Parents and Friends,

Every semester I meet with each class in the gym during a collaboration period. We use this time for practical reasons such as basic reminders, promoting upcoming events, or responding to issues on campus (for example, litter, dress code, technology use). We also use this time to pause and note where we are in the school year and simply recognize what is happening in us and around us right now. We practice one aspect of the first week of the Spiritual Exercises to notice God’s creation all around us. The practice of simply noticing is surprisingly powerful.  

This week I met with the Sophomore class and I added a component. I asked the students to think about the person they were and what their life felt like one year ago. I asked them to close their eyes and to sit with that memory for a while. They were new high school students whose lives had been disrupted in countless ways. Isolation and Zoom screens. Canceled plans and loneliness. Unpredictability and confusion. Boredom. I then asked that they fast forward to the present and consider in what ways they have changed or grown in one year. I still wonder what they found. We hope they recognized profound growth and appreciation for the many blessings in their lives, but we can imagine that some students opened their eyes and found that little had changed in and around them. Even that realization is a gift…and a challenge.

We might all benefit from the reflection our Jesuit sophomores experienced. How have I grown over this last year? What is happening in me and around me right now?

It is our hope that such a reflection would allow us to recognize that all the events, challenges, successes, relationships, disappointments, and discoveries from this last year were gifts from God for which we ought to be grateful; gifts that allow us to grow in the people we are becoming, allow us to grow closer to God, and for our context, allow us to advance the mission of Jesuit.  God is never outdone in his generosity and in his love for us. 

The many events and announcements in our Weekly Updates are dedicated to enriching and supporting your son’s Jesuit experience. These activities and programs also reflect the work of our outstanding team of administrators, programs directors, teachers, counselors, coaches, moderators, and parents. These good people arise in my reflection as I consider the many blessings in my life and people with whom I have walked this last year, this includes you, our families who support and trust us each day.

Wishing you all a blessed and safe Thanksgiving.

Peace,

Dr. Michael Wood

QUICK LINKS:

• Previous Weekly Updates
• Together for Our Sons, support the Annual Fund
• Collaboration Calendar
• Community Calendar
• Main Calendar online, downloadable, linkable

11/22-11/26 Bell Schedule at-a-glance