Astronomy Club Trip 

On February 24 -28 I traveled with Ms. Gianna Iannucci, Mercy science teacher and twelve members of the Mercy High School Astronomy club to Tucson, Arizona.  Tucson and the surrounding area is known as a prime spot for star-gazing and is the location of the University of Arizona and the Vatican Observatory.  We were privileged to meet with Vatican astronomers and also experience some of the culture of the area.  

Traveling with us was Patricia Bellm, the Co-Director of the Science and Religion Initiative of the Institute for Church Life at   University of Notre Dame.  Ms. Iannucci and I met Mrs. Bellm at a summer institute we attended with Ms. Jean Pepitone, at Notre Dame in the Summer of 2015.  At that summer institute contacts were made, which enabled us to plan this trip where students experienced first hand the relationship between science and faith.

Following are some pictures of our days in Arizona:

Day One:  We visited Flandrau Planetarium and explored the University of Arizona campus.

Day Two:  We visited the Mission San Xavier del Bac and then did some star gazing with the telescope and then binoculars at Kitt Peak National Observatory.

Day Three:  Meeting with Dr. Brenda Frye, astronomer, of the University of Arizona, Skyping with Mrs. Bachenheimer's Physics class back home and tour of the Mirror Lab.

Day Four:  We visited the Mineral Exhibit at the Flandrau Planetarium, toured the University of Arizona with their admissions office and Skyped with Fr. John Braverman, SJ, who teaches at the St. Joseph's University in Pennsylvania. In the evening we attended Mass at the University's Newman Center and met with Brother Guy Consolmagno, SJ and Vatican astronomers at the office of the Vatican Observatory.  We shared pizza and visited the remote viewing room for the Vatican Advanced Technology Telescope and Skyped with Fr. Boyle at the Vatican Observatory on Mt. Graham. We then did some star gazing using the Steward Observatory telescope with the assistance of Vatican astronomers Fr. Paul Gabor, SJ and Fr. Chris Corbally, SJ.  What a night!

                     

Picture of Jupiter through the telescope!

Build Season Has Begun!

The months of January through March are very busy for our Mercy Robotics team the TechTigers.  Twenty-five Mercy High School students comprise one of only two all-girl robotics teams in New England competing in the FIRST Robotics competition each year. These months are particularly important as it is the period in which they build their robot which is to compete at the FIRST regional and state competitions.  

Business Team

The theme for this year is a bit Medieval entitled:  FIRST STRONGHOLD.  Announced and explained by founders Dean Kamen and Woodie Flowers, teams are to build a robot which can overcome obstacles (as if attacking a castle tower!) and toss a soccer sized ball (boulders) to conquer the opponents castle!  The robot must  be able to pick up a ball, aim and toss the ball, crawl over obstacles and even climb the tower!  You can see the kick off video here:  Kick Off

In the kick-off video, Dean Kamen, one of the founders of First Robotics, sees his organization as “more than robots”.  His goal for the competition is to turn students on to science and technology, helping them see that it is fun, accessible and something they can build careers around.  He encourages students to “learn how to learn” as well as “learn how to change”.  He believes that students will need to develop three or four skill sets in their career lifetimes so that they will never become obsolete.

Programming Team

 Woodie Flowers, also a founder of First Robotics, speaks in this video of “gracious professionalism” which is also an emphasis in the FIRST competition.  Students are encouraged to “compete in ways that make their grandmothers proud”.  Our Mercy TechTigers have won awards in the area of “gracious professionalism” as they make efforts to be helpful to other teams they are competing with.  Mr. Flowers also encourages students to be creative in the use of the information they are learning in classes.

Lauren Gasior, one of the Mercy TechTiger team officers, is very excited about this year’s theme and competition.  Lauren is a programmer on the team and believes the TechTigers have developed a good strategy for a successful competition season.  February 23^rd is “Bag and Tag” day where all direct work on the robot must stop so the pressure is on!  They will compete the weekend of March 5th and 6th in Waterbury, CT.

Building Team

The Mercy TechTigers would not be able to accomplish all that they have without the support of faculty moderators, Mr. Tom Oeschger and Mrs. Buff Bachenheimer and numerous mentors who volunteer their time to assist in the building of the Mercy robot.  Many sponsors are also needed to help pay for the materials which go into the robot itself.  Check out the TechTiger website for their “wish list” of items needed!  TechTigers Website

Library Club Skype

On December 4th, members of the Mercy Library Club skyped with students from Mount St. Mary Academy, a Sisters of Mercy sponsored high school in Watchung, NJ, for a book discussion.  Students shared their impressions and insights on the book Me Before You by Jo Jo Moyes  Thank you to Mercy Library Media Specialist, Mrs. Jennifer Crutchfield who arranged for the event.  What a great way to meet other Mercy students!

Upcoming Events:

February 3 – Poetry Out Loud School Finalists competition.                               6:00 pm in the Mercy Auditorium.

February 6 - SAT Prep Course begins: Click her for course 
                        registration:  SAT Prep Registration

February 12 – Sophomore Student/Parent Breakfast – 7:00 a.m.

                        Mercy Cafeteria

February 15 & 16 – President’s Holiday – No School

February 24 – 28 – Astronomy Club trip to Arizona  - Watch 

                        for reports from Arizona as students travel to key 

                        sites and meet with Bro. Guy Consolmagno, SJ of

                        the Vatican Observatory.

Skype Event

This past June, Ms. Gianna Iannucci, Ms. Jean Pepitone and I traveled to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana to participate in a week long seminar offered by the Institute for Church Life entitled “Science and Religion: Strangers, Rivals, or Partners in the Search for Truth?”.  Catholic high school educators from around the country were selected to participate in this seminar which explored the relationship between Science and Religion. “Science teachers will learn how theological insights can be used to inform some of the typical topics in biology and religion teachers will explore how scientific findings can help inform and enhance their appreciation of God’s physics, while creation” (Institute for Church Life)

The experience presented an opportunity to not only enrich our courses, but form relationships and network with educators at the University of Notre Dame and other institutions of higher education.  In particular, we had the pleasure of meeting Br. Guy Consolmagno, SJ, the Director of the Vatican Observatory 

One benefit of the relationships formed was the opportunity to Skype with Br. Guy on Wednesday, October 28.  The Mercy High School stage was set with our large screen and members of our Astronomy club seated to the side.  The auditorium was filled with the entire Mercy High School student body, members of the Xavier High School Astronomy club and grades 5 through 8 at St. John Paull II School in Middletown.  Our technology team facilitated the call which included a camera on students asking the questions, a camera on the auditorium audience and Br. Guy live from the Vatican in Italy.  

Xavier High School Astronomy Club

Mercy High School Astronomy Club

Rev. Erik Lenhart, OFM Cap and Rev. John Gallagher, OFM Cap

from St. Pius X Parish in Middletown

You can watch the event on our You Tube channel at:  Vatican Skype Event    The entire video is approximately 45 minutes in length but well worth the time you take to view it.

Events like this, show the great benefit that technology can bring to our students.  Br. Guy opened the world up to those gathered that day.  We could truly feel his passion for God as seen in our universe and hear his invitation to find ourselves in it.  

We continue to use Skype as a tool to facilitate communication.  On December 4 our Library Club will be “Skyping” with a similar group at Mt. St. Mary Academy, in Watchung, NJ,   a Sisters of Mercy sponsored High School.  They will be discussing Me Before You by JoJo Moyes, a book that both groups have read in common.  

I look forward to seeing the other creative ways that we can use programs such as “Skype” to enrich and broaden our experiences and world view.

Upcoming Events:

·         Thanksgiving Break:  There will be no school November         25 – 29, 2015

·         Mercy/Xavier Drama Production:  

           A Christmas Carol:  will be presented on Thursday, December 3 and Friday, December 4 beginning at 7:00 p.m.  Tickets are $8 and available for purchase online or at the door.

·         Mercy/Xavier Advent Mass and Breakfast will be held on Sunday, December 6.  Please check the website to make your reservation and find information concerning our Christmas Poinsettia sale.

·         Winter Concert:  Come hear our various choirs and musical ensembles perform on Wednesday, December 16 at 7:00 p.m. in the Mercy Auditorium.  It is a great way to ring in the holidays!

Mercy Technology Blog

We are certainly a learning community here at Mercy.  When it comes to the area of Technology, we can never say, “We know enough”, because it is a field that is constantly changing.  Teachers and students both, are always experimenting, “Googling” and discussing new ways to accomplish specific tasks.  What makes being in a learning community so great is that no one has to “figure it out” alone!

Professional Development Day

On Friday, October 16, Mercy High School was closed for students, but teachers were busy attending various workshops and working on curriculum.  One workshop that a number of teachers attended was at the Microsoft store at West Farms where teachers learned how to use “Office Mix” and “Sway”

Student Learning

When teachers returned from having a day to enhance instruction, the results were seen quickly.  Students in Mrs. Lynn Curello’s Technology Fundamentals classes as well as Personal Finance are seen here learning how to use the presentation program “Sway” themselves!

It is great for students to have another option for class project presentations!

E-TextBooks

The use of e-textbooks has grown over the past few years at Mercy. Many of the digital books bring with them a cost savings as well as a lightening of student book bags!  With our Grade 9 and 10 students using required devices throughout the day, they are experiencing the benefits (and sometimes frustrations) of using these new, often interactive, resources.   

The Theology department has moved to a digital textbook option at all grade levels this year.

Grade 10 Theology Class

Both Spanish and Italian language classes have also moved to online texts which also includes a “supersite” where students do their homework and are able to hear audio clips in the language they are studying as well as post their own!

Italian Language Class

Online Resources

Students have a number of resources available to them as they are working on their various papers and projects.  Mrs. Jennifer Crutchfield, the Director of the Library Media Center, has been holding library orientation sessions with students in the class of 2019 to make sure they know what resources are available.  

There are programs, such as "Grammarly", which assist students with the actual writing of a paper and correct citing of source material.  Many online databases are also available to students at a click of the mouse.  

All of the above can be found on the Library Media Center page on Mercy's Edline website: Library Media Center 

Upcoming Events

·         October 28 – Skype Event with Bro. Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory.  Students will be able to hear Bro. Guy speak about his work at the Vatican Observatory and ask him questions about his work.  Bro. Guy will be speaking to us live from Rome Italy!  For more information about Bro. Guy and the Vatican observatory, see this YouTube video:

·      October 30 - Walk-a-Thon - A well loved tradition and  
important fundraiser for the school.  Pray for a dry day!

Please click to read Sr. Mary’s letter regarding Walk-a-thon

·         November 1^st – Open House – 1:00 p.m – 4:00 p.m.  Please invite your friends and family to come and see Mercy!  Take a look at our latest video! 

Mercy Technology 

What an incredible opening of school year we have had here at Mercy in the area of Technology!  

Teacher Workshops

Before our Mercy women even arrived, our teachers gathered to learn creative ways to use Microsoft Office 365.  Four members of the Microsoft professional development team located at the Microsoft Store in Westfarms arrived with workshops on classroom use of the OneNote Notebook, Outlook and One Drive.  

 

Class of 2019

Our Freshwomen arrived on Monday, August 31st very nervous but also very excited to start at Mercy.  Our upperclasswomen greeted them warmly as is our tradition and performed a skit to introduce the Class of 2019 to Catherine McAuley and all things Mercy.

As part of the freshwomen orientation, I spent some time introducing the class to technology use at Mercy High School, directing them to:

• Name their computers so that they can be identified on our network
• How to access their e-mail and Microsoft Office 365
• Asked to develop mindfulness in regards to charging and care

As you can see, there were a few upperclasswomen who stayed to help with the morning activities and the class of 2019 was quite attentive, using more "traditional technology" to take notes on this first day!

Moving Forward

Since that first day, our freshwomen have become quite adept at accessing their e-mail, digital textbooks and Edline, where teacher webpages and homework assignments can be found.

I will be visiting with the Sophomore classes this week to make sure that they continue to use their devices well and are accessing the many resources available to them. Our upperclasswomen are also using more digital textbooks and using Office 365 more efficiently.

Upcoming 

• Mini-Class Night:  Thursday, September 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Parents will have the opportunity to follow their daughter's class schedule and meet briefly with teachers. Your daughter will bring home a copy of her schedule for you to follow.  

• Opening of School Mass and Freshwomen Pin Ceremony:  Tuesday, September 29.

• Parent Edline Activation:  Edline is a website where teachers post homework, handouts and other classroom information.  All students and parents have been given activation codes to access these accounts.  If you have misplaced or forgotten how to access Edline, we can help!  Please just e-mail mbullock@mercyhigh.com OR contact the main office.  We can issue a new password, activation code and/or second parent account if requested.

Stay tuned!  Each month I will be featuring some of the many ways technology is being used to enhance instruction at Mercy.  

Be well.