House of Parliament and London tour

On Monday, our Wimbledon delegation enjoyed their first official visit together into London. They were welcomed by Siobhan McDonaugh, a member of Parliament who represents the district in which Wimbledon is located. Erin S. sent us the following reflection:

During our visit in the House of Parliament, our MP (Member of Parliament) showed us the House of Commons as well as the House of Lords. The House of Commons consists of politicians elected by the people and is represented by the color green. At the time it was created, green was the least expensive pigment. The House of Lords consists of people of hereditary peerages and people appointed by the prime minister and it is also represented by the color red. Unlike green, red was the most expensive pigment at the time the House of Lords was created. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures of the interior rooms, but we were able to take pictures of the entrance room which is nearly a thousand years old. We also saw many statues and portraits of famous politicians that we learned about in class, like Margaret Thatcher and Winston Churchill.

And here are a few photos from our group and their British sisters all around London:

A slight delay....

Over the years we have learned that with international travel unforeseen things can happen we must be flexible. Such was the case with our happy delegation to England yesterday when they missed their connection to London and had to remain overnight in Philadelphia. Here is the tale of their adventure in the USA:

Greetings from the Wimbledon delegation on our unplanned layover in Philadelphia.  The students have been amazing and up for any adventure--a distinct advantage given the start of our trip.  A slight delay in our departure from Dallas--it wasn't even characterized as a "delay"--caused us to miss our connection on Thursday evening. Mrs. Ide heroically raced ahead to the gate in an attempt to have the London flight held up for a few minutes, but to no avail.  Antimo, our US Airways special services friend (and a product of a Catholic school education himself) tried all sorts of creative combinations in an attempt to get us anywhere on the European continent as quickly as possible. Our ultimate result is the current itinerary which routes us through Frankfurt, Germany; this has caused much happy excitement among the girls.  Our intrepid troop slept soundly after a feast of midnight pizza delivered to our hotel, and they were raring to explore as much of Philadelphia as time allowed. We took the train into the city center to visit the Liberty Bell, allowing us to practice "minding the gap" in preparation for using the London tube. Maria--having just returned from a visit to Philadelphia on Spring Break--was our tour guide leading us to  Love park and, most importantly, Insomnia Cookies. We caught the train back to the airport and headed for Frankfurt and finally, London.

UA Delegation to England kicks off Summer delegation travel!

This summer, three student delegations will travel to our sister schools in England, Peru and Brazil. Today, our first delegation has departed from DFW and is headed to Wimbledon, England. While in England, the students will live with host families, will attend classes at Ursuline High School in Wimbledon and will enjoy all of the culture and history of London. They will also focus on the period of the Cold War and British and American relations as part of their summer school class. We can't wait to hear more about their adventure in the UK!

Wimbledon Student Delegation 2014

London bound!

Special Australian guest visits UA

This week, we welcomed Mrs. Ann Marie Pawsey to UA Dallas. Mrs. Pawsey is the principal at St. Ursula's College in Toowoomba, Australia. We were delighted when Mrs. Pawsey said that she could come to visit us after the International Ursuline UES Conference in New York last week. While in Dallas, we took Mrs. Pawsey to see some of the places where we take our visiting delegations such as the 6th Floor Museum and the Bush Presidential Library. We also spent time just getting to know her and learning more about her lovely school of 700 girls in Queensland, Australia. It was a short but wonderful visit and we look forward to visiting Mrs. Pawsey and St. Ursula's in the near future!

Ambassador Lauren T. gave Mrs. Pawsey a tour of UA Dallas

Mrs. Pawsey with Ms. Nipp at the DMA

New friends:  Ms. Bauer, Mrs. Pawsey and Sr. Margaret Ann

UES Global Conference

Last week, Ursuline Academy of Dallas connected with Ursuline schools worldwide as representatives from Ursuline schools across the globe came together for the first Ursuline Educational Services (UES) Global Conference. Ursuline Educational Services is a network of Ursuline schools in the United States and Canada. 

Ursuline Academy of Dallas sent three representatives to New Rochelle, New York June 15- 20^th to participate in the UES global education conference, a unique opportunity for collaboration with various cultures. The representatives were Sr. Lois Castillon, O.S.U., Cecilia Nipp and Mimi Bishop, both members of the Conference Planning Committee. Conference participants traveled from Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, England, France, Germany, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Poland, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Venezuela. It was a fantastic week of learning and sharing! It was also absolutely thrilling to connect with  old and new friends and to make plans for future collaborations. 

The attendees from the USA

Srs. Mary Virginia (USA) and Anna (Poland) 

Ursuline educators from Mexico, Chile and Peru

Ms. Nipp with dear friends from Ursuline High School Wimbledon

The beautiful campus of the College of New Rochelle

Sr. Lois at the Closing Mass

Ms. Bishop and Ms. Nipp with friends from our sister school in South Africa

A prayer dance by Sr. Alba and Sr. Micaela from Mexico

Student performers from The Ursuline School in New Rochelle

Sr. Georgina (Brazil) greets Sr. Cecilia (India)

Of course, we had to take a little time for the World Cup! 

Asian Student Union celebration

This weekend, the Asian Student Union (ASU) hosted a little celebration for the graduating seniors in the club. The students wanted to thank the seniors, particularly President Ashley P., for their leadership this past year. And it was a great and busy year for ASU as the students met frequently, presented a cultural session on Global Celebration Day and held several fundraisers for typhoon disaster relief in the Philippines.  The end of year celebration was held in Dallas's China Town (actually in Richardson) where the students enjoyed a Dim Sum brunch - it was delicious and beautifully complimented by a student-made angel food cake with chocolate and strawberries! We thank our ASU UA graduates and wish them all the best as they leave for college!!!