Our Valiant MDI Team continues on, especially during this profound time! THANK YOU to our 27 schools for adapting and using the MDI rubrics with new eyes during this of home study.  The key questions have now been personalized… Who are our neighbors on the margins during this immediate time? How can I offer corona care to my neighbors?

MDI Unit 2 lessons have been strengthened and adapted to respond to this need.  Our MDI Companion, Lauren Hobbs, Our Lady of Guadalupe School, and Anna Johnson, Maryknoll, have been leading webinar check-ins, emails and phone calls, to help our incredible teachers optimize the learning NOW. Please take a look at our lessons, to understand the depth of opportunity that is available for your middle school students.

MDI CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE will happen remotely and locally! While we needed to cancel coming together on April 24, we are still committee to an EXCELLENT CAPSTONE experience uniquely tied to the times we are living now.  We are creating our new materials resources and will send out when ready!

Greetings MDI Teachers,

Congratulations – another week of eLearning in the books! We are still holding each of you in prayer; you are amazing! We’ve continued to update the MDI for eLearning. Please find Lesson 3.2 and 3.3 below. (We expanded this lesson for the realities of eLearning. Also, we added teacher notes at the top of each lesson)

• Lesson 3.2 [docs.google.com] – in this lesson, we have researched how COVID-19 is impacting each of the justice issues, and found articles which speak to the impact of the virus on each issue.
• Lesson 3.3 [docs.google.com] – In these 4 lessons, your students will discern with case studies and prayer towards a response project – the “Act phase. You asked us for a multi-day project lesson plan with daily pieces to turn into you: here it is! We have adapted the project plan; explained in the lesson: here are ideas of action based on current needs [docs.google.com] from the Immersion sites (also included in lesson).

We will be following up with Lesson 3.4, where the students will refine their proposal with the Rubric, very soon. In addition, we have found a few more resources which may be helpful:

• To share with parents: guide for having a conversation [pulse.seattlechildrens.org] with your child about COVID-19, as released by the Seattle Children’s Hospital
• Additional prayers [docs.google.com] about Coronavirus from Pope Francis, should they be helpful for any of your lessons.
• Discover Your Neighbor lesson plans [discoveryourneighbor.org]: Lent is always “Economic Justice” if you’d like to use those guides in particular.

And for our spirits and faith in this time, here’s the full text [vaticannews.va] of Pope Francis’ Urbi et Orbi address on Coronavirus and Jesus Calming the Storm.

We are praying for each one of you and your classes every day.
In Peace, Your MDI team (Anna, Lauren, and Sandy)

“The Lord asks us and, in the midst of our tempest, invites us to reawaken and put into practice that solidarity and hope capable of giving strength, support and meaning to these hours when everything seems to be floundering… The Lord asks us from his cross to rediscover the life that awaits us, to look towards those who look to us, to strengthen, recognize and foster the grace that lives within us. Let us not quench the wavering flame (cf. Is 42:3) that never falters, and let us allow hope to be rekindled.” ~Pope Francis, March 27, 2020