MOUNT MERCY ACADEMY June 2010 NewsletterJune 2010 NewsletterJune 2010 NewsletterJune 2010 Newsletter

VOLUME 7, ISSUE 71VOLUME 7, ISSUE 71VOLUME 7, ISSUE 71VOLUME 7, ISSUE 71

S P E C I A L P O I N T S S P E C I A L P O I N T S S P E C I A L P O I N T S S P E C I A L P O I N T S

O F I N T E R E S T :O F I N T E R E S T :O F I N T E R E S T :O F I N T E R E S T :

♦ June 6: 1:00 p.m. Graduation

at Kleinhan’s Music Hall

♦ June 11: 10:15 AM 4th Quarter

Honors Assembly— Junior

Awards Reception

♦ June 14: Last Day of Classes

♦ June 15-23: Regents Exams–

See Schedule Inside

A Message from our Principal

June, 2010 Dear Parents and Guardians,

Very soon we will be saying good-bye to the Class of 2010 and moving on to final exams for the remainder of our students. This is a very cru-cial time of the year. As the weather gets nicer, the temptation to relax and enjoy the sun becomes very great. However, hopefully we can delay that relaxation for just a little while.

Over the next few weeks our hard-working teachers will be offering re-view classes. This is the time for our students to redouble their efforts and take advantage of all of the opportunities that are offered. Just a few more weeks of hard work will pay off in a summer where they truly can relax and pursue typical summertime activities. Please have your daughter check Edline and with her teachers regarding review classes. This newsletter will also contain information regarding review and ex-ams. We also would like you to encourage them to do their very best on the finals and not just be satisfied with merely passing. Our stu-dents are capable of great things and we know you support them in their efforts.

I would like to offer my congratulations to all of the parents, guardians and families of the Class of 2010. They are a wonderful group of young women and have been a pleasure to work with during the 2009-2010 school year. We hope that you all stay in touch and let our Alumnae Director know all about your daughter’s achievements as she navigates her college years. Thank you for all the support you have given Mount Mercy Academy the last four years and thank you for the opportunity to educate your daughter in the Mercy tradition.

God Bless and enjoy a wonderful summer! Sincerely, Paulette Gaske Principal

Below; Chelsea Ulrich, Karen Straub and Veron-ica Staub smile before the MMA Class of 2010 Baccalaureate Mass and Award Ceremony OLV Basilica on May 20th.

MMA PHOTO ALBUM Junior/Senior Prom 2010!

Senior Mara Kline and Date are crowned Prom Queen and King!

Beautiful smiles from beautiful MMA Juniors Carly, Amanda, Stephanie

and Nicole

Sweet and stylish! Enjoying Prom are Susan, Molly, Catherine, KC and Stephanie

MOUNT MERCY ACADEMY HOLDS BACCALAUREATE CEREMONY

A Baccalaureate Mass was held at Our Lady of Victory Basilica on Thursday evening, May 20, 2010 for the Mount Mercy Academy graduating Class of 2010. The celebratory Mass was officiated by Rev. Bill Bigelow, OFM, Pastor of St. Mary of the Lake Parish, Hamburg.

Family, friends and attendees were welcomed by MMA Senior Alexis Martinez. A com-munion reflection was offered by Senior Class President Maggie Higgins. Music Director Mr. Fred Kirisits lead the Mount Mercy Women’s Choir in providing the music for the Mass, after which the distribution of awards took place.

Mrs. Paulette Gaske, MMA Principal, presented awards to students. The graduating seniors were recognized for scholarships and merit based awards totaling over $6.1 million. Awards were presented to Senior Class Officers: Meghan McCormick– President, Katherine Pur-cell– Vice President, Emily Piegay– Secretary, and Alana Stempien–Treasurer.

Awards for Excellence in the disciplines were presented as follows: English Department Award: Emilie Miazga.

For appreciation for History and the Social Sciences: Katherine Purcell, Alana Stempien, Stepha-nie Klajbor, Mary Gangloff, Rachel Schroeder Award for Advanced Placement Psychology to: Elizabeth Sikora Math Achievement Award: Alana Stempien Science Department Living Environment Award: Katherine Purcell Science Department Award in Physics: Sarah Bevilacqua Science Department Earth Science Award: Emily Piegay Science Department Chemistry Award: Molly Lyn Walsh Excellence in Science: Alana Stempien The Excellence in French Award: Shannon Kulbacki, Melinda Alisch Special French IV awards: Alena Musso, Rachel Missal, Caitlin Keane, Stephanie Klajbor French V Award: Samantha Smith Spanish IV: Madeline Eagan, Chelsea Courier; Spanish V: Samantha Goldbach, Meghan McCor-mick; Latin IV: Paige Wesolowski, Kathleen Kamien, Emilie Miazga Foreign Language Award: Molly Lynn Walsh The Business Students of the Year: Sarah Bevilacqua, Mollie Blake, Ryan Casey, Connie Evaniak,

Shauna Finnegan, Jenna Hosken, Mara Kline, Gabrielle LaPress, Lisa Latona, Carleen McCarthy, Lindsey Piegay, Ekatarina Russell, Elizabeth Sikora

Excellence in Studio Art – Drawing & Painting: Margaret Bender Excellence in Digital Photography: Emilie Miazga Excellence in Art– Studio in Ceramics: Kristine Muurisepp Excellence in Art and Advanced Placement Studio Art: Bailey Danahy, Alison Deacon, Alison Had-

ley, Mary Mathewson, Chelsea Ulrich, Kelly Webster, Stephanie Koch Senior Athlete Award: Katherine Purcell

Chorus and Handbell Choir: Codee Cascio, Samantha Goldbach, Nadia Irizarry, Kathleen

Kamien, Stephanie Klajbor, Mara Kline, Lauren Montroy, Emily Murphy, Paige Wesolowski Jenna Bezilla, Patricia Bundt, Samantha Kankiewicz, Shannon Kulbacki, Rachel Missall, Noel Ormond,

Ekatarina Russell, Rachel Smith, Katie Schaefer, Abigail Webster

The Student Government: Meghan McCormick President, Emily Williams-Secretary Officers in the McAuley Chapter of the National Honors Society: Paige Wesolowski, Alexxa

Browne, Margaret Bender, Chelsea Ulrich McAuley Scholars: Margaret Bender, Sarah Bevilacqua, Alison Hadley, Kathleen Kamien, Stepha-nie Klajbor, Margaret Marinaro, Emilie Miazga, Katherine Purcell. Rachel Schroeder, Alana Stem-pien, Paige Wesolowski Outstanding Attendance Record: Kaitlyn Krug, Meghan Mathewson Perfect Attendance Record: Stephanie Koch Outstanding Service Award: Constance Evaniak, Abigail Webster, Patricia Bundt, Mary Mathewson, Rachel Smith The Merciette: Abigail Webster The Mercienne: Patricia Bundt National Forensic League: Lori Nappo Continued………………………….

The Class of 2010 celebrated its Baccalaureate Mass and Awards Ceremony at Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna on Thursday, May 20th.

Graduation will take place at Kleinhan’s Music Hall on Sunday, June 6, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. Left: MMA Seniors Kristine Muurisepp, Alena Musso and Carleen McCarthy are ready to partici-pate in the Baccalaureate ceremony.

Baccalaureate Awards continued……….. The Kathleen Ottos Barone Memorial Award: Katelyn Grimm The State of New York Office of the Attorney General Triple “C” Award: Mary Gangloff, Emily Piegay The New York State Comptroller Award: Margret Bender New York State Correctional Officers and Police benevolent Association Award: Katie Schaeffer The New York State Education Department: Sarah Bevilacqua, Alana Stempien, Kelly Webster, Paige Wesolowski Special Ministers of Holy Communion: Amber Martin, Rebecca Mohn, Elizabeth Rozeski, Ekatarina Russell, Abby Webster Ministers of the Word: Alexxa Brown, Patti Bundt, Alexis Martinez, Megan McCormick, Rebecca Mohn, Lauren Montroy, Lori Nappo, Veronica Staub, Karen Straub, Molly Walsh, Paige Wesolowski Catholic Social Teaching Award: Stephanie Koch The Wegman’s Scholarship: Gabrielle LaPress, Lindsay Piegay Mercy Speaks Award: Mary Mathewson, Emilie Miazga. Independent Health and Business First Community All-Stars: Patricia Bundt.

FROM THE MMA HEALTH OFFICE: Mrs. Kathy Burns, RN

As the school year comes to an end: Class of 2010: has wrapped up their educational career here at Mount Mercy.

Class of 2011: excited about being the “top dogs”. Adult decisions are within their sights.

Class of 2012: excited about becoming seen as part of the women of mercy and receiving that ring. Filling out those all important “working paper” forms, a copy of last physical can be obtained from the health office, but must be within the year.

Class of 2013: no longer the “new” girls. NY State requires 10th graders to have up-to-date physicals recorded at school. An up-to-date physical is one dated one year from the start of the school year. NYS is requesting that a dental health certificate be handed in with physical forms. Please make appointments for that annual physical, all health forms can be found on the school web site. When the forms are complete, please send them into school or have the physician’s office fax the completed form to 825-0976.

Enjoy the warmth of the sun, but remember to wear your sunscreen.

PARENTS! ARE YOU AWARE THAT YOUR DAUGHTER HAS THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ONLINE COURSES

OVER THE SUMMER THROUGH OUR MERCY NETWORK FOR EDUCATION? SEE THE COURSE CATALOG ON OUR MMA HOME PAGE (WWW.MTMERCY.ORG)

FOR THE LIST OF AVAILABLE ON-LINE COURSES

Mercy Learning Online is currently open for registration. Credit Classes begin June 21 and run through July 22, the cost is $250.00 per course.

Please pick up an application at the Guidance Office. All application must be accompanied by the payment and returned by June 11, 2010

Credit Recovery Courses also available. See MMA course catalogue for listing. Visit www.netmercyed.org for more details or call the MMA Guidance Office at 825.8796 x 201 to speak to someone regarding this opportunity.

Mt. Mercy Academy is the only local girl’s high school to offer on-line courses!

SAMPLE ON-LINE COURSES:

Mt. Mercy Ambassadors Assist at Mercy Hospital

ER Grand Opening

Among the MMA students who greeted guests and assisted at the new Mercy Hospital ER on May 1st and 2nd were Student Ambassadors Lindsay Piegay, Katelyn Grimm, Carleen McCarthy, Alena Musso, Quinn Cassidy and Emily Piegay.

Congratulations to MMA Sophomore Charlene Takacs who will intern with Dr. Carey at U.B. South this summer. Charlene, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Takacs of West Seneca, recently visited with Dr. Mary Carey, a profes-sor in the School of Nursing at the University at Buf-falo. Charlene will be working this summer in Dr. Carey's lab, where the focus on research is the effect of stress on heart function and metabolic syndrome of Buffalo Firefighters. Charlene will be exploring differ-ent aspects of Dr. Carey's research before deciding on what area in particular she would like to take part in. We are looking forward to hearing more from Charlene about her experience in the fall, 2010. CANCER RESEARCHER VISITS MMA STUDENTS:

Dr. Naveen Bangia who works with the Immunol-ogy group at Roswell Cancer Research Institute vis-ited with approximately 20 MMA students, as well as Mrs. Barblock and Ms. Huffman, at Mount Mercy on Wednesday May 26th. Dr. Bangia discussed several aspects of his research at Roswell as well as what being a research scientist means. He discussed his path to his career, letting students know there is no one way to reach a goal, and that research allows a person to explore things they may never have thought of before. He is interested in having students work with him in his lab so that they may gain re-search experience and gain a clearer understanding of what a scientist does. Dr. Bangia emphasized that students should explore as many different pathways in the sciences as they can to help them decide what they may wish to do in their careers. The students truly enjoyed his visit and several have expressed an interest in meeting with him to discuss possible op-portunities.

Mount Mercy Academy Sophomore Retreat Vive la Casa is an organization founded in 1984 for the purpose of serving refugees as they seek asylum. In the 26 years since its creation, Vive has served more than 68,000 refugees from more than 106 different countries. Last year alone, Vive served 3,800 people. Sixty percent of people seek-ing asylum through Vive are women and children. In 2008, Vive actually served more clients then all other refugee shelters in Erie County combined.

For our sophomore retreat, our Religion class decided to do something for people in need. One of the classes went to Journey’s End on Buffalo’s west side, while our class decided to go to Vive la Casa. When we first got there it was somewhat of an “out-of-body” experience for most. Never before have many of the students interacted with refugees on such a level as this. We were able to attend a “house meeting” in which the Director of Operations spoke on the events going on at the mo-ment. Our class was split into three groups, each assigned a different task. Some cleaned and organized the clothing dona-tions room, some worked with the children, and some worked to make lunch for the refugees.

Many of the Corporal Works of Mercy apply to what we did as visitors at Vive. The Corporal Works of Mercy that we students demonstrated were: Feed the Hungry, Clothe the Naked and Visit the Imprisoned. One group made lunch for the refugees, consisting of tuna sandwiches, rice, macaroni and cheese, and turkey patties. With making lunch, we “Fed the Hungry.” There were many clothes donated to Vive; we organ-ized the clothes by gender, age and season. By helping with the clothes, we “Clothed the Naked.” As a class, we visited the imprisoned; although the refugees are not technically “imprisoned,” they were exiled from their countries, which therefore makes them “prisoners,” in a sense, in this “foreign” country. Our class often connects the Scriptures with our actions, with

the examples of Jesus as our model. Matthew 20: 26-28

quotes Jesus as he says, “The Son of Man did not come to be

served, but to serve, and give his life as ransom for many.” ….

Above: Sophomores volunteer at Casa...From left to right: Ashley Carmichael, Kelly Griffin, Khadijah Jennings, Stephanie Newman, Jenna McGough

Photot left: MMA sophomores volunteer at Viva la Casa: From left to right: Jacqueline Kane, Kristi Casey, Ashley Tombolesi

…….Sophomore Retreat continued…..

Although we are not giving our lives to benefit the refugees, we did devote an entire day’s service to helping others. An-other quote, coming from Psalms 9: 9 “The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.” We tried to become more like the Lord, by trying to be a support for the people at Vive, who had lost everything they owned, in order to flee their country.

ATTENTION PARENTS: REGENTS GEOMETRY EXAM REVIEW SESSIONS AVAILABLE:

The Geometry Math Regents will be on Thursday, June 17 in the afternoon. It is imperative that the students take advantage of any and all after school reviews available to prepare for this exam. It is never too early to start pre-paring. Some online sites to look at also are baronsregents.com, regentsprep.com, castlelearning.com and search “regents review 2.0’. Review Schedule for Geometry Math Regents: Week of June 1: Tuesday – Friday Week of June 7: Tuesday – Friday Week of June 14: 6/14 Monday

***6/17 Thursday 9-11***

(Morning of the exam)

Mrs. Mary Zubek MMA Geometry Teacher 20 Years

Mt. Mercy students Emilie Fose, Simone Howard and Taylor Glascott greet visitors to the new Mercy Hospital emergency Room at the Grand Opening in May.

MMA Library Crew

Our student volunteers have helped in the library throughout this year. They work at the circulation desk, locate and shelve materials, and assist with equipment.

The total number of service hours accumulated

151 hours - 36 minutes Next school year we will include technology help through the library crew. They will assist students with software guidance, use of student Z-Drives,

access to databases, and online production resources. Special thanks to The Crew, Mrs. Kujawinski appreciates the help.

Amanda Stachowski

Stephanie Khoury

Stephanie Newman

Katie Farr

Natalie Trinca

...more Prom smiles from beautiful MMA friends!

Attention All Parents If you will be moving over the sum-

mer and have a change of address, a

new phone number, new cell phone

number or a new e-mail address,

please notify Mt. Mercy with the up-

dated information.

It is important that we keep our re-

cords updated so that essential infor-

ATTENTION PARENTS OF

INCOMING FRESHWOMEN:

Class of 2014

This is the last newsletter to be mailed directly to your home. You are able to ac-cess the monthly parent newsletter on the MMA

website:(www.mtmercy.org)

SUMMER CAMPS AT MMA

MMA WILL BE BUSTLING WITH YOUNGSTERS THIS SUMMER

The Girls Athletic League 2010 Summer Sports Camp for Girls ages 7-12 will be held at Mount Mercy Academy from July 12th-16th,

from 8:00am–3:00pm each day. Fees range from $125-$150 and includes Sports instruction and fun workshops in Obstacle Course,

Boondoggle, Hair-braiding, etc. Applications will be available through the MMA Admissions Office by calling 825-8796x511.

The MMA Website details all information regarding Summer Magic Camp Experience for students in grades 5-8 during

the week of July 19th-23rd! CHECK IT OUT! www.mtmercy.org!

REMINDER!!! 2010 Yearbooks are still avail-able for $60. Please purchase them in room 313 before or af-ter school or during advisement. Limited copies of the previ-ous two yearbooks

are also

PARENT REMINDERS

PARENTS OF FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES

A day at DARIEN LAKE is planned for MMA FRESHMEN AND SOPHOMORES on May 21st from 8:30- 5:30. The price of $30 includes park admission.

bus transportation, lunch, drinks and snacks. Water rides will be open.

Students may arrive at Mt. Mercy at 9:00am. Parents must pick students up from school at 5:30pm.

There are no classes for Juniors and Seniors on May 21st, which is the date of the

MMA Junior—Senior Prom.

THANK YOU! A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL THE

PARENTS AND FRIENDS WHO HELPED

MAKE THE MMA POST—PROM PARTY A

SMASHING SUCCESS! THE STUDENT

ATTENDEES HAD A WONDERFUL TIME!

SPECIAL THANKS TO MRS. JUDY SCHROEDER

WITHOUT WHOM THE PAST 4 POST PROM PARTIES

COULD NOT HAVE TAKEN PLACE! WE WILL MISS

YOU NOW THAT YOUR YOUNGEST OF 3 MERCY

GIRLS GRADUATES!

What is a refugee? According to the United Nations, the definition of a refugee is a person who has “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, member-ship in a particular social group, or political opi n-ion, is outside the country of their nationality, a nd is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling t o avail him/herself of the protection of that country .” There are more than 30 million refugees in the world today. More than half of them are women and children.

There are many organizations in the local Buffalo a rea that help refugees. One of those places is Journey’s End. Journey’s End Refugee Serv ices is a Christian community-based organization with the mission of welcoming refugees without regard to ethnic origin or creed, and assisting them to become healthy, independent, contributing members of the commu-nity. The service started in 1979 when the Khmer re gime was overthrown in Cambodia. Nearly 150,000 Cambodians sought refuge in the United Stat es.

Deeply moved to help these people coming to the U.S ., Phyllis Tompkins initiated ef-forts to gather local resources for the needs of Ca mbodian refugees resettling in Western New York. Other local churches expressed support. T he work of Journey’s End had begun, and soon Journey’s End began providing a range of s ervices to refugees from all over the world.

Recently, our sophomore Religion class from Mount M ercy Academy went on a class retreat to Journey’s End. When we first arrived at Journey’s End, we had no idea what to ex-pect from the refugees. We thought that being from different countries would put a barrier be-tween us and them in all areas, especially when it came to our different languages. As time passed however, the barriers disappeared, and we go t to know each other. They taught us things, and we taught them in return. At Journey’s End we did a lot with the children. We worked on the children’s math and English skills. W e played games such as “Hangman,” and helped the children to add and subtract. Although the children were quite young, they were also very bright.”This experience was really fun. T he kids were intelligent and I enjoyed help-ing them,” said a student Megan Sheehan. Altogether our Religion class had a really great time, and we really learned and gained a lot from t he experience.

MT. MERCY SOPHOMORE RETREAT REFLECTION

Please Save the Date for Mercyfest Weekend! This weekend combines our two popular summer events; The MMA 5K Race and Walk and The Mercy Golf Outing. The 2nd Annual MMA 5K Race and Walk through Caz Park, formerly known as the Jack Donohue Memorial Race, will be held Friday, July 30th. The Mercy Girl Golf Outing will be held Saturday, July 31st at the South Park Country Club. Both events have a post-event party back at MMA with food and live music. This year we are honoring two individuals who have supported Mount Mercy for many years, Maureen Diggins and Erik Bohen. Both events support the MMA Alumnae Scholarship

Fund. Visit our website at mtmercy.org to register online and for more information.

Canisius & Mt. Mercy in Europe 2011Canisius & Mt. Mercy in Europe 2011Canisius & Mt. Mercy in Europe 2011Canisius & Mt. Mercy in Europe 2011

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR THE EASTER TRIP TO ITALY NEXT EASTER.

Highlights of this trip include:

Romeo & Juliet’s balcony in Verona St. Mark’s Square & the canals of Venice Cooking class in Tuscany The medieval city of Siena Scavenger hunt in San Lorenzo food market Tuscan farmhouse lunch in San Gimignano The Academia and Uffizi Gallery in Florence Fresco lesson on the Ponte Vecchio The Coliseum and Forum Vatican Gardens, museums & Sistine Chapel The catacombs along the Via Apia Gelato tasting challenge

Save $100 with early registration by June 30th.

Applications will be taken on a first come, first served basis. Contact Miss Luhr at ext. 414 or at cluhr@mtmercy.org for a complete itinerary.