March 25, 2020  |  PARENT ENEWS 

Dear Mercy Families,

 

I wish I could share that we will be returning to school soon. Unfortunately San Mateo County announced today that they will be one of eight Bay Area counties that will extend school closure to May 1 to slow the spread of COVID-19 to the maximum extent possible. You can read the release here.

 

As a school in San Mateo County we will of course honor this directive and support the mission to stop the spread of COVID-19. Mercy will continue with Distance Learning through Friday, May 1st. Please remember we will break for Easter from Thursday, April 9 until Tuesday, April 21st.

 

This announcement will likely frustrate some of our students- I encourage you to sit down with your daughter to ask her how she feels about this. Give her the opportunity to share her feelings and let her know that we are all sharing in the same emotions. Please give a big hug to your daughter from Mercy.

 

The school-parent partnership is so important and a critical factor in our ability to be successful. I would love to ask for parent support in two ways this week:

1. Congress is working to pass a COVID-19 relief bill that will include aid to schools. Below is a link that allows you to add your name in support of extending this bill to private schools. Please click here and take thirty seconds to complete this so Mercy may benefit from this relief bill.
2. Mercy High School is a member of the Mercy Education System of the Americas (MESA). MESA includes 54 schools in the United States and Guam, Argentina, Belize, Honduras, Jamaica and Philippines. MESA is in the process of developing a brand strategy which will include components that will benefit all Mercy schools, including ours. To help the process, we hope you can participate in this survey. Your feedback is very important and will help ensure our school's voice is represented.

Thank you for all that you do for Mercy and all that you are in living out our Mercy mission. When we are able to gather again we will be sure to plan a wonderful day that welcomes us all back to the Kohl Mansion. Until then, know you are in our daily prayers and thoughts and that your daughters are truly representing everything we hope for a Mercy girl.

You have raised incredible young women and their strength and resiliency is truly showcased during Distance Learning.

 

Thanks,
Natalie

Community Opportunities 

We encourage you to familiarize yourselves with opportunities that are available to both our parent and student community. These will be led by our faculty and staff and include sessions and activities such as College Counseling, Wellness Challenges, Lunchtime Meditations, and home workouts. Please encourage your daughters to take advantage of these opportunities for connection and movement! Click here to view the weekly schedule on our Distance Learning Resources page. 

Specific Zoom links can be found on Schoology.

Hello from Sr. Jean

I am Sr. Jean Evans, a Sister of Mercy, and very glad to help out during Ms.Oudiz' maternity leave. I taught at Mercy some years ago and loved it. For 27 years I worked with youth in South Africa, teaching and doing youth ministry and retreat work. It's wonderful to be back at Mercy now--especially at this time when we're all pulling together to help our girls.

 

Music at Kohl Mansion has cancelled the remainder of our concert season. For our full announcement, please click HERE.
We thank our wonderful Mercy Volunteers and look forward to seeing you next season.

 

UPDATE:
European Trip to The Alps to the Mediterranean will likely be POSTPONED but not cancelled. More information to follow with more information from the CDC in April.

Family Easter Egg Hunt Cancelled 

We were so excited to host our first Easter Egg Hunt! We are disappointed that due to our COVID-19 county restrictions we will not be able to offer the community event this year as we had hoped. Although this year's family outings like this one may look different in our memory books, we encourage you to create spring and Easter memories together at home!

Beach Clean up at Rockaway in Pacifica Cancelled

We are so proud that our Mercy families are passionate about environmental stewardship, however to protect us all and follow country restrictions during this time we are canceling the beach clean up at Rockaway Beach, Pacifica 9-11am on Saturday, April 4th. Dads, we have scheduled another mixer for you! Pleas see the invite below! 

Virtual Dads Joke Mixer
Wednesday, April 1st 7-8pm
Humor gets us through tricky and uncertain times! Let's come together for a virtual social to share some smiles and see familiar faces. Feel free to bring your favorite beverage and a dad joke you humor your Mercy girl with. We look forward to coming together from afar!
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/588592848

Meeting ID: 588 592 848

 

Virtual Moms Yoga, Wellness & Happy Hour Mixer
Thursday, April 2nd 6:30 - 7:00pm Happy Hour

7:00pm Yoga & Wellness

Now more than ever, we want our Mercy mom/guardians to connect with each other and practice self-care. Grab your favorite beverage and join us for a Virtual Happy Hour before we begin our Wellness session. Join us for a virtual night to decompress, learn helpful mindfulness practices, and end the evening with a beginner restorative yoga session led by our Wellness Counselor, Joy Phillips. Feel free to set your space with a yoga mat and cozy vibes! We look forward to coming together from afar!

Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/930028908
Meeting ID: 930 028 908

Dear Class of 2022 Parents and Students,

On Tuesday, Bill Reid from Jostens met with the class of 2022 and spoke to them about the ordering and wearing of the Mercy Class Ring.  Each student was provided an envelope with the ordering information enclosed.  Please review this with your student. The ring design is unique to Mercy High School and not available at any other school. It is the same ring design worn by Mercy alumnae, current students and future students.  Rings ordered now will be  blessed and delivered as a group at the Junior Ring Ceremony in the fall. Mr. Reid was set to return next week for orders, but with the school closure, these dates will need to be rescheduled once we return from the virus break.  Once these dates are set we will reach out once again. If you have any questions, please reach out to Mr. Reid at either 415-472-7871 or bill.reid@jostens.com. Orders may also be placed online at www.citygradsf.com 

Thank you!

College Kickoff Meeting

It is time to schedule your College Kickoff meetings with Mrs. Ohanessian. Please click on this link to schedule a meeting. The meetings will include information about testing, the college application process, and upcoming events

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

We are monitoring the status of spring sports. We are monitoring the status of spring sports. We will be following the guidelines that are put in place by the CIF/CCS. No decisions have been made as to whether spring sports will resume and/or cancelled altogether. The governing bodies(CIF/CCS) deferred any decisions at a
meeting yesterday. They will be meeting again on April 3. Mercy is still not allowing any athletic participation at this point due to the school shutdown and shelter in place orders. Coaches are communicating with their team members with ways as to how to best stay active
and proper conditioning for their respective sports.

 

We still have some athletes that did not turn in uniforms. Once school resumes, all uniforms will be expected to be turned back. Any uniforms not turned back in will result in the family being charged a replacement fee.

Games & Practice Schedule

March 26 - April 1

Purchase Team Photos

If you would like to purchase photos taken by Lifetouchplease use this link to access pictures. events.lifetouch.com/mercyburlingamehighschool

We currently have a coach openings in the following sports. If you are aware of a potential candidate, please tell them that we are accepting resumes. All interested coaches should contact Athletic Director Charlie Dougherty.

 

• Varsity Head Coach Volleyball-Fall of 2020
• Assistant Coach Varsity Soccer-Winter 2020/21
• Head Junior Varsity Soccer Coach-Winter 2020/21

 

SAT exam
The College Board announced that they are canceling the May 2, 2020 SAT exam, as well as the makeup tests for the March 14 exam. Students are encouraged to register for the June 6, 2020 exam; however, this could change as the College Board continues to assess the coronavirus outbreak in the coming months. Please click here for continuous updates regarding testing. If you received a fee waiver for the March SAT, your benefits should go back into your account once the refunds go through. Registration for fall dates usually does not open until May or June.

 

AP exams
The College Board releases a information about developing resources for the possibility of taking AP exams at home. Your AP Teachers and I will keep you updated as more information becomes available. Thank you for your patience. Please note that AP scores typically do not affect your college admission offers.

ACT exam
The ACT is canceling the April 4, 2020 exam and rescheduling it to June 13, 2020. If you are registered to take the ACT exam in April, please make sure to check your email for a message from the ACT in the next few days informing you of the postponement and instructions to reschedule your test to June 13 or a future national test date. There will be no additional fee for that. ACT has released FAQs here. Registration for fall dates usually does not open until May or June.

 

The colleges are well aware of what is happening and how it will affect our Class of 2021. I am hopeful that they will adjust their admissions criteria and process in a way that helps all applicants in the Class of 2021. As more colleges are going test-optional, I am following what the colleges will do for our students affected by Coronavirus. I will keep you informed through the enews, but feel free to email me directly with questions. I will continue to update you as I hear more from the colleges.    

Colleges are also aware that the Coronavirus will impact decisions for the class of 2020.  As you are deciding which college you hope to attend, connect with the website and your admissions counselor via email.  Colleges are hosting chats, virtual open houses, and many more fun events.  Please attend them! It may not be ideal, but it is a great way to connect with the campus. Feel free to email me with any questions you might have.

 

Francesca Ohanessian

College Counselor

Your daughter may have been exposed to lice as there are students in our community who have reported cases of head lice this week. 

 

In order to ensure that our students are free of lice, please examine your daughter's hair and scalp for evidence of live lice, lice eggs, or nits (egg casings left behind after lice have hatched). If lice or eggs are present, they will be found close to the scalp. If you find head lice please notify the school or others with whom your child may have had direct head to head contact. Students with head lice should be treated as soon as possible to minimize the spread to other individuals.

 

Students with lice may not return to school until they have been properly treated and the lice no longer exists. 

 

Please click HERE for more information on lice.  

 

Thank you for your partnership in ensuring we get back to a lice-free environment as soon as possible. 

We have had a reported case of Mononucleosis at Mercy. Students with mono are required to stay home from school until they are cleared by their doctor and are not contagious. Click HERE for more information from the CDC.