All school information
*With thanks and appreciation
for your support
As we celebrate the Christmas season I would like to thank all of our parents and families for your generous donations and your countless volunteer hours. Your support enables Mercy to continue to offer an outstanding Catholic education, with state-of-the art programs, as
well as provide financial assistance to our families in need.
Please remember Mercy High School when making your year-end tax-deductible gift. You may send in a donation or better yet, make your gift online through Mercy's secure website.
Your generosity will have a lasting impact and is deeply appreciated
by the students, faculty, staff and administration at Mercy.
I would like to wish each of you a Merry Christmas and many blessings in 2016.
Mary Lund
Director of Advancement
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*To All Parents: The yearbook is under way and will be distributed in late April. Each student receives a yearbook as part of tuition to enjoy. Usually, these are taken with them to college or when they are married. This year for only $45 each and for this week only, Mercy is offering parents the chance to reserve a copy of the yearbook for yourselves or to give to a grandparents. The payment will not be due until the yearbooks have arrived in late April, but we do need to know by Friday at noon if you would like a copy as we will have printed only the amount that is requested. If you would like your own copy, please email, Randall Watts, at rwatts@mercyhsb.com with your name, daughter's name, and the number of copies that you would like to purchase. Again your daughter will already receive a copy, this yearbook purchase would be for extra copies only: payment of $45 each will not be due until April, preffered payment is check but cash will be accepted, due when yearbooks arrive, but we need to know by the Friday at noon the number to print. Thank you.
Randall Watts _______________________________________________________________________________
Attention Holiday Shoppers!
Check out CrusaderWear on the Mercy website and start your Christmas shopping now! We are happy to announce that many NEW items have been added on the site. Hats, beenies, scarfs, polo shirts, coffee mugs, water bottle, logo sweatpants etc. Simply click on the Holiday gift idea section in CrusaderWear on the Mercy website and start your shopping…… You can also buy Spring sport products now as well. Buy now as it does take approximately 2 weeks for delivery! _______________________________________________________________________________  *Host an International Student
with gphomestay!
Looking to share an international experience with your family without leaving the comfort of your home? Open your home to an international student and receive a monthly stipend of $1500! We’ve partnered with gphomestay and together, we are looking for caring host families for the FALL 2016 semester. Visit www.gphomestay.com for more information on how you can benefit from this cross-cultural experience. Contact info@gphometsay.com or click here to fill out a Host Inquiry Form. Click here for flyer.
_______________________________________________________________________________ Educational Travel click here for all educational trips  Travel to Italy and Greece
(ONLY 3 spots left!)
Summer 2016
Click here for more information on the trip. For more info contact Gary Ferguson at gferguson@mercyhsb.com.
VPA Student Trip Open to ALL Students
Lights, Camera, Los Angeles
Click HERE for Itinerary and cost Some tour highlights are Disney Imagineering, Universal Studios/ Acting and Cinema Secrets Workshops. This is a great opportunity for your daughter to tie her classroom experience to the real world. The proposed dates are February 12- 15, 2016. For more information contact Nadine Baroudi at nbaroudi@mercyhsb.com. Powerschool PowerSchool will be unavailable 12/14 through 1/8 as teachers complete the S1 final grading process. It will be back online when Semester 1 grades are published. If you have any questions, please contact Stephanie Montoya at 650 762 1111 or smontoya@mercyhsb.com financial assistance Financial Assistance Program for 2016-2017
Mercy High School recognizes that families have varying financial needs and make financial sacrifices which include adjusting spending priorities and maximizing both parents’ earnings to provide their daughters with a strong academic education. The Financial Assistance Program at Mercy strives to help those families who, even with personal sacrifices, have a difficult time meeting the full tuition obligation. Awards are made for a one-year period, families must re-apply each year. The application process is fair and confidential. Assessments are done by an outside firm (TADS) that specializes in school financial assistance programs. Financial aid awards are made based on a family’s demonstrated need and the availability of school funds. All families who would like to be considered for financial assistance for the 2016-2017 school year must complete an online financial aid application. Applications must be submitted by February 12, 2016* with all necessary documentation. This link https://www.mercyhsb.com/admissions/financial-aid-clone will direct you to our website for further information and the online TADS application. Please contact Lynn Beal at 650-762-1101 or lbeal@mercyhsb.com if you have any questions. *Please note returning 10th, 11th and 12th grade families must apply by February 12, 2016. Families that have both an applying 8th grader and returning student must meet the December 14, 2015 deadline. Late applications will be processed and reviewed, but meeting the appropriate deadline is strongly recommended. upcoming Activities
Mercy Blood Drive on Tuesday, January 19th, 2016
Interested donors needed! Adults & Youth 16+ (with parental consent) welcome! Our Red Cross Club is looking for blood donors for our first ever Mercy Blood Drive! We need at least 50 people signed up by November 30th. Please sign up today! Did you know each donation can save 3 lives? Make a difference in the lives of others by donating blood at MHSB Red Cross's Blood Drive. Free refreshments and a complimentary gift will be provided.
Click HERE (google sheet link) to sign up!
Senior parents *Yearbook Dedication!
Senior parents, It's not too late! Don't forget to purchase a dedication for your daughters achievement in the yearbook by January 7th. We've extended the deadline so parents would have time over Christmas break to scan and upload pictures. Click HERE for instructions. Please email rwatts@mercyhsb.com with questions. The number for tech support is in the instructions. -Mr. Watts, Yearbook Advisor
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Early Dismissal for Seniors: Seniors will now have the early dismissal on January 27th since this is the new date for the curriculum presentation. Career Day has been moved to February 23rd. Seniors are expected to be on campus until 2:30pm on the 23rd. Athletics
*Softball players: If you are not on a winter team, Mandatory conditioning will start on Wednesday January 6 from 3-4pm.
______________________________________________________ All uniforms/gear from the Fall teams should be returned to the Athletic Director by Friday December 11. Please have them laundered when returning. Any uniform/golf bags not returned by a player will result in the family being charged a replacement fee for the missing uniform/equipment.
______________________________________________________________________________ Very Important: Every student who plays on a Mercy athletic team must be fully registered with the Appryse system. There will be no exceptions. You can access thru the Mercy website under Athletics/Forms.
_______________________________________________________________________________ Any student athlete participating in a sport must turn in both the athlete and guardian contract found in the Athletic Handbook. If the signed forms by both student and guardian are not turned in, the student will not be allowed to tryout. Click on the handbook link and print a copy of the contract after you have read the handbook. The Athletic Handbook can be found on the website under Athletics/Forms & Athletic Qualifications. The contracts to be signed are at the end of the handbook. The completed contracts must be returned to the Athletic Director or to the main office.
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Any Parent who is available and/or willing to drive students to games must turn in all the paperwork to the main office in order to be cleared to drive. This would be for your own car or a school van. The forms can be downloaded from the Mercy website, Athletics/Forms or click HERE.
______________________________________________________________________________ All results of each team can be found: https://www.mercyhsb.com/athletics/scoreboard-enews
______________________________________________________________________________ Click HERE for the schedule for team events for the upcoming week of Dec. 17-Dec.24. ______________________________________________________________________________
Make sure to follow all of our Mercy team score updates as they happen via our athletics twitter page. Mercy Athletics@MercyAthletics ______________________________________________________________________________
If you ever have any concerns/comments, please feel free to contact me, Charlie Dougherty, Athletic Director at anytime. I can be reached at my office at Mercy at 650-762-1107 or cdougherty@mercyhsb.com. I am looking forward to a great year with Mercy athletics. College Counseling
*FAFSA - In order to apply for financial aid at the college level, you must complete a FAFSA. The FAFSA may be found at this website: www.fafsa.ed.gov
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*Tri-School Financial Aid Night: January 7th at 6:30 pm in the Great Hall. Come and hear speakers from local universities about the college financial aid process.
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*Junior Parent College Meetings: If you need to schedule your college meeting with Mrs. Ohanessian, please email her at fohanessian@mercyhsb.com
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*PSAT Scores are delayed until January: We have received information from the Collegeboard noting that the score reports for all schools will not be sent until after the new year. We will send them to you as soon as they become available.
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*Email over break: The counseling team will be away during the holiday break. Emails will not be responded to until after the break. If you or your daughter's need something, please email us next week during finals Mrs. Ohanessian will be on campus every day next week to help with any college questions.
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*AJ Tutoring Test Prep Course
on campus this Spring!
Begins Monday, January 4th
Click HERE for more info/flyer.
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Sending Test Scores: To send your scores to the various colleges you are applying to you must log on to www.collegeboard.org or www.actstudent.org. You will need to know the school codes and you can look them up on those two sites. Keep Naviance Updated: I know it is a pain but please make sure your daughter keeps Naviance updated. This is how the counseling team and your daughter's recommenders know when to send your letters of recommendation. Check their statuses on Naviance by clicking on "Detailed view" under the "colleges I am applying to" tab. You will see when we sent your transcripts. If you need me to send a transcript, please let me know and I will send it right away. Acceptances: Some of you are getting acceptances already (Congratulations!). Please put that into Naviance. It is a fun way for you to track your decisions and it helps us know where you are in the process. Letters of Recommendation: Students should have already requested their letters of recommendation. If your student has a January 1st deadline, please have them contact their recommenders so they have plenty of time before Christmas break to complete them. Mercy parent club Father Daughter Dance- Save the Date! Friday January 29, 2016 will be this year's Father Daughter Dance. Make sure to mark your calender for this special evening for Dads and Daughters. If you are interested in helping with this event, please contact Event Coordinator Jennifer Munsey at 650-762-1199 orjmunsey@mercyhsb.com
______________________________________________________________________________ Save the Date for Mai Tai's at the Mansion! Saturday March 5, 2016 at the Historic Kohl Mansion, transformed for a night you wont forget!!! To get involved with the planning of this event, contact Event Coordinator Jennifer Munsey at 650-762-1199 or jmunsey@mercyhsb.com SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES If you have any questions about the following service opportunities please contact Mr. Diaz at pdiaz@mercyhsb.com
Pacifica Beach Coalition MONTHLY beach cleanup
Click HERE for Saturdays of Service
Kohl Mansion *Cafe de Kohl Raffle Winner - Kelli Benz!
*Kohl Mansion
Commemorative Gifts
$10
Bookmarks/ornaments $10 each.
Come to Kohl Mansion Office to
purchase this great holiday gift!
*Volunteers needed to help take down the Kohl Mansion holiday décor Tuesday, January 5, 2016. Interested volunteers please email Terri Baldocchi at tbaldocchi@mercyhsb.com!
Musc at Kohl
Volunteer with Music at Kohl!
Our next concert is our Holiday Gala Concert on Sunday, December 20, featuring Geraldine Walther, violist and the Altius Quartet. The mansion will be fully decorated for the holidays and our reception will be extra special. If you would like to either attend the concert (see our website at: www.musicatkohl.org) or volunteer to help (and feel the holiday season all around you!), please contact Program Administrator, Yvonne Wun at admin@musicatkohl.org or 650.762.1130. We need volunteers to help at the front of house (taking tickets, distributing programs, helping to usher patrons) and with the reception (preparing food platters, serving beverages, set up and clean up). It's an enjoyable evening teaming up with your Mercy and Serra students and parents and community volunteers.
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