“She is to have a son and you are to name him Jesus.” Matthew 1:21

message from the presidentSeveral years ago, when she was three, my eight-year-old daughter started attendinga Montessori school, as an alternative to full-time daycare. Combinedwith her Catholic Religious Education classes every weekend plus Mass, we feltconfident she was receiving the best of both worlds: a terrific education that fostersindependent learning, plus the consistent opportunity to learn about our Catholicfaith through classes at our parish. Year-to-year we would consider again if it was time toswitch to a Catholic elementary school, but every year, certain things were working so well,we would renew our commitment to this kind of hybrid-model of “Catholic education.”It was during second grade, shortly after her First Communion, that our daughter camehome from school one day and said, “Mom, Dad – I want to go to a school where I can talkabout God with my friends.” Well – time to go! I was thrilled and I was proud. So this currentthird grade year is her first in a Catholic school and the experience has been wonderfulfor her and eye-opening for us as parents.The practice of our faith is not a “weekend activity” for children like intramural soccerwhere they can practice a few hours and abandon the activity the rest of the week. Certainlyour daughter was learning Catholic values and passages from the Bible, but one class onSunday was not the same as having faith integrated into her school day, shared in with herclassmates, and celebrated with her teachers. Our daughter has blossomed in a way thatI believe only comes from the trust and understanding that God is with each of us in ourdaily lives, and it is her school that has made this difference – her Catholic school.It wasn’t until our daughter was actually attending her new school did we truly discoverwhat we’d been missing. That’s Mercy. It’s a school that has to be experienced; it’s a schoolthat quietly goes about achieving excellence in every way; and it’s a community that wrapsits arms around you and leads young women to become more than they ever thought theycould be. Mercy is a school that should not be missed, and it is my job as President to makesure more families discover Mercy and all that it has to offer.Kirsten MacDougalPresidentMother of Mercy High School3036 Werk RoadCincinnati, OH 45211513.661.2740So, why a President?As most of you are aware, Mercy’s Board of Trustees elected to move to a new model ofleadership as of September 1, 2009. Mercy has adopted the President – Principal organizationwhich is now in place at more than half the high schools in the Archdiocese ofCincinnati. More and more Catholic schools are seeing this model as the answer to theever-growing demands on a principal in recruiting, finances, fund raising, public relationsand business management. With my attention given to the leadership of these criticalareas, our principal, Sister Nancy Merkle, is once again able to focus her attention to academics,parent relations and professional development of teachers. The daily operation ofthe school remains the principal’s priority while that of the President is more visionary andstrategic. Operating much like a CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and COO (Chief OperatingOfficer) of a corporation, the President and Principal work collaboratively to continuallyimprove our educational product and strengthen Mercy for the years ahead.FALL/WINTER 2009| 3