BEE Newsletter

Please come to the first Affinity Groups X Period on Tuesday, Sept. 19, to learn more about why these groups are a vital part of supporting and empowering all members of a school community.

Just like that, the 2022-23 school year is coming to a close! Since our last newsletter, we have been one busy BEE, working diligently at expanding our offerings for the school community and taking note on what has been effective and what provides room for growth. There were many new programs and activities this year, and I would love to take the time to shine a light on a few.

As I reflect upon my first year as SI's director of culture and belonging, I am proud of what has been accomplished, but also anchored in knowing that there is more work to be done.

During the 2022-23 school year, we moved SI's diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts into a new phase, reorganizing our leadership and forming the Office of Belonging, Equity, and Excellence.

So many new connections, friendships, experiences, and moments of vulnerability and compassion have made this a memorable, joyful, and supportive year so far. We started the school year with our annual Magis First-Year Retreat in August, welcoming new students to SI and the Magis Program and building community for and around first-generation college-bound and Black, Indigenous, Latinx, students of color.

As we enter our second full year of on-campus learning, we wanted to be cognizant about how our community is re-entering learning environments and in some ways re-learning how to engage one another. Part of this re-engagement includes building systems and processes that support our teachers and enhance the student experience at St. Ignatius. 

Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with a variety of members of our community. The purpose of these meetings was to reemphasize the importance of belonging through highlighting our similarities, recognizing our differences as learning mechanisms, and to provide updates on the work we are doing.

If you're looking for books or articles to read, we have several suggestions for pieces that moved us in different ways.