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Elementary and middle school teachers from Chile who have been participating in a two-week professional development program designed by Salve Regina are practicing on Thompson Middle School students as part of a collaboration with Newport Community School.

The seven visiting teachers are affiliated with SEDUC, a Catholic education organization that oversees nine K-12 private schools in Santiago and Valparaiso, Chile. The organization is moving toward a dual language delivery model where Chilean students will take 60 percent of their curriculum in English. The visiting teachers are playing a key role at their schools in leading their institutions and students through this significant curricular transition.

Salve Regina’s program assists them in this work and forges connections between the teachers and institutions. Developed by the education and history departments with support from the Office of International Programs, the program is now in its second year. The new collaboration with Newport Community School has given teachers an opportunity to practice what they have learned in a classroom setting with students from Thompson Middle School.

Under the guidance of Dr. Martha Rose, professor of education, the Chilean teachers developed lesson plans that utilized input from other Salve Regina faculty members on culturally relevant pedagogy and second language acquisition. They then executed the lesson plans and observed each other in action to create a dialogue about methodology, which they will continue as they return to their own classrooms in Chile.

The program is intensive – five days per week – and offers daily core academic subject instruction delivered through hands-on, inquiry-based program topics to spur academic development. During their two weeks on campus, the teachers explored new trends in teaching methodologies and learned about American history through both lectures and local excursions.

Salve Regina’s burgeoning partnerships with Chilean students and educators began in November 2015, when President Jane Gerety, RSM, and Erin FitzGerald, director of international programs, visited universities and high schools throughout Chile. Their visit was coordinated by Chilean native and Newport resident James Tencher, and co-hosted by Fernando Valdivia, whose daughter Maria Paz hopes to become Salve Regina’s first exchange student from Chile this year.

Community members who created public installations featuring their art and poetry are featured at numerous locations on Aquidneck Island as part of the “Poetry of the Wild” exhibition, which runs through Aug. 6.

Ana Flores, ecological artist, sculptor and founder of Poetry of the Wild, says the project connects people to the landscape by combining poetry, visual art and the natural world. It is supported by Salve Regina with help from additional community partners.

Flores – who runs Earth Inform Studio – has been bringing Poetry of the Wild to locations both public and wild for the last 12 years. Each installation features a box or sculpture, built by artists and community members using recycled materials, that contains an original or classic poem as well as a journal for passersby to contribute reflections of their own. Each unique site reflects the spirit of each place.

Jen McClanaghan, assistant professor and writer-in-residence at Salve Regina, and her class took on a leading role in organizing Poetry of the Wild in Newport, engaging with Flores and local artists to encourage submissions.

Installations are featured at more than a dozen sites throughout the island, including Eisenhower Park, Redwood Library, Aquidneck Land Trust, FabLab, the Met School, Community Garden at Quaker Meeting House, the Cliff Walk, Ballard Park, the Salve Regina campus and more.

The University’s engagement in Poetry of the Wild is one example of the type of community collaborations being spearheaded by Salve Regina faculty as part of a $173,800 grant from the Davis Educational Foundation to intentionally infuse community engagement and civic learning into the curriculum.

The courses developed by faculty in each of the three years of the grant are built around a significant project developed in conjunction with partners that will fulfill a demonstrated community need and allow students to apply concepts and skills they learn in class. Regardless of discipline, students will be engaging with literature, practice, and reflection on justice, fairness, and social change in relation to their subject matter and their community project.

For additional information, visit poetryofthewild.com.

Six local men and their editor, all over 70 years of age and members of Salve Regina’s Circle of Scholars program, have published a collection of their memoirs documenting “500 Years of Living,” which they will officially launch at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 6 in the McKillop Library.

“500 Years of Living: Memoir Essays by the Men of WriteLife” follows these men as they present vignettes from memorable moments in their lives. The memoirs emanate from “WriteLife,” a Circle of Scholars writing course taught by Jack Galvin.

Three years ago, Galvin challenged six men who had taken his class a number of times to take on the project, prompting them with questions such as “How did you learn about hard work?” “What fight/argument did you win?” and “At a crossroads, what did you lose in your choice?”

The group met once a month to work on the project, ultimately creating 24 essays ranging from 3-5 pages each. Their stories appear in three sections: The Early Years, The Family Years and The Work Years.

“The settings are familiar or extraordinary with scenes that evoke memories of home or take us to distant parts like Syria, Jordan, Iwo Jima, Vietnam and aboard ships,” says Galvin, who edited the collection. “These essays offer remarkably frank insights by men who assess their lives, then tell their stories well.”

The authors include Bob Bledsoe, John Broughan, Raymond Heins, Dick Hunt, George Kassis and Capt. Gordon Stewart. Topics include a boyhood bike trip to the cool waters of a swimming area; lessons from a stern father for whom a rule is a law in Aleppo, Syria; the story of Little Lewis, soon to be the best four-legged friend of the policeman who saves him; and a Navy lieutenant’s overseeing of the steady roll of a Vietnamese gunboat off the coast of Phu Quoc island.

Galvin has been a writer and teacher of writing for 40 years. With Mark Pfetzer he wrote “Within Reach: My Everest Story,” which was honored as an outstanding book for young adults. For many years he was head of the English department at Rogers High School, where he developed and taught composition courses.

Founded in 1994, the Circle of Scholars is a lifelong learning institute affiliated with the Elderhostel network. The program offers seminars to members on a wide variety of subjects, including literature, history, science, health, music, art, public affairs, religion, theater and film. Proceeds from sales of “500 Years of Living” will benefit the Circle of Scholars scholarship fund.

It’s time to make a difference. The Office of Advancement is inviting alumni, parents and friends to join in the final days of Salve Regina’s fundraising year, which ends Friday, June 30. All gifts will count, including those to scholarships, athletics or The SALVEfund.

Gifts to The SALVEfund help meet the immediate needs of the University and make a difference in the lives of students. Gifts impact the success of Salve Regina’s athletics teams, the promotion of the arts, and the growth of student scholarship funds.

To learn more about how The SALVEfund has impacted some of the University’s newest graduates, visit www.salve.edu/june30. To make a gift, visit www.salve.edu/give-june30.

Members of the University community are invited to join alumni, parents and friends for Salve Regina’s Night at the Newport Gulls Wednesday, June 28. Opening ceremonies begin at 6:15 p.m. and the game starts at 6:35 p.m. as the Gulls take on the Ocean State Waves at historic Cardines Field.

Several members of the Salve Regina community will participate in the evening’s festivities. Baseball head coach Eric Cirella, softball head coach Jannelle Iaquinto and softball team captains Kelsey Boarman ’17, Nikki Bukovsky ’17, Lexi Soucie ’17 and Kara O’Riley ’17 will throw out the first pitch.

Proceeds from the evening’s 50/50 raffle will support Salve Regina’s Sophia Endowed Scholarship in memory of Sister Leona Misto.

Anthony Dugan, son of Peter Dugan, mail distribution clerk at Salve Regina, will deliver the game ball to the starting pitcher. Emily Cuellar ’18 and her siblings Alex and Emily will sing the national anthem. Additionally, Salve Regina’s Challenger Little League team will be appearing during the opening ceremonies as baseball buddies.

Tickets are complimentary, but members of the Salve Regina community are asked to take only as many as they need for their family to attend the game. Faculty, staff and summer work-study students can pick up tickets in the Office of Human Resources. Alumni, parents and friends are asked to contact the Office of Alumni/Parent Programs at (800) 821-2343 or alumni@salve.edu to reserve their tickets.

Parking is available in the municipal lot behind the Gateway Center for a reduced rate with a Newport Gulls ticket stub.