Student Perspective: What it Means to be a Catholic Mercy School

Alison Lyons is an Ardmore Scholar and freshman at Mount de Sales Academy.

Mount de Sales prides itself on being a Mercy School. The students and faculty strive to adhere to the four core values set by the Sisters of Mercy: Community, Service, Spirituality, and Social Justice. From what I have observed, being a Mercy School is all about selflessness. It means helping and supporting others.

Through the transition from middle school to high school, I have been able to experience these values at work firsthand. Before my first year of high school had even begun, I was already receiving help from my older mentors in the National Honor Society. These mentors were assigned to the freshman class to welcome us into the community that is the Mount de Sales upper school and assist in guiding us through our first year. They have organized meet-ups, checkins, and after school activities like Kahoots and scavenger hunts that give us an opportunity to talk about school in a safe and fun environment.

Mount de Sales upper school students are required to log a certain number of service hours each year through our Mercy in Action program. These service hours encourage students to give back and become more involved in their community. One of the major ways I have completed my service hours is by becoming involved in the Cavalier Ambassador program. I received this position at the end of my eighth grade year. Since then I have spent a great deal of time helping out at events for our school and other schools in the area, and welcoming new students, through leading guided tours and being part of the welcoming committee for students who shadow from another school.

Victoria Ubelhor is an Ardmore Scholar and junior at Mount de Sales Academy.

As a junior, I’ve been able to witness and partake in many traditions which have been established at MDS for many years. In keeping with one of our core values, social justice, we aim, through these traditions, to help people receive what they deserve. School-wide drives that help the less fortunate, such as the St. Peter Claver’s canned food drive and the Kids Yule Love toy drive, evoke a strong sense of competition yet community among students; we compete to bring the most cans, allowing us to work together for a good cause.

Although the MDS student body has a wide range of religious beliefs, all students are encouraged to participate in celebrating the Catholic faith through mass celebrated on holy days of obligation and praying the rosary some days during the study period. Students are required to take a theology class and go on a grade-wide retreat each year. These retreats have made an incredible impact on all students, but have especially affected me. The junior class’ retreat consists of painting houses around Macon in partnership with Rebuilding Macon. Throughout the day I was truly inspired and motivated by seeing my class work together to paint houses efficiently but guided by a great deal of care. We were all working hard but were also having fun, talking and singing together. Outside of the classroom, the individual strengths of certain students were striking and yet we all worked cohesively; it was an exceptionally energizing experience. These experiences and classes allow students to learn and practice various aspects of the Catholic faith, such as virtues. Integrity, diligence, patience, and charity are just a few of the countless virtues displayed in both the students and staff at MDS. These foundations create moral, upstanding students and alumni.

MDS prides itself on being a Mercy school, but there are many similar values built into all Catholic schools. The first is an obvious visual representation of all private schools: uniforms. Although it is important to have dress-down days which allow students access to a simple but creative form of self-expression, uniforms provide a subconscious acknowledgment of equality. When all students wear the same thing, there’s less judgment and less distinction between financial standing among students. The lack of prejudice and, in contrast, the celebration of people for who they are outside of materialistic views fuels a protection of human dignity, a common Catholic teaching. This leads to another typical feature of private schools: financial aid. The advantages of attending a Catholic school come at a cost. However, nobody should be turned away if unable to pay. As a Mercy school, MDS looks after today’s youth, ensuring a bright future for generations to come. Financial aid and many scholarships offered are gestures of mercy to deserving families.

These attributes of Catholic schools show mercy, allowing all types of people to enjoy and benefit from a Catholic, private school education. I have personally been a witness, giver, and receiver of the boundless kindness and generosity offered by people in the MDS community. As a Mercy school, Mount de Sales Academy invites all students to learn and achieve in a rigorous academic environment and to grow in unconditional faith. As Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)