Wit's End . . . notes from the principal

Happy New Year to one and all!  I hope that each of you is blessed with good health and prosperity.  For each of the students, I ask that you look toward the new semester as a fresh start.  Take a good look at the accomplishments you had this past semester as well as the experiences where the outcomes fell short of your intentions.  New semesters allow us to begin again.  Keep doing what worked well for you and do some new and different things to address the problem areas.  I wish each student increased success.

A special national celebration occurs beginning January 28^th – Catholic Schools Week.  The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops selects a theme each year so that schools across the country can reflect the theme in their planned activities and liturgies.  The theme this year is "Catholic Schools Light the Way."  Mercy is fortunate to have the Archdiocese of Detroit’s newly ordained auxiliary bishop as our celebrant for Mass on Monday, January 28^th at 9:55 a.m. Bishop Daniel Flores arrived in Detroit from the Archdiocese of Corpus Christi, Texas in late October, 2006 and was ordained bishop on November 29^th of that year.  All parents are invited to join us for Mass on January 28^th in Mercy’s Auditorium.  At the closing of the liturgy, we will present the 2008 Heart of Mercy awards to one staff and one student, each selected by the Mercy community as persons who embody the Mercy values.  We are excited to welcome Bishop Flores to Mercy High School.  Please join us if your schedule allows.

As we begin a new calendar year, it is timely that I thank each of you for your commitment to Mercy and to your daughter’s Catholic education.  A value driven, faith filled educational environment reaps significant benefits, many of which are internal.  Your daughter evolves in countless ways during her high school experience and I thank you for making the additional investment in her future by having her here.

Please share the good news of Mercy with your friends and acquaintances.  Our Open House will be held on Sunday, February 10^th from 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm.

More About Mercy Celebrating CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Yes, Mercy will light the way during Catholic Schools Week with an all-school Mass and the awarding of the distinguished Heart of Mercy Award on Monday, January 28th at 10am in the Auditorium.  This year Mercy is honored to welcome Bishop Daniel E. Flores to our school to preside at this special liturgy. 

A little background about Bishop Flores - Bishop Flores brings experience as a pastor, seminary professor, and diocesan official from his work as a priest of the Diocese of Corpus Christi, Texas.  Named to serve the Archdiocese of Detroit in October 2006, he was ordained to the episcopate by Cardinal Adam Maida in November 2006 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament of Detroit.  Bishop Flores expresses his entire ministry through the motto "The Word is being sent breathing forth love" and stresses the importance of having Hispanic youths and youths in general engaged in the Church. 

At the end of the Mass, the Heart of Mercy Award will be bestowed upon a student and staff member who best exemplifies the Mercy spirit and values.  The recipients model the actions of Human Dignity, Mercy, Service, Justice, and Option for the Poor in their everyday lives at Mercy High School and encourage and challenge others to achieve their best in each of these values.

On Tuesday of Catholic Schools Week, 2 selected student leaders of Kairos, Colleen O'Brien and Jayme Kelmigian will join U of D Jesuit students to speak about Kairos and their personal faith journey at Our Lady of Victory School.  They will speak to the middle school girls about keeping Christ centered in their life and the importance in continuing a Catholic education.

And finally Thursday, to end our Catholic Schools Week celebration, students will have a little surprise for Mercy parents.  No, we can't tell you!  It's a surprise!

Mothers Club

Come on over Mercy MOMS!  It's never too late to participate.  Please join us at our next meeting February 4 at 6:30pm.  Click here to check out all the ways you can get involved with Mercy Moms and to download the volunteer form.  

Dads Club 

Hey, where did those annual Dads Club raffle tickets go?  You better grab 'em and turn 'em into the Mercy reception area for a chance to win $10,000, $1,500, or $1,000!!  Drawing will take place at the Dads and Daughters Dance February 2, 2008.  Tickets will be available the night of the dance and once again the Dads Club is offering credit card ticket sales.  For additional tickets or information contact Clyde Jokinen at c_jokinen@yahoo.com.

Whether it's a strike, spare, or gutter ball it's sure to be a rolling good time with your Mercy girl   on Sunday, March 9 for bowling at Drakeshire Lanes.  CLICK HERE for sign up sheet and more information.  

Meet, greet, and eat at our next Dads Club meeting February 5 at 7:00pm in the Cafeteria. 

Do You Know a Future Mercy Girl?

Our enthusiastic Mercy parents and students are our best recruiters!  Spread the word about Mercy's Winter Open House Sunday, February 10 from 1pm to 3pm. 

Open House is a perfect opportunity for prospective students and families to tour our school; meet staff, students, and alumnae; and discover what it means to be a Mercy girl. 

Please encourage any 6th, 7th, or 8th grader you know to attend.  Mercy wouldn't be Mercy without you!  Contact Maureen Stirling '96 mpstirling@mhsmi.org in the Admissions Office for more information.

Guess What?

Flinn Scientific Inc. has developed three new activity stations lab kits based on ideas submitted by Ms. Kathy Kitzmann, chemistry teacher and science department chairperson.  The new kits are "Characteristics of Chemical Equilibrium," "Kinetics and Reaction Rates," and "Properties of Gases and the Gas Laws" and will be available for teachers to purchase through the 2008 Flinn Scientific Catalog.  In addition to having her name listed in the catalog, Ms. Kitzmann will receive royalties for each kit sold.  Now that's science!

Gathering and Giving for the Auction

A sincere THANK YOU to Anne and Chris Blake who opened their Grosse Pointe home to host a lovely evening on January 12^th in support of the Mercy Auction.  Many excited families from the Grosse Pointe and Detroit areas gathered to reconnect with some familiar faces, share stories from past Mercy Auctions, and donate wonderful gifts to this year’s event.  Thank you, again, to the Blake Family for your generosity!  CLICK HERE to check out more gift party photos.

Student Successes ~ APPLAUSE!!  APPLAUSE!!

The Varsity Swim Team keeps racing up the awards.  A special Marlin CONGRATULATIONS also to Coach of the Year Mr. Shannon Dunworth!

Mercy Varsity Bowler Alex Reeder '09 received the high game medal with a 213 at the Crestwood Invitational bowling tournament.  Way to roll, Alex!

Latest and Greatest from the ALUMNAE OFFICE

Hoopin' It Up!

Time out!  31 Mercy Basketball Alumnae put on their game faces to play in the Alumnae Basketball game on December 29 in the Mercy gym.  The Gold Team, coached by former Marlin coaches Larry Baker and Mike King, took on the Maroon Team, coached by Mick McCabe and Karen Kluk Rotondo '80.  Plenty of friends and family cheered them on from the bleachers. 

There was a special halftime show of Alumnae playing some ball against their dads.  The dads went home victorious as well as the Gold Team who won the game 34 to 25.  Rachel Geiger '96 said, "The best thing about the game was to see everyone from all years and to see the tradition of Mercy basketball is still alive!"  Special THANKS to Varsity Basketball Coach Gary Morris for organizing the event and to the Mercy Basketball Booster Club for providing t-shirts and food for the game. 

Mothers and Daughters . . . Reflect, Reconnect, Rejoice!

All Mercy moms and daughters are invited to attend the Mercy Women's Lenten Series.  Join us for soup and an evening of reflection with 3 new dynamic speakers.  

Wednesday, February 13 - A Spirit of Healing by Sister Mary Ellen Howard, RSM '60

Thursday, February 19 - Gifts of the Spirit by Linda Simonelli

Monday, February 25 - Reflections on Mothering & Eucharist by Crystal Caruana Sullivan '88

6:00pm - 7:00pm Soup Supper 7:00pm - 8:30pm Speaker in Mercy High School Chapel 8:30pm - 9:00pm Personal prayerful reflection

 CLICK HERE for more information about our speakers or contact alumnaeoffice@mhsmi.org.

Mercy Photo of the Month 

Oh, Snow!

Do my eyes deceive me or is that a frozen Marlin?  Check out this Mercy snowwoman made on New Year's Day by Junior Grace Van Poppel.

S o i r é e is Underway!

PARENT AUCTION MAILING -  All Mercy families should have received a special Auction packet in the mail with important information regarding how your family can make an impact at this FUN fundraising event.  An Auction Gift Contract and Family Advertising Contact are included.  With high expectations for this always exciting event, the Auction Team is reaching out to each Mercy family with the hope that everyone will be able to contribute to the Auction in some way. 

DONATE!  ADVERTISE!  BECOME A SPONSOR!  ATTEND! - Not quite sure what types of things are donated?  The sky's the limit!  Creativity and networking are key as you think of ways to support this year's Auction.  Please extend donation requests to anyone whom you think would be willing to support Mercy High School, including businesses, family members, friends, co-workers. 

TUITION RAFFLE TICKETS EARLY TURN IN DRAWING - Families who turn in all 8 Auction raffle ticket stubs before January 31st will be entered into a special drawing to win 2 FREE TICKETS ($200 value) to attend the Mercy Auction Soirée!  Drawing will take place during morning announcements February 4th.  Please return all sold or unsold tickets to Mercy by March 1.  Contact the Special Events Coordinator Linda Karbo at 248.893.3535 or lckarbo@mhsmi.org for additional raffle tickets.

WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOUR HELP! - Volunteer for Soirée today.  Decorations assistance is always needed on Saturdays.  Contact Stephanie Arambula at raram@sbcglobal.net or 248.960.9001.  Toward the end of January we will be looking for daytime parents to assist in collating and sending Auction invitations.  Contact Beth Seibert at queenbofdetroit@aol.com or 313.969.8334.  From bid monitors to set up and tear down, we are looking for enthusiastic parents to share in this special night.  Contact Special Events Coordinator Linda Karbo at lckarbo@mhsmi.org or 248.893.3535. 

CLICK HERE for more AUCTION details including gift and ad contracts, sponsorship opportunities, raffle ticket information, and gift party photos. 

Senior Correspondent for National Catholic Reporter to Speak at Mercy

John L. Allen, Jr. senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter, Vatican analyst for CNN, and author of five books on the Catholic church will speak on The U.S. Church in a Global Perspective on Monday, January 21 at 1pm in the Mercy High School Auditorium.  Allen's weekly Internet column, "All Things Catholic," has an international readership and he speaks widely on Catholic affairs in the U.S. and around the world.  The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session.  A $10 contribution to Elephants in the Living Room at the door is suggested. Presented with support from Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Regional Community of Detroit. 

Daddy's Little Darlin' Dance

The Junior Class proudly presents this year's Father / Daughter Dance "Daddy's Little Darlin."  Don't miss out on this rockin', hoppin', jitterbuggin' good time! 

The dance will be held Saturday, February 2, 2008 from 8:00pm to 11:00pm in the Mercy gym.  Tickets will be on sale January 28 through February 1 and the cost is $25 per dad.  For further information, contact Ms. Kitzmann at kakitzmann@mhsmi.org.

MNotes . . . miscellaneous info you need to know!  

MICHIGAN MERIT EXAM - All Juniors will take the Michigan Merit Exam this March.  The exam will be given at Mercy over the course of three days March 11 - 13.  For a student to be eligible for the Michigan Promise Scholarship she must participate in all three days of testing.  If a student is unable to participate in all three days a make-up opportunity for this exam will be in the Spring of 2009.  For further details, please CLICK HERE for the counseling web site.

ATTENTION SENIOR PARENTS!  Senior Ads for the yearbook are due February 1.  If you have any questions or need another order form, please contact Mr. Mike German at mkgerman@mhsmi.org or 248.893.3557.   

WAIT . . . DON'T THROW THAT AWAY!  Now that the holidays are over, many of you are probably kicking off the New Year with spring cleaning and organizing.  Please save any items such as packing peanuts, paper shredding, confetti paper, tissue paper, and of course baskets.  These are critical materials in producing Auction gift baskets.  Please recycle these supplies and send them to school with your daughter or stop by the Development Office yourself. 

Look who is a Sweepstakes Drive winner!

Mercy Month Ahead

Want even more?  Click the school year calendar and the Mercy web site. 

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. 

Have comments to make or news to share about the Mercy MEMO?

Submit information for the FEBRUARY issue to jhearle@mhsmi.org by February 14 to be delivered to your inbox February 19.  

So many gifts to Mercy's Annual Appeal arrived from parents and alumnae at year-end.  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  If you have NOT YET donated to the Annual Fund, please consider a gift at this time.