Mercer Mailbox
Mercer Mailbox is a weekly publication of the Mercer PTO.  
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Mercer Weekly Calendar  
Upcoming Dates to Remember

Jan 23                   Winter Book Fair Reading Night, 6:30 p.m.
Jan 23-27              Winter Book Fair
Feb 1-19                Box Tops Spring Collection
Feb 1                     4th Grade Girls' Mixer, Woodbury, 6-7:30 p.m.
Feb 8                     4th Grade Boys' Mixer, Woodbury, 6-7:30 p.m.
Feb 10                   Staff Appreciation Breakfast, 8:15-9:30 a.m.
Feb 14                   Valentine's Day Activities, 2:15-3:15 p.m.
Feb 16, 17             No School, Conference Day, Professional Day
Feb 17                   Father (male caregiver) Daughter Dance, Shaker Middle School, 6-8 p.m.
Feb 20                   No School, President's Day

Visit the  Online Calendar  and filter by Mercer for more upcoming events.
From Mr. Florence
The Holiday of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King will be observed this coming Monday, January 15th. School will resume on Tuesday, January 16th. Dr. King exhibited a number of the International Baccalaureate Attitudes and Attributes we all strive to display each day. He believed in non-violence, tolerance, Christianity, commitment and integrity, racial justice, empathy and respect. Information regarding how Shaker Heights City Schools will honor Dr. King can be found at Shaker.org and in this copy of the Mercer Mailbox.

Please remember if you are dropping your son or daughter off in the morning by car, they should be dropped off at door F. Door F is located on the Southwest side of the building. This location is safe and allows easy access to the building. Your cooperation in this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you. 


Florence_j@shaker.org
Mercer News
PTO Meeting, Wednesday, January 18 at 7 p.m. at the Innovative Center, Stephanie Tubbs Jones Building 3450 Lee Road 
Please join us for the January PTO meeting. Mr. Florence will begin the evening with a Mercer update. Meetings are open to all parents and guardians. We hope you will consider this opportunity to share your ideas and learn more about Mercer and our school community. Babysitting is available by reservation only. Contact Leslie Moore at  mercerptopres@gmail.com to reserve a spot or question.

PTO Did You Know? 
It is nearly time to begin working on next school year’s PTO roster. Many volunteers are needed to coordinate and organize all the wonderful PTO sponsored activities and events at Mercer. If you are interested in co-chairing an activity or event next school year or would like to learn more about executive board positions, please contact Leslie Moore ( mercerptopres@gmail.com)  

MERCER PTO VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Please consider offering your time as a Mercer volunteer - it is a great way to be part of something with your child/children in a way that works for you!  If you have not yet had the chance to see all of the volunteer opportunities, you can visit http://www.shaker.org/VolunteerOpportunities.aspx

Upcoming Volunteer Opportunities 1/9-19: Used Book Collection: Collect, count, and organize donated books (contact kmmoody@me.com or esh1634@gmail.com) 1/23-27: Winter Book Fair: Set up and/or help during class visits to the book fair to help children select books.  You can volunteer during your child's class visit. (Contact monicalisahulett@gmail.com or mmillet@jcu.edu). 2/10: Staff Appreciation Breakfast: Cooking/baking and/or set up (contact lipmanjs@gmail.com or amyluzar@gmail.com)  

Family Volunteering Opportunity - MLK Day (1/16/17) - REGISTER NOW
All Shaker families are invited to join Shaker PTO's Community Builders for a day of service to honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday 1/16/17 from 10am-12pm, at Shaker Heights High School. Students in grades K-4 and their families will be making fleece tie blankets for the homeless community in Northeast Ohio.  We are also excited to have Game On! Sports 4 Girls supporting this special event in leading all participants in a variety of team and community building activities. You will find them getting the kids active in the large auditorium. Join them when you are done making blankets. Go to https://goo.gl/forms/GQXA6H3BhoRJtqKb2 to register. Please contact Jen Bordeaux at jenjasko@hotmail.com or Hannah Mendelsohn at hbmendelsohn@icloud.com for more information or to volunteer.  

4 th Grade Photos Needed!
Calling all 4th grade parents! We are working on the memory book for the fourth graders and we need your help to gather candid shots of the students throughout their years at Mercer.  Please email photos to mercer4pictures@gmail.com and include names of students in the pictures, grade/year of the picture, and event. If the photos are hard copy send them to school in an envelope labeled "4th Grade Memory Book". Photos must be from Mercer or a Mercer event - close-up shots of faces work best in the yearbook collage format. To be included in the yearbook, photos must be received by January 27th. Please contact Jen Bordeaux at jenjasko@hotmail.com if you have questions.    


4th Graders Logo Design Contest  
Fourth graders, don't forget to submit your designs for the class t-shirt and yearbook cover! Designs should be submitted on a full page of plain white paper and include a tagline, graphic and IB attributes. More details can be found on the flyer sent home before winter break or email questions to Jen Bordeaux at  jenjasko@hotmail.com. Submissions are due by Jan. 24. Please include your name and class on BACK SIDE ONLY.  

The Used Book Fair and Scholastic Book is still collecting books through January 19. , We need your books for the Used Book Fair! 
Please send your gently-used age appropriate books for kids Kindergarten through 4th for the Used Book Fair, which starts January 23rd.  It would be great if kids could bring them in bags that we can use at the book fair for purchases.  Parents-you can bring in the books if you have more than your child can carry.  If you are not able to drop off the books yourself-you can contact Erica Harrington at  erica.harrington@gmail.com and she can workout a pick up .  Our Used Book fair ensures that EVERY child at Mercer goes home with multiple books.  To volunteer for the Used Book Fair or Scholastic Book Fair please contact kmmoody@ me.com or go to  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0d4cabab2da1fb6-scholastic/.  Here is the schedule of the classroom visits if you would like to volunteer at that time:

Tuesday 1/24                     
9:30-Campbell, 10-Leibovich, 10:30-Richards, 11-Schlein, 2-Martin, 2:30-Morris
Wednesday 1/25                
9:30-Hardimann, 10-Beney/Mulligan, 10:30-Feinstein, 11-Eakin, 2-Nosse,                                                 2:30-Gerstenberger
Thursday 1/26                     
9:30-Skandal, 10-Smith, 10:30-DiScenna, 11-Lesak, 2-Rose, 2:30-White  

Exhibition Mentor Meeting We are excited to begin work on this year's Exhibition process!  
Mercer's annual IB Exhibition will be on Wednesday, May 24, 2017 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. 
As an IB World School,  the culminating experience for our fourth graders each year is our PYP Exhibition.  Fourth graders, with the guidance of their mentors and teachers, carry out an extended, in-depth, collaborative project known as the PYP Exhibition.  Students work collaboratively in small groups to conduct an in-depth inquiry into real life issues or problems. Mentors are a critical part of this learning journey.

To learn more about Exhibition at Mercer, go to http://www.shaker.org/Exhibition1.aspx to visit the IB Exhibition Tab on Mercer's website.  It contains a description of exhibition, videos, and mentor updates on the process .

If you are interested in volunteering as a mentor for this year's Exhibition please review the volunteer time options at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vibh2P77OoFoUOS94YDk5ixrIwLZpv52INNtXkIa8gs/edit .

Please join us on  January 25  from 3:45-4:30 in the Mercer Library to find out more about this opportunity to support our Mercer Fourth Graders in a very meaningful way. We hope to see you on the 25th! - The Fourth Grade Teachers: Maria Baker, IB Coordinator/Enrichment Teacher  

Box Tops Spring Collection is Coming! This fall, Mercer earned $450.00 in our Box Tops for Education drive.  Let’s keep earning during this spring’s drive which will take place February  1-19. A collection sheet will come home via backpack mail at the end of January; you can use this or just send in your clips with your student. For a list of participating products: http://tinyurl.com/jrvreun.  



Mercer Mailbox is a publication of Mercer Elementary. The submission deadline is Noon Wednesday to Sharon Galin at shappys@aol.com .

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