MRC Newsletter - Issue 14 - 13 September 2022
Prayer
Principal's Message
Here we are in the final week of Term 3! September is always such an energising month in our school with the weather brightening up, sports finals and end of season sport celebrations all around the region, our final year students counting down the days with excitement and realisation that the years have flown so fast and our incoming Year 7 students spending time at our O’Keeffe Noorat Campus and getting to know their teachers and each other.
September is also the month we celebrate Our Lady of Mercy and the Sisters of Mercy. The anniversary of the opening of the first House of Mercy and the Feast Day of Our Lady of Mercy are both celebrated officially on 24 September. Last Friday we celebrated with our MRC Our Lady of Mercy Mass in St Patrick’s Church. The celebration was led by Fr Neville and both student and staff members of Frayne House, named in recognition of the Sisters of Mercy and in particular Ursula Frayne. It was wonderful to be welcomed to Friday Mass by members of St Patrick’s Parish. The theme for this year’s celebration is Catherine McAuley - Boundary Breaker. We shared a reflection on the ‘boundaries’ Catherine sought to challenge which I share with you below and then our young people who recently participated in the Seeds of Justice gathering in Anglesea then shared their encouragement for their peers to get involved in action for Social and Eco Justice.
The legacy of the Sisters of Mercy is something we treasure as an important part of our unique MRC history. Some of the sisters your teachers, parents or grandparents may remember from CRC or MRC or one of our HCSN partner schools St Patrick’s, St Thomas’, St Colman's and what was St Joseph’s (now our O’Keeffe Campus) might be Sr de Chantel, Sr Beda, Sr Evelyn, Sr Sylvia, Sr Patsy, Sr Eulalia or Sr Paddy and I am sure many others. Today we reflect on their selfless and compassionate work and the courage and determination of Catherine McAuley. Catherine McAuley is celebrated today as a Boundary Breaker. Catherine was focused through her faith and through her determination to support others and challenge injustice. Catherine was called to respond mercifully and was driven to act to change situations that she saw as wrong or unfair or caused pain for others. Catherine worked to empower others; often children and women who were being treated unfairly. Catherine, together with those who believed in her work, the Sisters of Mercy, did this through three main focus areas - education, health care and community support. Beginning simply in 19th century Dublin Ireland, the works of the Sisters of Mercy spread through Ireland, then England then Australia and throughout the world and still powerfully support others in these areas today. Catherine was a “boots on, hands dirty” kind of person, committed to action to create a more just and merciful world for all. She planted a seed, gave it nourishment and watched it grow and grow!
I had the great pleasure of accompanying our Senior Netball Team as coach to the SSV State Championships last week. They played with great determination and courage and came away as Runners Up. This is a mighty feat! Our Clay Target Shooting team also achieved RU in their State Final, another mighty effort. Well done.
We are busy preparing for our upcoming renovations to our O’Keeffe Campus. Preparations are well under way to bring our Y 7 & 8 students and those staff who teach them across to our McAuley Camperdown Campus for Term 4. Our Year 8 students gave this a try on Monday as our 2023 Year 7 students enjoyed the day in Noorat. We also welcomed St Patrick’s Primary School Year 5 students to Noorat last week as one of their MRC Taster Days as part of our much valued Hampden Catholic Schools Network connection program.
In community news, we keep in our thoughts and prayers the family and friends of the renowned Indigenous actor, musician and Aboriginal elder, Uncle Jack Charles who died this morning, aged 79.
In COVID news, I share with you the change in the isolation period requirements for those testing positive to COVID. Isolation has been reduced to at least 5 days from the date of your positive test result. This is reduced from the previous 7 days. To leave isolation you must not have any COVID symptoms. Please call the College if you need any further advice.
In staff news, we wish Ms Caitlin Rix all the best as she prepares for a new chapter in life when she begins parental leave at the end of Week 2, Term 4. Caitlin is currently our Middle Years Community Leader and we thank her for her dedication, understanding and kindness whilst in this role. Mrs Nickeeta Roache will move into this role for Term 4 after being the Assistant Middle Years Leader in 2022. Ms Tina Jenkins will then move into the Assistant role. Tina has been appointed to the role of Middle Years Community Leader for 2023. These changes have necessitated additional changes to teaching loads with Mr Dan Glennen to teach 9 Mathematics in Term 4 and Mrs Mel Simmonds taking junior Wood Technology. We also welcome back to our staff for 2023 Mrs Melanie Kavenagh who will return to teach Year 12 Psychology whilst Caitlin is on leave.
We thank the following staff for their dedication and enthusiasm in covering classes and roles for MRC staff who have taken some well earned Long Service Leave this term - Mrs Kerrie Cakebread and Ms Airlee Cole for Mr Brendon Norman and Mrs Janet Backhaus, Mr Joel Rothman, Mrs Melanie Simmonds and Mrs Sharyn Grinter for Mrs Joanne Saunders and Ms Jean Christie and Mrs Leah Cheeseman for Mrs Maureen O’Loughlin. We welcome Brendon, Janet and Joanne back for the start of Term 4. Maureen will now officially finish her time at MRC after 25 amazing years. Thank you Maureen. Mr Danny Gordon will remain on LSL until mid November. Ms Jean Christie will take on the role of coordinating our 50-year celebrations across 2023.
We congratulate Mr Tim Burke on his appointment to Principal of St Patrick’s Primary School Camperdown. Tim has been interim Principal across 2022 and is a familiar face in our HCSN having previously been Principal of St Colmans Mortlake. Please remember to jump online and purchase your 2022 MRC Car Raffle tickets for a chance to win the fantastic Renault Captur and 9 other brilliant prizes. Finally, I wish you all a restful break and hope that you are able to spend some time recharging and enjoying some hopefully warmer weather.
With kindness
Sharon Gillett
Principal
Learning at MRC
VCE Revision Lectures
St Joseph's College in Geelong is holding a series of exam revision lectures on the first 2 days of the holidays. Train it in and walk up to St Joseph's from Geelong station. Book online via the link on the flyer. Bring your booking receipt to school after the holidays and we will reimburse you the cost of your lectures.
Week 1 of the Term 3 holidays, the library will be open for studies and revision. Please find attached the holiday revision schedule for both weeks of the school holidays.
NAPLAN Reports
This year’s NAPLAN reports have been mailed home to Year 7 and 9 families this week. As mentioned in the letter enclosed in the email, Mercy teachers use the NAPLAN data as one means of assessing the efficacy of our teaching and learning programs. We ask ourselves; How are we going? Where do we need to go next? We also triangulate this data with other forms of assessment data that we have on students (including PAT testing and subject assessment results) to gain the fullest picture of the student and plan for continuous improvement.
Please understand that these results are a snapshot of your child’s effort and ability at one specific moment in time and do not measure a whole range of other skills, knowledge, dispositions, gifts and talents; in other words, the sum total of what makes your child a unique and worthy human capable of all life has to offer.
Mid-Semester Reports
Mid-Semester Reports will be available online through PAM on the afternoon of Friday 16 September. The Mid-Semester Report contains information about your child’s work practices and learning dispositions.
Year 7 2023 Discovery Day
On Monday, 63 bright eyed Grade 6 students from local primary schools attended our O’Keeffe Campus for a Discovery Day, an important step in the ongoing transition to Year 7. After being welcomed with an Acknowledgement of Country, a Prayer for transitions, and a brief assembly to meet staff, students were placed into small groups for the day’s various activities.
Across the day, students keenly participated in sessions in Woodwork, Physical Education, Art and Food Technology. As well as crafting items to take home, these sessions were designed to allow students to meet Mercy staff, find their way around our Noorat campus and most importantly start building friendships with their new peers ahead of Year 7 2023. Some of the day’s highlights included table tennis at break times, painting Picasso in Art, baking raspberry muffins in Food Tech, and for many, a lunch order from ‘The Shed’. We hope that the Grade 6s enjoyed their day at our O’Keeffe Campus. We look forward to welcoming them back, along with those who were unable to make it on Monday, for their Step Up Day in December.
Year 8 Transition Day
While the Year 6s were at Noorat, our Year 8 cohort spent the day at the McAuley Campus in Camperdown. To kick off the day, students participated in a Scavenger Hunt to help them find some important landmarks around the campus, while meeting some of the MRC staff based at Camperdown. For the rest of the day, the Year 8s participated in an alternate timetable day, giving them a taste of Year 9 in Humanities, English, PE, Maths and Science. The students were enthusiastic throughout the day, and are now confidently looking forward to their return to the McAuley Campus for Term 4.
VCE Agricultural Studies Excursion to Dairy Farm
Earlier this term , Year 11 and 12 students traveled to Ecklin to visit brothers Sam and Peter Doolan at their dairy farm. The field trip aimed to demonstrate to students what modern technologies and sustainable practices could be used within the dairy to save and better manage precious resources such as water and sunlight. With a focus on ensuring the farm operates financially while balancing the needs of the land the Doolans sought change after undertaking an eye opening energy audit a few years ago. Sam and Peter explained the reasons for adopting the technologies and management practices and spoke honestly about changes to farm productivity they had noticed in only a few years.
Learning for the students revolved around creating resilient farms to combat the effects of climate change and market pressures such as fluctuating milk prices. Other technologies on show included software the boys had access to that could be used in real time to monitor all vital levels of energy being used on the farm and how this could be better utilised according to what time of day it was and what needed to be done on the farm.
Outside of the dairy shed, Sam and Peter elaborated on more farm management practices they were trialing to improve the health and efficiency of their operation. These included extensive tree planting as well as using biochar in their soil to enhance soil biology potentially reducing fertiliser usage. Thanks to Sam and Peter for the invitation to their farm and sharing their knowledge with us.
Learning@Mercy Leadership Team - Natalie Stephenson, Danae Fraser, Lydia Darcy and Daniel Lee
VCE Agricultural Studies Teacher - Tom Kelly
College Fees
This is a friendly reminder that school fees are now due and payable for families who do not have an approved fee payment arrangement in place with the school. We ask that you please finalise your fee account as soon as possible.
Our College remains committed to working with our families as we get through these challenging times. Please contact our Business Manager, Judith Murfitt, to make an appointment to discuss your situation if you are having any troubles meeting your fee obligations. We wish to reassure Mercy families that we want to and will assist you in every way possible to support your child’s enrolment. Please make contact so we can help at finance@mercy.vic.edu.au.
Community & Wellbeing at MRC
RU OK? Day - 8 September
RU OK? Day is our national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that any day is the day to ask, “Are you OK?” and support those struggling with life. RU OK? is a National suicide prevention initiative that encourages Australians to ask their friends, family, colleagues or neighbours “Are you OK?”. Nearly half of all Australians (45%) will experience some form of mental illness during their lifetime.
On Thursday morning Mercy staff enjoyed a shared breakfast taking this time together to engage in meaningful conversations. The VCAL and Hospitality students guided by Mrs Danae Fraser, Mrs Claire Walsh and Mrs Melanie Simmonds made an assortment of sweet treats to sell for a small fee at both campuses at recess and lunch. All money raised will be donated to the RU OK? foundation.
Students and staff were encouraged to wear a splash of yellow, with some yellow ribbons available for staff and students to remind us all of the significance of the day.
World Suicide Prevention Day - 10 September
“Creating hope through action” is the triennial theme for the World Suicide Prevention Day from 2021 - 2023. This theme is a reminder that there is an alternative to suicide and aims to inspire confidence and light in all of us.
By creating hope through action, we can signal to people experiencing suicidal thoughts that there is hope and that we care and want to support them. It also suggests that our actions, no matter how big or small, may provide hope to those who are struggling. Lastly, it highlights the importance of setting suicide prevention as a priority public health agenda.
How can we have a conversation or make a difference with family, friends or people in the community? The main thing to remember is you’ve got what it takes and you’re probably already having these conversations with the people you care about.
There’s no one way to have an RU OK? conversation, but the four steps, which we call ALEC, is a helpful framework:
- Ask: Pick the right moment and ask RU OK? in a way that feels right for you. Mention changes you’ve noticed and that you’re concerned.
- Listen: Listen without judgement. Don’t rush or interrupt, but encourage them to explain what’s going on for them.
- Encourage action: Ask what they've done in the past that has helped. There might be something practical you can do, or you could help them access professional support.
- Check in: Stay in touch after the initial conversation. Check in to ask how they're feeling and if things have improved. Stay connected so they’ll know you’re there for them.
Sometimes during an RU OK? conversation the person might say they’re not OK or become emotional. They might be angry, frustrated, or tearful. The best thing to do when this happens is to let them fully express their emotions and reassure them by actively listening to all they say.
You don’t have to have the answers or be able to solve their problems, but you can help them consider the next steps and actions they can take to manage their situation.
If the conversation becomes too big for you to manage you can call a crisis support service like Lifeline on 13 11 14 for immediate support and advice. If you believe someone’s life is in danger call 000. Please find some useful resourses here.
Year 11 Teen Mental Health First Aid
Over the course of the last few weeks, our Year 11 VCAL students completed Mental Health First Aid seminars led by Empowerful. The students learnt how to identify the key signs of mental illness, recognise protective factors and act to support mental health crises. Students were presented with multiple real world examples of mental health and addiction scenarios; offered opportunities to demonstrate their existing first aid knowledge and address the range of potential outcomes.
The seminars have allowed the students to increase their confidence and comfort level in having hard discussions around mental health, normalising crisis talks and identifying avenues of support available to them.
Grade 5 Students @O’Keeffe
On Thursday 8 September, Mercy Regional College was fortunate to host Grade 5s from St Patrick’s Primary School. 39 bubbly students arrived at the O’Keeffe Campus where they experienced a tour of the school, participated in Physical Education and Art activities and some even tried The Shed’s famous chicken burger.
The students were a beautiful bunch of young people who participated with enthusiasm and joy. We look forward to seeing them in 2023 where they will start their formal HCSN transition program to Mercy Regional College.
O'Keeffe Footy Colours Day
Students at our O’Keeffe Campus were fortunate to enjoy the warmth and sunshine during their Footy Colours Day on Wednesday 7 September. Year 10 $20 Boss elective students ran activities at recess and a BBQ at lunchtime and visited classes to help out. It was great to see our older students engaging with our junior ones and the Year 10s enjoyed a walk down memory lane too, reminiscing about their time at O’Keeffe.
McAuley Cup & Shield
The McAuley Cup & Shield is a football carnival for our Year 8 students. MRC has been working with staff from Damascus College, Ballarat to develop a competition that gives students the opportunity to showcase school pride, belonging and connection. We also see this competition as an opportunity to celebrate the Mercy story and spirit.
The competition showcases both girls' (McAuley Shield) and boys' football (McAuley Cup).
McAuley Shield
Our girls' match was a great game! Our Mercy team had a great warm up, some fantastic handballs and voice, however, we probably took a little warming up when we hit the ground. We hadn’t scored at half time, however, after a half time rev up from Coach George the team came out firing and only lost 20 points. Our girls played brilliantly in the second half. Our defenders held Damascus to only 1 goal. There were tackles, great run through the middle and some wonderful shepherds. There were great ground ball pick ups and big kicks inside 50m. We had some fantastic talent on show, working hard in defence and attack all game were Poppy and Taleah.
Our Best for Mercy were awarded to: Elsie, Matilda and Emily. Best on Ground chosen by the umpires was awarded to a Damascus student.
The final score for McAuley Shield: 6.4.40 - 3.2.20, with the shield making its way back to Damascus for another year.
McAuley Cup
Our boys' game was a little different with a strong start by Mercy bears, with brilliant link ups in the middle of the ground to strong forward leads by Hamish and Cooper. The score line at half time 9.6 Mercy to Damascus 1 goal. There was huge talent on show including Parker, Campbell, Max, Lenny, Albie and Nelson. These boys played great team football, using voice and skill beyond their years. A stronger third quarter by Damascus held us to 1 point. A ripping quarter from Syd, who presented front, kept his feet and laid some great clean strong tackles.
Our final score in the McAuley Cup: 13.8.86 - 1.0.6, with the Cup returning to the O’Keeffe Campus for another year.
Umpires on the day awarded Lenny Best on Ground. Lenny was the recipient of a new sherrin football and Western Bulldogs Scarf kindly donated by the Western Bulldogs Football Club.
This day is a special day for Mercy Regional College and one that has been running for quite some time. We love having parents make the effort to travel to watch and encourage our students participating in these events.
MRC will host Damascus next year at Noorat and we look forward to another spectacle of talent and Mercy spirit.
Thank you to Mr Darren Cheeseman, George Beasley and Ms Claire O'Connor and Mrs Emily Stephens for their work leading up to and on the day. A big shout out to our runner Sonny who ran all day in both games delivering messages and encouraging our teams. Great work Sonny!
Wellbeing Team - Berni Sinnott, Sharon Suhan, Matthew Crane
O'Keeffe Comunity Leader - Emily Stephens
VCAL Leader - Claire Virgona
Faith at MRC
Year 7 Faith Day and Special Persons Day
Excitement is building for Year 7s who will be involved in their Term 3 Faith Day and Special Persons' Day on Thursday 15 September. Our Year 7s will have the opportunity to invite their grandparents and special people to the O'Keeffe Campus at Noorat to participate in a liturgy, shared morning tea and other activities. We look forward to sharing a special morning with some very special guests.
Our Lady of Mercy Mass
On Friday 9 September all MRC students came together to celebrate Our Lady of Mercy Mass at St Patrick's church in Camperdown.
Our Mercy Mass is held in September in honour of the time that the House of Mercy was opened by Catherine McAuley in Dublin in 1827. The Mass was led by the students from Frayne House, named after another Sister of Mercy Ursula Frayne. Our Frayne House captains shared some information about Sr Ursula and her continuous legacy. Sr Ursula Frayne is an ideal example for all of us as we are encouraged to be resourceful and merciful followers of Christ in the world.
Markey House Feast Day
On 3 September we celebrated the Feast Day of our Markey House. MRC's blue house is named after Fr Bob Markey who was the parish priest of Simpson at the time that Catholic Regional College was established. He was a member of the school’s Board of Management for many years and a regular presence around the place. Fr Bob will always be remembered as a staunch supporter of the school and one whose determination and foresight were invaluable in the early years of Mercy Regional College. To celebrate the Feast Day, all Markey students and staff received a traditional blue iced donut on Friday.
Seeds of Justice Conference
At the start of September, six Middle school students ventured to Angelsea to partake in the annual Seeds of Justice Retreat. The event brought together Mercy secondary school students from all around the state, including Mornington, Bendigo, Ballarat, Warrnambool, Geelong and Melbourne.
The program included two guest speakers: Anthony Leddin, a plant breeder, who has worked all around the world working to preserve various plant species; and Sr Veronica Lawson, an esteemed Sister of Mercy who spoke whole heartedly about the mercy the earth provides for us, and how we should indeed reciprocate that mercy. Our students were able to work with the other students to develop connections and explore their own desire to work for social and ecological justice. They were also able to develop ideas which will be implemented here at Mercy Regional College.
The students have reflected on their time at the Retreat:
“Seeds of Justice made me view our world differently. Sister Veronica, one of the guest speakers, shared with us that the merciful ones (as the Beatitudes tell us) is the earth, the trees, the environment and we need to be merciful back to them. I also really enjoyed being able to spend time as a school group and meet students from other schools who also have an eye for social and environmental justice.” - Matilda, Year 10.
“I enjoyed learning about the agricultural side of caring for our common home. It was also nice to listen to Sister Veronica paint social and environmental justice in a new light.” - Jess, Year 9.
“Seeds of Justice was a wonderful experience and a great chance to put yourself out there, meet new people and learn about how to improve yourself and the world. Both speakers were very eye-opening and taught me a lot.” - Pippa, Year 10.
“It was a great experience to learn about how the earth provides for us and how it wasn’t always about us people and that we need to mercy the earth the same way it mercies us. It was fun to work with students from other schools making connections and sharing our passions. This Retreat has helped me gain more perspectives on the environment and showed me how to develop more and better ideas for the future.” - Lucy, Year 10.
We would like to encourage all other students to consider joining us in the Social Justice Group to work together developing a clear social and ecological vision for our school.
Unwanted, Outgrown or Surplus Uniform Items
If there are any families who have at home any unwanted, outgrown or surplus uniform items, the Social Justice group would love to hear from you. We would be most grateful to repurpose and reuse these items. Any uniform items can be dropped to Reception at the McAuley Campus.
Kellie Wison - Catholic Identity, Mission & Ethos Leader
Melanie Bouchier - Domain Leader of RE
Sports Report
Senior Girls Netball - State Finals
Congratulations to our Senior Girls – State Netball Runners-Up! The girls had an incredible day at Waverley on Monday 5 September, convincingly winning all their games on the way to the Final. Unfortunately, their opponents Rowville Sports Academy were stronger in the Final, 33-24.
Well done team MRC! Special thank you to coach Sharon Gillett for preparing th egirls for thsi important competition.
Clay Target Shoot - State Finals
On that same Monday, our Clay Target shooting team came second at the State Finals in Echuca! After 150 targets, our boys were only beaten by 7. Congratulations boys!
A special mention goes to Year 10 student Matt for representing MRC in both individual and team events.
SW Zone Clay Target Shoot Competition
Our Year 8 girls played in the State Finals of the SSV State Netball competition on 2 September and made it to the semi-final. The girls played wonderfully and only lost in the semi-final by 4 points. A fantastic achievement for our young team! Thank you to Emily Stephens for coaching the girls.
Intermediate Boys Netball - State Finals
Our Intermediate Boys Netball team competed in the State Finals earlier this term. The boys were very close to winning two of their three pool games, only losing by 3 points in both. Although they did not manage to go through to the semi-final, they defended MRC colours with great pride. We congratulate our first ever male netball team on making it to the States. It’s an amazing achievement!
Library News
The Locked Box challenge winners
What’s in the Box?
Inspired by FYI (the School Library Association of Victoria magazine), the MRC Library created an escape room-styled challenge for students – the locked box. The locked box challenge differs from an escape room in that it requires students to break in rather than out.
Year 7 and 8 students at the O’Keeffe Campus were invited to use their problem-solving skills to solve a series of clues in order to break into the box – the contents of which remained a mystery.
Solving the clues required using a range of skills, including the translation of Auslan. Other clues could be solved through unravelling a riddle, using some pop culture awareness and knowing a little about the history of MRC. The challenge was to make the activity not so easy that it could be solved too quickly but not so difficult that students would lose interest.
A small but extremely enthusiastic group participated in the challenge. We congratulate Tilda, Mark, A J and Jonah who worked collaboratively as a team to solve the mystery during recess and lunch, found the key and won the contents of the box – a large box of chocolates. Well done!
Game on!
Students at the O’Keeffe Campus were asked to assess the games available for use in the Library, The group then drew up a wishlist of new games they would like to use at lunchtime.The students requested: Monopoly Steal, Cluedo, Yahtzee, Mastermind, Dominoes, Game of Life and Flamme Rouge. These have now been ordered and will be made available at the McAuley Campus during Term 4.
Holiday Reading and Podcasts
There are lots of fantastic new fiction books in the Library and students are always welcome to come to the Library to ask for reading recommendations. Parents may also borrow. Here are some book and podcast recommendations for parents from the Library.
Wheelers e-Books and Audiobooks
Wheelers e-books and audiobooks are always available for MRC students and staff. The new releases and recommendations for winter reading include:
Book Club
We invite all book lovers in the Mercy community to the next session of our Book Club in Term 4.
Date: Thursday 13 October
Book: 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' by Tyalor Jenkins Reid
Jean Christie
Interim Library Manager
MRC's 50th Anniversary
Help us Make History!
In 2023 the MRC community will be celebrating fifty fabulous years. Along with the launch of a special commemorative book about the history and memories of MRC, there will be a gala weekend of events on 24 and 25 November 2023. Save the date!
As part of the celebrations, we are seeking loans of photos and memorabilia to build the archives collection and to create displays. Can you help?
We would especially love to hear from anyone who has the school magazines/yearbooks from 1978 to 1984 and we are also missing 1987.
If you have any photos or items of interest, please contact: Jean Christie by email jchristie@mercy.vic.edu.au or phone the College (03) 5593 2011.
Jean Christie
50th Celebrations Coordinator
MRC Car Raffle
Raffle Ticket Stall
Now that the weather is warming up, it is wonderful to see our car raffle stall out and about. The stall is extremely popular with the comunity and is a great way of promoting our raffle to all those who are unable to purchase tickets online.
We are sincerely grateful to everyone who has signed up to volunteer at the ticket stall. We do not have a mandatory roster, but we invite our families to choose a suitable time and date on our list and put their name down for a shift or two. Our car raffle ticket stall travels to different towns around the region, giving everyone an opportunity to volunteer at our fundraiser.
Upcoming Dates for Car Raffle Stall:
- Sat 17 September - Betta Home Living street stall - volunteers found
- Fri 7 October - Cobden Vintage Car Event, 12-3pm
- Sat 8 October - Camperdown Show, 9am-4pm
- Sun 16 October - Warrnambool Fresh Food Market (Lake Pertobe), 8.30am - 1pm
- Sat 29 October - Port Campbell street stall, 9am - 1pm
- Sun 6 November - Warrnambool Fresh Food Market (Lake Pertobe), 8.30am - 1pm
- Sun 6 November - Camperdown Market, 9am - 1pm
- Sat 12 November - Terang street stall, 11am - 1pm
- Sat 19 November - Noorat Show, 9am-5pm
- Sun 20 November - Cobden Family Day (in place of Spring Festival), 9am - 4pm
If you or your family could spare some time to volunteer, please pick a shift via the form below. Your support will be greatly appreciated!
Buy Tickets Online
Thank you for buying our Car Raffle tickets online. Every ticket helps us reach our target to purchase a mobile coffee trailer for our VCAL students. The tickets are also available at the College reception, local cafes and shops that have paper ticket books.
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
Career News
Career News
WestVic Staffing Soluntions together with Jobs Victoria have created an initiative for all students considering a job in Hospitality or Tourism industry. Read the letter below for more information.
Student Achievements
Step Up Into Teaching Program
Congratulations to Year 11 students Angus, Katerina and Emily who will all study two ACU units in December and January as part of the Step Up Into Teaching (SUIT) program. Satisfactory completion of both provides a guaranteed offer to ACU teaching and RPL for two units.
Football & Netball Achievements
Congratulations to our students who achieved success in football and netball on the weekend along with their teams:
- Kolora Noorat Power U18s who won their Football Grand Final
- Cobden FNC who made it though in 17 & U, 17 & U Netball Reserves and Open Grand Finals
- Woorndoo Mortlake FNC U17s who won the Netball Grand Final
Please let us know of any other sporting achievements of our stidents.
Alumni News
Class Reunions
We are looking forward to welcoming our alumni for their milestone reunions. Save the date and join your former classmates for a campus tour followed by a casual night of reminiscing and catching up.
Regardless of how many years you attended the College for, you are still part of your graduating class and are welcome to attend the reunion.
CRC Class of 1992 - 30th Reunion
Note the venue change from the Commercial Hotel to Hampden Hotel, Camperdown.
Please RSVP at https://cutt.ly/Class-92-30th-Reunion. Email us at alumni@mercy.vic.edu.au or contact Narelle Kerr with any questions.
MRC Class of 2012 - 10th Reunion
Please RSVP at https://cutt.ly/Class-12-10th-Reunion. Email us at alumni@mercy.vic.edu.au or contact Daniel Watson with any questions.
CRC Class of 1987 - 35th Reunion
- CRC Class of 1987 - 35th Reunion
Saturday 15 October (time TBC)
Camperdown
Update your contact details on our Alumni Database to receive an invitation to your class reunion, once the details are finalised - bit.ly/mrc-alumni.
If you are planning your class reunion, please let us know at alumni@mercy.vic.edu.au and we will help you promote your event.
Upcoming Dates and Events
Tuesday 13 September - Wednesday 14 September - VCAL Job Camp
Thursday 15 September - Year 7 Faith Day & Special Persons' Day
Friday 16 September - School holidays begin fro students. Staff PL Day
Monday 3 October - Staff Catholic Identity PL Day. Student Free Day
Tuesday 4 October - All students return to classes at the McAuley Campus
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
