August 28, 2019  |  PARENT ENEWS 

Dear Mercy Families,

It was so wonderful seeing you all at Back to School Night. We hope you enjoyed meeting your daughters' teachers and getting a glimpse of her days at Mercy. It is so important to us that they have a successful, happy, and healthy school year. Please remember should you ever need anything don't hesitate to reach out to us. We hope you all enjoy the long weekend!

Thanks,
Natalie Cirigliano Brosnan 

Head of School

Attendance is key to success in high school! Mercy expects students to attend all classes daily. If your daughter is going to be late for school or absent, please call the Main Office by 7:55AM. Students who are ill for more than three days must bring a doctors note to return to school. Family vacations must be taken during official school holidays. Any days missed days for an extended period of time must be approved by the Assistant Head of School for Academics and the Assistant Head of School for Student Life. Students who miss more than three days of school will be expected to meet with the counseling team and the Assistant Head of School for Student Life. If you have any questions about attendance please email Coach RG the Assistant Head of School for Student Life.

Reminder that all students must be dropped off within the Main Entrance Gate in front of the Mansion. Students are not permitted to be dropped off at any other Mercy gates or in the neighborhood.

Mercy Annual Fund Parent Giving Program

The Mercy Annual Fund is the cornerstone of giving at Mercy. We ask that all families make a tax-deductible commitment to the giving program as the most critical show of support for the school and our students. The Fund provides immediate resources to bridge the gap between tuition and the cost to educate each student. To learn about what is made possible by Mercy Annual Fund gifts, please visit our Giving page on the website. 

Make a Pledge or gift online HERE or download the Parent Commitment form HERE

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Annual Fund Parent Giving  please contact Jennifer Munsey in the Mercy Advancement office at  650-762-1199 or jmunsey@mercyhsb.com. 

Thank you to our Parent Volunteers! 

This month we celebrated the start of the year with the Welcome BBQ! Thanks to parents Judy Ajam, Gala Bradshaw, Leslie Eschen, Ener Lumanlan, Patricia O'Connor, Andrea Pappajohn, Roxanne Parker, Luke Perkocha, Iris Postigo, Hahn Ryan, Karen Sammons, Lorena Vierra, Helen and Michael Vo, and students Sarah Eschen, Lily Perkocha, Reese Parker, Reagan Sammons and Katelyn Vo for helping to make it a success! 

We also had an amazing turn out at the desk project on 8/25 and we got all 175 new desks assembled in record time! Thanks to Bill Chiang, Kim Cooper, Ener Lumanlan, Erik Villalobos, James House, Jerome Noll, John Miller, Jen Hong, Luke Perkocha, Sergio Reynoso, Steve Fischbeck, Dante Ravelo, Julius Ravelo, Eric Larsen, Dan Fraher, Marvin Laubacher, and Troy Wilson for making it happen! 

Mercy-A-Thon Kick-off

Our students kicked off the 25th Annual Student Fundraiser Mercy-A-Thon this week! This is Mercy's one and only student-led fundraising effort- the proceeds benefit Student Life programs, Athletics, and Campus Ministry. By Friday, August 30th all students must create or edit their campaign pages for the launch of this campaign. All information on where the money goes, deadlines, incentives, and instructions on how to create/edit a campaign page can be found on the Mercy-A-Thon webpage. For questions on the Mercy-A-Thon please contact asilva@mercyhsb.com. 

The Global Speakers Series
Thursday August 29, 1pm
Great Hall

The Global Speaker Series will host Amanda Odasz, Mercy grad 2013, entering her 2nd year at Harvard Law.  Her address: "Witnessing a Revolution from Ground Zero: Mercy Alumna Shares Perspective from Summer in Puerto Rico." Parents are welcome to attend.

Serra's Welcome Dance 
Friday, August 30 • 7:00-10:00

Tickets are on sale in the SBO Office during lunches for $10. Tickets will be $15 at the door. Students must bring a student ID to enter the dance.

Mercy Student and Parent Handbook

All Mercy Students and Parents are responsible for reading and following all policies in the Mercy Student and Parent Handbook. The Handbook can be found HERE. After reading, both parents and students must click and fill out the digital Acknowledge Form by Sept. 1st. If you have any questions please email Claire Rietmann-Grout the Assistant Head of School for Student Life.

Cheers to you!

Please join us at the Head of School New Parent Reception for Freshman and Transfer Parents, September 11, 2019 at 7:00 pm. Meet and mingle with other freshmen parents, members of our Leadership Team and Mercy Parent Club representatives. View invite HERE.

Click HERE to RSVP.

The make-up date to order a Mercy Class Ring is Thursday, August 29, before school 7:30am in the Cafeteria.The rings that are ordered now will be blessed and delivered at the ring ceremony on October 23rd. This unique design is made exclusively for Mercy in Burlingame. No other school has this design. 

If you have any questions please reach out to Mr. Bill Reid from Jostens -415-472-7871 or bill.reid@jostens.com

Senior Parent emails: On Fridays, I will send out emails with reminders and checklists for students to work on. The first one will go out this Friday. If you do not receive it, please email me right away. My calendar will be available as of Friday to schedule college meetings. - Francesca Ohanessian

Parent Response Form: Please complete this form by September 1st! The form can be returned via email to fohanessian@mercyhsb.com

Save the Date:  Senior Parent Meeting on September 10th at 6:30 in the Great Hall. We will also be hosting a Coffee with Counselors for the Senior Parents on September 20th at 8:00 in the Reception Room.

Please feel free to contact me anytime with concerns or comments at 650-762-1107. I am looking forward to a great 2019-20 with Mercy Athletics!

Charlie Dougherty, Athletic Director

Follow Mercy Athletics on Twitter for game updates and scores!

All results of each team can be found in the Mercy scoreboard-place HERE

Let the games begin….
We have Volleyball, Golf and Cross Country starting to compete this week. You can always find where/when our teams are playing in the schedule link (below) in this eNews or on the Mercy website in Athletics. We look forward to a great fall season!

Games & Practice Schedule

August 29 - Sept. 4

Congratulations to our Mercy Teams and Coaches for being recognized with a Central Coast Section Sportsmanship certificate for the 2018/19 sports seasons. This award is presented to all the CCS schools that did not have any athletes or coaches get ejected during the course of competition. We are most proud of how our Mercy teams present themselves in the games, matches and events.

It's back-to-school time and we know that means shopping lists for the family! Mercy earns a percentage when you shop on Amazon, shop for groceries, eat out, travel, etc. at no cost to you! Visit our SHOP FOR MERCY page to learn more. 

2019-2020 Book List

The Mercy Book List is posted online, and you will notice Mercy has a new procedure for apps, books, and supplies provided through the school. Families with students enrolled in the classes highlighted in yellow will be billed for the book through the FACTS system on Aug. 30. Mercy will no longer collect checks for these items. You can email your teacher or the department chairs with any questions. 

Use our Amazon Associates link on the SHOP FOR MERCY page to earn money for Mercy as you do your back-to-school shopping! 

Calendar & Important Dates

Important dates for the beginning of the school year can be found on the Calendar Page of the Mercy website. You will find the full Mercy Calendar as well as instructions on how to add it to your own personal calendar. 

Parent Opportunities Survey 

The Mercy Parent Club is looking forward to this year's events and opportunities! MPC hosts many beloved Mercy traditions and supports various branches of the Mercy community throughout the year. Please take a moment to share with us your interests, and provide feedback on what you'd like to see at Mercy next year by filling out the 2019-2020 Parent Volunteer Opportunities form.

Summer reading book clubs - We are excited to host our Summer Reading Book Clubs on Aug. 30 during Collaboration. All students chose their books in May, and should have just about finished reading. Please ask your girls about the book they chose! They will be expected to discuss the book as though they were at a book club - relating it to their own lives, considering which character they liked best and why etc.