MRC Newsletter - Issue 4 - 22 March 2022

Prayer

Principal's Message

What a brilliant fortnight of learning, involvement and achievement we have just experienced! Whilst our learning programs are entering the stage where students demonstrate their growth, learning has been complemented and extended with incursions and excursions including visiting poet and author Steven Herrick, a Year 8 STEAM visit to Ballarat Tech School, our VET Allied Health Expo, Year 12 Parent and Student Information and Edrolo learning sessions, a VCE Studio Art visit to the Ballarat Gallery as well as opportunities for students to represent the College in Golf and Swimming at inter school level. Yesterday our Student Leaders attended the GRIP Leadership Conference in Ballarat. We definitely are making the most of being back onsite at school!

We have some fantastic achievements to recognise as well. We congratulate Year 11 student Ella S. who has been selected as the MRC representative in the Rural Youth Ambassador program. We congratulate all of our swimmers who represented MRC at the Greater Western Swimming in Horsham. They all did a brilliant job especially since many have only swum in a 33 metre pool and the competition pool in Horsham is 50 metres! Matilda D. and Kiarna M. had great success making it through to the State stage with first places in a few races in their age groups. Mercy was also represented in 8 relay teams with many receiving silver and bronze medals. Full details are included later in the Newsletter. I thank our Sport Coordinator Darren Cheeseman for his organisation and support. 

We recognise and congratulate the following students on their community sporting achievements:

Greater Western Rebels and Geelong Falcons Football - U19 Henry R., Rosie P. and Jaimie C. - (Falcons), U16 Ben M., Myles S., Rhys U., Jonty R., and Sophie C.

Surf Life Saving Victoria State Championships- Lennox T. and Daniel R. with  Lennox and his team winning silver in the U19 surf rowing. 

South West Cricket Association Awards - Wilba C. won the Division 3 Bowling Aggregate with 20 wickets.

You will find more student achievements later in the newsletter.

This week we open the Doors of Mercy, as we host our 2022 Open Day at our McAuley Campus, Camperdown. We are very excited to welcome prospective students from Year 6 to Year 11 and their families to explore our College tomorrow, Wednesday 23 March. This year we have a slightly different format “School in Action” with talks and tours at 9.15am or 4.00pm. Our students and staff will be on hand to share with our guests what makes an education at Mercy Regional College so fulfilling and enjoyable. For more information please visit our website or contact College Registrar Nicole Darcy. 

It was a pleasure to be involved in the Cobden Super Saturday event this weekend. I thank staff member Claire Virgona and her STEAM and VCAL classes for their creation of 3D printed dinosaurs and laser cut key rings to give out in our MRC showbags. Claire and Deputy Principal - Learning, Teaching and Innovation Natalie Stephenson were then present in Cobden for the energising event. We also launched our Thermomix Raffle. With only 250 tickets you have a great chance to win. Tickets are $25 and available through the link below. All proceeds from the raffle will be used to purchase a coffee van for our VCAL students' enterprise. 

Finally, we continue to keep in our prayers those innocent impacted by the ongoing conflict in the Ukraine and Russia as well as those in NSW and QLD floods. In recognition of St Patrick’s Feast Day last week I share with you “The Breastplate”, Patrick’s poem of faith and trust in God;

"Christ be within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, 
Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me, 
Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ inquired, 
Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, 
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger."

With kindness

Sharon Gillett
Principal

Learning at MRC

NAPLAN 2022 - Coordinated Practice Test - 24 March

On Thursday 24 March, all Year 7 and 9 students across the country  will be sitting the Coordinated Practice Test: a modified version of two of the NAPLAN tests, in order to test the capacity of the NAPLAN testing platform’s IT systems. We will reassure our students as to the purpose of this event but it will help them with any potential testing anxiety by familiarising them with the testing platform. Tests will be conducted in Periods 3 and 4 and all students are required to have headphones. 

Edrolo Presentations 

On Wednesday 16 March, students studying Units 1 - 4 subjects participated in a virtual Edrolo Presentation. The presentation for those studying subjects in Unit 1 focused on an introduction to the Edrolo Online Learning Portal whilst those studying subjects in Unit 3 explored the revision features of Edrolo. 

Edrolo can be used by students prior to their lessons as ‘pre-learning’, it can also be used by students in class to consolidate learning and it is a revision tool. Teachers can monitor student progression through the portal. Students learnt how to watch videos in smaller sections and bookmark important videos to revisit when completing study. They saw how they can complete practice examinations. Edrolo then provides written suggested solutions to these questions as well as videos explaining how to respond to the question. Students can use these solutions to self mark their responses and rate their understanding of the key concepts. Teachers can access Edrolo and check student progression enabling classroom teaching to be directed towards student needs. 

Senior School Guide 

The Senior School Guide 2022 was shared with parents of students in Year 10 through to 12 this week. This guide outlines the policies and regulations for students studying VCE, VET and VCAL. The guide provides both students and parents with information in relation to structure, eligibility, requirements and satisfactory completion of the different pathways students can undertake in their senior years of secondary schooling. This information is obtained from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) which is the regulatory body schools are required to report to. The guide also provides contact details for the Senior School team. 

Google Classrooms 

With the current regulations around quarantining when diagnosed with COVID or as a close contact we understand students schooling may be interrupted. Our approach to assist students in this situation or any student who may be absent from school is to use the Google Classroom platform to communicate with students. Students should access their Google Classrooms to locate instructions for the missed classes and find and complete set work for each of their subjects. 

7 - 10 Grading Scale

As we move into the point of the term where many classes are completing assessment tasks, it is worthwhile revisiting the way that we assess and grade at MRC. The aim of assessment is to provide evidence of learning and student progress. Good assessment allows students an opportunity to practise skills, identify potential learning obstacles and strengths, and move forward. Teachers are continuously using a range of methods to track progress, target-teach and improve learning outcomes for students throughout units of work, and also as summative assessment at the end of a learning and teaching cycle. 

When you log in to Learning Areas on PAM, you may see a range of Classwork and Assessment tasks. Classwork may be graded using our 7-10 Grade Descriptors (as below), or a Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory mark. Assessment Tasks across years 7-10 will use the MRC Grade Descriptors. These are based on the Victorian Curriculum descriptors used by all schools.

A grade of ‘proficient’ means a student is achieving at the expected state-wide level, and is where we would expect most students to be. A ‘skilled’ or ‘developing’ grade is also at the expected standard.  Students may fluctuate between standards and this is completely normal.

Legal Studies Presentation 

On Tuesday 8 March, our Unit 3 & 4 VCE Legal Studies students were very fortunate to attend a virtual session with Judge Sarah Leighfield of the Victorian County Court. This online program is offered to schools as courts are closed to student visits due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

Judge Leighfield served at the Bar for 12 years before becoming a Magistrate in 2016, and then moving to the Criminal Division of the County Court bench in 2021.  She shared her career pathway and passion for the law, and was pleased to be speaking with students from rural schools, as she grew up in Bendigo. Judge Leighfield then answered a broad range of students' questions on topics including the rights of victims, accommodations made for vulnerable witnesses, the most difficult and memorable cases she has worked on, the stressful aspects of presiding over difficult cases, and how to separate this from her personal life.

Court visits are an integral aspect of the VCE Legal Studies program. It was wonderful for the students to supplement their classroom learning with this practical experience.

Year 9 Textiles Excursion

After being unable to travel on most school trips in 2021, it was very exciting to have the Year 9 Textiles Excursion to the Warrnambool Spotlight store this year. 

The students took the journey to purchase fabric for the next two projects they will complete in their Textiles class. They were armed with their pattern and measurements to choose the correct thread and fabric for these projects. 

The students will be busy making both boxer shorts and then a garment from the Simplicity pattern 8299. The class was required to stick to a small budget and calculate the best way to spend their money. They did a wonderful job and were congratulated by Spotlight staff on their manners and budgeting skills. 

We thank the team at Warrnambool Spotlight for their expertise and support of our Semester 1 Textiles class 2022.

Year 8 STEAM Excursion

On Thursday 10 March, our Year 8 students travelled to Ballarat Tech School to deepen their knowledge in STEAM subjects and engage in some fascinating activities. What did they do?

• They experienced a virtual reality rollercoaster and took a trip around Google Earth.
• They tried some basic block coding to control the movement of Vex robots.
• They tasted some edible insects such as crickets and meal worms, fungus, and algae. The students also made and ate their own future food sushi.

STEAM classes help our Mercy students to develop essential skills in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths. They create and problem solve, design and experiment. What a fantastic way to become prepared for the ever-changing technological world we live in!

Learning@Mercy Leadership  Team - Natalie Stephenson, Danae Fraser, Lydia Darcy and Daniel Lee
Legal Studies Teacher - Tania Bruckner
Textiles Teacher - Jo Saunders
STEAM Teacher - Leanne Delahunty

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Community & Wellbeing at MRC

Physical and Emotional Wellbeing

Improving Student Confidence

When a student has low self-esteem, it can cause anxiety, stress and problems with family and friends. Every student needs to believe that they can improve their sense of self-confidence. Once they believe this there are three steps they can take to help them along the way.

1. Rebut the Inner Critic - Whenever they start thinking unhelpful thoughts, they need to modify them with logical and reassuring ones.
2. Practising Self-Nurture - Each student should treat themselves as the worthwhile person they truly are and reward themselves for accomplishments, while always being mindful of their strengths and achievements and forgiving themselves for not doing all they hoped.
3. Get Help from Others - Friends, family and teachers are great listeners and a great support network.

Encouraging and Acknowledging Effort

A student’s self-efficacy and sense of identity can often be strengthened when teachers communicate their confidence in them. Some students might experience frustration if they are unable to complete a work task. Recognising the reason for this frustration while acknowledging students' effort is important as they will be more likely to persevere with the task. When offering encouragement, rather than using general overstatements like “You’re so clever” or “That was great”, teachers need to be specific; we need to tell students exactly what it is about their work that was impressive.

The Benefits of Talking

Talking is most important because it helps you to stay healthy and stops problems from getting on top of you. While students sometimes tend to talk too much in class, they are not always so forward in talking about the issues that concern them. Encouraging students to talk to people they trust about things that are bothering them and point out the positive things that can come from talking. Talking helps you talk through and clarify your thoughts, and others may suggest problem-solving options you may not have thought about. Often, worrying about problems without talking to someone can make them seem bigger than they are. Ultimately, if the problem is serious, students should be encouraged to talk to a counsellor or psychologist where they can get the help of someone who’s trained.

March Charge

The Mercy Team is continuing to show excellent results in the March Charge.

• Total distance: 1665kms
• This week's distance: 441kms
• Amount Raised: $2,015

The March Charge is a challenge offered to staff and students by walking or running for the Cancer Council this month. The initiative has an enormous impact on how cancer is researched and treated.

International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day was on 8 March with this year’s theme of Breaking the Bias.  In order to help raise awareness of this important day, students across both campuses received purple ribbons and an infographic outlining some of the discrepancies between men and women in the workplace, in education, the economy and in politics. This information was sourced from the 2014 Global Gender Gap Report. A huge 'Thank You' to the VCAL students and Ms Claire Virgona for their help in preparing for the day.

Bullying, No Way!

Friday 18 March was Bullying, No Way! day when we seek to raise awareness about bullying in our community, and encourage a culture of kindness. Our McAuley students enjoyed a $1 muffin sale that was held by Year 11 VCAL Personal Development Skills class. The money raised from the sale will be donated to Headspace centre in Warrnambool. Meanwhile, at the O’Keeffe Campus students were invited to write messages of kindness on slips of paper to set up a kindness wall in the multipurpose area. There were also delicious treats for junior students on that day. Students were invited to wear a splash of orange on 18 March to show their support for this important day. More information and resources can be found here.

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School Photos

School photos will be taken on Monday 28 March. Please find below all the necesessary information about registration.

Communty News

Junior School

Year 7 Welcome BBQ

Our O’Keeffe Campus held a lovely evening with parents and Year 7 students last week. 

The evening was an informal evening for parents to liaise with Mercy staff and get to know the surroundings of the Noorat campus. Students proudly showed off their homerooms to their family and enjoyed a catered BBQ dinner. 

Families watched a rolling slideshow of all the happenings that have already occurred in the first 5 weeks of their Secondary school life, which involved sports days, lunch time competitions, brick club, Year 7 camp to name a few. 

We will continue to build strong relationships with our families and work to include them fully in their students' schooling journey and this was a great opportunity to start this process. We thank everyone for their efforts on the night and are hopeful you are a little more familiar with our beautiful campus. 

O'Keeffe Lunch Time Activities

Over the last two weeks, our junior students have been extra busy during lunch time as they participated and cheered on their peers in lunchtime sports activities.

On 9 March students enjoyed a competitive game of Frisbee Golf. The wind was strong but it did not deter the enthusiastic participants! Congratulations to our top students: Charlie R.,  Eddie W. &  Max H. 

Freesbee golf was followed by a 3x3 Basketball Tournament later that week. Several teams passionately competed for the champion title, with two great trios making it to the Grand Final: Nate S., Tom H. and Paddy H. vs. Piper S., Pippa B. and Lyla G. After a beautiful game the girls scored the victory and were proclaimed Queens of the Court. Congratulations to the winners and thank you to our trainee George Beasley for organising these fun activities.

Footy Tipping & Supercoach

Mr Harkin has generously volunteered to run a whole campus footy tipping competition and a chance to be crowned the Junior Campus Supercoach for 2022. This is both going to run through the AFL code. We love that footy is back and we look forward to the healthy competition that is ahead of us. 

Senior School

Rugby Jumpers

Our Year 12 students received their rugby jumpers on 9 March. We think they are looking pretty snazzy! Thanks to our College Captains for volunteering to take a couple of close ups.

Wellbeing Team - Berni Sinnott, Sharon Suhan, Matthew Crane
O'Keeffe Community Leader - Emily Stephens

Faith at MRC

Diocese of Lismore 2022 Flood Appeal

We have some plans in place to support those impacted by recent floods in Lismore, NSW. Catholic Primary school, Our Lady Help of Christians PS in South Lismore - a fitting link with MRC given we have the same patron saint - has suffered devastation in the floods. Deputy Principal Kristie Hague shared with Ms Gillett last week that “our entire school has been deemed a ‘total loss’ and unfortunately, many of our families face the same with their homes”. They would be most appreciative of any support we can provide. 

We will start things off with a whole school casual day, for a gold coin donation. All proceeds from this will go directly to the school we have partnered with to support. This will be held on Friday 25 March.

Caritas Australia Partnership with Caritas Ukraine

Caritas Australia is one of the few NGOs in Australia with a direct partner on the ground in Ukraine. The escalating violence in Ukraine is rapidly becoming a dire humanitarian crisis. 

Over 2 million people have fled their homes in Ukraine and there have been at least 1,335 civilian casualties. The Caritas Ukraine Appeal provides essential support to those in need including:

• Emergency food and water
• Shelter
• Hygiene kits
• Psychological counselling

We will provide support as a school through our current Caritas Appeal. If you would like to donate please use this link Ukraine | Caritas Australia.

Caritas - Project Compassion Icy Poles - O’Keeffe Campus 

On Wednesdays and Thursdays at lunchtime for the remainder of the term the Social Justice Group will be selling zooper dooper’s for 50c each. These will be sold from the Food Tech room. All proceeds from this will be donated to Caritas - Project Compassion. 

Uniting Church - Community Lunch

On Wednesday 23 of March, we will be cooking and serving lunch as part of the Uniting Church, Community Lunch. Thanks to Ms Fraser’s VCAL Personal Development Skills class for preparing the food and to Wendy Gleeson and Rose Henry who will be leading this event along with some of our Year 12 VCAL students. 

40 Days - 40 Items Lenten Drive 

Throughout the Lenten period (between now and the end of term) the Social Justice group is asking homerooms to consider bringing along 40 items which can be recycled  and shared with those in need in our community.

There are labeled boxes in the hallway outside of the MPA at the McAuley Campus and in the MPA at the O’Keeffe Campus for you to contribute to.

Some ideas for things to bring along include:

• Clothes and other items for our local St Vinnies and Lifeline
• Socks (including odd socks) and other textiles otherwise destined for landfill for donation to Upparel
• Running shoes and sporting apparel to be donated to Rebel stores for the “Nike reuse a shoe program - Australia”
• E-waste (printers, cartridges, mobile phones, pens etc) for Officeworks recycling program
  

Kellie Wilson
Catholic Identity, Mission and Ethos Leader

Sports Report

Inter School Golf

On Thursday 17 March, we had 21 students represent the College at the Inter School Golf held at Colac.

The team used different tees due to a range of players' skill sets and age groups. Year 7-9s played off shortened tees while the older students played off normal tees.

While everyone had fun, there were a few students who scored well and ended up collecting a prize. Paddy S., Lenny S., Cooper B. all had a score of +8 to finish 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively in the Junior Competition. Fred B. came fourth in the Senior Competition with a score of +4.

We would like to thank Darren Cheeseman and George Beasley for leading our Mercy golf team.

GWR Swimming

Last Friday, 30 MRC students travelled to Horsham to compete in GWR Swimming. The day was filled with events and a lot of students ended up coming home with a medal (or a few) and a smile on their face.

We give a special mention to all those who placed on the podium in individual races, relays and medleys, especially Matilda D. who took out 6 medals in U15 girls competition! 

Library News

Year 7 & 9 Author in Residence

To celebrate the approaching World Poetry Day on 21 March, our Year 7 and 9 students enjoyed a visit from the award-winning Australian author and poet Steven Herrick last Friday. In an entertaining and laugh-inducing performance Mr Herrick demonstrated how crucial it is to see and hear poetry performed; as well as how it can be used to tell stories in different ways. The students had a chance to ask Mr Herrick questions about his work - important knowledge they will apply when studying poetry in English in the near future. 

Many of Mr Herrick's books, written in prose and verse, are available from the libraries at both McAuley and O'Keeffe Campuses.

MRC Book Club - 4 April

We are looking to welcoming our community to the first meeting of our Book Club on 4 April. We will be reading and discussing 'The Dictionary of Lost Words' by Pip Williams.

Please register your attendance at the link below.

Don't forget to log in to Wheelers e-books and audiobooks taht have a lot of excellent titles to choose from, or come and borrow our book of the month - 'The Promise' by Damon Galgut.

Happy reading!

Library Manager - Maureen O'Loughlan 
English Domain Leader - Daniel Lee

Canteen News

The canteen continues to offer the Meat Free Friday’s Menu with a few specials in the lead up to Lent - until the end of Term 1. Other regular lines & weekly specials will be available for ordering online at canteen.mercy.vic.edu.au.

The Canteen is now taking payment through EFTPOS.

Allied Health Expo

On Thursday 10 March, our VET Allied Health students participated in a careers expo, welcoming guest speakers across seven disciplines related to allied health to share their clinical knowledge.

The Allied Health Expo started with an online presentation by Kerry Leech a sports dietitian from Brisbane. Kerry told the students about her career journey and shared that her work involves a few different aspects including counselling, psychology and even cooking for athletes while they are away on retreats.

After the online session, the students met with the representatives from other allied health professions in our community:

• Podiatry (Steph Lamont)
• Social work (Jessica Ryan)
• Exercise physiology (Rachael Giblett)
• Pharmacy (Sarah Baker)
• Occupational therapy (Ruby Bradshaw)
• Physiotherapy (Stu Canavan)

The guest speakers engaged the students in a lively discussion about the skills and knowledge that their work involves. As the students rotated through the expo stations in small groups, they gained a deeper understanding of what each profession looks like day-to-day. The students spoke about their future intentions, asked a lot of questions, and even participated in activities that exercise phycologists set up for their patients.

It was wonderful to have two of our alumni, Sarah Baker and Ruby Bradshaw, come back to the College to inspire the younger generation with their achievements.

The expo gave the students an incredible opportunity to experience how versatile the world of allied health can be and to see all the fantastic pathways that lie ahead of them on completion of their qualification.

We thank the guest speakers for taking time to be part of the Allied Health Expo, and our Allied Health teachers Mel Sinnott and Georgia Lucas who organised this wonderful event.

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Therapy Dog Visits VCAL Literacy Class

Our Senior VCAL Literacy class has been studying the various roles dogs play in our lives, from pets to a wide range of jobs as farm dogs, police and rescue dogs and various support roles.  We recently had the great pleasure to meet Leah Boyd and her support dog Cooper. Mrs. Boyd and Cooper completed an intensive training course in January, and she has begun taking him to her workplace, teaching art and Spanish at Terang College.

Here is a summary of what we learned about Leah and Cooper, and their work together in this important role.

What did we notice about how Leah works with Cooper? 
Leah is very patient with Cooper. She is very calm around him which makes him more calm and helps him to understand the commands. She is very straightforward and confident when she says her commands for him to do. When he goes to do something she doesn't want, she will say ‘good boy’, in a stern voice to notify him that he needs to listen, and when he's good it's a nice and happy ‘good boy’.  She will also give a slight tug to his harness when he's not focused and he then realises that he's working. Cooper’s behaviour was very calm and he was very social to everyone in our class.

What did Leah mention about training Cooper?
Leah took Cooper to training school during the summer for a week and also took him to a vaccination clinic.  She had to teach him to walk at her hip, sit when asked and other commands.  Cooper has a different uniform for training, compared to when he’s at home with the family.  Leah has to be in control.  If Cooper becomes anxious she stands in front of him to reassure him. She reminds him of the commands in the morning when he is eating or getting out of the car, so when he’s in work mode he knows what to do.  He also has special places to sit when he’s in class.

What are some of the ways Leah will work with Cooper at her school? What are Leah’s plans for him in the future?
Cooper has spent a few days at Terang College so far, helping students in different classes and year levels. Leah has Cooper in her classrooms, working with different age groups and different subjects, and also in the yard sometimes. He is able to help calm nerves, allowing students to be more productive.  Leah’s plan for Cooper is to get him to help students with reading activities, students with disabilities and more within the next few years.  She wants to be able to have Cooper in reading classes with the younger students to help them with reading fluently and without fear.  Leah explained there’s lots of research around the calming impact of dogs to help with anxiety or learning needs. So far things have been going very well.  Leah says Cooper is a natural with the students. We saw this first hand when they visited us. In the future Leah wants to visit local nursing homes to see how the patients respond with Cooper. 

Mrs Tania Bruckner and Senior VCAL Class - Melinda C., Nathan F., Oliva G., Tayla H., Biannca N., Sophie P., Charlie P.

Student Achievements

Education Perfect (EP) is the online learning platform we use at Years  7, 8 and 9 for French language extension and vocabulary consolidation. Each year EP has a 7 day Global Languages Championships involving schools around the world. I am delighted to report that, in the week that the competition ran, our students answered nearly 22,000 questions achieving a global ranking of 766 out of the 2800 schools competing. Many students across the year levels logged in to the competition over the weekend and after school. Of particular note was the amazing effort made by Joseph M. from 8D who achieved the “Emerald” (second highest) award by answering 14,977 questions during the Education Perfect Languages Championships 2022. He earned 5,017 points, placing him in the top 1% of competitors from around the world. Joseph has already decided that he will aim for the top “Elite” award next year.

Madame Siggi Macleod
Head of Languages

Career News

Topics in the Career News this week:

Year 12 students

• Australia National University – Tuckwell Scholarship applications now open
• ADF Gap Year Program – opening soon
• Medicine and Dentistry – registrations for the UCAT ANZ are now open
• Applications for the following universities are now open: Australian National University, University of New England and Charles Sturt University
• La Trobe University: applications now open for the La Trobe Prepare Program (Yr 11 and 12)
• La Trobe University: webinar for their Aspire Early Entry Program

All students

• University campus tours – running during the term break
• Career events
• Career events for students who love being creative
• VCE Careers Expo
• 5 amazing careers working with wildlife
• Find your Careers Crush – take the quiz!
• STEM articles
• Focus on the amazing myfuture website
• Passionate about sport? Check out these three fantastic programs
• La Trobe University – new program for Indigenous students

Kym Penry
Career Advisor

Alumni News

Meet Our Trainees 2022

We have checked on our trainees for 2022 to see how they are doing in their new roles.

Ashley Pearson (Class of 2020)
Learning Support Trainee, O’Keeffe Campus

Returning to MRC

After finishing Year 12 at MRC in 2020 Ashley started her Certificate III in Educational Support. Last year she successfully completed a traineeship with St Thomas’ School Terang. She was excited to apply the knowledge and skills she had gained in the primary school with Year 7s and 8s at MRC. Ashley is hoping that her experience will help her become an LSO one day, but she is open to other options.

Challenges and Expectations

Ashley has shared with us that it took her a few days to get used to seeing her former teachers as colleagues. ‘I wasn’t nervous, but it felt very different’, she says. Ashley is enjoying working with students and discovering their personalities as she helps them with their learning.

George Beasley (Class of 2021)
Sports and Events Trainee

Returning to MRC

George has taken on the traineeship to gain more experience and decide what he wants to do in the future. Along with his traineeship, George is doing Certificate III in Sport and Recreation.

Challenges and Expectations

George admits that at first it felt unusual to be back at school and have a different relationship with his teachers from last year as ‘suddenly, he became more of a teacher figure, not a student’. In his new role, George enjoys organising MRC teams for sporting events, and especially looks forward to golf tournaments. Being the 2021 Terang golf champion himself, he definitely has a few tips for the players.

Upcoming Dates and Events

Monday, 21 March - GRIP - Student Leadership Conference
                                            Presentation Ball Practice

Tuesday, 22 March - Assembly Day

Tuesday, 22 March - Friday , 25 March - Indigenous Perspective Adventure - POSTPONED

Tuesday, 22 March - Friday, 25 March - Indigenous Perspective Adventure - POSTPONED

Wednesday, 23 March - MRC Open Day - School at Work

Thursday, 24 March - VCAL Barista Industry Experience Info Session - POSTPONED

Monday, 28 March - School Photos
                                            Presentation Ball Practice

Tuesday, 29 March - HSSSD Athletics

Thursday, 31 March - Year 7 Faith Day

Friday, 1 April - Lions International Eye Health Program Yrs 7 & 8

Monday, 4 April - HSCN Transition Day - Year 8 Students at the McAuley Campus
                                       Presentation Ball Practice

Monday, 4 April - Friday, 8 April - Year 10 Work Experience

Tuesday, 5 April - Wednesday, 6 April - Unit 1 ODE Camp

Tuesday, 5 April - Thursday, 7 April - Y9 Camp - POSTPONED

Wednesday, 6 April- Presentation Ball Practice

Thursday, 7 April - End of Term Assembly
                                         TIS Tour

Friday, 8 April - ReLATE PD - Student Free Day
                                   Presentation Ball - MRC Stadium
                                  MRC Thermomix Raffle Drawn

College dates for 2022 can be viewed through the Parent Access Module (PAM), including all term dates, student free days, camps and retreats. 

Community Notices

Wannon Water Community Panel

Wannon Water is is hosting a Community Panel in April and May 2022 and looking for 12 customers reflective of their large service area to participate on the panel. The valuable input from the panel will be considered alongside technical reviews and broad customer engagement insights received between 2019 and 2021 to help determine Wanon Water activities, investments and prices for the 2023-28 Price Submission period. 

How does it work?

The program will be delivered in four parts: three in-person events and one self-led online activity session.  Further detail on each part can be found in the panel topics outlined on our webpage.

It is important that participants are available and committed to attending all four parts before registering.

How to register your expression of interest?

1. Go to the Wannon Water Community Panel 2022 webpage at: engageandexplore.wannonwater.com.au/communitypanel2022/expressionofinterest/
2. Check availability to attend all sessions
3. Click the ‘Register Here’ button to fill out the expression of interest form

Timeline

• 23 March 2022 - Applications close (COB)
• 25 March 2022 - EOI Outcomes advised
• 1 April 2022 - Meet & Greet
• 2 April 2022 - Panel session 1
• 30 April 2022 - Panel session 2

Contact

Contact us by emailing engagement@wannonwater.com.au or you can call Capire Consulting Group on 9285 9000.