SERVICE LEARNING CLASS

In senior year, Mercy offers a unique opportunity for students to go out into the Burlingame/San Mateo community once a week and facilitate learning off campus during the school day. The Service Learning Class is a year-long Religion course that combines essential tenets of Catholic social teachings and the Sisters of Mercy Critical Concerns. In the beginning of the school year, students choose a site - a senior center, nursery or elementary school - that they visit weekly for the duration of the school year. The class is unique in its level of commitment, and teaches perseverance and dedication as students become known as members of their new organization’s community.

At the end of the year, students reflect on their experiences and what the organization offers to the community. Groups create a movie trailer designed to ‘sell’ other students on volunteering for their site. They are encouraged to think critically about organizational strengths and challenges, and if their placement was a good fit.

Sandy Flaherty, Mercy’s Director of Catholic Identity and Religious Studies teacher, has published an informative and guiding resource for families considering a Catholic education. Why Choose Catholic Education? is an editorial designed to educate parents on how Catholic education is distinct from other learning environments. It includes a summary of the theological foundation of Catholic identity and educational principles within a Catholic school community, as well as examples of how our Catholic theological framework at Mercy Burlingame provides a holistic, student-centered, values-based, and academically driven education for young people.

Intentionally brief and summative, Ms. Flaherty’s editorial is a high-level view of the benefits of a Catholic education, and, more specifically, a Mercy education. She relates complex concepts to identifiable practices at Mercy Burlingame to illustrate how the theoretical is put into action. Not simply a resource for parents, Why Choose Catholic Education? describes the Mission that all on campus work toward every day. It illustrates how a Catholic, faith-based education offers a good deal more than a diploma; it offers vision, direction, and purpose. We invite you to read it on the Mercy website at www.mercyhsb.com/faith-service