Schools in collaboration: Summer Institute in Mississipi
Students and chaperones from North American Dehonian schools gathered in Mississippi in June to participate in this year’s SCJ Schools Summer Institute.
The Summer Institute began with Mass at the Sacred Heart Church in Walls, Mississippi. Fr. Jack Kurps, SCJ, was the main celebrant. Fathers Ari and Floribert were concelebrants. After Mass, it was off to Sacred Heart School where they were joined via video conference by students from Sao Luiz (St. Louis), another Dehonian school in Brusque, Brazil. The morning was filled with presentations from each of the schools. Students learned a little about each other, their schools, and cultural traditions as well as about the different areas of the country in which they reside.
The young people also enjoyed presentations given by Fraters Jonathan Nguyen, Jacob Smith, and Truc Tran, SCJs. The fraters shared where they were from, how they came to join the Priests of the Sacred Heart, and their aspirations for the future.
Service learning is a part of everyday life at our schools. In keeping with that tradition, the Summer Institute provided an opportunity for volunteer work at Sacred Heart Southern Missions. Students helped to inventory school supplies for SHSM’s upcoming Back to School Program and helped to jump-start Thanksgiving with the construction of hundreds of boxes for the food baskets.
The week also included a number of exciting field trips in Memphis, including a walk down Beale Street and an afternoon at the Memphis Zoo. The National Civil Rights Museum and the Lorraine Motel made quite the impression, says Sacred Heart School Principal Bridget Martin. “Students were able to see and experience things in person that, before, they have only read about in their history books.”
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11/11In the South, good eats are never in short supply. Students enjoyed tasty local fare and a bit of history at several notable dining institutions, including burgers at the original Huey’s in Midtown, catfish and fried pickles at The Hollywood Café in Tunica, and patty melts at Phillips Grocery in Holly Springs.
Beyond the good food, Holly Springs provided even more educational experiences. At Holy Family School, students watched videos on the lives of Fr. Leo John Dehon and Blessed Sr. Thea Bowman. Touring the area, Summer Institute participants also were able to visit the Yellow Fever Martyrs Museum, learning about the post-Civil War epidemic, the early Catholics in the Holly Springs area, and the history of the original St. Joseph’s Church. Just across the road, Fr. Guy Blair, SCJ, expanded on the story of St. Joseph’s and showed them around the current church building.
The final excursion of the Summer Institute was less than half a mile away, in historic Hill Crest Cemetery (1837). There, the young people saw the final resting place of many of the Yellow Fever victims of the area, including Fr. Anacletus Oberti and six Sisters of Charity of Nazareth who tended to the sick and ultimately succumbed to the deadly illness. While at the cemetery, students witnessed nationally recognized stonemason and conservation specialist Jonathan Appell and his team repairing and preserving several of the historic gravestones and monuments. The preservation team was in the area filming a documentary on the subject. Appell paused for a photo op with the group. It is possible that some of our kids may make their cinematic debut in the film.
Echoing the sentiments of the students and educators in attendance, Irazema Ortiz, principal of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School in Houston, shared the group’s gratitude: “A huge thank you to the Priests of the Sacred Heart and all the staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to uplift and support the community. This experience has left a lasting impression on us, and we are grateful for the opportunity to learn about and witness the incredible work being done.”
The Priests of the Sacred Heart operate five schools in North America: Sacred Heart School (Southaven, MS), Holy Family School (Holly Springs, MS), Our Lady of Guadalupe (Houston, TX), St. Joseph’s Indian School (Chamberlain, SD), and Seminaire du Sacre-Coeur (Pointe-Au-Chene, Quebec, Canada). The SCJs operate about 50 schools on five continents around the world.
