Happening on Campus

HAPPENING ON CAMPUSand off!

“We must strive to do ordinary things extraordinarily well. ” VENERABLE CATHERINE MCAULEY

WMA students showcase their talents outside the classroom through a full range of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities.

Spreading Self Love and Acceptance

Our students learned a beautiful message about the importance of self love from a brand new author… who is only 6-years-old! Camden resident Ka’Maya Shanelle and her mother joined our kindergarten and first grade students on Zoom to talk about Ka’Maya’s coloring and activity book called I Love Myself.

We were also happy to share the experience with students at two of our outreach partners: St. Francis Cabrini and Mercy Neighborhood Ministries. Students from all three schools asked Ka’Maya questions, from why she picked the topic to how she worked with an illustrator to create coloring book pages that feature children of all shapes, sizes, abilities, and colors.

Ka’Maya wrote the book to share her affirmations with other children her age, encouraging feelings of pride and acceptance of the qualities that make them and the person sitting next to them both unique. It was a message worthy of being shared over and over with our youngest students. “I thought you were only supposed to love other people, but I learned that you are supposed to love yourself and treat yourself nicely, too, ” reflected kindergartener Waylon P. All students, including those from our outreach partners, took home a copy of the coloring book that we purchased so they continue their journey of self love.

Healthy Hearts, Happy Students

Celebration Through Collaboration

We challenged our students to get moving and keep their hearts healthy in honor of American Heart Month in February, recognizing the increased time they were spending behind screens because of the pandemic.

WMA students faced off against our fellow Catholic Academy League Schools in the Happy Heart 50 Challenge. We were proud that Waldron Mercy won the challenge by having the highest number of students complete 50 different heart healthy activities in just five days. Some of those activities included 60 seconds of jumping jacks, eating five vegetables in one day, and even getting eight hours of sleep in one night!

Reading to Compete

Move over, Tokyo, the Olympics happened at Waldron Mercy first… Reading Olympics, that is! Our teams came away with Blue, Red, and Green Ribbons in virtual competitions this spring, where schools across Montgomery County faced off in battles of literary knowledge. For the first time ever, a team of seventh and eighth graders entered the Middle School competition, which was held virtually this year. Fourth, fifth, and sixth graders entered the Elementary School Division with two teams as they have for several years. Students on all three teams read 25 books in preparation. Their hard work paid off: the Middle School team recorded the highest score of any school in the event, earning a Blue Ribbon! In the Elementary School Division, Team Tiger Stripes earned a Green Ribbon and Team Eye of the Tiger earned a Red Ribbon.

Above: Fourth grade members of the Reading Olympics team. Left: Middle School captains Kathryn C. and Daisy B. pose with some of their favorite reads of the competition.

After a long year of sitting behind computers, it was wonderful to be able to offer our students multiple days of collaborative, hands-on projects during the last week of school! In addition to our traditional Field Day, students in first through eighth grade also participated in Art Day and STEM Day (affectionately termed STEMageddon).

Art Day celebrated both visual and performing arts: students turned nearly every inch of pavement into a mural that wound around the building; seventh and eighth grade students performed skits and poems; and a Temple University professor led world dance instruction on the back field - using dances from South Africa, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, and more!

STEMageddon was a wonderful opportunity for our students to grow their creative problem solving skills! The building was alive with groups of students who chatted away happily while tackling grade appropriate challenges, including cardboard roller coasters, marshmallow monuments, and playdough light circuits.