MRC Newsletter - Issue 8 - 31 May 2022

Prayer

Principal's Message

Last  week we celebrated Catholic Education Week with the theme 'Share the Good News!' This quote by Dr Ruth Stuart Starratt, artist and educator, was included in the DOBCEL newsletter and describes the approach to education we strive for at Mercy Regional College and in Catholic schools which honours and respects each individual young person and their dreams through personalised learning design “As educators we deal with people's dreams - their individual and personal visions - and because of this, every day we are in the realm of the sacred. We are involved with forces and energies larger than our own. We are engaged in a sacred transaction of which we know only a little: we see the shadow, never the shape”. 

As part of our wonderful MRC Feast Day celebrations on Wednesday 25 May, we acknowledged the commitment of staff to student learning and community through recognising years of service milestones. We announced and celebrated milestones of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 years, calculated as the year they are currently in, as part of our whole school celebration liturgy. The response by our young people was truly heartwarming as cheers for every staff member being recognised demonstrated their appreciation. I acknowledge and gratefully thank the following staff for their Years of Service to Mercy Regional College.  Of note is Mrs Lesa Thornton’s service to CRC/MRC of 35 years. Thank you Lesa and congratulations. Sharyn Grinter was also acknowledged for 30 years of service to Catholic Education at a dinner hosted by Catholic Education Ballarat.

Our staff will gather on 11 July for a day of professional learning co-constructing with our staff a new vision for learning and teaching. Please note that the date has been changed from Monday 18 July to Monday 11 July due to the unavailability of the guest speaker. 

This week is National Reconciliation Week with the theme 'Be Brave. Make Change.' This theme aims to encourage and challenge us all to bravely tackle the ‘unfinished business of reconciliation’ to make a positive difference to the lives of all Australians. 

Our Indigenous Perspectives Adventure set off on Monday for a week-long Culture Camp. The experience will see our young people and staff in partnership with Worn Gundidj, learn more about our local traditional owners, their culture, customs and history whilst on country with Briabalong gunai kurnai man Paul Wright and Clint Miller from  Worn Gundidj. Beginning at our O’Keeffe Campus in Noorat with a Welcome to Country and traditional smoking ceremony the group was then privileged to learn from Paul on his mother’s birth land at Framlingham. The week will also involve learning at other culturally significant places across Gunditjmara country including the Hopkins River mouth, Tower Hill, Budj Bim and Lake Condah and Gariwerd (The Grampians).

We have been working on other 'Brave Changes' to move MRC forward with reconciliation. Our Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) is nearing completion and I thank O’Keeffe Community Leader Emily Stephens and the working party for their wonderful work on this. We are also pleased to share with our community our Yanaya Watnanda Equity Scholarships to support any young person identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander to join our MRC community.  Yanaya Watnanda translates to 'Walking Together' and I gratefully acknowledge the Keeray Wooroong Language Learning and Research Centre and Eastern Marr Aboriginal Corporation for the translation. More details regarding access and the application process can be found on our website alongside information on other MRC Equity Scholarships available ensuring MRC is genuinely accessible to any young person wishing to join our learning community. Please contact College Registrar Nicole Darcy for further details.

We finish with the prayer for Sorry Day as read by our FIRE (Friends Igniting Reconciliation through Education) Carriers. FIRE Carriers are young people and teachers that share a passion for learning about Aboriginal culture and history and are committed to sharing this knowledge and promoting reconciliation within and beyond the school community. They enact an important leadership role in our school community. 

We keep in our prayers Fr Neville Stanislaus who is currently in Sri Lanka after the sudden death of his brother-in-law. Our thoughts and prayers are with Neville and his extended family. 

With kindness

Sharon Gillett
Principal

Learning at MRC

The last few weeks have proved to be challenging for our community in the midst of this season’s flu wave. We realise that due to absences from school, learning has been fragmented for many of our young people. In light of this and with three weeks yet to go in the term, we want to support our young people and families in ensuring that students settle quickly back into routine after they return from illness and communicate clearly with their teachers around expectations for assessment. Teachers are open to conversations around the best ways to support our young people to successfully meet their learning goals for the semester - if you have any concerns about missed tasks or where learning is currently at, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Teachers are continuing to keep our Google Classrooms up to date and if students are at home sick they may be able to well enough to engage in some light study or reading. 

DAV Debating Competition - Round 2

On Thursday 18 May, the Mercy Regional College C and A Teams travelled to Geelong Grammar School to compete in Round 2 of the DAV Competition. Both teams represented our school most admirably and we could not be more proud of their efforts. 

The C  Team represented by Sarah, Alani and Jack took the affirmative position on the topic of ‘That parliamentarians should be allowed to hold citizenship other than Australian citizenship’ against Geelong College. 

The A Team, represented by Year 12 Students Adam, Jo and Oscar took the negative position on the topic ‘That we prefer a hung parliament to a majority government’ against North Geelong Secondary College. This was a particularly challenging topic - as noted by the adjudicator. It was wonderful to see our A Team students eager to chat to the young people from NGSC afterwards. Such a demonstration of fair play and collegiality. Although both teams were very narrowly defeated by one point, we need to consider that all six debaters made their debut in Round 2! 

Thank You to Jo Saunders for her preparation of the C Team and her support on the night and to Tania Bruckner for her support in preparing the A Team and finally to Daniel Lee for his tireless work in coordinating and driving MRC’s dive back into DAV. 

We are looking for debating adjudicators to join us at the 2022 Frayne Speech Festival at Emmanuel College, Warrnambool in August. If you have experience as an adjudicator or would like to undertake a training to become one, please contact Daniel Lee at dlee@mercy.vic.edu.au.

ASX Schools Sharemarket Game

All Year 9 students have recently participated in the ASX (Australian Securities Exchange) Schools Sharemarket game. This activity offers students the opportunity to learn how the sharemarket works without any financial risk. The students start with a virtual $50,000 which they invest on the sharemarket with the aim of making a profit. The game runs for a period of 10 weeks with all pricing mirroring the actual sharemarket.

Congratulations to Isla, Grace and Krystal (absent from photo) who produced the greatest profit during this year's game. The students' portfolio value at the conclusion of the game was $53,317.28 They each received a $10 voucher to spend at the MRC canteen.

Year 9 French Excursion

Our Year 9 French class made it to the National Gallery of Victoria last week. The students spent the day with Ingrid - one of the NGVs Educators - exploring French-themed exhibitions and learning 'un soupçon' about French history as it is depicted through the NGV's artwork. The students took photos that they will use to illustrate their first written work in the French past tense the 'passé composée'.

We hope that this foray to the NGV will encourage future visits and a lifetime of enjoyment of the French cultural influence upon Melbourne’s art scene.

RIST Wool Overview Program

Several MRC students from Years 9 and 10 enjoyed a hands-on experience of the wool industry as they participated in a Wool Overview workshop organised by RIST. In three days packed with interactive activities, the students learned a lot about one of Australia’s greatest exports. They tried their hand at shearing, handling and classing wool, and other shed operations. Look at how professional they look at their tasks!

[Images provided by RIST]

VCE Legal Studies Students Celebrate Law Week

During the recent Law Week, our senior VCE Legal Studies class took part in an online session on law reform with Member of the Victorian Parliamentary Legislative Council Fiona Patten of the Reason Party and the esteemed Anthony North QC, Chairperson of the Victorian Law Reform Commission. This topic is an important part of Unit 4, where students consider the need for law reform and the various means by which it can be achieved.

Learning@Mercy Leadership  Team - Natalie Stephenson, Danae Fraser, Lydia Darcy and Daniel Lee
Domain Leader of Mathematics - Leanne Delahunty
Domain Leader of STEAM, VCAL Leader - Claire Virgona
Domain Leader of LOTE - Sigrid Macleod
Legal Studies Teacher - Tania Bruckner

MRC Enrolments 2023

Enrolment information and applications are now open on our website for potential Year 7 students for 2023 as well as students for any other year levels who may wish to join our Mercy Regional College community. We will host tours at our Noorat campus on Wednesday 1 June and Wednesday 15 June. Please contact College Registrar Nicole Darcy for further details. At Mercy, everyone is welcomed and included!

Community & Wellbeing at MRC

Vaping

There is research that suggests a rising trend amongst teenagers to vape.  Regrettably, we believe that there have been some instances of students vaping at the College. Since vaping is illegal for persons under the age of 18, and vaping of nicotine is also illegal therefore, this is a matter that we take very seriously. Students have been reminded this week that vapes are prohibited items, and that should a student be found to be in possession of or using a vape at school, the consequences will be very serious and in line with our Drug and Substance Policy. The below information shares with parents some information and links that may support conversations at home about the very real dangers of vaping.

A relatively new phenomenon amongst our young people seems to be the use of e-cigarettes or vaping. The use of e-cigarettes is on the rise, particularly among high school students, and consequently, it is important that as parents, you are equipped with some relevant background information to enable those significant conversations about risky behaviours to take place.

The image shows the ‘cuvie’ brand of e-cigarette which has become very popular amongst teenagers. These products are also known as ‘stigs’. As you can see they look like a highlighter pen or USB-stick and come in fruity flavours just like lollies or lip gloss. They could easily be mistaken or overlooked if your child had one of these in their school bag, pencil case or pocket. The danger is that these small devices contain various liquids including nicotine that is heated using a battery and turned into vapour to inhale. Most of these products have a floral sweet smell very similar to popular deodorants and body sprays teenagers often use. It is quite clear that these products are being marketed to young people and manufacturers are keen to get them ‘hooked’ with the addictive properties of nicotine. 

Apart from being considered a ‘gateway’ activity to smoking and other drug taking, vaping is not safe. As well as nicotine, users are inhaling various other chemicals, some of which have negative health impacts and others that we know very little about. These devices can be purchased for around $15 at specialist vape stores and tobacconists. Students who have been caught with these banned substances have reported that there are specialty tobacconist shops who are prepared to sell these products to underage children. Any shop or person supplying e-cigarettes to our students will be referred to the police.

More Information - Why are we taking this so seriously? 

Vaping is NOT ... 

• It is NOT safe. 
• It is NOT legal if you are under 18 years of age. 
• It is NOT permitted at school or any school related activity - it is a banned substance and will be dealt with in a similar manner to cigarettes or alcohol.

Educating Our Students - Prevention is Best

Like all risk taking behaviours we need to highlight the dangers to our young people and provide them with the information they need to make informed decisions. We will continue to provide students with health information. We ask for your continued help and support with this. Please have a conversation with your child(ren) as soon as possible about the effects these products have on their bodies and outline the serious consequences they will face at school should they make poor choices. If you are concerned that your child may have an issue with using e-cigarettes, alcohol or other drugs, we are here to assist you and can help connect you and your child to relevant community support. Please contact your child’s MERCY Teacher or Community Leader. If, in your discussions with your children, you have information about who is supplying e-cigarettes to our students, please make contact with DP - Staff and Students Berni Sinnott at bsinnott@mercy.vic.edu.au. Berni is keen to pass this information on to the police and your anonymity will be respected.

Consequences For Banned Substances at MRC - Zero Tolerance 

We have a zero tolerance for students bringing banned substances to school and/or supplying them to other students. 

We are currently revisiting our Drug and Substance Policy to reflect the use of Vapes at school. Important dot points to be included in the policy are:

• Supplying e-cigarettes to other students (anywhere and anytime) will result in some form of external suspension (days to be confirmed), student will be referred to the police and a parent interview will be set up to discuss continued enrolment and any support required. 
• In possession or using e-cigarettes at school will result in external suspension, reflective activity on the health effects and a parent interview will be set up to discuss support required. 

Once our policy has been ratified we will share it with students, and parents. We thank you for your support in keeping our young people safe and well.

Uniform and Grooming

The wearing of a school uniform creates a sense of collective and individual pride in our school as well as giving our students a sense of belonging. Security around the school is also significantly enhanced as our children can be readily identified as belonging to Mercy Regional College.

School uniform is compulsory and students are expected to maintain high standards of personal grooming and neatness, and to take pride in their College uniform. All students are expected to wear full school uniform while at school. Any student not wearing full uniform is to bring a note from their parents, written in the Student Diary and to be given to the Mercy Teacher, explaining the reason for being out of uniform and the expected length of time the student will be out of uniform.

Students are advised to mark their name on all items of uniform and personal property brought to school. Sports uniform is to be worn on days that students participate in Physical Education class. Students who are unable to wear sports uniforms must also bring a note from their parents. All uniform items listed below are available from the College Uniform Shop. 

During winter months students are permitted to wear the College spray jacket as an over garment for protection from the weather. No other coats or jackets are allowed.

Students are also expected to maintain a high standard of personal grooming and neatness and to take pride in their College Uniform.

Jewellery - must be discreet. We ask students to adhere to the following guidelines:

• Two pairs of earrings are permitted per ear (studs / plain earrings).
• No other piercings permitted.
• No visible tattoos.

Hair - must be clean and tidy:

• Collar length hair must be tied back with a hair tie or elastic band. In case of breakage a spare should be carried.
• No extremes in hair styles (e.g. dreadlocks or spiked hair) or colours.
• Facial Hair: Students are to be clean shaven at all times.

Make up - must be descreet:

• No visible make-up 
• No nail polish
• No acrylic or fake nails

National Sorry Day

Our College community paused on Thursday 26 May to celebrate the National Sorry Day. It is a day when we acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. Our McAuley students were involved in creating and displaying purple native hibiscus flowers that are the official symbol for Sorry Day. The flower symbolises the scattering of the Stolen Generations and their resilience in the face of adversities.

VCAL Indigenous Garden Update

Our VCAL students have been continuing their hard work on their Indigenous Garden Project. They were able to meet with Mayor Ruth Gstrein, Corangamite Shire Council and Parks Victoria representatives to push their vision forward. The students are now compiling a proposal to submit to the Corangamite Shire council for approval of all their new ideas.

Junior School News

Compost Program at O’Keeffe

We are excited for this new program to be implemented at our O’Keeffe Campus. Our Environmental leader, Joseph has been working with a small group of interested students to bring this program to life. Composting is a way to promote a responsible and environmentally friendly way to deal with waste.  Well done Joseph and team. 

Year 8 PEAK Program

Our new Year 8 PEAK subject is gathering momentum with our Year 8s working hard on their passion projects, with significant links to the community. There are excellent displays of creativity, enthusiasm, engagement in these sessions. 

Over the coming weeks our Year 8s will be making contact with community organisations and relevant community members to pitch their ideas, seek feedback or offer their product to the organisation. 

Crazy Ideas College

In Term 3 we are excited to partner with Crazy Ideas College to work with our Year 8s in a social innovators program. Students undertake this program in teams to help discover new insights around issues they care about, generate crazy good ideas, prototype how these ideas can work in community and develop compelling pitches that inspire action. 

We will be connecting with community and business partners into the process so that teams can extend their thinking and great ideas to potentially be acted upon. This is a great step from our Term 2 work of our passion projects. 

We are excited to see our students thrive and create some crazy useful ideas. 

RAP - Reconciliation Action Plan

Our RAP working party have been working towards our commitment to reconciliation. We have had various meetings to bring Mercy’s RAP to fruition.

At this current stage we have established a working party of 11, completed surveys to gather information and have nearly finalised our vision statement. Our next goal is to embed our actions into the plan, these relate to relationships, respect and opportunities as they play out in the classroom, around the school and within our community. There are 40 RAP actions, with a minimum of 14 that must be included in our plan.

We are excited to bring this plan to life and share this with our school community in the very near future. 

Wellbeing Team - Berni Sinnott, Sharon Suhan, Matthew Crane
O'Keeffe Community Leader - Emily Stephens
Domain Leader of English - Daniel Lee

Faith at MRC

Feast Day Celebration

Our Feast Day celebration was a lovely way for our whole College to celebrate and enhance our Catholic Identity. 

The Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians is a special feast day for our country as in 1844 Mary was nominated as the patroness of Australia under this title. The Catholic tradition has always had a strong devotion to Mary.  It is recorded that when there were no priests in colonial Australia, Catholics prayed to Mary to nurture and express their faith. One of the first Catholic priests in Australia, Father Therry, dedicated the Australian Church to Mary under the title ‘Help of Christians’.

Mercy Regional College chose the Feast of Our Lady Help of Christians to be its Feast Day because our College is not named after a Saint, and because we wish to continue acknowledging our link to Mary and through this, to the Sisters of Mercy who brought Catholic education to this region.

We celebrated as a whole school with an extended lunch time with activities, games and music on the oval as well as some food, milkshakes and second chance clothing available for purchase. 

After lunch we headed to St Patrick’s Church to celebrate the day with a liturgy. A big Thank You to Mrs Jo-Anne Saunders who stepped in to preside after Fr Neville could not attend. 

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Year 7 Faith Day

On Wednesday 25 May our Year 7 students took part in their second Faith Day which was held at the McAuley Campus.

The day entailed visiting both St Paul’s Anglican Church and St Patrick’s Catholic Church in Camperdown and looked specifically at understanding the importance of Jesus in each sacred space. This experience is linked to the 'Jesus' Unit that the students are currently studying in Religion classes. Rev Doctor Kevin Yelverton also joined the students for part of the day to share his wealth of knowledge about the history of each denomination. Among many other things, he spoke with Year 7s about how the Jewish heritage is represented in the architecture of the churches. It was an interesting day of learning for all!

Year 12 Seminar Day

Our Year 12s had a Seminar Day as part of the Feast Day celebrations on 25 May. The students welcomed an inspirational guest speaker Nasir Sobhani - also known as  ‘The Streets Barber’. Nasir shared parts of his life story and spoke about living a life with meaning and purpose by acting in the service of others. This presentation echoed with the unit that our students are working on in RE lessons this term - 'Mercy in Action'. 

As another major activity of the Seminar Day, our Year 12s planned, organised and ran a stall of secon-hand clothes. The students have been looking at ‘fast fashion’ and some of the problems with clothing going into landfill too soon. Year 12 students and teachers donated clothes, which they no longer used, to the ‘Second Chance’ clothing stall. All proceeds of this enterprise will go to the South Lismore Primary School in New South Wales that our College is supporting after the flood damage. We hope to have another day of second-hand clothing sales later in the term after which all the unsold items will be donated to our local St Vinnies.  

Kellie Wilson - Catholic Identity, Mission and Ethos Leader

Sports Report

GWR Intermediate Football

After a successful day out against Terang College the week before, our Intermediate Football girls continued their lucky streak in Warrnambool on Thursday. They won 3 out of their 4 games beating Trinity, Ballarat and Horsham. Our players had a fantastic day and look forward to more achievements in the future. 

GWR Cross Country

On Monday 30 May, a number of MRC students travelled to Deakin University in Warrnambool to compete in the Greater Western Region Cross Country. The team avoided the bad weather and managed to get plenty of good results on board.

Congratulations to our medal winners and all the students who have progressed to the state cross-country to be held on Thursday 14 July at Yarra Valley Racing Club. 

MRC Medal Winners:

• U12/13 Girls (3 km) - Piper S. (2nd) - 12:53 mins
• U15 Girls (3 km) -  Taleah M. (2nd) - 12:44 mins

Team Members Progressing to the State Level:

• U15 Boys (3 km) - Archie T. (11th) - 11:09 mins
• U16 Girls (3 km) - Kate S. (9th) - 14:12 mins
                                        Sophie C. (10th) - 14:22 mins
• U16 Boys (5 km) - Myles S. (4th) - 18:28 mins
                                        Wilba C. (6th) - 19:01 mins
• U17 - 20 Girls (3 km) - Emily D. (8th) -  13:30 mins

Thanks to Darren Cheeseman for organizing the day and to Emily Stephens and George Beasley for helping so the day runs smoothly. Well done Team Mercy! 

Library News

New Books

This week the O’Keeffe Campus library will be home to a new selection of books! Anyone who is keen on the genres of fantasy, mystery and science fiction should definitely call in and take a peek. And  for the animal lovers we have a beautiful book about a boy and his pup - The Bravest Word by Kate Foster - that is a heartfelt and insightful story.

In the McAuley Campus library, a new series by Stephen Fry will be highlighted. Mythos, Troy and Heroes are Greek myths retold in an entertaining and brilliant form and have been described as lively, funny and re-imagined with wit, warmth and humanity. For all enthusiasts of the ancient civilisations, this is a great way to deepen your knowledge and support your Ancient History studies. 

Book Club

We are looking forward to our next Book Club meeting next Monday. If you enjoy a spirited discussion about a good book, this is the place for you! Please contact Maureen O'Loughlan if you have any queries.

The club is meeting at 6.45pm for a 7pm start. Refreshments will be provided. The book is ‘The Power of the Dog’ by Thomas Savage. Come along and bring a friend! Please RSVP via the link below. 

Maureen O'Loughlan
Library Manager

MRC Car Raffle 2022 Is Live!

Car Raffle Purpose

The Mercy Regional College Car Raffle was launched on Wednesday last week. The raffle is a long-standing tradition at MRC and a significant contributor to the funding of essential learning resources, facilities, and equipment for our students over the past 47 years. All proceeds from this year’s raffle will be contributed to the purchase of a mobile coffee trailer for our VCAL students to expand on their business ‘Grind and Grow’.

Car Raffle Tickets

MRC Car Raffle 2022 will be drawn on 30 November at 2.15pm, at Mercy Regional College. The draw will be held at the end of Year 17-11 Awards Assembly. Raffle tickets can be purchased online by clicking on the link above.

This year we have a unique offer – 13 tickets for $100! On buying the whole bundle before 2 August, you will receive a bonus Early Bird ticket that will go into a manual draw for a $300 MRC School Voucher.

If you are unable to purchase raffle tickets online, you can buy paper tickets at the College reception and in numerous stores, cafes, and offices around the region. Once your paper tickets are returned to the College reception, our friendly staff will then enter your details in the online raffle system.

Car Raffle Prizes

There are 10 great prizes to win, including a Renault Captur, an Apple Watch and a Timboon Tiny Homes holiday voucher. A full list of prizes is available at the link below.

Support Our Raffle!

As always, we are sincerely grateful to our community for their continuous support of our fundraiser.

We have reverted to the old-style ticket books and are hoping for the help from our local businesses and individuals with selling the tickets. If you are willing to help, please either contact the College reception on 03 5593 2011 or community@mercy.vic.edu.au to ask for an extra ticket book to distribute among your friends, family, colleagues, or customers. When selling the whole book of 13 tickets, you will receive an Early Bird ticket as a 'Thank You' for your efforts. Return the Early Bird Ticket with your details, money, and ticket butts by 3pm on Tuesday 26 July to be entered in the Early Bird draw. The Early Bird prize will be drawn on 2 August at 1pm, at Mercy Regional College, McAuley Campus, Camperdown.

After the two hard years that we have had, we feel that a personal approach and face-to-face ticket sales will be essential for bringing the Car Raffle back to the community in its full capacity. We kindly ask our Mercy community for assistance with running a raffle ticket stall on the weekends, at major regional events, markets and other community gatherings.

If you or your family could spare some time to volunteer at our ticket stall, please sign up via the form below. Your support will be greatly appreciated!

Special Thanks

We would like to express our gratitude to our generous sponsors:

• Warrnambool Renault
• Betta Home Living, Camperdown
• Gunners Business Solutions, Warrnambool
• Timboon Tiny Homes
• Riordan Fuels, Camperdown (Shell)
• Showcase Jewellers, Camperdown
• DJ’s Cafe, Camperdown 
• Madden's Commercial Hotel, Camperdown
• Steakroad Bar & Grill, Camperdown
• Ritchies IGA, Camperdown
• Benallack’s Sports, Camperdown
• Camperdown Pharmacy
• Full Bloom Florist, Camperdown
• McCann's Newsagency, Camperdown
• Snout in The Trough, Camperdown
• The Little Pharmacy & Shoe Shop, Camperdown
• Crawley’s Milk Bar, Terang
• Greavesy's Fruit & Veggies, Terang
• Terang Country Bakery 
• Terang Fitness
• Cobden Health Community Fitness Centre
• Cobden Pharmacy
• Ride With Us, Timboon
• Star Printing, Terang

We would also like to thank all the businesses that are supporting our raffle selling the tickets and spreading the word.

FAQ

Click on the link below for more information about the Car Raffle including FAQ and Terms & Conditions.

Student Achievements

Lara, Year 12

Please join us in congratulating Year 12 student Lara who recently played in the Victorian Championships for Indoor Bias Bowls finishing third overall. Lara will now attend State trials in June. Congratulations Lara!

Career News

Year 9 'Try a Career' Day

Our Year 9 students ventured to Warrnambool on Friday for a ‘Try a Career’ Day at South West TAFE. Every student had the opportunity to experience a small sliver of 3 careers from a wide range of fields including Agriculture, Hospitality, ICT, Business Studies, Tourism, Health, Electrical, Engineering, Hairdressing, Arts and many more.

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Career Newsletter

Topics in Career News this weeks are: 

YEAR 12 STUDENTS

• Explore 6 university early entry programs that are now open
• Initial teacher education courses – information you need to know
• UNSW law – Law Admissions test
• Flinders University, Adelaide: UniTest
• Defence Civilian Undergraduate Scholarship – Engineering and Cyber Security
• Agriculture – gap year programs
• Seasonal fire fighting positions – no experience needed
• Information technology traineeships – Microsoft and PwC

ALL STUDENTS

• Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA)
• Apprenticeships and traineeships – articles and resources
• Myfuture website – a fantastic website for all students
• How much will your first university degree cost?
• Careers with STEM – vocational educational training pathways
• Careers in early childhood education
• Virtual career expos and open days
• Upcoming events

Careers Seminar

All parents and carers are invited to attend a Careers Seminar presented by Neil Porter Legacy. 

Alumni News

Rory Coverdale

Congratulations to our former student Rory Coverdale who recently competed in harness trotting for Hamilton Harness Racing Club. Rory came 3rd on Regal Reggae in her first race drive.

Rory spent a short time at MRC before leaving school to pursue her dream - learning the art of harness racing. Rory completed Certificate II and III in Racing, efficiently combing her studies with work. It is wonderful to see Rory's love of racing grow and result in successful performances. We wish her all the best for your future races.

Class Reunions

We are calling out to the graduating classes of milestone years who are due to have a reunion in 2022. If you are planning an event, please contact the College at alumni@mercy.vic.edu.au or 03 5593 2011. We will be happy to help you promote your event and organise a campus tour for your group. 

• Graduating Class of 1977 – 45 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 1982 – 40 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 1987 – 35 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 1992 – 30 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 1997 – 25 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2002 – 20 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2007 – 15 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2012 – 10 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2017 – 5 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2021 – 1 Year Reunion

We are also supporting the reunions that were postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19. If your class is due for a 40+1, 30+1, 20+1, etc. reunion, it’s a perfect time to get together in 2022!

Class of 1987 - 35th Reunion

Saturday 15 October 2022

The Class of 1987 are excited to get together and remember all the good times at their 35th reunion on Saturday 15 October. If you were part of that class, save the date and update your details on our Alumni database at the link below to receive news about the upcoming event.

Stay Connected

We encourage all our past students to update their details on the Alumni database by clicking on the link below. We would like our past students to stay connected with the College community and keep up-to-date with Alumni events and reunions. If you have any questions or suggestions relating to MRC Alumni, please contact Alumni Coordinator Katya Belokon at alumni@mercy.vic.edu.au. 

Upcoming Dates and Events

Wednesday 1 June - Tour of O’Keeffe Campus

Thursday 2 June - Inter-School Debating Competition

Thursday 2 June - Saturday 18 June - Unit 1 examination Period

Thursday 2 June -Assembly Day
                                      Debating Competition

Monday 6 June - MRC Book Club

Tuesday 7 June - Photo Day Catch Up

Wednesday 8 June - Professional Practice Day for all teachers - Student Free Day

Thursday 9 June - Frayne Celebration Day

Monday 13 June - Queens Birthday Long Weekend

Tuesday 14 June - VCAL Careers Expo
                                       VCE Chemistry Excursion

Wednesday 15 June - Year 11 English Oral Presentation
                                             Year 12 Elevate Presentation
                                             Tour of O’Keeffe Campus

PLEASE NOTE: The Catholic Identity Day for Staff has been rescheduled from Monday 18 July to Monday 11 July due to the unavailability of the guest speaker.

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

St Colman's Primary School Online Raffle 2022

The St Colman's Online Raffle is on again this year. Tickets are $25 and there will be 600 available for sale. The raffle will be drawn on 20 June.

• First Prize:  $3,000 voucher at Scotts Betta Home Living
• Second Prize:  $1,000 Neighborhood Benefits Card from Acciona
• Third Prize: $500 voucher at Bates IGA Supermarket

You can support the fundraiser of our HCSN member school by buying your tickets on Trybooking.