by Marcel E. Baril

One of the most significant realizations brought about by the process of Spiritual
Conversations and Introduction to Communal Apostolic Discernment (SICAD) 2023 has given us is the realization that our mission as a Jesuit school has long been set for us. Although the mission remains, to form men and women for God and for others, the landscape of education due to the constantly changing needs of this disrupting, volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and diverse world calls our present generation of teacher formators to stay relevant, responsive, and research-based in our pedagogical approaches.

A framework called Golden Thread is found to be essential in holding together the goals, values, strategy, and culture of an institution. As a Grade School Department, our Golden Thread refers to the pathways that connect our very mission to the impact that we want to achieve for our pupils and ourselves through measures of success. These interconnected pathways of cause and effect allow us to identify and evaluate our immediate, middle-term, and long-term consequences, and this can only be accomplished through the conduct of research and evaluation.

As we nurture the culture of research in the Grade School Department, let us be reminded of the profound impact that knowledge, when woven together, forms a Golden Thread. Let it be emphasized that every piece of information, every discovery, and every insight we gain is connected to larger tapestry of understanding and impact.

Let us continue to embrace research in the pursuit of the Magis, of pursuing our golden thread with the indicators in mind that are not only SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-phased), but also PURE (positive, understood, relevant, ethical), and CLEAR (confirmable, legal, ease on data collection, agreed, recorded).

And may God continue to bless us and all our efforts as we renew our mission of nurturing socially responsible innovators and transformative leaders for reconciliation with God, oneself, others, and the environment.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!