Parents eNewsletter: May 2010

It ain’t over til it’s over! Although this phrase in one way or another is a variation on a proverb that dates back many many decades, it is likely most often credited to baseball’s Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra. The man had a way with words. Though he fractured the English language at times, he also endeared himself to generations because he could nail the truth with the turn of a phrase.

Today in late May, my thoughts focus on one singularly excited group, the parents of the graduating senior class. Here’s the news . . . It ain’t over til it’s over! Parenting, that is! It ain’t over til it’s over. A child has reached a pinnacle of sorts. She has finished the K-12 pathway and has her sights appropriately fixed on the great beyond, beyond the limited choices exemplified on her transcript. She soon leaves home. She will emerge from beneath your tangible guidance and make hundreds of decisions all by herself, each and every day. Your excitement for her is coupled with anxiety as well. Hooray! Your job is complete. She is ever closer to that “adult” status she has coveted for so long. She’ll be on her own, in charge of her own destiny, with no one to tell her what she has to do. She can eat when she wants and what she wants. She can sleep in the daytime and howl at the moon in the wee hours of dawn. She’ll complete the tasks at hand if and when and how she chooses. Hooray! She has told you countless times already how she can’t wait!

Take heart. Pull your head from the paper bag and breathe the air naturally. It ain’t over til it’s over! You may not see this as a blessing but look again. You remain a parent, her parent, and your influence continues for many years to come. Adjustments are not just hers to make. Her presence, until now, and her absence soon to come, require that you adapt and change. These impending changes need not be mourned. They can and should be celebrated. You can watch her begin to sort and pack all she deems as “necessities” for college life. You can unload the car, make the countless trips in and out of the dormitory, and likely reload some items that will return home with you due to the confines of the actual living space. You can say your goodbyes and ask that she keep in touch. You can drive away with a tangible sense of the magnitude of the moment. And yes, you can even shed a tear if you wish. Change isn’t always what we wish for and yet it is often what we need. She’ll survive. You’ll survive.

It ain’t over til it’s over. Parenting still remains your primary responsibility but it will have a different look and a different feel. You’ve raised her. You’ve done the heavy lifting. You’ve set the standards, established the boundaries. You’ve taught her about choice and about consequence. You’ve praised the triumph and comforted the disappointment. You’ve given permission; you’ve given forgiveness. Her values, ethics and principles are hers to own, but they are intermingled with all she has seen and learned at your hands. You have written on her slate, made an indelible mark, and now you release her to a larger world.

Take heart. This is not good news, but rather, joyous news! We raise our children for others. We let them go, freely, so that they will return by their own choice. And return they do. They return in the phone calls, be they frequent or infrequent. They return in the emails or texts or countless other methods of contact. They return by car or plane or train at special moments. These moments may seem few and far between and if they diminish in number in the years ahead, they are no less valuable. The advice you gave for so many years may no longer be sought. Your advice, however, has been internalized. As long as you remain open and positive and congratulatory, as long as you praise the accomplishments and espouse your absolute faith in her ability to deal with any problems, as long as you maintain the tether of connection to her . . . she will return to you. As long as both of you continue to exist, you will remain as parent and child.

It ain’t over til it’s over. How lucky you are! Anticipate all that is to come.

Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Witte, Principal

Mercy Moment of the Month

Bravo to Mrs. Kathy Sill - 2010 Teacher of the Year!

Teacher and director. Presenter and motivator. Mrs. Kathy Sill is the recipient of the prestigious 2010 Mercy Teacher of the Year Award. Mrs. Sill plays such an important role at Mercy High School guiding girls to be all they can be and has done so for the past 34 years. She has such a contagious creative spirit and passion for teaching speech, acting, oral interpretation, and directing the plays and musicals. Students remarked, "She dedicates her efforts for one goal - so that the student can shine. Mrs. Sill helped me realize my potential and gave me the skills to do many things I wouldn't have considered." A standing ovation for you, Mrs. Sill!

Mothers Club

We need you, MOMS!Visit Mercy Moms web pageto complete your volunteer opportunity form for next school year. Be sure to read Barbara Pichan's final "Notes from the President" which includes many thank you's!! And . . . we THANK YOU, Barbara Pichan, for your leadership this year! Welcome the new Mothers Club Executive Board Members: President Yasmin Sayed; Vice President Amy Petrucci; Treasurer Pamela Hawkins; Secretary Mary Messana.

SAVE THE DATE for fall fashion!The Annual Mercy Moms Fashion Show Extravaganza will be held Sunday, October 24, 2010.

Dads Club

A Warm Welcome from the Mercy DADS - The Annual Mercy Dads Club Barbecue for the incoming Freshman parents will be held June 8 at 6:00pm in the Mercy cafe followed by the Dads Club meeting at 7:00pm. New officers for the 2010 - 2011 school year are President Doug Doyle, Vice President John Murphy, Treasurer Gilbert Gerardo, Secretary Gary Shuk, and Membership Officer Stephen Abowd.

Phenomenal Finalists

CONGRATULATIONS to these 12 super senior students who were finalists for the ultimate recognition of Valedictorian and Salutatorian: Kira Boneff; Lisa Carlson; Hayley Drozdowski; Michelle Ho (not pictured); Erin Kirkland; Elizabeth Krieg; Rachel Kurcz; Danielle Morrison; Natalie Nielsen; Lauren Richards; Bethany Rizik; and Kelly VanDenBerg. This distinction considers not only academic record but also leadership, service, and extracurricular involvement. Staff and the senior class provided valuable input and each candidate responded to a series of questions and was interviewed by Principal Mrs. Witte and Associate Principal Mr. Gervais. The top honors goto Valedictorian Lauren Richards and Salutatorian Lisa Carlson who will take the stage to speak at graduation. Both girls plan to attend the University of Notre Dame.And . . .did you know that the Class of 2010 has earned over $8 milllion in scholarships? Outstanding!

$143,710

Sweepstakes success! THANKS to all students, staff, and parents for your support of the Mercy Sweepstakes Drive which has raised $143,710! The auditorium rocked at the closing assembly when the prize wheel dished out some cool giveaways and top sellers were applauded for all their ticket sales! Jessica Murray '11 reigns as the top school seller by selling 260 tickets; she isfollowed by Jordyn Kahler '11 who sold 205 tickets. Top class sellers were senior Delia Uke (84 tickets), junior Jasmine Konja (136 tickets), sophomore Shannon Lemmer (165 tickets), and freshwoman Catherine Denton (120 tickets). The class of 2011 is the super top selling class and willenjoy their day off May 20!

Adviser groups worked together to be a sweeping success! Mrs. Sill's group was the first to have 100% turn in. Mrs. Weiss' groupwas the first to have everyone turn in all 6 books to be out of uniform and Mrs. Kusch's advisees will enjoy a lunch party for being the top selling group. Special recognition to top staff sellers Mrs. Kusch, Mrs. Ewald, and Sr. Marianne.

THANK YOU to Kari Weber, Patti Little, and all the parent volunteers for taking time out of your days to coordinate, count, and organize. More THANK YOU's to the spirited sweepstakes student council committee and Ms. Linskey for their outstanding energy. Way to sell, Mercy! Every dollar makes a difference.

Hola Class of 2014

The Class of 2014 mingled at Mercy for the annual incoming Frosh Fiesta on Friday, May 14. 150 fresh Mercy faces spent the evening chatting, dancing, swimming, playing games, enjoying some pizza, and best of all socializing with new classmates as well as their Mercy Mentor leaders. With students coming from about 70 different communities, this fun festivity provided reassurance to girls that they willmake new friends and establish lastingrelationships at Mercy. Here's another reason to party . . . the Class of 2014 is 200 girls and growing. Ole!

STUDENT SUCCESSES . . . APPLAUSE!! APPLAUSE!!

The Varsity Basketball team earned Team All-Academic Honorable Mention honors from the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan, with a team GPA of 3.596.

Lauren Richards '10 and Ellie Krieg '10 were named to the 2010 Observer & Eccentric Academic All-Star Team.

Once again Mercy has been very well represented in the Creative Writing Contest sponsored by the Farmington Community Libraries. All three categories in the 15-19 year olds Poetry Division were captured by Mercy students Christina Lehman '10, Ellie Krieg '10, and Samantha Wenson '11. Patty Battersby '10 won an honorable mention for her poem and Kira Boneff '10 won top honors in the Fiction category. All these girls received prize money and read their work at the awards ceremony held May 3 at the Farmington Library.

Latest and Greatest from Alumnae Office

Alumnae Tea Raised $12,000 for Tuition Assistance!

Thank you to the 215 women who attended the 6th Annual Tea for Tuition.The Mercy gymnasium looked like a tropical paradise with tables adorned with fresh colorful flowers, gorgeous plates and teapots, and plenty of good food and sweet tropical treats. Due to the generous support of attendees and donors the Alumnae Association will be able to award 11 scholarships to deserving Mercy students for the 2010-2011 school year. President Sr. Regina Marie Doelker, RSM presented the 2010 Distinguished Alumna Award to Lillian Roumayah Shallal '68. Lillian reflected about her wonderful years at Mercy, the joys of teaching, and her fabulous family. CLICK HERE to see more event photos!

An era comes to an end Monday, June 28th with the 20th Annual Mercy High Meg Mallon Golf Outing and Gala at Fox Hills Golf Club in Plymouth. This will be Meg's last year of championing this extraordinary event so we invite you to participate as a golfer, sponsor, or join us for dinner and the party celebrating Meg's dedication to Mercy. Golf package is $250/person; Dinner Package is $75/person and Party Package is $20 cover charge for party with band 50 Amp Fuse.

The event will begin with a shotgun golf scramble start at 11:00am at Fox Hills Golf Club in Plymouth. Cocktails will begin at 4:30pm followed by dinner promptly served at 5:30pm. Party begins at 7:30pm with band 50 Amp Fuse, bidding on live and silent auction items and enjoying an evening celebrating 20 years of Meg Mallon’s dedication. Online registration is now available! Visit mhsmi.org/advancement/golf_outing/ to register for golf and banquet, hole, and apparel sponorship opportunties. All are welcome and encouraged to participate in this Mercy summer fun-raising event!

2010 - 2011 School Year

Mark your calendar for these important start dates and meetings for next school year.

• August 11 ~ Fall Sports Begin
  
• August 17 - 20 ~ Used Book Sale
  
• August 26 ~ New Student Orientation
  
• August 27 ~ New Student Tech Intro and Senior College Info
  
• August 30 ~ ALL CLASSES BEGIN
  
• Sept 3 - 6 ~ No School
  
• Sept 7 ~ Classes Resume
  
• Sept 15 ~ Parent Night

Be sure to CLICK HERE and visit mhsmi.org often to browse the entire academic school year calendar including 2010 - 2011.

NHS Inductees

We salute these hard-working young Mercy minds on their induction into the National Honor Society. All girls must maintain a certain GPA as well as demonstrate qualities of leadership, character, and service.

Tech Talk

Microsoft Windows 7 and Office 2010

The class of 2014 will have the HP 2740p tablet pc with the Windows 7 Professional operating system and Office 2010. Windows 7 and Office 2010 will not be required of the other classes. Students with the HP 2710p and 2730p tablets have a Windows Vista (downgraded to XP) license. These units may be upgraded to Windows 7 if the Window 7 Professional Upgrade is purchased. Mercy has no arrangements with any resellers and prices seem to range from $137-$199. HP does not support the tc 4400 nor the 4200 series on Windows 7.

Since there is software that needs to be installed in order for your tablet to work properly while at school, the Mercy IT Department must perform the upgrade to Windows 7 by using an image. If you do choose to upgrade, once you have purchased and received your upgrade, parents or students can schedule an appointment by sending an email to tfjames@mhsmi.org. Since the upgrade will be applied through an image, all data files must be backed up on storage media other than the tablet’s hard drive. The Mercy IT Department will not save nor restore files for this upgrade.

The Mercy IT Department will not perform Office 2010 upgrades. If a student who has Office 2007 wants to upgrade to Office 2010, it is up to them to both purchase the software and perform the installation.

Guess What?

An exciting new project and club has been launched at Mercy. The Marlin Knowledge Hub Project ("M-Hub") seeks to connect the Mercy community through personal learning networks. M-Hub will leverage available technologies to place students in touch with staff (past and present), parents, and alumnae for purposes like academic research or career guidance.

The project is led by a vibrant young group of leaders: Amy Nabozny '12; Shannon Carpenter '11; Audrey Cords '12; Natalie Diehl '12; Kelsey King '12; Melissa Messana '12;, Carolyn Philip '11; Sarah Philo '12; Kelly Redmond '12; and Jasmine Wehr '12. M-Hub has had several productive spring meetings and is poised to begin construction in September. Anyone in the MHS community is welcome to join this endeavor by contacting the moderator, Mr. Larry Baker at lrbaker@mhsmi.org.

MNotes . . . miscellaneous info you need to know!

DAYS OFF - Please be advised of these upcoming Fridays off of school due to reaching Mercy Sweepstakes Drive goal: ALL STUDENTS will be off this Friday, May 21 and next Friday, May 28.

Carpool - 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.

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

USED BOOK SALE - The Mercy Moms will once again be running the Used Book Sale. Drop off of books for sale will take place on August17 and the sale will be held August 18. Pleasevisit thecurriculum page of Mercy's web site in early August to see what books will be accepted for resale. Students will receive schedules by mail in the summer with further instructions on book purchasing from the Mercy Moms sale and/or from our online bookstore through Follett Virtual Bookstores. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Ms. Linskey at mjlinskey@mhsmi.org or 248.893.3568.

Tuition Assistance and Scholarship Award letters will be mailed by June 30.

Used Uniforms -Uniforms that are no longer needed may be brought to the Reception Area. The Moms Club cleans and re-sells skirts, blouses, sweaters, and sweatshirts. Current sophomores (who will be in a new uniform for fall)and seniors are asked to bring in any items that are still in reasonably good condition.

Snapshot of Mercy

It's the 'Principal' of it All!

PRINCIPALS of MERCY. WOMEN of MERCY. Current Mercy President and former Principal Sr. Regina Marie Doelker, RSM '56; current Mercy Principal Carolyn Behringer Witte '67; and former Mercy Principals Sister Mary Camille Kelley, RSM '49; and Sr. Nancy Thompson, RSM '50 share a smile at the May 2 reception in honor of Sr. Regina who is completing her time as President. If you have a snapshot of Mercy, please send to jhearle@mhsmi.org.

Mercy Month Ahead

The JUNE MEMO will be delivered to your inbox June 11.If you have any questions or want to submit information contactjhearle@mhsmi.org. Want even more?Click the school year calendarand the Mercy web site. And don't miss all of the latest Mercy In The News articles.Check outthe current announcements, view past issues of the MEMO newsletter, andbrowse the home page yellow boxtolink towhat's happening today @ Mercy.