Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur - Student Opportunities
Chaminade Julienne provides several opportunities for students to learn even more about the mission and hallmarks of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. Through curriculum, projects or programs, students become impassioned about the work of social justice in our world and are emboldened by the Sisters' mission of those who are unable to stand up for themselves.
Involvement Opportunities
CJ Social Justice Human Rights and Global Perspectives Symposium.
Dorothy Stang Mural Project
Through their work on the Dorothy Stang Mural Project located in the CJ Community Lab Center, students delve deeper into life of Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN '49, her passion for serving the Brazilian farmers and her work toward social justice for the poor. They turn their discovery of how her work mirrors the Beatitudes into an illustrated murals of her mission based on Jesus' speech about those who love and serve the Lord. Murals include artwork created around, "Blessed are the Poor," and "Blessed are the Peacemakers."
The project was planned during the 2007-2008 school year and work began in the summer 2008. The six murals comprising the series are projected to be completed by February 15, 2010, in time for the five year anniversary of her death.
Global Issues Senior Term Paper
The hallmarks and characteristcs of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and Society of Mary are woven into the curriculum at CJ. Through the global issues term paper assignment, seniors choose from social justice issues to research and write about. Past papers have included: Africa: The Politics of Foreign Aid; Cooperation Against Terrorism; and Education of Girls. Students come away from the assignment not only with the experience of reading, research and writing a quality thesis paper, but also by gaining an appreciation for why the advancement of social justice is in needed our world. Past papers have been compiled into a collection of work available for others to read. In February 2009, Hearts and Minds as Wide as the World featuring six global issue topics written by 2008 CJ seniors.
CJ Social Justice Human Rights and Global Perspectives Symposium
In February 2009, under the coordination of faculty and staff members Molly Bardine, Tim Dillon, Karen Emmerich and Angela Mason, CJ hosted its first Social Justice, Human Rights and Global Perspectives Symposium featuring Binka Le Breton, director of the Iracambi Rain Forest Research Center in Brazil and the author of The Greatest Gift, about the life and death of Sister Dorothy Stang, SNDdeN.
The symposium included a breakfast session with faculty and staff and a presentation for students including commentary from Le Breton, the reading of the UN Human Rights Award and Proclamation about Sister Dorothy, and information shared by students researching social issues topics including Simply Water, Shift to Alternate Energy, and The Effects of Yesterday.
Students also described the Sister Dorothy Mural Project which was underway. Each mural was created by a student in Religion 11. Romeo Kwihangana '10, Cora Harrison '10 and Boris Mugisha '10 described their illustrations which depicted a specific Beatitude that inspired them along with a characteristic of Sister Dorothy or an aspect from her life.
At the close of the symposium, Le Breton called students to take a stand for social justice and to pursue what they believed was right for our world. She shared her humble background and how her involvement to do what was right has placed her on a death list in Brazil.