Dear Mercy Families,

As I frequently mention, this is a welcoming year of firsts for me at Mercy. Most recently, I had a most impressive experience in attending a night of Bubbles and Bling at Mercy's 39th Annual Auction. The camaraderie and generosity throughout the evening truly made this a remarkable event. If you have never before attended, I encourage you to experience the auction first hand. Whether you chose to bid on a dinner and movie package, or a cruise excursion, there is definitely something for everyone.

This year's Principal's Pick (formerly Witte's Wish) is targeted for necessary improvements to the auditorium lighting, sound system and stage floor. We are overwhelmingly grateful to the generous donors who committed to these projects, as well as to all who gave their financial support throughout the evening. A special thank you is extended to our organizers who worked so creatively and diligently in coordinating this annual tradition to ensure we continually have the resources to provide our students with the best academic and extra-curricular experiences.

Academic News

The World's a Stage: Check out the February edition of Stratford Theater's monthly newsletter, SceneNotes . Stratford is North America's largest classical repertory theatre company, and in this issue our very own senior and National Merit Scholar Finalist Anastasia Warner is featured. In her submission A Piece of Paradise , Anna reflects on what Stratford means to her, why Shakespeare matters and what she learned from fellow audience members.

New World Language Offerings: For the 2018-2019 school year, our World Language department, with enough student interest, will be offering honors courses in French and Spanish. Additionally, a new French course, French in Careers , will allow a fourth year option to students who wish to continue their world language studies, but do not elect to register for AP French.

Exciting Opportunities Course : Our English department had the wonderful idea of consolidating student available contests and enrichment workshops across all curriculum areas! Through the use of the Schoology app which students currently use on a daily basis, they can now find information for exciting opportunities in one place.

Students can view these details in their feeds, and use the links provided to get more information, submit entries, etc. Ask your daughter what might currently be available to support her unique interests and skills!

i Explore : We are excited to introduce a new required semester course for freshwomen that encourages collaboration and problem solving to create solutions for real problems. Students will actively practice science and technology concepts and the engineering design process. This class will develop student STEM awareness in preparation for career and college readiness.

STEM Happenings : Our Robotics team, the Riveters, are ready to kick-off their competitive season having recently been awarded a $2,500 robotics grant from the State of Michigan.

Mercy staff and students will be represented at the State Technology Conference (MACUL) at the Amway Center in Grand Rapids, March 8-9. Cinya Hou, Brooke Madek, Alyssa Johnston, and Mya Williams will join Mr. Tom James and Mr. Larry Baker to present a model program in a session titled Building a Collaborative Global Student Tech Team Project .

Ms. Charli Migoski and Mr. Baker will present, Let's Get Everyone Involved in Our English Class , and Mr. Baker will go solo with Feeling Podcastic, as a Teacher and Administrator .

Having both students and staff involved in multiple presentations at MACUL underscores how Mercy lives up to our designation of being an Apple Distinguished School.

In another tech noteworthy event, students Madison Konja and Alyssa Johnston recently FaceTimed with leaders of the Archdiocese of Gary, Indiana who were attending the Apple Education conference in Chicago. Apple is showing off our Mercy iBook and asked our students to describe how Mercy empowers women through the iWizards tech model.

Health and Safety

Drugs101: We were pleased to recently host a Drugs101 parent workshop in partnership with St. Joseph Mercy Hospital. We also offered this workshop to all staff, and all freshwomen and sophomore students. Student topics covered the dangers of stimulants, inhalants and depressants. The effects of alcohol and smoking, whether through traditional cigarettes or vaping was introduced. The workshop was interactive, and best of all generated much conversation and awareness with our students. I encourage you to ask your daughter to share what she may have learned.

We are committed to the health and safety of all of our students. Therefore, we are grateful to St Joseph Mercy for their willingness to assist us in extending this workshop to all of our upper-classwomen in April.

Catholic Identity

#lMakeLentReal: Our students and staff are being encouraged daily to Live Their Best Lent . Fr. Jerry celebrated Ash Wednesday Mass with us, and introduced a new process of having each student distribute ashes to the girl sitting next to her. This was a powerful experience in underscoring the humility and vulnerability in our personal Lenten journeys.

During the Lenten season, students are offered opportunity to participate in reconciliation, Stations of the Cross and an outreach sock collection. Our Campus Ministry team offers daily Lenten experience for our students, including Take Action Tuesdays, Women and Jesus Wednesdays, Think on This Thursdays and fasting Fridays.

Interested staff members meet each Tuesday morning during Lent before school to reflect on the personal perspective of biblical women who determinedly followed Jesus. And of course, Chef Mike and the Cafe Team creatively work to provide Lenten friendly meals each Friday! Supporting each other through our Lenten commitments and prayer makes each of us stronger in our faith and community.

Did You Know?: A recent Georgetown University study indicates that graduates of Catholic education are 7 times more likely to practice their faith as adults.

M ercy Family

We're Growing!: We are excited to share with you that our Mercy staff family continues to grow!

PE/Swim/Health teacher, Mrs. Brandi Lavely and her husband Jason welcomed son Taven Montgomery on February 1. Taven weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz and measured 20 inches.

Science teacher Mrs. Vanessa Mallory and her husband Daniel greeted Mark Maurus on February 10. Mark weighed in at 8 lbs 11 oz and measured 22 inches.

Both moms and babies are doing great and appreciate your prayers for continued health, happiness, patience, and peaceful rest!

As you can see, there are many reasons to be proud of our school. As our Mercy students remind us during daily announcements, "it's not what it is, but what it can become ". Thank you for allowing us to support your daughter as she becomes a woman who makes a difference!

May God's Grace and Blessings be in your path,

Patricia Sattler

Principal

NEW MEETING DATE - 3/12

MMC NEWSLETTER

Please read the new March 1st issue of the MMC Newsletter for information about our upcoming events and so much more!

REFLECTION DINNER

Save the date for the Mother Daughter Reflection Evening on Sunday, April 15th with Mass at 5:00pm and dinner immediately following. More information coming soon.

Feel free to reach out to the MMC with any questions at [email protected].

Check out this wonderful student produced "We are Mercy" video which was shown Auction evening. This compilation was created by Cayla Stus '20 and even includes her original song!

The course selection process for the 2018 - 2019 school year is underway for Freshwomen, Sophomores and Juniors. We know that choosing classes for the next school year can be both an exciting and sometimes anxious experience. In an effort to support students and help them make appropriate decisions, we have organized a detailed process for selecting courses. We believe that making wise course selections, in conjunction with teacher, parent and counselor input, is key to a successful high school and post-secondary experience.

  

Each student in current grades 9-11 attended all-class presentations that explained the course selection/registration process. In addition to the information presented at this meeting, students were given a registration packet which consists of the following: step-by-step directions that students need to follow in order to complete the registration process correctly; a Course Registration Form that needs to completed by the student and reviewed/signed by a parent/guardian; directions for selecting courses online in Powerschool; important information about Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors courses; as well as notification of your daughter's individual appointment time with her counselor to discuss her curriculum plan.

  

Your daughter has been assigned an appointment time to meet with her counselor sometime March 5th through March 27th. At this meeting, the counselor will discuss the student's initial course selections with her and make adjustments as needed, ensure that alternate course choices were selected where required, and review your daughter's graduation progress. It is expected that your daughter be prepared for this appointment. Prior to her assigned meeting time, your daughter needs to have completed the following: (1) Review course offerings and complete the Course Registration Form, including parent signature. (2) Complete the online course selection process in Powerschool.

As you think about having a conversation with your daughter about her course selections, here are some things to consider to help guide the conversation:   

We want to highlight the importance of choosing the right courses. We understand that students are making decisions now for a curriculum that they will follow next school year. It is important for students to thoughtfully consider their options and make decisions wisely. The master schedule is built from student requests. We determine staffing and the number of sections offered for a course based upon these student selections. Therefore, requests to change a course will not be allowed after Friday, May 11, 2018. After this date, the number of sections needed to accommodate student requests are determined and the scheduling process will begin. Please be advised that there will not be schedule adjustments to accommodate teacher preferences, class preferences, or after-school commitments. Schedule adjustments after May 12th will only be made for the following reasons:

Our goal is to provide both parents and students as much information as possible in order for students to make informed choices regarding their curriculum. Please direct any questions you may have about the registration process to your daughter's counselor. We ask you to please keep in mind that counselors will be meeting with students throughout the day during this 3-week registration period and, as a result, to allow for a longer response time to phone calls and emails.

Mercy High School's French Department, French Honor Society and French Club sponsored the 5th annual Passport to France program on Saturday, February 24. The event had an enthusiastic response and welcomed 38, 7th and 8th grade girls who were interested in learning about the French language and culture. This experience provided the participants a very fun and interactive morning of French immersion.

Our visitors were paired up with "une amie française", a current Mercy French student who assumed the role of guide for the day. These wonderful guides escorted our "tourists" on a virtual tour of Paris and a visit to the Musée d'Orsay. French conversation lessons provided our visitors with speaking practice and learning the French gestures appropriate when greeting the French. One of the favorite sessions was an introduction to French music accompanied with dance lessons followed by a demonstration on how to make a French "crêpe".

Mercy upper level French students were the official guides of each of the segments. All students were able to enjoy a sampling of French cuisine throughout the day. Games were played and prizes were handed out after each session based on the lessons learned throughout the morning of Immersion. The students enjoyed a traditional French breakfast, a French snack and an authentic French luncheon of quiche, salade, pâtisseries, chocolats and crêpes.

We thank our team, all student volunteers, French Honor Society officers (Grace Denomme, Kathryn Wolf, Alley Neary, Katie Bullock), Faculty (Madame Campbell, Madame Corte), our Foods Director (Mrs. Anne Hallberg) our Maintenance staff (Mr. Bank, Mr. Finney, Mr. Locklear, Ms. Dedvukaj), our Admissions Department (Mrs. McSweeney, Mrs. Iacobell), who each contributed in a very special way to make the day very engaging and successful.

We especially thank the Mercy parent crew who generously donated their time before and after the event:  Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. Bratke, Mrs. Wolf, Mrs. Vinarcik, and Mrs. Beasley who worked in the kitchen to prepare all the food! In addition, we are most grateful to Madame Salah who donated several trays of ratatouille for the luncheon. It was delicious and added a special touch of the southern part of France to our menu of the day! The day was very successful due to the joint cooperative efforts of all who LOVE all things French! 

Merci Beaucoup Mille Fois, Madame Joyce Campbell

The 5th annual  Lucky   Lunch last month as part of Catholic Schools Week. The students purchased $1 tickets to win special, personalized lunches given by Mercy staff members. 19 staff members raffled off  lunches  which were delivered to the students on Monday, February 12th. A total of $523 was raised by the students and was donated to the SOS Children's Village in Africa. The money will be used to provide loving homes for orphaned and abandoned children. For more information on the SOS Children's Village visit  www.sos-usa.org. We are Mercy!

The Mercy High School Financial Aid program for the 2018-2019 school year is now in progress. Please visit Mercy's website mhsmi.org/admissions/financial-aid for further information. The deadline for submitting applications is April 30, 2018.

Yearbook - If you haven't yet reserved what is sure to be another prize-winning yearbook, do it today. We have reserved a few extra copies so make sure your daughter is guaranteed one. Not sure you've purchased a copy? Check this list. Yearbooks are $70 and available online at yearbookordercenter.com. Type in code 13826 to be directed to Mercy's page. Yearbooks can also be purchased through Mrs. Hallie Smith.

AmazonSmile Program - You can contribute to Mercy every time you shop at Amazon. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to Mercy High School whenever you shop on AmazonSmile. Click here to get started.