October 2024 Edition
For Peace the Whole World Through, What Am I Prepared To Do?
Around the globe, schools came alive with joy, prayer, and action in celebration of Mercy Day. This year's theme—"For Peace the Whole World Through, What Am I Prepared to Do?"—challenged students and educators to think deeply about their role in fostering peace. Through photos and stories, this edition of Mercy Impact highlights the spirit of unity, creativity, and compassion that unfolded in our schools, reminding us that even the smallest actions can build a more peaceful world.
Academy of Our Lady of Mercy, Lauralton Hall
Milford, Connecticut
In anticipation of Mercy Day, Lauralton Hall's Religion classes dedicated time to explore the themes of peace and nonviolence. As a united school community, we organized a toiletry drive and created a poster board featuring important messages to be showcased during our Mercy Day Mass. This display also included a Mercy Education candle and a teacup, symbolizing our hospitality toward our neighbors. Students then enjoyed each other's company during our annual Mercy Day Picnic on the lawn. Embracing peace is a crucial element of faith, making it important for the mind, the home, and the broader world.
Mercy Heights Catholic Nursery & Kindergarten
Tamuning, Guam
Mercy Day Spirit Week 2024 at Mercy Heights was full of fun and learning about peace and nonviolence. We began our celebration with a prayer service, and each day we integrated the Sisters of Mercy Critical Concerns with our school activities. We did Meatless Tuesday, prayed for victims of abuse, and viewed a film about kindness and people who have embraced nonviolence. Students dressed up to represent different countries in observation of immigration and nonviolence.
Mount Saint Mary Academy
Watchung, New Jersey
In every corner of the Mount Saint Mary Academy campus in Watchung, NJ, Mercy was celebrated this week with a wide assortment of service activities that challenged the school community to step forward and aid local organizations for residents in need. Students competed by grade level to earn service points as they made donations of books, food, drinks, and clothing to organizations such as: The Community Food Bank of New Jersey, Books Behind Bars NJ, and Bridges Outreach of Summit.
Mercy Week began on Monday with a spirited "PB & J" assembly line in the Student Center to benefit SHIP in Somerville. On Tuesday (Mercy Day), a White Gown Liturgy was held in the Chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the morning with an Installation of School Leaders in the afternoon. Paper flowers were crafted for the Sisters of Mercy on campus while cards were created for the residents of McAuley Hall Healthcare Center. Wednesday featured a discussion of Fr. Greg Boyle's work with Homeboy Industries in "Welcoming the Unwelcome." On Thursday, students attended the New Jersey Right to Life March and Rally in Trenton and volunteered at McAuley Hall. The week concluded with a special prayer service for the deceased during CWP and a Habitat for Humanity simulation in the afternoon.
Infant of Prague Catholic Nursery and Kindergarten
Mangilao, Guam
Our Mercy Week celebration was a blast. Each day was packed with activities on love, peace-building, harmony, kindness, nonviolence, caring for the Earth and antiracism. Everyone participated in creating a harmonious school environment, fostering a culture of peace that extends throughout our school campus.
Mercy High School
Burlingame, California
This year, we celebrated 100 years of the Sisters of Mercy being on the Burlingame campus. Sisters joined us in prayer and took the time to bless the hands of our students. We also had the amazing opportunity to hear from Sr. Marilyn Lacey, who spoke to our community about Mercy Beyond Borders. After our prayer service, students had the opportunity to meet in small groups with Sisters and community members who work in Mercy ministries.
Saint Catherine Academy
Belize City, Belize
Mercy Day celebrations included two Belizean guest speakers who are activists for peace and environmental conservation. Both prominent speakers provided crucial information and challenged students to champion the mercy core values as they are called to become agents of change today. Students returned to their classrooms and created Action Plans for promoting peace, nonviolence, and care for Earth. We look forward to seeing our students contribute to the legacy of Catherine McAuley as they carry out their Action Plans in this academic year.
Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School
Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania
Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School engaged in Mercy Day with a multi-day celebration that included a liturgical ceremony and spirited activities. We kicked off the celebration with a visit from Archbishop Nelson Perez who interacted with our entire community of faculty and staff, Board of Trustees, and students and engaged in meaningful conversations with our students on topics of faith, the Church, and immigration.
St. Bernard Academy
Nashville, Tennessee
At St. Bernard Academy, we included students aged 3 through 14 in exploration of nonviolence. Students in JK3 and JK4 practiced kind words by exploring the feeling of cotton balls and sand paper in order to bring to life the impact of kind or hurtful words. In K, students read “Love Is” and created hearts showing ways to lead with love. Students in 1st and 2nd levels learned about healthy conflict resolution and put that practice into action with realistic scenarios. Students in Levels 3 through 8 designed “Halls of Peace Builders.” They researched peacebuilders who came before us, using these models of passion and perseverance to build a more peaceful world. Students created art pieces based on their learning and peppered the hallways with our diverse peace builder inspirations. All this was done while wearing our matching St Bernard Academy “Love, Peace, and SBA” tie dye shirts.
Alpha School of Music
Kingston, Jamaica
Led by the Alpha School of Music marching band, students from all six Mercy schools in Kingston marched around the Alpha campus on Mercy Day in a show of solidarity as they celebrated Mercy and promoted peace and nonviolence. The more we spend time with our fellow Mercy students and colleagues, the more we are reminded of the community we share and the importance of working together toward peace and nonviolent action.
Mount St. Mary Academy
Little Rock, Arkansas
In the spirit of Catherine McAuley, Mount St. Mary Academy celebrates Mercy Day each year by completing acts of service on its campus, in its surrounding neighborhood and throughout the Little Rock area. This year more than 550 Mount students, faculty and staff spent the morning volunteering at nearly 30 locations. Activities included cleaning and picking up trash, preparing meals, sorting clothing, and helping with various additional tasks at churches, schools and organizations that serve those in need. Overall, the school community contributed approximately 850 hours of volunteer work on Mercy Day before gathering back on campus to celebrate its annual Mercy Day Mass, during which Mount alumna Sister Deborah Troillett renewed her religious vows in honor of her 50th anniversary of joining the Sisters of Mercy.
Mercy Schools of Jamaica
They're not sleeping - they're meditating! In September, Mercy school staff were trained on how to guide students through Christian meditation and learned how doing so can reduce stress, aggression and fighting among students in school. Staff from each school then created action plans to incorporate meditation in their respective schools.
Saint Catharine Academy
Bronx, New York
An important component to peace and nonviolence is a feeling of physical security and a belief that basic needs will be met. This year, we partnered with four community organizations to discuss ways that homelessness and hunger disrupt people's lives, lead to feelings of insecurity and can result in violence, including violence directed at the poor and vulnerable. We spoke about how violence can be physical, emotional and verbal and can include policies that lead to further disruptions in the lives of the marginalized. This educational piece was coupled with an opportunity for our students to engage in service directed towards the clients of our service partners. Students created toiletry bags, period product packets, and bags containing hats, scarves, socks and gloves that will be distributed by our partner organizations to their clients.
Notre Dame High School
Elmira, New York
Notre Dame High School celebrates Mercy Day with Mass and with each class in the senior high participating in their class Mercy Movement Day. For Mercy Movement, students volunteer in the community for a full day. Pictured is one of Notre Dame's Freshman students participating in an Intergenerational Day of Play held at NDHS for the Freshman class's Mercy Movement Day and sophomore students volunteering at Elmira Community Kitchen.
Waldron Mercy Academy
Merion Station, Pennsylvania
Our Mercy Day Prayer Service connected the Beatitudes, the lyrics of the Circle of Mercy, and the Mercy Charism as opportunities to prepare us to be people of peace. It was a beautiful morning filled with reflection, prayer and song. We were also able to witness Mercy Associates from our staff and community as they renewed their commitment and Sisters of Mercy as they renewed their vows, and we heard from Sister Terry Saetta on the topic of becoming "peacebuilders" as it connected to our school year theme.
Traditionally on Mercy Day, our school also participates in a Walkathon, with family and friends sponsoring students for this event. The money raised purchases ingredients for meals that students in grades K through 8 will prepare and pack with their Big & Little Buddies on Halloween to support the mission of local organization Kids Against Hunger.
Alpha Infant School
Kingston, Jamaica
In September, Alpha Infant hosted a “Mercy Care of the Earth Work Day” in which students, parents and staff engaged together in painting, tree cutting, and clean-up activities around campus to promote a spirit of cooperation, tolerance and non-violence. The fathers who participated also discussed methods of preventing violence and ways of nurturing stronger parenting relationships. This activity brought together several parents who would not have normally associated with each other due to their coming from different communities.
Mercy Montessori Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
Mercy Montessori began Mercy Day by installing Tibetan prayer flags our students created with their messages for peace.
In our school-wide assembly the children met in their Mercy Buddy Families, small groups made up of students from each grade (Preschool - 8th grade). The groups created Buddy Family Crests with each child writing (or drawing) what they would commit to do to foster peace. These posters join the school’s peace doves and are displayed in the dining room for the students to see each day at lunch!
Merion Mercy Academy
Merion Station, Pennsylvania
Merion Mercy celebrated Mercy Day 2024 in several different ways including a school-wide mass, student reflections, and a picnic lunch. Perhaps the most profound part of the day was the unveiling of MMA’s new Community Commitment. Introduced as a concept on Sisterhood Day and contributed to by each class, the Community Commitment serves as a guiding promise for how students will interact and build their community. Reflecting the many dimensions of "living mercy," the pledge reads:
I pledge to create a space where all are welcomed and treated with respect. Leading with kindness, I’ll embrace growth and learn from my missteps. Honest words and sisterhood will guide my support for all. I’ll celebrate diversity, ensuring every voice is heard. Conflicts will be met with grace, seeking understanding and solutions. With Mercy’s values, I’ll act with integrity, compassion, and unity.
School of St. John the Baptist
Mindanao, Philippines
In celebration of Mercy Day, the SSJB Library Program made a significant contribution to Silsilah Elementary School by donating a diverse collection of books. Silsilah Elementary School is an integral part of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement, dedicated to uplifting marginalized communities. Established in 1989 on predominantly Islamic Sta. Cruz Island, the school serves as a beacon of hope, fostering solidarity and striving to create a just and harmonious society. One of the organizers of the book donation, Sister Algen Mari B. Castañeto, shared: “By investing in the future of these students, we contribute to a holistic education that promotes peace, understanding, and a love for learning.”
Mercy High School
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Mercy High School honored Mercy Day with a special Mass, bringing together our school community and Grandparents to pray for peace and celebrate the legacy of Catherine McAuley and mission of Mercy Education
The following week, Mercy Core Values were in action as we held our Making a Difference 365 Community Connections Fair! Our students engaged with incredible nonprofit organizations, embracing the spirit of service and compassion. They also worked together in Adviser Groups to make cozy blankets for kids in hospitals with Fleece & Thank You and packed Clean Birth Kits for Global Health Charities. Mercy girls are ready to take on the world and give back—because we’re Making a Difference 365.
Gwynedd-Mercy Academy Elementary
Ambler, Pennsylvania
The Gwynedd students and their families collaborated to create a Mercy Peace Prayer Flag, decorated with their expression of peace. Displayed in the GMA Gallery, they will be a reminder of how we are asked to live and pray for peace in our lives, our families, our local community, and the world.
The content of this publication is submitted by our Mercy schools. Thank you to all who contributed!