Honors Convocation

Sr. Emily George Award ~ Sarah HoffmanScholarship. Leadership. Service. Character. Excellence. The entire Mercy school community convened on May 22nd for the annual HONORS CONVOCATION to recognize all the stellar students of 2014. From math and science, service and scholarships, Newsprint and Lore yearbook, all were honored for their awesome achievements and a standing ovation to the seniors for a fabulous four years. Visit these links to see the full list of student awards: grades 9 - 11 and grade 12.

• Principal's Leadership Award ~ Bridget Carlson
• Garn Griffin Athletics Award ~ Sam Bauer and Jordan Ewald
• Salutatorians ~ Anjali Alangaden and Lindsay Hiser
• Valedictorian ~ Teagan Dillon
• Teacher of the Year ~ Mrs. Eleasha Mercer Tarplin ’94

Read the best of this year's Art and Poetry compilation IMAGE IS 2014.

Catholic League School of the Year

Mercy has been named Detroit Catholic League Hall of Fame School of the Year! The James Leary School of the Year Award was created in 1980 in honor of the late coach and athletic director at the University of Detroit High School. This award is presented annually to the Catholic League school that best exemplifies spirit, sportsmanship and cooperation.

Valedictorian and Salutatorian

CONGRATULATIONS to Valedictorian Teagan Dillon and Salutatorians Anjali Alangaden and Lindsay Hiser who will take the stage to speak at graduation. This distinction considers not only academic record but also leadership, service, and extracurricular involvement. Staff and the senior class provided valuable input and each candidate responded to a series of questions and was interviewed by members of Administration. The Mercy Administrative Team will be holding a Catherine McAuley Tea celebration in honor of all the finalists on May 2. Hats off to the following seniors who were selected as Valedictorian and Salutatorian Finalists: Anjali Alangaden; Katharine Baird; Alycia Bellino; Teagan Dillon; Mackenzie Elkow; Jordan Ewald; Christa Greenwood; Lindsay Hiser; Sarah Hoffman; Sarah Kane; Sara Makki; Kara Peltola; Lena Pivetta; Gina Ruggirello; Melissa Schneider; Patricia Wallace.

Outstanding poets in the Farmington Libraries Poetry Writing Contest! Congratulations to Lainey Gossett whose writing won her first place and Christine Edwards whose writing merited her second place. Both of these girls will receive cash prizes rom the Farmington Libraries Poetry Writing Contest and both will read from their work at the downtown library later this month.

Freshman Katherine Colleran ’17 received a Perfect Score on the National Latin Exam. She is one of only eight students in the state of Michigan to receive this honor. This is a particularly outstanding accomplishment for a freshman. Congratulations, Katherine!Newsprint's editor-in-chief, Anjali Alangaden is this year's Detroit News /CATCH scholarship winner in the journalism category! Anjali will be attending the University of Michigan in the fall.

Heart of Mercy

Congratulations to the 2014 Heart of Mercy honorees Mrs. Kathy Sill, Kelsie Arlin '14 and Sr. Marianne Bennett.

Mercy Named Apple Distinguished School

Mercy High School is pleased to announce that we have been recognized as an Apple Distinguished School for 2013 to 2015 for our integration of technology across the curriculum and school life. The Apple Distinguished School designation is reserved for programs that meet criteria for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence, and demonstrate a clear and consistent vision of exemplary learning environments.

National Merit

Congratulations to National Merit Scholarship Finalists Cassidy Connolly and Alise Wenner and National Achievement Scholarship Finalists Jasmine Hunt and Tyler Parlor.

National Scholastic Art Award Katherine Chmielewski '14 won a National Scholastic Art Award SILVER MEDAL. Her winning piece was created in Drawing 2 class as a junior. Another Mercy student, Hayley Caddell, was the model. The 2014 Scholastic Art Competition received approximately 255,000 submissions in 28 categories and only 1% received national recognition. Wow, Katherine!Optimist Leadership Award - Taylor Babcock '15 won the Farmington/Farmington Hills Optimist Leadership Award. This award recognizes a junior from each of the 5 area high schools who have demonstrated leadership skills and human relationship development.

Orchestra - Congrats to Elise Scarchilli, Lydia Gier, Katy Schubert, Kaela Brown, Sarah Maxey, Nia Boone and Theresa Walle who participated at the State Solo and Ensemble Festival and all received Division II medals for their ensembles. Theresa Walle received a I on her cello solo and received a Proficiency Award of 95 for her performance.

ART AWARDS - Congratulations to the following Mercy students who won awards in the 2014 High School Art Competition sponsored by the Farmington Area Arts Commission. Winning artworks will be displayed in a special exhibition at the Festival of the Arts (May 1 - 3). Awards will be presented on Thursday, May 1, at the Costick Center, beginning at 6:30 PM. Winners (or a representative) are required to be present to receive awards. Their families, friends, teachers and administrators are invited to attend the award ceremony.

• Photography Category
  • 1st Place - $100 - Marisa Siwicki - Juxtaposed Photo Montage
  • 3rd Place - $50 - Hannah Newton - Juxtaposed Photo Montage
  • Honorable Mention - $25 - Karina Lloyd - Horse Photo with Purple Bridle
• 2-D Category
  • Honorable Mention - $25 - Kate Anderson - Self-Portrait Collage
  • Honorable Mention - $25 - Christina Gee - Charcoal 3-Quarter Portrait Drawing
• 3-D Category
  • 2nd Place - $75 - Katherine Chmielewski - Cuff Bracelet

Powerful Poetry - Congratulations to Creative Communications Poetry Contest winners Katie Baird, Alycia Bellino, Paige Roberts and Kristin Swad. Kara Peltola, Jessica Rieckhoff, Gina Rugirello, Tori Sullivan and Patti Wallace were selected as 2014 Michigan Youth Arts Festival Creative Writing Scholars. Of the 34 Creative Writing MYAF Student Scholars, Mercy has 5 of them!

Thanks for visiting, Archbishop Vigneron!

Mercy was blessed to have Archbishop Vigneron celebrate Mass with the Mercy Community last month. He spoke to the Class of 2014 and is pictured above with some of the seniors. He also toured the building and had lunch with the Youth Mercy Associates.

Scholastic Art Awards

Special congratulations to Katherine Chmielewski. Her portfolio made finalist status and will compete in New York City for talent scholarships. Kate Anderson, Katherine Chmielewski, and Katelyn Halash also won six gold keys (first place) in the individual mixed media, fashion, drawing and painting contests. Their pieces will also compete in New York for national awards.Congratulations to the 16 students from Mercy’s Art Department who won 27 awards in this year’s Regional Scholastic Art Awards competition.

The College for Creative Studies sponsors the Southeastern Michigan Art Region, which, this year, received over 5,500 works of art and 291 portfolios from students in Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties. Jurors selected 302 Gold Keys, 375 Silver Keys and 426 Honorable Mentions. Ninety Gold Key Portfolios were selected from 291 submitted, seven were selected “Best of Show” and five Gold Key works were selected as American Vision Nominees. All Gold Key work will be judged at the national level in March. The national ceremony will be on June 6 at Carnegie Hall and will also be live-streamed for students and teachers who are unable to attend.

Regional winning entries will be on display in the exhibit at the College for Creative Studies, Walter B. Ford II Building from Monday, February 10 – Friday, March 7. Hours: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm Monday –Friday, noon – 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday. The regional ceremony for Oakland County schools will Tuesday, February 11, 2014, at 7:00 p.m. in the Detroit Film Theater of the Detroit Institute of Arts. To see a list of all winners, click here: Lists of winners. Make sure to scroll down and click on "2014 Winners" in Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe, Oakland, Washtenaw and Wayne Counties.

Honor Roll - Click here to view the fall 2013 semester honor roll.

Business Professionals of America

The following students received awards:Mercy's chapter of Business Professionals of America competed against other area schools at the Region 6 Regional Leadership Conference on January 10 at Henry Ford Community College. Of the 27 girls who competed, 8 finished in the top 6 in their event and are eligible to compete at the State Leadership Conference on March 20-23 in Grand Rapids.

Youth Mercy Associates

The Youth Mercy Associate program was originally formed in England in March of 2000 by Sr. Teresa McCarthy, RSM and Sr. Patricia Bell, RSM. In December of 2012, Pastoral Minister and Mercy Associate Judi Griggs-Dennis introduced the program in the U.S. and the Mercy Charter Chapter began work shortly thereafter. During Foundation Day Mass held last week, 17 Mercy girls made their commitment as Charter Members of the Youth Mercy Associates of the Americas. Congratulations to Lauren Battle, Rachel Belans, Mikayla Benton, Teagan Dillon, Mackenzie Elkow, Kelly Eusebi, Madison Flyte, Meaghan Fortney, Lana Grasser, Sydney Hembree, Lindsay Hiser, Elizabeth Lilley, Molly Murphy, Alexis Ponder, Amy Vlachos, Theresa Walle and Emily Wolffe.

Lore to be featured in national curriculum: The Lore staff was recently notified that seven of their photos will be featured in the journalism curriculum being developed by the Journalism Education Association. Journalism staffs were contacted for photography and writing submissions to accompany lessons and units in the curriculum. The curriculum will serve as a teaching and resource tool for journalism classes as well as newspaper and yearbook staffs The JEA is the largest scholastic journalism association for educators.

Congratulations Sammy Kleedtke '17 and Caitie Baron '17 who were selected to represent the U.S. Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (ODP) Region II team in the girls Thanksgiving Interregional soccer event held in Boca Raton, Florida last month. They made it through various state association and regional level evaluations to be selected from over 500 girls! Their Region II team was comprised of 18 elite soccer players born in 1999 selected from 14 different Midwest states. They spent the week in Florida training with their team and playing games against the other regional teams from the east coast, west coast and southern states. They played in front of national staff and collegiate coaches in hopes of maximizing their exposure for selection to the next level of play, which would be the U.S. Youth Soccer National Team.

Congratulations to Danielle Thomas '17 who competed in Novice Ice Dancing with her partner Alexander Martin at the Pikes Peak Classic Ice Dancing Championships in Colorado Springs held September 20 - 22. Their Free Dance program "My Fair Lady" took 1st place and won the Oscar Lobst Memorial Trophy for best performance at Juvenile, Intermediate and Novice levels.

WOW! Danielle Thomas '17 competed in Novice Ice Dancing with her partner Alexander Martin and took 1st place at the U.S. Midwestern Sectionals. This qualifies them to compete at the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships in Boston held January 5-12!

Ms. Kathy Kitzmann receives the 2014 James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching

Congratulations to science teacher Kathy Kitzmann who received the 2014 American Chemical Society National James Bryant Conant Award in High School Chemistry Teaching. This award of the American Chemical Society is intended to recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding teachers of high school chemistry in the United States, its possessions or territories, at the national level. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. sponsors the award, which consists of $5,000 and a certificate. She will travel to the national ACS meeting (in Dallas, TX in March 2014) at which the award is presented. A certificate will also be provided to the school for display. Ms. Kitzmann was nominated by colleague, Mrs. Lisa Schrimscher, with letters of support from Mr. Timothy Fino (science fair associate) and Mrs. Colleen Rozman (assistant principal). There have been 42 Conant winners since 1973 and there are an estimated 35, 000- 40,000 chemistry teachers in the U.S. It is quite an honor! (Lisa Schrimscher and Kathy Kitzmann pictured above.)

National Merit Scholarship Students 2014

National Merit Semifinalists

Cassidy Connolly and Alise Wenner were named Semifinalists in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Competition. These academically talented seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth about $35 million which will be offered in the spring. To become a Finalist, a Semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record throughout high school, be endorsed and recommended by the high school principal, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student's earlier performance on the qualifying test. National Merit Scholarship winners of 2014 will be announced in the spring. About 90 percent of the Semifinalists are expected to attain Finalist standing, and more than half of the Finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.

National Achievement Semifinalists

Jasmine Hunt and Tyler Parlor were named Semifinalists in the 2014 National Achievement Scholarship Program. More than 1,600 Black American high school seniors have been designated semifinalists in the 50th annual NASP. These scholastically talented women now have an opportunity to continue in the competition for approximately 800 awards.

National Merit Commended Students

Anjali Alangaden, Alicia Finnorn and Lena Pivetta have been named Commended Students in the 2014 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2014 competition by taking the 2012 PSAT.

Congratulations to Emma Feeheley who won 1st Runner up in the July 2013 Miss Farmington Pageant and is now a member of the 2014 Miss Farmington Court. She also won the Mayor's Essay Award, entitled "Issues and Realities Affecting Today's Teens." Photo by Carsten Photography

AP Exams 2013

The following Class of 2013 students received the following designation from taking AP Exams last spring:

• AP Scholar (scored 3 or higher on three or more AP Exams):
  • Emily Aaron
  • Katie Coerdt
  • Tonia Elengikal
  • Erin Eusebi
  • Katherine Horn
  • Rachel Kullen
  • Isabelle Larson
  • Stephanie Luther
  • Monica Mackie
  • Alexandra Mattingly
  • Victoria Noble
  • Jacquelyn Phillips
  • Margaret Reaume
  • Maria Walawender
• AP Scholar with Honor (scored avg. of 3.25 on all AP Exams and 3 or higher on four or more exams):
  • Catherine Denton
  • Erin Hand
  • Qingya Liu
• AP Scholar with Distinction (scored avg. of 3.5 on all AP Exams and 3 or higher on five or more exams):
  • Gabriella Diagostini
  • Christina Hadley

Mrs. Jan Mordenski Poem Published

A poem by English teacher, Jan Mordenski, "Viaticum," was published in MUSE, the literary journal of Madonna University. This particular poem is one from a series entitled POSTCARDS HOME, an array of poems about people and places in Ireland.