Mercer Family Bulletin - September

Students are empowered to contribute and confidently engage with their diverse communities.

I want to thank each of you for such a strong and joy-filled start to our school year. Friday’s Ribbon Cutting Ceremony and first of the year assembly was not only the opening of our beautiful new building, but a true celebration of who we are as a community.

A special thank you to our speakers—Ms. Sedillo, Mr. Adan, Ms. Li, and Ms. Bunnell—for lifting up the values of family engagement and the global perspective that define our international school. To our ribbon cutters and to every one of you who cheered loud and proud for Mercer, you truly are the beacon illuminating a path forward for our students each day!

Thank you to Ms. Cathy, Ms. Parker, and Ms. Maggie for preparing our dancers, who embodied the spirit of our multicultural community so beautifully. To Ms. Bond, Ms. Howell, and our custodial staff for preparing the space with such care, and to Ms. Buller and Mr. Plourde for running the stage seamlessly—your behind-the-scenes efforts made everything possible.

Friday reminded me once again of the power of team. Every voice, every role, every act of care added up to something much larger: a community grounded in pride, belonging, and hope for our students.

I am so grateful to be on this journey with all of you. Here’s to the year ahead—Mercer strong, Mercer together!

Go Mustangs!

Sherrie Encarnacion, Principal

Students can arrive at 8:30 a.m. or after.

• Free Breakfast is served in the cafeteria from 8:30-9:15 a.m.

Classes begin at 8:55 a.m. everyday.

School ends at...

• 3:45 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays
• Everyday Except Wednesday
• 2:30 p.m. on on Wednesdays

• Students should wear clothing they feel good in.
• Students should be Ready for school when they arrive. There is not time to do hair or other beautification while at school.
• Retakes and makeup photos will be taken on a later date.
• Only students who Order photos (digitally or in print) will be able to take a retake. If they have not ordered a photo, the photo taken on September 22 will be their school photo in the yearbook this year.

This week, students can fill out an Elective Change Request Form. These will be in the cafeteria and outside the counselors’ offices. Students can request a change in their electives.

Counselors will make changes when they are possible. Requests for changes are not a guarantee and we ask students to be flexible.

Please use this SPS Guide to determine if your child should come to school. If you have further questions, please contact the school nurse or your child's health care provider.

Appearance/Behavior: Unusually tired, pale, no appetite, harder to wake up, or confused.

Eyes: If there is drainage, vision change, and/or redness of the eyelid, itching, pain or sensitivity to light. This may be a sign of "pink eye" (conjunctivitis) and the student should be checked by a health care provider

Fever: temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees C) or higher. Students need to be fever free for 24 hours before returning to school WITHOUT medications to reduce the fever.

Bad Cold and/or Cough: Students need to be able to cover their cough to be at school. If a cough or cold persists for more than 2 weeks, the student may need to be seen by a health care provider.

Diarrhea: 2 or more watery stools in 24 hours, especially if the student acts or looks ill. Students should stay home for 24 hours after the last watery stool.

Vomiting: vomiting 2 or more times in 24 hours. Student should stay home for 24 hours after the last time they vomited.

Rash: Bothersome body rash, especially with fever or itching. Some rashes may spread to others and should be checked by a health care provider.

Injury/Surgery: if students are unable to concentrate due to pain or pain medication, they should

stay home. Please have your health care provider contact the school nurse to help your child safely return to school. Letting the school nurse know in advance of any planned surgery will be helpful.

Thank you for your support to keep students safe and healthy!

If students are leaving school early: an authorized adult must come for pickup.

Mercer Middle School rarely permits students to travel home independently by walking or metro bus. This is a safety risk as we want to ensure students get home safely. An administrator must approve any student to travel home without an approved adult after having written or verbal permission given by a parent or guardian. Parents must communicate with the school (main office, counselor, or administrator) after their child has arrived home so that we know they got there safely.

Please check in with your student in the morning if they are feeling unwell and use the guide above. We will always work with students to support them in getting back to class if they do not have a fever or other large symptoms.

Co-Ed Ultimate Frisbee

First Practice will be Wednesday, Sept 17

• Be prepared for the weather with proper shoes and clothing. Bring your own water bottle.

Practices will be Wednesday and Friday after school with games on Saturdays against other middle schools.

• Wednesday practice ends @ 4:30 p.m.
• Fridays practices ends @ 5:30 p.m.

Coaches:

Janyla Chavez, 206-816-0571, janyla@allgirleverything.org

Sam Terry, 206- 819-0645, sam@allgirleverything.org

Girls Soccer

An information meeting to meet the new coach will be Thursday, Sept. 11. Meet in Ms. Monica's classroom (room 353) at 4 p.m.

• Cleats and Shin guards are required. Bring your own water bottle and bring enough clothing based on the weather.

Practices are Tuesday and Thursdays afterschool with games on Saturdays against other middle schools. First Practice will be Tuesday, Sept. 16

• Practice ends @ 5:15 p.m.

Coaches:

Monica Marin - mgmarin@seattleschools.org

• Tuesday October 14th – Friday January 16
• (No Program Dates: 10/13, 11/11, 11/26, 11/27, 12/22 – 1/2)
• Monday October 13 – Indigenous Peoples Day is a recognized City Holiday

• Thursday October 30th – Latino Family Heritage Night 6–8 p.m.
• Thursday December 18th – Mercer Family Fun Night 5:30–8 p.m.

We want to be good neighbors to our local business! They greatly appreciate the shopping, but please do not use their parking lot for pick up and drop off. There is a drop off/pick up area on 16th (please use this while heading northbound).

We are an urban school on a busy intersection. We want to ensure you all and your children are safe. We have talked to the project managers about making 16th Ave a one-way street, but unfortunately, this is not possible with SDOT.

We can come together to support a safe community by avoiding the two-way passing. This creates many unsafe paths where cars are turning left onto busy intersections without a traffic light. It is highly recommend that at high-traffic times, that you only drive North on 16. There was a long line going south-bound on 16.

It is much safer to go North on 16 then turn at the intersection with a traffic light on South Dakota.

All teachers taught students about the importance of using crosswalks. Please encourage and remind your child to always use a crosswalk.

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In order to chaperone or volunteer for Seattle Public Schools, families must complete the volunteer process and application:

• After the volunteer process and application are approved, you can volunteer for any and all school events this year
• For more details, please see SPS Volunteer Chaperone Guidelines

After you login, you can check your volunteer status.

Please make sure that you are registered as a school volunteer and assigned to Mercer Middle School.

Example of login:

If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's grade-level administrator and grade-level teacher lead:

• 6th grade:
• Sarah Bond sjbond@seattleschools.org &
• Jenny Mears jnmears@seattleschools.org &
• Jason Plourde japlourde@seattleschools.org

• 7th grade:
• Bernadette Dickson badickson@seattleschools.org &
• Janet Bautista jpbautista@seattleschools.org

• 8th grade:
• Cliff Brown cbrown@seattleschools.org,
• Emily Elasky eaelasky@seattleschools.org, &
• Miye Aoki-Kramer maaokikramer@seattleschools.org