May 9th.  Over two months ago.  76 days, if my math is correct.  So much for an “active” blog to which I and others would post regularly.  It is at this point that I am reminded of the popular expression, “if a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it…”.  This blog might follow that same logic!

There has been so much that has been happening on and around campus since the “Dean’s” May 9th post.  I recently had someone say to me innocently (and sincerely) in an e-mail that s/he hoped I was enjoying the downtime of the summer months and have gotten some time off (not yet, coming next week).  It is a myth that college campuses go into a period of hibernation once the full-time undergraduates depart in May.  Instead, the campus shifts to other activities, some academic and many extra-curricular.  One of the more fun things to observe on campus during the summer is the stream of kids that come to campus for camps and other programs.  This leads me to the group behind the the title of this blog post… the students (and teachers) from Brooklyn Jesuit Prep.

Brooklyn Jesuit Prep brings a slew of middle school students to campus for about a month.  This is the third year that they have been on campus.  I recognize the Jesuit priest who appears to be in charge, but there are other teachers present as well.  BJP is a member of the “Nativity” model of schools that have been established in urban centers and typically educate students from poor and underprivileged backgrounds.  BJP students stand out.  They are poised, diverse, polite, spirited, grateful, and normal tweens and early teen-agers.  They huddle in small groups.  Boys and girls gather together and whisper.  And like any good Catholic school, these students form the straightest lines on order that I have seen in a long time!

While on campus, they have classes in the morning, in the afternoon, and even perhaps in the evening.  They run around outside on the expansive campus, swim in the pool (the Rec-Plex director tells me that the confidence of some in the water might exceed their ability but that he always gets into the pool when they are there because they are such an enjoyable group of kids to work with and help to learn how to swim), eat in the dining hall, and attend Sunday Mass at the chapel.  (Fr. Allen geared his homily last Sunday for the BJPers in the congregation.)  On several occasions when I have left my office in the campus center at the end of the day, I have seen the BJP group sitting on the first floor in the comfy chairs reading!  Admittedly, some are reading more seriously than others, but they sit there books in hand for some quiet time prior to dinner.  I suspect that reading time is as much for the teachers as it is for the kids, but what an example to make time for reading.  Most of all, what strikes me from afar is just how happy these kids appear.  Those on campus who work with and help to make the experience a positive one for BJP on campus tell me how appreciative and thankful the students are.  They head home at the end of this week, and they will be missed.  I hope they come back again next summer.

BJP is a shining example of the essential mission of Jesuit education.  A quick Google search turned up: http://www.nynativity.org/bjp/index.htm.