December 13, 2017                                                                            PARENT ENEWS

ALL SCHOOL

VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS

SHOP FOR MERCY

UPCOMING DATES

*We had a wonderful Cookies, Cocoa, and Collaboration event this week to help students get ready for finals. Thank you students for getting started early! The finals schedule is as follows. Students do NOT need to be on campus when they are not taking a final. 

Final Exams: 

• Tues., Dec. 19
  8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 1
  10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Period 5
• Wed., Dec. 20
  8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 2
  10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Period 6
• Thurs., Dec. 21
  8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 3
  10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Period 7
• Friday., Dec. 22
  8 a.m. to 10 a.m., Period 4

Mercy High School Speaker Series

January 31, 2018 • 6:30-8:00PM

Kohl Mansion at Mercy High School Burlingame

* This event is mandatory for Mercy Sophomore class parents and open to the public

Wouldn't you love to be able to approach conflict with your teen in a way that ensures both of you feel heard, and allows you to find a solution together? When you learn the Collaborative Problem-Solving Process, you'll understand how to connect with your teen so they will listen to you, as well as share their own ideas. In this workshop on transforming conflict into cooperation, the skills you learn can even be applied to family, friend, and coworker relationships. This philosophy empowers parents and provides a concrete and hope-filled path to turn family conflicts into effective, collaborative discussions.

Cynthia Klein is a psychologist, educator, author and public speaker who has been coaching parents for over 20 years. Click here to learn more and to register for the event!

JUNIOR PARENTS

*Dear Junior Families,

PSAT scores are now available on www.collegeboard.org.  Students will need to log in to see their scores.  If you or your daughter have any trouble accessing the scores, you are welcome to call the Collegeboard directly or email me.  We will be working with the students in January on how to best understand their scores.  We will also help them access free resources like AP Potential, Big Future, and Khan Academy.  

Finally, we will be hosting our AJ Tutoring SAT Prep class this spring.  Classes begin in January and you will want to contact Pat at AJ tutoring with any questions.  Students who completed this course, including practice tests and homework assignments found the class to be very helpful.  Please click HERE for the flier with more information.  

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.  

Best,

Francesca Ohanessian

College Counselor

MERCY PARENT CLUB  

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE

Financial Assistance Program for 2018-19 
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 2018-19 school year must complete an online financial aid application. Applications must be submitted by February 9, 2018* 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 9, 2018.  Families that have both an applying 8th grader and returning student must meet the December 11, 2017 deadline. 

SERVICE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Please click HERE for Placement Opportunities, Immersion Trips, Requirements and Saturday's of Service. For questions please email Peter Diaz at pdiaz@mercyhsb.com

FROM THE SISTERS OF MERCY

EDUCATIONAL TRAVEL

COLLEGE COUNSELING

CSU Deadliness Extended:  Some of the CSU's have extended their deadlines.  If you did not apply and still want to, check with the specific CSU or come by my office and we can check together.  

Send your SAT or ACT scores:  I will take care of your transcripts and letters of recommendation but you, yes you, need to send your test scores.  Most schools will suggest you send all your scores. Make sure you send the scores they are requesting.  For example, if they require writing, make sure you send a writing score.  You only need to send your scores to one UC and the rest will receive them.  For the CSU's, there is one CSU number and the rest will receive them.  Come see me with any questions. 

Get help writing your personal statement: You should have more than one person reading your personal statement.  An adult is an added bonus.  A friend is good but it is good to get a teacher, a counselor, a parent, a coach, anyone to look over your personal statement.  They can provide great feedback to help you through the process.  

Need help?: If you don't understand a question on an application, ask me!  Don't leave a question blank or put something random in because that does not look good.  You want to provide the most accurate information to the schools. These applications can be confusing, so come and ask me if you have questions.

Follow up: If you submitted your application and you aren't sure if the school has received everything, check in with the school, not everyday, but an email to introduce yourself and ask if anything is missing is okay.  You can also give them a call. 

Online Portals: In the upcoming weeks, many schools will send you information about logging into application portals or the schools information portal.  These portals are important  in figuring out what is still needed. 

Decision Time: Some of you might be hearing from your colleges!  Come on by and let me know which schools you are hearing from.  You will also want to post that in your Naviance. 

Financial Aid: Remember to submit your FAFSA by going to www.fafsa.ed.gov.  Please note that the FAFSA is free.  If they ask you to pay for the FAFSA, you have completed the wrong form.  You also may need to submit a CSS profile. The CSS profile is typically for private schools and you do need to pay for that.  Check with your individual schools before submitting it as not all schools require this form. 

Francesca Mallegni Ohanessian

College Counselor

SENIOR PARENTS

SENIOR PANORAMIC PHOTO 

If you would like to purchase a copy of the 2018 Senior Panoramic Photo please use the link below.  http://www.orderschoolportraits.com/Mercy-HS-Burlingame-C74.aspx

Attention Mercy Parents for Graduating Class of 2018
As your graduating senior's High School career comes to its conclusion, what better
way to celebrate their successful journey through High School than with a
celebratory announcement of pride in your child's yearbook?

To purchase, follow the link below to get started. Prices for Senior Celebration Ad space start at $140, so be sure to purchase your ad space as soon as possible. Spaces are limited, so hurry now and claim your spot!

Follow the link to start the process:  http://jostensadservice.com/?REF=A00543500

ATHLETICS

*We are pleased to announce that Michael Garcia will return to be the Head Coach for our Mercy Track and Field program. He will continue to teach at St Robert's. There will be an interest meeting on Friday 12/15 for all athletes interested in participating in Track this spring. The meeting will be held immediately after school 2:30pm in the cafeteria.

*We are also pleased to announce that we have hired Stephanie Lee, Mercy Class of 2011 to be the new Head Coach of our Swim team.

*Conditioning sessions will return on January 9. All athletes planning on participating in a spring sport are expected to utilize the conditioning times in January to be ready for the start of spring sports on January 29.

*Conditioning Schedule for the Spring Quarter Sports:
     Meet in the Grassilli Center

• Monday and Wednesday  3-4pm - Softball and Swimming
• Tuesday and Thursday 3:15-4:45pm -Track and Lacrosse

   Gymnastics will have conditioning Monday-Friday 3-4pm at Gymtown Gymnastics in     South San Francisco

*Click HERE for the schedule for team events for the
upcoming week of - Dec. 14 - Dec. 20

*Make sure to follow all of our team results as they happen via our Mercy athletics twitter page. Mercy Athletics @MercyAthletics

All results of each team can be found in the Mercy scoreboard-
https://www.mercyhsb.com/athletics/scoreboard-enews

Treatment times: Any athlete who is in need of treatment for injury, Emerald is available in Grassilli Center Monday and Wednesday from 4-5pm

The Mercy High School Athletics Department is excited to offer our 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 a base price of $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 or click HERE. Order forms are due on Dec. 15th. Sample jackets are available to try on in the SBO Office. Jackets take about six weeks to custom make and will be delivered after Winter Break.

KOHL MANSION

MERCY CAFE 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 - 12/14 - All Beef Taquitos

Friday - 12/15 - Chicken Parmesan Sandwich

*NEXT WEEK's MENU - please see Schoology

MUSIC AT KOHL

This is a fun way to get to know other Mercy parents and students, listen to world-class chamber musicians, all while helping out Music at Kohl (non-profit chamber music concert presenter and local music education provider). Students receive service credit for hours served. For more information or to sign up to volunteer for any of the concert dates, please contact volunteer coordinator/ program administrator Yvonne Wun at admin@musicatkohl.org. For more information about our concert series, link to: www.musicatkohl.org.

We hope you will join us!

Mercy High School

2750 Adeline Drive • Burlingame, CA 94010  •  Phone 650.343.3631 • Fax 650.343.2316 

www.mercyhsb.com