MRC Newsletter - Issue 17 - 8 November 2022

Prayer

Principal's Message

How fantastic it has been to finally see the sunshine! It certainly has lifted our spirits and it has been wonderful for classes to make use of our outdoor learning spaces. Whilst we know Spring and November to be transition months in terms of weather we recognise the extremes we have been experiencing of late and keep in our thoughts and prayers those still under threat of flood and those working through the clean up phases locally. The Gariwerd season calendar definitely has ‘tempestuous weather’ noted in Petyan but includes ‘stable weather’ in the next season of Ballambar!

November is the month of remembrance. In our Catholic tradition we recognise All Saints day on November 1 followed by All Souls day on November 2 and this Friday November 11 we will stop to join the world in honouring those who have served and sacrificed by recognising Remembrance Day. Our Junior College Leaders will represent Mercy Regional College at the local Camperdown service whilst the whole school will gather beneath our flag poles for a service lead by our 2023 College Captains. I have included the stirring words of The Ode which we will hear at any Remembrance Day Service below. The Ode is the third and fourth stanzas of Laurence Binyon’s poem, For the Fallen.

We welcomed our 2023 Year 7 students and families to our Year 7 Information Evening last night both in person and via live stream. This group of young people will make up our Class of 2028 and we look forward to working with them and their families over the next 6 years of secondary education partnership. 

Our young people are busy at the moment completing summative assessment tasks with teachers correcting, providing feedback, marking, moderating and reporting. It is a busy time of year where attendance at school is most important. Whilst learning at school continues, learning outside the school gates does as well. We thank the teachers who accompanied our Year 9 students on camp last week to Melbourne. We know these experiences cannot occur without their generosity of time away from their families. It was fantastic to return to the exciting atmosphere of Melbourne. Our Year 8 students have been eagerly anticipating their ‘Up the Creek’ experience set to take place over the next two weeks. Unfortunately, the recent river floods have now impacted the Glenelg River where this experience was to occur. We are grateful to the work of Emily Stephens for creating alternative experiences with the camp facilitators so quickly so that this opportunity can still proceed.

Our MRC Arts and Technology Exhibition is being hosted this year at the Terang Courthouse on the evening of Friday 25 November and then from 10.00am to 2.00pm on both Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 November. We look forward to sharing with you the talented work of our young people. We welcome everyone in our community to attend the opening night (please RSVP here) on Friday and the exhibition over the weekend. 

We are in the final weeks of ticket sales for our annual Car Raffle which is being drawn at 2.15pm on Wednesday 30 November at our Mass of Thanksgiving. Tickets are available online at https://cutt.ly/car-22, at MRC reception or at local businesses. 

The VCE Unit 3 & 4 exams conclude next week. We congratulate all students who have participated in these and thank the staff who have supported them. We look forward to celebrating with these students and their families at their Graduation evening on Friday 18 November. Today is the last day to purchase your Year 12 Graduation Dinner tickets. Click on this link to make your booking. 

We welcome current Year 12 students to our MRC Trainee Positions for 2023 - Isaac McVilly to the MRC Sport and Events Trainee position and Rosie Pickles to our Education Support and Administration Traineeship at our O’Keeffe Campus. We also congratulate Eliza Fleming who will join St Patrick's Primary School Camperdown, Veni Ong at St Thomas' Primary School Terang and Olivia Glossop joining St Colman's Primary School Mortlake. 

We welcome the Deputy Principals from Mercy Education Limited schools and affiliate schools to MRC on Friday 11 November. Thank you to DP Learning, Teaching and Innovation Natalie Stephenson for her contributions in putting this experience together and for showcasing our wonderful Mercy Regional College learning community.

Finally, we keep in our prayers Megan from Year 8 and her extended family on the passing of her much loved mother Mel Worrell. Mel’s life will be celebrated on Friday 11 November at 2.00pm in Mortlake.

With kindness

Sharon Gillett
Principal

Learning at MRC

NAPLAN High Achievers 

Congratulations to the following students who have achieved results in the top 2 bands of NAPLAN 2022. Students will be presented with a certificate of recognition for their achievements.

Weather Stations at MRC

Weather patterns have always held a fascination for humans and the recent flooding has reminded us of the wonder and power of nature. 

The recent installation of weather stations at both Camperdown and Noorat campuses has definitely created some interest among the students and staff of MRC. The Mercy Regional College weather stations are collecting weather data which is live-fed into a world wide platform called Weather Underground. Weather Underground combines data from over 250,000+ personal weather stations and a proprietary forecast model to give you the most accurate and hyperlocal forecasts, at a microclimate level. Weather Underground provides local & long-range weather forecasts, weather reports, maps & tropical weather conditions for locations worldwide.

To access live feed data being collected by our weather stations go to:

• CAMPERDOWN
• NOORAT

NOTE: Click on the cog in the top right corner of the screen to change to Celsius.

Not only can you view real time weather information from our weather stations but you can view weather data from all over the world.

Since setting up the weather stations on 13 October we have been testing and collecting data.  These are some fun facts we have discovered so far:

• Highest rainfall in one day
  Camperdown - 25.70mm
  Noorat - 13.49mm
• Strongest wind gust
  Camperdown - 112.3 km/h
  Noorat - 58.7 km/h

The data collected by the Mercy weather stations has many educational purposes in a range of areas.

Science

• Learning about and analysing weather patterns.
• Learning about weather forecasting techniques.
• Studying solar energy and other renewable energy sources.

Mathematics

• Learning about data analysis techniques using real data from our weather stations.

Agricultural Studies

• Studying the effect weather events have on our agricultural sector.

Sun Smart

• Looking at the UV index and its relationship to our SunSmart policy.

The data collected from our weather stations is on display at school. A recent impromptu weather lesson occurred as a group of students discussed the likelihood of weekend sport being impacted by the recent La Niña weather pattern.

In the future, you will be able to access the links to our MRC weather stations via the MRC website, under Community tab, and PAM. If you are like me and find the power of nature fascinating, you too will enjoy looking at our data.

Leanne Delahunty
Domain Leader of Science

Oratory Competition 2022

This coming Thursday will see the return of the Oratory Competition as an in-person event at our McAuley Campus. Seven students from the Junior School and six from the Middle School will battle it out for their respective perpetual shields in front of their peers as well as a panel of invited judges. This year, stalwarts of the MRC community - Maureen O’Loughlan, Lachie Lee and Colin Hayman will be judging the speeches on their matter, manner and method.

All members of the community are welcome to attend, and a special invitation is extended to the parents and families of those competing. If attending, please RSVP at https://cutt.ly/mrc-oratory.

Junior Debating - Round 3

After a close defeat last round, MRC’s Junior Debaters are in full preparation and rehearsal mode for their final round debate against Geelong’s Oberon High School; on the affirmative side arguing that ‘the salary of professional sports people should be capped.’ This is the final competitive event in debating for 2022, and we would like to congratulate all of our participants on their tremendous efforts this year. We look forward to the challenges and mentoring opportunities that 2023 will bring.

Debating Opportunities 2023

Mercy Regional College will be entering teams of debaters from Years 9-12 in the Ballarat Regional DAV Competition beginning in March 2023, as well as the Warrnambool Eisteddfod and Frayne Speech Festival. We may also return to the Geelong Regional Competition based upon student interest. Teams will consist of 5 members led by a Captain, at least 4 speaking members, and research partner (who may also speak but not necessarily). The Junior School Program will also continue to run in Term 4 of 2023.

If you are considering joining MRC's debating teams in 2023, please express your interest using the form - 2023 Debating and Public Speaking EOI.

GRIP Leadership Conference

On Friday 4 November, our newly elected 2023 Senior student leaders attended the GRIP Leadership Conference at Federation University in Ballarat. The GRIP Student Leadership conference provides a unique opportunity for our leadership team to gain vision and understanding of their role as leaders within the College community. It helps inspire students and grow their passion for leadership in their school as a Student Leader. Our Senior leaders joined other schools from Ballarat and Geelong, to learn ways to lead everybody here at Mercy Regional College. 

Students participated in sessions on diversity, being inclusive, organising events, making everyone feel valued, replacing conflict with unity, finding new opportunities for the leadership team and how to work effectively as a team. Each of the sessions was interactive and engaging, and students were invited to network with leaders from other schools in a variety of activities. Students took away a number of new skills, were offered different perspectives. Leaders gained numerous tactics on how they can improve and include people in activities and projects.

VCAL & VET Hospitality Ice Cream Making Workshop

On Thursday 27 October, our Hospitality and VCAL students worked their magic in the kitchen creating new ice cream flavours using native Australian ingredients. While the river mint and lemon myrtle smelt divine, they will be further developed. From our first session the stand-out flavour combination was the salted caramel macadamia!

The flavours and methods of ice cream making will be improved further in the second workshop this Friday.

VCAL Excursion to Scienceworks

The VCAL cohort experienced the night sky from an Aboriginal perspective during their 'Stories in the Stars' excursion to Melbourne’s Scienceworks museum and the Planetarium. They were introduced to the key characters detailed in Boorong constellations and their Dreaming stories. They saw the Melbourne sky in detail and the impact of light pollution. Students were also able to delve into the modes of perception and understand the range of the human experience in the 'Beyond Perception' exhibition.

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VET Hospitality Lunch Assessment

Our VET Hospitality students completed their final food service assessment on Wednesday 26 October. They cooked a menu consisting of two 3-course meals for a group of 12 staff and students. Beautifully presented and served, the entrees, main courses and desserts were a hit with the happy volunteers. Don’t you feel like trying all those amazing things on the menu?

Learning@Mercy Leadership  Team - Natalie Stephenson, Danae Fraser, Lydia Darcy and Daniel Lee
VET Hospitality Teacher - Melanie Simmonds
Student Leadership and Agency Coordinator - Tina Jenkins

College Fees

Community & Wellbeing at MRC

VET Active Volunteering  - Community Gardening

Our VET Active Volunteering class made good use of a few sunny hours on Wednesday morning to do some community gardening. The students visited a local parishioner Johanna to help her weed the flower beds and trim the trees. The work was done quickly and efficiently, accompanied by some lively chats and stories.

This initiative is only one of the many great examples of how our VET and VCAL programs allow students to help and connect with the wider community. 

Year 9 Camp in Melbourne

Our Year 9 students spent the end of last week on camp, exploring Melbourne.

Ice skating, rock climbing, Skydeck’s edge experience and VR theatre, ArtVo and Bounce – the three days were packed with activities encouraging the students to try out new things and pushing them out of their comfort zones. One of the highlights of the camp was the amazing race that allowed the students to learn how to use Melbourne’s public transport and discover all the key sites around the CBD and St Kilda.

The camp finished with a thought-provoking session on respect and self-discovery run by a team from the personal development organisation The Reach Foundation.

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Year 9 Respect Effect & Respect Cup 

Throughout Term 2 all Year 9 classes participated in the Respect Effect program within their MERCY classes. This program focuses on diversity, acceptance and respect for all people in our community. Part of the program included developing a project pitch related to a chosen key issue in society surrounding respectful relationships, gender equity and embracing diversity. 

The culmination of this program is the Respect Cup – a day where representatives of three participating schools (Mercy Regional College, Emmanuel College Warrnambool and Trinity College Colac) present their project pitches and put their respectful relationships into play with a mixed netball competition. This day was celebrated on Friday 21 October.

The 20 student representatives across Year 9 were selected based on their effort and engagement within the Respect Effect program and their willingness to represent our school. The students had a fantastic and fun day, full of respectful sportspersonship, where each of the two teams played 4 games of netball. Mercy A, who were named the MRC MPVs for the competition, made it into the final against Emmanuel College, but unfortunately didn’t get to take the Respect Cup home this year.

A special mention goes to Jessica M, Holly B, Alani W and Sarah S who presented their project pitch on behalf of our school. These students received wonderful feedback regarding their pitch, which was a program aimed at helping individuals of abuse, and were given ideas to implement this program within our local community.

Wellbeing Team - Berni Sinnott, Sharon Suhan, Matthew Crane
O'Keeffe Comunity Leader - Emily Stephens
Middle Years Leader - Nickeeta Roache
Year 9 Teacher - Jacqui Hester
VET Active Volunteering Teacher - Stacey Madden

Faith at MRC

St Vinnies Christmas Giving 

Our College community has been involved in giving to Vinnies at Christmas time for a long time and this year we are once again involved in spreading a little bit of Christmas cheer. This is such a wonderful part of MRC’s commitment to the communities in our region. 

Each homeroom group from Years 7-11  as well as staff have been tasked with buying a small gift or two for local families in need. The gifts will be wrapped and delivered to our local St Vinnies on the day of our Thanksgiving Mass on Wednesday 30 November. 

Year 8 Retreat 

As part of Year 8 Retreat, students explored the theme ‘Be the Change’. This included looking at the Sustainable Development Goals in small groups as well as brainstorming and thinking about ways our students can have a positive impact at school or in our local community. It was a lovely day of building relationships, learning and reflection.

Part of their day included listening to guest speaker Kristi Davidson. Kristi has an incredibly powerful story on ‘Being the Change’. Kristi is the founder of the Offspring Project. She has a vision that we can live in a world without human trafficking, with every life healed and restored. Kristi began her journey in India, with a vision to save young girls from human trafficking. She has built her organsiation to make the change in the world. 

Click on the link to see her story and options to purchase products, proudly made by young girls Offspring have worked with and saved from human trafficking. Kristi has kindly offered us a 10% discount for staff, students and families if anyone is interested in purchasing any Offspring products - this is available for the next two weeks. The code is MERCY10%.

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Year 7 Faith Day

On Thursday 27 October, during Religious Education lessons, Year 7 students visited St Mark’s Benedictine Monastery in Camperdown. A precious piece of the Camperdown fabric, and little known, the Abbey sits atop the hill on the Camperdown-Cobden Road. Year 7s this term are learning about different prayer types and the role prayer plays in the life of believers. It was a pertinent time for us to pay a visit to learn a little about the life of the people who live there. 

Although Sr Raphael and Dom Placid were unable to receive us as visitors, Deacon Kaye Hanks was on hand to show us around and answer our questions. Students learnt about the history of the local order, who moved from Fitzroy to Camperdown in the 90s. Also, they considered the work that the Sr Raphael and Dom Placid do, e. g. making incense, printing reading sheets and booklets, and mounting icons. They discovered the role of the Abbey and guest houses, and took in the beauty of the chapel and the grounds that overlook Lake Bullen Merri. On returning to school we did some research into St Benedict, the Italian monk whose rule the order follows. 

Overall, the students found the visit fascinating and were appreciative of the opportunity to learn what happened at the Abbey. In the future, we hope to engage students in supporting the Abbey in some of their tasks. 

National Recycling Week 

National Recycling Week runs from 7 to 13 November and the theme is “Waste isn't Waste until it's Wasted.” This is Planet Ark’s flagship campaign, run every year in the second week of November. The aim is to educate and empower people to do the right thing when they place an item in a bin. The campaign also focuses on reducing, recycling and reusing. Reducing our consumption is the first step to reducing the amount of waste we produce. You can get involved at work, at home, at school and in your community. Waste is a big issue for all of us but trying to educate people to place the correct item in the correct bin is a bigger issue. It is a bit tricky, so let’s learn together!

For further information and some ideas for some things that could be done from Catholic Earthcare group click on the link.

Student Voice Recycling Project

Symbolically marking the start of National Recycling Week, a group of our Year 10 students from Student Voice have started a new sustainability project that encourages our McAuley Campus community to reduce food waste. The students have attached kitchen caddies, kindly donated by Corangamite Shire, to several rubbish bins around the campus. The caddies will be emptied into MRC’s compost minimising waste in landfill and creating our own organic fertiliser.

This initiative symbolically coincided with the start of National Recycling Week (7-13 November). The aim of the campaign run by Planet Ark is to educate and empower people to do the right thing when they place an item in a bin. This year’s theme “Waste isn't Waste until it's Wasted” perfectly highlights the importance of our students’ efforts to reduce, recycle and reuse.

Uniform Drive

The Social Justice group is looking for uniform donations, which we would love to repurpose and reuse. If there are any Year 12 students (and any students) who may have finished their time with MRC or have grown out of existing uniform - we would love for you to bring them in so that we can redirect these items to members of our community. If any families have any suitable uniforms there will be a box at Reception for drop off.

Kellie Wison - Catholic Identity, Mission & Ethos Leader
Melanie Bourchier - Domain Leader of Religious Education and Year 7 RE Teacher

Sports Report

GWR Basketball

Three MRC teams competed in the GWR Junior Basketball in Ballarat on 28 October. They all represented the College like real champs:

• Year 7 Girls became runners-up only losing in the final to Emmanuel College Warrnambool
• Year 8 Girls claimed overall 3rd place
• Year 8 Boys played very well but unfortunately lost all their 3 games

Well done to players, coaches and supporters! 

Library News

Due to the wet weather last week, our Book Club was postponed until a later date. The new date will be confirmed shortly. 

Date: TBC
Book: 'The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo' by Tyalor Jenkins Reid

MRC Car Raffle

The Draw

The major draw of our Car Raffle 2022 is only three weeks away! We will know the names of the lucky winners at MRC's Thanksgiving Mass on Wednesday 30 November at 2.15pm. The tickets are available online, at the College reception and at numerous businesses around the region. Every ticket helps us reach our target to purchase a mobile coffee trailer for our VCAL students. 

Paper Tickets

We would like to thank everyone who has been helping distribute paper ticket books amongst the community. If you have a paper ticket book at home or in the office, please remember to return it to the College a week prior to the draw or call reception on 03 5593 2011 so we could collect your book from you. 

Car Raffle Stall

The main prize - a flashy Renault Captur - has been attracting the eye of the public in the streets of Camperdown, Terang, Cobden and Port Campbell throughout the campaign. This week, the car lives in Terang, culminating its stay with a Terang street stall and an evening Mass on Saturday 12 November. This will be a perfect opportunity to purchase your tickets with cash and have a look at the beautiful car. Tickets are also always available at the Terang Country Bakery, Reicha's Drapery, Graevesy's Fruit & Veg and Crawley's Milkbar.

We all look forward to the Noorat Show on Saturday 19 November where our stall will appear once again allowing everyone to buy an extra ticket. Who knows, it might be the lucky one!

We are sincerely grateful to all the volunteers who have been generously signing up to help with the stall and the car.

Car Raffle Prize Series

We continue to celebrate our Car Raffle sponsors. Earlier this term, our Senior school leaders went on a mission to visit most of our sponsoring businesses and take photos on location. We have shared some posts on social media, featuring Prizes 7-10. 

Prize 6 - $250 Fuel Voucher
Sponsored by Shell (Riordan Fuels), Camperdown

What can be better than saving a few $$ during the upcoming Christmas holidays and road trips with a voucher from a reliable petrol station? The voucher can be redeemed at your favourite Shell in the region. We thank the team at Shell for their support of our raffle.

Prize 5 - $440 Holiday Voucher
Sponsored by Tiny Homes, Timboon

A two nights’ accommodation in a cozy tiny cabin and a complimentary selection of Timboon Fine Ice Cream - what could be better this summer? Surrounded by beautiful native bushland, the unique tiny homes are the perfect backdrop to relax, walk, explore and refresh. We sincerely thank Caroline Simmons and Tim Marwood for donating this voucher to our raffle.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

MRC/CRC 50th Celebrations

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

Career News

Career News Newsletter

Topics in this week's Career News include:

Year 12 students

• Early entry programs: La Trobe University & Victoria University
• Federation University - $20 meal voucher
• Employment – harvest work and J.P. Morgan Business Traineeship
• Interested in taking a gap year?

Year 10 - 12 students

• Information for students applying for TAFE courses
• Information for students applying apprenticeships & traineeships

Year 11 students

• Early entry programs: La Trobe University & Victoria University
• VCE Summer School
• ADF Cyber Security Gap Year
• Western Civilisation Program Summer School

All students

• Finding employment for the summer break
• Careers in technology
• Early childhood education
• USA tours
• Upcoming career events

Student Achievements

Lily H and Jessica N, Year 11

Congratulations to Lily and Jess who competed in the VETiS Hairdressing competition as part of World Skills presentation at South West TAFE. Lily came 2^nd  and Jess was a very close 4^th missing the 3^rd place by only a point. 

Mark L, Year 10

Mark has successfully developed an employable skill set in his VET Engineering course at Timboon P-12. He was awarded with a South West Tools Voucher, voted by his peers for the 'Most Consistent Work Ethic' in the workshop and classroom. According to Mark's VET Ingeneering instructor J. Mackieson, 'Mark has represented Mercy Regional College with admirable integrity, he is a highly employable young man.' Well done Mark!

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.

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.

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 8 November - GWR Junior Cricket

Thursday 10 November - Oratory Competition
                                                      VCAL/Hospitality Ice Cream Workshop No. 2

Monday 14 November - Friday 18 November - Year 8 Positive Start Camp

Monday 14 November - Thursday 17 November - Unit 2 Exams 

Wednesday 16 November - Junior Debating

Friday 18 November - Monday 21 November - Year 10 Exams 

Friday 18 November - Year 12 2023 Seminar Day
                                               Year 12 Graduation Dinner @ 6.30pm

Monday 21 November - Friday 25 November - Year 8 Positive Start Camp

Monday 21 November - White Card Training

Tuesday 22 November - Year 10 Mock Interviews

Friday 25 November - State Table Tennis
                                               Year 7 Summer Sports

Monday 28 November - Leading What Matters - 2023 Student Leaders

Tuesday 29 November - Head Start Day

Wednesday 30 November - Mass of Thanksgiving & Student Awards
                                                         MRC Car Raffle Draw @ 2.15
                                                         Year 11 Final Day of School

Friday 2 December - Year 7-10 Final Day of School

Tuesday 6 December - Year 7 2023 Orientation Day

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