Selecting the learning environment that will best nurture and develop your daughter during her high school years is a momentous decision that can influence the rest of her life. Understanding that this time in her life is formative, Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School continues to innovate and provide opportunities for students to enrich and balance their lives.

Recently, the private school for girls located in Gwynedd Valley, unveiled an innovative approach that breaks through the traditional academic schedule.

The new schedule, fittingly called “Monarchs in Motion,” is a modernized approach to how students at Gwynedd Mercy will structure their school days.

Transitioning away from traditional or block schedules, the students now partake in a research-based format that provides them with progressive academic, social, and interest opportunities.

The new schedule includes 60-minute classes, a rotating schedule so that courses are attended at different times of day, additional meeting times with friends, counselors, and faculty, and more time during the school day to complete various assignments and homework.

“Our goal is to take advantage of the time and space available each day while still educating throughout the entire year,” said the school’s Director of Enrollment Management, Kimberly Dunphy Scott ‘84. “We’re incorporating a reimagined structure for our faculty and our students. Our students gravitated to it almost immediately and have beautifully adapted, and our faculty are seeing and experiencing great benefits from the new schedule, as well.

With this new concept, students also have added time throughout their day for social development, emotional engagement, and co-curricular activities, intermingling with students in grades 9 through 12.

“I love the new schedule because it opens up my day,” said junior Megan Myers ‘23. “It promotes a varied student life and allows us the ability to try a lot of different activities. With the old schedule, that wasn’t a reality because there wasn’t enough time.”

What does a typical day for a student attending Gwynedd Mercy look like?

Megan shared her schedule for the day, which includes Theology, a Community period where students have 55 minutes to participate in co-curricular activities, schedule appointments, or attend school-wide assemblies, a Seminar period that includes direct instruction related to the wellness curriculum, a WIN period (or What I Need) that is split between lunch and a study hall, and finally Psychology and Pre-Calc.

Not just a victory amongst students, faculty, and parents are fond of the changes, too.

“I like that there are a lot of advantages for the students, not just academically, but also socially,” stated Karen Myers, mother of student Megan Myers. “It’s been a positive experience and a good change from the traditional schedule.”

Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School is thrilled to see this project come to fruition after nearly two years of development and is delighted that both parents and students are pleased with the new energy that the schedule is providing for all members of the school community.  

“Monarchs in Motion is a point of distinction for Gwynedd Mercy,” said the school’s Dean of Academics, Anne Casavecchia. “The new academic approach offers impactful educational opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom for our young women – mind, body, and spirit.”

Interested in Learning More? Attend Our Open House!

Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School is hosting an open house on Sunday, October 3, from 11 AM – 2 PM, where prospective students and their families are welcome to tour the school and engage in presentations and various activities.

Register here!