OFFICE OF MISSION & MINISTRY

Focus: HOPE Food Drive THIS WEEK

Mercy values in action! As we enter into this season of thanks, one of the ways that Mercy High School expresses gratitude is by giving back to the community. For decades we have been an important partner to Focus: HOPE in their efforts to serve those in the Metro Detroit area. Focus: HOPE provides assistance to over 40,000 low income seniors every year through monthly food assistance, health screenings and so much more.

All students and staff are asked to bring in select food items to donate along with a small monetary contribution toward perishable items. Food donations will be collected in Adviser Group until this Friday, November 17. Perishable food items may be brought in to the Office of Mission and Ministry on Monday morning (11/20) before school. If you have any questions please reach out to Ms. Holly Markiecki-Bennetts at hbennetts@mhsmi.org. Mercy High school is proud to be one of Focus: HOPE's largest and most influential donors. THANK YOU for helping us make this a successful food drive!

KAIROS

We are very pleased to share that our February KAIROS is completely full and at capacity! This is the largest retreat group we have had for Mercy KAIROS in quite some time and we are feeling very grateful for the way our students are open to the Holy Spirit's calling. 

Juniors and Seniors who have not had an opportunity to sign-up for KAIROS yet, are invited to sign-up for the April KAIROS retreat. We have many spots still available for this retreat. 

Please reach out to Mrs. Becker at mkbecker@mhsmi.org if you'd like to sign-up.

END OF SEMESTER DATES & POLICIES

All students were sent the following information regarding important end of the semester dates and policies to help plan ahead for preparation for final exams, papers, projects and presentations.

Fall 2023 End of Semester Dates

Wednesday, December 6 - Test day for any last test/quiz/formal assessment in ANY Math, Religious Studies, or Performing Arts course.

Thursday, December 7 - Test day for any last test/quiz/formal assessment in ANY Social Studies, Computer Science, or Art course. 

Friday, December 8 - Test day for any last test/quiz/formal assessment in ANY Science, World Language, or Physical Education course. 

Thursday, December 7 - World Language Orals begin.

Friday, December 15 - All Final English papers are due by this date. 

Friday, December 15 - All class assignments should be graded and posted by midnight for ALL Courses, except for Final Exams, Essays, Projects, and Presentations.

December 11-15

The five days prior to exams should be assessment-free for students to prepare for final exams, complete final projects/presentations, and prepare for world language orals. Students can be assigned classwork but not extensive homework these days.

Final Exams Dates

Final exams are scheduled to last one (1) hour and 20 minutes and are given on the assigned test day and time.

Monday, December 18, 2023

1st hour 8:30am - 9:50am

2nd hour 10:00am - 11:20am

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

3rd hour 8:30am - 9:50am

4th hour 10:00am - 11:20am

5th hour 11:30am - 12:50pm

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

6th hour 8:30am - 9:50am

7th hour 10:00am - 11:20am

Final exams are given on the assigned test day and time unless, for serious reasons and under rare circumstances, other arrangements have been made with Administration. Students must initiate that request two weeks before the date by completing and submitting this form to be signed by the parent, verifying the need for a change in test time, accompanied by appropriate documentation (i.e. medical documentation, airline tickets, etc.). The request must be approved by the Associate Principal of Academic Affairs, the Dean of Students, and the teacher involved.

Students can rearrange their final exams to ease their load on the 3,4,5 day or two hard finals on one day by changing the day/hour (but not to finish earlier). Please work with your teachers and request they send an email notification, approving this arrangement to Ms. McMaster. Make sure to thank your teacher for accommodating this request.

Thursday, December 21 - Thursday, January 4 - PowerSchool will be turned off on Thursday, December 21, and turned back on Thursday, January 4. The purpose of turning off PowerSchool is to give students and staff a true break over the holiday.

Please note: Emails can be sent over the Christmas holiday, however staff are not expected to respond until staff return to school on Monday, January 8, 2024.

Thursday, January 11 - First semester grades will be reviewed, double-checked, and posted by 9 a.m.

Final Exam/Essays/Project/Presentation Policy

Final Exams/Essays/Projects/Presentations will be weighted 20% of the final grade in ALL classes except for some courses in the Performing Arts and Art departments. All Final exams/Essays/Projects/Presentations will be a common final assessment (exam, project, paper). This will be implemented in ALL courses. Exams need to be at least 75% the same for all students taking the course. The other 25% can be determined by each individual teacher.

Volleyball Regional Win

Congratulations to Swim & Dive for winning the Catholic League Championship! Good luck at State Finals this weekend in Holland! Let's go MVSD!

Volleyball Regional Champions

Mercy Volleyball are Regional Champions and play TONIGHT in the State Quarterfinals against Marian at 7:00pm at Dearborn High School. Let's go MVV!

Law in Action Class Experience

Ms. Richter's Law in Action students visited the 48th District Court to see the justice system at work with Mercy alumna Judge Diane Dickow D'Agostini '80. They witnessed several criminal proceedings and types of cases that illustrated topics learned in criminal law class. Thank you to Judge D'Agostini and the defense attorney for engaging with our students and discussing several topics including criminal procedure and careers in law.

Mercyaires Perform National Anthem

Bravo to the Mercyaires who performed the National Anthem for the Detroit Pistons game on November 10th. Check out their beautiful singing here.

Class of 2024 College Bound Athletes

Way to go Mercy Marlins Class of 2024 college bound athletes!

Audrey Guyot - Soccer, Purdue University Northwest

Katherine Burras - Softball, Sacred Heart University

Amylia Higgins - Swimming, Villanova University

Sophia Paluk - Softball, Northwood University

Model UN Conference

Anouk Spencer, Marta Meehan, Sophia Segars, McKinley Funchess, Olivia Murphy, Layan Ayad

Addison Hannah and Ellie Jamieson attended the Southeast Michigan Model UN Association (SEMMUNA ) XXVII conference last weekend hosted at Bloomfield High School. There were 900+ students in attendance, representing 38 high schools. We extend our gratitude to Mr. Barnes and Mr. Segars for their guidance and support during this meaningful and educational experience with the students.

Robotics Victory

Shout out to Mercy Robotics Team The Riveters for winning the Bloomfield Girls Offseason Competition! It was an amazing experience for the new and old drivers. Thank you to team 51, Wings of Fire and team 2337 EngiNERDs for helping.

Trailblazer Alumna Erin Keith '09

Mercy 2023 Trailblazer Alumna Awardee Erin Keith, ESQ '09 was the keynote speaker at the Michigan Coalition For Human Rights 43rd Annual Dinner. Mercy Admin team members Ms. McMaster, Mrs. Tarplin and Mrs. Smith attended. Erin gave a special shout-out to Mercy HS in her introduction and followed with a powerful keynote speech about the crucial need to rehumanize dehumanized people. Erin currently serves as Managing Policy Counsel for The Detroit Justice Center.

VISIT THE BLACK CATHOLIC HEROES EXHIBIT AT MERCY

All Mercy parents/guardians, alumnae, staff and friends are welcome (21+) for a fun-filled evening.

Saturday, April 13, 2024

Doors Open 6pm

Cash Bar Opens 6:30pm

Trivia Begins 7:00pm

Mercy Gymnasium

$25 each or Table of 8 $200

• Decorate and dress up to represent your favorite College/University sports team!
• Bring snacks for your table and buy drink tickets at the door.
• Plenty of prizes and contests: 50/50 (arm-to-arm $20); buy answers (3 for $5); heads or tails (3 beads for $25)

TICKETS HERE

HELP NEEDED

Event volunteers and donations are needed in all areas. Please consider lending a hand and sign-up here. Students can receive service hours!

MARLINS ATHLETICS

Cheer on Volleyball and Swim & Dive Teams

Volleyball plays in the State Quarterfinals TONIGHT and Swim & Dive begin their state finals on Friday. Check schedule and buy tickets here.

Winter Sport Tryout Information

Upcoming winter sport tryout information is posted on the athletics website here. Athlete requirements can be found here.

Join Boardercross

Join the Mercy Boardercross Team. No cut sport, no experience needed and it's a fun six week race season. Contact caitlyn.blasch@mhsmi.org or any of the captains if you're interested or have any questions. Check out flyer here.

Follow Marlins on Social Media

Be sure to follow Mercy Athletics on Instagram @mercyathletics, Facebook @mercymarlinsathletics and Twitter@mhsmiathletics. GO MARLINS!

CLASS OF 2025 JUNIOR COLLEGE PLANNING MEETING REMINDER

Attention Junior Parents/Guardians: This is a reminder of the 11/10 communication in regard to scheduling your individual Junior College Planning Meeting. In order to assist and support students and families through the college planning process, Mercy Counselors will provide services to all Juniors and their parents in an individual College Planning Meeting. This meeting will take place in-person at Mercy High School during the school day. This is an opportunity for you and your daughter to meet with her Counselor and discuss important application resources. Learn more and schedule here.

45TH ANNUAL MERCY AUCTION

Please save the date for the Mercy Annual Auction on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at Saint John's Resort! 

Acquisitions

Auction acquisitions are underway! Successful auctions always depend on fabulous gifts. The ideas are endless, and we welcome and appreciate your donations. Click HERE for item donation form. Please note while we cannot accept used items nor clothing for the auction at this time, we are collecting new or gently used baskets, for the packaging of all our auction items.

Sponsorship

Become a sponsor today! This is our largest fundraising event of the year with great exposure for our sponsors, and we invite your sponsorship at any level. For more information on our sponsorship offerings, click HERE. We accept payment online HERE as well as via check with the enclosed Sponsorship Form.

We're looking for a few more amazing people to join our Auction Committee. Please reach out to J`aime Law at auction@mhsmi.org for more details.

More Auction event details and invitation coming soon!

SCHOLARSHIP BOOTCAMP FOR JUNIORS & SENIORS

The Black Friday Scholarship Bootcamp - "Taking the Debt out of College"

For Juniors and Seniors Grades 11-12

Friday, November 24, 2023

8:30am-4:30pm

Detroit Golf Club

Hosted by Gwen Thomas, Scholarship Guru, Education Consultant and Author: "The Parents Smart Guide to Sending Your Kids to College Without Going Broke." Learn more and register here.

Compelled by our Catholic faith and the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy High School is a premier college preparatory school that educates and nurtures young women of diverse backgrounds to excel academically, serve compassionately, and lead courageously.