ACE Summer's Spikeball Subculture

Four people stand in ready position on South Quad. Their knees are slightly bent, their eyes trained on the yellow ball as it bounces neatly off the circular net in the grass. It’s twilight on Notre Dame’s campus—fireflies have already started to congregate on the lawn—but for these four players, the rest of the world has melted away. For 20 minutes, they are not graduate students or instructors or administrators. All that matters is the net, the ball, and the next move. All that matters is Spikeball.

During the first stress-laden three weeks of school, the ACE Indianapolis community made its way through all eight Harry Potter movies. I loved Harry Potter when I was in elementary school but I hadn’t seen any of the movies or read any of the books in a decade. While the movies were really for background noise as we planned and came to know each other, the glimpses of brightly colored spells and the familiar movements of the soundtrack brought back the dormant feelings of enchantment and adventure buried in the childhood section of my brain. 

So, here we are. My calendar tells me we’re six weeks in, though I think twenty seems closer to capturing the reality of how full this time has been. I’m sitting before a Richmond sunset (#RichLove #RVACE #VirginiaIsForACErs), sipping rooibos tea out of my favorite purple mug as I write these words—a beautiful evening, no doubt. Today was, as always, a whirlwind; as always, a crash course in adulting; as always, a miracle. This morning, like all others before it, began the same way: a skilled execution of the classic “three snooze n’ roll,” fumbling for glasses from table to ground to face, the quickest bedside reading (one page a morning, try it), and, like clockwork, one singular thought has moved into my mind.

Every member of ACE Teaching Fellows gets a card just like the one above. There’s one on my bedside table and an extra in my wallet—just to be safe. Wherever I am, I have the ACE Morning Offering with me.

Michael Berino (ACE 19) has expanded his teaching and learning by spending the past nine months in Senegal. Thanks to a prestigious grant he received from The Fulbright Program, he has worked with the Office of English Teaching at Senegal's Ministry of Education, assisting in professional development for English teachers throughout the country as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) & Teacher Trainer. This blog post is the third and last in a series of reflections on the tie-ins between his Fulbright experiences and the three pillars of his formation as a member of ACE Teaching Fellows. Here, he discusses the pillar of spiritual growth.

When the Senegalese ask “How you are doing” in Wolof (the most widely spoken language in Senegal, even more than French), the standard response is, “Maangi fi,” which literally translates to, “I’m here.” It bodes well with Senegal, and shows the importance of simply being present.  

Michael Berino (ACE 19) has expanded his teaching and learning by spending the past nine months in Senegal. Thanks to a prestigious grant he received from The Fulbright Program, he has worked with the Office of English Teaching at Senegal's Ministry of Education, assisting in professional development for English teachers throughout the country as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) & Teacher Trainer. This blog post is the second in a series of reflections on the tie-ins between his Fulbright experiences and the three pillars of his formation as an ACE Teaching Fellow. Here, he discusses the pillar of building community.

Michael Berino (ACE 19) has expanded his teaching and learning by spending the past nine months in Senegal. Thanks to a prestigious grant he received from The Fulbright Program, he has worked with the Office of English Teaching at Senegal's Ministry of Education, assisting in professional development for English teachers throughout the country as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) & Teacher Trainer. This blog post is the first in a series of reflections on the tie-ins between his Fulbright experiences and the three pillars of his formation as an ACE Teaching Fellow. Here, he discusses the vocation of education and teaching as a whole.

Dear ACE 22,

Congratulations! You have successfully completed your first year of teaching and have made it to the second summer. As you get settled back on campus and focus on becoming a student once again, here are a few thoughts based on ACE’s three pillars that you should keep in mind over these next eight weeks.

To our newest ACE Teachers,

As you begin your first ACE summer, here are some tips from someone who’s been in your shoes to make the most of your time together on campus.

In a seminary in Southern California, set in beautiful buildings within a citrus grove, men are preparing to bring the Gospel to diverse realities of the people of God. One of the realities the seminarians are preparing to address is Catholic schools--a great challenge and a wonderful means of evangelization.

“Catholic schools are good for America!”

As admissions coordinator for the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program, I spend a lot of time talking to both teachers and school leaders. I’m fortunate to get the chance to work with many of our current Remick Leaders and graduates — many of whom are principals themselves at the outset of their careers in leadership. They are passionate, energetic, and full of zeal to make God known, loved, and served. They’re doing great work and it’s part of my job to find more of them.

Written by: Susanne Greenwood

Last week, the community of St. Peter Claver Regional Catholic School in Decatur, Georgia enjoyed a surprise visit — one that thrilled and delighted every one of our students — when the University of Notre Dame’s ACE Bus, on its 20^th Anniversary Tour, pulled into our school parking lot. The surprise visit was complemented by a day of welcomed warmth and sunshine as each class took turns to file outside to have a look at the gleaming RV and find the name of our beloved school along its side. The ACE team with the bus was also joy-filled and fun — they gifted a pair of very cool sun glasses to every student.

As a first-year principal at St. Peter Claver, I first learned of Notre Dame’s Alliance for Catholic Education years ago when my own children, who were then attending a local Catholic elementary school, were blessed with not one but two ACE teachers. Last April, when I first met Nicholas Brandt, our middle school’s ACE Language Arts teacher, his dedication and high expectations for his students were palpable, qualities that all principals hope for, expect and pray for in their teachers. When the school year began, the attributes I saw and felt in Nicholas Brandt were confirmed as I observed him in and out of the classroom as he taught literature, reading, and language arts and held the Philology Club and St. Peter Claver Drama Club as extracurricular after school activities. He continues to enrich the lives and learning of our middle school students in countless ways.

Nicholas and I had already made plans to travel with our eighth grade students the next morning to St. John the Evangelist where the bus would be for a school-wide Mass — a celebration of diversity, but also a celebration of ACE’s 20^th anniversary and the 12 years that St. John the Evangelist School has been blessed with wonderful and dedicated ACE teachers. We felt doubly blessed to have the presence and graciousness of so many in the ACE community, and were equally proud to sit alongside the students of St. John the Evangelist and St. Peter Claver as we celebrated Mass led by Father Michael Onyekuru.

The call to worship began with students performing a Vietnamese Lan Dance and New Year Dance followed by the Nigerian Call to Worship, all thoughtful and rhythmic dance interpretations around the sacredness of worship and prayer. Deacon Dick Tolcher shared a warm homily around the truth that we are “All God’s Children” and the Deacon’s love for the students and community of St. John the Evangelist was evident to all. After the Mass, Father Tim Scully, who years ago birthed his vision of ACE, welcomed the many guests in attendance at this anniversary celebration. Former ACE teachers who could not be present in person shared their good memories and good wishes via video to the joyful glees of former students. Trust me, this is music to a principal’s ears and heart and confirmation of the eternal touch of a good—no great—teacher.

All those involved with ACE have a “forever place” in my heart, and I remain one grateful principal for the influence and touch of its teachers on all our children who learn in our wonderful Catholic schools across our great country. I have no doubt that the one ingredient that undergirds and overlays all the education, preparation, energy, time, and dedication of these good teachers and staff at ACE is what our Lord asks of all—to “Love thy neighbor”.