MPS has been twice recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence by the United States Department of Education. In addition, we offer the rigorous International Baccalaureate Program. In order to meet the needs of our students, several academic levels are offered along with a recommended course of study and minimum grad requirements: · College Prep · Honors · International Baccalaureate. Mercyhurst Prep is known for offering electives that enable students to find their own niche. With electives such as Design Online, Intro to Flight, Hydrologic Systems, and Sign Language, students delve into the education process and begin fine tuning their individuality.

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Community of Scholars

The Mercyhurst Prep community of scholars continually cultivates our school community to embrace curiosity, integrity, pride in academic excellence, and motivation. They look for ways to discover interdisciplinary opportunities, which can lead to the creation of courses that encourage critical thinking and the application of knowledge, as well as increase enthusiasm for learning. Our teachers study the latest research on motivation and determine how they can best apply that to their classroom methods. One example of their work has developed into a partnership with Gannon’s Science in Motion program that has enabled our students to experiment with scientific industrial and research equipment that would normally be costprohibitive.

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McAuley Scholars Program (MSP)

The McAuley Scholars Program (MSP), now in its fourth year, fulfills the needs of upper-level students from local grade schools.

The program has doubled in size and is a flexible plan for talented students who have completed seventh grade and want to maximize their academic potential. A McAuley Scholar should be a motivated and disciplined individual with a high social/maturity level. Scholars have the option of selecting one or two high school courses in the areas of Language, Math and/or Science.

Students accepted into the program will be eligible to take Algebra I, Science Concepts, or Spanish/French I – all at the honors level. Since our courses are set to an A-day, B-day block schedule, scholars will attend Mercyhurst Prep from 8:30-10:00 a.m. on either an “A” or “B” day (generally every other day). If a student opts to challenge him/herself with two courses, s/he will attend MPS daily from 8:30-10:00 a.m.

If the McAuley Scholar enrolls at Mercyhurst Preparatory School, credits earned from MSP will become part of his/her high school transcript.

Exceptional eighth grade students accepted into the McAuley Scholars Program full time have the option of beginning their high school career a year early. These academically talented students would be fully integrated into the high school curriculum and be eligible to jump-start the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program and/or earn college credits through Mercyhurst College. This academic standing will be advantageous on the competitive path to college placement.

“Tracey and I are Big fans of the McAuley Scholars program. It has done wonders for Samantha, not just in grades and knowledge, but the by-products of learning time management, confidence in herself, the whole high school experience, but being safe guarded by her home school and just overall pride it has brought her has been very much well worth any time and money spent. I’m sure our son will receive the same benefits.” Ken and Tracey Fugagli Parents of Samantha, a current freshman, and Kenny, a 7th grader at St. Boniface School and a current McAuley Scholar at MPS

 

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COLLABORATION WITH

In the last three years our students earned 258 college credits and saved $140,500 in college tuition costs by taking post secondary courses at Mercyhurst College.

College Courses

In conjunction with Mercyhurst College, we offer a special program for academically able students who wish to begin college course work or who want to pursue a subject in greater depth. The high school and the college campuses are adjoined by a short walkway, so both schools are easily accessible to each other either by driving or walking.

MPS students can begin taking evening or summer classes for credit at Mercyhurst College at the end of their sophomore year. Our students are granted a very substantial tuition discount by Mercyhurst College for each course. The college grants full credit for such courses and sends a transcript of the student’s work to the college of his/her choice.

Seniors at Mercyhurst (SAM)

Through the SAM program students have the opportunity to complete their senior year at Mercyhurst Prep and their freshman year at Mercyhurst College simultaneously. Students who are recommended for the program work with both the high school and college counselors for selection of courses and may also be eligible for financial aid.

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Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and Mercyhurst Prep have established an educational partnership. The two schools have developed educational programs that encourage graduates to pursue careers in the health professions:

JOHN PAKIELA, D.O. Chief Flight Physician for Cleveland Metro Life Flight 1990 MPS graduate 1998 LECOM graduate Dr. Pakiela has many special memories from Mercyhurst Prep and realizes how important a Catholic education was to his life. When asked what the most influential part of his high school education was, Pakiela responded, "the entire Mercy tradition! It taught me the values of caring, compassion, and concern, as well as critical thinking (which) helps me in my job today as an Emergency Medicine/Flight Physician." He also felt that receiving an education and Catholic faith together was an important part of his life.

MASH Medical Application to Science and Health MASH is for MPS students who wish to focus on differential diagnosis of a“case study” concentrating in microbiology, biochemistry, pathophysiology, histology, gross anatomy, OMM and clinical skills by the medical faculty & med students along with MPS science faculty Anatomy Academy This program focuses on neuroanatomy, gross anatomy and cadaver studyby the medical faculty. Pharmacy Technician Class Pharm Tech includes instruction byLECOM pharmacy faculty at MPS & LECOM along with shadowing in a local pharmacy. After completing the course students will be eligible for employment in local pharmacies as pharmaceutical technicians.

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MPS Local Area Network (LAN)

All computers are connected on a LAN giving students access to their files from any computer in the school.  The servers for the LAN are 2- Xeon 2.0 GHz tower servers, a dedicated Core2 student file server, and 1-Core2 ISA server.  The platform for the servers is Intel running Windows Server 2003.

Hardware

135 PC’s, 8 Mac’s, and a wireless mobile cart with 30 laptop computers are hooked up to the LAN. 

35 of those computers are in classrooms and are part of a power center (TV/VCR/DVD/computer/cable access). 

The Information Center has 31computers allowing teachers to schedule in their classes for instruction and research.  Students also have access to these computers before and after school. 

There are two connection centers each with 24 computers which are used for instruction.

Each department has an LCD projector and a Smart Technology AirLiner wireless slate.  The AirLiner allows teachers to present information using the LCD projector or the TV from anywhere in the classroom.  Students get all the benefits of interacting with lessons, web sites and computer programs.

Students and teachers also have access to other technologies including: a digital video camera, digital cameras, scanners, printers including a LaserJet Color printer.

Software/Databases

Mercyhurst Prep’s client computers use the Windows Vista operating system and Microsoft Office 2007 applications suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Access).

MPS continues its efforts to keep parents and students informed of the student’s academic progress at Mercyhurst Prep.  We have contracted for the Pearson grading program, MyGradebook ®, which allows parents and the student to access his/her current grades in all classes.

Among other software packages that are used is Adobe Creative Suite (In-Design, Photoshop, and Illustrator).  The Journalism class, graphics class, yearbook, and Mercyhurst’s Chrysalis Literary Magazine are produced using this software.

MPS has membership in Access Pennsylvania (since 1993), a statewide database of library holdings from over 3,000 academic, school, public and special libraries that represents over 15 million unique titles and totaling over 67 million items.

Students have access to Power Library, a system of 41 databases that provides free access to thousands of periodicals and newspaper articles plus all reference materials from Oxford Press and other notable companies.

Students can use additional databases from Thomson Gale Company at school and home which include Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center and the Literature Resource Center and Contemporary Authors.

Technology Quotient (TQ)

Beginning with the class of 2008, each graduating student will have achieved a minimum technology quotient (TQ) of 3.5 on a 5.0 scale.  The TQ will be a quantitative assessment of the technological competency accumulated throughout the student’s tenure at MPS.  This TQ achievement will be reflected in the student’s personal Technology Assessment Portfolio.  The portfolio will be a cross-curriculum collection of technology enabled work projects.

Wireless Option

Beginning in October 2007 students will be able to bring in computer equipment that is personally owned, to be used for schoolwork and to enhance educational opportunities. With this privilege comes responsibilities and issues that are addressed in the Mercyhurst Preparatory School Policy on Student Owned Computers.  A copy of this policy and the contact that both the student and parent must sign can be found at www.mpshome.com under parent/forms.

The Internet

Mercyhurst Prep is connect to The Internet through a 3 Mbps fiber optic connection.  SonicWall filtering is used to assure safe browsing when using the Internet.

MPS has the following web pages:

www.mpslakers.com - Our homepage showcases the many features that make Mercyhurst the premier Catholic high school in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

www.mpshome.com - Our website for students, parents, teachers, and administration. Read daily announcements, see what's for lunch, look up homework assignments, and much more.

www.mpsbuzz.com - MPSBUZZ is a creative technology product of Mercyhurst Prep that strives to provide web-safe content for our students, while encouraging their participation to experiment and demonstrate their talents, interests, calling, etc., in a manner that reflects their time here at Mercyhurst Prep.

www.mpsalumni.com - Our mission is to link our alumni to each other and keep them connected with MPS.

www.mps-advancement.com - The website will show you ways that YOU can get involved in contributing to the high standard of excellence that sets the pace in Erie and around the country.

The Pennsylvania Department of Education has provided netTrekker, an award-winning academic search engine that’s safe, fast and easy to use for teachers, school librarians, students and parents.  It has over 180,000 educator-selected online resources organized by readability level and aligned with state standards.