THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019
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Mindfulness
Here at Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School we recognize the stresses of high school reach far beyond the academic classroom. Part of our mercy mission is to teach our students how to find balance in their lives. We want our students to learn how to take care of their mental, physical, and spiritual health in addition to the important academic subject areas they are learning about each day.
This year Gwynedd has started a mindfulness and meditation club, held the first Tech Empowerment & Cognitive Health (TE@CH) week, and introduced Tech Free Fridays during lunch periods.
Gwynedd Girls came up with numerous tips on how to incorporate mindfulness into daily life! See the top five below!
Top 5 Mindfulness Tips!
*Practice gratitude
Example *Start a gratitude journal and list three things you were grateful for that day!
*Focus on the positive
Example *Maybe you didn't do well on a writing assignment but you work on the areas you need to improve AND you got the extra credit problem correct on your math test.
*Spend time outside
Example *Take a walk around the block. See if you can do it without your phone and hear the sounds of nature.
*Scheduling fun into your day
Example *Playing on the soccer team or painting at home.
*Spend quality time with friends
Example *Go out for ice cream with a few close friends or go bowling with a whole group of friends.
IMPORTANT DATES
*Morning Tours 2019
Tuesday, February 26
Tuesday, March 12
Tuesday, April 2
Tuesday, May 7
*Evening Tours
Wednesday, March 13th
Wednesday, April 10th
*½ Day Visits for 7th Graders (NEW)
Thursday, March 28th
Tuesday, April 3rd
Dec-Mar: Winter Sports
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NEW – 6th Grade Practice Test!
Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School will host a 6th Grade Practice Test at the end of April. This test will cover grade-appropriate material in math and english. Additionally, students will be introduced to the procedures of high school entrance testing.
The Practice Test will take place on Saturday, April 27th (9:00 am - 12:30 pm), with an alternate date of Sunday, April 28th (9:00 am - 12:30 pm). Register here!
*There is still time to register for a morning or evening tour!
7th Grade Practice Test
Register for the 7th grade practice test today!
*A limited number of seats are still available for our ½ Day Visits!
Register today or call the admissions office!
*Can't join us for a ½ day visit? Join us at a Morning or Evening Tour
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Mrs. Kylie Steiert, M.Ed.
Social Studies
As an educator, I seek not only to provide students with skills and knowledge related to my content area, but also those things needed to fully participate in the world, to live a healthy lifestyle, and to understand themselves. Our students are challenged in and outside of school every single day, and these challenges provide opportunities to practice mindfulness and learn stress relief techniques that will be taken through their lives, from high school to college and beyond.
Mindfulness is about being present in the moment at hand; it involves a nonjudgmental examination of one's emotions, feelings, and state of mind. Mindfulness allows us to accept ourselves as we are in this present moment, and to recalibrate our minds and hearts to be open to whatever situation we are facing.
Mindfulness engages all our senses to release us from the stress of past and future events, and to instead exist peacefully in the present.
In school, mindfulness has been proven to help students absorb more information, to perform better on assessments, and to meet the rigors expected of them with less stress and in a healthy manner. It focuses student attention and encourages authentic participation of all kinds.
In my classroom, we practice mindfulness in a variety of ways. Some days we engage in a simple mindful listening activity, closing our eyes to listen to a chime sound, waiting and noticing the exact moment at which the chime fades out of hearing. It is a calming exercise that not only helps us to reset from a previous class, but also to listen more mindfully to each other in the classroom. We take "brain breaks" on difficult days – short moments to take a few deep breaths, or to practice gratitude by telling others why we are thankful for them. Before exams and tests, we may spend five minutes breathing quietly and reminding ourselves that we are valued, we are capable, and that no matter how the assessment goes, we maintain the same inherent worth given to us by God.
Students often say that they use some of these simple strategies in their other classes, or that they feel refreshed and relieved after a short activity. Others have shared what a difference journaling has made in their lives, and how they bring these ideas back to their families at the dinner table. A Mercy education is more than content knowledge and critical thinking skills; it is also about forming healthy, happy young women who are comfortable with themselves and who have the resources to deal with every challenge and opportunity that comes their way. Mindfulness is a small thing, and only one of many ways to promote holistic health, but this small thing can have a big and lasting impact.
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Black History Month News:
The Sisters of Mercy Critical Concern of Anti-Racism and the contributions of people of color are being studied in classes as we celebrate Black History Month.
Sister Christi had her students read excerpts from "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau and compare it to the writings and ideals of Martin Luther King, Jr..
Mrs. Battisto's AP Government students are studying Civil Rights and after taking the Louisiana and Alabama literacy tests, discussed how unfair and discriminatory they were and how they were finally ended with the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
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Dr. Karalyn McGrorty Derstine '01 teaches American History and they are celebrating Black History Month by exploring the moral, economic and political arguments against slavery and abolitionists, specifically James Forten, Harriet Tubman, William Stills, Frederick Douglass, and Sojourner Truth.
Her honors classes completed a 3-2-1 of Susie King Taylor: Reminiscences of My Life in Camp with the 33d United States Colored Troops Late 1st S. C. Volunteers. Susie King Taylor was a former enslaved women who served as the first black army nurse, first black woman to teach openly in a school for former slaves in Georgia, and the only African American woman to publish a memoir of her experiences during the Civil War.
Picture Circa 1902, Courtesy East Carolina University
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MUSIC
Congratulations to Chloe Thum '20, and Erin Jolly, '21, who auditioned successfully for the next level, PMEA Region Chorus, at the PMEA District Chorus Festival held at Wissahickon HS this weekend.
The Region VI Chorus Festival will be held at Haverford HS on March 21-23 at which time the girls will re-audition for the All-State Chorus."
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HONORS WORLD CULTURES
This week students in Mrs. Steiert and Mrs. Battisto's Honors World Cultures class engaged with religions of the world visually while participating in a gallery walk.
Over twenty pictures of sacred places, religious ceremonies, and spiritual icons were available, and students wrote down impressions, questions, and thoughts each picture inspired. Set to the tunes of "Dance Dance Revolution" as physical education took place across the hall in the gym, students made insightful observations while enjoying a lesson outside the classroom.
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CPR IN SCHOOLS KIT
The American Heart Association recently launched an initiative which allows our individual donors to personally support the American Heart Association and make a direct local impact in the community.
Thanks to the generosity of the Sullivan Family, GMA has been gifted a 'CPR in Schools' kit to train students in the life-saving skill of CPR. Phys. Ed. Faculty member, Mrs. Tobias, is pleased that this kit will help enhance the CPR training for Gwynedd students.
We look forward to welcoming Ellie '23 and Kiki '23 to Gwynedd's red and gold corridors in the fall! Proudly, their younger sister Shea introduced herself as a member of the class of 2026!
Pictured left to right: Emily Fiore and Jennifer Davis of the AHA, President Denise Marbach '72 and the Sullivan Family.
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Ministry and Service
George Valentine Auction
This year we are raising funds for the Sisters of Mercy and their efforts to help the people of Haiti. We are also donating to a Domestic Abuse Shelter in Philadelphia, which aids in efforts to support Nonviolence, the Critical Concern we have chosen to highlight this year.
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VARSITY BASKETBALL SERVICE DAY
The GMA Varsity Basketball Team spent President's Day volunteering at Face to Face Soup Kitchen in Germantown.
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ATHLETICS
SWIMMING
Congratulations to the following swim team members for medaling at the AACA Championships at Upper Dublin HS on Saturday, February 9th!
Congratulations to our AACA Championship Relay team winners!!
200 Medley Relay - 1st Place - Annie O'Dare '19, Aileen Murray '20, Bella Kellner '20 and Ella Gross '21
200 Free Relay - 2nd Place - Annie O'Dare, 19, Nicole Sasso '20, Bella Kellner '20 and Ella Gross '21
*Our 200 free relay team consisting of Annie O'Dare, Nicole Sasso, Bella Kellner and Ella Gross set a "New School Record" with a 2nd place finish time of 1:39.80 seconds (previous record held since 2000 with a time of 1:40.59).
400 Free Relay - 3rd Place - Nicole Sasso '20, Brynn Romberger '22, Maddie Markey '22, Aileen Murray '20.
Pictured above: Left - Aileen Murray '20, Center - Annie O'Dare '19, Right - Ella Gross '21
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Congratulations to our AACA Championship Relay team winners!!
(Left Picture) - 200 Medley Relay - 1st Place - Annie O'Dare '19, Aileen Murray '20, Bella Kellner '20 Ella Gross '21
(Center Picture) - 200 Free Relay - 2nd Place - Annie O'Dare, 19, Nicole Sasso '20, Bella Kellner '20, Ella Gross '21
*Our 200 free relay team consisting of Annie O'Dare, Nicole Sasso, Bella Kellner and Ella Gross set a "New School Record" with a 2nd place finish time of 1:39.80 seconds (previous record held since 2000 with a time of 1:40.59).
(Right Picture) - 400 Free Relay - 3rd Place - Nicole Sasso '20, Brynn Romberger '22, Maddie Markey '22, Aileen Murray '20.
WAY TO GO MONARCHS!
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ROWING
GMAHS Rowing competed in the Center City Slam Indoor Rowing Competition held at Drexel University on February 9th.
Congratulations to Georgia Cattie '19 for winning the Silver Medal!!
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Seniors, Mary Conn and Caitlin Fitzpatrick combined their passion for music and their technology expertise to create a "TechShop" for the amazing non-profit organization, TechGirlz® "Remix-U: Unleashing Your Inner DJ" will be offered on the GMAHS Campus, March 9, 2019 from 9:00 am to Noon.
The TechShop is offered exclusively for middle school girls interested in expanding their knowledge in STEM subjects. Read the TechShop description and register below! This TechShop is open to girls in grades 5-8, only.
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SHE IS THE FUTURE.
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©2019 | Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School
P.O. Box 902, 1345 Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd Valley, PA 19437
(215) 646–8815
gmahs.org