MORRIS COUNTY — As the 2019-20 school year kicks off, Mount St. Dominic Academy, the independent, Catholic college preparatory school for young women, has announced their Fall Open House schedule. Students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades along with their families are invited to visit the tree-lined campus located in the heart of Caldwell on Wednesday, October 2 at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 27 at 12:00 p.m. Visiting families will have an opportunity to meet members of the faculty, staff and current student body, and discover everything the Mount has to offer, including the school’s latest curriculum innovations.
Working to blend traditional liberal arts coursework with innovative, real-world educational opportunities, the Mount focuses on preparing young women for college and beyond. Leadership skills and career-readiness are at the forefront of the complementary elements of the curriculum, and enhance the school’s long-standing focus on educating and empowering young women to think critically, act compassionately, and discover their passions.
Advancing those principals, the MSDA course offerings for juniors and seniors for the 2019-20 school year include two new programs: the LEO Program (I & II) and the Health Sciences and Social Justice Endorsements. The LEO program is a two-year intensive, taught by MSDA faculty, business experts and professional entrepreneurs, encompassing the full lifecycle of creating a business or product from ideation to launch, with the focus on “leadership, entrepreneurship and opportunities.” The Endorsement programs, which incorporate a two-year sequence of courses, enable students interested in careers in health sciences and social justice fields to pursue in-depth explorations of those areas of study, similar to a major in college. Each of these new programs, along with the MSDA Senior Capstone in Directed Research currently in its third year, combine classroom studies with authentic, real world applications including mentor partnerships, site visits, and hands-on experience.
“With so many fine schools in our area to choose from, students and families go through a rigorous decision-making process when deciding on the school that is just right for them,” noted Dr. Marissa Muoio, Ed. D., MSDA dean of academics and member of the MSDA Class of 2008. “Mount families make sacrifices to invest in their daughter’s education and our students are striving for excellence. We are constantly endeavoring to modernize and innovate while embracing our legacy and traditions to deliver long-term and tangible value our students will benefit from as undergrads, in pursuit of advanced degrees and in their professional lives.”
Entering its 128th year, Mount St. Dominic Academy recently welcomed 77 young women to the school’s freshman class. The new students representing the Class of 2023, come from more than 30 towns across New Jersey, with more than half of them joining from public schools. To learn more about becoming a member of the MSDA Class of 2024, 2025 or 2026, students and families can register to attend one of the upcoming Open Houses taking place on October 2 and 27 by visiting www.msdacademy.org, or calling the MSDA Admissions Office at (973) 226-0660, ext. 1122.
Mount St. Dominic Academy, established by the Sisters of St. Dominic, is an independent, Catholic college preparatory school dedicated to the education of young women from a variety of ethnic, religious and economic backgrounds. Located in the heart of bucolic Caldwell, New Jersey, the Mount has been empowering young women in the Dominican tradition since 1892. Mount St. Dominic Academy is a proud member of the New Jersey Association of Independent Schools, the National Coalition of Girls Schools, the Dominican Association of Secondary Schools, the National Catholic Educational Association and the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Click here for more information.