The ongoing training for our pedagogic staff has always been a crucial priority, since they are the key to transmit our ignatian philosophy to the students and through them, to their parents.

In order to be more adept in today’s needs, all teachers keep up-to-date with qualifications on professional skills, pedagogical techniques, ministerial reforms and legislation. Meetings with other schools, among which schools in Italy, Poland and Kosovo and other European countries proved to be rewardingthrough the exchange of experiences that was possible.

We focus the training on two aspects: pedagogical-didactical and social-spiritual training.

The training started back in the academic year 1994-1995 under the guide of the Jesuit Fathers, who provided the teachers with the main characteristics of the Jesuit pedagogy and the most efficacious means to meet the youth’s request for knowledge and formation when faced with the challenges of a new world.

In the academic year 1995-1996 the trainingwas carried out with teaching workshops focusing on “Growing experience and education of students”, which comes from one of the main criteria of Ignatian pedagogy: “curapersonalis”.

In the academic years 1996-1997, 1998-1999, 2003-2004 we worked on the 5 key points of the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm: context, experience, reflection, action, evaluation.

These points also form the basis of our educative project and of the question-strategy as a didactical tool to deepen our ordinary work.

In the academic year 1997-1998 the workshop concerned “Aspects and evaluation styles of school work”.

In the academic year 1999-2000 we worked on “Praelectio” and “Repetitio” as tools for contemporary teachers. “Praelectio” is a didactical strategy that instills motivation in students through questions, audiovisual equipment and teamwork activities about what they have studied and come to know, and contributes to make lessons more valuable and dynamic.

“Repetitio” is a didactical strategy that helps students to enrich and articulate new information and deepens what has been taught.

In the academic years 2001-2002, 2002-2003 we worked on Transactional-Analysis as a tool to understandoneself and others better. Transactional-Analysis also helps teachers to manage relationships with students and colleagues.

As part of the social-spiritual training, we worked for a few years on Saint Ignatius’ autobiography; teachers have reflected in groups on their educative mission.

The Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, done during different retreats between 2006 and 2008, also proved to be effective, since they stimulate not only abstract thinking but also imagination and sentiments.

In the academic years 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 teachers were divided into “seniores” and “juniores” so as tobetter meet their requirements. The topics discussed in the workshops concerned “teaching as a mission to share and serve”, “collaboration between Jesuits and lay people”, “human and professional identity” and “Saint Ignatius and his educative mission”.

In the academic years 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 super-juniores teachers were involved in workshops on “Saint Ignatius’ life and introduction to the Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm”, “Personal context of students: methods of learning and multiple intelligences, moral growth”,  “Experience and praelectio”, “Flanders’ categories”, “Barriers to communication” and “Reflection: repetitionand tutoring”.

In academic years 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 we held workshops for all the school’s teachers, who worked on “Curapersonalis” and “Evaluation and self-evaluation of the school”.

With the certainty that ongoing training is a primary tool, we gathered excellent results in terms of growth in cultural, psychological, pedagogical, evaluative skills as well as in terms of creativity and  openness: this is why we continue to pursue the project of a teacher who is proficient in their subject and in building “men for others”.