October 14, 2021
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
“As School Sisters of Notre Dame, we further Christ’s mission through our ministry as educators, drawing forth the full potential of others.” (from You Are Sent, the SSND Constitution, GD 31).
Women ages 18-45 are invited to this first of a three-part series about our call as educators and the educational vision that frames it. Part I will focus on our SSND educational vision as it relates to formal education. Hear from sisters ministering at SSND sponsored educational institutions: Notre Dame School of Milwaukee, Notre Dame High School in St. Louis, and Notre Dame of Maryland University.
Check back in 2022 for Transformative Education, Part 2: On the Margins and Part 3: Around the Globe
This online event will begin Thursday, October 14, 2021, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 6 p.m. MT / 5 p.m. PT.
Please register here by October 13 to receive the Zoom link. If you have questions, please contact sisters@ssnd.org.
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About our speakers:
Sister Jan Berberich, who professed her vows in 1970, is beginning her 50th year of formal education in elementary and secondary schools. She earned a BA in Music Education and American Studies and an MA in Theology from St Mary’s University in San Antonio, with certifications to teach Social Studies, Spanish and Science in 6-9th grades. Her teaching positions have brought her to rural Missouri, Illinois, Honduras, California, and now at Notre Dame High School in St. Louis where she has taught for 36 years. Her love is to expose students to experiences outside the classroom, especially those that provide direct service to impoverished communities. She has journeyed with students to Honduras, to the U.S. border with Mexico at Douglas, Arizona, to Milwaukee for an Urban Plunge, and to Germany and Japan. “Service and awareness is what I hope for those I teach.”
Sister Gladys Cortade entered the congregation after high school, and is thrilled to be celebrating her Golden Jubilee in 2022. Her greatest experiences have been teaching in a variety of cultural settings including a Native American boarding school and African American and Latino communities, and the privilege of initiating an education program for the children who lived in the Guatemalan city dump. She’s presently in her 11th year at Notre Dame School of Milwaukee where she prepares students for First Communion, teaches religion, mentors a new teacher, serves as dual-language support and assists primary teachers.
Sister Miriam Jansen completed her undergraduate work at Notre Dame College in St. Louis, Missouri, and earned a graduate degree in education from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and a second master’s degree with an emphasis in international education from Harvard University. She’s been an elementary teacher and administrator, superintendent of schools, served in congregational leadership, and was director of international programs at Notre Dame of Maryland University in Baltimore.
Sister Sharon Slear is Provost/Vice President for Academic Affairs at Notre Dame of Maryland University (NDMU) in Baltimore, Maryland. She received a BA in Chemistry/Pre-Med from NDMU, a MA in Chemistry at Villanova University and a PhD in Educational Administration from Boston College. Sister Sharon has held a variety of teaching and administrative positions in Maryland and Florida. Appointed to the faculty at NDMU in 1988, she developed graduate programs in Education and the university’s first doctoral program, eventually becoming the founding Dean of the School of Education. Sister Sharon has instructed students in administration and educational leadership and supervised student teachers in secondary school internship experiences. She has chaired and has served as a member of several school Boards. In 2008, Sister Sharon received the NCEA Sister Catherine McNamee Award for Outstanding leadership in promoting a vision of Catholic Education that serves students with diverse needs.
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