We here at NYJOURNALS sent our reporter undercover to get an inside look on how the teachers prepare for the 1st day of School. We chose Our Lady Of Mercy due to overwhelming requests and advances on the female student body. Who better to open this can of worms than our very Own Ron Konkoma to take a look inside.
1st day of reporting to the principal Zully Pertrucci, Upon Observation she seems distracted and not able to find her balance. We figure it was due to the school year starting. Upon looking in her office, we discovered a very short mini skirt on display, short to the point of covering half of the vagina. I asked Ms. Pertrucci about the skirt, she replied ” It was a skirt my student made and I have it on display” I find that very strange. After I left Ms. Pertrucci’s office, I headed into the conference room where I was greeting by 3 new staff members. We had a pleasant conversation, had coffee, and spoke about summer events. Everything turned normal until Ms. Pertrucci and Ms. Elizabeth Solosky (Assistant Principal) Kicked off the meeting.
Meeting agenda was to explain and educate how the school was founded and how men tried taking the school away . That went on for 2 hours. I have to admit it was intense, and had to excuse myself a few times just to compose my thoughts. Then Student Dress code come into a discussion. Ms Pertucci put in a dress code in place where the young female student body must wear above knee skirts with sheer blue tights. Then I couldn’t believe my ears when Ms. Donna Basle suggested Blue Crotchless Fishnet Stockings. That’s when I had to intervene and tell everyone to relax and be professional. I almost blew my cover. Catholic Schools are already under scrutiny for Priests having sex with underage students, and sexual abuse. To just come out and suggest this, no wonder why these female students are constantly assaulted.
On Day 2 my cover was blown! All the teachers reported to the school for the first time since June 2023. During Introductions I was introduced and gave a small speech why I joined the Faculty (complete BS as I was undercover). After my speech the Business consultant came out and gave a speech on how she is going to put together a S.W.A.T analysis (strengths,Weakness,Opportunities,Threats) The consultant gave out a sheet for all the teachers to fill out, basically doing the work for her which is totally laughable. During The S.W.A.T Analysis, my cover was blown and escorted off premises.
Unfortunately we could not finish our undercover investigation however we here at NYJOURNALS feel we have more than enough to expose what we found.
I Wouldn’t recommend to anyone who wants to grow socially or emotionally. You will be coloring and talking about your feeling 24/7 and will not be prepared for the real world. If I didn’t know any better I would think it was a elementary school. I also wouldn’t recommend to anyone who has beliefs of their own and doesn’t plan on conforming to their liberal ways. Which is extremely ironic considering they preach that they want the students to be “pioneers of change” which is stated in their Mission Statement. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with people being liberal however, I do have a problem with being scolded and looked down upon by the administration for not supporting the LGBTQ community and not wanting to be a feminist who “hates all men.” Don’t get me wrong, I think people can love whoever they want however, I am certainly not going to make LGBTQ posters during the school day. And yet again, this is astounding considering in their Mission Statement it states that they are “guided by the Catholic identity.” Lastly, I would like to point out that the entire staff and website is phony. All the “amazing” clubs that are listed, only about 5 of them are actually offered (pre-covid). The only activity that they actually have is Sports Night which is absolutely horrific and is clearly only catered to the girls that dance. I rather homeschool my daughter than send her their. Overall, don’t waste your time, money and patience!
impressive how much I can hate a place. Don’t go here i regret it everyday
School protects bullies over the ones being bullied. Terrible social workers are also mean girls. My daughter felt as if she gained nothing from this overpriced, wealthy girl school. Would never recommend this in a million years for any young girl to go through.
I hate it here, i hate thinking about this school, i used to love school now i dread going.
Worst decision I’ve ever made for my daughter was to choose OLMA over kellenberg or public school. The place is I constant chaos. They present one image but are the opposite in daily operation. Only 40 girls even applied for class of 2027. It’s going bankrupt. We’re leaving.
OLMA is an example of Catholic all girls education gone wrong. I regret sending my child at this school. In the last years good teachers have left, many have been asked to take pay cuts, less experienced teachers have been hired, many are teaching subjects outside their expertise, challenging class offering have consistently been cut each year, enrolled students leave by the droves each year. A look at regents test and AP test scores demonstrates the lack of preparedness that result in grades that while inflated on report cards do not carry over to standardized test scores. In the last 2 years there have been significant leadership changes after what I could only call a near race war mirroring the political climate literally being acted out within the walls of the school unfettered. The student body is overwhelmingly affluent white and BIPOC students are not encouraged to express their diversity. The current senior leadership lacks experience, integrity, professionalism, and any real sense of responsibility to the parents and students. Calls and emails go unaddressed regularly and issues parents deem critical are simply ignored. Administrative decisions are made with extreme bias reminiscent of the cast of “mean girls”. There is preferential treatment of students whose parents contribute money but at the same time there is indiscriminate heavy handedness with punitive actions across the entire school rather than taking a measured approach and dealing with the problem students. Bullying both in person and on social media is largely ignored leaving vulnerable girls to fend for themselves. Administration and some educators body shame girls having them stand for skirt fit tests. Students who request specific pronoun usages to complement how they identify are publicly denied by teachers who refuse to use any pronouns outside of the student’s born identity. During lockdowns during active incidents where there are concerns for safety or violence, parents and students have been chastised for using phones to communicate – meanwhile administrations usually downplays the incident and often takes hours or days to communicate about incidents (if at all). Mental health issues increase and in my opinion are directly tied to the unhealthy emotional climate at this school. The wellness program has no substance/leadership. If you an advocate of inclusivity, diversity, fairness, mental health support, challenging academics, and responsible leadership – RUN AWAY!
If I were administration in this school I would learn who to comply to students with disabilities and treat them with the proper care. Make students feel like they belong and to not discriminate against them.
Don’t choose OLMA. This school is filled with overly wealthy rich kids, who absorb their conservative views from their affluent parents. The day after the 2016 presidential election, my daughter told me there were tons of girls in the cafeteria chanting “BUILD A WALL! BUILD A WALL!”. When my daughter’s English class was assigned a persuasive essay, one girl wrote about why people of color should not get scholarships solely because they are, in fact, people of color. My daughter and I, though white, are quite concerned about the prejudice evident in her peers’ views. Additionally, she told me one student made a highly racist comment to another student, and absolutely nothing was done about it. And yet, girls get referrals everyday for the tiniest things, such as having their skirts too short, not wearing their IDs, or not bringing in an “absent note” after they missed a day. The girls are only allowed to use their cell phones for “academic purposes”, even during their lunch periods. There are also few Honors classes once you get to the higher level courses, so the only choice your daughter will have is a regular class, (too easy) or an AP class, (too hard). Some select teachers may be competent, yes, but most of them view the students as hysterical teenage girls. This often comes into play when the teachers give too much work. They’ll brush off the students’ complaints of work being too difficult or too much as them being spoiled. Which in any other case I would agree with, but not in the sense of homework. My daughter works from the time she gets home until bed, with barely enough time to eat, even without an extracurricular tagged on to the end of the day. The kids are spoiled, though, when it comes to everything else. They complain about the food, which my daughter and I both agree is excellent- near restaurant-quality. When my daughter first realized that she was surrounded by much wealthier people it was quite a culture shock. There was a clear “them” and “us”, even with her friends, which made her pretty upset. And the fact that many other students are racist did not make it any better. This school’s tuition is way too high for what the school actually gives back. If you are a parent, do not work your ass off just for your child to go here. It’s not worth it, I can assure you. Choose another, more open-minded, understanding school and enjoy life.
I went hear for freshman and part of sophomore school year. I blame this school for the worst year of my life. You have to be a certain type of narcissistic rich north shore girl to fit in to this school. Every day felt like a competition of who could get away with the shortest skirt or the most expensive hand bag / jewelry. It is hard to pick anything fun about this school. Teachers would be ok, but very strict. If they didn’t care for you, life was hard. Girls here are in cliques and very judgmental. if your white, rich and have long straight hair then you’ll fit right in. annoying parts included having to take dance and sports night: you can’t walk around the school without some group of girls stomping or clapping in your face. work is extremely hard, and is very easy to fall behind on. hours overnight for homework, plus clubs and sports are expected.
I think the worst mistake I’ve ever made was deciding to go here. There are teachers who don’t know how to teach, all the girls are nasty rich North Shore girls. If you are LGBT, you will be ostracized and you won’t be able to do anything about it because the staff is homophobic as well. Nasty school for nasty people. More than half my grade hates it here. By the way, when you go to open houses and the breakfast and they say “I love it here at mercy!”, They lie. Just go some other catholic high school because they’re all interchangeable anyway
My daughter was miserable at OLMA. She was smart and a excellent athlete but wasn’t a rich kid nor did she want to drink and do drugs. The administration is in constant upheaval. It’s clear that the faculty is miserable too. Even with the highest tuition on LI they never stopped begging for money. My younger child is at Kellenberg and is much happier than my daughter.
Everyone always says its horrible, including myself, and to be honest it really is. There’s so much work compared to other schools, there are no boys, administration is the worst, the guidance department is terrible, it seems like it hasn’t been cleaned in years, and they suck you completely dry of your money. Although, despite how horrible this school is, I feel as though i am 100% ready for college and my education has truly been an exceptional one. The teachers actually really care about their students’ education and their well being beyond the classroom, and hate administration along with all the students. Also, the friends you make here are ones that you will keep forever, trust me. My personality has developed into one that I am proud of because of my friends (not to mention we all bond over how much we hate the school). To conclude: Does the school suck? Yes, very much so. Do all schools suck? Well yes so I don’t know why you would expect anything different at Mercy. If I could go back in time would I have gone to a different school? Of course not, I love who I’ve become and everyone I have met too much to ever say that.
I firmly believe I wasted four years and around $70,000 here. My experience at Mercy was filled with regret. the administration at this school is beyond corrupted. The administration makes the school day hostile and filled with fear . The majority of teachers at Mercy are by no means qualified to instruct, they are immature and treat students like they are disposable. The teachers that do know what they are talking about complain about how bad the pay is. The girls at this school are malicious. The composition of a “mercy girl” includes being a social climber, tearing other girls down for their appearance or preferences, and being a very stereotypical mean girl. As I anxiously wait to begin college, I finally realize that mercy didn’t pay off, because I am unprepared both academically and socially to begin my next four years.
What I can see from social media, OLMA has became another Saint Anthony’s, only focused on sports. The rest are pushed to the side. From many people’s experiences, the administration is full of mean girls and will always protect the bullies over anyone else. Nobody ever gets suspended or expelled, so admin is a joke. As an educator myself I swore I would never send my daughter here. I heard the school psychologist is incredibly overbooked. Must be the school. Never recommend, don’t waste your hard earned money and send your children to public school, where there is actually AP classes.
The administration is awful. Teachers have left by the truck loads recently. Seriously look elsewhere if you want your daughter to have a stress free high school experience. The incompetence of some of the administration along with the new direction the school is taking is horrifying to say the least.
nasty principal, weak teachers, depressed girls, a la carte sports, zero opportunity for interesting, creative classes. not worth your time
my last three years at mercy have been the worst ive ever had. There were gils I witnessed being bullied by the faculty&students for having emotional struggles . It does little about bullying or causes it itself. is very racist, homophobic, very narrow minded, and has little to no resources for the stress induced mental illnesses it causes. The year before I got here a girl even took her own life for the reasons I do not know. The academics are rigorous The guidance department is usless, faculty is in shambles, and diversity is virtually non existent. I dont regret my education and what ive learned but i wish i did it elsewhere. The clubs never meet. ever. and there are no options for courses. i dont want what happened to me to happen to anyone else. The “Mercy Girl” they talk about so often is this; a white girl with loads of money who’s family donates to the school. the school has hurt me in ways you cant even imagine, especially mentally. just go to kellenberg
They say that the students make the school, which is pretty much correct. If you have good friends, then the school’s gonna be great for you. If you don’t, you’re going to want to transfer out as soon as you can. The school doesn’t give much care about thier students and bullying and whatnot, they only care if it escalates to a physical level. Majority of the girls are two-faced anyways. The school just leaves you with trust issues, identity crisises, and possibly more. Reconsider.
As an alumni I can say going to Mercy was the worst decision of my life. I was met with little to no support, classes were to rigorous to allow me to have an outside life, the administration was incredibly hurtful and disorganized. Lots of students had a lack of confidence due to the rigor and to the culture of the school. It is not diverse and extremely cliquey and bullying is common. Not to mention the homophobic and middle aged ideas of the administration. If you are looking to learn about God for real, go to kellenberg, not here where they will make you feel judged. I wasted four years of my life and many more from the mental health issues i developed due to this horrid environment. Girls don’t feel leaving empowered, they leave feeling burnt out and with little confidence. If you are white and rich maybe you’ll be able to find your place here. But at what cost
Mercy is a literal joke. People are leaving left and right cause of how poorly the school is run. The teachers and administration use interrogation tactics to try and teach. You would think that if you had a problem the guidance counselors or administration would try and help you, but in reality they just escalate it. The education is a nightmare. The girls are vicious and the upperclassman bully the younger girls. They take privileges away from people just because they feel like it and pick and choose favorites. The staff is constantly chatting about the fact that the school is gonna shut down, cause no one wants to be there. Ive made some of my best friends, but they too are leaving. Overall not a good place. I wouldn’t waste my money on the wicked school and evil administration that run it.
as a teacher at OLMA, I can say that there is low pay, no job security, no AP or IB classes, at the whim of the school principal curriculum and focus can change.
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