Although the weather outside is cold, things are heating up in the Mount Mercy Academy Admissions Department. Admissions Director Tina Webster is busy welcoming and registering the Academy’s Class of 2026 and finalizing the Winter Week of Magic that will occur during the week of February Break. Despite the fact that acceptance for the fall’s incoming freshman class has begun, Webster is still welcoming interested students and parents to tour the school and meet the faculty and staff. There are also still opportunities to take the Admission Exam. In addition, prospective students, as well as transfer students, are encouraged to spend a day at Mount Mercy with a current student, experiencing the excitement of being a Mercy Girl!
One of the many factors that sets Mount Mercy apart from other schools is its strong academic reputation. Although Mount Mercy’s excellent performances on the NYS Regents Exams enabled the school to be recognized as the fifth-rated school in Western New York, including a first-place ranking in social studies and a third-place ranking in English, the school has dropped Regents exams and begun the process of becoming a school that has a Project-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum. The changeover, expected to be a three-to- five-year process, began with the start of the 2021-22 school year.
Michele Melligan, Mount Mercy’s Head of School, has been the catalyst for the school’s change in its curriculum. Melligan believes it was the right time for the change.
”The COVID-19 pandemic was the driving force behind the timing. NYS has not mandated the Regents exams since the start of the pandemic,” Melligan stated. “Covid has provided an opportune time to allow students to thrive in a new and innovative approach to learning.”
Project-Based Learning involves critical thinking that involves a more in-depth analysis of information and learning through questioning and problem-solving for solutions to that question. Students learn from trial and error, they learn to manage their work more efficiently, to have the opportunity to explore areas of interest and to develop a new appreciation for learning. Perhaps the ultimate benefit of PBL is the chance to apply information gleaned in the classroom to real-life situations and to experience deeper connections to the material they studied. “I believe that this real-world/hands-on approach will allow students to strengthen their skill sets and further prepare them for their lives beyond the classroom,” Melligan commented.
Come and see Mount Mercy’s exciting curriculum in action! For more information on school visits, tours and the admissions exam, please visit www.mtmercy.org or contact Tina Webster at tw******@mt*****.org.