Student Work Entered into Mike Kelly Congressional Art Competition

A handful of Mercer students were entered into the Mike Kelly Congressional Art Competition.

Alex VanWoert (11th grade)  created the pen and ink drawing of the tiger
Demi Skoofalos (10th grade) created the print of the mountain and the tree
Jaydn Moon (11th grade) created the chip carving
Alex Roman (12th grade) created the pencil still life
Jessica Cameron (10th grade) created the print of the city buildings
Anna Brunson (10th grade) created the painting of the chalices

These students have an opportunity to win awards for their artwork or become a Facebook Fan Favorite. In order to become a Facebook Fan Favorite, someone must 'like' one of their pictures on the Mike Kelly Representative Official Facebook page. Student work can be voted on by signing onto Facebook. You may follow the web address below to cast your vote.

https://m.facebook.com/page/mediaset.php?id=191056827594903&album=pb.191056827594903

Athletic Events Week of April 25th

The following Mercer Middle-High School athletic events will take place during the week of April 25th:

Monday:
None

Tuesday:
Middle School Baseball vs. Sharon @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)
Varsity Track & Field @ Reynolds (4:00 p.m.)
Softball @ Jamestown (4:00 p.m.)

Wednesday:
Baseball @ Kennedy Catholic (4:00 p.m.)
Middle School Baseball vs. Kennedy Catholic @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)
MS Track & Field vs. Greenville, Kennedy Catholic, Sharon @ Mercer High School (4:00 p.m.)

Thursday:
Softball @ Sharon (4:15 p.m.)

Friday:
Baseball @ Maplewood (4:00 p.m.)

Saturday:
Middle School Baseball @ Hickory (11:00 a.m.)
Baseball @ Conneaut (1:00 p.m.)
Softball @ Conneaut (3:00 p.m.)

Spring Choral Concert -- Thursday, April 28th

The Mercer Middle-High School Spring Choral Concert will be held on Thursday, April 28th at 7:30 p.m. in the Mercer High School Auditorium.

Congratulations to the New Inductees of National Honor Society

Earlier today the Mercer High School Chapter of the National Honor Society held its annual induction ceremony. The program began at 2:30 p.m. in the Mercer High School Auditorium. Congratulations to the following students who were newly inducted into NHS:

Marah Buchanan
Jaime Burdette
Kaylynn Foore
Leah Fuge
Eric Gawne
Abby Grabigel
Paige Gressly
Jon-Carl Hostetler
Kelly Jarrett
Liz Ludwig
Lindsay Nemeth
Megan Parker
Erica Peters
Grace Ruhlman
Kate Timashenka
Alex VanWoert
Brittany Watson
Levi Beqeath
Alexa Stanton
Derrick Thompson
Natalie Titus

Three Mercer Students Recognized by MCCC as Students of the Quarter

Three Mercer High School students have been selected as Students of the Quarter at the Mercer County Career Center.

Brandan Borden- Auto Body - 11th grade

Marissa Edwards- Early Childhood Education- 11th grade

Reina Smith- Early Childhood Education- 12th grade

Mrs. Walzer Selected as HOPE Award Winner for April 2016

Mrs. Nicole Walzer has been selected as the winner of the HOPE (Honoring Outstanding Professional Educators) Award for the month of April.

Students of Mercer Middle-High School have the opportunity to nominate any teacher, coach, advisor, or staff member that has positively impacted their lives. Mercer senior Ryan Hamilton nominated Mrs. Walzer for this award. The nomination form read as follows:

"Mrs. Walzer’s dedication to the Mercer Robotics program and 7th grade classes is unprecedented. She is a shining star of positive and promotion of this district and its students. Throughout my tenure as a student here she has been a person to lean on in times of need. When presented with an issue, she will always be the educator that I go to for help. I greatly appreciate all that she has given up for her students while being at Mercer."

Congratulations to Mrs. Walzer and thank you for all of the work that you do for the students at Mercer Middle-High School.

Athletic Events Week of April 18th

The following Mercer High School athletic events will take place during the week of April 18th:

Monday:
JV/Varsity Baseball @ Rocky Grove (4:00 p.m.)

Tuesday:
Middle School Baseball vs. Sharpsville @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)
Varsity Track & Field @ Lakeview (4:00 p.m.)
Softball vs. Franklin @ Brandy Springs Park (4:15 p.m.)

Wednesday:
Baseball vs. Jamestown @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)
Softball @ Wilmington (4:15 p.m.)
Middle School Track & Field @ Reynolds vs. Reynolds, George Junior Republic, West Middlesex (4:00 p.m.)

Thursday:
Baseball vs. Sharpsville @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)
Varsity Track & Field @ West Middlesex vs. West Middlesex, Farrell, and Kennedy Catholic (4:00 p.m.)

Friday:
Varsity Track & Field @ Butler Invitational

Saturday:
Middle School Baseball vs. Reynolds @ Brandy Springs Park (doubleheader) (11:00 a.m.)
JV Baseball @ Greenville (11:00 a.m.)
Softball vs. Lakeview @ Brandy Springs Park (3:00 p.m.)

School Board Meeting - TONIGHT

The Mercer School Board of Directors will hold the April School Board Meeting  in the Mercer High School Library at 8:00 p.m. tonight.

Results from Harbor Creek Track & Field Invitational

The Mercer High School Track & Field Team traveled to the Harbor Creek Invitational on Saturday, April 16th.

The following Mercer athletes placed at the meet:


Megan Parker
2nd Place in Shot Put
6th Place in Discus

Bryanna Fedorchak
3rd Place in Javelin

Alexa Stanton
5th Place in 100 Meter Dash

Results from Keystone Oaks Tournament

Mercer Speech Team members in grades 7 through 10 participated in the Pittsburgh District Freshman-Sophomore Tournament at Keystone Oaks High School on Saturday, April 16th.  Eight students brought home awards for placing in the top three in their respective category. Here are the results:

Humorous Interpretation:
1st- Andrew Brinker
2nd- Mason Borowicz
5th- Brianna Jarrett

Extemporaneous Speaking:
1st- Mary Hogue
2nd- Rose Gigliotti
5th- Matthew Hoge

Poetry Interpretation:
1st- Evan Daugherty
4th- Caleb Miklas

Original Oratory:
1st- Jocelyn Brown
4th- Cole McDuffie

Prose Interpretation:
2nd- Maddie Rowe
4th- Sarah Turton

Impromptu Speaking:
3rd- Kate Shaffer

Dramatic Interpretation:
5th- Savannah Bungar

Duo Interpretation:
4th- Allie Laughlin and Maddie Laughlin
5th- MacKenzie Meyer and Micaela Johnson

Speech Team To Host "An Evening of Forensics"

The Mercer High School Speech Team will be hosting a two-day event in the Mercer High School Auditorium on Friday, April 22nd and Saturday, April 23rd. 

There will be new performances each night as the members of the Mercer Speech Team present their speech pieces. After the performances, there will be a dessert reception that follows in the Mercer High School Cafeteria.  

The cost for students is $2.00 and the cost for adults is $5.00. Performances begin at 7:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday.

Total of 19 Students Published in CelebratingArt.com Contest

If you have been following this blog for the past few weeks, you will have noticed a large number of student art pieces that have been featured. In total, 19 Mercer Middle-High School students will have their artwork published in a professional hardbound book through the medium of CelebratingArt.com.  Thousands of entries across the nation were not selected to be published, so this is quite an achievement for our students.

As a result of the good work from the students, Mercer Middle-High School will receive

• free art supplies from Blick
• a copy of the finalized published product
• a certificate of high merit as a result of such a large number of published artists.

The competition is still underway as CelebratingArt.com will be selecting the Top Ten art pieces from amongst all published art pieces.

Please visit previous blog posts to view the individual artwork of these 19 Mercer artists.

Congratulations to those students who have been selected for publication!

Honorable Mention - 3rd Marking Period

Congratulations to the following students who were earned Honorable Mention recognition as a result of their hard work during the 3rd marking period:

12th Grade

Allie Cameron

Travis Duffield

Maddison Gabany

Arielle Hall

Timothy Lang

Samantha Metts

Shawn Moon

Dannah Rutter

11th Grade

Alexis Ayers

Rachel Bish

Marah Buchanan

Rachael Gilkey

Haylie Glass

Tyler Marsh

Matthew Mathias

Kayla McCullough

Noah McLaughlin

Megan Parker

Bobby Rickard

Chris Thompson

Brock Watson

10th Grade

Jessica Cameron

RJ Carson

Evan Daugherty

Iana Ellis

Rachel Gerber

Jackson Hazelet

Emily Kimes

Matthew Lontz

Logan Mills

Justin Reno

Kaitlyn Schupp

Demi Skoofalos

Micah Wojnowski

9th Grade

Kevin Chen

Alayna Jacoway

Kaily Priester

Virginia Reagle

Hannah Ridgway

Marcus Ryan

Brian Shevitz

Jacob Sirofchuck

8th Grade

Michaela Adams

Laken Bartholomew

Nicole Bornick

Hunter Houy

Katie Kirila

Holden Konkle

Jonathan Michaels

Brianna Oehlbeck

Nathan Slater

Ian Taylor

Jared White

Christopher Wilms

7th Grade

Makayla Allen

Kylie Bish-Allen

Conner Ealy

Samuel Ellison

Alex Hammons

Ryanne Moore-Michaels

Harrison Murray

Honor Roll - 3rd Marking Period

Congratulations to the following students who were named to the Honor Roll for the 3rd marking period:

12th Grade

Brandon Anderson

Levi Bequeath

Jordyn Buchanan

Nate Cameron

Rose Cull

Emily Kirila

Garret Kuhn

Christopher Majonek

Andrea Masters

Hannah McElrath

Kaitlyn Nemeth

Mark Peters

Rebecca Simcik

Jensen Sirofchuck

Reina Smith

Alexa Stanton

11th Grade

Brittany Edwards

Kaylynn Foore

Leah Fuge

Abby Grabigel

Jon-Carl Hostetler

Elizabeth Ludwig

Alex VanWoert

10th Grade

Mason Borowicz

Autumn Coryea

Gray Covert

Spencer Ference

Brad Filer

Grace Haggard

Max Hamilton

Mary Hogue

Justin LaBarge

Katie Lewis

Brittany Marano

Sierrah McFarland

Liam McQuiston

Annie Miller

Kayley Patterson

Cassidy Pears

Megan Reed

Ian Titus

Chris Zacherl

9th Grade

Brayden Ellis

Clifford Hughes

Krista Mathias

Caleb Miklas

Kara Peters

Kaylie Robertson

Kaitlyn Roseski

8th Grade

Jenna Burkhart

Cheyenne Duffield

Ashley Eiler

Abigail Evans

Samantha Jarrett

Dylan Mattocks

Tanner McElrath

7th Grade

Amanda Bish
Rebecca Feilke
Mason Hesselgesser
Grant Haggard
Connor Howard
Michaela Johnson
Alexandria Laughlin
Madeline Laughlin
MacKenzie Meyer
Grace Nickel
Max Puskar
Madalyn Russell
Gina Smith
Alexis Watkins

High Honor Roll- 3rd Marking Period

Congratulations to the following students for being named to High Honor Roll for the 3rd marking period:

12th Grade:
Kaitlin Conner
Taylor Dulaney
Adriana Duncan
Ryan Hamilton
Megan Lang
Dakotah McFarland
Janalyn Miklas
Noah Minarik
Jeremiah Robertson
Sean Strain
Derrick Thompson
Natalie Titus
Kyle Wamboldt

11th Grade:

Jaime Burdette
Eric Gawne
Paige Gressly
Luke Hartwell
Kelly Jarrett
Erica Peters
Grace Ruhlman
Kate Timashenka
Brittany Watson

10th Grade

Morgan Addicott

Austin Billingsley

Emily Bright

Andrew Brinker

Anna Brunson

Will Chess

Gabe Dembroski

Rose Gigliotti

Austin Hesselgesser

Brianna Jarrett

Erin McQuiston

Brad Metts

Michael Morneweck

Carlene Murray

Anna Robertson

Maddie Rowe

Marcus Ryder

Kate Shaffer

Ashley Shoemaker

Lane Snyder

Sarah Turton

Josh Wamboldt

9th Grade

Jocelyn Brown

Candace Corvino

Carsen Burkhart

Casey Covert

Christa Ealy

Chayse Fussell

Craig Howard

Madison Kimes

Jesse Lantz

Alex Long

Rachel Mays

Cole McDuffie

Kayleigh Rickard

Corie Roseski

Daniel Scheidhauer

Katie Stabile

Zach Stanton

Noah Wiley

8th Grade

Jenna Blaus

Cecilia Ciavarino

Alexander Chess

Logan Conner

Stephanie Cook

David Ellis

Ella Garner

Kayla Glaser

Megan Hogan

Emalee Hostetler

Zaleigh King

Garrison Lutch

Jessica McGraw

Darby Miller

Isaiah Phillips

Adrienne Schupp

Aubrie Simcik

Carly Stabile

Alexander Tomson

7th Grade

Damian Aites

Colette Brown

Cayla Caruso

Bailey Grossman

Jayme Heffern

Peyton Miller

Merrick Morneweck

Lillian Roman

Austin Supler

Taylor Truran

Even More Student Artwork To Be Published!

We have just received word that the artistic creations of more Mercer Middle-High School students will be published in an art magazine for CelebratingArt.com.

Here are pictures of the student pieces that have been chosen for publication:

Rebecca Simcik (12th Grade)












Kate Timashenka (11th Grade)

Brock Watson (11th Grade)

Gray Covert (10th Grade)

Alexis Ayers (11th Grade)

Anna Brunson (10th Grade)

Dakotah McFarland (12th Grade)

Alyssa English (12th Grade)

Jessica Cameron (10th Grade)

Alyssa Vasil (11th Grade)

Megan Reed (10th Grade)

Results from 1st Annual Mercer Middle School Trivia Bowl

On Monday, April 4th the Mercer High School Student Council hosted the 1st Annual Mercer Middle School Trivia Bowl. The event was held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the Mercer High School Library.

Students in grades 7-8 were able to assemble their own team of three participants and compete against other teams. The questions were completely random, but fit into the categories of art, sports, pop culture, history, geography, arts, and miscellaneous.

The winning team of the 1st Annual Mercer Middle School Trivia Bowl is pictured below. The winning team was made up of Merrick Morneweck, Darby Miller, and Emmalee Hostetler

Results from 1st Annual Mercer High School Trivia Bowl

On Tuesday, April 5th the Mercer Middle School Student Council hosted the 1st Annual Mercer High School Trivia Bowl. The event was held from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the Mercer High School Library.

Students in grades 9-12 were able to assemble their own team of three participants and compete against other teams. The questions were completely random, but fit into the categories of art, sports, pop culture, history, geography, arts, and miscellaneous.

The winning team of the 1st Annual Mercer High School Trivia Bowl is pictured below. The winning team was made up of Chris Micsky, Mark Peters, and Sean Strain.

Athletic Events Week of April 11th

The following Mercer athletic events will take place during the week of April 11th:  

Monday:
JV/Varsity Baseball @ Greenville (4:00 p.m.)  

Tuesday:
None  

Wednesday:
JV/Varsity Baseball @ Cambridge Springs (4:00 p.m.)
MS Track & Field @ Wilmington (vs. Wilmington/Sharpsville) (4:00 p.m.)  

Thursday:
MS Baseball @ Hickory (4:00 p.m.)
Softball @ Sharpsville (4:15 p.m.)  

Friday:
JV/Varsity Baseball vs. West Middlesex @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)
Softball vs. Titusville @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)  

Saturday:
MS Baseball @ West Middlesex (11:00 a.m.)
JV Baseball vs. Hickory @ Brandy Springs Park (3:00 p.m.)            

Prom Registration THIS WEEK

Registration for Prom will take place on Wednesday, April 13th - Friday, April 15th in Room 203 immediately before and after school.

All juniors and seniors should have already been provided with an information sheet regarding Prom. Attendees must pay for the tickets when they register. If students are taking a non-Mercer guest, these forms should be completed at the time of registration.  

Please see Ms. Giles for any questions regarding Prom registration.

No School - Friday, April 22nd

There will be NO SCHOOL for students and teachers on Friday, April 22nd. 

National Honor Society Induction - Wednesday, April 20th

The Mercer High School National Honor Society will hold its annual induction ceremony on Wednesday, April 20th in the Mercer High School Auditorium at approximately 2:45 p.m. 

New members will be inducted into the organization. Parents of inductees and current members of National Honor Society are invited to attend the ceremony.

Seussical the Musical To Be Held This Week

The Mercer High School Musical this year will be Seussical the Musical.  

There will be three shows held in the Mercer High School Auditorium:
Friday, April 15th @ 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 16th @ 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 17th @ 2:00 p.m.  

The cost for the shows are as follows:
Adults -  $6.00
Students -  $4.00
Children Under Four - Free

Tickets can be purchased in the Mercer High School Office or can be purchased at the door on the day of the show.

Speech Results from PHSSL State Speech Tournament

The Pennsylvania High School Speech League (PHSSL) held its 55th Annual State Tournament on April 8th and April 9th at Susquehanna University. There were more than 725 student participants, representing 130 school districts across Pennsylvania. All competitors that reached the State Tournament advanced through regional qualifying tournaments back in February. In total, there were 16 students who represented Mercer High School at the competition this past weekend.

STATE CHAMPION
Kate Shaffer (10th grade) placed first out of 76 competitors in the Impromptu speaking event. This makes Kate the 17th state speech champion and the first state winner in this category from Mercer High School.

THREE SPEAKERS PLACED AS STATE FINALISTS
Andrew Brinker (10th grade) placed 3rd in humorous interpretation
Rose Gigliotti (10th grade) placed 5th in commentary
Cole McDuffie (9th grade) placed 5th in informative speaking

SEVEN SPEAKERS ADVANCED TO SEMIFINALS
Janalyn Miklas (12th grade) placed in the top 12 in dramatic interpretation
Elizabeth Ludwig (11th grade) placed in the top 12 in persuasive speaking
Emily Kirila (11th grade) placed in the top 12 in persuasive speaking
Caleb Miklas (9th grade) place in the top 12 in poetry interpretation
Ryan Hamilton (12th grade) and Maddie Rowe (10th grade) placed in the top 12 in duo interpretation
Mason Borowicz (10th grade) placed in the top 12 in humorous interpretation

FOUR SPEAKERS ADVANCED TO TOP 24
Abby Grabigel (11th grade) placed in the top 24 in radio announcing
Evan Daugherty (10th grade) placed 14th  in poetry interpretation
Rachel Bish (11th grade) placed 14th in informative speaking
Mary Hogue (10th grade) placed 14th in extemporaneous speaking

Anna Brunson Wins Best in Show at District 10 Biennial High School Art Invitational

Mercer sophomore Anna Brunson won Best in Show for her clay piece called "Anglerfish" at the District Ten Biennial High School Art Invitational. The artwork of 84 students from across the region were entered into the final competition. The art exhibit was held at the Bruce Gallery at Edinboro University on April 6th.

Congratulations to Anna for her achievement!

Students Recognized By Peers

The PRIDE Award is something unique to Mercer Middle-High School. There are many different awards and recognitions that students may receive during the course of the school year. The PRIDE Award is a complementary component to the Student of the Month.

To receive the PRIDE Award, a student is nominated by one of their peers in the middle school or high school. To receive the Student of the Month recognition, the student is nominated by a teacher or administrator.

Every student in the building has the chance to anonymously nominate a fellow student. If a person is selected as a winner of the PRIDE Award, they will not know who nominated them. This helps promote the idea that character counts, not only to the teachers, but to peers as well.

We have two winners of the PRIDE Award that we would like to recognize for the month of April:

Abby Grabigel (11th Grade)

Nate Hinkson (11th Grade)

We would like to say thank you to these winners for being positive student leaders!

Student Artwork Entered Into Competition

The artwork of five Mercer High School students have been entered into Artist's Magazine Annual Art Competition. These young artists include Anna Brunson, Grayson Covert, Alyssa English, Abby Grabigel, and Rebecca Simcik. he results of the competition will not be announced until August 10th.

On Wednesday, April 6th from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. there is an awards ceremony for an art competition at Edinboro University. The Edinboro University Biennial D-10 High School artwork is located in the Bruce Gallery. The following young artists have been entered into the competition: Anna Brunson, Alyssa English, Ryan Hamilton, and Rebecca Simcik.

Athletic Events Week of April 4th

The following Mercer athletic events will take place during the week of April 4th:

Monday:
JV/Varsity Baseball vs. Saegertown @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)

Tuesday:
Middle School Baseball @ Sharon (4:00 p.m.)
Varsity Track & Field vs. Wilmington @ Mercer High School Stadium (4:00 p.m.)
JV/Varsity Softball @ Sharon (4:15 p.m.)

Wednesday:
MS Track & Field vs. Lakeview @ Mercer High School Stadium (4:00 p.m.)

Thursday:
Baseball vs. Cambridge Springs @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)
JV/Varsity Softball vs. Slippery Rock @ Brandy Springs Park (4:15 p.m.)

Friday:
Varsity Baseball vs. Sharpsville @ Brandy Springs Park (4:00 p.m.)

Saturday:
JV/Varsity Softball vs. Commodore Perry @ Brandy Springs Park (11:00 a.m.)

Mercer High School Hosting Student Blood Drive

Mercer High School is hosting a Blood Drive today for eligible students in 11th and 12th grade. Representatives from Central Blood Bank met with students over the past few weeks in preparation for this event. This experience provides students with an opportunity to donate to the local blood bank. Student donors signed up for donation times in order to avoid classroom conflicts.

Thank you to all of the students who choose to donate!

Mercer High School Physiology Class Collaborating with Local Schools

Members of the Mercer High School Physiology class will participate in an Organ and Tissue Donation Symposium with other students from Grove City, Lakeview, and Reynolds on Friday, April 8th.

The symposium is hosted by Mercer High School and will be held in the LGI classroom throughout the school day.

Mercer Speech Team Heading to PHSSL State Tournament

Members of the Mercer Speech Team will travel to Susquehanna University on April 7th-9th to compete in the Pennsylvania High School Speech League State Tournament. Congratulations to the following students who will competing for a state title:

Abby Grabigel
Andrew Brinker
Brianna Jarrett
Caleb Miklas
Cole McDuffie
Elizabeth Ludwig
Emily Kirila
Evan Daugherty
Janalyn Miklas
Kate Shaffer
Maddie Rowe
Mary Hogue
Mason Borowicz
Rachel Bish
Rose Gigliotti
Ryan Hamilton

Student Group Heading to International Film Festival

Twenty Mercer High School students are traveling with Mrs. Walzer on Wednesday, April 6th. They will be heading to the Cleveland International Film Festival.