May 10, 2019 eNEWSLETTER Office and Department Updates
Admissions Office Seeking Host Families Merion Mercy is partnering with New Oasis and Evergreen Homestay Residential Programs in welcoming international students to our school. Both of these companies offer an opportunity for you to be a host family to one student. A monthly stipend between $1,000 and $1,200 (depending on the company) will be provided to the host family. The commitment is for the academic year. Please contact the Admissions Office at admissions@merion-mercy.com if you are interested. College Counseling Junior Families Ministry Office With the school year's theme "AdventuroUS in Mercy" in mind, several senior Ministry Team members have been using their creativity preparing prayer, reflections, and activities for their final class retreat slated for Tuesday, May 21 in the Convent of Mercy.
Other seniors have prepared their class Baccalaureate Mass, slated for Wednesday, May 29 (the Vigil of the Ascension) in the Convent of Mercy Chapel.
Preparations are nearing completion for the school Mass celebrating the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, slated for 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 30.
Planning for our final prayer together as a school community is underway and will take place Thursday, June 6.
Members for the Ministry Team for the school year 2019-20 have been named and notified of their acceptance to the team. All Ministry Team Members are to participate in the team orientation, scheduled for August 19 from 9 a.m.-noon.
MMAnnual Fund Thank you to all our donors for helping to make May 2, #OurDay4MMA successful. With your support, #OurDay raised over $65,000 for the MMAnnual Fund. These donations help support all areas of the mercy education and experience and provide outstanding opportunities for current and future generations of Merion students.
If you were not able to make a gift on May 2, but would still like to participate in the 2018-19 MMAnnual Fund, please click here to make your donation before the end of the fiscal year on June 30, 2019.
Did you know the Educational Improvement Tax Credit and Opportunity Scholarship Tax Credit programs allow businesses who pay specific Pennsylvania state taxes to designate up to 90% of their state tax liability to Merion Mercy to use as financial aid to qualifying low-income household students? In addition to businesses based in PA, individuals that pay a certain amount in state taxes can also participate in the EITC/ OSTC programs by going through an LLC. Merion Mercy is working with BLOCS (Business Leadership Organized for Catholic Schools) to help individuals make the most of their state tax deduction!
Business renewal deadlines are coming up!
Please visit our website here for more information regarding the EITC/ OSTC program criteria or talk with your accountant or tax advisor to discuss whether or not your business (or you individually) can benefit from participating in the program. More information can also be found on the BLOCs and Department of Community and Economic Development website. The scholarship funds received through these programs help provide pivotal financial aid support to many Merion Mercy students.
Summer Programs All balances for Summer Programs are due on Thursday, May 23. You may log back into the registration website at any time to make a payment with your credit card or send in a check to school. If you are paying by check, please be sure to clearly mark the student and class and put it to the attention of the Summer Programs office.
Freshman and sophomore parents, take advantage of SAT Prep classes offered at school this summer. For more information, download the summer brochure here.
Summer credit classes are co-ed and open to all qualifying students. If you have a son or daughter from another school who would be interested in taking a summer class, we are happy to accommodate them.
Registrations for all summer classes are completed online. Visit www.merion-mercy.com/ summerprograms. Deposits are non-refundable.
Feel free to contact Mrs. Barbara Harrison with any questions or concerns at 610-664-6655, ext. 120 or bharrison@merion-mercy.com.
Student Affairs Senior Families We look forward to celebrating the achievements of the Class of 2019 at the Baccalaureate Mass on Wednesday, May 29, and Graduation, on Sunday, June 2. Important mailings are being sent home in the post today to seniors' parents and caregivers; the envelopes contain tickets to the events, a letter from Sister Christine, special needs parking passes for those who requested them, and a reminder from Mr. Pidot about logistics and details, which are also available online (click here). On Tuesday of this week gone by, every senior was given a package of announcements and personalized name cards through homeroom. MMAnnouncements Mercy Volunteer Program (MVP) Beginning June 8, there will be 35 rising seniors volunteering in several MVP service locations: the Aquinas Center in Philadelphia; Beattyville, Kentucky; the Romero Center in Camden; and Bethlehem Farm in West Virginia. Serving in MVP provides the volunteers with opportunities to explore and address social justice issues; offer a ministry of presence to the community; create, collaborate and teach Vacation Bible school; and serve in community outreach programs including meal preparation, hunger and homelessness, elder and child care, and support to the most vulnerable in these communities.
The final payments were due April 29. If you still owe a balance or completed paperwork, please send it to school to the attention of Anne Foley.
Parents Association Important Dates
Volunteer Thank You Party
Mothers' Cupboard/Food Day Tuesday We have something very special planned for our final "Food Day Tuesday Special Event" of the school year, which will be held on Tuesday, May 14. Our goal is to help Visitation Pantry fill their cupboards for the summer months. We would like to ask each student to bring in five items–these can be any non-perishable item like canned goods, breakfast food, proteins, canned beans, peanut butter and jelly, baby items, and/or anything we've collected over the past year. Students who make donations that day will receive a special treat.
In addition, we will also reward any class (freshman, sophomore, junior, and/or senior) with 100% participation with a dress down day on Thursday, May 16. We will measure the 100% participation based on the total items brought in by each class (based on 5 items per student):
Senior Class Goal = 525 items
Let's fill those shelves for the summer!
As a thank you to the whole Merion community for your support of this effort over the past year, we are sponsoring FREE WATER ICE for ALL the students on Thursday, May 16. Water ice will be distributed at all the lunch periods in recognition and appreciation of the donations to the Mothers' Cupboard over the past year.
Spirit Shop Interested in volunteering in the Spirit Shop next year? The sign up for fall 2019 will go out via email in August. Be sure to check our volunteer clearance requirements now so that you're ready to sign up.
Senior Families
Yearbook 2019 Yearbook Distribution The 2019 edition of the Meriannal, MMA's yearbook, will be distributed later this month. Supplements covering end-of-year events and activities will be mailed to seniors over the summer. Underclassmen will receive the supplement upon returning to school in the fall. Supplements can be easily attached to the yearbook with a provided adhesive strip.
Junior Families
The remaining eNewsletter date for the 2018-19 school year is June 13.
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Merion Mercy Academy 511 Montgomery Avenue • Merion Station, PA 19066 • (610) 664-6655 |