MRC Newsletter - Issue 8 - 9 June 2021

Prayer

This Friday, 11 June, is the Feast of the Sacred Heart.  It is a celebration of the living presence of Jesus in our daily lives.  The artistic impressions of the Sacred Heart see the heart aflame with the light of Christ.

Principal's Message

Welcome to winter! We certainly have experienced a true switch in seasons this week. 

It was wonderful to welcome our students and staff back last Friday after our, thankfully short, Remote Learning experience.  Thank you to our students, staff and parents for your versatility and positive reaction to the need to quickly shift to learning from home.  Thank you also to our staff who ensured that learning could continue both on the Independent Learning Day and then as we moved into our Remote Learning timetable.  The day of Independent Learning provided the time needed for all staff to prepare lessons that were meaningful and engaging for the days ahead.  Our staff have and will continue to ensure Google Classrooms contain learning materials for students unable to attend school.  I thank you all, parents, staff and students, for taking these disruptions in your stride, supporting each other and working in partnership to prioritise learning and connection.  Please remember wellbeing support is always available at the College by contacting Wellbeing Support.

One of the requirements of returning to onsite learning is the wearing of face masks by staff and students whenever indoors and whenever physical distancing is not possible outside.  For our students, this also remains a requirement of travelling on school buses.  I ask that families please support the College and staff in firstly ensuring that each student has their own, preferably reusable, face mask, and that their young people understand this community requirement and wear a mask enabling them to engage with their learning without constantly needing to be reminded by staff.  A small number of students may have a medical exception.  I ask that parents communicate this with Interim AP Student Development Ben Brisbane.  Additional adjustments are detailed below.

Current COVID19 Restrictions in Schools (CECV School Operations Guide - term 2, 2021)

The current restrictions also include the following adjustments:

• If unwell, staff and students must stay home and if experiencing COVID19 symptoms, be tested.
• Where staff and students have been tested, they must isolate until they receive their negative test result.
• Excursions and incursions are not permitted at this time.
• School tours should not be conducted for prospective students and their families.
• Non-essential visitors should be excluded from school sites for this period.
• Non-essential school events should be deferred or held remotely.
• Community groups are not permitted to use school facilities at this time (indoor or outdoor).

Sunday saw our first rehearsal for students participating in our 2021 College Production, It Snows. Aptly titled for our recent weather, the group were introduced to our Director, Tamara Searle.  Tamara is a renowned Director who has recently moved to our local area.  Mercy is most fortunate to have someone with Tamara’s experience and expertise working with our students.  I encourage any students who are interested in participating to make contact with our Production Coordinator staff member Ms Christine Norton for details.

In staff news, we are very pleased to share with you the successful appointment of our Deputy Principal - Learning, Teaching and Innovation.  We welcome Natalie Stephenson to Mercy Regional College. Natalie comes to us from Clonard College, Geelong and will begin with us mid-Term 4, 2021.  Staff member, Ms Jess Niblett, will be finishing her teaching contract at the end of Term 2.  Jess has been teaching Science and STEAM at our O'Keefe Junior campus.  We thank Jess for sharing her expertise and for her dedication and commitment and look forward to welcoming her back in the future.

As the end of the term fast approaches, our students are focussed on the completion of tasks that demonstrate their learning across the semester.  This is an opportunity for our students to demonstrate their growth across many different learning areas.  We thank parents for their ongoing support across these next few focussed weeks.  Reports will be available at the end of the term on PAM.  VCAA has delayed the GAT for our students studying a Unit 3/4 sequence but have not yet advised schools of the new date.  We will share this information with students and families as soon as we are made aware.

I remain most conscious that some families may have had their income affected due to this current lockdown.  As a Catholic school, our families are always supported in times of need.  Our immediate priority is to provide as much stability as possible for your young person/people.  We remain committed to providing flexible and confidential financial assistance to support you with managing your school fee commitments for 2021.   If this is a matter causing concern for you, please get in touch with us to discuss the support available.  This is also pertinent for families considering joining our Mercy community in 2022 at Year 7 or other year levels.  As our Mercy Core Values state, we care and we are inclusive, and if you need help, please reach out by contacting finance@mercy.vic.edu.au. 

This colder weather has meant many young people are diving into warmer uniform options.  Please remember that at Mercy our young people have choice in which uniform they wear and choice can be made according to the weather.  However, we ask that our young people follow College expectations by wearing the complete uniform described and not “mix and matching” across seasonal options and ensuring that the privilege of wearing PE uniform on the day of practical PE class is not misused by choosing to wear PE uniform on other days.  Thank you parents for your ongoing support.  Our uniform expectations can be found on our website and student timetables on PAM.  Our uniform is an expression of our identity, connection and belonging and should be worn with pride and respect.

We recently celebrated a most significant ritual of our Catholic faith: the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ or the feast of the Eucharist.  

God with communities locked down, God with communities opened up: those first believers in resurrection gathered in fear behind closed doors, until a spirit of fire and connection came to be a part of who they became.  Emerging from our fears and restrictions, may we find words and courage for the message we have to share.  And may we gather separated people together in wonder of the good news this courage will spread.
Amen.

With kindness
Sharon Gillett
Principal

Learning at Mercy

General Achievement Test (GAT) 

In response to the 27 May–10 June circuit-breaker restrictions, the 2021 GAT will be rescheduled to a date to be determined. We expect this to be in the coming weeks.

Regional Education Support Network 

Regional Education Support Network (RESN) is a not-for-profit student network that offers rural and regional students free educational support, such as tutoring, mentoring, and access to study resources.

RESN is able to answer students’ coursework and university questions online; hold virtual, live, tutoring sessions; provide study resources and practice questions; and deliver live seminars - all for free.

Visit https://www.resn.org.au/ for more information. 

Daniel Glennen
Assistant Principal Learning

Maths Pathway

Today’s Maths Pathway frequently asked questions relate to parent access and understanding the Growth, Accuracy and Effort scores.

If there are any questions you would like me to address in the newsletter please send me an email.  You can also contact your child’s teacher should you have any questions.

Leanne Delahunty
Maths Domain Leader

Frequenty Asked Questions

Can I access the Maths Pathway program to see how my child is progressing?
Yes.
Ask your child to share with you their Maths Pathway username and password, or ask them to log onto the program for you.  In the top right corner of the home screen is the ‘Parents and Carers’ tab. Here you will find more information about the program and will also be able to see your child’s individual progress.

Should I enter my details in the Parents and Carers section?
This is personal preference.
If you would like to receive notifications from Maths Pathway when your child receives their test results or achieves something impressive, enter your details in this section.

What do the Growth, Effort and Accuracy percentages mean?
Growth
This is a percentage score which predicts how your child’s maths ability will grow, based on 100% growth as '1 year of learning that takes 1 year’.  To achieve a Growth score of 100% your child needs to master 3 modules each cycle.  Mastering more than three modules will result in a growth score greater than 100%

• 3 modules mastered = 100% growth,
• 4 modules mastered = 133% growth.... etc
• 6 modules mastered = 200% growth or '2 years of learning that takes only 1 year'.

Effort
This is a percentage score which compares the number of modules your child has been assigned to the number of modules they completed.  eg. A child who is assigned 6 modules but only completes  5 modules will receive an effort score of 83%

Accuracy
This is a percentage score calculated by comparing the number of modules completed to the number of modules mastered on each test. eg completing 5 modules and mastering 3 modules will give an accuracy score of 60%.   If your child has fully understood the modules they completed and has been able to answer the associated test questions correctly, they will have an accuracy score of 100%.

Wellbeing at Mercy

Well done to everyone in our school community for committing to keep us all safe and enabling MRC to continue to deliver the opportunity for all of oour students to learn at home or at school.  So many happy students returned on Friday, and it was great to see everyone enjoying each other's company.

It was a rush to swing into action last week and again we as a school were extremely proud of the response from everyone.  One skill that is most beneficial to give support through these times is organisation.  Being organised helps everyone with the following:

• Making the most of your time.
• Maximising your learning.
• Reducing the stress of completing assignments, homework tasks or exams.
• Ensuring you don’t miss important meetings or deadlines.

It doesn’t take a lot of effort to stay organised, but it does take discipline and consistency.  An idea to help with this is using a diary.  Students that have the school diary already have a great tool to help them.

How does this relate to wellbeing?

Planning out your days, setting reminders and making schedules helps to:

• decrease stress
• be ready for the unexpected
• contribute to overall better health (exercise & eating)
• give you more energy
• increase your confidence

All these aspects are important to help you finish the day with a smile on your face.

If you want some help with getting organised all you need to do is ask your teacher and help is not far away.

Keeping smiling!

Mr Brisbane & the Wellbeing Team

Parenting Support

Unfortunately, we have had to postpone Helen Diamond visiting MRC to share her knowledge in the area of adolescence and Living with Teens.   Helen has worked with families for many years and has a wealth of experience supporting parents within various household and age demographics.  Due to the uncertainty of when restrictions will allow for this event to proceed, we will not be putting forward a date at this time; however, we will definitely be keeping in contact with Helen and continuing with the event at some future time.

Another event that we have been working towards, in conjunction with City of Greater Geelong (CoGG) Regional Parenting Service, is hosting Michael Carr-Gregg in an evening where he will share his wealth of knowledge in relation to Mental Health and  Adolescents.  This event has limited tickets due to COVID restrictions and we are opening up the opportunity to the wider community – so if you are interested in attending, please book your tickets as soon as you are able to avoid any disappointment of missing out.

The CoGG Regional Parenting Program has been running for many years and throughout this time they have been working to provide support and educational opportunities via “programs that compliment their role as parents. Strengthening parenting skills and family relationships is a priority”. The Regional Parenting Program runs a variety of programs for parents in a variety of age and stage development  of their family. Additionally the website had a number of useful websites to assist with advice and information for parents. The following website address will take you to the websites and if you click on programs you will see the variety of programs that families can attend, these include Parent as a Team, Repartnering – living as a step-family and much more. https://www.geelongaustralia.com.au/parenting/article/item/8cdc0dbadf52826.aspx

Production Update

On Sunday, 6 June, students enjoyed our first drama workshop and rehearsal with our fabulous director, Tamara Searle.

Sunday was such a fun and colourful day, we did so many fun activities.  The time went so fast!
Grace Cameron, Year 9

Our next workshop and rehearsal is on Sunday, 20 June and is a Bring A Friend day.  We ask ALL on stage and backstage students to attend.  1.00-5.00pm, McAuley Campus, Camperdown

Library Resource Centre Report

Our Book Club event has been postponed due to current restrictions in place.  We hope to reschedule our first Book Club meeting to early in Term 3.  We will re-advertise the event once we are in a position to confirm a new date.  Feel free to use the extension in time to read the first two books that have been selected.

Careers

• Free study skills resources
• Defence Force Gap Year
• Swinburne University – guaranteed industry experience
• Focus on exploring TAFE, apprenticeships and traineeships
• What type of apprenticeship would you be suited to? Take the quiz!
• Careers in veterinary nursing
• The University of Melbourne – information and upcoming events
• Upcoming career events
  

Sport Report

State Golf Finals

Two golfers represented Mercy Regional College on Friday, 21 May in the Victorians Secondary School Senior Final.  George and Fred Beasley travelled to Melbourne the day before the event to be ready for a 7.30am start on the Friday.  This event was played at the Metropolitan Golf Course, which has hosted many major golf events such as the Australian PGA Championship.  Both George and Fred finished midfield with the winner shooting an impressive score of 70, which is 2 under par.  Well done to both students on their impressive effort to reach the state finals. 

Netball

On Wednesday, 26 of May, four netball teams from our middle and senior schools attended the HSSSD netball competition in Terang.  The girls all had a wonderful day, showing some fantastic sportsmanship and having a lot of fun too.  The girls went through undefeated all day, apart from when two of our teams met for the decider of the competition.  We congratulate all the girls for their efforts.  Two teams will go through and represent MRC at the next stage of competition once a new date has been confirmed.  We also thank Ms Sharon Gillett, Mrs Berni Sinnott, Miss Caitlin Rix and Miss Tess Lourey for attending the day and coaching the girls.

All sports have been postponed until restrictions ease.

Year 7 2022 Enrolments

Year 7 2022 enrolments will close at the end of Term 2, Friday, 25 June.  If you have a child you wish to enrol, please get your enrolment applications in as soon as possible.  The application form can be found on our website.

Our O'Keeffe News Team interviewed some of our Year 7 2021 students earlier in the year to find out more about their experience in joining the Mercy Regional College community.  If you, or someone you know are considering enrolling a student in Year 7 for next year, they may be interested to watch the clip below to see what they can expect when they become part of our community.

Alumni News

Alumni Night Update

Due to a strong interest in our Alumni Night, we have decided to move the event to a bigger venue - Theatre Royal in Camperdown.  Make sure you update your contact details on our Alumni Database to receive a notification when tickets go on sale.

Upcoming Dates and Events

Friday, 11 June - No Derrinallum buses running

Monday, 14 June - Public Holiday - Queen's Birthday

Sunday, 20 June - College Production Rehearsals continue - Bring a Friend day

Friday, 25 June - Applications for Year 7 2022 Enrolments Close

Friday, 25 June - Term 2 Concludes, early finish.

Wednesday, 28 July - Michael Carr-Greg presentation | Adolesence & Mental Health Awareness.

Our school calendar is always available to be viewed through the Parent Access Module (PAM) - please see our handy hint in the pictures below. Further details for school events, student excursions, camps, and student assignment due dates, etc, can all be found on the PAM calendar.

Community Notices