Community Programming and Activities: 2021-22

Juneteenth

On June 19, the United States celebrates Juneteenth, also known as Emancipation Day, Black Independence Day or Jubilee Day. Juneteenth is a national holiday that inspires hope. As we commemorate this day, we ask ourselves: what more must we do to continue our important work to address and oppose racism? This Juneteenth, may we be ever more conscious of what our Mercy Critical Concerns of racism and nonviolence are requiring of us at this time..
 

Click here to learn more.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage

One of the many ways Merion Mercy celebrated AAPI week included a traditional clothing and food sale. Students enjoyed Puto (steamed rice cake) and Turon (fried banana rolls) made by the students!

To culminate all of the festivities at school in celebration of AAPI Heritage month, during Community Reset we enjoyed a “dragon dance” commonly performed during the lunar New Year. 

 

Merion Mercy Academy proudly sponsored "Ray of Hope: A Conversation About Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Merion Mercy Academy proudly sponsored "Ray of Hope: A Conversation About Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" at Saint Joseph's University. The event featured PBS's Tell Me More host Kelly Corrigan and her guest Anthony Ray Hinton who spent nearly 30 years on death row for crimes he did not commit. 

In addition to embodying everything we need to teach our children about diversity, equity and inclusion and living in a non-judgmental way, his message was about choosing freedom in captivity, caring over indifference, and love over hate. 

BSU Showcase

The BSU Showcase was a celebration of song, dance, rap, poetry, and presentations of black culture, HBCUs and black history held on March 10. We're so proud of our students' hard work and are amazed at the talent that went into this event! 

Black History Month

In celebration of Black History Month and in partnership with MMA's Black Student Union's annual showcase that will, in part, focus on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), we highlighted some of our MMA alumnae who have gone on to pursue higher education at HBCUs, sharing their stories and successes in a weekly series.

Empowering Girls' Voices

In partnership with the National Coalition of Girls' Schools, the Empowering Girls' Voices program brought together students from across the globe for a series of civic engagement workshops. Six Merion Mercy students—Simone Waheed ’23, Maria Shapson ’24, Ava Kennedy ’24, Shan Pagan ’23, Sylvia Barnes ’23, and Mira Tensuan-Eli ’22—participated in this program and shared what they learned, including facilitation skills, with the broader community.

By engaging students from different backgrounds in meaningful dialogue, the community aims to help them develop empathy for the perspectives of others and build the skills and confidence needed to empower a generation of female change-makers.

Over the course of the school year, students deliberated on pressing global issues, explored political and structural barriers to equity, deepened their understanding of existing campaigns for change, and worked together to create meaningful solutions. 

National Hispanic Heritage Month 
 

We celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month throughout September. One of the highlights of National Hispanic Heritage Month and Spanish Language Week was a healthy Zumba class during Advisory Period. Bailar!

 

MESA offered several resources to schools, teachers, and students. Please click here to learn more.

Hispanic Heritage Month Prayer