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Mercy Traditions

 

 

There are lots of Mercy traditions and lingo that may be unfamiliar to new parents and students. Check out this index of "Mercy-isms" for a better understanding of the day-to-day life of a Mercy Monarch.

Every Mercy student is assigned a faculty Academic Advisor to help with the selection of classes, monitor academic progress, and address any problems or concerns a student may have.

On the day before Graduation, the seniors and their parents and guardians are invited to Baccalaureate Mass at Mercy. Afterwards, there is an award ceremony and dinner to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of the graduating class. 

This picnic, not to be confused with the Welcome Picnic, is for students and their families. The Monarch Parents Club hosts our Mercy families in the school parking lot. It’s a great way for parents and guardians to get to know one another and to meet some of our school administration.

When we're gathered as a school community, we bless our students competing in athletic events or other activities. We extend our hands and sing, "May the blessing of the Lord be upon you, we bless you in the name of the Lord."

Campus Ministry includes all student groups that help Mercy students grow in their faith:

  • Pastoral Council - plans Masses and prayer services
  • Operation Others - works with other Catholic school students to provide food for those in need around the holidays
  • Pro-Life Group - addresses the sacredness of life and develops positive social attitudes through fundraisers and awareness events
  • Justice & Peace - help students develop an awareness of the importance of social justice

Mother Catherine McAuley was the founder of the Sisters of Mercy and is a current candidate for sainthood. She opened the first House of Mercy on Lower Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland on September 24, 1827, a place to shelter and educate women and girls. In 1931, the order was founded. Since then, the Sisters of Mercy have established schools all over the world. 

Creating class unity is a very important part of the Mercy experience. As such, each class writes its own prayer and chooses a class song. They recite the prayer and sing the song throughout the rest of their time at Mercy. 

Every other year, Mercy celebrates Day of Discovery to help students explore new places and ideas. Faculty and staff members plan various trips ranging in distance to give students the opportunity to travel and learn more about the world around them.

The senior class produces the Farewell Day Play at the end of the academic year to reminisce and reflect upon their final year at Mercy.

Our annual fundraising gala is called FIESTA, Friends in Earnest Supporting Tuition Assistance. Mercy students and parents volunteer in planning and working the event. 

When you have the most diverse student body of all the Omaha Catholic Schools, it’s important to establish a sense of community. That’s what Freshman Unity Day is all about. During the first quarter, we gather the freshmen together for a day full of community building activities. 

During the first week of school, freshmen wear their Greenies, little green hats. It’s a fun way to distinguish our newest class of Monarchs. During the week, their senior Big Sisters will steal their Greenies to decorate them. The freshmen then model their newly decorated Greenies during the Greenie Parade. Costumes are usually involved.

As part of the Prom Announcement (PA) process, the juniors and seniors challenge each other to loddies. Essentially, a loddie is a call-and-response cheer that reveals or hopes to reveal some detail about Prom or PA.

Each May, we celebrate Mary with May Crowning. A senior is chosen to be May Queen because she exemplifies the qualities of Mary. Each class also selects two attendants to serve as the May Court. At the May Crowning ceremony, the May Court leads the community in the Rosary. 

If we could declare a national holiday, it would be on September 24, Mercy Day. This is a global celebration of Mother McAuley and her legacy. It is also a very important day for our school community, especially the seniors. To begin the day, we celebrate an all-school Mass. Then, the seniors treat the student body to the Mercy Day Play. During the play, the seniors depict Mother McAuley’s life and explain the importance of her ministry to the underclasswomen. The seniors write, produce, and act in the Mercy Day Play. To be chosen to portray Mother McAuley in the play is a very special honor. After the show, the seniors, faculty and staff enjoy lunch together while the underclasswomen get the rest of the day off. 

 If Mercy alumnae have a tie that binds, it’s the rhythm of the Mercy Honk. Though it was more popular in decades past, the Mercy Honk is beeped to the rhythm of “Come out, come out wherever you are, a Mercy Girl is in the car.” 

Student Council leads Mission Week every spring as a way to raise money for the Sisters of Mercy's mission project. Fundraising events vary but often include dress down days, a dodgeball tournament, and SIESTA, the student version of our annual gala, FIESTA.

Mother Catherine McAuley was the founder of the Sisters of Mercy and is a current candidate for sainthood. She opened the first House of Mercy on Lower Baggot Street in Dublin, Ireland on September 24, 1827, a place to shelter and educate women and girls. In 1931, the order was founded. Since then, the Sisters of Mercy have established schools all over the world. 

Nocturne is the Mercy version of Homecoming. Sophomores, juniors, and seniors are invited to attend Nocturne and bring a date. Nocturne is preceded by Spirit Week and run by Student Council. 

To announce the details of Prom, the juniors put on the Prom Announcement, more commonly referred to as PA. The juniors keep the details of Prom and of the PA Play secret. The seniors are then surprised on the day of PA with a special announcement. The whole school gathers to watch the show after which the juniors and seniors are treated to an early dismissal. As the juniors work diligently to keep PA a surprise, the seniors tend to work diligently to spoil the surprise and find out what the PA Play will be. 

Our sophomore class is always incredibly talented, so we host our annual Sophomore Talent Show. Completely voluntary, the sophomores have the chance to put their talents on display for the entire school. Their talents vary: singing, dancing, painting, cup stacking, and even water-less synchronized swimming. 

In anticipation of Nocturne, we celebrate a week’s worth of activities. During Spirit Week, each class is assigned a hallway in the school to decorate. We also host a variety of other fun activities that range from organized class dance competition to a trivia contest to a movie party. 

The Student Ambassadors help with recruitment efforts at Mercy. They visit grade schools to talk with future Monarchs about life at Mercy. They also help plan and work at the Open House and Lock-In.

Each year, a group of students is elected to represent the student body to administration and coordinate a series of events. Student Council is responsible for Welcome Week, Nocturne, Spirit Week, Day of Discovery, and Mission Week.

The Suscipe (sush-ee-pay) is the prayer of Mother McAuley. Mercy students are encouraged to memorize it, and we recite it at many of our school functions. We also call our school Masses and prayer services “Suscipes.” The prayer is as follows:

My God, I am yours for time and eternity.
Teach me to cast myself entirely
into the arms of your loving Providence
with a lively, unlimited confidence in your compassionate, tender pity.
Grant, O most merciful Redeemer,
That whatever you ordain or permit may be acceptable to me.
Take from my heart all painful anxiety;
let nothing sadden me but sin,
nothing delight me but the hope of coming to the possession of You
my God and my all, in your everlasting kingdom.
Amen.

On Friday of the first full week of school, the entire school gathers for a Mass and picnic. At Mass, the teachers and staff serve as lectors, EMHCs, servers, and musicians to model the Catholic roots of our school. Then, we all gather for a picnic with games and activities. The students are then released early.

Welcome Week is the first full week of the new academic year. During this week, we celebrate with a Mass, an assembly, the greenie parade and a picnic.