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Mercy High School Monthly Parent E-Newsletter - December 2009
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Wit's End . . . notes from the principal
How are you doing? To what are you devoting the most time? Have you yet begun to write yourself notes that remind you to check other notes you’ve already written? Have you cleaned out your purse, or car, or wallet throwing away the already expired coupon offers? Have you extended any invitations to others? Have you overextended your own family by accepting too many invitations? How is your guilt barometer . . . the shoulds and musts overtaking the coulds and mights?
I ask again, how are you doing? If you haven’t taken stock of your current situation, your current reality, it is not too late. The excitement at this time of year is palpable. This is my 38th year working in a school at Christmas time (35 of those years in this very building) and it is a mad and joyous time nonetheless. So much gets crammed into the space of a few short weeks and somehow, the child in all of us appears. We laugh, we cry, we praise, we complain, we give, we take, we share, we hoard . . . and in our quiet moments, we acknowledge the blessings of another year.
Christmas brings people together and many individuals and families rekindle their connections to each other. It is a time ripe with traditions. Special foods, special gatherings, customs . . . families continue long standing rituals, often lacking the knowledge of how or why or when the tradition even began. It doesn’t matter. Ritual matters! Even young children get caught up in the mystery of it all and just accept as explanation: “This is what we do!”
I thought it might be fun to gather some superstitions that surround the Christmas season. Each of these had to originate somewhere, I’m sure, but none of that matters. I looked for ones that had either good luck or bad luck as the outcome since so often we try to second guess the future. We spend too much time on the what’s next? and miss the what’s now? I also chose to consider superstitions because I knew I would find the amusement therein. Each of these was a ritual of sorts that might very well have been taken quite seriously at one time in the distant past. Maybe some are still followed. I smile each time I think of my dear mother-in-law who was humorously horrified if she ever saw shoes placed on a table. All 98 lbs of her never moved more quickly than to snatch them and deposit them on the floor. It was a belief of the Scottish that such a transgression brought bad luck. My children learned this from a very young age and still smile and fondly remember their grandmother who has been gone for many years.
So here are some Christmas traditions and rituals you might consider:
Good Luck
- Traditionally, the doors of the home are thrown open at midnight on Christmas Eve to let the trapped evil spirits out.
- The Christmas candle is left burning in a window all night to enlighten the path of the good luck coming to the household for the next year.
- No one sits with his or her back to the door at Christmas dinner.
- A bowl of garlic is placed under the dining table for strength and protection.
- Unmarried girls may throw a shoe over their shoulders and towards the door. If the shoe lands with its toe pointing towards the door the girl will marry within a year.
- Three sips of salted water before Christmas dinner is said to bring good luck.
- It is believed to be lucky to eat an apple on Christmas Eve
- You will have as many happy months in the coming year, as the number of houses you eat mince pies in during Christmastime.
- A loaf of bread left on the table after Christmas Eve dinner will ensure no lack of bread for the next year.
- After the Christmas dinner, a popular parlor game is to float walnut shells as boats in a bowl of water with small burning candles in them. The owners whose boats cross across the bowl safely are said to be endowed with prosperity for the coming year (while bad luck awaits those whose boats get sunk in the bowl).
- In Germany, the last ornament placed on the tree is a pickle shaped ornament. In the morning, the child who finds the Christmas pickle gets a special present.
Bad Luck
- It is bad luck to take Christmas mistletoe down and it should only be replaced on the following Christmas.
- It is bad luck to send carol singers off the premises on Christmas without giving them something.
- Singing carols other than at Christmas is bad luck.
- It is believed that on the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, animals can talk but it is bad luck to eavesdrop to what they are saying.
- According to English customs, 'If you do not give a new pair of shoes to a poor person at least once in your lifetime, you will go barefoot in the next world', so English people often gift shoes as Christmas presents to the poor.
- It is extremely unlucky if the Yule log is touched by a barefooted woman or a squint eyed man.
- A flat-footed visitor to the house whilst the Yule log is burning is a bad omen too.
Something tells me there might be some ancient wisdom in what I have found, so for me, just to be safe, I’ve added a few things to my To Do list. This year I’ll pick up extra garlic, salt, bread, walnuts in the shell and apples. I’ll find a recipe and force myself to bake a mince pie (my first). Small gifts in an undetermined number must be purchased, wrapped and left near the front door as well as one new pair of shoes. Oh, can’t forget a pickle ornament. All singing is verboten for now. I will hang live mistletoe in a place where I can view it for the next 364 days. Who knew? I will alert the local fire department regarding that candle burning and I will be diligent in checking the feet of all guests entering my home, making my apologies to those who lack an arch. Squinty eyed males and females who doff their shoes will be corralled in the kitchen or living room. Table seating will be a challenge, but movement should be the order of the day anyway since all who enter will be cautioned about flying objects. Contact with shoes at all is completely banned for my daughter this year…much too young. Last but not least, I will remember to throw open all doors to the house at the stroke of twelve on the 24th and at that same moment, turn a deaf ear to my dear retriever, Dutch.
Whew! I can’t wait! And if all this is not enough to add joy to the season, I learned one additional custom, if you will, that bears adherence:
- If the holly used for Christmas decorations is smooth, the wife will be master.
- If the holly used for Christmas decorations is prickly, the husband will be master.
Never having purchased holly before, I will be buying both varieties this week because balance and harmony in my home is a gift to all!
Have a most blessed Christmas holiday and a new year of adventure and prosperity. Enjoy the traditions and the company of those you keep.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Carolyn Witte, Principal
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Mercy MOMENT of the Month
ONE WORLD - ONE FAMILY
The Mercy Human Relations Council presented an extraordinary Ethnic Bazaar on December 10 with 109 talented student participants. They embraced and celebrated their culture through song, dance, poetry, fashion, food, and plenty of fanfare! The drama studio was flooded with applause for the Filipino, Irish, Hispanic, African, Chaldean, and Indian performances.
Mercy's annual Ethnic Bazaar has been a long standing tradition for over 20 years, a cultural celebration for students and staff to experience different backgrounds that shape our unique Mercy community and make us all ONEWORLD- ONEFAMILYof MERCY! CLICKHEREto see more smiling faces and performance pics.
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Mothers Club
There will be NO JANUARY MOTHERS CLUB MEETING. If you haven't already done so, please click here to read December notes from the Mothers Club President Barbara Pichan.
ALL MERCY MOMS are invited to join us for our next meeting February 1 at 6:30pm in the Media Center.
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Dads Club
Feeling lucky?! DADS CLUB RAFFLE tickets are on sale for a chance to take home $10,000, $1,500, or $1,000. Drawing will take place at the Dads and Daughters Dance February 20, 2010.
Calling ALL MERCY DADS! We welcome and encourage you to come meet, greet, and eat at our next meeting January 5th at 7:00pm in the Cafeteria.
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Giving Hope. Giving Thanks.
Mercy has been privileged and proud to partner with Focus: HOPE to give thanks, give food, and give hope and joy to those in need this and every holiday season. Mercy students and staff joined hands and hearts to fill a semi-truck with all the trimmings for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner as well as donated over $3,700 to feed low income senior citizens.
THANK YOU to all students and staff for living out our Mercy values to serve those in need. Eleanor Josaitis, co-founder of Focus: HOPE extended her gratitude, "Your generosity will certainly touch the tables of countless Senior Citizens. This is a mission of many; thank you for all you contributed." Did you know that last month Focus: HOPE fed 41,000 people? That's almost as many as the 42,000 seats of Comerica Park! CLICK HERE to read the Farmington Observer feature article on the Mercy FOCUS: HOPE THANKSGIVING FOOD DRIVE.
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VIEW THESE VIDEOS!
ART + TECHNOLOGY
The Mercy art department has applied for a grant from the Workshop on the Impact of Pen-Based Technology on Education. For this contest the Art Department Chair Ms. Susan Smith needed to create a four minute video explaining art and technology integration at Mercy High School. Judging for this contest occurs through YouTube ratings and views until December 18th. You can help by viewing at the link below and writing a positive review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV46YBoODbc. Definitely some amazing VIDEO ART!
DEMOCRACY of TOMORROW - Making Today's Democracy Accessible to Everybody
AP Government students Michelle Ho, Erin Kirkland, Regina Gilmour, Colleen Oberc, Lauren Richards, and Hayley Drozdowski created an outstanding web site complete with videos and blogs and podcasts and even captured their own domain name at http://www.democracyoftomorrow.org/. The students' challenge was to design an authentic medium that would help to improve our democracy. Check it out, you might learn something! About DOT - Democracy of Tomorrow attempts to bring democracy into the lives of the average American citizens in an easy-to-understand format. Our mission is to bring the government "for the people and by the people" out of the ivory towers and into homes across America. Explore our website to gain information, expand your horizons, or just refresh your knowledge about our American government. Learn how you can get involved in the government, and how your vote matters.
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Give Me a M, Give Me an E, Give Me a R, Give Me a C, Give Me a Y!
In case you haven't heard, it was a real race to the finish as the MARLINS swam their way to yet another consecutive STATE SWIM CHAMPIONSHIP. CLICK HERE to read some splashing headlines about their awesome season and check out the photo gallery at studentandathlete.com. THANKS for the day off and CONGRATULATIONS to the entire team!
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Alexandra Abowd
Emma Baldus
Nicole Barczak
Maria Bargardi
Emma Caruso
Emma Craig
Lauren Duda
Mary Fredendall
Noel Huffman
Carlee Jackson
Jill Johnson
Katharine Johnson
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Sato Kakihara
Emily Kargul
Kelly Karpus
Molly Kramer
Shannon Lemmer
Diana Levandowski
Rachel Mack
Michaei McKenzie
Geri Michalzuk
Lauren Ochoa
Emily Orrico
Caroline Patterson
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Katharine Patterson
Emily Reamer
Lauren Roberts Olivia Samoray
Anna Schena
Alexandra Scott
Taylor Steffl
Lindsey Tartaglia
Anna Valentine
Allison Volger
Halie Zulch
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Head coach ~ Mr. Shannon Dunworth
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More awesome ATHLETIC ACHIEVEMENTS from Fall 2009
- Equestrian: 3rd place District 1 Division B
- Field Hockey:
- All Catholic: Allie Shrader
- All League: Madeline McClain and Sylvia Swierszczyk
- All Academic: Kelly Cubr
- Golf: 8th in State
- Swim & Dive: State Champions
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Wooten Workshop
 Michigan's renowned Poet-bard Terry Wooten visited Mercy to host a writing workshop for 56 poetry students thanks to the grant received from Creative Communications. He recited and dissected some of his poems and gave students plenty of tricks of the trade.
Mr. Wooten has been conducting this educational and entertaining program Elders Project throughout the state with teenagers and seniors for the past few years. The Elders Project uses oral history interviews to create poetry based on the stories and lives of elders in our communities. It links history with literature. His workshop consisted of introducing students to the interview process, the interview itself, then techniques to transcribe the recordings into narrative poetry. Mercy was honored to spend two days learning the art of poetry from Mr. Wooten!
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Student Successes . . . APPLAUSE! APPLAUSE!
Emily Reamer '10 signed a National Letter of Intent to swim at the University of Akron.
Danielle Morrison '10 was selected as a Coca-Cola Scholars Semi-Finalist.
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TECH TALK
 Parents! Please join the rest of the Mercy High School learning community in filling out the 2009 national survey on technology from Project Tomorrow.
Click on this link: http://www.speakup4schools.org/speakup2009/ and complete an important "Speak Up" survey about your personal use of technology. Your responses are completely confidential. This survey will be completed by thousands of students, teachers and school administrators across the country and the results will be used to help influence policy makers in making plans and decisions about how best to use technology in schools. After getting to the survey site, you must find Mercy High School under the state of Michigan pull down menu. You then enter marlins as the secret word to get into the questions. The survey is open until December 23rd. Your input is important! Thank you.
Project Tomorrow tabulates the survey results for participating schools as well as communicating the results to civic and educational leaders. For more information, visit their home page at http://www.tomorrow.org/speakup/index.html |
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Let's Hear It For the Staff
 Media Center Specialist Larry Davenport will retire on Friday, December 18 after serving Mercy for 12 years. He says, "working with the students, faculty and administration was without a doubt the happiest and most fulfilling period of my life. I will dearly miss the students, teachers, and administrators I have enjoyed the privilege of serving!" He plans on traveling with his wife Charlotte to Texas and Mexico and undertaking an intensive study of Spanish. Good luck and God Bless, Larry!
Math teacher Ms. Eleasha Mercer is pleased to announce her engagement to Darryl Tarplin. They will be wed this July.
Spanish teacher Ms. Kelly Labelle is pleased to announce her engagement to Nick Bickes. They will be wed in Spring 2011.
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Latest and Greatest from the Alumnae Office
Shootin' Hoops - All Mercy basketball Alumnae are invited to lace up their hightops for the Alumnae Basketball Game on Monday, December 28, 2009 at 7:00pm in the Mercy GYM. Contact Coach Gary Morris at gsmorris@mhsmi.org for more details and to RSVP. Donation of $20 to play.
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AUCTION 2010
 Live Item Sneak Peek! Check out this authentic wood hockey bench signed by Detroit Red Wings players and coaches.
You've Got AUCTIONMAIL! Auction Tuition Raffle tickets and invitation to attend the annual gala event will be delivered to your mailbox soon. We hope you join us for the largest parent fundraiser!
It's never too late to participate. Donate an item. Place an AD. Buy a raffle tickets. Bid with heart on Saturday, February 27, 2010. Please contact Auction Coordinator Kari Weber at klweber@mhsmi.org or 248893.3535 for anything AUCTION.
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MNotes . . . miscellaneous info you need to know!
Shop. Give. Make a Difference. If you are ordering gifts online, go to ONECAUSE first. Hundreds of online merchants like Nordstrom, Lands End, Amazon, and more will give Mercy a nice percentage from every item you purchase. Simply register your information and select Mercy High School (ID 130214). If you are out and about Christmas shopping at Target or picking up some tasty holiday fare at Gordon Foods or Meijer, please be sure to designate Mercy. Click to register at target.com/tcoe, Meijer.com/MCRmember, gfsmarketplace.com or click here for more rewards program information.
Ornament Your Tree! For only $15 give someone a treasured Mercy memory that will add beauty to their Christmas for years to come. Stop by the Mercy Advancement Office to make this special holiday purchase.
Calling all photographers: The Lore staff is hard at work producing another great yearbook, and could use your help. Have you taken a photo that would look great in the yearbook?Upload your photos at classscene.com and you may see your photos in the yearbook! Type marlins in the box, hit go and you'll be on your way to uploading and viewing photos. All photos used in the yearbook will be properly credited. Thank you for your help in producing another award-winning yearbook. Please contact Mrs. Hallie Smith at hlsmith@mhsmi.org.
PLEASENOTEfor future planning purposes exam days are January 19 - 21 and the second semester begins Monday, January 25. Also note winter break vacation days are on the following Fridays and not over a week period: February 19 &26; March 5 &12.
Faith on Fridays - There will be morning Masses at 7:25am in the chapel before school on Friday, December 18; February 5; and May 14.
Look who is a SWEEPSTAKESDRIVEWINNER!
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Snapshot of Mercy
As Christmas approaches, we reflect on the wisdom of Catherine McAuley, Foundress of the Sisters of Mercy, "May God preserve you and bless you - and grant you all the graces and precious gifts for this holy season." Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at Mercy High School!
If you have a snapshot of Mercy, please send to jhearle@mhsmi.org.
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Mercy Month Ahead
| Event |
Date / Time |
Location |
| Faith on Friday Morning Mass |
December 18 / 7:25am |
Mercy Chapel |
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Christmas Holiday Break
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December 18 / 11:25 Dismissal
January 4 / Classes Resume
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MHS
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Jan 5 / 7p
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Cafe
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| Evening of Acting |
Jan 6 / 7pm |
Drama Studio |
| EXAMS |
Jan 19 - 21 |
MHS |
| Second Semester Begins |
Jan 25 |
MHS |
| Catholic Schools Week |
February 1 - 5 |
MHS |
The January MEMO E-Newsletter will be delivered to your inbox on January 21, 2010. If you have any questions or want to submit information contact jhearle@mhsmi.org. Stay connected at mhsmi.org.
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