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As SLUH students got some zzz’s on Monday, SLUH faculty and staff participated in a retreat

While SLUH students enjoyed their day off of school on Monday, the faculty and staff participated in this year’s first of two faculty retreats. The fall faculty retreat was planned by Assistant Principal for Mission Jim Linhares, along with numerous other members of the SLUH faculty that helped with the Mass, music, small group discussions, talks, and more.

Billy Huette, SJ presenting to SLUH faculty. Photo: Kathy Chott.

According to Linhares, the planning for the retreat began in the spring, where his committee determined a site, speakers, and a theme. The retreat was held at the Marianist Retreat and Conference Center in Eureka, and the theme that the coordinators decided on was “Unity and Diversity.”

“The topic of unity and diversity is a really relevant topic,” said college counselor and Director of Equity and Inclusion Daniel Shields. “Not only in the school but in the country and in the world, so it was a really awesome opportunity to hear different perspectives and, honestly, get a chance to build a significant rapport with other colleagues that I don't usually get a chance to encounter during my daily interactions at SLUH. It was really just phenomenal.”

These experiences of unity and diversity in SLUH are very relevant in our day and age especially after the pandemic these past two years. At home, it was especially hard for teachers to be able to interact with one another and form new objectives for the school year. Now, as we are adjusting to routine life, it is critical that we continue to grow on these aspects.

The highlight of the retreat were the four main talks, given by Shields; theology teacher Chris Keeven; Fr. Billy Huette, SJ; and former SLUH theology teacher and current Director of Mission and Charism at Cor Jesu Danielle Harrison, a well-known, national level speaker on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

To develop the day’s theme of unity, Shields took inspiration from a newspaper article from March 1965 that he had come across in his father’s house about how his father was one of the first African Americans to attend the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. The article also alluded to a peaceful march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., that went from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery that was later turned violent due to adversaries of the movement, but helped to enact the Voting Rights Act of 1965. 

“I was asking myself, how could I use this story?” said Shields, “And honestly, it all kind of came together because all of these people that were protesting for civil rights, even my father and the interviewers, the other students that were interviewing him, were all standing united in diversity.”

Linhares noted that the retreat is important for the faculty for several reasons. 

“The faculty, working as hard as our folks do, need rest and room to do something other than crank away on their jobs. Then, in the broader school mission and identity, adults need to be formed, which is to say shaped, or reminded as to why the school exists, in a sense to further the Kingdom of God. If you don’t set aside time for that kind of activity every now and again, how are you going to stay rooted in why we do what we do?”

Since the retreat, Linhares says that he has received lots of positive feedback on all aspects of the day, ranging from the nice weather to the speeches. 

“People have been very appreciative of the talks,” said Linhares. “They’ve been very appreciative of their colleagues who shared reflections. I’ve gotten feedback on the great conversations that went on in small groups, the music was beautiful, and it really felt like people were praying together.”

 

 


 

 

 

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