trauma that young people may experience in their lives and gave insight into how to approach specific situations that might involve behavior emerging from experiences of trauma. The presentation resulted in lively and engaging conversation and it was remarked that “it is good to hear the perspective from our Youth and Family Services ministries.”
The Spring Workshop continued with breakout sessions conducted in Professional Conversation Circles on the following topics:
- Social Media: Yes, We Need to Continue Talking About It…
- Supervision of Teachers and Students: Successfully Walking the Tightrope
- Schools of Excellence: Dealing with Student (Parent) Anxiety and Stress
- Curriculum Development: Life Beyond the Textbook
- Scheduling: Need We Say More?
- BYOI (Interests) via specialized conversation groups of your determination