Tiger Times May 2022 (Spring Edition) by mercymiddletown

Tiger Times Spring Edition

Tiger Talk By: Brooke Sheehy

Mercy

Do you like summer? Do you like the beach?

Meaghan Bertolami ‘22

Yes

Hanna Riccardi ‘22

YES, I LOVE SUMMER

Brittany Bellamo ‘23

Claire Bankoski ‘24

Grace McKenna ‘24

Faculty

Yes

Of course I like the summer

Yes, it’s my favorite

No, I prefer the pool it is too sandy

Love the beach, my favorite place on earth currently Yes, very much

What are your plans for summer?

Ice cream or popsicles?

I’m going to work and try to enjoy my time at home as much as possible before I leave

Ice Cream

Beach, boating, tanning & swimming

Going to the beach, working and having fun

Oh my gosh, I love the beach. I wish I lived closer to it.

It is my favorite place besides Mercy High School

Do you like summer? Do you like the beach?

Go to the beach hopefully have a Sweet 16.

Go to the beach every day and make money

What are your plans for summer?

Ice Cream Ice cream after dinner, but popsicles at the beach

Ice cream

Ice cream only from the ice cream truck

Ice cream or popsicles?

Tanning

Ms. Barone

Mrs. Papke

Mrs. Reagan

Love

It’s my favorite

I love summer!

Ice cream from Cold Stone

Love

Love it, I even know how to surf!

Wish I was there every day

Beach trip to Outer Banks, NC & time with the fam!

Hanging out with my nieces (9, 10 years old)

Ice cream

Both are favorites— maybe ice cream!

Overheard at Mercy Yes, this stuff was really said

By: Aine Lally

“This is our uniform.

“I’m glad

It’s basically

I resigned

a hoodie

From track.”

without the hood.” “Oh, no!

“Pep,

There’s syrup

you’re my

in my car!”

spirit animal.”

“I am not a liability. I am an asset.”

“What if humans laid eggs?”

“She talks in the same font she writes.”

TechTigers: Boots Down in Houston By: Grace Cink

During the 2021-2022 robotics season, the Mercy TechTigers worked nearly every school night and even on Saturdays to build a robot in 8 weeks. They also volunteered at local events and raised funds for charity which they do year-round. All this hard work has paid off, qualifying the team to attend the FIRST World Championship as it has every year since 2018-2019. However, the pandemic has prevented a World Championship event for the past two years. Needless to say, they were thrilled to find out that the team qualified to attend the 2022 World Championship in Houston, Texas! On Tuesday, the 19th of April, after a warm send off from the school, the TechTigers set out for Houston! The team was flying to competition and thankfully the bus to the airport did not break down this time. However, upon arriving at the airport the bus did require a police escort to find the entrance! Luckily, the team was able to get to Houston without any more issues. At the World Championship, teams are divided into 6 Divisions named after famous scientists. Teams compete during qualifying matches in their division with a different group of randomly assigned teams each match. After qualifying matches, the top 8 teams of each division each pick 3 other teams to be on their Alliance for the next level of competition, playoffs, where each Alliance competes until the top Alliance moves on to the next level, finals. Finals at Worlds are called the Einstein division and the winning alliance wins the entire competition. On Wednesday and Thursday, the team set up their pit (a space provided to teams to work on and store their robot) in the George R. Brown Convention Center and competed in qualifying matches in their division named after George Washington Carver. In between competing, the TechTigers met hundreds of teams from around the world, notably meeting another all girls team from Australia, Pymble Pride, a team sponsored by NASA that works in the NASA Space Center, the Robonauts, and the world renowned Cheesy Poofs! During their wanderings of the convention, the team met a documentary film crew who decided to film the team working on the robot, Amanda Earhart, and interview students! By the end of qualifying matches, the team placed 32 out of 77, double their rank at the last World Championship which was 66. On Friday and Saturday, the team watched the playoffs and finals to root for the friends they made along the way and ended their night with a special dinner at The Hobbit Cafe! To celebrate their time in Houston, the team was guided by two women working as NASA scientists through the NASA Space Center to see real space-traveling vessels from different eras and learning about NASA’s latest missions. Team members and a surprise guest, a former team member attending Rice University in Houston, Doris, loved asking questions and learning about NASA’s work from these amazing women!

SENIORITIS

*SYMPTOMS INCLUDE* -LAZINESS -OVEREXCESSIVE SWEATPANT WEARING -LACK OF STUDYING -REPEATED ABSENCE -DISMISSIVE ATTITUDE

sen·ior·i·tis /ˌsēnyəˈrīdəs/ Noun a supposed affliction of students in their final year of high school or college, characterized by a decline in motivation or performance. "I try not to let my grades suffer from my senioritis".

SINK OR SWIM SENIORS

...

As we approach these last couple days of senior year, it is crunch time. While most of our motivation is lacking, it’s important to keep pushing these next couple weeks! Especially with all the senior activities, getting sidetracked and summer temptation can be the ultimate grade killer. Slay senioritis with these do’s and don’ts... you’re not done till you walk across the stage!!!

DO’S

DON’TS

-set weekly goals for yourself, either in a planner or in your head

-do not procrastinate! The longer you wait to do something, the more likely it is never to be done.

-give yourself a reward for getting through something (like completing a homework assignment or just going to class)

-don’t let other attitudes affect your own. Just because your friends are checked out doesn’t mean you should be too! Try to be the encouraging light at the end of the tunnel.

-if “routine” is driving you nuts, change things up to make it feel new -try to stay organized and keep an eye on your calendar

-do not think these last few weeks don’t matter! They actually do and can set the pace for how you work even when you may not have motivation. “I’m basically already in college... so who cares?” Fun fact, colleges actually DO care to see that you finished strong your senior year! A big drop in grades, attendance, or anything else that can stand out to admission officers that granted you acceptance can result in a possible revocation of your offer of admission! Just because you’re in doesn’t mean it’s over! Continue to be the hardworking student you applied as.

Tips and Tricks to Passing Your AP Exams By: Emilia St. Pierre AP exams are a stressful time of year, but no need to worry because here is everything you need to know to pass and do well! Do not start studying the night before. Study in sections. Set aside different days to study different topics because it is hard to learn an entire year’s worth of material in one night. Read your notes, study old tests and quizzes, or make Quizlets or flashcards. Get a good night’s sleep. Try to get those 8 hours. You will feel refreshed and ready for your exam. Eat a good and healthy breakfast. No one wants to hear a stomach growling in the middle of the exam! Sharpen your pencils and make sure your pens have ink. Bring 2 in case of an emergency. If your exam requires a calculator, make sure it is fully charged. There is nothing worse than your calculator dying in the middle of the exam. Study with friends. Studying with other people may help you remember more information. Ask your teacher for extra help. They are here to help you. Trust me, they want you to pass. Make sure you arrive on time. You don’t want to be the person that makes the exams start later. Stay calm and breathe! You know more than you think you do.

Good luck!

Teacher Appreciation Week Mercy celebrated its faculty members on Tuesday, May 3rd with an ice cream truck for Teacher Appreciation Week in honor of all that they do! We asked Mercy students what they appreciated about their teachers.

I appreciate how Ms.

Rodrigues starts

I appreciate Mrs.

every day with a positive attitude and how she greets me with a smile every morning during advisor group! —Ella Bankoski

Thank you to Mrs.

Wamester

for treating us as your own, and for the cinnamon buns! —Ashlyn Liedke

We want to thank Mr.

Naumann’s wel-

coming enthusiasm whenever you walk into her room. Her ability to make everyone feel like her “favorite student” is amazing.—Ava Milardo

I appreciate Ms.

Freeman’s willingness to lis-

ten to her students and her empathy towards us. —Lucy Zajack

Carroll for putting up with us this

year. We appreciate him always being a guiding source, and giving us some of the best advice we’ve ever received. We couldn’t have asked for a better teacher our senior year.  —Syd Barber & Maeve Martin

I love Mrs.

Reagan’s unending

optimism. In everything she says or does, she radiates hope. You can bring any inconvenience, frustration, or sadness to her and she will give you back a ray of sunshine. —Grace Cink

I appreciate Mrs. Pepitone because of her eager passion to spread the faith throughout each student. Her deep faith, positive attitude, and humor is contagious. She demonstrates what it is like to be a strong, independent woman who centers her life around Christ. Mrs. Pepitone is a blessing in the Mercy Community and continues to instill the most important gift of faith into each young woman she teaches in a beautiful way. —Lily Schoonmaker Sarah Seymour and Julia Phillips celebrate Mrs. Durbois by getting themselves some ice cream.

I appreciate Mrs. Geary because throughout my four years she has been a constant friendly face, who will always indulge my rants and random stories. She also has given me so much advice for when I become a teacher myself, such as, “Yell at the freshmen once, and they’ll be scared of you forever.”–Tory Pulling

I appreciate Mrs. Brugger because she always gives really good advice and she is an amazing music teacher and really cares about her students.”—Annie Krupski

I am thankful for Mr. Macary because he has always cared about what his students are interested in. I will always look up to him as a role model from the experiences he has given me in my astronomy class. —Spencer Wrubleski

I appreciate Mr. Michaud because he always uses his free time to help students who need extra help, and always makes sure that we understand the material he teaches. He takes the time to individually make sure we are succeeding in his class, and does all he can to help if we are struggling. As my tennis coach too, he takes the time to give me feedback and strategies that improves me as a player.—Ava Cedillo

I appreciate Ms. Freeman because she always checks up on her students and is someone you feel comfortable talking to. She is so sweet, and she has the cutest outfits.–Mattingly Veilleux

I appreciate Mrs. LaBella because she loves to have fun with our Spanish class, and we share a lot of laughs with her, but she also helps us learn new topics and vocab in fun ways. I look forward to having her class every day because it’s always a positive and uplifting environment in her room! –Hannah Veenhuis

I appreciate Mrs. Reagan for always encouraging me in biology when AP Biology seems impossible and always checking in on me to see how my stressful senior year has been going. Mrs. Reagan is super helpful and understanding, which has been incredibly uplifting throughout this daunting year. —Hannah Gilbert

"To the strong and spirited woman that welcomes us into her office every morning with a smiling face, who has supported us this whole year and made us feel loved and like a family. She is a true role model of ours. We love you, Drew!"

I appreciate Mrs.

Duque for being so relatable and

—Maddy Carbone & Grace Andrea

understanding. She is just a really good person. —Alyssa Watkins

By: Sarah Seymour & Paula Opena

Attack of the Poison Ivy (And Sunburn!) By: Sarah Seymour As many of you may or may not know, Mr. Michaud became the assistant tennis coach this year. Over spring break, he contracted poison ivy. We had practices and matches for more than half of the break, and each time he showed up his poison ivy was SUBSTANTIALLY worse. In the beginning, it was barely noticeable, but just a few days later his arms were wrapped up completely and he looked like the Michelin man. As if it couldn’t get any worse for him, he then got a horrible sunburn after a 9-11 practice one of the mornings. You would have thought he was outside in the Florida sun for 5 straight days. Follow along on this journey as we hear from the man himself about this plant attack that got the best of him.

How did you contract this poison ivy? I was pulling weeds in my back yard. What was worse over break? Your poison ivy or your sunburn? The poison ivy by far! Worst poison ivy of my life. I wanted to cut my arms off. If you could travel back in time to when you got poison ivy, what would you do differently? Wear a hazmat suit with a couple pairs of gloves and I would chicken out as I approached it. Walk us through the day where your poison ivy was the worst. Phew, ok are u ready for all this? I woke up distraught. I sent a picture to my pharmacist friend and she said, “Oh, my god.” I sent it to my brother and he said, “Go to the emergency room.” I said I can’t afford that. So I settled with going to urgent care because it was urgent. The nurse asked why I was there and I quickly revealed the most disgusting thing I have seen and she agreed that it was the most disgusting thing she had seen. *proceeds to show me a picture without me asking to see it* The doctor told me he was going to wrap my arm up so it could be contained for the day. Then I went to Costco to go get groceries. Would you say that this poison ivy derailed your spring break? 100%. How would you rate your poison ivy experience 1 to 10, 10 being the worst. “Uh 10” Give the people recommendations on how to not get poison ivy. Stay inside.

What Spring Flower Are You? By Bridget Eberhart 1) What is your favorite springtime color? A) yellow B) pink C) red D) purple

5) Where would you want to go for spring break? A) Cancun B) Miami Beach C) Stay home and relax D) Europe

2) What is your favorite springtime activity? A) egg hunting B) gardening C) baseball D) picnic with friends

6) What is your favorite spring month? A) April B) May C) March D) June

3) What word best describes spring? A) hopeful B) refreshing C) dreary D) new

7) What is your favorite spring sport? A) golf B) baseball C) lacrosse D) track

4) What’s the best springtime holiday? A) Easter B) Mother’s Day C) Memorial Day D) Earth Day

8) What is your favorite spring Mercy tradition? A) Cake Auction B) Spring Concert C) Senior’s Last Day D) Prom

Mostly A’s

Mostly B’s

Daffodil

Hydrangea

You are very creative and always put friends and family first! You are a free spirit and love to have meaningful conversations.

Mostly C’s

Rose You are very creative and always put friends and family first! You are a free spirit and love to have meaningful conversations.

You are very wise and value knowledge and integrity. You are hardworking and can achieve anything you put your mind to!

Mostly D’s

Iris You are very bold and creative and love to have a good time! You are super social and always surround yourself with the people you love.