As a Catholic school in the Dominican Tradition, we at Mount St. Dominic Academy claim our place in the third century of our life. As we have done since 1892, we continue to empower young women to become leaders in all areas of life that they might pursue. Over the past few years we have celebrated an array of achievements: our re-accreditation by the Middle States Association, the renovation of our science labs and the opening of our Athletic Center.  This year, we can add the completion of the Doris M. Byrne Performing Arts Center; the addition of a Campus Minister to the staff, and the overwhelming success of our service trips to assist in the rebuilding of New Orleans to the list.  But there are so many more accomplishments to celebrate, especially those of our 99 recent graduates.  Ten were named Bloustein Distinguished Scholars.  They were accepted at over 160 schools including Princeton, MIT, Georgetown and West Point.  The class was awarded scholarship money of nearly $10 million, with one of our graduates earning a Gates Scholarship, given to only 1,000 students nationwide.  It seems as if every graduating class sets an impossible standard; yet, each year the next class rises to the challenge.

Our Middle States re-accreditation is particularly significant. The Mount has been continuously accredited by the Middle States Association since 1934 and we take great pride in this notable recognition. The rigorous Middle States accreditation process compels us to take stock of ourselves and set a course for our future, ensuring that we are always striving for growth.

In this effort, we must ensure that every year attain or surpass the goals which Middle States noted we had achieved. The first goal was to increase the number of students taking AP and Honors courses. We are proud to report that this past year - as in the last few -- a majority of students were enrolled in one or more of our 29 Honors and AP courses. Our second goal was to ensure our student's proficiency as users of technology.  By requiring two years of technology courses, our students are proficient in all basic software programs including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and Access as well as the elements of desktop publishing by the end of sophomore year.   Our third goal was to expand our Siena Service Community program, a program that involves all our students. Today, in addition to completing a set number of community service hours, students are led through a reflection process and channel those reflections into a written paper to deepen their understanding of what it means to commit to the betterment of the global community.

We know that what we have achieved must now serve as the platform for new achievements.  We have set a new series of goals for the years to come, goals that will further enhance our students' skills in areas that are increasingly important to success in college. Specifically, we are developing our students' writing proficiencies, enabling them to produce more powerful essays and research papers. We are advancing our junior and senior students beyond a mere proficiency in computer skills to a more thorough understanding of how these skills can be applied to a variety of everyday assignments.  We have added the position of Campus Minister to our staff to be certain that service remains an essential component of a Mount education.

Exciting things are happening every day at Mount St. Dominic Academy and there is much, much more in store for our students than ever before. I invite you to come into our lives - to get to know us.

Sincerely,

Sister Frances Sullivan, O.P.
Head of School