MRC Newsletter - Issue 2 - 2 March 2021

Prayer

Principal's Message

At Mercy, one of our core values is Community.  The opportunity to celebrate and enhance our sense of community is something we are always most grateful for. Our Year 7 students spent three days last week at Cape Bridgewater surfing, sand boarding, seal watching and caving whilst they got to know each other and connected with Mercy staff.  This camp is an important part of our transition program and assists in creating a true sense of belonging and connection to our Mercy community.

Some of our students had the opportunity to participate in the HSSSD Swimming and Cricket these past weeks. Inter-school sport was one of the things we missed most during 2020 and it was wonderful watching our students not only represent Mercy with pride and skill, but seeing the sense of community shared as they competed alongside their friends from other schools across the district.  Whilst there was a healthy sense of competition, this was also a time of great celebration. We are now looking forward to our House Athletics this week on Thursday, 4th March in Camperdown and invite families to join us if you can - COVID Safe protocols will apply.

Three of our Year 12 students participated in the Camperdown Lions Youth of the Year event this week. Ava Nolan, Isabella Finney and Ruby Bennett acquitted themselves very well, whilst also being great representatives of Mercy.  We congratulate Ruby Bennett who was awarded the overall winner of the evening and Isabella Finney who was the winner of the public speaking section.  Ruby will move onto the next stage of the competition on Sunday, 14th March in Mortlake, alongside George Beasley, who will represent the Terang Lions Club and Mercy.

Our return from the brief lockdown was met with great relief as well a sense of gratitude and appreciation to our staff, students and families. I wish to thank everyone sincerely for the way our community responded positively and purposefully to a return to Remote Learning.  I thank our staff for their early preparation which enabled Mercy to ensure learning began on Monday for our Unit 3 students and then our entire student community on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thank you also to the team of generous staff who ensured our Year 7 students had laptops by Friday evening and that all details were communicated to students, families and staff all after a long day at the Swimming Sports.  Thank you Mercy community.

On Wednesday, 17th February, we observed Ash Wednesday with a virtual service shared on our social media platforms.  Thank you to Mrs Jo Saunders and Ms Nikki Williams for their creative and dedicated work which ensured we were provided this opportunity.  If you missed it, please use this link to take some time out and reflect on the importance of doing good work and acting selflessly and with compassion whilst enhancing our awareness of prayer during Lent.  Caritas Australia launches its Project Compassion appeal each Ash Wednesday - a practical way of bringing to life our campaign of Christian service.  Mercy focuses on supporting Caritas Australia for awareness and fundraising across Lent.  The theme for 2021 is Be More, focusing on the words of Saint Oscar Romero, “Aspire not to have more, but to be more”.  Please use this link if you would like to donate to Project Compassion.

The College is busy preparing for our Open Day, which will be held on Thursday, 25th March.  We warmly welcome prospective students and families to come and experience our College and share in all it has to offer. There will be opportunities to tour our facilities and join in learning experiences and speak with students and staff who will share what learning and life at Mercy looks and feels like.  Our McAuley campus in Camperdown will host our learning displays and experiences and information sessions, whilst our O’Keeffe Campus in Noorat will be open for tours should you wish to visit.  Our HCSN Grade 5/6 students will spend the day learning at O’Keeffe on this day as part of our HCSN Transition Program.  More details will be available soon.  In the meantime, please watch our virtual tour located on the enrolment page of our website and contact registrar Nicole Darcy if you should have any questions.

Mercy would like to share with our community an exciting and inclusive faith development and formation initiative: Circle of Mercy.  We hope to offer one community forum each school term that invites staff, students, parents, family members and the wider community to join with us for an evening of learning and reflection. Themes will be many and varied but all will link back to our Christian and Catholic Identity in our contemporary society. Our first Circle of Mercy will be an online webinar, in collaboration with Sacred Heart College, led by Bernard Dobson that will share some of the story of Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy. For details and registration please see the flyer below.  We look forward to sharing our full 2021 Circle of Mercy program with you soon.

Finally, I share with our community policies which have been updated as part of our transfer of governance to DOBCEL. This week we share the Child Safety suite which can be accessed from the home page on our website, whilst also being located in the Parent Resources on PAM.  The following policies and procedures have been updated:

• DOBCEL Safeguarding Children and Young People Code of Conduct
• DOBCEL School Child Safety Officer Role Description
• MERCY REGIONAL COLLEGE Child Safety Policy
• DOBCEL PROTECT: Reporting and Responding Obligations Policy
• MERCY REGIONAL COLLEGE PROTECT: Reporting and Responding Obligations Procedure
• DOBCEL PROTECT: Identifying and Responding to Student Sexual Offending

With kindness

Sharon Gillett
Principal

Wellbeing at Mercy

Good communication plays a major role in all relationships that everyone makes.  For our MRC students they have a variety of ways that they can communicate, and it is vitality important that as a school community we assist them to make it constructive rather than destructive.

Constructive communication is concerned in building good relationships and understanding between parties and the following principles apply to all:

• If dealing with conflict discuss a problem, not a person
• It is always helpful to focus on the future, not the past,
• Try and be specific wherever possible
• Communicate with facts, not opinions
• Use “I” Messages when describing a behaviour or effect you are feeling
• Always try to listen actively - Comprehend, retain and respond

It is always timely to remind not just our students, but ourselves, about these rules to effective communication. At MRC we are constantly working with all students to use these principles with anyone that they come across. We are very proud of the effort that is shown in this area now and in the future.

Ben Brisbane
Interim Assistant Principal - Student Development

eBook Wellness Collection

The Student Wellbeing team is very excited to have joined with the Library staff to bring to the College, Wheelers’ Wellness Collection of ebooks.  These books are youth focused and within the titles are an extensive range of topics that address current social issues; a variety of human conditions and experiences that are relevant to our times.

There is something here for everyone, whether you are wanting to become more successful in a sports or business, or perhaps want to understand more about a mental health condition or diagnosis, or know about the benefits of sleep and tips on how to improve it.  There are also titles that look at grief and loss, relationships, living in dual cultures, managing emotions, self-care, building resilience, self-confidence, relaxation and yoga practices for various needs.

Broader social issues such as racism, social media and mental health, ecological care and promoting positive changes in these areas individually and collectively are also covered within this collection.

Some of the titles that are available are provided in an audiobook format.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy looking at the collection and it can provide you with knowledge, inspiration and opportunity to increase your personal sense of wellbeing.

Please remember that it is important to talk to someone if you feel that you require support. Through the  Wellbeing Team you can contact and talk with Sharon Suhan: ssuhan@mercy.vic.edu.au, Mr Brisbane: bbrisbane@mercy.vic.edu.au, or myself, cpeerman@mercy.vic.edu.au.

External places and spaces that can provide someone to communicate with are:

Eheadspace:  https://headspace.org.au/eheadspace/  (9am–1am)  Ph: 1800 650 890

Beyond Blue Youth: https://online.beyondblue.org.au/#/chat (3pm -12am)  Ph: 1300 22 4636

Kids Helpline: https://kidshelpline.com.au/get-help/webchat-counselling  Ph: 1800 55 1800

Chadley Peerman
College Social Worker

Learning at Mercy

Tutoring

In response to the disruptions faced by students last year due to COVID-19, the Victorian government has made available funding for schools to run tutoring programs. It is pleasing to note that tutoring programs have commenced across most year levels.

Mrs Georgia Copeland has begun working with small groups of students across Years 7 and 8 with a literacy focus, specifically in the area of written expression. 

Our Senior School students had their first group session with Jennie Darcy last week and will now commence small group tutoring sessions both during and after school. 

Mr Mark Alexander will be working with our senior maths students over the coming weeks. This will take on a similar format as the English/Literature sessions, in small focus groups.

As mentioned in the previous newsletter, our Middle School students will commence their program a little later in the term, with more details to come shortly.  We are excited to be offering our students this opportunity to refine and extend their skills, working with experienced teachers as an enhancement to what is happening in our classrooms. 

Edrolo

Senior students enrolled in Unit 1 and 2 subjects will participate in an online Edrolo session.  The idea behind this is to help students navigate the website and provide tips that will help create “best practices” for study and revision.  Edrolo is a very useful tool to assist students as it provides video clips explaining key knowledge and key skills from a subject's study design.  Students can test their understanding via progress checks throughout the unit through a range of multiple choice and short answer and examination style questions.  Edrolo is a concise and accessible revision tool.

Berni Sinnott
Deputy Principal

New Role at Mercy to Support Diverse Learners

A new year brings new beginnings for Learning Diversity & Inclusion at Mercy.  Starting in my new role, I work alongside a broader team, and primarily focus on mentoring teachers in the area of Learning Diversity & Inclusion.  The aim? To further empower our staff to help all our students flourish in an inclusive, engaging and mutually respectful environment.

But what does ‘Learning Diversity & Inclusion’ mean?  What does this look like @ Mercy?  In our first Learning Diversity & Inclusion staff meeting on Monday night, I pitched this very question to our staff to see what their views were…  

As expected, the staff’s responses fit nicely.  We then continued to expand our Diversity & Inclusion vocabulary.

Diverse learners can range from cultural, skill-set, and thinking styles to experiences, gender and language. Inclusion is more than just policy; it is valuing everyone, providing flexible learning and understanding our school community… and this is by no means an exhaustive list.

Back in our staff meeting I also wanted to know how our staff are currently catering to diversity and promoting inclusiveness. And this is what they came up with…  

I was eager to see their responses and when reading them for the first time it truly made me proud to be working alongside such a dedicated team.  It shows that many things are happening in our classrooms to ensure diverse needs are being met and inclusiveness is promoted.

Moving forward, we will be introducing a new framework this year called Universal Design for Learning (UDL). It will give teachers further insight into how they can further optimise their teaching and learning practices so that all our students have a fair education.

Chamon Vogels
Learning Diversity & Inclusion Teacher Mentor

Faith at Mercy

Bringing the language of Lent into context for today.

Each week during the Church season of Lent, every homeroom will have access to a new poster, taking the Gospel reading and breaking that reading open in a way that may be more accessible to all of our MRC Community. 

The key points from the Sunday Gospel reading are highlighted.  Reflections on the Gospel allow these themes to be interpreted in a modern context.  There are questions to help focus on the Gospel message in our own lives and finally a prayer.

Lent is a time for contemplation and peaceful prayer; please enjoy these posters and may they help to enrich your Lenten experience this year. 

Jo Saunders
Liturgy Coordinator

School Advisory Council AGM

Reconciliation Action Plan

Mercy is in the process of establishing a working group to create a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) for our school.  This is a document with a formal statement, vision and actions within our school community to demonstrate Mercy's commitment to reconciliation.  The first step is to gain interest from students, families and staff on who would be interested in being part of this working group.  

When designing this RAP we use the Narragunnawali platform and submit this to Reconciliation Australia to be published.  This link provides further information on RAP's if you would like to know more prior to being part of this group: https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/

Please email estephens@mercy.vic.edu.au if you are interested in participating.  The working group will consist of 15 members across staff, students and families. 

Emily Stephens 
O'Keeffee Community Leader

School Photos | Monday, 15 March

Annual school photos, including sibling photos, will be taken at Mercy Regional College by Arthur Reed Photos on Monday, 15th March. 

There is no need to return any forms or money to school.  Unique image codes will be issued to all students on/after photo day so families can register online to view images when they become available in the webshop.   Once registered, please wait for notification that 2021 images are online to view before making your purchase. 

If you wish to have sibling photos of your children, please register your request before photo day.

Students will be required to wear either the correct summer or winter uniform on the day, and jumpers need to be worn for the photos.  Shoulder length or longer hair needs to be tied up.  Students should NOT be wearing their PE uniform. 

Year 7 Camp

Our Year 7 class set out on Wednesday, 24th February with great excitement for our upcoming camp.  On our way to Cape Bridgewater Coastal Camp we stopped at Swan Lake to do some sand boarding.  It was a struggle to get to the top but such a thrill as we slid down the dunes on the boards! 

When we arrived at camp, everyone rushed about to pick out the best cabin.  Some of us ended up in cabins with people we didn't know very well but it ended up giving us a chance to get to know some people we hadn't known well before.  After dinner and enjoying our apple crumble, we went for a walk down to the pier and saw some of the working fishing boats.

We rotated through activities on the middle day, taking it in turns to do caving, surfing, seal tours and beach activities.  We were a mix of excitement and nerves as we got ready to go caving.  It was a steep climb down and we had to navigate the challenges of the “mouse trap” and the “chimney”,  where we had to wriggle through small holes.  We were rewarded on the other side though as we made our way into the main cave.

We spent time learning to surf. Not many people had been surfing before, so we all laughed and had a great time as we tried to stand on our boards.  There were plenty of loud cheers when someone was able to stand up and ride a wave into shore.

The seal trip was great too.  The best part was when we launched over the waves!  We were lucky to see lots of seals, there were some baby seals and some of them were fighting too.   

When we got back to camp that night, there was a loud choros of happy birthday as we sang to Megan, before we settled down to watch a movie before bed.

On our final morning, we did an 8km trek on the Great South West Walk.  We were sore and tired but it was worth the effort when we saw the amazing views!  We loaded up on morning tea at the kiosk before boarding the bus back to school.  Although we were exhausted after a busy few days, it was great to make new friends and experience new things.

Layla Blomfield, Megan Naylor, and Mia Rippon-Hanson
Year 7 Student News Reporters

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VET News

On Tuesday, 23rd of February, Alex Martin and I travelled to Te Mania Angus, just outside of Mortlake with our VET subject hosts, RIST.  This was an amazing opportunity for young farmers like Alex and myself to acknowledge and experience some of the upcoming technology within the agricultural and horticultural industries.  Byron, the Te Mania farmer, familiarised us with their setup, explained and detailed their use for phones, computers and the applications (apps) they use everyday.  Te Mania are well advanced in technology use for their industry. Their cattle are equipped with an NLIS button, as all livestock are, as well as an identification tag.  These tags are used primarily for the identification of the animal in the paddock and in the yards.  Their yards are also highly efficient and operated by technology; equipped with scales, a remote controlled crush for both the entry and exit of the cow, and scanners to identify the cow by tag when loaded.  The yards can be programmed to load cattle by itself without the use of a worker, allowing the worker to only need to be herding and yarding the cattle up to keep the yards flowing.  After the cow has been weighed, identified, and calculated for the specific task at hand, for example, vaccination or drenching, they are drafted in accordance with programming.  This was the main observation we were looking at for the day. 

We also looked at some young bulls, their feed and their identification on the tag and their rump.  We then had the opportunity to travel around and observe their crops, paddocks where other livestock were located, and discuss their future endeavors for specific areas.  We discussed their breeding and joining program and how technology plays a significant role in increasing the chance of conception.  We also discussed how certain things could be changed to improve their efficiency, because as we all know, not every farm is perfect.  This could not have been a better experience for us; we all thoroughly enjoyed our time outside of the classroom and learning and interacting face-to-face with farmers who are innovative in our industry.  Our group would like to thank RIST and Esther for organising the day, and also Te Mania for this educational experience and for allowing us to visit. 

Shae De Francesco
Year 12 Student

Sport Report

HSSSD Swimming

On Tuesday, 23 March, 53 of our students headed back to the Terang Pool to represent the College at the HSSSD Swimming Sports.  Our students had a terrific meet, finishing the day in second place, behind Timboon P-12 College.

We congratulate Elise Sinnot, Matilda Darcy, Jessica Walsh, and Kiarna Murfett for being awarded Age Champions in their respective age groups.  We also congratulate the U13 Girls 200m Freestyle relay team for breaking their event record.

HSSSD Senior Cricket

A group of Year 12 students represented the College at the HSSSD Senior Cricket event last Friday, 26 February.  The students showed incredible team spirit and did their school community progud.  After a loss by 10 runs to Cobden Tech, the students regained their ground, winning their match with Camperdown College by 30 runs.  We wish the team all the best as they progress through to the next round in Ballarat in the coming weeks. 

Open Day

We are excited to be hosting our 2021 Open Day later this month.  We encourage anyone with a child that will be commencing Year 7 in 2022 or beyond to come along.  For more information and details about the Open Day, please visit our website.

Careers

Library

Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and more recently, Cilka’s Journey, spoke recently in Warrnambool about hope.  Having been entrusted to write the story told to her by Lale Sokolov, a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp in World War II, hope, courage, and indeed love, are intertwined throughout the pages.  Listening to Heather describe the process of listening to this personal account of a Holocaust story and then turning it into an extraordinary book was inspiring.  The sequel, Cilka’s Journey, provides another perspective to this chilling historical event. 

A young adult version of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and Cilka’s Journey are both available in our school library.  For more information on the books, you can visit the author's website.

Maureen O'Loughlan
Library Manager

Celebrating 200 Years of Catholic Education

Over 200 years, Catholic schools have grown to become the largest provider of schooling in Australia (outside government) with one in five school age students attending a Catholic school.  This represents some 768,000 students in 1,751 schools across the country and employing 98,000 teachers and staff.

A national Mass will be held on the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians on 24 May 2021 to celebrate in every state, territory and diocese. 

Slam Poetry Program

Year 9 students are studying poetry this term and the opportunity is there for them to participate in a great after school program run by the State Library Victoria.  Anyone can participate, no matter the age,  just be a teenager! 

Becoming a slam poet is the key to entertainment, finding a voice and  sharing a message.  See the link below or contact Mrs Saunders for any inspiration or information.  Sessions will be held on Tuesday afternoons, 4.30-5.30pm, during March.  Students can participate from home or get together with friends and join this zoom program.

You must register so follow the link above and find your voice!

Alumni News

Dream Comes True for Gemma Harry

As students across the country start their university studies this week, a dream is coming true for our 2020 College Captain, Gemma Harry. Gemma is off to Melbourne to study paramedicine at Australian Catholic University. 

Gemma has always been interested in helping people and has cherished the dream of becoming a paramedic for more than three years. She worked hard at school studying English, Maths, Health, Biology and Psychology in Year 12, and was beyond excited when she was offered an early entry to ACU.

‘It’s quite nerve-wracking, but I’m very excited’, says Gemma. 

Gemma is fascinated by how rewarding paramedicine is, ‘establishing great connections and knowing that you have saved many lives make all the challenges of the profession well worth it’. 

‘I’m looking forward to doing lights and sirens,’ admits Gemma. ‘I watch ‘Paramedics’ TV series all the time and I love it. People think I’m obsessed when I talk about it!’

Gemma is following in the medical footsteps of her older sister (Alexandra Harry, Class of 2010) who works as a psychiatric nurse in Melbourne.  

We wish Gemma all the best for her studies.  We are certain that she will make a wonderful paramedic.

Community Notices