Mission

The Heart of a Mercy Education t the very heart of a Mercy education is human dignity. Rooted in the message of Jesus, Catholic Christians are called to reverence the dignity of all people. In response to this call, we challenge our students to excel academically, while simultaneously responding to the real day-to-day needs of those in our community. Such needs seem to come knocking on the Mansion door on a daily basis. It was from this Spirit of Mercy and Christian call, that students in Ryan McGoron’s Contemporary World Issues Class (see below) challenged the rest of the student body to reach deep into their pockets and raise money for the victims of Hurricane Harvey. Seniors in the Service Learning Classes leave the familiar comfort of the classroom and go out to Alzheimer units; elderly care facilities, and food banks to Listen and Learn about the real needs of those in our local community. Mercy girls struggling to communicate and brighten the day of those suffering with the effects of Alzheimer's. Mercy girls having lunch and listening to the stories of homeless men and women at St. Anthony’s Foundation. Mercy girls delivering lunches to SRO’s (single room occupancy hotels) in the Tenderloin. Mercy girls understanding what loneliness, and poverty look like and feel like through the eyes and hearts of those struggling with it. Mercy classrooms no longer have doors which shut us in, rather we gather students at windows, to look out. Mercy educators inspire students to see and experience the world beyond the classroom door. Mercy students are engaged in the human community, learning what diminishes dignity and responding with hope-filled hearts. What seems like a new educational methodology is actually deeply rooted in the Mercy tradition. Catherine McAuley stepped out into the streets of Dublin, Ireland in the 1800’s to serve the homeless and to offer a safe haven for women of no means. She opened the original Mercy convent as a soup kitchen. For one hundred and ninety years the Sisters of Mercy have replenished the human dignity of millions. “A MERCY EDUCATION IS FORWARD LOOKING. GUIDED BY OUR MERCY TRADITION AND THE MESSAGE OF JESUS WE EDUCATE OUR STUDENTS FOR A FUTURE THAT IS NOT YET SEEN, BUT CALLS US DEEPER INTO THE VERY HEART OF MERCY.” A

Currently the Sisters of Mercy world-wide have set a group of current issues as their Critical Concerns. These issues have become a focus point for the Sisters, and their worldwide ministries. The Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy are: Women, Racism, Environment, Immigration and Non-Violence. At the heart of each of these concerns is the fundamental call to honor our humanity and the earth in which we inhabit. A Mercy education is forward-looking. Guided by our Mercy tradition and the message of Jesus we educate our students for a future that is not yet seen, but calls us deeper into the very heart of Mercy. —Sandy Flaherty, Religion Teacher

Contemporary World Issues Class STUDIES SISTERS’ CRITICAL CONCERNS

A new course focusing on the Sisters of Mercy Critical Concerns – Earth, Immigration, Non-violence, Racism and Women - has engaged students in issues that have been in the news every day since the new school year began. The girls will be examining each of the five concerns through readings, discussions, documentaries, essays, and current events. Their final project will include an action project in which each student will identify a current issue within the Critical Concerns with solutions for building a better future.

As the world has dealt with major hurricanes, large tornados, flooding, fires throughout the western U.S., earthquakes and other natural disasters, it was fitting that the opening unit focused on the Earth.