Welcome to Frosh Family Focus, a go-to guide for helping to navigate your daughter’s first year at Mercy. This newsletter will feature a variety of topics, fun facts and tips to keep you informed. You'll also learn about the cherished customs that make our beloved Mercy unique. We're excited to connect with you during this important Freshwoman year!

COUNSELING CORNER

Remind Invite: The Counseling Department invites you to sign-up for our Class of 2029 Parent/Guardian Remind app to get info about upcoming events and deadlines for your Marlin! Learn more here.

Meet the Counselors: Counselors visited 9th Grade World History classes to introduce students to the Counseling Department offerings. Check out what we shared with them in the presentation here.

Individual Meetings: Starting the week of September 15, counselors will begin one-on-one “get to know you” meetings with 9th grade students to learn more about them and help build connections.

Conversation Starters: Learn more about your daughter’s start to the new school year with some of these questions - How have you been spending your unscheduled time? What class feels the most interesting to you right now and why? Which class feels the most challenging, and is there anything I can do to support you? Have you met anyone new that you would like to hang out with? What are you looking forward to trying this year outside of class? Is there anything that surprised you about high school so far? Inquire about her recent Link Crew Meet-Up as well as which Club she joined after attending Club Expo. 

NHS Tutoring: If your student would like additional support in a class, she can request subject-specific help from an NHS tutor. The NHS Tutoring Request Form is available in Schoology under the course titled “NHS Tutoring.” On the information page click the link labeled “NHS Tutoring Request.” The form is also linked here.

Counseling Office Staff

Holly Markiecki-Bennetts (hbennetts@mhsmi.org): Last name A-E 

Arpna Hessler (abhessler@mhsmi.org): Last name F-N 

Kristen Casey (kkcasey@mhsmi.org): Last name O-Z 

Tosha Willis (twillis@mhsmi.org): Support Specialist

DID YOU KNOW?

Fun Sock Friday: Every Friday students are allowed to wear creative patterned or multi-colored socks along with their uniform.

Monthly Spirit Attire Day: The first Friday of each month is Mercy Spirit Attire Day. Along with the uniform skirt, students will be permitted to wear any Mercy shirt, be it for a club, team, organization, class, or activity. Mercy accessories (hats, scarves, etc...) are allowed. Students must be in uniform on the bottom (skirt, leg wear, shoes). An alternate date will be selected if there is no school on the first Friday of the month.

Attendance: You can email attendance@mhsmi.org with your student absence notifications. For your convenience, this can be done ahead of time if you are aware of a pre-arranged absence for your daughter. The full attendance policy is in the Student & Family handbook here.

Cafeteria

Mercy utilizes My MealTime Cafe Cashless Payment System, for making credit or debit card deposits and monitoring your student's Cafe account. General details about the Mercy Cafe, daily schedule, menu, rules and more are available here. Questions? Contact Cafeteria Director Anne Hallberg at 248-893-3536 or amhallberg@mhsmi.org.

School Life Calendar: The School Life Calendar is a Google Calendar on our website at mhsmi.org/calendar. Be sure to click "More" to see all the events for the day and click on the '"Event" for details. The "Description" box will give more info and "Attachment" will give a specific schedule if needed. There are printable pages of important dates here.

Maroon & Gold Raffle Family Fundraiser: All Mercy families participate in our annual Fall fundraiser by selling raffle tickets to benefit the General Fund at Mercy, which supports curriculum enhancements, facility upgrades and technology updates. This year's raffle runs October 24 to November 7. Watch your inbox! A detailed email with raffle instructions will be sent to all families as we get closer to the big day.

LINK CREW

What is Link Crew?: Link Leaders are Juniors and Seniors partnered up and assigned a Crew of Freshwomen to get to know and befriend. Link Leaders are the principal piece to our Freshwoman Welcome Day, help teach our 9th graders about Mercy culture and host social events. The relationships between Crews continue throughout the entire school year. The overall goal of Mercy Link Crew is to establish awareness and social safety for our 9th graders. Learn more about this national program here.

Frosh Welcome Day: Link Crew helped welcome the Class of 2029 for an unforgettable day filled with spirit and sisterhood. Watch video highlights here and view the photo gallery here.

Monthly Meet Up: Mercy Link Leaders connect with their Crew each month during our monthly meet up Adviser Group time. This time is often used for academic follow ups where our leaders touch base with the 9th graders on topics to help them become successful high school students. These meetings also include bonding activities and socialization for each Crew.

Link Lessons: Academic follow-ups, known as Link Lessons and led by our trained Link Leaders, support 9th graders in both academic growth and character development as they transition to high school. In these fun lessons, our leaders teach important skills for success in school and personal growth. Space is limited, and prior sign-up here is requested. On each date, the same lesson will be presented before and after school to accommodate busy schedules. No need to sign-up for both on the same day. Sign-up for your favorites, or come to all seven - we’d love to see our crewbies grow!

Save the Date for Social Events: Link Crew will host fun-filled 9th Grade social activities during and after school. More event details will be sent to your Frosh. Here’s what’s coming up this semester…

• Pumpkin Painting, Cider & Donuts on Friday, September 26
• Fall Fun on Wednesday, November 5
• Cocoa & Cram for Finals on Thursday, December 11 

MERCY TRADITIONS

Spirit Week: Our Mercy community is filled with excitement as we celebrate Spirit Week October 13 - 17, a beloved tradition led by our Student Government. The week is filled with fun and Marlin pride: from themed dress-up days and colorful alcove decorating, to field day games and class competitions. Students also come together for Make a Difference 365, living out our Mercy mission through service in Adviser Groups. The celebration concludes with our memorable Homecoming Dance on October 19. Students are encouraged to stay connected to email, listen to announcements and check the hallway posters and monitors for everything they need to know for our spirited week.

Halloween Dress Up Day: Every year, both staff and students come together to embrace the spirit of the season by dressing up in their favorite costumes. The student-produced paper, Newsprint, hosts a fun and creative costume contest, so students can get ready to showcase their spookiest, silliest, and most imaginative outfits. Members of the International Thespian Society and Performing Arts Department transform the Drama Studio into an incredible Haunted House filled with spooky surprises and talented performers. Students can experience the chills and thrills during their unscheduled time from 2nd through 6th hours on Halloween. Mark your calendars and remind your daughter to come in her Halloween costume on Friday, October 31.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Mercy Day & Blessing of Student Leaders Mass: You're invited to our Mercy Day & Blessing of Student Leaders Mass on Wednesday, September 24 at 10:15am in the Auditorium.

Bunco Night Hosted by the Mothers’ Club: Mercy parents/guardians, staff, alumnae and friends of Mercy are invited for a fun-filled night of Bunco on Friday, September 26 at 6:30pm in the Mercy Cafeteria. Includes games, drinks, light refreshments and prizes. Register here.

Parent Teacher Conferences: Conferences will be held on Thursday, October 9 virtually over Google Meet from 1-3:30pm and 5:30-7:30pm. All parents will receive an email with a link to schedule time with respective teachers.

Celebrating 80 Years of Mercy Event for All: You're invited to join us as we honor 80 incredible years of Mercy with an unforgettable celebration on Saturday, October 18. Includes: Mix & Mingle; Mass with the Archbishop; Legacy of Mercy President’s Address; Dinner, Drinks & DJ Ticketed Event. Register here.

3rd Annual Powderpuff Football Game: Grab your family and friends for a Football Saturday at The Hawk on November 1 at 6:30pm as our Senior Class of 2026 takes on St. Catherine's. The student section will be filled with plenty of Mercy sisters cheering on our Marlins! Ticket info coming soon.

Compelled by our Catholic faith and the spirit of the Sisters of Mercy, Mercy High School is a premier college preparatory school that educates and nurtures young women of diverse backgrounds to excel academically, serve compassionately, and lead courageously.