MRC Newsletter - Issue 8 - 5 June 2024

Prayer

Principal's Message

Welcome to Winter! The brisk mornings, though colder, have been such beautiful starts to our days. It was wonderful to finally see the rain falling, although we know we need so much more. In the local Gariwerd seasonal cycle, we have entered Chunnup, the season  of freezing winds, mists, and rain, marked by the presence of cockatoos. In our night skies, we should see the return of the Aquila or eagle constellation, featuring the star Altair (Alpha Aquilae), which represents Bunjil. We really do live in a beautiful part of our country.

It was wonderful to celebrate our College Feast Day on Friday 24th May. The day included a Mass for Our Lady Help of Christians, followed by a Staff vs Year 12 Soccer game. It was a great celebration of our College community with a fantastic atmosphere. More about the Feast Day later in the newsletter.

Sunday 16 June to Saturday 22 June is Refugee Week. “In a world marked by displacement and the search for refuge, this year’s Refugee Week theme “Finding Freedom” – with a focus on family – encapsulates the profound journey of resilience, strength, and unity that defines the refugee experience. This Refugee Week, we aim to shed light on the transformative power of familial bonds as well as chosen bonds in the face of adversity and emphasise the crucial role families play in providing solace, support, and a sense of belonging to those forced to flee their homelands”. More information can be found on the Refugee Council of Australia website. MRC students and staff will be raising awareness and funds for the work of local agencies in supporting refugees as they make their home in Australia.

We welcome Bishop Paul Bird to St Patrick’s Church Camperdown as part of his tour of the Ballarat Diocese in its 150th year.

Bishop Paul will celebrate Mass at St Patrick’s at 10.00am on Sunday 23 June. A luncheon will then be hosted by the St Patrick’s Parish in the MRC library.

Please RSVP your attendance to Jordy on 0403 511 995 or jmuller@mercy.vic.edu.au

In our student learning cycle, the next few weeks will focus on providing opportunities for our young people to demonstrate their learning through summative tasks and activities. Summative assessments evaluate student learning by highlighting the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the semester, making this a busy time for both students and teachers. We extend our gratitude to parents for their continuous support and partnership in learning. If your child is ill or you are planning an extended holiday, please contact their teachers to arrange alternative assessment times at a mutually convenient time. Semester reports will be available to families at the end of the term.

Our Year 10 and 11 students begin their senior pathways and subject selection process this week, with each student having the opportunity for a one-on-one future pathways counselling session with a member of our senior team. We are hosting an information evening for parents of these students moving into VCE on Wednesday, 12 June. We invite you to join us to learn about the diverse learning pathways and subjects available at Mercy Regional College. Thank you to Senior Learning Leader Mel Kavanagh and the Learning and Teaching team for their work in ensuring every young person has the information they need to design their individual pathway.

Our young people have had the opportunity to enhance their learning through the provision of many enriching extra curricular activities these past few weeks. A highlight was the participation of Year 9 students in the Try a Career Day in Warrnambool. Our school community has been well represented at both local and regional school sport events. A highlight was the participation of 34 qualifying students in the Greater Western Region Cross Country. All students performed well and we have many who have now qualified for the State level later in the year.  We congratulate all who participated and recognise Year 7 student Jake A for winning the 12/13 year old boys race. A remarkable effort Jake. Well done. All results can be seen later in the Newsletter.

Today we saw our Year 7 and 8 girls play in HSSSD netball round in Terang and our Year 9 boys Football play in Noorat. Next week our Intermediate Girls Netball and Year 10 Boys Football teams will play in the GWR competition in Ballarat. Our inaugural participation in the Ballarat Associated Schools (BAS) Sports competition this term in Senior Girls Netball and Senior Boys Football has been an enriching experience. This week's games were both against Ballarat and Clarendon College and saw the boys play out a convincing win whilst our girls played confidently to turn a first round 18 goal deficit into a second round draw! Both teams have one final game to play next week with the boys football hoping to make the Division 2 final. Stay tuned for details after next week's games.

• Congratulations Rhys U. for being selected in the Victoria Country team for the 2024 Marsh AFL National Championships – U18 Boys!
• Hugo C. received 3 awards at the end of his Formula 500 Speedway season: The Driver's Driver award, which is voted by all 23 junior drivers, 3rd in the WMI Feeders Stampede Series, 1st in the season Aggregate which consists of 20 races throughout Victoria for the 23/24 season. Fantastic effort Hugo!
• Fantastic work Jess M. who competed for South West Victoria in the U14 Hockey Junior Country Championships in Essendon, winning 4 of 6 games!

We will soon be advertising for expressions of interest for teaching and education support staff for 2025, including graduate teachers. Please share what a great school and community MRC is with any interested teachers and potential education support staff. 

Our ongoing open enrolment process for 2025 is still in progress. Families interested in enrolling their students for Year 7 in 2025 or any other year level are requested to initiate the completion of their enrolment paperwork at the earliest convenience. The necessary documentation can be accessed online, along with the applications for our Equity and First Nations scholarships. An education at Mercy is accessible to everyone. Furthermore, I want to extend a heartfelt invitation to any families currently facing challenges. If you find yourself in need, please don't hesitate to reach out, and we will gladly arrange assistance with family fee contributions. We are here to support you.

Our final day for students this term is Thursday 27 June with a normal time finish for students. This day will be a Winter Woolies casual dress day and we ask all students and staff to bring along a gold coin donation and goods needed by Warrnambool and District Food Share - healthy cereals and breakfast spreads - and non-perishable food and toiletry items for St Vincent de Paul. 

Finally, we congratulate staff member Jacqui Gabb and husband Simon on the safe arrival of their first child Ted Ellis Gabb.

Thank you for your kindness and generosity,
Sharon Gillett - Principal

Learning at MRC

Mercy’s social media showcases some of the great things our students are experiencing as part of their learning. 

What you see on social media is but a small snapshot of the great learning experiences that are happening in every class daily.

Today, I would like to take a moment to celebrate the teachers and support staff that work tirelessly to make all these learning experiences a reality.

Leanne Delahunty - Director of Learning and Teaching

Senior School

We are in the process of students selecting their subjects for 2025. The Year 11 students will undertake the interview process over the next couple of days to ensure their selections best suit any future endeavours they may have. 

The Unit 1 students have been completing exams in their Unit 1 subjects over the last couple of weeks. This experience allows the students to practice exam study skills in preparation for the VCE exams next year.

Melanie Kavanagh - Learning Leader Senior School

VCE PE Virtual Reality

Check out our VCE PE students embracing technology to ace their upcoming exams on the Musculoskeletal and Cardiorespiratory systems!

They're diving deep into anatomy with virtual reality, exploring muscles, bones, body systems and even microscopic details. It's amazing to see them bring the learning they have done this semester to life!

Legal Studies Excursion

Our VCE Legal Studies class recently visited the Warrnambool Magistrate’s Court and Victorian Legal Aid office.

The Warrnambool Courts hear a variety of cases, where students experienced various aspects of the legal system –  the nature of court and its procedures, evidence and witnesses, roles of court personal, especially the judge or magistrate, and types of sanctions. The students had a rich learning experience, seeing a range of cases, and speaking with court support workers, prosecutors, security staff and lawyers.  We were also very fortunate to have a lengthy Q&A with the Magistrate, helping the students to grapple with the complexities of the justice system.   It is an excellent adjunct to the theory students have been learning at school, and something we just can’t replicate in the classroom.

At the Victorian Legal Aid office we listened to a panel of experts, all practicing lawyers, who provided a wide range of information about Victoria Legal Aid, eligibility criteria for grants of aid, the challenges and joys of regional practice and potential pathways to a successful career at Victoria Legal Aid.  Lawyer Sally gave the students a very informative account of a difficult case we had seen in court earlier in the day.  The students also learned about the particular issues for people living in rural areas who experience disadvantage in access to the justice system and related services in comparison to their metropolitan counterparts, commonly referred to as ‘postcode justice’.

Some thoughts from the students:

Harry - Hearing the cases was very interesting, because I was not quite sure how the cases would play out in the courts.

Keely - I found watching the whole process play out very interesting, especially seeing how the magistrate was empathetic however had to abide by the laws and still set certain punishments.

Charlie H - I enjoyed being in a courtroom environment, and being able to hear the actual processes that occur in court. I enjoyed hearing the things that the Magistrate had to say as it was very insightful.

Layla B - ​​I enjoyed listening to the hearings in court, and found it interesting how many people did not show up to their case.  (many cases were adjourned and warrants issued for arrests)

Joseph - I thought the excursion was very interesting as I’ve never sat in a running court case before and it was good to see the things we have been learning in action.

Carl - The Magistrate’s processes were interesting in how they functioned well. The security was high. It was amazing to see the professionalism change between the Magistrate and the offenders, then when he was talking with us.

Year 12 Chemistry

Year 12 Chemistry students have been learning about electrolytic cells and how we can predict what products will form. During the week, students had the opportunity to make electrolytic cells using different solutions and test whether their predicted products were the same as products that formed.

Outdoor Ed Excursion

As part of their learning about conservation, recreation and economic relationships with outdoor environments, Year 12 ODE students made their way to the coast for the day to explore these topics first hand. Our first stop was Weeaproinah in the Otways where we caught up with a local James Kidman who harvests blackwood trees for boutique timber to be used for high end guitars. At his property, James spoke about the complexities of the recent native logging ban across Victoria and how this has impacted his work. James gave us examples of sustainable harvesting and what this looks like and spoke about how he has lobbied to raise awareness of this issue. 

Following this we entered Apollo Bay and made our way to the outskirts of the Barham river where we met up with local landcare representative Abby who enabled a conservation experience for us. At the steep site of the river we walked in with 7-8 trays of indigenous seedlings to plant to protect the banks of the river from erosion. For some students this was their first tubestock planting experience, and they were absolutely brilliant as we must have planted at least 100 plants in the area. 

After a quick lunch our final activity then included a change of scenery from the river to the ocean, this time in a kayak. As we paddled out of the main beach at Apollo Bay our instructor Quinn told us about the impact primary industries including fishing has on the town and how this has declined over time. Albert and Quinn also mentioned how the beach had changed a great deal over the 20-30 years they had grown up in the town, with the sand dunes being so heavily impacted. This was a great opportunity to engage in an aquatic activity while here and in turn was an exciting end to the excursion. Thanks to Berni Sinnott for jumping in and assisting. 

Middle School

$20 boss - Semester 1, 2024

This semester the $20 boss group have been busy being involved in organising, running and evaluating a business idea - this was completed in small groups. We saw a gap in the potential market - that there was no canteen every Monday so the $20 boss team decided to step up to the plate and run businesses on Mondays. 

We have successfully run five different businesses throughout term 2 - the businesses being: raspberry and white chocolate and double chocolate muffins, BBQ (homemade hamburgers and sausages with coleslaw), chicken burgers with salad, egg and bacon rolls and nachos. 

To start the process off (and once decisions and planning was made in relation to what kind of business we wanted to run) we completed a test cook in the kitchen and tasted all the products. As a result of this we made adjustments to our recipes and this helped give  us a clear idea about potential quantities. With a bit of trial and error most of the products were successful and went ahead. The next step was working together to figure out final details in relation to  pricings, budgets and the overall organisation of  our supplies. We also sent out a google form to our potential target market to gain ideas about potential quantities

The skills that we were able to develop throughout our semester in this class included communication, teamwork, organisation, problem solving and leadership. Overall our businesses were very successful.

In the final week of term we will celebrate our achievements with a board meeting - where each group will present and share their business process and results. The group have decided that all of the profits for our businesses will be donated to the Breast Cancer Network in honour of people in our school and wider community who are battling this disease. 

Thank you all for your support with our businesses and for helping us along the way. 

- The $20 boss team  

Junior School

Year 8 Maths

At the O’Keeffe Campus, Year 8 students have started their new Maths unit on measurement.

Students have begun to learn about the perimeter of shapes. In particular they have been looking at the relationship between the circumference of a circle and pi.

With many circular shapes around the campus, students were able to use string to find the circumference of the objects and use pi in order to find the shape's diameter.

It was great to watch the students interact positively to solve the problems and challenge each other.

Science at O'Keeffe

Year 8 students have been learning about the circulatory system and completed a careful dissection of a sheep's heart. They identified the major structures within the heart and indicated the flow of blood to and from the lungs, using coloured pipe cleaners. Students examined the heart valves and found that they look a bit like parachutes and that you can physically 'tug on the  heart strings.'

Year 7s were investigating the properties of solid carbon dioxide, or dry ice. They were able to predict what might happen if it was placed into a sealed container, used to inflate a balloon or added to coloured, soapy water. There were some surprises! The students learned that when changing states, dry ice avoids the liquid phase and sublimes directly from a solid to a gas.

French T-shirt collection

We have now collected over 30 T-shirts and jumpers with some French words or phrases written on them. Here are students from 8A trying on some dress-ups which they present to the class by speaking in French and offering a translation into English. Can you spot the intruder? Yes, AMORE is the Italian word for love. The French word for love is AMOUR. This leads to interesting discussions about the similarities between the Romance languages (French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, even Romanian) which all originate in Latin. 

Community & Wellbeing at MRC

As we welcome the crisp air and enter into the winter months there is still plenty on the calendar for Term 2 regarding wellbeing. Although a shorter article this week, there has been a plethora of activity in the Wellbeing space. 

At the end of Reconciliation Week for 2024, an exciting progression for us is that we have had our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) published. This is Mercy’s formal commitment to reconciliation. A document that shows how we are continuing to strengthen relationships, respect and opportunities in the classroom and around our school. This has been completed through the Narragunnawali platform. Presently, we are completing the final touches for printing. 

In the last newsletter I shared with you an article regarding digital reputation. This is continuing to be a topic of conversation within our society and a push for the legal age of social media access to be 16 years and over. This week I share with you an interesting special edition on social media influencers and the substantial impact on mental health and how this has grown significantly in the recent years. 

We will continue to utilise the school TV platform to share various articles and special editions for families to access. 

Emily Stephens - Assistant Principal, Wellbeing & Engagement

Reconciliation Week

Last week, as Australia celebrated the strength, resilience and history of our Indigenous people during Reconciliation Week, MRC students and staff wrote their messages of care, intention and reconciliation on the cardboard flags in the library.

These flags were then placed around the Reconciliation Week Poster.

Sports Report

GWR Cross Country

34 students represented MRC at the GWR Cross Country in Warrnambool on Monday, with the 12/13 year olds to 17/20 year old girls racing a 3km track and the 16 to 17/20 year old boys racing a 5km track in sunny conditions.
Among our runners we had some students who qualified for the next round. Congratulations to Jake A. for winning the 12/13 year olds race, a remarkable effort and fantastic achievement!

Boys 12/13 year olds: Jake A. (1st), Isaac L. (4th)
Girls 14 year olds: Lucia C. (10th)
Girls 15 year olds: Tayla B. (6th)
Girls 16 year olds: Poppy K. (5th)
Girls 17 year olds: Rose B. (4th), Taleah M. (9th)

Congratulations to all who competed and good luck to all the students who will represent our school at the next round.

BAS Football

The Round 5 BAS Football clash against St Pats White was a 2 vs 3 clash and a big game in terms of who might finish in the Top 2. 

With 23 players out with injuries and unavailabilities, the 21 boys who represented MRC were a much younger team and included the first Year 9 student to play in the BAS.

After an even start St Pats White kicked 5 goals to 1 during the 2nd and 3rd quarters and looked in control. The ¾ time score showed MRC 2.5.17 to St Pats White 5.7.37 so coach Wayne Robertson made some positional changes and encouraged the boys to take the game on with fast movement. 

With only 15 minutes to make up the deficit MRC put on a remarkable display of football and went on a goal spree kicking 5 goals to nothing in the last quarter to win by two goals. 

It will be a game that the team and staff will never forget and with two games to go the team will aim to finish top 2 for a spot in the Grand Final. 

Final Score: MRC 7.8.50 defeated St Pats White 5.8.38
Best: Lenny S., Myles S., Darcy H., Campbell W., Parker W., Paddy H.
Goals: Darcy H. 2, Winton O. 1, Zach R. 1, Paddy H. 1, Myles S.1, Ned M. 1.

Faith at MRC

What a beautiful day for our Feast Day on Friday 24th May!

We thank our Mercy community for participating in the day and enjoying a wonderful celebration of our culture. Mass was a fitting way to recognise the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians. We thank Fr Neville and the many staff who organised this important celebration.

Just before Mass began, we acknowledged the meaning of the Message Stick which was here last week at MRC as part of the Ballarat Diocese 150th.After Mass our student leaders led a school assembly with some great updates about life at MRC. Well done to all the students who participated, and Aidan V. for his wonderful performance!

During lunchtime, an epic soccer match between Staff and Year 12 students took place on the oval. Well done to everyone who jumped in and played, organised the event and supported from the sidelines.

It was fantastic to see our Year 12s really get around the whole experience, with the players supported by a range of crew including coaches, a med team, marketing crew, cheerleaders and more!

A great game was played, with the Staff ultimately securing the win 2-1.

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Melanie Bourchier - Director of Catholic Identity & Culture

VCE-VM RE

On Wednesday, 29th May, a group of VCE-VM Religious Education students conducted a working bee on the exterior of St Patrick's Catholic Church in Camperdown. 

The students have been exploring the concept of ‘Community’, giving back, and what that can mean for others. A group of students met with Fr. Neville and identified areas around the church that needed cleaning. They then spent the afternoon cleaning, which included weeding, edging, clearing blocked gutters, sweeping, removing cobwebs, and pressure washing the front paving. 

A big thank you to Ash from South West Pressure Washing for his expertise and assistance with the pressure washing.

Library News

Book Club

Thanks to all who were able to come to Book Club last week. There was much discussion of our book for Term 2 - A Brilliant Life - along with other good reads. We left with a shortlist of possible titles for next term, having  enjoyed the warm hospitality provided by Les and Des at the Commercial Hotel Terang and a few good laughs. Julie was the winner of a Collins Books voucher for coming up with the most correct answers in our book trivia quiz. The Term 3 Book Club date is likely to be Wednesday 28 August, with the date and book to be confirmed in the next newsletter. Everyone is welcome to attend. Contact via email

You can join the Book Club Facebook group here:

You can find us on Facebook at:
Mercy Regional College Book Club

The Sun Project

A group of students from Years 7 and 8 have been reading and reviewing the six books shortlisted in The Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) book of the year awards in the younger readers category. The students learned to understand, apply and discuss the judging criteria and individually rate each book. After the scores were tallied the group collectively chose Grace and Mr Milligan, written by Caz Goodwin and illustrated by Pip Kruger, as their winning book. The students loved the characters, story and illustrations and the way in which it dealt with a sensitive topic.

Last week the students made their vote official via the CBCA website. MRC is one of around 200 schools who have joined the conversation about the annual Book of the Year Shortlist and are helping decide which book will win the readers’ choice award.

In the second part of this project the students will each develop and produce a self-directed learning creative project inspired by the theme of their own favorite of the six shortlisted books. Some very creative ideas have been imagined, ranging from a eulogy for a dead goat, (Grace and Mr Milligan), clay sculptures and a decorated cake based on The Concrete Garden. Thanks to Ms Megan Cullum who has been advising the students on sculpture techniques and materials. 

Jean Christie - Library & Resource Centre Coordinator

2025 Enrolments Now Open

O'Keeffe Campus Tours 2024

CSEF Applications Closing Soon

A reminder that Camps, Sports Excursion Fund applications close at the end of Term 2.

Careers

Check out the latest Careers Newsletters below:

Child Safety

Mercy Regional College is a child-safe community.

Child Safety Officers:

Contact them by email or on:
Phone - 55932011 (McAuley Campus) or 55925353 (O’Keeffe Campus)

Child Safe Standard 1

Organisations establish a culturally safe environment in which the diverse and unique identities and experiences of Aboriginal children and young people are respected and valued.

Mercy Regional College is dedicated to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all students. Central to our commitment is the implementation of the Child Safe Standards is establishing a culturally safe environment. 

In practice and complying with Standard 10, MRC  actively implements these policies for review and improvement:

• MRC Duty of Care policy
• MRC Child safety and Wellbeing Policy
• MRC Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct Policy
• MRC Bullying Prevention (including cybersafety) Policy
• DOBCEL Identifying and Responding to Abuse 
• DOBCEL Child Safety Officer Role Description
• DOBCEL PROTECT Policies
• CECV Commitment to Child Safety

Some evidence of practice and implementation include:

• Instances of racism are consistently identified and addressed
• MRC identifies steps already taken to:
• support, guide or train staff and volunteers and leaders to understand, respect and value Aboriginal culture and to understand the importance of this to the wellbeing and safety of Aboriginal children
• At Mercy we actively support and facilitate participation and inclusion of Aboriginal children and their families 
• recognise and celebrate Aboriginal peoples, their achievements, communities and cultures 
• create a culturally safe environment for Aboriginal children within the organisation.

Upcoming Dates and Events

Thursday 6 June
Year 11 into Year 12 Interviews

Friday 7 June
Frayne House Feast Day

Monday 10 June
King's Birthday Public Holiday - No Classes

Tuesday 11 June
PPT Correction Day - No Classes
BAS Football & Netball
GWR Intermediate Boys Bootball & Girls Netball
No College Buses running

Wednesday 12 June
O'Keeffe Student Book Club
Pathways Information Session - 7pm

Thursday 13 June
GWR Junior Girls Football

Monday 17 June
Refugee Week Begins

Tuesday 18 June
GAT
O'Keeffe Campus Tours
BAS Netball BYE - Football

Wednesday 19 June
Community Meal
O'Keeffe Student Book Club

Community Notices

Sunday 16 June at 2pm

Theatre Royal

Experience the iconic programming of the Victorian State Concert Orchestra featuring a dynamic repertoire ranging from timeless classics to beloved tunes of operetta and musical theatre.
Tickets $20 per person available here: https://events.humanitix.com/vsco