MRC Newsletter - Issue 1 - 8 February 2023

Prayer

Principal's Message

Welcome to the first edition of our MRC Newsletter and to 2023 - our Jubilee year! 

As we begin this academic year, I take a moment to recognise the milestone of our school providing Catholic Secondary education for 50 years. This achievement is a testament to the dedication and hard work of our founders, teachers, staff, and boards, as well as the commitment and perseverance of our young people. Today at Mercy we continue to foster and facilitate holistic learning that is meaningful, purposeful, engaging and enriching whilst promoting one’s well being and maintaining one’s mental, physical and spiritual health.  

As we look back on the past 50 years - 1973 when CRC was established to 2023 where we are MRC - we see how much our school and the world have changed. Our school has seen new buildings erected, new campus structures and new opportunities for learning whilst the world has witnessed new technologies emerge, new discoveries made, and new future pathways and opportunities opening up for young people. One thing that has remained constant through this newness however is the importance of education. It is through education that our young people gain the knowledge, skills, competencies, critical thinking abilities, dispositions and character needed to navigate the complexities of the world and make a positive impact on our communities. 

We look forward to sharing this jubilee celebration with you. There will be many opportunities throughout the year however the weekend of 25 & 26 November is one to put in your diary for our current community members and for former students, staff and families.  Our 50 year celebration coordinator Jean Christie will be keeping you updated.

During Sunday’s homily, Fr Neville shared how we can live today as Jesus instructed his disciples to be ‘salt of the earth and light of the world.’ We can do this through enacting works of charity and selfless service in our community. I reflected on how we model and encourage this at Mercy Regional College. I believe our Mercy Core Values to be instrumental in promoting these works for us all. Firstly, we remember the importance of care in our interactions with one another. This value encourages us to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and to extend compassion and understanding to those in need. Justice and mercy reminds us to work towards a fair and just society and to show compassion to those who need it. This value encourages us to treat everyone with dignity and respect, and to strive for a world that is equitable and kind. Inclusiveness reminds us to embrace diversity and welcome everyone into our community. The value of community emphasizes the importance of working together towards a common goal. By building strong relationships and supporting each other, we can achieve great things as a team. We are also a community that values learning, constantly striving to expand our knowledge and grow as individuals. And while we seek to learn, we also strive for excellence and achievement, setting high standards for ourselves and working hard to reach our goals. By upholding these values, we create a supportive and inclusive environment, one where we can together work towards a better future. 

We will gather as a community on Thursday to celebrate our 2023 Commencement Mass. This celebration will include the launch of our 50th year and sharing of our 2023 College theme as developed by our student leadership team. We will also acknowledge our 2022 College Dux and individual subject duxes as well as formally welcoming to our MRC community our Year 7 students as they receive their house badges. Our Junior and Middle School Student leaders will also receive their badges. There is lots to celebrate and we welcome families to join us - 9.30am in our de Chantal Stadium, McAuley Campus, Camperdown. I look forward to seeing those that can make it there.

I have shared other important details and dates with our community in my letter to families this week. I look forward to 2023 being a year of celebration, growth and wellness for all in our community.

With kindness

Sharon Gillett
Principal

Learning at MRC

Plans for 2023

Welcome back to all of our young people for 2023 and hello to our families. We have big plans for continuous improvement in learning and teaching this year and we are excited to be able to channel our time and energy into digging deeper into some important strategic work. Some of the work our teachers and support staff will be engaging in this year to improve student learning outcomes are:

• Whole school literacy project 
• School Wide Positive Behaviour Support beginning at the O’Keeffe Campus
• The establishment of teacher and learning support staff Professional Learning Communities to explore improvement strategies  and innovate around new ideas and technologies
• Use of the PIVOT online tool to enable students to evaluate their learning and classroom experiences (teachers are being trained to use this date to improve their own teaching)
• Using our NAPLAN, PAT AND VCE DATA  to set goals and develop improvement strategies 
• Further work to support our teachers to support their diverse learners

Shortly we will begin work on a comprehensive curriculum review from Years 7-10. We are interested in three main areas:

• The level of engagement in our curriculum
• The level of challenge and rigour in our curriculum
• The suitability and availability of electives and pathways for all students 

This will involve seeking feedback from all members of the community - our teachers, students and families and would sincerely like our parents to partner with us to engage in conversations around what is working and what is needed. Watch this space. 

The Importance of Attendance for Learning

“Every day counts and there is no ‘safe’ threshold for absences” – Hancock et al., 2013 

There are many factors that influence student achievement, including teacher quality and student engagement. 

However, the relationship between teacher quality and student achievement is mediated by the amount of time students spend in the classroom.

Attendance is also an important contributor to a student’s academic achievement and social / emotional development – all school days matter. The correlation between absence and achievement is consistently negative and declines in achievement are evident with any level of absence. Although authorised absences and smaller amounts of absence were associated with only small declines in achievement, all absences count, and the impact of absence increases with the number of absences (Hancock et al., 2013). 

2022 had presented significant challenges in ensuring that student attendance was maximised for learning. After two years of all of us being programmed to stay at home over the slightest cough or sniffle (or even if you were in contact with someone who had a cough or sniffle!) it was difficult to suddenly reverse these newly formed habits. We understand that illness was rampant last year and we all did what we could to manage this situation whilst keeping our school open and learning happening. As a result, regular attendance took a hit and this has certainly had an impact on student achievement. 

This year we ask our families to partner with us to raise expectations around regular attendance. As young people move into adolescence they are far more adept at manipulating busy parents for days off. This often looks like the vague and non-specific, ‘I don’t feel well’ to the classic ‘We aren’t doing anything important today’. Can we stress that important learning takes place every day. Allowing students to stay home for community events such as masses and sporting carnivals also diminishes our culture and sends a message to young people about the importance of all aspects of schooling life. 

Just to give families some perspective on what days off actually amount to, this image gives you a sense of just how quickly those days off add up and what the flow on effect for learning might be.

All students who are dealing with normal circumstances (no chronic illness or serious challenges) should be aiming for 90% and above attendance (even 90% equates to one missed day a fortnight). This year we are making a much more concerted effort to track, follow up and intervene where attendance is a concern and to support students and families. If you find that your are struggling to get your young person to school and are dealing with issues around frequent mystery illness, tiredness or disengagement, please reach out for support.

NAPLAN 2023

For this first time since it began way back in 2008, the NAPLAN tests will no longer be held in May but have been moved forward to March. The online delivery mode which ran across the nation for the first time in 2022 was successful but unfortunately didn’t result in the data much earlier than promised. Pressure from schools to access this data in a more timely manner has resulted in the tests being bought forward. 

The NAPLAN schedule at MRC is as follows: 

*Start is to allow for late bus travellers to arrive

All of our Year 7 and 9 students will have opportunities via the NAPLAN Public Demonstration Site to familiarise themselves with the online testing platform. 

The Year 7 and 9 students will all complete their tests at  the McAuley campus in Camperdown. More information will be provided for the Year 7s closer to the date. 

Each year the media jumps on the opportunity to create a narrative around the pros and cons of NAPLAN. I wish to take this opportunity to reassure parents that NAPLAN tests should be seen as a normal event in the yearly cycle of schooling. We all know that they are a narrow snapshot of a young person’s skills at a specific moment in time, however, the data that NAPLAN provides for us as a school is very valuable when looked at over periods of time and compared with other data that we have on student learning. It helps us to inform our teaching practice and our school improvement plans for each year. 

Please partner with us to normalise and minimise anxiety around NAPLAN and test taking in general. If anything, the opportunity for students to have to sit quietly for a sustained period of time and concentrate is an important life skill in itself. For students who are currently connected with Claire Walsh and the Learning Diversity team, Claire and Lydia Darcy will be in touch to discuss possible disability adjustments for those students. 

Contacting Staff 

Any initial concerns regarding your child’s learning or academic progress should be made in the first instance to the subject teacher. You will find all of the email contact addresses for your child’s teachers on PAM. Further or broader concerns can be addressed with the relevant Community Leader (Emily Stephens, Dan Glennen, Jeremy Baker) or Lydia Darcy (for students in Years 7-10), Danae Fraser (VCE), Claire Virgona (VCE Vocational Major/Senior VCAL) and Rose Henry for VET. 

Learning@Mercy Leadership  Team -
Natalie Stephenson, Danae Fraser and Lydia Darcy

Public Speaking & Debating 2023

As we begin our 2023 year, MRC students have the opportunity to embark on a number of public speaking and debating adventures and experiences. Each of these events or competitions allows our students to grow in their abilities to formulate arguments, write and recite speeches or debate topics. These skills are so important for all walks of life and many day to day activities in work, sporting clubs and special events.

Lions Youth of the Year

We begin with the Lions Youth of the Year and the opportunity for our school captains (and other students) to participate in this long standing tradition for our school.

Important dates

• Participant interviews at Mercy Regional College - from 11.30 am - 1 pm on 13 February.
• Impromptu and rehearsed speeches at the Lions club of Camperdown - Tuesday 14 February.

Students will be supported by Mr Matthew Irving as Student Development Leader; Student Voice and Agency Leader Mr Luke Bourchier as Senior School Assistant Community Leader; and Mrs Jo-Anne Saunders as Public Speaking & Debating Coordinator for 2023.

DAV Debating Competition

Soon after we will launch into the DAV (Debating Association of Vic) school competition. We will be assembling one team for each competition level for students who registered an interest last year and for new students interested in this life long skill. Students will be bussed to Ballarat by school staff and supported by parents and staff at each debate. There will also be some time given in school for preparation.

MRC Teams:

• Year 9 - D Grade
• Year 10 - C Grade
• VCE/VCM - B Grade (Year 11 or 12)

Important Dates for DAV Middle and Senior Debates  
Venue: Ballarat Grammar School

• Round 1: Wednesday, 22 March 2023

• Round 2: Wednesday, 5 April 2023

• Round 3: Wednesday, 3 May 2023

• Round 4: Wednesday, 7 June 2023

• Round 5: Wednesday, 19 July 2023

Other Debating & Public Speaking Opportunities

Other opportunities include: public speaking at The Warrnambool Eisteddfod, Frayne Speech Festival in August and Junior DAV Debating (Years 7 and 8), which includes training and preparation with DAV staff later in the year.

Overall there are many exciting opportunities available to our students and we hope with parent and staff encouragement to bring Mercy Public Speaking onto the same level of success as other activities in our school. For more information or questions, please contact Mrs Jo-Anne Saunders jsaunders@mercy.vic.edu.au.

Jo-Anne Saunders
Public Speaking & Debating Coordinator

Year 12 English and Literature Event

Sunset Boulevard and Picnic at Hanging Rock

On Tuesday 31 January, our Year 12 English and Literature students were privileged to work with VCE English and Literature specialist Kirstin Bourne on deepening their understanding of their first text - the classic 1950 film Sunset Boulevard and Joan Lindsay’s eponymous Australian novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock. A new text to the VCE syllabus, Sunset Boulevard is about a fading silent film star who hires a young screenwriter, leading to dangerous obsession and murder. It's a classic Hollywood satire that critiques the film industry and explores themes of disillusionment, delusion and greed. Many parents will certainly remember Picnic at Hanging Rock - a fictional (yet often misconstrued as true!) story about the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a Valentine's Day picnic in 1900. It's a haunting and atmospheric tale that raises questions about the nature of time, memory, and the unknown. Kirstin, who supports VCE teachers of English and Literature, provided the students with detailed notes and a lecture on the elements of each text and strategies and advice for scoring well in the upcoming SACs. The English students concluded their afternoon with a screening of Sunset Boulevard in the beautiful Camperdown Theatre Royale. 

On Wednesday 15 February during Periods 5 and 6, all of the English students will participate in a session called ‘Strive for 25’ which explains the importance of aiming for a study score of 25 for university entrance and how teachers will use data to strategically track their progress. This session will be recorded and made available to parents to watch after the event. 

Lydia Darcy
Domain Leader of English

Year 11 Job Camp

Over the last two days our Year 11 students have been involved in some practical training to boost their employability and life skills. Amongst other things, they have learned how to administer first aid and gained valuable knowledge about responsible serving of alcohol. 

Year 7 Bubbles

Our Year 7s had a chance to play with bubbles this week! While investigating the scientific properties of bubbles, the students definitely had lots of fun.

Prev

Showing images 1 - 8 of 13

Next

Year 10 Learning

Some active learning was happening in Year 10 last week. $20 Boss class were working on creative thinking skills and the Humanities class were doing a gallery walk, looking at source documents to consider the impact of WW1 on individuals, families and communities. 

Community & Wellbeing at MRC

Welcome back to school! We hope you had a fantastic summer break and are ready for a productive and successful school year. We're eager to see all of the amazing things you'll achieve in the coming months.

One of the keys to success in school and in life is getting enough sleep. Studies have shown that students who get enough sleep tend to perform better academically, have better mental and physical health, and are more alert and focused during the day.

However, we understand that it can be challenging to get enough sleep with the demands of school, extracurricular activities, and social life. That's why we want to highlight the importance of not bringing your phone to bed. Research has shown that the blue light emitted by phone screens can disrupt our sleep patterns and make it harder for us to fall asleep and stay asleep.

We encourage you to create a sleep-conducive environment by putting away your phone and other electronics at least an hour before bed. Instead, try reading a book, doing some relaxation exercises, or spending time with loved ones. By doing this, you'll be able to get the restful and rejuvenating sleep you need to be your best self at school and beyond.

We are excited to work with you all throughout this school year and can't wait to see what you will accomplish. Get plenty of rest and let's make this the best year yet!

Wellbeing Team - Berni Sinnott, Sharon Suhan, Matthew Irving

First Day of School at O'Keeffe

It is with great excitement that we welcome our new Year 7s and their families to our Mercy community. And a huge welcome back to our Year 8s and their families for another school year. 

On their first day back, our O'Keeffe campus residents were privileged to take part in a Smoking Ceremony held by Brett Clarke. Brett is a member of the Kirrae Whurrung  tribe.  It was a joy to be part of this special ceremony at the beginning of the year. The smoking ceremony symbolises new intentions, spiritual and physical cleansing properties. Brett spoke from his heart about his culture and the history and asked our young people to find it in their heart to learn about the past and make a difference in the future. 

Throughout the day, our Year 7s navigated a new space and many new faces. They familiarised themselves with their new school surroundings and enjoyed the varied classes. Our Year 8s also navigated their new homerooms and began their school routines once again. 

We are thrilled to see the students enjoying their first day back at school and are looking forward to a successful and enjoyable year ahead. We are confident that our Year 7 and 8 students will continue to thrive and achieve their full potential.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the parents and families for their continued support and for entrusting us with the education of their children. Together, we can make this a fantastic year for our young people with many opportunities presented to them along the way. 

Wishing you all a happy and successful school year.

Year 7 Welcome BBQ

A fantastic evening was had on Monday with many of our Year 7 families spending an evening at our O’Keeffe Campus. Families were shown through homerooms, liaised with staff, enjoyed a delicious BBQ and enjoyed meeting other Year 7 families. 

It was lovely to be able to show our campus to our families and we are hopeful they are now a little more familiar with the staff and the physical space of the O’Keeffe Campus where their child/ren have started their secondary journey. 

Thank you to all families who attended and so graciously met with our staff. It really is one of our most favourite evenings on the calendar. We were able to finally enjoy this evening with little restrictions in place. 

A heartfelt thank you to our staff for the effort in setting up, cooking, and packing up.

Emily Stephens
O'Keeffe Comunity Leader

2023 Lunch Orders at McAuley and O'Keeffe

The new school year brings us an updated canteen menu at McAuley and The Shed's new menu at O'Keeffe. Please find below links to both menus. They are always available on our website under the Canteen tab.

For the McAuley canteen, orders can be placed online at https://canteen.mercy.vic.edu.au/.

Alumni News

Class Reunions 2023

2023 is a special year for CRC and MRC community. As the College is celebrating its 50th anniversary, we are hoping to see many of our alumni involved in events and festivities. And what year can be better to have a class reunion than the jubilee year? 

We are calling out to the graduating classes of milestone years who are due to have a reunion in 2023. If you are planning an event, please contact the College at alumni@mercy.vic.edu.au or 03 5593 2011. We will be happy to help you promote your event and organise a campus tour for your group. 

• Graduating Class of 1978 – 45 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 1983 – 40 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 1988 – 35 Years Reunion
  
• Graduating Class of 1993 – 30 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 1998 – 25 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2003 – 20 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2008 – 15 Years Reunion
  
• Graduating Class of 2013 – 10 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2018 – 5 Years Reunion
• Graduating Class of 2022 – 1 Year Reunion

Career News

Topics in the Career News this week include:

YEAR 12 STUDENTS 

• University scholarships for high achievers
• Early entry programs
• Australian Defence Force – Gap Year Program
• Gap year programs
• Important information for students applying for medicine, dentistry, and/or oral health

 YEAR 11 & 12 STUDENTS 

• Work experience – marine science

 ALL STUDENTS 

• How to search for university courses
• Explore ATAR profiles of university courses
• Apprenticeships and traineeships
• Start the school year by setting goals
• Career events
• Career planning & job seeking program
• Inspirational science and health occupation videos
• Casual employment - resources
• Careers in the Victoria Police Force

Upcoming Dates and Events

Thursday 9 February - Commencement Mass
                                                9.30am at de Chantal Stadium
                                                McAuley Campus Camperdown

Friday 10 February - House Swimming Carnival, Camperdown Pool

Monday 13 February - HSSSD Senior Cricket

Tuesday 14 February - Year 10 Immunisations
                                                Lions Youth of The Year Quest

Wednesday 15 February - Friday 17 February - VM Camp
                                                                                                  Year 7 Camp

Tuesday 21 February - HSSSD Swimming

Wednesday 22 February - Unit 3 Biology Excursion TBC
                                                       Ash Wednesday Liturgy

Wednesday 1 March - Year 7 Immunisations

Thursday 2 March - HSSSD Intermediate & Senior Tennis

Friday 3 March - House Athletics Carnival

Tuesday 7 March - SSV Golf Event

Wednesday 8 March - GWR Intermediate & Senior Cricket

Thursday 9 March - Friday 10 March - Outdoor Ed Surf Camp

Monday 13 March - Labour Day Public Holiday

Tuesday 14 March - GWR Swimming Sports

Tuesday 14 March - Monday 27 March - NAPLAN

Friday 17 March - Year 11 Presentation Ball

Wednesday 22 March - MRC Open Day

Monday 27 March - HSSSD Athletics TBC

Thursday 30 March - GWR Lawn Bowls

Friday 31 March - School Photos

Monday 3 April - Thursday 6 April - Year 10 Work Experience

Thursday 6 April - Term 1 Concludes 
                                        Student Free Day
                                        Staff PL Day - Trauma Informed Pedagogy

Community Notices

Colac Acting School
ACT & IMAGINE Program

Workshops:

• IMAGINATORS ( 4 - 7 years old ) 4pm - 4.45pm WEDNESDAYS / Camperdown Uniting Church Hall
  A fun-filled class that fuels creativity, confidence and authenticity.
• CREATORS ( 8 - 11 years old ) 4.45pm - 5.30pm WEDNESDAYS / Camperdown Uniting Church Hall
  A class for the earnest creator! Acting techniques, performance creation, team work, emphasis on individuality - a class to liberate a little person!
• DREAMERS ( 12 - 17 years old ) 5.30pm - 6.15pm WEDNESDAYS / Camperdown Uniting Church Hall
  Our Teen Dreams class, focusing on solo and group craft work and culminating in a performance with solo and team performances. THE BEE'S KNEES!

Terang Olympic Basketball Association 

Junior Registrations close Thursday 23 February

Season commences Friday 3 March