Parents eNewsletter: April 2010

Right here. Right now.

The primary focus of my current energies is that of graduating the class of 2010 while at the same time completing all the end of year tasks for students and staff alike and planning for the next school year. Every need seems to shout Right here. Right now!  Each task fights for top priority.

I pause because I am compelled to pause. I experienced a television broadcast just days ago, the content of which has remained with me. It was a Sunday special edition of Dateline NBC. Chris Hansen, a native Detroiter, returned to profile his birthplace, the result of which was America Now: City of Heartbreak and Hope.  I sat for an hour, alongside my husband, and watched and listened as the images and words unfolded.

Chris Hansen spoke with many Detroiters, young and old, weaving together a story of the people and places that make up the history of our city. The well known, including Mayor Dave Bing, and Police Chief, Warren Evans, spoke of the challenges facing the city  dwindling population, poverty, crime, and a broken school system  but they also spoke of their dedicated efforts to make things better. Musician Kid Rock shared, quite candidly, all that the city has done for him and still continues to do, as well as his determination to help bring the city back. Parts of the city are, in his words, a ghost town , but he quickly added that his faith remains strong because of the hardworking, decent people of this city who won t give up.

Right here. Right now. Some of those very people were introduced. Luther Keith, a former reporter and colleague of Hansen s, gave up a 30 year career in journalism to found Arise Detroit!, a non-profit coalition of 400 block clubs, churches, and community organizations dedicated to reviving Detroit. He and Hansen returned to his former neighborhood where they interviewed one Joe Davis, a 90 year old resident who had long ago worked for the auto companies. Although he still lives in the city, he lamented that It still hurts me to look at it.  Hansen profiled Cordette Grantling, a single woman who for the last 25 years has rescued abandoned children, given them a home and worked to raise them. Currently, she has three, two boys and an infant girl. The oldest, her fifth grader, was a source of great pride as she announced that he had reached grade level reading with the help of an after school tutor. Although Cordette survives on a part time job, cleaning a suburban office building, she walks her boys to school each day and counsels other children she meets on the way, intervening to offer guidance where necessary. This woman, who has so little herself and yet provides for others, counts herself among those blessed.  Why does she do it? She herself was abandoned at birth and survived on the goodwill of others. She wants only one thing for those she rescues . . . an education.

Another elderly Detroit resident, himself quite poor, does his part. By night, he corners and kills many of the raccoons that plague the city. By day, he skins the animals and cooks up the meat which he freely provides to his hungry neighbors. He does far more than feed their stomachs. This gentle man, himself a musical talent of the first order, hosts weekly blues jam sessions at his modest home.

For me, one conclusion resonated during the entire program. Education can make a difference. Like Ms. Grantling, although we survive worlds apart, I too believe that education will be at the center of breaking the cycle. In the opening minutes of the program, Chris Hansen commented It was once a thriving city, but now [Detroit s] iconic of the American recession &  The broadcast was hard to watch, disappointing and tragic, gritty and raw. It was also, in many ways, a testimony to the resolve of so many people who were profiled, not the least of which was Cordette Grantling.

I share this reflection with you, parents of our Mercy students, because I see the potential for change each and every day. We are a place of education. Your daughters are here, at least in part, because you, like Cordette, know that education of the next generation is the critical linchpin that will provide not only the solutions needed in the city of Detroit, but also, in all the other places where a city, once a gem, now stands on life support.

To maintain the quality of education your daughter enjoys, we continue to reinvent and redesign. This includes all the technological advancements and the tablet pc requirement, advancements that few other students experience in our area, and for that matter, across the country. Faculty and staff develop their curriculum with an eye on the future needs. Your daughters will leave high school with an advantage, having been introduced now to the educational challenges of tomorrow.

As people who know riches and opportunities others can only dream of, I ask you to take stock of your current existence. We often pray for those we anonymously call our brothers and sisters , nameless, faceless people with whom we share humanity. Tonight, I will voice the name of one Cordette in my prayers. She retains hope despite a current existence of heartache. The very least I can do is be sure that each action I take works toward a better tomorrow. Right here. Right now.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Witte, Principal

Mercy Moment of the Month

S W E E P S T A K E S O L Y M P I C S!!

THANKS to all Mercy students, staff, and parents for raising about $110,000 so far in this year's Sweepstakes Drive. Only 4 turn in days left until the drive ends April 28 and we are still shy about $30,000 of our $140,000 goal. The students put on a memorable sweepstakes assembly featuring creative videos of each grade competing in 'Mercy made' Olympic events. Who will take home the gold, silver, bronze, and tin top-seller medals? Ready, set, go SELL MORE!

Mothers Club

The last Mothers Club meeting of the school year will take place on Monday, May 3rd at 6:30pm for social and meeting will start at 7:00pm. At this gathering the 2010-2011 Executive Board will officially take on the duties and responsibilities of the Mothers Club. Please come and meet Yasmin Syed who will be the new President.

The Mothers Club Volunteer Activity Form for the 2010-2011 school year will be available on the Mercy Mothers Club website in May. Moms can sign up to help on the various committees using the online form. Simply fill it out and email to our volunteer coordinator, Helene Murphy. Instructions on how to do this can be found directly on the form. If anyone is interested in working on the Used Book Sale in August, Spare Uniform Sale in August, or the New Mom Dinner in September, the online volunteer form is the best way to get your name to the chairs of these committees in a timely manner. Paper forms will be mailed out by the school, but not until sometime in August.

Dads Club

For it's root, root, root for the Tigers! Dads and Daughters are heading to Comerica Park on Friday, April 30th at 7:05pm to watch them take on the LA Angels. $12 per ticket and limited seats available! CLICK HERE for information and sign up sheet.

Golf with your gal! Dads and Daughters Golf Outing will be held Wednesday, May 19 at Bay Pointe Country Club. The day begins with registration at 12:15pm and a shotgun start at 1:15pm followed by a buffet dinner and prize raffle around 4:30pm. All Mercy students who participate in the outing will be dismissed at 11:25 am that day. CLICK HERE for information and sign up sheet.

ALL DADS are welcome at the next Dads Club meeting Tuesday, May 4 at 7:00pm in the Cafeteria.

Admisssions Anecdotes

More Marlins are on the way! The Class of 2014 is 181 and growing so if you know a future Mercy girl, let her know registration is ongoing for the 2010 - 2011 school year. 7th and 8th graders are welcome to shadow a student in May.

The Admissions Office generates a carpool list each spring to distribute to all incoming families as well as present Mercy families who request a copy. All students are included on this list unless the Admissions Office is notified and a request is made to remove them. If you do not want your daughter and address information included on the carpool list, please contact the Admissions Office at 248-476-2484 or mpweiss@mhsmi.org. The carpool list will be distributed via email in early June.

Habitat Helpers Submitted by Kylie Meyer '10 and Mrs. Judi Dennis

Sand, sun and flip-flops  the contents of a great senior year spring break, right? Not for 17 Mercy seniors. Caitlyn Wilkins, Paola Allevei, Molly Birka, Kelly Karpus, Kellie Hagopian Jackie Martin, Chrissy Redmond, Karen Redmond, Julie O'Hara-Fischer, Michaelene Sartori, Lauren Mifsud, Ellie Krieg, Rachel Kronig, Erin McDowell, Emily Malinowski, Gabriella Santiago-Romero, Kylie Meyer and three brave chaperones Judi Dennis- Mercy Service Coordinator/Pastoral Minister, Sara Dennis-Festerman, and parent Lynne Meyer drove to Beattyville, KY to work with Habitat for Humanity for one week. I can t wait to get started,  said Emily Malinowski at the beginning of the week. The girls, many of who were unused to holding a hammer, worked on rehab and renovation throughout the county to help the elderly. Emily and all the Mercy girls are filled with memories of drywall, work boots, and the local practice of cruising!

Celebrate with Sr. Regina!

From Ruth Doelker at Our Lady of Mercy High School, to the Sisters of Mercy and the name Regina Marie, to the new Mercy building as teacher, principal, and president her Mercy journey has been extensive and her contributions endless. Please join us as we honor Sr. Regina on Sunday, May 2 for a Mass at 2pm in Mercy's Auditorium followed by a Reception from 3pm - 5pm. The Sr. Regina Marie Doelker, RSM Endowed Scholarship Fund is being established to honor her tradition at Mercy. CLICK HERE now to donate and pay tribute to a true woman of Mercy. There will also be a dinner at the Diamond Center in Novi on Monday, June 14th to celebrate the Sr. Regina Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Contact the Advancement Office at 248-893-3538 or mercyadvancement@mhsmi.org to RSVP for these events.

Alumna Peace Presentation

Monica Boomer '03 came back to visit Mercy as a guest speaker in the AP American Government and Politics class. Her presentation was titled "Neither Mothers nor Soldiers: Women and the Paradox of Militarist Peace Activism in Israel-Palestine." Monica earned a bachelor's degrees at Notre Dame, majoring in political science and peace studies. Following her gradation in '07, Monica studied for a year in Jordan on a Fulbright Scholarship. She then began a Masters in Peace Studies at Notre Dame. Her research took her back to the Middle East (Israel-Palestine) where she focused on gender studies. Monica gave Mr. Baker's students a terrific overview of conflict in the Middle East and showed how social science research may be pursued and the Mercy mission fulfilled at the highest levels of academia. Photo by Erin Kirkland.

STUDENT SUCCESSES . . . APPLAUSE!! APPLAUSE!!

CONGRATS to the 19 members of the Forensics Team who earned top medals and will advance to the Grand National Tournament over Memorial Weekend in Omaha.

WOW! There are a record number of winners for the MICHIGAN YOUTH ARTS FESTIVAL WRITING COMPETITION. Work by 24 seniors and juniors won top awards, a CERTIFICATE of MERIT, in this year's contest and the poems of an additional 7 students were given HONORABLE MENTION. Their winning poems are displayed in the English hallway. Well done!

AP Government and Politics students Alissa Gould, Colleen Oberc, Erin Kirkland, Hayley Drozdowski, Jenna Mizzi, Lauren Babb, Lauren Richards, Lisa Carlson, Michelle Ho, Regina Gilmour, Rosemary O'Malley, and Sarah Blau reflection videos hit iTunes! Apple posted their Challenge Based Learning videos to iTunes for their big K-12 Leadership Summit in Dallas this month. These tech savvy Mercy girls are on the cutting edge as Apple continues to promote CBL and mobile technology in education. Download them to your iPod or iPad! They also included the AP student driven web site Democracy of Tomorrow link and intro video to their web site. This media will be offered as iPod content to the school administrators attending the conference.

Congratulations to Erin Kirkland and Abbie Bowen who won awards at the 25th Annual Farmington Area Arts Commission Student Art Competition. Erin won first prize in the photography category for her photo titled, Artist s Palette.  Abbie won an Honorable Mention for her sculpture titled, Life is Like a Box of Chocolates,  made from toilet paper. The winning art will be displayed at the Farmington Community Library, downtown branch, during the month of May and at the Festival of the Arts at the Costick Center from April 22  April 24.

Rainbow Recognition

A R T EXHIBIT 2010

Here's a sneak peek of some of the pieces to be on display at the 2010 Mercy Student Art Exhibit held Thursday, May 6, 8am to 8pm and Friday, May 7, 8am - 6pm. Take a stroll through the Mercy gym and be awed by all the breathtaking artwork from approximately 270 students. Media featured will include drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, jewelry, fiber arts, digital photography and computer graphics. CLICK HERE for more show information.

Shadow self portrait painting by Sarah Donegan.	Cupcake dress by Tara Ellis.

Counseling Corner

PrepHQ - Counselors are meeting with sophomore students this month to register them on PrepHQ Counseling website. PrepHQ is an internet-based resource designed to help students and parents organize, plan for, and initiate the college planning process. Take a few minutes to explore specific colleges, learn about college visits to Mercy, get ACT and SAT testing information, learn about Scholarships, Summer Program offerings, and get links to other valuable college related resources. Go to mhsmi.org and click on Counseling  to begin exploring this rich resource.

Kaplan ACT Test Prep Course for Juniors - Kaplan is offering an ACT Prep Class at Mercy starting April 27th to prepare for the June 12th ACT. There is still time to register! CLICK HERE to view flyer with class schedule and registration information.

FRESHWOMEN PARENTS - CLICK HERE to read the APRIL Ninth Grade Newsletter.

F»licitations!

The French Honor Society chapter of Mercy High School held the annual French Honor Society Awards and Induction Banquet on April 20th at St Mary s Banquet Center. The evening began with an authentic French 5 course meal prepared from authentic French recipes. Following the dinner 20 new members were inducted in a beautiful candlelight ceremony with recitation of the French pledge. Academic and service awards were distributed to current members who merited these special honors. The following students were inducted into the French Honor Society: Kathleen Abenes; Colette Berg; Megan Bolton; Claire Bouret; Sabrina Charles; Meredith Clark; Kayanna Green; Celeste Haddad; Lilliana Haddad; Melany Janer; Elizabeth Jenkins; Sato Kalihara; Elena Lamping; Kristen LeMarbe; Clarissa LeVasseur; Ronni McGee; Erin O Donnell; Meghan Ronayne; Heather Smith; Emeraude Stanley.

These students were the recipients of National Awards: Hayley Rose Drozdowski, Outstanding Senior Award American Association of Teachers of French; Kylie Meyer, Northeast Conference Outstanding Senior Award; Emily Malinowski, Michigan World Language Association Outstanding Senior Award; Kelly Gilliken, Certificate of Merit from American Association of Teachers of French; Jacqueline Buckley, Certificate of Merit from American Association of Teachers of French.

Kylie Meyer and Shannon Carpenter received the Members of the Year awards and Certificates of Outstanding Service were awarded to Lauren Banish; Andrea Czarnomski; Kylie Meyer; Hayley Drozdowski; Emily Malinowski; Lilliana Haddad; Meredith Clark; Kiara McCalvin; Sarah Chehab; Daisha Abdulnoor; Samantha Wenson.

Give Me a M, Give Me an E, Give Me a R, Give Me a C, Give Me a Y!

Figure Skating Team ended the season with a fabulous finish! The "C" team placed 2nd in the State Championships and 3 students placed in individual events. Abby Benard placed 6th overall in the Juvenile Freestyle Event. Krystal Davis placed 1st overall in the PrePreliminary Freestyle Event and Rose Walsh placed 4th overall in the Preliminary Freestyle event.

Sophomore Kayce Neito tossed a perfect softball game and struck out 20 of 21 batters as Mercy defeated Bishop Foley in season opener. JV and Varsity Softball both captured 1st place in the Mercy Invitational Tournament held last weekend.

Check out studentandathlete.com for plenty of Marlin sports coverage and Mercy In The News web page for articles. Spring sports are in action. CLICK HERE to view the Athletics Calendar and even get driving directions. If you have any athletic action photos, please send to jhearle@mhsmi.org!

SENIOR PARENTS - Events, deadlines, details, and forms. Check out the Class of 2010 Senior Class Activities web page for all you need to know!

Evening of Prayer - The Mercy Mothers Prayer Group invites you to join them for an Evening of Prayer on May 12. We will meet in the school chapel at 7:00pm to pray the Rosary and The Divine Mercy Chaplet which will be followed by a coffee social in the Advancement Office.

It's a Party for Everyone! - Celebrate the 20 years of dedication by LPGA pro, and Mercy alumna, Meg Mallon '81 on Monday, June 28 at Fox Hills Golf Club. Join us for golf, dinner, and/or the party and enjoy the tunes of the band 50 Amp Fuse. There are several ways for parents and friends to be a part of this annual golf and gala event. CLICK HERE for all the details!

View this Video - Chrissy Redmond, Jasmine Stephens, and Kylie Meyer produced an amazing "We are Mercy High" video which was showcased at the Annual Auction. It's now posted on the Mercy web site, so CLICK HERE to check it out!

LORE Yearbook - The yearbook is at the printer and will soon be arriving at Mercy. Check out some of the cool pages above! Have you ordered yours yet? The yearbook staff will be holding its final pre-sale before and after school May 10-14. Limited extra copies have been ordered and will be sold for $75 on a first-come basis. Don't miss this opportunity.

Snapshots of Mercy

English High Tea

How lovely! Inspired by literary heroines from Pride and Prejudice, sophomores in Ms. Mika and Ms. Mordenski's British Literature classes enjoyed HIGH TEA last Friday. Tea sandwiches, cakes, and a variety of hot and cold teas were served in 'The Rose Tea Room' (Ms. Mika's classroom) complete with doilies and fine china. If you have a snapshot of Mercy, please send to jhearle@mhsmi.org.

Mercy Month Ahead

The MAY MEMO will be delivered to your inbox May 20. If you have any questions or want to submit information contact jhearle@mhsmi.org.

Want even more? Click the school year calendar and the Mercy web site. And don't miss all of the latest Mercy In The News articles. Check out the current announcements, view past issues of the MEMO newsletter, and browse the home page yellow box to link to what's happening today @ Mercy.