Clubs

Bluestockings

Bluestockings is a literary organization for female readers, writers and thinkers.  In keeping with the intentions of the original "Blues" from the eighteenth century, we seek to create a circle of like-minded friends that recognizes the value of good books, expressive writing, meaningful conversation and stimulating company.  We meet once a month to discuss a relatively short selection from a book purchased from the Great Books Foundation, and over the summer we read a full-length novel in preparation for the Highbury Tea Party in October at Mrs. Boesl's home.  We also take advantage of local cultural opportunities as they are available and affordable, and at the end of the year, we travel to Stratford in Canada to see a play by Shakespeare.  This club is open to all serious high school readers.

Boxing Club

Members of Mercy’s Boxing Club travel to ROC Boxing twice a week (Monday and Wednesday) for an hour-long workout.  The session is 8 weeks long, and several sessions run throughout the year, including summers.  Members work on general conditioning and boxing technique.  Coach Dom, who has been coaching Aquinas for over 30 years, is our coach assisted by Coach Dana. Mrs. LeBeau is the club moderator.

Campus Ministry Board

Campus Ministry Board, better known as CMB, is one of Mercy’s oldest and dearest clubs. Under the guidance of the Campus Minister, CMB is in charge of numerous helpful projects and activities throughout the year. These include Christmas Baskets, the Golden Mass, a Day of Fast and Mission Month.  Students from 7th through 12th grade are elected though their homerooms and help to preserve our cherished Mercy traditions.

DECA

DECA is a prestigious, international academic club for students interested in developing their leadership abilities within the field of business.  The students meet weekly to prepare for their regional competition, plan community service activities, listen to speakers, and raise funds for their trips.  Each student selects an event she is interested in (ranging from job interview to a 30-page new business idea) and initially competes against students from 15 other area high schools.  Both the Regional and NYS competition are in Rochester and the International competition is located in a different state very year.  See Mrs. Cannon’s wikispace, www.newyorkdeca.com or www. deca.org for more information.

Drama Club

The Drama Club is a club that allows students who are already involved or not involved in the theater to get involved. We have holiday parties and get-togethers, workshops (auditions, improve, and monologs), Children’s Theater, and the Catherine awards. We usually meet once a month for a meeting and then other times to have the parties and the workshops. One of the biggest parts of Drama Club is Children's Theater where upperclassmen direct underclassmen. Once they prepare for a month they put on the show for local Catholic elementary schools.

F.O.C.U.S.

F.O.C.U.S. is a club that celebrates diversity at Mercy.  We sponsor Mix-It-Up-Day in the fall and encourage students and faculty alike to meet new people every day. We host an assembly in February with special guests, including leaders of the community and performance groups. Throughout the year we let our members and the school community know about special cultural celebrations in Rochester, including at St. John Fisher and the Rochester Museum and Science Center.

French Club

French Club meets at 7:20am once a month. Our activities take place both on and off campus, and they all center on ways of better understanding and enjoying the French way of life. Examples of past activities include visiting the French House @ Nazareth College, watching/discussing French movies, going to a French restaurant, celebrating French holidays, and more. Any high school student who is studying French is both encouraged and welcome to join.

Friends of Rachel

The goal of Friends of Rachel is help to continue the chain reaction of Rachel Joy Scott and to help create an environment that is supportive and safe for everyone.  Activities include random acts of kindness and appreciation days.  The club meets once or twice a month and is open to all members of the Mercy community.  Club activities are enriching and fun, and are centered around giving back to the community.
 

Girl Scouts

This Middle School Cadette Troup teaches girls to develop skills such as critical thinking, healthy relationships, how to take action and be a good leader.  At the Cadette level, under the guidance of a trained adult leader, girls are involved in a variety of learning activities (cooking, orienteering, camping), and they go on field trips (white water rafting, museums, tours of the Susan B. Anthony House).  The commitment is meeting every 3-4 weeks at school in the early evening, plus outside activities.

Habitat for Humanity Club

Improv Club

How will performing Improv help?  We develop quicker thinking abilities.  We learn to control our nerves, to increase our thinking, and positive reactions in any situation.  Your college and job interviews will be more successful.  You will learn to read body language, increase self-confidence, and keep building your foundation of knowledge and be proud of who you are.  The best part: Practice all of this while LAUGHING!!!  Web App, click here.  Android App, click here.

Jazz Ensemble

The purpose of Jazz Ensemble is to learn about America's Music ...Jazz and its musicians.  Club activities include rehearsals and performances.  We meet every week for 1 1/2 hours.  Community Outreach involves public performances (example: Barnes & Noble).  Jazz Ensemble is a fun learning environment where great music is made!!

LEGO League

This international program is designed to encourage and inspire students in science and technology through the use of robotics.  The teams (of 10 Middle School students), build and program a LEGO mind-storming robot to complete a series of missions.  They do a research project and present their findings to judges, while competing against other teams in the area.  They meet once a week for 2 hours under the direction of parents as coaches. 

Masterminds

Masterminds is a question and answer game played between two schools of four player apiece. Points can be scored by correctly answering questions asked by the moderator. There are two types of questions: toss- ups which are always worth 10 points and bonuses which are worth 30. The school with the highest total of points at the end of the match is the winner.  Students in grades 9-12 are eligible to participate. There is both a JV and varsity team. Any grade level may participate on varsity; grades 9-11 may play at the JV level.  Mercy competes in the Wednesday league with 5 other schools. We practice on Tuesdays after school from 2:45 - 4:00. The regular season begins in October and ends in April. Playoffs follow the regular season.

Math League

Math League is comprised of students enrolled in advanced 8th - through 12th-grade mathematics courses, who enjoy mathematics and want to hone their skills in competition with area high schools. We are among 38 schools from around the county who comprise the Monroe County Math League.  We compete after school, from 3:30 to 5:30pm, at 6 monthly meets from September through February.  In March, each school sends its top 15 participants to compete for a full day in the All-County Meet.  Top contenders from the county are then invited to represent our county in the All-State meet in April.  At Mercy, our team meets every Monday in The Board from 7:15 to 7:50am to practice problems on the six topics for the upcoming meet that month.   We always welcome new members, so come check us out, see Mrs. Facci’s Wiki-space Math League tab, or see Mrs. Facci in Room 204 for more details. 

Melders

"Melders" (Mercy+Elders) is open to all Mercy students and generally meets for an hour after school one day/week.  Students assist in providing enhanced quality of life to the senior Sisters of Mercy and McAuley residents (on the Mercy campus).  Activities include, but are not limited to, assisting with crafts, socials, games, taking walks, and one-on one visits. The students are accompanied by a Mercy parent.

Mercedes

Mercedes, Mercy's prestigious, published literary and art magazine features poetry and prose and represents the various painters, ceramic students, photographers and artists in grades 9-12. Club members meet weekly to experience "the arts" on campus.

Mock Trial

The Mock Trial team prepares a fictitious case that is governed by the New York State Bar Association.  The club begins to meet in late November and competitions against other area Mock Trial teams take place in early February.  A team of no more than 12 girls prepares to be attorneys and witnesses for the prosecution and defense of the case.  A local attorney is assigned to each school to help them prepare.  Practices are Monday and Wednesday each week from December to February.  This club is open to all high school students.  The Monroe County winner continues on to regional competition and could ultimately continue on to the State competition in May.  No previous experience is necessary to join.  Only interest and willingness to learn about the law is necessary.

National Honor Society

NHS is a club that encourages the students to continue in excellence and enhance their dedication to service, leadership, scholarship and character.  Membership is by invitation only.  Students meet monthly to work on service, fundraising and the annual induction ceremony and are required to commit 10 hours of service for Mercy and 20 hours for outreach projects.

Odyssey of the Mind

Passport to Understanding

Mercy has always encouraged students to reach out and help others. Passport to Understanding focuses on this very need to serve individuals and the community as a whole. There are many ways to serve the community through Passport to Understanding, including building homes for Habitat for Humanity, writing personal biographies about and for residents in a senior living community and ringing bells to solicit donations for the Salvation Army.  Volunteer opportunities are open to all members of the Mercy community and are posted on the Passport to Understanding wikispace.

President’s Cabinet

The purpose of the group is for the President of Mercy to get students' perspectives on issues important to the school.  This body does not make decisions, but shares insights on a variety of topics.  In the past group members have discussed; Mercy’s ad compaign Mercy Builds Strength, allocation of budget dollars, ways to welcome transferring Nazareth students, effectiveness of orientation and most important qualities to look for when hiring teachers.  Membership is open to all and meetings are listed in the Parent Weekly Update and over the PA.

The Quill

The Quill is a student run newspaper that comes out every 2-3 months averaging 4-5 issues per year. This club is open to anyone with an interest in writing, journalism, or photography and also offers a chance for students to help with layout and design or social media. Joining offers a great chance for students to discover unknown talents and learn more about their school.  The group meets once a month to assign articles. To join just attend one of the Quill’s monthly meetings.
 

Run Club

Run Club is open to all students in all grade levels.  This is a fun club where you "Run when you can, walk when you have to."  Our goals are to have fun, get fit, and make friends, all while training to run a 5K.  We have a Fall session and a Spring session.  We meet 1-3x each week, but are flexible as to how many times you want to come.  It's up to you!

Science Club

Science Club combines all of the exciting aspects of the four school sciences and rolls it into one awesome club. Not only do we help the environment by participating in clean sweeps and planting flowers for May Day, we also take many field trips including Seneca Park Zoo, the Buffalo Zoo, Rochester Museum and Science Center, and many more. We compete in Envirothon, an ecology style national competition. When we aren't busy traveling around, we can be found on the third floor conducting cool experiments. This year we hope to  add more service aspects to our club by volunteering at local animal shelters.  Not sure what's going on? Check our bulletin board on the third floor outside the Science Office. We are always looking for new members! See Mrs. Nash or Mrs. Plummer if you are interested.

Ski Club

Mercy’s Ski Club members travel together by bus on six consecutive Friday nights, beginning the first week of January, to Bristol Mountain for skiing and snowboarding, with lessons included in the package.  Rentals are available.  Girls of every grade and experience level are welcome to join.  Registration is in October.  Mrs. O’Brien-Kiely is the Ski Club moderator. 

Spanish Club

El Club de Español: The Spanish Club is a place where high school students who enjoy Spanish class can practice their Spanish and expand their knowledge of Hispanic cultures. The club meets on a weekly basis and the students experience a wide variety of activities ranging from watching episodes of authentic Spanish television, playing board games in Spanish (Scrabble is a favorite), making authentic crafts (piñatas, maracas), writing letters to pen pals in Spanish, and of course, food. Come and join us!

Student Council

The Mercy Student Council meets every Monday morning to plan and organize fun student activities. Whether it is organizing Spirit Week in September of planning the famouse Winter Formal, Student Council works hand in hand with the teachers and administration to make each school year a success. Students for this club are elected for a two year position.

Students for Life

Our Lady of Mercy Students for Life was founded in December 2009 to organize and activate pro-life students on campus. Members of Mercy Students for Life work to save lives threatened by induced abortion, euthanasia and the destruction of human embryos for research.  In furtherance of these goals, members seek to promote respect for life at Our Lady of Mercy High School, and on a local, state, and national level, to educate on life issues, to help those in need so that life is a promising choice and to work with others who share common goals.

Veritas

Veritas is Mercy’s yearbook. It chronicles the students, faculty, and multitude of activities that occur during the school year.  Students in grades 9–12 are invited to participate. There is a General Staff and an Editorial staff. General staff members select pictures, write captions and copy, and create layouts. The Editorial Staff oversees the overall creation of the yearbook. The group meets every Tuesday during the school year, beginning in September and ending in April. At the meetings, students receive assignments that they must complete in a timely manner. Students can work on their assignments before school, during study halls, or after school.

Youth and Government

The New York State YMCA Youth & Government program provides high school teens the opportunity to learn about the democratic process. Students from across the state prepare during the year for the annual conference in Albany, New York where they conduct a mock government. Students take on the roles of attorneys, lobbyists, reporters, and legislators. They learn parliamentary procedure, debate techniques, and strengthen their oral and written communication skills and leadership abilities. Youth & Government is a great way for students to explore politics, government, law and journalism.
 
The district conference is held every January in Rochester at City Hall, and the State Conference in Albany at the Capitol Building is held every year the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day. It costs approximately $300 to attend the state conference and includes transportation, meals and hotel accommodations. The club does hold two fundraisers to help off-set the conference cost.
 
Member Responsibilities: Attend weekly club meetings at Mercy held on Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m., attend the monthly district Saturday meeting from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the downtown YMCA, and actively participate in chosen role (legislator, attorney, etc.).
 
http://www.rochesterymca.org/youthandgovernment/ is the related web page.