Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy
MOUNT SAINTMARYACADEMY
Sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy
Kate Segal, Principal
October2017 Principal’s Board Report
Mission Statement: Mount Saint Mary Academy, a private Catholic elementary school sponsored by the Sisters of Mercy, furthers the mission of Catherine McAuley. Mount Saint Mary Academy is committed to academic excellence and the Gospel values of peace and justice. Our school instills in its students leadership skills and promotes the values of compassion and reverence for the community and environment.
Mission Integration and Catholic Identity
“Your whole life should be a continual act of praise and prayer.”
Catherine McAuley
September 22nd was my first Mercy Day as the Principal of Mount Saint Mary Academy. We honored the ministry of Mercy Education on the 14th day of school. Our community, our commitment to further the mission of Catherine McAuley, and our Catholic Identity was evident in the preparation by our students and faculty to honor this long, celebrated tradition. As stated in our Covenant with Mercy Education System of the Americas and Mount Saint Mary Academy, “together with our co-workers and those we serve, we endeavor to model mercy and justice.” All of our students from three years old to six grade, took part in celebrating the life and legacy of Catherine McAuley, with song, dance, prayer, and public speaking. I was very proud of the six grade class who as Mercy Ambassadors, greeted our guests, including many RSMs, parents, grandparents, and community friends, serving tea and baked goods donated by many of our families.
At our September Parent Information Night, Sister Regina led us in prayer. She set a white table clothed alter, including a Mercy Candle, a school bell and green cross carved out of sandstone from Ireland by her father when she was born. She helped us pray for our students and families, as well as our teachers, so that each day we recognize our Mission Integration and Catholic Identity.
Each Monday, we begin the week with Mount Monday prayer. On the following days, our Mission Integration and Catholic Identity are embedded into academic lessons. Religion and Mercy Education are taught in grades k-6 from 8:00-8:30. Each class visits our chapel once a week, for reflection, thought, and prayer. Finally, Mrs. Kathy will have taught the monthly October lesson on Mercy charism history and tradition for grades 1-6. I am pleased to report that Mrs. Amy True will be taking over as the Mount Saint Mary Academy Ministry Director, supervising prayer services, teaching the monthly lesson on Mercy charism history and tradition, facilitating the 6th grade retreat, overseeing the Chapel, directing the Student Core Keepers and continuing on as the liaison between Mount Saint Mary Academy and the Sisters of Mercy. Many thanks and blessing to both Kathy and Amy.
Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment
October 26th will be the final day for NWEA Measures of Academic Progress. Teachers started using the data this month to target individual student instruction based on their needs, as well as their strengths. Teachers will be sharing student reports at our Parent Teacher Conferences on November 16, 2017. The data will indicate a RIT score for both reading and math. Reading is broken down into phonological awareness, phonics, print recognition, word identification, comprehension and writing. K-2 grade math is broken down into computation, number sense, measurement and geometry, statistics and probability, and algebra. 3-6 grade math is broken down into number and operations, measurement and geometry, functions of algebra, and statistics, data, and probability. Khan Academy is a website which offers practice exercises correlated to NWEA RIT scores. Once in Khan Academy, the links to videos and other resources add context to the actual exercises. These exercises can be used at school and home for targeting learning in each student’s zone of proximal development: (Vygotsky)
We are pleased to report that we have completed our reading benchmarks using Fountas and Pinnell. In grades 2-6, 85% of our students are at or above expected reading levels. Teachers will also use this information to target individual instruction in reading. We look forward to our winter screening, where we hope to have even more students proficient and above, loving to read and reading to learn.
Updates and Invitations
November 9, 2017 Veteran’s Day Tribute at 1:30 p.m.
November 16-21Scholastic Book Fair in school library
November 17Grand Friends’ Day at 1:00 p.m.
November 18Christmas Craft Fair 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
November 21Prayer Service
Respectfully Submitted,Kate Segal, Mount Saint Mary Academy Principal
MSMA Enrollment/Development Board Report
October 2017
Report done by: Kathryn Moran
Period of time this report covers: July 1, 2017-October 1, 2017
Summary of recent accomplishments and current activities:
*Over the summer our enrollment dipped down to 77. It is now 85.
*Summer Wednesday Open House events
*Took out an Ad in the St. Elizabeth of Seton Parish Bulletin
*Principal Segal, Mrs. True, Edward True and Maxwell True spoke at two Masses on a Sunday at St. Elizabeth Seton in August.
*Mrs. Kathy represented MSMA at an Advisory Board Meeting of the Palace Theater in September.
*In September, Principal Segal met with two Board members to develop a Marketing Plan.
*Facebook Page, Web-page, and Principal’s Blog: very active and showcasing the many school activities.
*Boohoo/Yahoo breakfast for returning families and new families.
*The first Tuesday of the month we resumed at Shorty’s for fundraising and visibility.
*A Yard Sale/Estate Sale was held on September 30th to bring in traffic to the building as well as miscellaneous revenue for items being sold.
*Craft Fair being planned for Fundraising and visibility on November 18, 2017.