Reminder - Snow Make-Up Day on Wednesday, April 1st

The Mercer Area School District will hold its make-up day on Wednesday, April 1st. This make-up day is a result of the cancellation on February 19th.

All students and staff are to report.

Athletic Events Week of March 30th

The following athletic events will take place during the week of March 30th:

Monday:
Middle School Volleyball vs. Hickory @ Mercer High School (4:00 p.m. start)

Tuesday:
Softball vs. Slippery Rock @ Slippery Rock (4:00 p.m. start)
Track and Field vs. West Middlesex @ Mercer High School (4:00 p.m. start)

Wednesday:
Baseball vs. Maplewood @ Mercer (4:00 p.m. start)
Middle School Volleyball vs. Jamestown @ Jamestown (5:00 p.m.)

Thursday:
Baseball vs. Sharon @ Mercer (4:00 p.m. start)
Softball vs. Reynolds @ Mercer (4:15 p.m. start)

Mercer Athletes Selected to All-Region Teams

The following Mercer student athletes were selected to their respective All-Region teams for their accolades during the 2014-15 winter sports season:

Boys' Basketball
Region 2; 1st team- Logan Clarke
Region 2; 2nd team- Jonathan Scheidhauer

Girls' Basketball
Region 2; 1st team- Adelyn Cook
Region 2; 1st team- Haylie Glass
Region 2; 2nd team- Aubrie Angermeier

Wrestling
2nd team- 106 lb weight class- Zac King
2nd team- 132 lb weight class- Ben Shaffer

Athletic Events Week of March 23rd

The following Mercer athletic events will take place between March 23rd and March 27th:

Monday
Middle School Volleyball vs. Commodore Perry @ Commodore Perry (4:00 p.m. start)

Tuesday
Baseball vs. Grove City @ Grove City (4:00 p.m. start)
Softball vs. Lakeview @ Mercer (4:15 p.m. start)

Wednesday
Baseball vs. Wilmington @ Wilmington (4:00 p.m. start)
Middle School Volleyball vs. Reynolds @ Reynolds (4:00 p.m. start)

Thursday
Softball vs. Sharon @ Sharon (4:00 p.m. start)

Friday
Middle School Volleyball vs. Reynolds @ Mercer (4:00 p.m. start)

Mercer Speakers Win Big at Pennsylvania High School Speech League State Tournament

On March 20-21st thirteen Mercer speakers travelled to the PHSSL State Tournament at Susquehanna University in Selinsgrove, PA. There were over 700 students representing over 130 school districts.  Ten out of the thirteen Mercer speakers advanced into the elimination rounds. Three Mercer speakers won the top prize in their respective categories. Mercer speakers have now won 16 state titles since the program's inception during the 1971-72 season. Prior to last weekend's performances, Mercer had not won a state speech title since 2007.

Adam Hoge and Ryan Hamilton brought home the PHSSL state title in the category of duo interpretation. These two won their event by 8 points over their top rivals from Erie McDowell High School. Their piece was taken from the play "Front Porch Chronicles" by Sydney Ryan. This duo team has now won five tournament championships this season and have qualified to both the Catholic Forensic League Grand National Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in May and to the National Speech and Debate Association National Competition scheduled for mid-June in Dallas, TX.

Maddie Rowe brought home the PHSSL state title in the category of prose interpretation. Remarkably, Maddie returned to competing in prose interpretation a month ago after spending most of her 9th grade year in dramatic interpretation. Her piece was taken from the book, Mick Harte Was Here by Barbara Park. Maddie has placed in the top six at four other tournaments this year. She has qualified to compete in oral interpretation of prose and poetry at the CFL Grand National Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, FL in May. It should also be noted that Maddie Rowe is the first state champion in the prose event to come from Mercer High School.

Two other Mercer speakers placed in the top four in the state in their respective categories.
Rachel Bish was the recipient of the third place honors in informative speaking. Ian Ollila was the recipient of the fourth place honors in humorous interpretation. Both Ian and Rachel have also qualified to the CFL Grand National tournament in Ft. Lauderdale this spring.

Four other Mercer speakers brought home semifinal awards (top 12 in the state) in their categories.
Kendra Walker- dramatic interpretation
Emily Kirila- impromptu speaking
Mary Hogue- extemporaneous speaking
Andrew Brinker- humorous interpretation

One Mercer speaker advanced to the quarterfinal round (top 24 in the state) in her category.
Abby Grabigel- radio announcing

A Sneak Peak at High School Musical

Here are a few glimpses at the production of the 2015 school musical, High School Musical.

These are the dates and times for the production:
March 26th @ 7:00 p.m.
March 27th @ 7:00 p.m.
March 28th @ 2:00 p.m. and @ 7:00 p.m.

Student tickets will cost $5.00 and adult tickets are selling for $7.00

Members of the 2015 Mercer Boys' Track and Field Team

The folllowing student athletes are members of the 2015 Mercer Boys' Track and Field Team:

Levi Bequeath, Travis Duffield, Austin Hall, Jon-Carl Hostetler, Hunter Kaster, Zach King, Nathan Knopp, Timothy Lang, Noah McLaughlin, David Miller, Kevin Minner, Shawn Moon, Nathan Moore, Zack Peck, Billy Priester, Justin Reno, Josh Robertson, Edward Roman, Marcus Ryder, Christopher Thompson, Hunter West, and Micah Wojnowski.

Best of luck to the members of the Mercer Boys' Track and Field Team for the upcoming season.

Members of the 2015 Mercer Girls' Track and Field Team

The following student atheletes are members of the 2015 Mercer Girls' Track and Field Team:

Rachel Bish, Hannah Bowersox, Katie Brest, Jaime Burdette, Kaitlin Conner, Adelyn Cook, Autumn Coryea, Alexandria Denny, Sarah Evans, Paige Gressly, Tara Hinkson, Alisa Hoffman, Megan Matscherz, Megan Parker, Kayley Patterson, Madeline Rowe, Alexa Stanton, Kate Timashenka, Courtney Young, Emily Young, Nicole Young. 

Best of luck to the Mercer Girls' Track and Field Team for this upcoming season.

Members of the 2015 Middle School Track and Field Team

The following student athletes are members of the 2015 Mercer Middle School Track Team:

Zack Baker, Jenna Blaus, Kevin Chen, Alex Chess, Logan Conner, Sarah Coryea, Casey Covert, Grayson Denny, Brayden Ellis, Todd Ellis, Lucas Erwin, Abigail Evans, Alex Fortenberry, Ella Garner, Megan Hogan, Emalee Hostetler, Hunter Houy, Craig Howard, Nikayla Jacoway, Kyle Kaster, Katie Kirila, Holden Konkle, Seth Koser, Alex Long, Dylan Mattocks, Brandon McAdoo, Anthony McCrea, Darby Miller, Trumell Miller, Keith Minner, Ryan Moore, Cassidy Murray, Asher Myers, Brianna Oehlbeck, Makinley Reagan, Mikayla Redmond, Arielle Reiser, Adrienne Schupp, Aubrey Simcik, Jacob Sirofchuck, Austin Smith, Carly Stabile, Katie Stabile, Zachary Stanton, Ian Taylor, and Kiersten Young

Good luck to the Mercer Middle School Track Team on their upcoming season.

Members of the JV/Varsity Softball Team

The following student athletes are members of the 2015 Mercer JV/Varsity Softball Team:

Aubrie Angermeier, Jordyn Buchanan, Marah Buchanan, Allie Cameron, Jessica Cameron, Samantha Carr, Rachel Chapman, Kayla Eves, Bryanna Fedorchak, Rachel Gerber, Haylie Glass, Aundria Gregory, McKenzie Haight, Sierra Hess, Maggie LaBarge, Kaylla McCullough, Hannah McElrath, Emily McGhee, Cassidy Pears, Briana Romain, Ashley Shoemaker, Melissa Shoemaker, Rebecca Simcik, Kelsey Swartz, and Stephanie Young.

Best wishes to the members of the JV/Varsity Softball Team for a successful season.

Members of the JV/Varsity Baseball Team

The following students are members of the 2015 Mercer JV/Varsity Baseball Team:

Jordan Baker, Kyle Baker, Jordan Boitnott, Nathan Cameron, Logan Clarke, Logan Deitz, Tim Dunham, Brayton Edwards, Spencer Ference, Trevor Ference, Eric Gawne, Jackson Hazelet, Austin Hesselgesser, Quentin Hinkson, Adam Hoge, Preston Hoover, Dillon Johnston, Tom Jones, Garret Kuhn, Ty Porterfield, Connor Richards, Bobby Rickard, Jeremiah Robertson, Brian Roecken, Marcus Ryder, Jonathan Scheidhauer, Kaiden Seelbaugh, and Adam Walker.

Good luck to the members of the JV/Varsity Baseball Team on their upcoming season

Members of the Middle School Baseball Team

The following students are members of the 2015 Mercer Middle School Baseball Team:

PJ Boggs, Carsen Burkhart, Tyler Cridge, Alec Duttry, David Ellis, Dylan Hetrick, Craig Howard, Cameron Kohnen, Jesse Lantz, Dylan Mattocks, Tanner McElrath, Trumell Miller, Joey Prentice, Daniel Schiedhauer, Brian Shevitz, and Noah Speer.

Good luck to the Middle School Baseball Team for their upcoming season.

Members of the Middle School Volleyball Team

The following students are members of the 2015 Mercer Middle School Volleyball Team:

Sierra Atkinson, Nicole Bornick, Taylor Bowers, Jenna Burkhart, Kaylie Cogswell, Casey Covert, Sofia Dorfi, Christa Ealy, Elizabeth Fedorchak, Kayla Glaser, Samantha Jarrett, Brooke Jones, Adrianna Lutes, Krista Mathias, Cassidy Murray, Kaylie Priester, Virginia Reagle, Mikayla Redmond, Kayleigh Rickard, Hannah Ridgway, Kaitlyn Roseski, Katie Stabile, Makala Swartz, and Taylor Yoder

Best of luck to all student atheletes during the season.

Keith DeGraaf Named New Varsity Wrestling Coach

The new varsity wrestling coach for the 2015-2016 season has been announced. Keith DeGraaf will be returning to the head coaching position for the Mercer Mustangs. During this past season, Mr. DeGraaf served as the Junior High Wrestling Coach for the district. Coach DeGraaf brings decades of coaching experience at various levels and organizations.

Students of the Month--March 2015

Each month there are Students of the Month that are selected that best represent positive attributes. Students are nominated by members of the faculty and reviewed by the administration. There are four distinct qualities that the faculty is looking for when nominating a student: honor, respect, excellence, and determination. The follow students were recipients of the Student of the Month Award for the month of February: Sydney Drake (8th grade), Jacob Mosley (9th grade), and Kendra Walker (12th grade). Congratulations to those students for exemplifying those special qualities.

Prom Registration April 8th-April 10th

Mercer Juniors and Seniors are able to purchase tickets for the Mercer High School Prom on April 8, 9, and 10. Sales will take place before and after school in room 203 during those days only. Payment is due at time of registration.

The cost for a Mercer High School Junior or Senior Single is $30.00
The cost for a Mercer High School Junior or Senior Couple is $60.00
The cost for a Mercer High School Junior or Senior taking an outside Junior/Senior/Alumnus is $70.00

No underclassmen or individuals 21 years old or older will be eligible to attend.

Three Mercer Speakers Qualify for National Tournament in Dallas, TX

The Mercer Speech Team travelled to the National Speech and Debate Association Pittsburgh National Qualifying Tournament on Saturday, March 14th. Here are the results:

Ryan Hamilton and Adam Hoge- 2nd place in Duo Interpretation
Janalyn Miklas- 3rd place in Dramatic Interpretation
Ian Ollila- 3rd place in Humorous Interpretation
Mary Hogue- 4th place in United States Extemporaneous Speaking
Emily Kirila- 4th place in Original Oratory
Elizabeth Ludwig- 6th place in Original Oratory
Madeline Rowe- 6th place in Dramatic Interpretation

As a result of their performances Ryan Hamilton, Adam Hoge, and Janalyn Miklas all qualified for the National Speech and Debate Association Tournament in Dallas, TX from June 14th-19th. Ian Ollila was selected as an alternate to the event. Congratulations to all competitors.

High School Musical Dates Approaching

High School Musical will be presented March 26-28, 2015 @ 7:00 p.m. along with a Saturday matinee on March 28th @ 2:00 p.m. Tickets are now on sale. The cost for students is $5.00 and the cost for adults is $7.00. Please attend to see this fantastic group of students share their rendition of this beloved Disney movie.

Mercer Band Members Selected for PMEA Jr. High Band and PMEA 9th Grade Band

Congratulations to the Mercer students who were invited to the District 5 Band Fest on Tuesday, March 31st at Butler Intermediate High School.

The following 9th grade students were selected for the PMEA District 5 Ninth Grade Band:
Andrew Brinker
Brianna Jarrett
Evan Daugherty
Josh Wamboldt

The following middle school students were selected for the PMEA District 5 Jr. High Band:
Clifford Hughes
David Ellis

Band Members Participate in PMEA District 5 Large Ensemble Music Performance Assessment

On Wednesday, March 18th the Mercer Senior High Wind Ensemble , Senior High Concert Band, and Middle School Concert Band will travel to Greenville High School to participate in the PMEA District 5 Large Ensemble Music Performance Assessment. The purpose of attending this event is to gather a formal evaluation of the ensemble from a panel of music educators.

3rd Annual Sweet Sounds Recital To Be Held on Thursday

The 3rd Annual Sweet Sounds Recital will be held on Thursday, March 12th at 6:30 p.m. in the High School Cafeteria. This event will feature the Wind Ensemble and the Jazz Band on the theme of "American Pop".  The cost for admittance is $5.00. Desserts and refreshments will be available to spectators.

Mercer Speakers Moving Forward to National Tournament

On Saturday, March 7th the Mercer Speech Team traveled to Gannon University to compete in the Catholic Forensic League National Qualifier tournament.

The following students qualified for the 63th Grand National Tournament that is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida:
Rachel Bish- 1st place in Declamation
Janalyn Miklas- 1st place in Dramatic Interpretation
Ryan Hamilton and Adam Hoge- 2nd place in Duo Interpretation
Madeline Rowe- 2nd place in Poetry and Prose Interpretation
Mary Hogue- 2nd place in Current Events
Emily Kirila- 3rd place in Original Oratory
Ian Ollila- 3rd place in Dramatic Interpretation

The following students were named as alternates for the 63rd Grand National Tournament:
Mason Borowicz- Declamation
Elizabeth Ludwig- Original Oratory
Kendra Walker- Dramatic Interpretation

Mercer Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Gains Three New Members in May

Congratulations to the following alumni who will be inducted into the 16th class of the Mercer Area School District Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame on May 6 at the annual Academic Awards Banquet.

John Thorn- Circa 1898/99
Distinguished Actor- Silent Films/Broadway

Susan Q. Stranahan- Class of 1964
Pulitzer Prize Winner/ Author

Dr. Benjamin Shipton- Class of 1989
Physician/ Community Service

March 2nd Marks Beginning of Spring Sports Season

Even though the snow and cold temperatures still linger from the winter months, March 2nd marks the official beginning of the spring sports season. These events include Middle School Baseball, JV and Varsity Baseball, JV and Varsity Girls' Softball, Middle School Track, Boys' Track, and Girls' Track.

Members of Speech Team Qualify for PHSSL State Tournament

The Mercer Speech Team travelled to Pine Richland on Saturday, February 28th to compete in the Pennsylvania High School Speech League (PHSSL) qualifier tournament. The following students will be moving forward to compete at the PHSSL State Tournament at Susquehanna University on March 20th and 21st.

Rachel Bish- 1st place in informative speaking
Ryan Hamilton and Adam Hoge- 1st place in duo interpretation
Janalyn Miklas- 1st place in dramatic interpretation
Ian Ollila- 1st place in humorous interpretation
Andrew Brinker- 2nd place in humorous interpretation
Mary Hogue- 2nd place in extemporaneous speaking
Sarah Turton- 2nd place in poetry interpretation
Madeline Rowe- 2nd place in prose interpretation
Kendra Walker- 2nd place in dramatic interpretation

The following students were recognized as alternates to the PHSSL State Tournament
Elizabeth Ludwig- persuasive speaking
Grayson Covert- poetry interpretation
Evan Daugherty- commentary