(Pictured above: New faculty and staff from La Salle HS in Pasadena, CA and Cathedral HS in Los Angeles, CA who participated in a mission orientation and formation session with Andy Kuffner, Director of Formation for Mission)
Across our district in recent weeks, our middle and high schools have welcomed over 165 new staff to their communities. From all walks of life and from a variety of experience levels and backgrounds, these new Lasallians are essential to the health of the mission. Our newest staff bring a sense of vitality to our work with their new perspectives, expertise and openness to growing and learning about our shared Lasallian mission.
The new staff orientation programs offered them an opportunity to get to know each other and the mission. By sharing maps and statistics about our district, region and institute, along with information about the life and work of the De La Salle Christian Brothers, they were able to more fully grasp the global extent of the impact and Charism of the Brothers in the Church and the work of education we share. This was accompanied by an overview of the early history and founding of the institute and life of St. John Baptist de La Salle. Emphasizing God’s providence and the step-by-step nature of De La Salle’s gospel journey, the new staff were able to see De La Salle as an accessible and relatable patron and saint, who left a life of privilege and wealth in order to lift up and serve young people through education, building a sustainable community of educators, benefactors and schools.
The orientation also included perspective on how our Lasallian mission and pedagogy is operationalized in the world today through an exploration of the 5 core principles, and Lasallian Spirituality. Jesse Watson, the new Vice Principal for Academics at De La Salle North Catholic HS in Portland, Oregon offered that “Being invited into the Lasallian mission felt like being welcomed into something much bigger than a school or a profession. Learning about St. John Baptist de La Salle and the intentionality behind his work gave me a deeper appreciation for the legacy I am now part of, and it made me even more excited and humbled to help carry that mission forward at De La Salle North Catholic High School.”
Together as a district we offer profound gratitude for all who work in this mission, but during this start of a new school year we offer special prayers and gratitude for the newest staff who have joined, putting their unique gifts and talents into the service of those entrusted to our care. May their beginning be exciting and their transition be smooth. May their new work enliven their personal vocation and help them see their work as a gift from God; inviting them into a deeper fullness of life and dignity within the new community and mission they have joined.
