Mount Saint Joseph Academy Viewbook

VIEWBOOK

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MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT SISTER CHARLENE DIORK A

Welcome to Mount Saint Joseph Academy.

Welcome to our sisterhood.

In this place, you will nurture deep friendships that last for a lifetime.

You will hear the cheers of your classmates when you speak with conviction in the classroom, nail the high note on stage, flex on the field, put the finishing touch on that work of art or have that “aha!� moment in the lab.

You will find a community of young women who share an unapologetic enthusiasm for dreaming big about their future and ability to transform the world. You will listen with your heart, learn from experiences that your peers have lived and gather new perspectives. You will journey deep together spiritually to explore and better understand your faith. You will join a legacy of women who share a lifelong commitment to serve the dear neighbor, whether in their own communities or halfway across the globe.

You will harness the remarkable gifts of others and discover the remarkable gifts you can call your very own.

Here at the Mount, you will find your sisters. And here at the Mount, you will find yourself.

Sister Charlene Diorka, SSJ President

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THE POWER OF SISTERHOOD Founded in 1858 by the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Mount Saint Joseph Academy is a college preparatory school where we challenge students every day to realize their limitless potential. For more than 160 years, we’ve been powered by a sisterhood comprised of individuals who share their aspirations, experiences, faith, ideas, talents and voices to lift and support each other for life.

By offering a comprehensive education that seeks to nurture the academic, emotional, physical, social and spiritual facets of our young women, we watch the transformation of each Mountie as she finds herself and her place in a legacy of exceptional women leaders who stand ready to shape our ever-evolving world.

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MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY STUDENT LIFE

We lean onto each other as we lean into the future.

Student life at the Mount is rooted in the philosophy that “on the education of women largely depends the future of society� and is designed to inspire a global and lifelong sense of curiosity, ambition, service and community, with a focus on four core pillars: 1. AGENTS OF TRANSFORMATION Transformational education is more than simply the lessons taught within the classroom walls. Instead, it refers to high-impact educational practices that promote learning on a significantly deeper level through diverse and wellrounded experiences, with an emphasis on social responsibility.

2. INTENSIVE WRITING We firmly believe the ability to write both critically and creatively is a skill that will sustain a young woman throughout her lifetime, thus a focus on comprehensive writing is woven throughout our course offerings, such as Theology, Social Studies, Business & Technology and various Arts classes.

Extracurricular writing opportunities include The Campanile, our studentproduced newspaper, and The Muse, our student-produced literary magazine.

STUDENT LIFE

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3. GLOBAL LEARNING We inspire a self-awareness in our students that they are part of a larger community. Our curriculum focuses on establishing an understanding of the past to provide critical context to the present. Students engage with a world that extends far beyond the boundaries of the physical campus, through partnerships and programs designed to provide them a much broader perspective.

Courses with a global focus include World Literature Themes, Music & Cultural Identity, World Religions, Human Geography, Genocide in History and Advanced Placement (AP) World History.

Extracurricular activities focused on global issues include Diversity Club, Model United Nations and Mock Trial.

4. COLLABORATIVE LEARNING Our signature block scheduling model promotes collaborative learning across all disciplines, as students take only three or four subjects at a time, instead of the traditional six or seven. Longer class times promote immersive instruction and propel intellectual discovery through discussion, debate and deeper social relationships. Team-based assignments are common as students receive frequent encouragement to participate in group study and conversation.

MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY ACADEMICS AND FACULTY

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ACADEMICS AND FACULTY

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We shape our world when we expand our minds.

COLLEGE OUTCOMES

100% of Mount graduates attend post-secondary institutions, including some of these prestigious colleges and universities: Boston College Bowdoin College

Our educational philosophy reflects the mission, charism and tradition of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Teachers and students alike are challenged to love and serve God and neighbor with joy, and to respond with hope to problems presented during their time at the Mount and beyond.

As a result, the Mount curriculum encompasses the spiritual, academic, cultural, social, aesthetic, psychological and physical aspects of life, while our Catholic atmosphere fosters holistic development, enriching the experiences of the school community and encouraging a mature sense of responsibility toward self and others.

Mount faculty is composed of both Sisters of Saint Joseph and lay teachers — 49 full-time and 4 part-time — the majority of which (90%) hold advanced degrees.

Brown University Cornell University Dartmouth College Fordham University Georgetown University Johns Hopkins University Lehigh University New York University Pennsylvania State University Princeton University Savannah College of Art and Design Smith College Spelman College

Special curriculum features include:

The College of William and Mary The Juilliard School

Advanced Placement Program Diocesan Scholars Program: Dual enrollment agreement with local Catholic colleges and universities

Co-curricular Robotics Team Women as Founders Seminar Course

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Notre Dame

One-to-one iPad for all students

University of Pennsylvania

Student proficiency in Microsoft Office

Villanova University

University of Virginia Vanderbilt University

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MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY EXTRACURRICULARS

E X TR ACURRICUL ARS

We all glow when we find what makes us shine.

Our extensive extracurricular offerings provide Mounties the platform to uncover and amplify their own gifts, while having the opportunity to be enriched by the talents of their Mount sisters. More than 30 clubs and activities — from academic honor societies, affinity and cultural clubs, community service groups, fine arts, performing arts, robotics and speech and debate — provide unforgettable memories and daily moments of balance, camaraderie, fun and friendship.

We strive to continually evolve our programs to reflect the full range of changing student interests, and new clubs are frequently spearheaded by students, offering them a chance to take the lead and learn accountability and ownership.

Just a few of our extracurriculars:

Academic Bowl

Firebirds Robotics

Campanile Newspaper

Glee Club

Community Service Corps

Gold Key Club

Culinary Club Fall Musical

Spirit Week Committee Student Leadership Council

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ATHLETICS Our student athletes stand side by side to achieve excellence on the playing fields — united in their dedication, hustle, loyalty and sportsmanship. Mount athletes discover how to deal with adversity through the wins, the losses and the hard work in between. They leave our fields as teammates for life with leadership skills they can apply for decades to come.

The Mount offers 13 sports with Junior Varsity and Varsity teams, including: Basketball

Lacrosse

Crew

Soccer

Cross-Country/Track

Softball

Diving

Swimming

Field Hockey

Tennis

Golf

Volleyball

We all win when we discover what fuels us.

MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY SPIRITUALITY AND SERVICE

SPIRITUALITY AND SERVICE We uplift each other when we journey deep.

Through religious education, retreats, liturgies and communion services, we celebrate our faith and the spirituality of the Sisters of Saint Joseph in an effort to grow both individually and as a sisterhood in humility and charity. This focus on faith urges our students to resist complacency, to nourish mutual healing and to foster reconciliation. It also inspires in us a spirit of social responsibility and service in which we look beyond our own lives and reach out to people in need — the young and old, the homeless and abused, the sick and, sometimes, one another.

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10 From our “Women as Founders” course, which empowers students through education and hands-on service and explores the women’s reform movement and current women’s issues, to the ability to attend the annual Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph Student Leadership Conference — Mount students are provided a number of opportunities to witness the SSJ philosophy in action.

COMMUNITY SERVICE CORPS

Mount students carry on the legacy of the Academy founders by seeking out those in need of help and lending a hand through a variety of CSC programs, such as: Serving at soup kitchens Visiting the sick and elderly Working with animal rescue organizations Executing special collections and distribution projects

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AT A GLANCE

MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY AT A GLANCE

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ACRE CAMPUS

485+

60+

TOTAL STUDENTS

Clubs and activities

50+

We accept students from thirty-four school districts, seventy-four zip codes, and seven counties.

Honors and AP Courses

15 STUDENTS/CLASS AVG.

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AP TESTING IN 2020

Athletic teams with junior varsity and varsity levels

492 237 Tests

10:1

Student to Teacher Ratio

$23.3M 100%

Of Mount graduates attend post-secondary institutions

Students

86.5%

Of students scored 3+

IN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CLASS OF 2020

563

College acceptances for class of 2020

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OLYMPIANS

London 2012 and Rio 2016 Scholastic Rowing Association of America Championships

PIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS STATE 4 Golf

1 Basketball

DISTRICT I 11 Golf 3 Basketball

2 Field Hockey

MOUNT SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY A LEGACY OF SISTERHOOD

MOUNTIES FOREVER Sisters. For life.

A student’s time at Mount Saint Joseph Academy is only four years, but her place in our legacy of sisterhood knows no bounds.

While she graduates with a class of sisters with whom she has formed deep bonds, she enters a new world supported by thousands of sisters she has yet to know.

Long after they’ve left our halls, Mount sisters come home time and time again to gather and renew their bonds at our annual reunions, Golden Girls luncheon, school fundraisers or family/networking events sponsored by our active alumnae association.

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They graciously and routinely share the memories they continue to make together at girls’ weekends, vacations, dinners, holiday get-togethers and milestone life events.

They honor an understood and unspoken sisterly pledge to lift each other up in times of challenge and share in one another’s joy.

Whether they settle in Greater Philadelphia or halfway across the world, Mount women lead wherever they live and continue to serve the dear neighbor. This service begins with the lifelong commitment to step up for their fellow Mount sisters, always answering their call as they navigate through life’s many chapters — from the college experience to career exploration to motherhood to retirement and everything in between.

OUR MISSION Mount Saint Joseph Academy, a college preparatory school, empowers young women to realize their fullest potential. Imbued with a spirit of unity and reconciliation, the charism of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Mount Saint Joseph Academy fosters excellence tempered by gentleness and compassion.

Enriched by the values of the Catholic Church, Mount Saint Joseph Academy offers academically rigorous programs, which challenge students to shape the future. In a student-centered, collaborative environment, Mount Saint Joseph Academy provides a holistic education with an emphasis on global responsibility.

Faithful to “educating founders,” Mount Saint Joseph Academy enables students to be agents of transformation in the face of moral and ethical challenges in an ever-evolving society. Trusting in the

Ready to find yourself at the Mount?

Our admissions team is here to answer any questions you may have and schedule a tour:

Visit admiss@msjacad.org or call 215.233.9133

wisdom echoed by the Constitution of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, the mission asserts, “On the education of women largely depends the future of society.”

120 W. Wissahickon Ave. Flourtown, PA 19031