2019-12-20 GERMANY

Meeting of the German Marist Coordinators in Recklinghausen

From 17 to 19 of November, the Coordinators of Marist Activities in the four German Marist Schools in Germany met under the direction of Hans Staudner to learn more about the topic of “Promoting Marist Values at Marist Schools”.

The conference began with a morning devotion, designed by Hans Staudner (Marist Realschule Cham), and a Eucharistic celebration, which was celebrated by David Formella, a former Marist student and now a pastor in Recklinghausen. The morning was used to exchange views on the status quo of Marist work at the four Marist schools and to discuss the possibilities and constraints of cooperation at national and international level. Together, it was agreed that the German Marist Schools should network more closely. In the future, a joint teacher’s trip to the mountain hut Silum in Liechtenstein and a joint school trip to Hermitage in France will be offered.

The second part of the conference dealt with the question of how Marist fundamentalism can be more integrated into the profile of Marist schools.

Eva Alfranseder presented in this context the “Marist Day”, which took place this year for the first time at the Marist Gymnasium Furth. It is a project day for the 5th grade with the aim of giving students an insight into the Marist world. They found out who Marcellin Champagnat was and what Marist values stand for ​​all over the world. Firstly, the students got an overview of Champagnat’s life and the history of his own Marist school. Afterwards they worked in five stations, each focusing on the values ​​family spirit, love of work, presence, simplicity and in the way of Mary. The project day ended with a reflection and a joint conclusion.

A second project was presented by Hans Staudner and Johanna Aschenbrenner from Cham. Under the motto “Marist your life – just live” they have developed a concept for the Marist virtues of simplicity, modesty and humility for secondary education. It first clarifies the three terms using video clips and develops ideas on what a simpler, humbler and more modest life could look like. With the help of specially designed maps, students can get ideas on how they can live easier and contribute to a better environment. Once completed, the project may result in a real student activity that aims to help others and themselves to live a simpler life.

In order to be able to carry out the two projects without difficulty at their own schools, each coordinator received a teacher’s and student’s booklet of the “Marist Day” and a “Marist Box” containing all the materials needed to carry out “Marist your life”

A big thank you goes to the hosts, the Maristenrealschule and the Marist Brothers in Recklinghausen, who welcomed and accompanied the coordinators with Marist hospitality.

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Aisling Demaison

Director of Marist Education – West Central Europe

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