(ANS - Brasilia) - From 24 to 26 April, directors of more than a hundred schools of RSE, the Salesian Schools Network, along with the directors and administrators of the network, and various consultants and coordinators, met in Brasilia to attend the Twelfth National Meeting of the RSE.  The theme of the meeting was Education in the Digital Age.

The event has strengthened the position of the RSE on new technologies, in particular by reflecting on the spread and use of the new Digital Learning Materials. These consist of interactive digital books and notebooks produced by Edebé-Brazil, which have been distributed this school year to the schools of the network.

The afternoon of the first day, 24 April, was devoted to reflection on the Educative Pastoral Plan of the Network.  Antonio Boeing, the Councillor for Pastoral Care in the network, gave a talk entitled "Pastoral Care in Salesian Schools: reality and prospects." He stressed the importance of Pastoral Ministry in the School. It is the raison d'etre of a Salesian school.  He identified three important elements of Pastoral Care in schools: serious dialogue, academic and religious excellence, and good relations with all.

On the morning of the following day there was a talk by Martha Gabriel, a specialist in marketing and design. Given that digital technologies are transforming society in all its dimensions, including education, the speaker analyzed the changes caused by the spread of digital technology and platforms, and the impact and opportunities that these changes open up.

In the course of the day there were contributions from the national directors of RSE, Cíntia Lapa, Kátia Smole, Paulo Cunha and Paulo Simeao. They looked at several specific aspects such as the Digital Learning Materials, use of the Portal Futurum, the training programme for network educators, the culture of evaluation and Shared Service Centres.

The Executive Directors of the RSE, Fr Nivaldo Luiz Pessinatti SDB and Sister Ivanette Duncan de Miranda of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, opened the proceedings of the third and last day with a review of previous work, and an overview of the state of the art of the network. The Director for Communication, Celio Ballona, presented other projects and future plans of the network in the sector.

As on previous occasions, the participants were divided into regions and each leader held meetings to evaluate the event. These meetings also served to facilitate understanding of the information provided by the educational coordinator of the RSE, Kathy Nunes, on this year’s activities in the pastoral field, as well as in management and communication. A summary document was also produced.

Published 06/05/2014