November 2014

Thanks to a generous grant from Dignity Health, the Architects of Peace project is being exhibited at Mercy High School, San Francisco. The photo exhibit - in the form of banners posted outside the main entrance, fine arts courtyard, and in the McAuley Pavilion rotunda - features portraits of and quotes from peacemakers around the globe who seek to bring about a more just and peaceful world. Mercy High School will host a community event with the preeminent portrait photographer and founder of Architects of Peace, Michael Collopy. The community event will be on Sunday, January 25, 2015 at 3:30 pm. Details of this event will be sent in December.

We are most grateful to Dignity Health and Michael Collopy for their efforts in making the Architects of Peace exhibit a reality on our campus. We also extend our appreciation to Sr. Judy Carle '58 and Bernita McTernan '64, who each played an important role in helping us secure this wonderful addition to the school.

Sincerely,

Dorothy J. McCrea, Ed.D.

Principal, Mercy High School

3250 Nineteenth Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94132
415.334.9932

In This Issue

Alumnae

Announcements

School News

Upcoming Events

Alumnae

MERCY ALUMNAE AT AN IMPROMPTU FIL-AM REUNION

Mercy Alumnae at Fil-Am Friendship Games

L to R: Courtney Dea, Jazmin Picazo, Alessandra Fernando, Brittney Tabel, Corinna Villar, Kathryn DeRoma (Class of 2013)

Members of the Class of 2013 found themselves having an impromptu reunion while participating in the Friendship Games at California State University, Fullerton. The Friendship Games is one of the largest student-run events to celebrate Filipino-American culture and includes competitions, picnic games, and performances. With over 40 different colleges represented and 6,000 attendees, it is amazing that these Mercy girls found each other. Brittney Tabel noted, "It was really fun, but what made it even cooler is that I ran into so many Mercy alums! It's been forever since I've seen most of them but the Circle of Mercy is timeless!"

RECONNECT: 2014/2015 Reunions and Events

Women's Leadership Conference (Formerly known as "Career Day")

Friday, February 27, 2015 | 9:00 am to 2:00 pm | Rist Hall

Keynote Speakers: Lourdes Libre '01, Pharm.D.,BCPS and Patricia Ziegler '67 (Founder of Banana Republic, Writer and Entrepreneur)

Inspire the young women of Mercy High School to seek their highest level of development by providing information, perspectives and strategies. Impart your wisdom, share resources and possible professional paths, and help empower them to Dare to Dream!

We are in process of planning the 2015 Women's Leadership Conference (formerly known as Career Day). The day is designed to celebrate and showcase alumnae and friends of Mercy who are "making a difference" in their communities and beyond.

The conference format includes keynote speeches, panel discussions, and dynamic, interactive classroom presentations in all fields of professional expertise. Luncheon hosted by the Office of Advancement and Alumnae Relations.

If you or a colleague would like to participate, please complete the participation form.

For any questions, please call Audrey Magnusen at 415.337.7218 or email [email protected].

All School Reunion

Saturday, May 2, 2015 | 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm | McAuley Pavilion

All Classes are welcome | Wine and Hors d'oeuvres Reception | Full Access to Mercy High School for school tours.

Would you be able to serve as a Class Coordinator for this event? This person works in conjunction with our Advancement office to invite all members of your class to attend and helps plan additional activities for the class (if so desired). If you would be willing to serve as the Class Coordinator for your class, or know of someone who would take on this function, please contact Audrey Magnusen, Director of Advancement and Alumnae Relations (415) 337-7218 [email protected].

Class of 1965 50 Year Golden Diploma Reunion

We need your help to join the fun and festivities to honor this special reunion.

Date: TBD

Location: Mercy High School, San Francisco

Coordinator(s): TBD

Please help us find your classmates.

Email any information you may have to [email protected]

Please take a moment to Update Your Contact Info
.

For more information or if you are interested in organizing your class reunion, please email Audrey Magnusen or call her at the Alumnae Relations office 415-337-7218.

	Announcements

	Save the Date: Celebrate International Women's Day at Mercy! Mercy High School is pleased to present the one-woman show "Etty," based on the writings of Etty Hillesum, a 27-year old Jewish woman studying in Amsterdam at the time of the Nazi occupation. Both her diary--published posthumously as An Interrupted Life--and her letters from Westerbork transit camp offer a moving portrait of Hillesum's struggle to live with integrity in a challenging historical era. The play, written and performed by Susan Stein, has been internationally acclaimed as a powerful opportunity to consider the historical reality of the Holocaust, as well as its contemporary implications, through the eloquent voice of a young woman. The entire school community will study Hillesum's writings in the spring semester and view the play during a special assembly. The 3:00 pm performance on Sunday, March 8, 2015 is open to all alumnae, parents, and friends of Mercy, with voluntary donations gratefully accepted. For further information or reservations, please contact Teresa Abney at 415-334-0525, extension 242. Ireland 2015 Current Mercy students are invited on the Pilgrimage and Conference for Young Mercy Leaders from July 7-18, 2015. Ms. Desimone and Mr. Pease will be the leaders of this experience. Students will have an opportunity to tour Ireland and attend a Young Mercy Leaders Conference with Mercy students from around the world. Cost of $4099 includes: Ten (10) nights accommodations at 3 star hotels or student housing: 1 night in Galway; 3 nights in Sneem; 6 nights in Dublin Ten (10) continental breakfasts Seven (7) dinners, including special Welcome and Farewell Dinners Luxury motor coach for airport transfers in Ireland, specified sightseeing and one (1) round-trip transfer per day during the conference in Dublin Tour of the House of Mercy at Baggot Street in Dublin Storyteller Batt Burns as your tour escort and guide in Ireland Sightseeing and entrance fees in Ireland Special Community Service project in Sneem Hotel taxes Round trip scheduled commercial air from San Francisco to Dublin Support Mercy High School Let's GIVE before #Giving Tuesday, December 2, 2014, a global day dedicated to giving back! Our young women are becoming leaders in their community and are graduating with confidence, more focused and more apt to take on challenges. The collective support of alumnae, parents and friends has generated much-needed funds for some of the Mercy's most critical needs: financial aid, campus maintenance and improvements, and vital academic programs. We are asking you now to consider a gift this year. It doesn't take a large donation to have a big impact. Gifts to Mercy's Annual Fund, whether $25 or $2,500, create one of the school's most significant sources of support. Our Annual Fund gifts are unrestricted, therefore they can be directed to areas with the greatest need - and have the greatest potential for impact. Click here to make a donation. Support the Parent Giving Campaign Support Mercy High School's campaign to replace all the existing seats in the theatre. Our goal is for 100% parent participation with a one-time payment of $200 or 8 payments of $25.00 a month. Payments can be made online at www.mercyhs.org. For questions, contact Carole Touye at 415.334-0525 ext. 233 or [email protected]. Ring in the holiday season with some of the most loved Christmas classics of all time performed by the Mercy High School Show Choir *Dolce. Pre-order your own Sounds of Christmas* holiday CD today on sale for $15. For information and to place an order, please call music director Laura Flaviani (415-386-2722), and an order form will be sent to you. The Technology Department recycles used cell phones, laser toner and inkjet cartridges throughout the school year. Please have students drop off items in the Computer Lab, room 319. Proceeds will be used for the 14th Annual WAVTEC (Technology Club) Raffle on Spring Day (May 1st). Help us make the Spring Day raffle a huge success. From the Business Office: It is now time to file for tuition assistance for the 2015-2016 school term. Please go to the Mercy website www.mercyhs.org and under the Parent link - choose Tuition Assistance. Please review the page and hit the red TADS link to apply. Please file sooner than later so the committee can review your completed application. If you have any questions, please contact Lorelei Zermani at [email protected].

School News

WOMEN IN THE ARTS (WITA) ENJOY ARTISTS' WORKSHOPS

Juliana Block in Photoshop Workshop

This semester, the students in the WITA program have participated in workshops taught by different artists, which will enhance their artistic education. Ceramic artist, Lynn Wood, shared her knowledge of clay and directed students in creating two texture projects. A mixed media painting workshop that incorporated paint and a variety of text was taught by retired visual arts teacher, Pauline Scott. The Photoshop class was given by Jennifer Keith, who is the co-owner of Sheridon Keith Design & Photography, and gave the students the opportunity to create a digital image using simple Photoshop components. Students are currently working with WITA alumna, Jenni Riccetti '12, on decorating canvas and learning how to use a sewing machine to make a zipped pencil bag.

Photo: Juliana Block '17 in a Photoshop workshop

JUNIORS VISIT COLLEGES IN BOSTON

Emily Cano '16, Tyler Racklin '16, Alicia Lopez '16, Georgina Duenas '16, Esther Lee '14 and Jocelyn Ho '16 at Babson College

Mercy Achieve Program juniors, along with students from Archbishop Riordan High School and Holy Names High School, Oakland, participated in a college trip to Boston in October. The highlight of the trip was visiting with some recent Mercy graduates: Hai Lun Tan '14 at Wesleyan in Connecticut, Tiffany Li '12 and Christina Li '13 at Mt. Holyoke, and Esther Lee '14, who is studying women's entrepreneurship at Babson College. They also toured Harvard, Smith, Wellesley, and Amherst, giving them a taste of going to college in New England.

HONORS BIOLOGY CLASS SHOWCASES THEIR CREATIVITY

Kaitlyn Ip "18, Katie Woods '18 and Brianna Remo "18

Ms. Melissa Wong's Honors Biology class, made up of freshmen and sophomores, created
3-D models of animal and plant cells. They were asked to label all the organelles and were free to make them edible or not.

THE LIBRARY CELEBRATES BANNED BOOK WEEK!

Every year, libraries, publishers, authors and bookstores nationwide celebrate our freedom to read during Banned Books Week.NBy highlighting books that have been banned or challenged, we remind ourselves of the dangers of censorship, which continues across the country and the state. Banned and challenged books range from picture books to popular fiction to classic novels often taught in schools. To Kill a Mockingbird has been called "a filthy, trashy novel" containing profanity and racial slurs; Harry Potter "a masterpiece of Satanic Deception", and Catcher in the Rye has been called as both "anti-white and obscene" and "blasphemous and undermining morality". The Mercy Library's Banned Book Week display included these and many other banned books in our library "jail cell."

NEW FRESHMAN WORKSHOP INTRODUCED TO MERCY

Every year in mid-October, Mercy administers standardized tests to each grade level. This year the Counseling Department inaugurated the Freshman Workshop. It was a valuable exercise for both freshmen and counselors and allowed students to share their goals and motivations regarding academics, as well as challenges they have faced in their transition to high school. In small groups they discussed daily distractions and obstacles to being a successful student. Each group charted their comments as other groups then notated their advice and possible solutions. Not surprisingly, social networking and time management were identified as major concerns for most students.

Students then participated in role-playing scenarios about how to respond in personal and social situations, allowing them to see things from multiple perspectives. The session ended with several presentations regarding organizational techniques, how to best utilize their planners, RenWeb, the difference between paraphrasing and plagiarizing, and encouraging the freshmen to attend after-school study labs and using their free periods wisely.