May 8, 2013

Principal’s Blog

 

Spring has Sprung!

We have had some beautiful days to enjoy these past two weeks as the weather is finally warming!  As the school year comes closer to the end, the activities are numerous!

 

National Library Week

The week of April 22^nd was National Library Week.  There were a number of activities planned throughout the week including a Book Discussion on The Fault in Our Stars by John Green which took place on Thursday that week.

Senior Prom

It is most definitely prom season and I may be biased, but I think our young women at Mercy really are at the top when it comes to classy dress.  They were all beautiful and I’ve never seen so many matching dresses and vests &ties!! It was a beautiful night at the Aqua Turf and fun really was had by all!

Art Show

This past week student art work has been displayed throughout the building.  There are examples of student work from all our art classes.  There are photographs, ceramics, paintings and drawings displayed throughout the halls of Mercy.  We have decided to extend the time that the artwork will be displayed so be sure and stop in to see what our young women have done.

 

May Crowning

On May 1^st we held our annual May Crowning.  The veil this year was donated by Mr. Giles D’Orvilliers father of alumna Ms. Anne D’Orvilliers  ‘71 and handmade by Mrs. Betsy Spiro   We enjoyed having so many young visitors with us for this special tribute to Mary.

 

 

Grandparents Day

Due to the overwhelming response of grandparents who came to our past May Crowning events, we needed to create a day special for them alone!  So on May 2^nd we welcomed nearly 300 grandparents to Mercy for breakfast and a specially prepared prayer service.  It was great to see the pride on the faces of our young women as they introduced their grandparents to their friends and members of the Mercy community.

 

Congratulations to Chamber Choir and Wind Ensemble!

The Mercy Chamber Choir and Wind Ensemble competed at the Six Flags Music in the Park Competition this past Friday at Six Flags New England. The Chamber Choir placed first in the Women’s Choir category and placed 2^nd overall. The wind ensemble placed 5^th in the band category. The girls enjoyed a beautiful day in the park after the competition.

 

Congratulations to the following winners of Latin Exam Awards!

 

NATIONAL LATIN EXAM AWARDS
MEDALS AND CERTIFICATES

2013

 

LATIN I

                                Allison Wojciechowski                                     Gold Medal  Summa Cum Laude

                             Michelle Reinert                                               Silver Medal Maxima Cum Laude
                             Julia McQuade                                                  Magna Cum Laude

 LATIN II

                                Savanna Hajdasz                                              Silver Medal Maxima Cum Laude
                                Maggie Qiu                                                        Magna Cum Laude
                                Talia Staiger                                                       Magna Cum Laude
                                Christine Cammisa                                           Magna Cum Laude

 POETRY III

                                Emily Hall                                                           Silver Medal Maxima Cum Laude
                                Madeline Kumm                                               Cum Laude
                                Julia Marcin                                                       Cum Laude
                                Simone Jaros                                                     Cum Laude

 POETRY IV

                                Alice Ochterski                                                Silver Medal Maxima Cum Laude

 

Mother/Daughter Breakfast

 

On Sunday, May 5^th we celebrated another tradition here with the Mother-Daughter Mass and Brunch.  What a beautiful day and special time for all our young women of Mercy to share with these significant women in their lives.

 

Upcoming Events:

 

·         AP Exams began on Monday, May 6 and will continue through Wednesday, May 15.  We will be administering 13 AP exams this year.  Good luck ladies and study well!

·         Senior Activities:

·         May 9 – Ascension Thursday and Senior Farewell Mass

·         May 15 – Senior Class Photo

·         May 16 – Senior Tree Dedication and Yearbook                          Distribution

·         May 17 – Seniors Last Day

 

·         Our Juniors are preparing for their prom which will take place here at Mercy on Saturday, May 11 from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.  I know they have been busy preparing and planning with their theme of a New York Skyline. 

 

·   Our annual Spring Concert will take place on Thursday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m. in our auditorium.

At the Spring Concert the drawing of the Education Raffle will take place.  There is still time to purchase a Raffle ticket:  Education Raffle

 

·         The Athletic Banquet will also be taking place soon on Saturday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m.  This banquet is for all Mercy students and their families who participated in or managed a sport during this year.  To purchase those tickets go to:  Athletic Banquet 

•  Please follow the following link for a "Call to Action" regarding funding for Catholic School bussing:  Call to Action

Here are a few pics of tennis, lacrosse and golf! We’ve had some beautiful Spring days to compete and enjoy sports!

 

 

 

Be Well.

 

 

 

 

 

April 24, 2013

 

Welcome Back!

Hopefully everyone has had a restful April break and is now ready for a very busy few weeks!

We were very active right before the break with Spirit Week activities and a program for our incoming freshwomen.

 

Welcome Picnic

On Friday, April 5^th we hosted an evening for our incoming freshwomen so that they could get to know each other before arriving here in the fall.  We had a great showing and all participated well in the activities.  We also hosted some parents in the library who were able to get to know each other and share information as well.  Thank you to Mrs. Santostefano, our Mercy Ambassadors and volunteer parents who helped to make the evening such a success!

 

Spirit Week

We celebrated Spirit Week from April 8 – 12^th and I am still reeling from all the activity!  Congratulations to the Student Activities Council and Ms. Drewry who coordinated all the activities!  Take a look at some pictures of the various events –

We began on Monday with a Cultural Assembly and learned from an alumna Carolina Santos Reed ‘04 how to dance the Flamenco!

 

On Tuesday was the infamous Cake Auction!!!! Students raised nearly $1800 for charity with this activity.

 

Wednesday was Twin Day and Thursday, Dress Like a Celebrity Day.  I know you can only imagine the creativity that went into the costumes!

This is a picture of a number of faculty dressed like our famous championship basketball team!

We ended on Friday with the Mercy/Xavier Talent show.  I was very impressed with the amount of talent we have here and also the courage it takes to perform in front of your peers! 

 

Spirit Week was a great way to end before everyone disappeared on Spring Break.

 Spring Athletics

Do you believe that nearly 200 Mercy students are participating in one of our Spring sports teams!  As I watch students arrive every day I see numerous tennis rackets, golf bags, lacrosse sticks and softball bats walk through the door.  I was able to get to the first home meet of our track team on April 4^th!

 

 

 

The days are getting warmer so take a look at the team schedules and enjoy an afternoon cheering on our Mercy women!

 

Athletic Team Schedules Link

Honor Roll

 

Our Mercy women don’t only excel on the playing field, their first priority is academics.  We are very proud of our students who have made the honor roll in the third quarter.  The Honor Roll has been posted on the Mercy website:  Third Quarter Honor Roll

 

Upcoming Events:

·         Dennis Uniform Company will be at Mercy today, April 24^th from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. for the measuring and ordering of uniforms.  Please check your daughter’s skort to be sure that she hasn’t grown and needs either a hem alteration or new skort all together.  Thank you.

 

·         The days we have with our Seniors are quickly coming to a close.  Many senior activities and deadlines are approaching!

-         Senior Service Hours are due April 25^th

-   Senior Prom is on April 26^th – There are no classes for Seniors on that day.

-   May Crowning is May 1^st   -   Seniors are dismissed at 9:30 a.m.

 

-  Grandparents Day – May 2nd

 

·        Our Chamber Choir is performing today, April24th on Better Connecticut, 3:00 p.m. on WFSB.  They are finalists in a contest to sing with the band Foreigner on May 5^th at Foxwoods Casino. 

                 They need votes to win so be sure to tune in!

 

·      The Annual Art Show begins today.  Student works of art will be displayed throughout the building from April 24^th to May 6^th.  Be sure to stop and see some of the excellent work our students have been doing throughout the year.

 

·       May Crowning is on May 1^st.  I am told this is a beautiful ceremony and a special day for our seniors and the young children that they bring.  This year we are separating the May Crowning from Grandparents Day which will occur on the following day, May 2^nd. 

 

·      Watch also for information regarding the Mother/Daughter Mass and Brunch which will occur on Sunday, May 5^th at 10:00 a.m.

     

·        Planning has begun for the Athletic Banquet which will occur on May 18^th.  Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by clicking here:  Athletic Banquet 

 

• The drawing for the Education Raffle is also fast approaching on May 16^th.  You can find the order form here:  Education Raffle

We will do the drawing at our Spring Concert, 7:00 p.m. that evening so mark your calendars!

 

Be Well.

 

 

 

 

 

 

April 3, 2013

 

Happy Easter

I hope that everyone is having a Happy Easter season!  Activities are picking up as the weather warms and year end celebrations of accomplishments begin!

Language Honor Society Inductions

 

On Thursday, March 21^st the first ever French National Honor Society Induction took place here at Mercy High School.  That same evening we also inducted students into the Spanish National Honor Society.  It was a wonderful evening celebrating the hard work of our students and the benefits of language study.

Thank you to Mr. Rob Hunt and Mrs. Patty Labella for all their hard work in preparing for the ceremonies.

 

Discover Mercy

 

What a great day we had on Saturday, March 23^rd as a number of 5^th – 7^th graders visited Mercy with their parents to begin their high school search.  We had a number of teachers and students volunteer to offer fun activities to these potential Mercy girls such as tie-dying, robotics, and dance team moves!

 

SCC Scholar Leaders

 

It is the beginning of awards season for our Seniors as we begin to attend a number of events honoring outstanding students from the class of 2013.

Congratulations go to Samantha Formica and Meghan Nelson as they received the Southern Connecticut Conference Scholar Leader Award at a dinner on March 25^th. 

We also congratulate Ki’Yonta Stevenson and Vicki Scott who were honored at the Connecticut Association of Schools Fine Arts Dinner on April 1^st.

We are so fortunate to have such outstanding young women at Mercy High School!

 

Mercy Field Trips!

 

We can learn many things from our work in the classroom, but it is also quite beneficial to participate in events away from school.  We had two groups take day trips on March 26^th and come back having learned a great deal!

Here is a picture of the Spanish 3 Honors class that traveled to New York City with Mrs. Larson to see  the play “Don Quijote” and eat at a local Spanish restaurant.  I hear both the play and the food were superb

The same day, Mrs. Curello and Mrs. Ermer brought students from the Business and Personal Finance class to Central Connecticut State University, where they participated in a “Financial Reality Fair”.  Here students took on roles as adults with particular jobs and incomes.  With those incomes, they were to find housing, transportation, food and entertainment.  The challenges of life come very quickly with this simulation of the real world!

 

Holy Days

 

One of the benefits of a Catholic education is the opportunities given for reflection and service.

In the area of service, our National Honor Society organized a project where all students brought candy to be placed in “Bunny Bundles” which were distributed to places like St. Elizabeth’s in Hartford, St. Vincent de Paul Place, Middletown,  Shepherd Home in Middletown and Mercy Housing and Shelter in Hartford.   Here is a picture of the NHS working on some of the 600 bunny bundles prepared for Easter!

 

On Holy Thursday our Peer Ministers, led by Campus Minister Ms. Derbacher, facilitated a Retreat Day with the Theme:  “If you really knew who I am”.   Students watched videos on stereotyping and discussions were held in advisor groups around the theme.  The day ended with a beautiful prayer service centered on the Last Words of Christ on the Cross.  Holy Thursday was quite a moving day for students and adults alike.

Upcoming Events:

 

-        Friday, April 5^th will find us at a Welcome Picnic for the Class of 2017.

 

-   I know it is hard to believe but our April vacation is fast approaching.  There will be no school on  Monday, April 15 to Friday, April 19.  Classes will resume on Monday, April 22^nd.

 

-   The spring sport season has begun!  We have a number of competitive teams that are beginning their team schedules including Golf, Lacrosse, Tennis, Softball, and Track. 

Take a look at the schedules and come support our Mercy Tigers!

http://www.mercyhigh.com/page/athletics-schedule

 

 

Be Well.