October 2019

Students wanting to create peace for all, especially in the Dayton area, took part and were recognized for their peace plans as part of an initiative inspired by the Dayton Peace Festival.

Chris Borland, a Dayton-area native, started the Dayton Peace Festival in response to the Oregon District shooting in August. Along with activities to bring self-peace and community-peace, he encouraged students to propose peace plans and peace poems. CJ students participated in this contest, with a Senior Capstone group being recognized as the winner.

Human-to-Human, the Senior Capstone group created by Madison Meixner (Montessori School of Dayton), Kaitlin Stewart (St. Peter/Riverside), and Mia Tillar (St. Albert the Great/Kettering) aims to focus on racial stereotypes and try to erase them through educating people and start conversations about race. 

“Conversation is important because it allows people to share their opinions and thoughts on certain issues, topics, and interests,” the seniors said. “When people converse, they are often opened to different perspectives, opportunities, and communities. Through conversing, it allows people from various backgrounds, whether it’s religious, ethnic, racial, or sexual to really understand one another in how they are similar and diverse.

“With this peace plan, our goal is to push the boundaries of talking about race and open conversation up to the CJ and Dayton communities. In the past, race has been a big issue and something sensitive, but we want to show that when you have conversations, it can be something so special and insightful. We want to be models for our school and the Dayton community by starting good dialogue about race, people’s experiences, and how we can impact those around us. This project can make an impact on this issue because it will help make connections and break down barriers to allow all people to be treated with dignity and come together as a community of diversity.”

Also recognized for a peace plan was Lyndsey Carter ‘20 (St. Albert the Great).

“I developed a plan to help with the mental health epidemic in the Dayton community to help foster a more peaceful and safe environment,” Carter said. “This plan will offer more accessible mental health resources so that a tragedy like the shooting in the Oregon District  could be prevented in the future.”

Cyrus Good ‘21 (St. Anthony) was also recognized for submitting a peace plan.

“I wrote about a plan for better transportation in Old North Dayton,” Good shared. “Overall, writing it was thrilling because it caused me to formulate a plan for the betterment of other people, and it got me thinking about how I could make Dayton a better place. It has reminded me to be creative in coming up with solutions to problems I can see in my community.”

For the group Human-to-Human, they predict they’ll be putting their plan into action sooner than later.

“We plan on creating a podcast and releasing our first one in November,” the seniors said. “We are discussing how we want to create conversation by inviting people from the CJ community and Dayton area to come onto our podcast and have a conversation with some guided questions about race and how they’ve dealt with discrimination. We also hope to dabble in a couple other topics such as mental health, religion, sexuality, etc. Some of these topics can be hard to talk about, but they are important to talk about.

“Taking these first steps with our podcast will open the doors to creating good connections and maybe changing opinions.”

Posted October 31, 2019

Each year students, faculty and staff at Chaminade Julienne participate in National Make a Difference Day. This annual community service event is being held Friday, October 25 and Saturday, October 26, 2019 at dozens of sites across the Miami Valley and the nation.

The CJ community has participated in Make a Difference Day for more than 20 years. The event was previously known as Join Hands Miami Valley and is sponsored by the United Way.

This year, CJ groups will be giving their time and talents at sites including:

• 4 Paws for Ability
• Catholic Social Services
• Dayton Right to Life
• Five Rivers Metroparks
• Habitat for Humanity
• Marianist Environmental Education Center
• Rebuilding Together Dayton
• Wesley Community Center

Some CJ volunteers are participating with a specific club or team. Groups including student council, FLIGHT, Eagles for Life, Cuvilly, and several athletic teams are participating in one or more of the 16 CJ service sites.

Earlier in the month, members of Eagle Pride provided their Make a Difference Day service at the 7th annual Brunner Literacy Center 5K Run/Walk. The group provided great cheer, spirit and encouragement to all those who came out for the event.

You can see where the Eagles will be in action for National Make a Difference Day by following the CJ Ministry & Service Twitter page.

Posted October 24, 2019

As Hispanic Heritage month came to a close, those with Hispanic lineage gathered together for a picture outside of the CJ Welcome Center. Included in that picture was English teacher Dan Eiser. He shared the following reflection about what his Hispanic heritage, and the Chaminade Julienne community, means to him.

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“But you aren’t like really Mexican.”

That was the turn of phrase I would hear over and over again in high school from kids often not realizing exactly what they were saying — as if there is some checklist of things you need to really be considered Mexican by everyone. I would always just smile and let the comments be. This was despite my insides exploding. I would often think it was just my fair skin which stood in stark contrast to my mother’s. Or the fact that I didn’t grow up bilingual and was having to sit in the same Spanish class as them.

Unfortunately it took time for me to find my voice and speak up for myself. Ultimately that confidence has guided me in my career at CJ. This isn’t as much a knock on those students or the school community I had (I loved my high school experience) but rather an observation on how a lack of exposure to different cultures manifested in my peers. For a lot of my friends through grade school and into high school I was only one of a few Latinos, or in some cases THE only, they had ever been in class with. And it is those interactions with other types of people that was needed to help my classmates grow in order to provide a better learning environment for all.

At CJ I have been blessed. From the first day I found out I would be teaching here, the student body’s diversity appealed to me. I wasn’t used to a student body like this. I had never spent a school day in a high school with girls (I went to an all boys high school) let alone one with students from so many different backgrounds. What I was really intrigued by though, were some of the names on my student rosters, names of Latinx students.

I remember that feeling well. I called my mom and said, “Ma, listen to some of these names. I can’t wait.” And as the students got to know me and my story, I learned for a lot of them, that representation on the teaching staff excited them too. Because for groups that aren’t used to seeing someone like them in certain roles, representation really does make a difference. And one of the things I have loved seeing is the growth of our Latinx community here at CJ. My first year I would typically have 2-3 students in a class with Latinx heritage. Some classes none.

Now CJ, through a conscious effort, has a much larger Latinx community. And this is important because as Dayton’s Latinx community continues to grow, we want the school to grow with it. And also as a result, I have noticed that the students from Latinx backgrounds are more willing to share their gifts and culture with other students. For this year’s freshmen, it is just normal to also have other Latinx students in class around them. They feel comfortable to display that pride that it took me until the end of my college years to really put out for everyone to see. In my freshman classes, it’s normal to have multiple students holding a conversation in Spanish with one student then English with another. This offers something unique to our students.

CJ shaped my mission as a teacher. I look back on my own experience and around our school building and think about how I can be that similar role model for Latinx students here at school. What is my role in providing a more comfortable environment for them to learn? How can I make sure I don’t fail in my mission?

I didn’t have a Latinx teacher growing up or in high school. I didn’t have an adult with a similar background in the building who I could go to get advice from or look to for an example. I don’t want that to be the case for my students. Whether they take advantage of that or not, I want them to have the option because I didn’t. I want them to know I have pride in who I am. I display pictures of my family, I will talk about my family and I want my students to also have no fear of telling us about their family. I want them to feel comfortable to be themselves without fear of other students, the way that I wish I was in high school.

If we can do that then all the other students will gain knowledge and a respect for all cultures. So that they aren’t in a classroom telling a kid that they aren’t really Mexican, or Salvadoran, or Honduran, or Puerto Rican, or Cuban, or Guatalamen, or any of the other distinct Latino cultures our students come from and the gifts they bring to our community.

Posted October 15, 2019

Young alumni are continuing to share how they are succeeding after high school in our #becauseofCJ series. Through your gift to the Annual Fund, you make this happen. When you do, more Eagles can soar! Read Brianna’s story below, and consider making your gift today.

Dear CJ Community,

When I look back on my time at CJ, my heart is filled with both love and fond memories, folded in with a lot of hard work and late nights that were eventually worth all of their pain. I think back on the times I walked the halls that were once filled with green and blue lockers and now, two and a half years after graduating, I am beyond grateful.

I first walked through the side door on Washington Street in the Fall of 2013. With nothing but a few grade school friends and my siblings’ reputations preceding me, I was scared to death of being forever known as “Little Gavin”, a trouble-maker, and a “problem” that couldn’t be erased. Nevertheless, I sat myself in my honors classes, kept myself closed off for months, and buried myself deeply in the sense of achievement and the hope that I would be overlooked by those around me. But no one at CJ let me slip through the cracks.

My time at CJ went on and as my home life grew more and more tumultuous, I relied more heavily on the family I built for myself at CJ. Within a matter of weeks into my sophomore year, I found myself in a single parent, low-income household where I had to be a leader and care for my two younger siblings. With this being my home life, I began treasuring my time at CJ more and more every day by coming to school an hour early and leaving an hour after school ended. Chaminade Julienne, without exaggeration, became my home.

In my home built of classrooms and desks were dozens of supportive, loving, caring adult mentors who carried me to and through some of my toughest trials and tribulations. Mornings and afternoons spent having conversations with Ms. Ketch, an encouraging word from Mrs. O’, a detour on my way back to class with Mrs. Saunders, a joke from Mrs. DeLong, a “Hi best friend” to Mrs. Mason, a hug from Mrs. Bonner, and a smile and hopeful conversation from Ms. Ruffolo is what got me through much of my time there. I am forever grateful for those and many more caring adults who impacted me. I will never forget planning dances through Student Council, creating and leading the Red Cross Club, being an Eagle Ambassador, calling alumni through my Student Development Chair role, spirit weeks, football games, Solsberry mission trips, dances, early mornings for Liturgical Choir, snowball fights in the senior lot, and learning the words to the Alma Mater at the pep rallies.

When I wanted to give up on myself and on my dreams, no one at CJ let me. When I didn’t believe in myself, they believed in me. When my tuition was overdue and I couldn’t pay it, CJ did everything they could to help me. When I couldn’t pay for a NHS stole, one of my fellow classmates stepped in and paid for it. When I didn’t want to complete assignments and I thought I was never going to cross the stage at graduation (mostly because of a missing gym credit…), everyone at CJ came together and helped me not only get to graduation, but do so with almost a full ride to the University of Dayton waiting before me.

From the moment I started thinking about what my life would be like after leaving my home, CJ, I thought no further than a typical minimum wage job and no schooling. I did not believe I had any potential to get into any college. Despite my course load of honors and AP classes, high ACT scores, and heavy involvement and leadership, I had no belief in myself.

I will never forget the day in the fall of 2016 when I walked into the Guidance Office and was handed a manila folder with my name written across the top of it. Inside this folder, my guidance counselor had college flyers and scholarship information and she explained to me that no matter what, I was going to make it. That day she handed me a flyer and explained a new scholarship program called “Flyer Promise” at the University of Dayton. After talking me into interviewing and applying, on February 22, 2017, I received a red drawstring bag and acceptance into a program that has altered my life forever. I felt so much gratitude as I sat across from two strangers with my eyes watering and a smile that said it all. This, all because of CJ.

Because of CJ, I made it to college. Because of CJ, I lead on campus. Because of CJ, I am instilled with a deeply rooted respect for those of diverse backgrounds, races, religions, cultures, genders, socioeconomic status, and other assorted identities. I am the person I am because of CJ.

At the age of 20, I have grown from my experiences at CJ. I am now pursuing a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology with a minor in Biology. I have served as a PEER Mentor in the Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center, a Tutor-Counselor for UD’s Upward Bound, Researcher in the Psychology Department, Active Minds Co-President, and Chair of UD’s Student Government Association Mental Health Committee. If I had not begun this leadership while at CJ, I would not have the capacity to do it now.

The skills, faith, and family that CJ gifted me with did not leave me when I crossed the graduation stage in May of 2017. I am blessed to go to college with three of my fellow Kairos leaders, to be in a scholarship program with more than 20 of my fellow high school classmates, and to be roommates and live with my best friend from grade school and high school. I am reminded daily of the blessings afforded to me through the deeply rooted love of green and blue.

Gifts and donations made to Chaminade Julienne are what saved and changed the course of my life. If I had gone to another high school, I don’t believe I would have received as much care from teachers as I did from the ones I had at CJ and I wholeheartedly believe I would not be where I am now without them. I am only one of thousands of lives that have been forever changed from walking the halls of CJ and I am forever grateful that I got to be a part of the family. Thank you for helping me, encouraging me, and guiding me to where I am today.

With much love and gratitude,

Brianna Gavin, Class of 2017

Posted October 7, 2019