Annual Class Retreats
Each year, every class participates in a spiritual retreat that focuses on developing and strengthening both faith and the lifelong friendships created at our school.
The Freshmen Class discover the diverse, beautiful community of the Mount in their very own class. This retreat focuses on naming our unique God-given gifts and how every student is called to develop and share these gifts over their four years.
The Sophomore Class visits the Sisters of St. Mary of Namur on their class retreat to hear the amazing life stories and journeys of our Founding order. Emphasis on the call to use our God-given gifts to serve and to walk with those on the margins is a focus.
The Junior Class experience the beauty of nature on their retreat as the class heads to Cradle Beach. We connect with God through the chance to take nature walks, to sit (and play) on the beach and embrace some quiet time in the midst of the busy junior year.
The Senior Class celebrates retreat together during the first month of school as they embrace their role as student leaders at the Mount. The retreat focuses on the individual Christian call to make a difference in the world, but also how together as a class we can be strong leaders and examples of faith and character for the younger students.
Kairos Retreat Program
At Mount St. Mary Academy, the vision of Kairos is to be the spiritual backbone of support for the larger community as a whole. It provides a time and place to allow our seniors to find God active and present in their own everyday life, as well as in the lives of people around them. The Kairos retreat is an experience that is primarily student-centered and student-led with adult accompaniment. With the Blessed Mother as the patroness of our school community, we ask for the intercession of Our Lady of Loving Kindness to draw us closer to God during this experience.
Kairos is a retreat program grounded in Christian theology, based on the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This program provides reflection for students who are at the point in their lives where they are open to questioning their faith and the direction of their lives. It is also an experience of Christian community, which grows out of a series of talks given by both peers and adults. Prayer, an awareness of the sacramentality of the experience, and the participants’ involvement in the discussions and other exercises are essential elements of the program. The retreat lasts for three days.
The challenge placed before the retreatant is to make God part of one’s life and to recognize “God in all things.” Kairos is open to any senior student of any, or no religious affiliation – but it is important to know that Christian imagery and prayer are central to the success of the retreat.
Service & Justice Workshops
Service and Justice Days are at the heart of the school’s Catholic identity: we embrace social justice where we live out our call as Christian disciples. It emphasizes the life and dignity of each human person, care for God’s creation, a call to community and participation, and specific attention on the poor and vulnerable.
Building Benches
This workshop looks to address the issue of “community seating deserts” that exist in poorer parts of our community.
Cards for Humanity
Students create a Cards Against Humanity-style game: STEAM edition to give women and minority professionals the acknowledgement they deserve.
Climate Change
How can we change our thoughts and actions to protect our Earth for years to come?
Honoring and Preserving the Gifts of our Environment
Consider our connection to the Earth and our responsibility to care for our planet.
Feeding Hunger
This action-based workshop immerses individuals in the issues of food insecurity in our own community.
Equity and Access to Educational Technology
Many students who live in poverty do not have adequate access to educational technology. How do we address this injustice?
By the Bootstraps
Learn about the way the economy, privilege, and education affect one another and how pursuing higher education may or may not be a one-size-fits-all solution to poverty.
Expanding the Boundaries
Students explore the effects of recent injustices relating to geographic poverty in our Buffalo community since the 1950s.
Protest Music in the Face of a Pandemic
Look at how music created during a challenging time, like a pandemic, can shape the progress of a movement and help move social justice forward.
I See Me!
Investigate the importance of diversity in written works, especially as children are first learning about, growing in, and interacting with the great big world.
School to Prison Pipeline
In this experience, students learn about the history of education, the creation of this “pipeline,” and how it has become part of our society today.
The Immigrant and Refugee Experience in WNY
Learn about the lives of refugees, the process they must go through, and systemic problems from those who have experienced it firsthand, as well as those who set immigration policies.
Social Justice Through the Arts
Past and present artists and everyday people use the arts to communicate about social justice issues.
Women in Sports
Learn about the history of disparities between men and women in athletics as well as what we as high schoolers can do to change the future of women in sports.
Women: Inequity in Education and Leadership
Learn about the obstacles women face as they attempt to pursue leadership roles and/or roles in traditionally male-dominated fields.
