Last week when a prospective student and her mother came for a tour, they stood at one of our third floor windows amazed at the view of the city before them – the harbor glistened in the sunlight, and beyond it, Baltimore’s downtown rose high into the sky.
Yeah, really. It was like I had pressed a button for “perfect tour weather,” and magically it had appeared.
As much as I love the views from our Fells Point school, it’s what’s going on inside Cristo Rey Jesuit that’s worth writing about.
Consider, for instance, the posters that currently paper one part of my desk. Our students have been creating bilingual posters for a neighborhood association contest and to help prevent crime. “Ser conscientes de su entorno” – be aware of your surroundings. “No lleve mucho dinero” – don’t carry too much money. It’s great advice for anyone in a metropolitan area. But imagine if you are a newcomer to Baltimore and you are working on your English.
#smallschoolbigimpact
This week, we also recognized our employees of the month for November. In case you don’t know, every student at Cristo Rey Jesuit works five days a month at a corporate internship. It’s one of the ways their education is funded. And of course, each month, we recognize an outstanding employee from each grade.
The freshman who earned the honors for November is named Bres’che. I met her at the freshmen field trip in August, when the Class of 2018 traveled to Randallstown for day of team building and outdoor fun at Project Ascent. Bres’che was one of the first from her team to strap herself into a harness, climb a tree, and then jump off that tree to punch a ball.
One problem: When Bres’che got up to the top, she didn’t want to jump. Her team encouraged her and encouraged her, until finally she jumped for the ball. She conquered her fear!
Then she did something ever better. After she got her two feet back on the ground, she helped every single one of her teammates who wanted to climb that tree tie on their harness, and she shouted encouraging words as they climbed.
No surprise that Colliers International, her employer, said they were “overwhelmingly impressed” with Bres’che. I was, too.
#smallschoolbigimpact
That’s the hashtag that I think perfectly describes Cristo Rey Jesuit and what happens every day in this building. We are a young school. We opened our doors in the not-so-distant past of 2007, and yet, 100% of our graduates have been accepted to college.
This blog is a way to share the voices behind those numbers, the work inspiring that hashtag, and the stories of students who will one day become the leaders of our beloved city.
#smallschoolbigimpact.
There is a lot that we are abuzz about – and we thought it was time to let you in on the news.
Jessica Gregg is the communications director at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School.
