WELCOME MERCER FAMILIES!
UPCOMING EVENTS
GIFT CARD COLLECTION FOR MERCER STAFF - NOW THROUGH FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2023
AUDITIONS FOR ALADDIN KIDS!
Interested Mercer 3rd and 4th graders may sign up by completing the online Google Form or completing and returning the paper Mercer Play Interest/Permission Form that was sent home in backpack mail. Registration must be received no later than Monday, December 11, 2023.
POPCORN SPIRIT DAY - FRIDAY, DECEMBER 15
Join the Mercer PTO for Popcorn Spirit Day on Friday, December 15.
Parents/guardians are welcome to join their student(s) during lunch; however, all adult attendees must RSVP. A maximum of two adults per student, please. Younger siblings are not able to attend this event due to space limitations, however, infants in carriers or held by their parents will be fine.
The Mercer Spirit Store will be open and cash, check (made to "Mercer PTO") or credit card are accepted forms of payment.
To RSVP, please complete the December 15 Popcorn Spirit Day RSVP Google Form. Or, complete and return the RSVP portion of the December 15 Popcorn Spirit Day flier that came home in backpack mail.
GENTLY USED BOOK FAIR BOOK COLLECTION - JANUARY 4 - 19, 2024
MERCER YEARBOOK IS COMING
Submit Photos
As you capture fun and meaningful moments throughout the year, please email photos from school events, as well as class field trips and parties, to yearbook4mercer@gmail.com. When you submit a photo, please include basic information about the photo, such as the name of the event or class grade and teacher name. Submitted photos will potentially be used on the collage pages.
Yearbook Purchases
Our goal is for yearbooks to cost less than $20, and for them to be distributed before the end of the school year. Yearbooks will be created and ordered through a company called Treering, and each family will order their yearbook individually from Treering. When you order your yearbook, you receive two free pages to personalize with your own pictures.
For online ordering details, please refer to the Mercer Elementary School Yearbook - Treering flyer.
SPIRIT STORE OPEN!
The Mercer Spirit Store is open! Shop for Meerkat stuffed animals, short and long sleeve t-shirts, zip up hoodies, sunglasses, tote bags and more! Orders will be fulfilled mid-month.
ABOUT THE MERCER PTO
Did you know?
All parents or guardians of students in the Shaker Heights School District are automatically members of PTO. There are no membership fees, dues, or requirements. Any parent or guardian is welcome to attend any PTO meeting or event.
Families New to Mercer after School Starts
Contact mercerfamilies@gmail.com. We will welcome your family and help you get acquainted with Mercer.
2023-2024 MERCER PTO EXECUTIVE BOARD
VOLUNTEER REQUIREMENTS
All Mercer volunteers need to complete the volunteer registration and have a background check, including fingerprinting. The district wants to make sure that anyone spending time around Shaker students and staff is legally cleared to do so.
Who needs to be fingerprinted?
Classroom volunteers - YES
Field trip parent chaperones - YES
Volunteers at school-based PTO events - YES
Volunteers alone with students at anytime - YES
The scheduling and processing of all volunteer fingerprints/background checks will take place in the Office of Family and Community Engagement located on the second floor of the Shaker Heights Public Library Main Branch, 16500 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Heights 44120. To schedule an appointment contact: volunteer_face@shaker.org or call 216-295-6268.
Check with the Mercer office to see if you are already registered or need to update your status. Background checks must be completed every three years.
SHARE YOUR TIME AND TALENTS WITH THE PTO!
Volunteer Interest Form - If you are not interested in chairing an event, but would like to be contacted during the 2022-2023 school year to assist as the event/activity gets closer, please complete the online Volunteer Interest Form. Your contact information will be shared with the event chairs who will reach out to you as the event approaches. Expressing interest on this form does not commit you to volunteering at the events.
FUNDRAISERS
MERCER OLYMPICS 2023
I BELIEVE THAT MERCER WINS!
Congratulations to the entire Mercer Community! What a wonderful time we had during the Mercer Olympics. Students, teachers, and staff alike took part in various Olympic-themed activities in the classroom and during Physical Education classes. Ask your student about the warm up dance! Did your student enjoy the torch relay, skating on plates as if playing hockey or scooting across the gym as if on a bobsled? Throughout the week, students also demonstrated various IB traits, teamwork and school spirit!
Our Mercer community raised $14,777.50 and, once again, celebrated 100% participation. Everyone, especially Mercer, is a winner. Thank you for your generosity and support.
100% of the money raised by the Mercer PTO supports both our students and teachers through teacher grants, educational enrichment opportunities such as in-person and/or virtual field trips and assemblies, activities such as the Meerkat Club, Mercer Times (student newspaper), family nights, community building activities and more.
Stay Active at Home!
Complete the Mercer Olympics B-I-N-G-O board! You can get a different B-I-N-G-O each day, if desired.
Hello, Mercer Meerkats! We hope that your family had fun reading and celebrating literacy with the Mercer community during our 2023 Mercer Meerkat Read-A-Thon!
We are pleased to announce that together we raised $3,020 and students logged 6.052 minutes of reading during the 2023 Mercer Meerkat Read-A-Thon. In the first three years of the Read-A-Thon, we have raised over $14,000 and logged over 23,000 minutes of reading.
All funds will be used by the Mercer PTO to support both our students and teachers in new and creative ways, including teacher grants to enhance your student’s learning experience, educational enrichment opportunities and community building activities.
Thank you for your generosity and for encouraging literacy and community while raising funds for our school!
2023 GUEST READERS
Watch Mercer faculty and staff, along with other guests from the Mercer community, read some of their favorite stories:
Day 1 - Mercer Librarian Mrs. Daberko reading "The Quickest Kid in Clarksville" by Pat Zietlow Miller
Day 2 - Shaker Heights Mayor David Weiss reading "Just Help! How to Build a Better World" by Sonia Sotomayor
Day 3 - Shaker Heights School District Superintendent Dr. David Glasner reading "Kamala and Maya's Big Idea" by Meena Harris
Day 4 - Mercer Intervention Specialist Mrs. Kara Horvat reading "Click Clack Moo - Cows That Type" by Doreen Cornin
Day 5 - Mercer parent Mr. Jeff Bartsch reading "Last Stop on Market Street" by Matt de la Pena
Day 6 - Mercer parent Mr. Christian Gindlesperger reading "Dragons Love Tacos" by Adam Rubin
Day 7 - Mercer parent Ms. Dominique Frazier reading "Ron's Big Mission" by Rose Blue and Corinne J. Naden
2022 GUEST READERS
Watch Mercer faculty and staff, along with other special guest, read some of their favorite stories:
Day 1 - Dr. David Glasner, Superintendent, Shaker Heights Schools, reading "A Visitor for Bear" by Bonny Becker
Day 2 - Ms. Roneisha Campbell, Principal, Mercer Elementary School, reading "The Gruffalo" by Julia Donaldson
Day 3 - Ms. Martin and Mrs. Richards, Fourth Grade Teachers at Mercer, reading "I Color Myself Different" by Colin Kaepernick and "Dog Breath!" by Dav Pilkey
Day 4 - Mrs. Daberko, Librarian at Mercer, reading "Creepy Carrots" by Aaron Reynolds
Day 5 - Mrs. Gaines, Kindergarten Teacher at Mercer, reading "A Friend for Henry" by Jenn Bailey
Days 6 & 7 - Ms. Horvat, Intervention Specialist at Mercer, reading "The Retired Kid" by Jon Agee, Ms. Weed, First Grade Teacher at Mercer reading "The Bad Seed" by Jory John, Mrs. Feinstein, Second Grade Teacher at Mercer, reading "Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story" by Kevin Noble Maillard, and Mr. DiScenna, Second Grade Teacher at Mercer, reading "Poetree" by Shauna LaVoy Reynolds
Day 8 - Mrs. Ng, Administrative Assistant at Mercer, reading "The Mitten" by Jan Brett
2021 GUEST READERS
Listen to Mercer faculty and staff read some of their favorite stories:
Mrs. Stamm reading "The Bear and the Piano" by David Litchfield
Mr. Florence reading some poems from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein
Mrs. Kerns reading "Pete's A Pizza" by William Steig
Ms. Schlein reading "Dragon's Love Tacos" by Adam Rubin
Mrs. Janosek reading "The Day the Crayons Quit" by Drew Daywalt
Mr. DiScenna reading "Rachel: Preserving a Sense of Wonder" by Joseph Bruchac and Thomas Locker
Mystery Readers
Can you figure out who our mystery readers are for the Mercer Read-A-Thon?
Mystery Reader #1 reading "Need a House? Call Ms. Mouse" by George Mendoza
Mystery Reader #2 reading "Oscar, Cat-About-Town" by James Herriet
Mystery Reader #3 reading "Red: A Crayon's Story" by Michael Hall
Live Reads
Watch the recordings from our live reads!
Monday, March 22, 2021 - Mrs. Ng, Mrs. Hartley and Mrs. Daberko
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 - Mrs. Richards, Mrs. Horvat and Ms. Martin
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 - Dr. David Glasner, Superintendent, Shaker Heights City School District
Thursday, March 25, 2021 - Mr. Lindsay Florence, Retired Mercer Principal
Upcoming Events
- Monday, December 11
- Friday, December 15
- Tuesday, December 19
- Wednesday, December 20
- Thursday, December 21
2023-2024 PTO Calendar of Events (as of 10/27/2023)
UPCOMING PTO MEETINGS
Mercer PTO meetings are held from 6:45 - 8:30 pm. Upcoming meeting dates are:
01-17-2024
03-20-2024
05-08-2024
All Mercer parents/guardians are invited to attend.
MERCER PTO MEETING MINUTES
Did you miss the PTO meeting? Find out what happened!
2023-2024 School Year
11-15-2023
2022-2023 School Year
11-16-2022
05-16-2023
2021-2022 School Year
2020-2021 School Year
03-11-2021
STAY CONNECTED
Stay up-to-date with the Mercer Elementary PTO Facebook page.
Mercer Class Facebook Pages
Join the Facebook pages for your child's grade.
Note: These class pages are created by Mercer parents for Mercer parents. They are not official pages of the Mercer PTO, Mercer Elementary School, or the Shaker Heights City School District.
Mercer Messenger
Weekly newsletter that provides updates from Principal Roneisha Campbell, school events and PTO news. It is published by the school district on Sunday evenings and automatically emailed to all families. Look for a Shaker email and click on the link for Mercer. District news is also included in the email.
PTO Directory
The Shaker PTO Directory allows you to stay connected with your Shaker school community.
Please create an account and register your information with Membership Toolkit to be included in the Shaker PTO Directory. Only registered members of our community can receive important communications, access the directory, and collaborate together on PTO activities.
FINANCIAL FORMS
Tax Exempt Form (Mercer PTO cannot reimburse for sales tax. Please use this form when making approved purchases for Mercer PTO.)
Check Request / Reimbursement Form
If you have questions, please contact either Shawn Rohlin or Carrie Schieman.
CITY BARBEQUE FUNDRAISER
Thank you for your support of the City Barbeque fundraiser on November 30. City Barbeque will be donating $123.95 to the Mercer PTO.
CILANTRO TAQUERIA FUNDRAISER
Thank you for your support of the Cilantro Taqueria fundraiser. Cilantro Taqueria donated $212.40 to Mercer PTO.
MINTED FUNDRAISER
The Mercer PTO is fundraising with Minted! Simply use our unique code FUNDRAISEMERCER at checkout. Mercer PTO will receive 15% of the proceeds from your purchase and you will also get 20% off your order! Shop at https://www.minted.com/