By PAT NEWMAN
pnewman@TheCitizenNews.com

As enrollments soar at metro high schools and the arts take a back seat, Our Lady of Mercy, Fayette County's first Catholic high school, will educate a maximum of 500 students and put a special emphasis on the fine arts as part of its college preparatory curriculum.

OLM will open its doors Aug. 14 for approximately 100 ninth and tenth graders. The $19 million facility, which anchors 54 acres of land on Ga. Highway 279 across the street from Evander Holyfield's estate, is one of two new Catholic secondary schools scheduled to open next month. Blessed Trinity in Alpharetta is the other.

According to Clay Cushman, the school's development and admissions director, the facility is totally paid for, based on contributions to the Building the Church of Tomorrow campaign, supported by Catholics in the Atlanta Archdiocese. Tuition is $6,500 annually and scholarships based on financial need are available, said OLM principal John Cobis.

The school will host an open house Saturday, July 22 from 5-8 p.m. “The whole community is invited,” Cobis added. Special guest will be Braves pitcher Tom Glavine.

A recent public relations push has netted a number of new students, Cobis noted and “it's growing by the day.” Newspaper ads, appearances at area Catholic churches, and question-and-answer sessions among church teen groups has sparked growing interest in the facility, which features a 450-seat auditorium, dance and drama rooms, band room, 1,000-seat lighted stadium, gymnasium and weight rooms, field house, baseball and softball fields, tennis, track and field areas and computer and science labs.

State-of- the-art technology will provide students Internet access from about 250 Gateway computers and eventually, wireless capability through laptops which may be checked out from the media center.

OLM's “Bobcats” will compete on the AA level next year, Cobis explained, with sports programs probably starting off in soccer, basketball, cross country and track. “We have all the equipment,” Cobis added, not discounting a possible junior varsity football squad.

Unique to OLM is its religious education, which will be a requirement for all students. The Rev. Paul Burke has been assigned to OLM as chaplain and will say Mass in the school chapel.

School hours will be 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. with the school calendar similar to neighboring Fayette and Fulton counties. Cobis said holiday times may vary, especially around spring and Easter.

For enrollment information about OLM, phone 770-461-2202.