All School *This Monday, December 12, is the Priority Application Deadline for
8th graders applying to Mercy High School. Our Final Application Deadline is Friday January 6, 2017, but after this Monday the application fee will increase. Any families applying to the AMES program or applying for Financial Aid must apply by Monday December 12. Please contact the Admissions Office with any questions at admissions@mercyhsb.com or 650-762-1114. _________________________________________________________________________
 Holiday Food Drive
for Second Harvest Food Bank
Wednesday, December 7th -
Tuesday, December 13th.
Drop off food each morning in front of the mansion. The food willbe going to Second harvest Food Bank. Thank you! Please only bring:
- Meals in a can (stew, chili, soup)
- Tuna/canned meat
- Peanut butter
- Low-Sugar Cereal
- 100% Fruit Juices
- Canned Fruit (packed in juice)
- Canned Vegetables (low salt)
- Prefer cans with pop-top lids
financial assistance Financial Assistance Program for 2017-2018
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 2017-2018 school year must complete an online financial aid application. Applications must be submitted by February 10, 2017* 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. Late applications are processed and reviewed, but meeting the appropriate deadline is strongly recommended to be included in the first round of aid awards. 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 10, 2017. Families that have both an applying 8th grader and returning student must meet the December 12, 2016 deadline. upcoming dates 
Monday, Dec. 12 - 4:30-6:30 pm, Great Hall
Dinner and Dessert will be provided. Please contact Lauren Conklin, lconklin@mercyhsb.com if you have any questions!
___________________________________________________________________________
*Upcoming Dates: - Monday, Dec. 12: Cookies, Cocoa, and Collaboration, 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
- Friday, Dec. 16: Lunch Study Ends
- Monday, Dec. 19: Finals begin
___________________________________________________________________________ Final Exams: Mon., Dec. 19
8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 1
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Period 5 Tues., Dec. 20
8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 2
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Period 6 Wed., Dec. 21
8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 3
11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Period 7 Thurs., Dec. 22
8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 4 ___________________________________________________________________________ SAVE the DATE!
*Father Daughter Dance!
Friday, January 27th
8:00PM educational travel 
Iceland - Looks like we are set to go during Spring Break (actually need 2 more sign ups, but we will be positive in our thoughts that two more students will step up and want to do this fantastic trip)!!! All students planning on going, we will need a second deposit of $500 as soon as possible. We will need a final head-count by our holiday break. If you didn't sign up originally and are interested, please see Dr. Bradley. See the itinery on Schoology.
host families needed Host Families Needed for French Students in the Spring
We have four families graciously hosting, but would love to have two more! As French Week at Mercy winds down, I would like to announce that again in the Spring we will be hosting high school students from France. We are hoping to find host families for 8 girls who will come to school everyday with a Mercy student and be part of the family. She will be expected to do chores, go out with the family, and participate in family life. It is asked that she have her own bed; it is not necessary to have a private room and bath. We have had many wonderful memories with these girls and long-lasting friendships have been made. Please consider this. The tentative dates are March 29- April 12. Once we have interested families, we will be sent profiles of girls so as to find compatible matches to our Mercy girls. The French girls do speak English well enough to communicate. They are always eager to improve their English. There is no need for your daughter to be enrolled in French in order to enjoy this opportunity. Any questions please email me at lbarthe@mercyhsb.com. Merci! Liz Barthe, French teacher. senior parents 
*ATTENTION SENIOR PARENTS:
Early Bird Pricing is being extended until the end of Dec.
That is correct! You will have until Dec. 31st to get your ads in.
Click HERE for details on how to submit the dedication. Randall Watts
Yearbook Advisor
rwatts@mercyhsb.com It's that time of year to show your daughter how proud you are of her accomplishments by placing a dedication in their Senior yearbook.The website has guides and videos to help and there is a help desk by the company in case you get stuck. So start gathering your pictures (they will need to be digital and at least 300kb) that you would like to use. Parents sometimes use baby up to now, others have family photos, and other have pictures of their activities in high school with friends; it is up to you. If you need any help or have questions please contact me, Randall Watts, yearbook advisor at rwatts@mercyhsb.com. athletics
*Make sure to follow all of our team results as they happen via our athletics twitter page. Mercy Athletics @MercyAthletics
*All fall team members should have returned their uniforms to the Athletic Director by now. Any uniforms not returned will result in the family being charged a replacement fee.
*The Mercy High School Athletics Department is excited to unveil our new Varsity letterman jackets. Athletes who have lettered and competed in two varsity seasons of sport are eligible to order a jacket. Jackets can be worn with the school uniform on a daily basis and will be a long lasting memento of a high school athletic career. Jackets can be ordered for $115, which includes the block M. For an additional cost, athletes may embroider their name and sport, add their class year on the sleeve, and have a Mercy chenille patch on the back. Please see Coach RG (crietmanngrout@mercyhsb.com) for questions and an order form. Sample jackets are available to try on in the SBO Office. We are going to place our first round of orders by Friday, December 9th. Jackets take about six weeks to custom make. We expect the first round of orders to arrive by the end of January.  *Have you started your Holiday shopping? Check out the Crusaderwear section on the Mercy athletic webpage. Click the Holiday gifts tab! There is some great Mercy swag to buy as Holiday gifts. Please allow yourself 2 weeks for delivery of the order.
*Mercy Athlete of the Week:
Sophomore soccer player Genevieve Flieder
Gen has stepped in as the starting goalie for the past 2 games due to an injury. Both games have resulted in shutouts for the stout Mercy defense. Her willingness to work hard and learn has helped her to improve both as an athlete and leader. Gen has been named one of the team’s Captains and has really embraced her role. Her positive attitude is a calming influence for the team. Great job Gen…….keep up the good work!
Winter Conditioning will be held for the following Spring teams: Conditioning will go thru the week of Dec 12-15. We will start back up on Jan 10: - Track and Field: Tuesday 3-4pm, Thursday 3:45-4:45pm. Meet at the Grassilli weight room
- Softball: 3-4pm on Monday and Wednesday. Meet at the Grassilli Center weight room
- Lacrosse: 4-5pm on Monday and Wednesday. Meet at the Grassilli Center weight room. It is important to note that we will base whether we have a Varsity only or Varsity and JV team for lacrosse on the amount of girls who do off season conditioning.
Every athlete must be fully registered in the Appryse system and cleared to play sports before they are placed on a roster. A physical is required to get cleared. You can go onto the Mercy website and go to quicklinks and find the drop down for Appryse. Simply click and start your registration process. Please remember if you are a returning student you still have to re-register. Any student athlete participating in a sport must turn in both the athlete and guardian contract. If the signed forms by both student and guardian are not turned in, the student will not be allowed to play in any event until they have turned in the paperwork. The forms are available on the Mercy website at https://www.mercyhsb.com/athletics/forms-athletic-qualifications. Click on the link and print the contract after you have read the Handbook. Completed forms must be returned to the Athletic Director or to the main office. All student athletes who are currently on a Winter sport roster should be purchasing their Crusaderwear gear designed specifically for their respective team. The site to purchase the gear can be found on the Mercy website under Athletics. 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 form can be downloaded from the Mercy website on the Athletics page. All results of each team can be found in the Mercy scoreboard-
https://www.mercyhsb.com/athletics/scoreboard-enews *Click HERE for the schedule for team events for the upcoming week of Dec. 8 - Dec. 14 If you ever have any concerns/comments, please feel free to contact me at anytime. I can be reached at my office at Mercy at 650-762-1107. I am looking forward to a great 2016/17 with Mercy athletics. Charlie Dougherty
Athletic Director COUNSELING DEPARTMENT
 Wellness Week: The counseling department is sponsoring Wellness Week this week, December 5th through the 9th! Resources will be made available here the week following.
College Counseling
SAT and ACT Prep Class!: Mercy High school has partnered with AJ Tutoring to offer a SAT Prep Course this spring semester in preparation for the March 11th SAT. This course utilizes classroom instruction and full-length practice exams to fully prepared students for the SAT. Please click HERE for flyer with specific dates and information on how to enroll. FAFSA and CSS Profile: Forms for need-based financial aid are available online. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is a federal form for need based aid. The CSS Profile is a non-federal need based financial aid form used by some private colleges. Please note that colleges and universities will have different deadlines for these forms so it's important for your student to be aware of and manage the deadlines for each. The FAFSA can be accessed here: https://fafsa.ed.gov/ and the CSS Profile can be accessed here: https://student.collegeboard.org/css-financial-aid-profile
Helpful Links:
service opportunities  *Click HERE for Service Opportunities as posted to students through x2VOL for 2016-17 School Year.
Looking ahead to Service Opportunities sponsored by Mercy High School. Click HERE 2016-17 for dates and times. If you have any questions about service opportunities please contact Mr. Diaz at pdiaz@mercyhsb.com.
_____________________________________________________________________________  VOLUNTEER AT MUSIC AT KOHL CONCERT - DEC 18
Music at Kohl Mansion will be celebrating the holidays with a Gala Holiday Concert on Sunday December 18 at 7 pm. Volunteers are needed to help with front of house duties (distributing programs, taking tickets, ushering) and reception preparation and clean up (preparing food trays and beverages, setting up, serving and cleaning up).
If you are available and interested in helping with the concert and reception from 6-10 pm, please contact Yvonne Wun, Program Administrator at admin@musicatkohl.org. There are still a few spots available.
kohl mansion 
*Volunteers needed to help take down the Kohl Mansion holiday décor - Thursday, January 5, 2017. Interested volunteers please email Terri Baldocchi at tbaldocchi@mercyhsb.com! miscellaneous  Windows of the Soul
Think about the New Year that is coming our way – we have much to prepare for and to be nourished by. Please join us at Mercy Center for 7 unique sessions called “Windows of the Soul.” These sessions are meant to help us look inward and outward to the many ways spirituality enhances our lives. The world and our own souls need deep spiritual touchstones in these turbulent times. Facilitator: Sr. Mary Waskowiak, RSM Registration deadline January 5, 2017.
Click HERE for flyer with more information
_____________________________________________________________________________
 Visit the Mercy Center Bookstore for Unique Christmas Gifts
The Mercy Center Bookstore has many wonderful gifts for Christmas. Nativity sets, jewelry, CDs, books for all ages, children’s gifts and more. Enter the Mercy Center door and follow the signs to the bookstore. Store hours are Wednesday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. cafeteria specials Lunch Order Form - to save time, students may fill out this form and drop off at the Cafeteria in the morning. Please Visit the cafeteria for our daily salad selections
Thursday: Chicken Tostada Salad Bowl A Large crispy baked Flour Tortilla filled with our famous Spanish Rice, Beans and perfectly seasoned chicken breast bites, topped with lettuce , tomatoes, Mexican cheese blend, salsa and sour cream. Please order before 9:00am for a vegetarian option
Friday: Our Own Hot Dog Croissant with a side of Chili An all beef lean Hot Dog wrapped with our home made Pizza dough ,baked to golden brown, served with a side of beef and beans chili... This is a "to die for special " , limited quantity will be made , SO PLEASE Pre-Order :=)
*NEXT WEEK'S MENU Dec. 12-16
Monday: Foccacia Burgers Our Secret Recipe All Beef Burger Grilled to perfection served on our soft and fluffy home made Rosemary and Chives Foccacia bread. A side of Spring mix salad and our home made Balsamic Vinaigrette will complete the meal
Tuesday: Chicken and Broccoli Bake Sub Chunks of tender chicken breast with broccoli florets in a rich white sauce , stuffed in a French Roll Boat style and topped with melted cheese
Wednesday: All Beef Taquitos Fresh 92%/8% Mexican seasoned ground beef, rolled in flour tortillas and baked to perfect crispiness. Served with Spanish Rice and shredded salad blend with Queso Fresco cheese...options of Salsa, Sour Cream and Guacamole
Thursday: Meat or Spinach Calzones Our Home made Pizza dough, smothered with our scrumptious Pizza Sauce, filled with Pepperoni, Cheese and our Gourmet home made loose sausage , OR a rich , creamy cheese and spinach filling , sealed with a hand braid and baked to golden brown. Always a favorite
Friday: Spaghetti and Meat sauce Fresh 92%/8% Ground Beef , cooked in our own toasted herbs and spices in a rich Marinara Sauce, Served over Spaghetti Noodles. Served with Green Salad and Ranch dressing
Please visit the cafeteria for our daily selection of specialty Salads.
Please pre-order. | 
