Woodlands Academy Students Receive National Merit Commendations

Five Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart students are among the top 5 percent of high school seniors nationwide being recognized for their exceptional academic promise.

Elizabeth Bartusiak and Sarah La Vanway of Lake Forest, Mari Brady of Grayslake, Caylee Hamilton of Wadsworth, and Catherine Slaughter of Lake Bluff each received a Letter of Commendation from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, and the school.

"Woodlands Academy is proud to share in commending these five members of our senior class who clearly have demonstrated such outstanding potential for academic success," said Christine Schmidt, interim principal. We hope that this recognition will inspire them to continue to pursue academic excellence."

Of the more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2017 competition by taking the 2015 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test [PSAT/NMSQT], approximately 34,000 achieved commendation status. While commended students do not continue in the competition for Merit Scholarship awards, some do become candidates for special scholarships sponsored by corporations and businesses.

Founded in 1858, Woodlands Academy is an all-girls college preparatory day and boarding high school in Lake Forest.

Woodlands Academy is part of a worldwide network of Sacred Heart Schools that spans the United States and 40 other countries. A nonprofit, Woodlands Academy's identity is rooted in Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat's desire to inspire young hearts and minds to excel, to lead lives of integrity and to serve. For more information about Woodlands Academy, please visit www.woodlandsacademy.org