MRC Newsletter - Issue 19 - 6 December 2022

Prayer

Principal's Message

As our 2022 school year draws to a close we reflect on our theme for the year “Opening the Doors of Mercy”. We focused our actions this year on welcoming others into and stretching ourselves outside our own particular boundaries. We have forged many new community partnerships which have enhanced our learning programs and provided opportunities for our young people to connect their learning to meaningful and engaging real life experiences. We give thanks for these opportunities and relationships and will now work to nurture their sustainability into the future. 

Last week we celebrated learning at Mercy Regional College as we acknowledged those young people within our community who have achieved excellence across many areas of learning at our Year 7 to 11 Awards Presentation. Our academic celebration followed a moving and enriching celebration of our Catholic Identity and faith as Fr Neville Stanislaus led our Mass of Thanksgiving at St Patrick’s Church. We were joined by many parents, carers and extended family members. 

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Our MRC annual Car Raffle was drawn at the end of our Awards Assembly. We thank our community once again for their support and share that we sold a total of 4,733 tickets. Thank you also to our generous sponsors. It was most exciting to read out so many familiar names. We congratulate the Kealley family in particular on winning the amazing Renault Captur supplied at Warrnambool Renault. All prize winners and sponsors are shared later in the Newsletter.

The previous weekend saw a brilliant showcase of the creative learning of our young people in The Arts, Technology and STEAM learning areas at our Arts and Technology Exhibition at The Old Courthouse in Terang. Thank you to all involved and to Les Cameron of The Commercial Hotel in Terang for providing the beautiful host venue. 

Three of our Year 11 students have this week begun their journey into tertiary education as part of the ACU Step Up Into Teaching (SUIT) program in Ballarat. We congratulate them on their initiative into planning their pathway for the future. 

Today we welcomed to Mercy Regional College our 70 new Year 7 community members for 2023. They had a wonderful day filled with meeting new friends, teachers and support staff, trying out the bus system and engaging in new learning whilst getting familiar with our McAuley Camperdown campus. The transition from primary to secondary school is such a significant milestone in any young person's life and we are grateful that those joining our Mercy Regional College community can spend time together making new friends to positively support this transition.

I share with you the disappointing news that our building project at our O’Keeffe Junior campus in Noorat was paused last week. In consultation with our architect, builder, governing body and School Advisory Council it was decided that the pressure and complications currently present in the building industry had impacted our project immensely and difficulty securing and coordinating trades has meant our refurbishment project was unable to commence despite us vacating the site. We have since met to look at alternate ways to achieve our requirements and will stage our project again with a view to commence late in 2023. I thank all students, staff and families for their support and flexibility in shifting learning for our Year 7 and 8 students in Term 4 from O’Keeffe to McAuley and am pleased that there have been many positives that have been revealed throughout this experience. Learning will return to our O’Keeffe campus for our 2023 Year 7 and 8 students and staff for the commencement of the 2023 school year. 

At the conclusion of this school year, we give thanks to the staff who have concluded their time at the College; Janet Backhous, Ben Brisbane, Melissa Brisbane, Sharyn Grinter, Tina Jenkins, Sigrid Macleod, Brendon Norman, Daniel Lee, Katya Belokon, Maureen O’Loughlan and Nikki Williams. We also thank and farewell staff concluding 12 month contracts; George Beasley, Matthew Crane, Georgia Lucas and Joel Rothman. Mercy Regional College is most fortunate to have a caring, committed, experienced and hard-working staff team, and we wish these valued community members well as they move on from MRC into the next stage of their careers and lives. Staff members Anna Bourke, Matthew Harkin and Narelle Williams will take 12 months leave and Kristie Jensen and Caitlin Rix will continue parental leave.

We are very pleased to welcome new staff to our Mercy Regional College community in 2023; Josiane Gardner, Matthew Irving, Monika Socha, Amanda Witt and Tia Stinchcombe to our teaching team and Jean Christie to our Library Resource Centres and to lead our 50 year celebrations. We also welcome back teacher Mel Kavenagh and our 2023 Trainees Rosie Pickles and Isaac McVilly. 

Semester reports will be available online in the Parent Access Module (PAM) from Monday 12 December. The final report is a compilation of the feedback provided progressively on the assessment tasks undertaken throughout this second semester. VCE results will also be available on Monday 12 December to all Year 12 and 11 students who undertook a Unit 3/4 subject. Our Senior years learning and pastoral staff and our Careers Coordinator will be available at school for those seeking advice and support on results day. We wish these students well and look forward to hearing where their hard work and dedication will take them in 2023. We are proud of them all and of the many pathways they will take. 

College Reception will close for the year at lunchtime on Friday 16 December and will open again when staff return on Friday 27 January, 2023. We will welcome our 2023 Year 12 students back on Tuesday 31 January and all Year 7 to 11 students the following day on Wednesday 1 February. 2023 will be our Jubilee year and we will celebrate 50 years of secondary Catholic education as Catholic and Mercy Regional College in an exciting celebration program across the year.

Finally, I would like to take a moment to thank our staff team who have worked so very hard this year again in most difficult circumstances. Whilst learning thankfully remained onsite, there were still more challenging times as our community continued to navigate illness whilst successfully providing access to a full learning and extra curricular program. 2023 has been a brilliant year made possible by their dedication, commitment, kindness and resilience. I ask our community to think gratefully of them and pray for them this Christmas and summer break. I thank our young people for their continued resilience and commitment to learning. I also thank you, our parents, carers, families and extended community for being part of our Mercy community and for your ongoing support in 2022. I hope you all have a joyous Christmas with family and friends and that you have the opportunity to spend some time together as a family in the summer break. Have a wonderful Christmas, take care and  may God bless you.

With kindness

Sharon Gillett
Principal

Uniform Shop Vacancy

Canteen Assistant Vacancy

Expressions of interest are invited from suitably qualified Canteen Assistant to commence January 2023. Position will be up to 9 hrs/week, 12 month fixed-term contract. This position is for our McAuley Campus, Camperdown.  This is a job shared role.

Applications close 9am Friday 16 December 2022. ITo express your interest, please emial principal@mercy.vic.edu.au.

Learning at MRC

In reaching the end of another academic year I would like to reflect on the power of education. I believe education is the most empowering force in the world. It creates knowledge, builds confidence, and breaks down barriers to opportunity.

For young people all over the world, it is the key to opening the door to a better life. However, it is a sad reality of our world today that millions of children will never receive this key. Millions of children all over the world are destined to stay locked in cycles of disadvantage and poverty.

I think Malala described this heart-wrenching situation best when she said: “In some parts of the world, students are going to school every day. It’s their normal life. But in other parts of the world, we are starving for education … it’s like a precious gift. It’s like a diamond”.

All over the world there are approximately 263 million children currently out of school. How lucky must they be hey? Not likely. They aren’t sitting around on their computers watching Netflix, riding quad bikes, or kicking the footy. These are the kids eking out a living on the trash heaps of Manila or sewing in the sweatshops of Bangladesh or China. They are child slaves. Right now, one girl under 15 is married off every 7 seconds. They should be at school, not entering a life of servitude and disadvantage.

This year, I am challenging all in our community to think about Perspective. We can control how we see our world and how we perceive school and learning. There is no absolute reality – 'school sux' is not a definitive truth. It’s simply a perspective and a narrative that can be re-written. We all sit in a place of relative privilege.  Education is a right but also a gift.

Merry Christmas 

Natalie Stephenson,
DP - Learning, Teaching & Innovation

Booklists for 2023

The 2023 Booklists are now live and ready to purchase. Our supplier is Campion Books. All purchases are to be made online using our school code PG4Y by 11 December. 

Click on the link to go directly to the Campion login page. You can find this link and all the booklists on PAM using the Handy Hint.

Year 7-11 Awards 2022

Our College community came together last Wednesday afternoon at St Patrick's Church for our annual Mass of Thanksgiving and End of Year Awards Ceremony. It was wonderful to reflect upon the 2022 school year and give thanks for all of the opportunities we have had available to us and to celebrate the accomplishments of our students. Please join us in congratulating all of our award recipients.

JUNIOR SCHOOL AWARDS

MIDDLE SCHOOL AWARDS

Highly Commended Awards

Special Recognition Awards

• ADF Long Tan Leadership & Teamwork Award - Sophie C
• ADF Future Innovators Award - Jack M
• Kwong Lee Dow Young Scholars Program - Hannah J
• MRC Oratory Competition
  • Junior School Winner - Joseph M
  • Junior School Highly Commended Award - Poppy K and Victoria B
  • Middle School Winner - Veronica W
  • Middle School Highly Commended Award - Rose B

SENIOR SCHOOL AWARDS

Special Recognition Awards

• RIST Award - Matthew L
• South West TAFE Award - Jessica N
• Year 11 Structured Workplace Learning Award - Toby P
• Westvic Award - Harry P
• The Murfitt Mathematics Award - Kloe G
• The Murfitt Business Management, Accounting And Economics Award - Jack V
• Lachie And Jane Lee Award - Lucy F
• Mcleod Shield And Mercy Merits  
  • Highest Individual Mercy Merits Award In Junior School - Joseph M
  • Highest Individual Mercy Merits Award In Middle School - Myles S
  • Highest Individual Mercy Merits Award In Senior School - Rosie P
  • Winning House For 2022 - Markey House
• MRC Sports Award - Piper S
• The Jenkins Art Awards - Greta N, Charlotte B And Zoe V
• Mercy Education Award - Matilda K
• Ballarat Diocesan Scholarship - Sophie C
• Spirit of Mercy Awards
  • Year 7  -  Rusty P
  • Year 8  -  Poppy K
  • Year  9 -  Holly B
  • Year  10 - Veronica W
  • Year  11 - Lucy F
  • Year 12 - Carly N

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We thank all the sponsors of the 2022 awards. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Junior School Oratory Competition

We had the pleasure of hosting the Junior Oratory Competition on Monday 28 December. Seven participants from Years 7 and 8 presented their speeches to their peers, parents, teachers and a panel of three judges. Convincing and passionate, the speakers kept their audience captivated throughout the whole event.

Congratulations to Joseph from Year 8 on defending his champion title from last year. Well done also to Victoria from Year 7 and Poppy from Year 8 on receiving Highly Commended Awards. Fantastic work!

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Year 8 Robotics on the Road Workshops

Our Year 8 STEAM students were fortunate to participate in Robotics on the Road workshops last week. This Museums Victoria program allows rural schools to experience the hands-on robotics workshops that are accessible in the city. Using mBots, our learners utilised their block coding knowledge to operate the robots through a range of tasks including avoiding obstacles, lighting up and making sounds. 

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Year 8 French

Our Year 8 French students tried their hand at making crepes as their end of term activity. A delicious and enjoyable way to round off the two years of learning about French language and culture. 

$20 Boss Year 10 Elective

The $20 Boss Year 10 elective unit is now in its second year at MRC, with four groups having completed the course. It is based on the nation-wide $20 Boss initiative, an immersive program that provides a framework for students to create their own start-up small business.  In doing so they develop important transferable skills such as innovative, creative and critical thinking; planning, experimentation, project management and troubleshooting; collaboration, communication and teamwork; financial literacy and health and safety in the workplace. 

Students each had to contribute $20 to commence their business, which they could run individually or in small groups. The aim is to break even - to cover all costs and return their initial $20 capital investment - and any profits are donated to charity.  They spent the early part of Term 3 learning the theory related to each area, including a self-assessment of key skills - identifying areas of strength and opportunities to develop others further.  They brainstormed to come up with business ideas and enjoyed the chance to collaborate.  

This semester we had nine businesses that covered a wide variety of activities, making and eating.  Each business 

• Junior Footy Activities (Eddie & Jake) ran a footy colours day, recess activities & BBQ at the O’Keeffe Campus
• Pasta La Vista (Hayley & Sienna) made and packaged pasta & recipe cards
• Keychains (Mila & Jasmine) made beaded keyrings and lanyards, 
• The Gravy Pot (Ben H, Ben M, Bohdie, Rhys & Myles) made hot chips & gravy for each year level
• Delxue Donuts (Hannah, Stella & Jemma) created oven-baked donuts for a huge lunchtime stall
• Hair & Nail Designs  (Bella & Lauren) who ran a lunchtime activity at St. Pat’s Primary School
• Bubbly Spiders (Pippa) who ran an ice-cream spider stall over several lunchtimes
• Clay Creations (Tia)  who made painted clay trinket dishes
• Octopus Honeycomb (Jack & Ryan) who tested the best honeycomb recipes and then sold at a lunchtime stall.

Students had to plan and test ideas, create prototypes or have test-runs, manage finances, project manage and trouble shoot their way from start to finish.  Project based learning really allows students to demonstrate their capabilities, collaborate and show tremendous growth.  Well done students - it has been a real pleasure to see your confidence and skills grow during the semester. 

Below are some student reflections, which make great reading. All profits were donated to charities selected by the students, including Action Against Hunger, St. Vincent de Paul, the Cancer Council, Leukemia Foundation, Clontarf Foundation, Oceana, Canteen and Fight MND.

The group would like to thank all the students, teachers and famlies who supported their businesses.  We especially thank our eduction support person Troy, who’s help and expertise was integral to the success of our businesses, the super Wendy Gleeson, who was always on stand by to help us with orders, missing ingredients, a friendly tip or just a smiling face, and Faye Kenna in the Canteen, who helped with advice on suppliers.  We also thank the Mercy Office staff who helped us with notices, sales and organisation.

Footy Day

Jake R & Eddie B

We wanted to have a sausage sizzle and a footy colours day at the Noorat campus. We worked together with a group of Year 8 boys who were already working on their PEAK project organising footy gear for kids in remote Western Australia.  Our profits helped paid for the postage.  We had to make calls and order supplies for the day but also get things ready for the footy activities and BBQ. We also had to think of what we could do at the start to be the most effective and most beneficial, and had to communicate with a lot of people.  Troubleshooting?  On the day we weren’t sure if we would have enough sausages, but luckily Troy could get some more in Terang for us.  We learnt how to run a business and keep track of all our expenses and how to make a profit.

Deluxe Donuts

Hannah J, Stella M & Jemma P

Our business idea was to make deluxe donuts.  We tried many different recipes and decorating options to get the right recipe. We sold to students at lunchtime.  We worked very hard making the donuts, even staying after school.  

This photo shows the selection of donuts we had and it shows us working together to put the donuts on a paper bag to give to the customers. I most proud of how we worked together and got the job done.  

The second photo shows our group selling the donuts and the big line up of people that bought from us. The skills we learned when selling the donuts was working as a team, sharing jobs and making deals so that we could sell more on the day. I am most proud of how many donuts we actually sold and how popular they were. We were able to cover our expenses and make a donation to Action Against Hunger.  We are very proud of how we worked as a team.

Pasta La Vista

Hayley C & Sienna C

Sienna and I came up with PASTA LA VISTA after making pasta during our Paddock to Plate classes in Semester 1 with Mr. Kelly. After lots of testing, we gathered orders from staff at MRC and sold dry prepared pasta for them to take home to their families. After very long processes of drying bow and fettuccine pasta, Sienna and I successfully made around 45 bags of pasta. Each package included an ingredient list, our logo, and we also supplied a recipe that staff can make a yummy pasta dish with their dry pasta. 

We spent a lot of time planning out what needed to be done during each class - making & drying pasta, designing our logo & recipes and of course packaging the pasta. During the development of our business, Sienna and I came across some hurdles which then led us to have to use the troubleshooting method. A major setback for our business was the amount of time we had to make, package and deliver customers pasta. Making pasta was a very long process and we are very proud of what we completed and achieved. We learned how to handle time pressures, the importance of teamwork and how to manage a small business.  Sienna and I are also very grateful to have had the help from some classmates and staff in order to make our business so successful.      

Key Chains

Mila Croft

This photos shows how many keychains I made in just one session. I am proud of my efforts from this day as I needed to make a lot for the people who had already ordered. This image doesn’t show the process and the packaging which was also time consuming. Our communication went well as it was easy to know who had to do what job.  A challenge was finding resolutions to making the keychains and lanyards to a better standard, which we worked out as we went along.

Year 10 Humanities

Humanities subjects in Years 7 to 10 cover key knowledge from a range of disciplines including geography, history, economics and business, and civics and citizenship. In Year 10, as part of a History unit on Rights and Freedoms, our students consider the struggles of First Nations peoples and the significance of key events in a changing society, such as the civil rights movement and activists in the mid-twentieth century, the stolen generations, Closing the Gap reports, first hand sources such as personal testimonies and speeches, and importance of reconciliation and a shared pathway forward.  Included here are some passionate student responses to assessment tasks where they were able to demonstrate their learning about these important topics.

It’s estimated that as many as one in three Indigenous children were taken from their families between 1910 and the 1970s affecting most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia. These children were forcibly removed from their families and communities through race-based policies set up by both State and Federal Governments. They were either put in to homes, adopted or fostered out to non-Indigenous families. They suffered a huge amount of grief and trauma; losing their connections to family, identity, land, language and culture. Grief that continues today. These Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children have become known as the Stolen Generations.

Source:  Stolen Generations | The Healing Foundation

Learning@Mercy Leadership  Team - Natalie Stephenson, Danae Fraser, Lydia Darcy and Daniel LeeFrench Teacher - Sigrid MacLeod
Humanities & Commerce Teacher - Tania Bruckner

Community & Wellbeing at MRC

Last Day of School Activities

Year 7

On their last day of school, our Year 7s undertook a day trip to Warrnambool. The weather could not have been better and it was a wonderful day to be outside. The students enjoyed a round of mini golf with their peers, followed by a lunch of Pinky’s Pizza. The highlights of the day were the 21 hole in one’s by a number of our students, a friendly game of cricket and spending some quality time with friends. 

Year 8 

Year 8s ventured to Warrnambool's Aqua Zone. Students were offered a choice of a fitness session or a swim, followed by a game of ten pin bowling. 

Year 9

Year 9s enjoyed enjoyed a walk along the rail trail from the trestle bridge to Timboon followed by a refreshing ice-cream at Timboon Ice Fine Cream. Students then headed to Port Campbell where they had lunch with friends and relaxed on the foreshore. Some students choose to venture out to the pier while others engaged in beach games of their own creation. 

Year 10

Year 10s headed to TreeTop high ropes course at Yeodene. Students had the opportunity to challenge themselves on 4 different levels, over 6 different courses. It was a wonderful day enjoyed by all. 

Year 8 ‘Up the Creek’ Camp - Week 2

Our second group of Year 8s ventured ‘Up the Creek’ to explore the beautiful Glenelg River and connect with each other. The 8C and 8D students and staff conquered a 40km canoe paddle, setting up camp at different camp sites each night and cooking their own food. The photos describe their adventures better than any words!

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2023 Student Leaders Conference - Leading What Matters

On Monday 28 November, the 2023 Student Leaders came together to complete a series of workshops relating to leadership as part of our Leading what Matters formation afternoon. The workshops were broken down into the following three sessions:

• What does it mean to lead at MRC
• What does it really mean to lead what matters and with confidence
• Goal setting and deciding on our school theme for 2023

Our principal Ms Sharon Gillett spoke to the group about why she chose to lead Mercy Regional College and the positives of leading. Students then reflected on why they chose to be a leader for 2023, the group also wrote about what they think they need as a leader, what excites them, what worries them and what support they will need as a leader. The group looked at turning negatives into positives and working as one. Mr Matthew Crane later talked to the group about wellbeing and leadership and taking time for themselves. Matthew ran the students through some relaxation and grounding techniques they could use. Ms Kellie Wilson spoke to the leaders about Catherine McAuley and her life of purpose and passion. Leaders then separated in smaller groups discussing possible school themes for 2023 with our 50th year celebration in mind. 

Year 8 PEAK Project

Another brilliant PEAK project complete! This group of Year 8 boys have been working hard to design and build a garden bed to donate to Sunnyside House Aged Care in Camperdown.

The boys, some of whom have grandparents at Sunnyside, hope that their garden bed will motivate the elderly to stay active through their favourite activity of growing veggies and flowers.

Well done to boys for making a positive impact on others in our community.

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

Faith at MRC

St Vinnies Christmas Giving 

A big Thank You to all staff, students and families who have contributed to and supported our St Vinnies Christmas Giving appeal in 2022. It is always my favourite activity for the year and it is so truly heart-warming to see our students engaged in this initiative from start to finish. All students brought  in money for the purchase of gifts, helped make decisions about appropriate gifts to buy, some even did online or in person shopping for gifts, and then helped with wrapping and labelling. 

This will help make Christmas a little bit brighter for people in our local area who are doing it a bit tough this Christmas. 

Pine Cone Project 

I would like to give a massive shout out to Year 10 student Ryan H who along with staff member Troy Stephens has been working hard to raise money for Caritas, Australia. The project which began mid year involved collecting, packaging and then selling pine cones to interested staff members and families within our school. The pair raised over $90 of profits for Caritas as a result of their fabulous efforts. Well done!

Uniform / Book Drive

The Social Justice group is looking for uniform or textbook 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 uniform there will be a box at Reception for us to collect for redistribution. 

Thanks so much to the families who have already contributed to this - we will be sure to put them to good use.

Year 12 Seminar Day 2023 - Tuesday 31 January

Our Year 12s will begin the school year on Tuesday 31 January. This day will involve a half day Seminar Day which is part of our Year 12 RE program. The other part of the day will include a  program related to Year 12 English / Literature.

Year 12 Retreat 2023 - Monday 6 February - Wednesday 8 February

Our Year 12 Retreat is scheduled for Week 2 2023 - Monday 6 February to Wednesday 8 February. This will be held at Cave Hill Creek near Beaufort. More information will be sent out to parents in relation to this.

Kellie Wison - Catholic Identity, Mission & Ethos Leader

Sports Report

State Table Tennis

On 25 November, we had two MRC teams compete at the State Table Tennis Championships in Melbourne. Both teams consisted of 4 players which had to play a game on singles and doubles against every team in their respective pool.

Although our Year 10 Intermediate Boys didn’t manage to win any of their pool games, we congratulate Mark, Henry, Jake and Thomas on playing well and making it to the State Championships. It’s a great achievement in itself!

The Year 8 team had an amazing day making it all the way to the Semi Finals where they played Carranballac High School. Our boys managed to win 2 out of their 3 games to finish second in the pool, which meant that they were one step away from playing in the State Grand Final.

After the 4 individual matches the scores were even, 2 apiece. On percentage we were looking good, however, there were still two doubles games to go. One win would surely get MRC a place in the Grand Final. Our first doubles match was a 3-1 loss, and everything came down to our last doubles match. 

It was an amazing display of skill and determination. The Carranballac team got off to an early lead, however, the MRC boys fought back to make it tight. Unfortunately, the Carranballac team were too strong in the end and came out on top, leaving MRC on equal 3rd place in the State Championships. We congratulate Carl, Charlie, Parker and Campbell for their fantastic effort and thank Mr Cheeseman for making this day possible.

MRC Car Raffle

Congratulations to the Winners

Our Car Raffle 2022 was drawn on Wednesday 30 November. The proceeds from the 4,733 tickets sold in the raffle will contribute to the purchase of a mobile coffee trailer to expand the 'Grind & Grow' business of our VCE VM students. We thank everyone who bought raffle tickets to support our fundraiser. 

Our warmest congratulations to the winners of the 2022 Car Raffle:

1st PRIZE - Renault Captur
THE KEALLEY FAMILY

2nd PRIZE - $2,000 Betta Home Living Voucher 
NICOLA FLETCHER

3rd PRIZE - $650 Local Certificate consisting of $50 vouchers to local businesses
DANIEL ARUNDELL

4th PRIZE - Apple Watch S7 
LESTER POWLING

5th PRIZE - $440 Timboon Tiny Homes Voucher
PJ BRICK

6th PRIZE - $250 Shell Fuel Voucher
DAN MORRISON

7th PRIZE - $250 Camperdown Dining Experience at Steakroad Bar & Grill
HELEN MEADE

8th PRIZE - $200 Showcase Jewellers Voucher 
MARG BLYTHMAN 

9th PRIZE - $200 DJ’s Café Voucher 
MATT O'SULLIVAN

10th PRIZE - $100 Ritchies IGA Voucher
MARGARET RAVEN 

The winner of our Early Bird Prize - a $300 MRC School Fees voucher - was Mary Lee from Melbourne. Mary has kindly donated the voucher to MRC’s Scholarship fund for 2023.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

• Warrnambool Renault. We thank Josh Dwyer and Greg Kelson.
• Betta Home Living, Camperdown. We thank Jacinta Lee.
• Gunners Business Solutions, Warrnambool. We thank Nick Shortt. 
• Timboon Tiny Homes. We thank Caroline Simmons and Tim Marwood. 
• Riordan Fuels (Shell), Camperdown. We thank Steve Lucas. 
• Steakroad Bar & Grill, Camperdown. We thank Caitlin and Marlin Walsh. 
• Showcase Jewellers, Camperdown. We thank Jim and Gwenda Wilsher. 
• DJ’s Cafe, Camperdown. We thank Darren Maskell. 
• Ritchies IGA, Camperdown. We thank Ebony Marshall.
• Benallack's Sports, Camperdown. We thank Michelle and Andrew Benallack.
• Camperdown Pharmacy. We thank Sarah Baker and Sarah Venn.
•  Full Bloom Florist, Camperdown. We thank Eliza Smith.
•  McCann's Newsagency, Camperdown. Noela and Shane McCann.
•  The Snout, Camperdown. Justine and Jarrod Bell.
•  The Little Pharmacy and Shoe Shop, Camperdown. We thank Sarah Baker and Sarah Venn.
•  Crawley's Milk Bar, Terang. We thank Kerrie Crawley.
•  Greavesy's Fruit & Veg, Terang. We thank Cassie and Jason Greaves.
•  Terang Country Bakery. We thank Gaye McVilly.
•  Terang Fitness. We thank Kelly Mullen.
•  Cobden Health Community Fitness Centre. We thank Helen Paris.
•  Cobden Pharmacy. We thank Fiona Gee.
•  Ride With Us, Timboon. We thank Sandra Timmins.

We would like to give a special mention to:

• Jacinta Lee and staff at Betta Home Living, Camperdown
• Gaye McVilly and staff at Terang Country Bakery
• Sue Clarke and staff at Reicha’s Drapery, Cobden
• Simone Togni and staff at Milk and Honey, Timboon,

and all the local businesses that sold raffle tickets on our behalf. We would also like to thank the organisers and supporters of our raffle for their tireless hours behind the scenes:

• Katya Belokon 
• Judith Murfitt
• Allison Lourey
• Jenni Lenehan
• Kerryn Cain
• Daniel Lee
• Mark Evans
• Sharyn Grinter
• Georgia Copeland
• Nicola Fletcher
• Blair Riches
• Peter Conheady
• All parents and friends that volunteered at the raffle stall

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!

Jean Christie
50th Celebrations Coordinator

Career News

Topics this week:

• Careers in disability services
• Careers in sport
• Calling all entrepreneurs
• Jobs – Christmas casual positions
• Policing and criminology
• Fine arts and music
• Fee-free and low cost TAFE courses
• Tourism and travel
• Journalism course
• Summer schools
• Dates for your diary

Student Achievements

Jess N, Year 11

Congratulations to our Year 11 student Jess on receiving a VET Student of the Year award presented by South West TAFE's Pure Hair, Beauty and Wellness on 28 November. It was a wonderful evening and a great success for Jess who was brilliant in the structured workplace learning element of the VET program. 

Alumni News

MRC Class of 2017 - 5th Reunion

We are looking forward to welcoming our alumni from the Class of 2017 for a 5th reunion on Saturday 10 December. 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. RSVP to Ripley Watt on 0408 466 284.

10th Reunion - Class of 2012

A lot of our past students from the Class of 2012 came together on Friday 18 November to celebrate their 10th reunion. The group started their journey down the memory lane with a tour of our McAuley Campus led by DP for Staff & Students and their former teacher Berni Sinnott. The reunion continued at Steakroad Bar and Grill where the Class of 2012 had a wonderful night of catching up on life and sharing memories. Thank you to everyone to attended and to Daniel Watson for organising.

If your class reunion is coming up next year and you would like some help organising, please contact MRC Alumni Coordinator Katya Belokon at alumni@mercy.vic.edu.au. 

Chantai Lester, Class of 2021

Well done also to our alumna Chantai Lester on scoring the first place in the Creative Cut & Colour Junior competition. Chantai was awarded a certificate at South West TAFE's Pure Hair, Beauty and Wellness awards night on 28 November.

Upcoming Dates and Events

Friday 16 December - MRC Reception Closes - 12pm

Friday 27 January - MRC Reception Opens - 10.30am

Tuesday 31 January - Year 12 Students Commence

Wednesday 1 February - Years 7-11 Students Commence

Monday 6 February - Year 7 Welcome BBQ

Monday 6 February - Tuesday 7 February - Year 11 Job Camp

Monday 6 February - Wednesday 8 February - Year 12 Retreat

Thursday 9 February - Commencement Mass - TBC

Friday 10 February - House Swimming Carnival

College dates for 2023 can be viewed through the Parent Access Module (PAM), including all term dates, student free days, camps and retreats. 

Community Notices

Newsletter from Australian Parents Council

In this issue:

• "How are we doing?" check-in
• NAPLAN News
• Teacher gift help
• e-Safety Case studies
• Help for school leavers
• Jane Goodall Roots & Shoots is back

Click on the link below to read the full newsletter.