Distance Learning

Distance Learning MERCY HIGH NOT O

Another new class, Robotics, Engineering, and Design Thinking, has been building a robot for the FIRST Tech Challenge. Students work in teams for coding, compliance, build, and media, with their coaches and teachers Dr. Pat Bradley and Jen Lambdin, with assistance from Math Teacher Yu-Loung Chang, Library Coordinator Sarah Murphy, and parent Stephanie Menner. Students in our Visual and Performing Arts classes haven’t missed a beat! Our teachers have reinvented the VPA classroom in incredible ways. Chorale Teacher Victor Cervantes now edits together the voices of all of our chorale students into acapella BURLINGAME 2020 NOT A PROBLEM versions of their performances of songs like “The Rose” and “Carol of the Bells.” Our Dance Teacher Joy Thiesen Braunstein keeps our students moving on Zoom with full-out classes in technique and choreography, and her older students have been creating video presentations highlighting colleges with dance degrees. Visual Arts Teachers Shardie Ezell and Nadine Baroudi have put new skills to work creating video demonstrations and engaging students with drawing, photography, and ceramics projects that are easily adapted to the home. This is in addition to our 39 clubs, including our newest, Mercy Media, where students produce announcements and videos to connect our community. MERCY HIGH SCHOOL NOT ON CAMPUS There isn’t enough space to share all of the incredible examples from our students and teachers that are happening each day. I just know that each day provides more evidence of the flexibility and innovation of our learning community. I’m so proud to say that Mercy is thriving and will continue to thrive as we navigate these difficult times together. BURLINGAME 2020 NOT A PROBLEM

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

Rooted in Catholic Social Thought

The year, the Mercy administration formed a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) faculty and staff working group. It is committed to a school culture that stimulates diversity of thought, supports equity in opportunity, and creates a learning DEI environment where Mercy students and their families, along with faculty, staff, and community partners feel a strong sense of belonging and safety. Twenty faculty and staff work twice per month to ensure that the faculty teaches with equality in mind and encourages Mercy students to create a positive and inclusive environment. DEI MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to raise awareness of and promote the necessary values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion that are rooted in Catholic Social Thought through continued collaboration and dialogue with our Mercy Burlingame community and partnerships. In this journey of growth and transformation, we seek to discover how we can better

Co- support our students, teachers, staff, and parents in our sustained commitment to uphold a diverse, equitable and inclusive school culture for all–Mercy In Harmony. Chairs Julia Angeles French Teacher Maika Hefflefinger Religion Teacher COMMITMENT TO GROWTH Affirmed by our shared commitment to the Critical Concerns of the Sisters of Mercy, we are grounded in asking ourselves and our larger Mercy community to: 1. Enter into a process of discernment, personally examining one’s own biases and acknowledging one’s own privileges; 2. Reflectively confront and address that which is discovered through self-interrogation; and “ 3. Create opportunities to enhance our school’s culture to reflect the values of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at every level.

Ryan McGoron Social Studies Calvin Nixon II Religion Joy Phillips Wellness This can be seen through our work this semester engaging

Department Chair Teacher Counselor faculty and staff in anti-racism trainings led by Be the Change

“Consulting, holding a DEI evening for alumnae to listen for areas of growth, and creating a faculty/staff book club. Additionally, Mercy students, parents, alumnae, faculty and staff participated in 13 listening sessions over the summer. Both the positive and challenging experiences that were shared continue to influence our DEI objectives. READING LIST This semester the DEI Committee has created an optional book club for faculty and staff. Several groups are currently meeting in small groups to discuss So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. It is the hope of the committee that these readings and discussions will provide a common grounding for the Mercy community as it continues 6 MERCY HIGH SCHOOL, BURLINGAME to address these issues going forward.

One of the core values of a Mercy education is to build women who advocate for others in the cause of social justice,” McGoron said. “Through listening to Joanne Bland’s experience “ Understanding of marching from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and identifying modern examples of voter Voting Rights suppression in the documentary “After Selma,” students learned that there is more work to This fall, Mercy’s Social Studies Department developed a be done to build an equal and just society in semester-long curriculum to help students explore and America. John Lewis famously said, ‘If you see understand the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, something that is not right, not fair, not just, you which prohibits racial discrimination in voting. The cross-curricular unit focused on events like the Selma to Montgomery marches, the more recent Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court decision, and the life of civil rights leaders such as John Lewis. Students viewed and discussed the documentary “After Selma” in English have a moral obligation to do something about it.’ Carrying in that same tradition, we hope that these lessons inspired our students to take action and affect change in the world. “ classes, and contributed to discussions and activities in —Ryan McGoron their Religion classes. Mercy’s Social Studies The pinnacle of the unit was a Zoom appearance by Joanne Bland, who is the co-founder and former director of the Voting Rights Museum in Selma, Alabama. Bland, who was the youngest person jailed during that civil rights period, spoke to Mercy students about her experience in the march known in history as “Bloody Sunday” and her lifelong fight for civil rights.

According to Social Studies Department Chair Ryan McGoron, it is a goal of the department to instill a renewed appreciation for the civil rights movement, but also recognize the work that still needs to be done to achieve full equality.

Joanne Bland has dedicated her life to social activism and voters’ rights. From her earliest days, she was an active participant in the civil rights movement. On March 21, 1965, she marched from Selma to Montgomery. Mercy students had the unique opportunity to hear about her experiences as a child at “Bloody Sunday” and as a civil rights activist in Selma, Alabama. Department Chair