The Mercy Messenger: December 9

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2018

Mercy Education System of the America's: Advent Series Part II

We continue our Advent series with a reflection on peace written by Catherine, a fifth-grade student at Mount Saint Mary Academy in Manchester, New Hampshire.

In order for me to share peace, I need to understand what peace is. Peace to me is made of a couple of things. Peace is being calm and being kind. If somebody says the word "peace," I immediately feel calm, relaxed and eager to be kind. It seems to come naturally.

I can share peace by doing little deeds that are considered big in others' minds. For example, holding the door, helping carry somebody's belongings or just smiling can make people calm. Little things have big effects on people sometimes, and making others feel good is its own reward!

In summary, peace is made of being calm, being kind and being relaxed. I can share peace this Advent season by doing little good deeds, which make others feel good, as well as myself.

As a reminder, this year we are grateful to share reflections from students in our MESA schools on the four themes of Advent: hope, peace, joy and love. Click here to read the first reflection on hope.

CANDLELIGHT: DEC. 20

The Candlelight ceremony is one of our beautiful traditions at Gwynedd. It is a signature event which includes a procession, concert and live tableau that helps us prepare for the birth of our Savior.

This year we have made a schedule change to bring our community together for a single night of Candlelight on December 20 at 7pm. In previous years we had two nights of Candlelight.

For the December 20, 2018 Candlelight, Junior and Senior participation is mandatory. While Freshman and Sophomore attendance is optional, participation is strongly encouraged. The musicians and singers in the production, of course, are required to attend.

Seating is limited, so we will need your help in preparing for this event, in order to plan for any overflow.

Please complete the linked form below by December 10. We look forward to sharing this Season with you.

Candlelight RSVP

STUDENT-ATHLETES

Congratulations to Monarchs Field Hockey who has been recognized by the Pennsylvania State High School Field Hockey Coaches Association for their hard work on and off the field. The ladies received the Team GPA Award for collectively earning above a 3.5 GPA.

NOTABLE DATES

Dec. 13
Mercy Hospice Dinner

Dec. 18

Advent Liturgy

Dec. 20
Candlelight Celebration

Dec. 21
College-Age Alumnae Christmas Breakfast and Prayer Service

Dec. 24 - Jan. 2

Christmas Break

Jan. 3

Classes Resume

Jan. 11

Purple for Alzheimers

Tag Day: $2

Jan. 14

Faculty In-service and Student Study Day

No Classes

Jan. 15-18

Mid-term Examinations

Jan. 18

Semester 1 grades close

Jan. 21

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

No Classes

Jan. 22

Safety Assembly

Additionally, the following students are recognized for their individual achievement. Well done, ladies!

All-State 2nd Team Honors:

Alden Boccella '20
Zoe Rogers '19
Alaina McVeigh '22

All-State Senior & Junior Academic Awards (Reflects a GPA of 88+):

Alden Boccella '20
Kellie Caputo '20
Jamie Fruncillo '19
Charlotte Gilmore '20
Ireland McDermott '20
Erin Mullen '20
Zoe Rogers '19
Hanna Saxon '20
Jacque Senour '19

Music

We are pleased to announce that the Gwynedd Mercy Chorale will be singing with The Orpheus Club of Philadelphia, an 80-member all male chorus, during the Club's Christmas Concert on Wed., December 12, 8:30 pm at the Academy of Music.

Complimentary tickets are available through Gwynedd's Front Office.

Gwynedd's first ever Coffee House will be held on December 14 from 4:30-6:00. This will be exclusively for Gwynedd students and staff. Admission for the event is $5 and there will be a Christmas bake sale as well. Students can enter a contest and/or perform as part of the live entertainment. The three contests being offered are Best Baked Good, Best Christmas Joke, and Ugliest Christmas Sweater (prizes will be awarded).

All proceeds from the event and any other donations will be sent to an organization called "Play On, Philly". Promoting Music Education for Philadelphia youth in need, founder Stanford Thompson has created an environment where kids can learn and grow musically!

SAVE THE DATE:

Junior College Counseling Kickoff (11th Grade Parents/Guardians and Students). Thursday, January 24th at 7:00pm

Junior students and their parents/guardians are encouraged to attend this event. We will discuss the college counseling timeline for the year ahead, the process for organizing college applications, and how to utilize Naviance.

MOTHERS' CLUB

TREE TRIMMING

Over 60 Senior moms from the Class of 2019 celebrated a special tradition of decorating our lobby Christmas tree with their daughters' senior ornaments on Tuesday, evening December 4.

A special thank you to our committee chair, Janice Zipfel and her committee, Mia Cassady, Theresa Dolan, Lisa Kerr and Amy Van Thuyne for planning a beautiful evening which included a blessing by Sr Bernadette Duross, RSM and a warm welcome by President Denise Marbach '72.

SENIOR PARENTS: REMINDER

Please send in your senior photos by Thursday, January 31 to the attention of Mothers' Club, Lisa Kerr. (We need a mother/daughter photo and a baby photo).

JUNIOR RING MASS

Thank you to our Junior Ring Mass reception chair, Sheryl Hearn, and her committee. These ladies planned a beautiful reception on the evening of Thursday, December 6 for our Class of 2020 and their families.

During the special liturgy celebration, Junior parents were also honored with a special blessing as they received their mother and father pins from their daughters. Parents should wear these pins proudly to honor their daughters and the gift of a Gwynedd Mercy Academy High School education.

MERCY HOSPICE DINNER

This wonderful annual event will be held on Thursday evening, December 13. A SignUp Genius was sent out for food donations and volunteers.

Any questions, please contact Maria Rizzo Saxon '87 rizzsax@comcast.net or Meg Caputo megnmike@comcast.net, our Co-Chairs.

BOOK TALK

Our annual Book Talk meeting will be held on Thursday, February 21 at 7PM. The selected book is titled "A Fall of Marigolds" by Susan Meissner. Start reading! More information to come. Any questions, please contact Megan Haley Keaton '88 at megankeaton@verizon.net.

SPEAKER EVENT FOR PARENTS

Offered by our friends at The Agnes Irwin School and the Radnor Speaker Series, the guest speaker on Wednesday, January 16 at 7pm will be Dr. Wendy Mogel. Drawing from her widely read Blessing of a Skinned Knee and her recently published book, Voice Lessons for Parents, Dr. Mogel will discuss ways parents can more effectively communicate with their children and address the distraction of digital devices, how they impact our connections, and what we can do about it. With a few "voice lessons" for parents, Dr. Mogel will share how family conversations can be transformed.

Space is limited and seats are filling up very quickly. For more information and to RSVP: www.agnesirwin.org/RadnorSpeakerSeries.

SHE IS THE FUTURE.