The following presentation was made by Fr. Johnny C. Go, SJ, the School Director, during the Parents’ Orientation from May 31 to June 4, 2010.

Parents Orient 2010

During the Parents’ Orientation this year, Fr. Go began his presentation by talking about Matteo Ricci, the Italian Jesuit whose 400th death anniversary is being celebrated this year.  Matteo Ricci is the pioneering Jesuit missionary who lived and worked in the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City in the 16th century.  He used his knowledge of the Chinese classics and of western science to win over the Chinese scholars and attract them to Christianity.  Paul Xu Guangqi was one of his converts and friends.  His pioneering efforts make him a suitable icon for this new school year, when Xavier School will launch many of its innovations to respond to the 21st-century challenges of education and character formation.

Referring to Don Tapscott’s Grown Up Digital, Fr. Go spoke about the need for the school to reinvent itself in order to promote learning among the members of the so-called Net and Next Generations.  However, he stressed not only the need for 21st-century learning, but also for 21st-century parenting, especially to address the needs of the youth in terms of becoming responsible, honest, and respectful.

If you are interested, read the observations of a Xavier parent, Jane Uymatiao, who blogged about the talk in her blog, “Here’s to Life.”