Alumnae Newsletter: February 2012

Alumnae Paper Products Drive for HAVEN-Donate through Amazon.com

To honor the spirit of Catherine McAuley and her dedication to assisting women and children, the Mercy High School Alumnae Association seeks your participation in donating paper products to HAVEN. This organization's mission is to eliminate domestic violence and sexual assault through treatment and prevention services. As such they provide counseling, support and shelter. We are organizing this drive to correspond with the school’s Service Awareness Week, which begins February 27.

SUGGESTED ITEMS: Facial tissue, toilet paper, paper plates, paper towels, gift cards (grocery & drug stores), and other items listed on the HAVEN website or Amazon.com wish list.

TO DONATE: You can donate through HAVEN’s Amazon.com wish list by visiting this link (convenient for out-of-towners!) or by bringing your donation to the Mercy High School Advancement Office February 27-March 1. (There is no school Friday, March 2.) If using the Amazon wish list, please state Mercy High School Alumnae Association in the gift message box. HAVEN also gladly accepts monetary donations.

QUESTIONS: Contact Sallie Hinz Atsalis ’79 at sallie_atsalis@sbcglobal.net. Visit HAVEN at www.haven-oakland.org. View the WISH LIST.

Book Club

Share your love of literature and connect with other Mercy women by joining our Alumnae Book Club. To receive notice of book club happenings, send an email to Tina Cyrol Russette ’76 at tmrussette@att.net. If you live out of town, join our discussions remotely by visiting our Events page on Facebook. On Tuesday, February 21, readers will gather at the home of an alum to discuss Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. See details and the full schedule on Mercy's website.

Auction 2012

Mercy's Auction is coming home. Gather some friends to spend a nostalgic evening back at Mercy.

Can't attend but still want to support the Auction? We have the solution for you! Mercy High School is registered at Macy’s, Pottery Barn and Target. Visit their web sites, pull up the registry for Mercy (use “Mercy” as first name and “School” as last name) and choose anything listed. The stores will even send your gift directly to the school. What could be simpler?

SNEAK PEEK - Where would you like to go?

For further information on this exciting event, CLICK HERE. To view the invitation and to RSVP, CLICK HERE.

Invite Your Friends to Tea!

8th Annual Tea for Tuition Sunday, April 29, 2012 2:00pm - 4:00pm Mercy High School It’s time to sign up to be a table hostess and invite your guests to a fabulous afternoon offering gourmet hot and cold teas, delicious food, and a gift basket silent auction. Proceeds benefit the Alumnae Association Tuition Assistance Fund. To-date, nearly $85,000 has been raised in support of 75+ scholarships for deserving Mercy Girls. Looking for a unique way to advertise your business? Please consider donating a gift certificate, service or gift basket to our popular silent auction. This is an excellent opportunity to promote your products or services to a room filled with exceptional women. Contact the Alumnae Office at 248.476.3270 or alumnaeoffice@mhsmi.org to reserve a table or make a donation.

Reunions

PASSPORT to FRANCE for Prospective Students

Pass it on! 7th and 8th grade girls can join us for a morning of French conversation and culture at Mercy High School. The day will be hosted by the Mercy High School French Department, French Honor Society, and French Club. Saturday, February 11, 2012 9:00am - 1:00pm Cost: $30. Registration Deadline: February 8 Prospective Mercy girls are invited to come to Mercy for the ultimate French immersion experience! They will learn basic French vocabulary and conversation and learn about regional French cuisine, customs, music, and art. The day includes a typical French breakfast upon arrival and students will have hands–on experience making their own crepes for lunch. Participants will also receive a special French souvenir. Merci! Space is limited! Please CLICK HERE for more details and registration form. Contact Madame Joyce Campbell, Language Department Chair, at jacampbell@mhsmi.org or 248-476-8020 with any questions.

Roof Redo...Done!

DTE Energy and Mercy High School signed a 20-year agreement in July that will provide utility customers with renewable energy generated from the sun. The 400-kilowatt, $2.5 million photovoltaic system on 125,000 square feet of roof on the high school is complete and fully functioning! Throughout the fall a roofing company and DTE's solar panel installation crew worked tirelessly to get the system up and running before the beginning of 2012. The solar array is operational and began producing energy on December 28, 2011.

DTE will continue to fund, operate, and maintain the solar currents system. As part of the contract, Mercy will receive an annual payment equal to one scholarship per year for 20 years. Mercy also received a one-time, up-front construction payment to cover any inconvenience during installation and indirect energy savings over time. The solar array installation is part of DTE Energy’s pilot SolarCurrents program which is one of the largest distributed solar programs in the country. Mercy High School is the first private high school to participate in SolarCurrents and now houses the largest roof mounted facility in the state of Michigan. An interactive Solar Currents kiosk, provided by DTE, is located in the south hall alcove, just east of the cafeteria. It monitors and showcases the amount of kw produced each day, hour, week and current solar outpu t. Be sure to check out all the sunsational energy!

Volunteers Needed: Student Mentor Partners

Over the years, several young women of Mercy High School have benefitted from Mercy's partnership with Student Mentor Partners (SMP). This small non-profit serves incoming 9^th and 10^th graders from low income households.

Although they accept only students at greatest risk of high school dropout, their success rate is impressive. Every student that has stuck with their program over the past thirteen years has graduated high school, and ninety-nine percent of their graduates have gone on to attend college.

SMP provides tuition assistance to help make a quality private school education possible. More importantly, they provide community-based mentoring to young ladies in the program.

Please search your heart and consider volunteering to mentor a current Mercy student. These young ladies need support and guidance from a positive, strong mentor to achieve their dreams of graduating high school and attending college.

For more information on this opportunity, please visit www.studentmentorpartners.org or contact Tyler MacEachran at 586-445-6295 or at tmaceachran@yahoo.com.

How Well Do You Know Mercy?

A new page has been added to Mercy's web site. Test your knowledge of Mercy History and Traditions.

Pal Pic

Barbara Morrow Bittenbender ’61 and Mary Ann Rosswurm Ray ’61 each traveled to Michigan for their 50-year Class Reunion in September. A tour of Mercy was one of the highlights of their weekend. Mary Ann commented, "We used to lovingly call our uniforms 'unibags,' so the laundry bag is appropriate garb." Thank you, Barbara and Mary Ann, for visiting Mercy!

Alumnae Association is Here to Serve

The mission of the Mercy High School Alumnae Association is to bring together Mercy students, past and present, while striving to:

• Support and affirm the mission statement of Mercy High School, including its values of human dignity, mercy, justice, service, and option for the poor
• Participate in ongoing advancement efforts which provide financial support to Mercy High School
• Support the challenges of preparing young women for critical roles in contemporary society
• Recognize the achievements of Mercy students, past and present
• Create settings for the exchange of ideas and information among past and present Mercy students

Update Your Information

To make changes to your name, mailing address, or email address, or to submit information to be included in MOSAIC, click here.

Your Giving Story

Help a girl develop her faith, acquire leadership skills, and find her voice in an academically superior environment. Please consider making a donation to Mercy. Then share your giving story using this link. Your gift always makes a difference.

Mercy High School Mission Statement

Mercy High School, a Catholic college preparatory school for young women, fosters spiritual, intellectual, moral, physical and cultural development. Enriched by students from diverse backgrounds, Mercy nurtures compassionate leaders committed to addressing human needs, working for justice, and serving the poor.

Mercy High School - Women Who Make a Difference

Fan Mercy on Facebook!	Follow Mercy on Twitter!	Read Mercy on newsprintnow.net!	Watch Mercy on YouTube!