On December 7, 10 students and 2 faculty members from St. Peter Claver High School, a Jesuit school in Dodoma, Tanzania, visited Walsh Jesuit. Their purpose, as Mr. Lynch wrote, “In addition to going on a tour and learning more about Walsh Jesuit High School and Jesuit education in America, the students and faculty members are interested in seeing how classes are conducted in an American high school.” The visitors reviewed class schedules and chose classes to go to throughout the day.

Seniors Andrea Chambers, Mary Claire Reagan, Adam Romanski, Julia Mullins, and Michael Girard helped host the visitors. Mary Claire reflected, “Meeting the fellow Jesuit students from Tanzania opened my eyes to not just look at a school day from a different perspective, but life from a different perspective.”

One of the students, Caroline, described what life is like at St. Peter Claver. She thinks the classes here are more enjoyable and fast paced than those at home. They have 80-minute periods and typically attend three classes a day. The Tanzanian students are in high school for six years and board at their school. The students all agreed their favorite activities there are netball, basketball, and soccer.

Tim Evans, dean of students at St. Ignatius High School, has spent the past four days at Ignatius with our new Tanzanian friends. He noted, “Jesuit schools everywhere share a common mission. This experience is an opportunity to compare ways, but it is also an opportunity to understand that the Jesuit mission is global. When I visited St. Peter Claver, I went into each grade level, and at every age the kids begin their day with the Prayer for Generosity. Most of the students visiting here today also just went on their first Kairos this past summer.”

Mr. Kerr also visited Tanzania and shared, “I went to Tanzania in the summer of 2011 with Mr. Lynch. Our ultimate purpose was to collaborate with teachers from Jesuit schools in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. We spent a lot of time discussing what it means to be Jesuit educators in a global context. We also shared ideas in terms of best practices in a classroom/whole school environment. Most of our time was spent at St. Peter Claver School in Dodoma, where our visitors last week were from. There was a tirelessness and constant thirst for more knowledge and ideas amongst the people we met. ”

Walsh Jesuit, St. Ignatius, and St. Peter Claver are alike in many ways. Whether through retreats, prayers or mottos, we all share faith traditions, values, and goals. Being a student in a Jesuit school is truly something to be proud of. The visitors remind us that WJ is a part of a valuable worldwide Jesuit community.