Superior General sets tone for engaging ethos webinar

The District of Ireland, Great Britain and Malta, was honoured to have Brother Robert Schieler, FSC, Superior General of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools (De La Salle Brothers), as the keynote speaker at our first District webinar focusing on Ethos Evaluation and Strategy.

This exciting initiative from the Office of Mission and spearheaded by Jo Millea, Director of Formation and Vocation Ministry, saw the first of three 90-minute webinars take place on Monday January 17th, which attracted a huge attendance despite the current challenges facing our schools.

The aim of the webinars is to support all schools, centres and Lasallian groups to develop a Strategic Ethos (3-5 Year) Plan created with representatives of all stakeholders based on the Lasallian Identity Framework by the end of the 2021-2022 academic year;  

It is also designed to create time and space for reflection for colleagues in schools and centres who would be responsible for this plan, and also to promote reflection on the Lasallian Identity Framework in terms of its use in schools and centres for ethos evaluation and strategic planning.

The initiative will also contribute to the District-wide reflection in preparation for key District-wide policy-making events. Namely, the 2nd District Mission Assembly (Autumn 2022) and the District Chapter (Easter 2023).

Each school was invited to send a delegation which included, Principal/Head; a member of the Senior Leadership Team; Lead Animator or Lasallian link person; and a member of the Board of Management / Board of Governors or Directors. Pastoral Centres were invited to send, the Director, another member of the team, and a member of the Management Team or Board of Management.

The first Webinar 1 was entitled ‘Ethos: What is it and why does it matter?’ The focus of the session related to the centrality of the development of character and culture in schools related to all aspects of school life.  It proved to be a very enlightening event with the large attendance highlighting the energy, enthusiasm and passion for the Lasallian Mission in our District.

Brother Robert Schieler, FSC, Superior General

The highlight was undoubtedly the keynote address by Br. Robert, who set the tone for a very engaging forum.

The Superior General spoke about the work needed to build a sustainable Lasallian Mission into the future and how we can draw on our traditions and dreams to create a future that is more equitable, peaceful, and inclusive by working together.

He pointed out that the understanding of Lasallian Family’s identity and mission is dynamic and always in evolution, new chapters are always being added to the story.  Br. Robert added that the delegates, “are the protagonists, continuing the vitality of the Lasallian heritage, you are the authors adding new chapters to the story”. Click here for recording of Br. Robert’s address

Following the keynote address, delegates were divided into break-out rooms where they discussed what resonated with them from what they had heard and what implications could they foresee for their School or Pastoral Centre.

This was followed by a Question & Answers session with Br. Robert.

The webinar featured contributions from Joseph Gilson (Director of Mission) and Heather Ruple (Co-ordinator or Special Initiatives) and Jo Millea, while Br Visitor Ben Hanlon brought the webinar to a conclusion by thanking all for their input and looked forward to making further progress in future sessions.

Upcoming webinars

Webinar 2 will take place on March 10th under the title, ‘To dream is the way forward: Where are we and where do we hope to go?’

This session will explore the LIF as a tool for self-assessment and how this could assist ministries in their Ethos evaluation and strategy. During this session we will hear from schools in the District who have used the LIF and are already benefiting from this framework. 

Webinar 3 ‘Our Lasallian community: What are our needs and how do we plan to develop them?’, has a provisional date of March 30th.

This session will look at the areas for development that have been identified and how we plan for success.  The goal of this session is to invite schools who have used certain strategies or ways of working that have been successful in the ethos development and character building of students to share their work.  

The aim here would be to leave the session inspired by good practice from other schools and to seek clear direction relating to strengths and weaknesses for their own school.

Outcomes
After each webinar, delegates will have to carry out various tasks and provide feedback with the ultimate aim being for each school and centre to develop an Ethos Strategic Plan for the next 3-5 years, that takes into account the strengths and needs identified, by the end of the 2021/22 school year.

Once the Strategic Ethos Plans are collated, key strands of commonality can be drawn out and bespoke packages relating to authentic needs can be developed and presented at the District Mission Assembly in Autumn 2022/Winter 2023. 

For schools demonstrating real strength in a certain aspect of cultivating ethos, we can then work with them to share their good practice and utilise skills in the development of this package of support. 

Wherever the school is on the spectrum of developing their Lasallian identity and ethos, this is sure to help in securing strong relationships and responding specifically to needs identified by the schools and pastoral centres themselves.