Mercy News - 12th August 2022
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Key Dates
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Prayer
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Message From Our Principal
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Catholic Schools Parents Australia- 2022 Parent Survery
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Student Executive Reflection
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Deputy Principal
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Counsellor's Corner
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Book/Literacy & Numeracy Week
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Learning and Wellbeing Level Leader- Senior
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Sport
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Humanities
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Careers @ Mercy
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Community Notices
Key Dates
Monday 15th August
- Feast of Assumption
Tuesday 16th August
- Year 7 STEM Excursion: App Inventor Experience
- Year 12 Music Excursion: Item Rehearsal
Wednesday 17th August
- SCSA Netball Competition
- Beyond Year 12 VTAC Information Evening
Thursday 18th August
- Year 10 Wellbeing Day
- Parade/Mercy Primary School Concert Performance
- Creative Arts Concert with Parade College
Friday 19th August
- Year 12 Chemistry Excursion: Medicinal Chemistry
- Creative Arts Concert with Parade College
Tuesday 23rd August
- Year 9 Outdoor Education Excursion: Gravity Workx Indoor Rock Climbing
Thursday 25th August
- Years 7-10 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
Prayer
United Nations International Youth Day
The United Nations has named 12 August as International Youth Day, knowing that the changes we need to see for our Earth and all of humanity will not be achieved without the wholehearted participation and involvement of Young People.
Young people must be part of the world effort to build a better future and therefore must be full partners in that effort.
Let us pray...
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Creator God,
We give thanks for the generosity, energy, creativity, and enthusiasm which so often characterises young people.
We give thanks for the inspiration they are for each other and for those of us no longer young.
May they have the courage, vision, and persistence they will need to continue to work for a better world for all.
We pray also for those young people who are struggling in life.
Help us all, young and old, to extend to them mercy and love, so that they can hope and live anew and grow in wisdom and strength.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Catherine McAuley, champion for the young pray for us.
Message From Our Principal
Dear Mercy Community,
WOMEN OF FAITH IN THE MONTH OF AUGUST
During the month of August, we celebrate the feast days of a number of women who hold a special place in the life of our Church.
On Monday, we celebrated the Feast of Australia’s first saint-St Mary of the Cross Mackillop. She was a great Christian woman who treasured the value of education, and indeed Christian and Catholic education. The resources of the modern education and today’s Catholic school are immeasurably richer than in Mary’s day. On the other hand, the task does not seem to have become easier. Her life and wisdom are a great inspiration for us all in so many ways. Her now-familiar words, ‘Never see a need without doing something about it’, are a challenge to all of us to think more consciously about our responses to those in need and to the temptation to pass by without doing anything to help.
Next Monday on 15 August we will celebrate the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary into heaven. The Feast of the Assumption, as we know it, recognizes Mary as a person of firm and unwavering faith where at the end of her earthly life she transitioned into heaven and was reunited with her son Jesus. As the mother of Jesus, Mary’s model for life was to trust in the truth in God’s love no matter what challenges were presented to her. Mary listened to the voice of God and chose to say yes to Christ’s love and freedom.
It is important that we continue to recognize and celebrate what is fundamental to us continuing as a Catholic school in today’s culture — another simple yet profound way we still live out “never seeing a need without doing something about it” and listening to the voice of God.
CHILD SAFE
I take this opportunity to unpack two more Child Safe Standards so that families may better understand what they address and what you will see the College doing to comply with each Standard.
Child Safe Standard 3: Children and young people are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously
Examples of Mercy College enacting this Standard:
- Students in Year 7 - 9 engaging in their wellbeing lessons that often have safety as a focus. ‘
- Information in the student planner and posters providing information on help-seeking resources such as homeroom teachers, level leaders, College’s counselling team, headspace and Kids Helpline
- Empowerment through the Student Leadership program and student-led initiatives such as Christmas in July, Homelessness Week and Mercy Day.
- Student Wellbeing and Student Voice surveys
- Activities Week
- Curriculum units that cover sexting, online behaviour, party safe/consent - risk-taking behaviours, sexuality, influence, and identity.
Child Safe Standard 4: Families and communities are informed and involved in promoting child safety and wellbeing
Examples of Mercy College enacting this Standard:
- Newsletter articles regarding Child Safety matters
- Working with parents and carers in the development of Safety/Pathway/Learning/Medical Plans
- Parent and carer involvement in Parent Support Group meetings.
LEARNING WITHIN THE CLASSROOM AND OUTSIDE AT MERCY
We are so grateful to be able to back on site and conduct learning within the classroom and outside the classroom. Some of these are featured in this newsletter. Over the last fortnight there have been incursions, excursions and celebrations such as our:
- Year 7s being involved in an interactive workshop with The Big Sister Experience
- Year 9 students attending a dramatic performance of Romeo and Juliet
- SCSA Soccer competition where our seniors will progress to representing SCSA in the SSAV Premier Schools Football Cup
- Book/Literacy and Numeracy week
- Year 10 Careers counselling interviews
- Preparations and rehearsal for the Parade/ Mercy combined Creative Arts Concert to celebrate the music of Movies, Musicals and Show Tunes.
I am grateful to all the staff and students involved for providing these many opportunities amidst ensuring that curriculum learning continues to take place. I hope to see many of you at the Concert performances next week.
PRAYERS
As a Mercy College community, we pray for:
Bruno Favaro and his family (grandfather of Rose 8A and Lola 9A)
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may your perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithfully departed, rest in peace. Amen.
Let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God
Lila McInerney
College Principal
Catholic Schools Parents Australia- 2022 Parent Survery
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS PARENTS AUSTRALIA- 2022 PARENT SURVEY
Catholic School Parents Australia would like as many parents/guardians to complete the survey below. The intention of the survey is to have your say on what matters regarding the wellbeing and learning of your child. For example, has COVID or your partnership with the school affected your child’s wellbeing and learning? If you are a parent or carer with a child in a Catholic school, CSPA would love to hear from you.
Click on the survey link and share your feedback to assist CSPA in reporting to the Federal Government and Catholic Education.
Your feedback will remain anonymous. The survey closes on 31 August.
Click here for CSPA Parent Survey
Student Executive Reflection
My name is Senuki Thotahewage and I am the Thecla house captain for 2022. The role has allowed me to venture out of my comfort zone. It has allowed me to interact with my peers and understand them and their needs. Being able to support, guide, and care for my peers is such a rewarding experience. I hope during the year that my peers are able to focus on themselves and their mental health as it is vital for them as it increases their overall well-being and also to learn to respect others’ choices. It is important that we listen, teach and cater to the younger students as they are the future of our world and also guide others and show them love, respect, and mercy.
Senuki T (SHG3)
Thecla House Captain
Deputy Principal
“Numeracy is the knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that students need in order to use mathematics in a wide range of situations. It involves recognising and understanding the role of mathematics in the world and having the dispositions and capacities to use mathematical knowledge and skills purposefully.” (p. 8)
Source: Victorian Department of Education
I share this quote as our teachers continue to engage in professional learning during Mercy Learning Time that focuses on the relevance of numeracy skills across all learning areas in the Victorian Curriculum, namely:
- The Arts
- English
- Health and Physical Education
- The Humanities
- Languages
- Mathematics
- Religious Education
- Science
- Technologies
The Mercy College teachers have been working with Professor Wee Tiong Seah from the Melbourne Graduate School of Education in Term 2 and will continue this work during Term 3 and Term 4. The goal of this work is to identify the strategies that can be implemented to help Mercy College students to successfully engage in the numeracy demands across the curriculum. The initial work has focused on identifying, recognising, understanding and auditing the numeracy demands of each subject.
Being numerate involves more than mastering basic mathematics. Numeracy involves connecting the mathematics that students learn at school with the out-of-school situations that require the skills of problem solving, critical judgement, and sense-making related to applied contexts.
Learner Expectation Reports
Learner Expectation Reports will be available to all families as of Friday 19 August via the Parent Access Module (PAM).
Learner Expectation Reports are designed to provide feedback on a range of areas related to your daughter’s learning, study habits and overall progress. These reports provide feedback on your daughter’s progress and form the basis for discussion at the upcoming Years 7-10 Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences to be held on Thursday 25 August.
Families will receive further correspondence outlining how to access their daughter’s Learner Expectation Report and information regarding the Years 7-10 Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences.
In the meantime, we encourage your daughter to continue to the apply herself to the best of her ability across all her subjects and look forward to discussing your daughter’s progress with you.
Years 7-10 Parent/Teacher/Student Conferences
The Years 7-10 Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences will be held on Thursday 25 August.
This is an opportunity for teaching staff at Mercy College to share with families their understanding of the needs of each Year 7-10 student, working in partnership with parents, guardians and students to discuss strategies that will enhance the understanding of the course content. Such partnerships are essential to the success of each student and ensure that each girl can achieve their personal best.
We encourage all parents and guardians to make appointments with their daughter’s teachers. Students are strongly encouraged to participate in these interviews.
We look forward to meeting with you and your daughter, and discussing how to best support and extend her to achieve her goals and ‘flourish’ in the learning environment.
Families will receive further correspondence outlining how to access and make bookings for the Years 7-10 Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences.
Trial Examinations Year 11 and 12
Between Monday 19 September and Thursday 22 September, all VCE students who are currently completing a scored VCE Unit 3 and 4 Subject will participate in a trial examination period. It is important that all students are available to be at school on those days, so we would ask that you do not make other arrangements at that time.
All VCE Unit 3 and 4 students have received a copy of the examination timetable for this period.
Nick Ambrozy
Deputy Principal
Counsellor's Corner
Supporting students through subject selection
A lot of Mercy students have been going through the process of choosing their subjects for the next year.
If this process has been stressful for students or has led to disagreements, now might be a great time to implement some strength based conversations or follow steps to repair after any heated discussions.
Here are some examples you can try if you need to have a difficult conversation:
- Take it in turns to speak and be heard! One person speaks for an entire minute without interruption, that person can hold a “talking wand” (any item) to reinforce they are the speaker. Then you swap over. This ensures people take time to really listen to each other.
- Use the STOPP technique to stay calm - stop and say the thought in your head only, take a breath, observe your thoughts and how they make you feel physically (agitated, hot, frozen etc), pull back and think about the big picture and the best way to get there, proceed with a calm head. Hint having an argument now won’t help with subject selection (google this technique for more information).
- Focus on the strengths! A strengths based approach does not mean we avoid difficult topics. It means focusing on the positives and resilience of the person. So start with the subjects they are best at and interests and work back from there.
- Keep an open mind. There are a lot of different paths we can take to reach our goals. Always start with identifying the goals first (big or small). Recognise any unconscious bias you may have and seek out support from the school to identify what the pathway options are to arrive at the desired destination.
Remember brilliant things happen in calm minds!
If you would like to reach out you can email me at ahannan@mercycoburg.catholic.edu.au
Liv Carli Hannan
School Counsellor and Social Worker
Book/Literacy & Numeracy Week
Book/Literacy & Numeracy Week
Last week the Mercy community celebrated Book/Literacy & Numeracy Week. Each day presented us with the opportunity to acknowledge our capacity to learn and use the gifts of words and numbers. ABC+123=DREAMS was our theme this year. Students and staff were asked to reflect on how they would make their dreams come alive this week and in the future?
It was also a week to acknowledge the importance of stories in written word, stories in spoken word, stories in the visual world and stories currently being created. Perhaps the most important and rather powerful stories are those that lie in our hearts and minds as these are our stories that form our thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
We were also reminded of our gratitude for the gift of reading. Reading allows us to learn, form opinions, create, discuss, wonder, experience, travel and dream. Whether we enjoy reading or not, we cannot escape that reading has remarkable benefits for who we are individually and who we are as a community.
It was also a time to ask for guidance to utilise our learning dispositions of being courageous, persistent and inquisitive as we make discoveries, question, deliberate and ponder on the many functions of mathematical numbers, symbols and concepts in our world. As well as to remember to pause from time to time and reflect on our capacity for new learnings and our ability for positive, rich self expression.
Monday 1 August
Our activities began with the Staff Launch at recess, followed by the lunchtime activity with the annual House Activity. This year’s activity was called Words to Dream. In a time limit of 15 minutes, each House was required to make as many words as possible from a group of letters connected to the theme. There was a flurry of activity as House members worked on this challenge. Some students stayed for the 15 minutes and other students popped in to make a contribution.
In addition, for a bonus of 25 points, each House was asked to work on their longest word. It was very pleasing to see such interest and enthusiasm from students and staff. Congratulation to Marian who were the most successful with their longest word, cylinders, comprising nine letters.
The judges carefully checked each of the entries to make sure that words were spelt correctly and to avoid counting repeated words. Here are the placings:
- 1st - Frayne with 158 points
- 2nd - Marian with 153 points
- 3rd - O'Hea with 148 points
- 4th - Kane with 135 points
- 5th - Thecla with 128 points
Congratulation to Frayne for listing the most correctly spelt words
Tuesday 2 August
This day was Maths Day. At lunchtime students pitted themselves against each other in the activity Kahooting to Dreams. Questions were about books with numerals in their titles however players needed to work out the correct answer from the various equations presented. Well done to Ms Heydon for constructing this very clever challenge! At the beginning of the game it was tight at the top of the leader board as the rights for first place changed numerous times. However the victor, Lucy from 9A, emerged at round 12 and was able to hold onto the lead until the very last question. Third place getter came home ‘on fire’ and managed to overtake the runners up ‘Emm’ and ‘Daphyaya’.
Congratulations to our podium winners, all representing O’Hea:
1st place – Lucy (9A)
2nd place - Francesca (9B)
3rd place – Charli (8A)
Wednesday 3 August
At recess a large number of students participated in the House competition Dress Up as your Favourite Book Character. So many different characters came to school! Students from Hogwarts, Baby sitters, Unicorns, the Grinch, Wally, Romeo and Juliet, a Warrior Cat, Alice and the Queen of Hearts, characters from Stranger Things and whole lot more. Each character was able to strike a pose so that the audience, under the auspice of Professor McInerney, could study the character’s attention to detail. The judges’ were faced with difficult decisions as the calibre of outfits were of a high standard. After careful deliberation the winners were announced.
The winners were:
1st place - The Grinch dressed by Sienna (7B, Frayne)
2nd place – Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb dressed by Ayla and Ayen (7A, Thecla and Marian)
3rd place – Bob the Minion dressed by Emily (7C, O’Hea)
Congratulations to all students who took the time and trouble to construct their costumes. A fabulous job was indeed made by all.
This day was also Literacy Day. At lunchtime the activity was Answers to Dreams. Students had the opportunity to test their word skills by playing the game Blockbuster. In pairs students compete against another team and answer a question by spelling out the word. Teams play the best of three rounds. It is a fast paced and energetic game, enhanced by the audience’s encouragement. Thanks to Ms McCallum as the quiz master and of course to all students who played the rounds so enthusiastically.
Thursday 4 August
Literacy Day was the feature for the fourth day of Book/Literacy & Numeracy Week with the activity Spelling to Dreams. ‘Commotion’, ‘senile’, ‘mauve’, ‘collapse’, ‘elevator’ brought some of our Spelling Bees undone! However ‘asparagus’ created our winner. Students from Year 7 to Year 11 tested their powers of listening to then spell a number of words not necessarily used in everyday language. It took four rounds to find our Spelling Bee Champion. Congratulations to Onali (7B, O’Hea) for being our 2022 Spelling Bee Champion!
Friday 5 August
This day was the last day of Book/Literacy & Numeracy Week and the week finished with Maths Day. The lunchtime activities were Pi Dreams. Who could eat a pie in 3.14 seconds? Who could recite the most numbers after the decimal point in Pi? This year Mercy College has two new champions.
For Pi Eating, in the Championship Round, the winner from Year 7 was able to eat her pie in 5.82 secs. That is a new Mercy College record! The placings were as follows:
1st place - Amani (7B, Frayne)
2nd place - Rebekkah (9C, Kane)
3rd place - Sara (9C, Frayne and sister of the winner)
Following the Pi Eating was the Pi Recitation competition. Once again we have a new Mercy College Champion reciting 100 digits after the decimal point. The other top place getters were able to recite 97, 78 and 59 numbers respectively. Congratulations to:
1st place - Matilda (8C, Thecla)
2nd place – Anna (SHG2, Kane)
3rd place – Bridie (SHG3, Frayne
4th place – Isla (10B, O’Hea)
House Competitions
Design a Bookmark was one of the three House Competitions held over the duration of the Week. Students were able to tap into their creative juices using this year’s theme and their thoughts about reading. Both sides of the bookmark required designing. Winners were sought from each House with an overall winner having their design professionally printed. The printed bookmark will be distributed to all students and staff. So many entries were received and this caused quite a headache for the judges. However, using the criteria the judges were able to narrow the field and select the winners. The winners from each House were:
- Frayne – Seneshka 10B
- Kane – Julia 9C
- Marian – Ava 9C
- O’Hea – Alexia 8A
- Thecla – Darcy 9C
Congratulations to Priya (8A, Thecla) for being the overall winner. We look forward to receiving our own printed copy of your beautifully, apt bookmark.
A huge thank to all students who participated in the various activities during the week. It certainly has been a wonderful opportunity to acknowledge our capacity to learn and use the gifts of words and numbers. Until the next Book/Literacy & Numeracy Week!
Anne Girolami
Information Services Leader
Learning and Wellbeing Level Leader- Senior
As we are continuing into term 3 for 2022, we have begun looking at what 2023 looks like for our senior cohort.
Year 12’s have begun their VTAC process with the guidance of Jenni Hickey on showing the students how to register and apply for their tertiary studies for 2023.
Year 11’s have also completed their subject selection for their final year of secondary education and are all looking forward to stepping into year 12. Year 11’s have also been encouraged to apply for various positions in the Student Executive Team as it is a fantastic opportunity for students to get involved in leadership and the Mercy community. Applications for positions close Friday 12th of August.
We acknowledge that looking at 2023 can bring some stress and feeling of being overwhelmed.
Please always reach out to adriver@mercycoburg.catholic.edu.au if you have any concerns or questions.
Annie Driver
Learning and Wellbeing Level Leader- Senior
Sport
Well done to all Mercy students that competed in the Division 1 SCSA Soccer Competition! A massive congratulations to our Senior team who won the Grand Final 1-0! They will go on to represent SCSA in the SSAV Premier Schools Football Cup later this month. Congratulations to Stella, who was named overall MVP in the senior competition.
Isabella Romano
Head of Sport
Humanities
Year 12 Legal Studies - Parliament of Victoria Excursion
As part of their study of parliament and the people, the Year 12 Legal Studies class visited Parliament House. The summaries below, written by the Year 12 students, highlight the benefit of this excursion for their learning.
On Friday the 29th of July, the year 12 Legal Studies class were lucky enough to have a tour of Parliament House. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our lovely tour guides. They showed us around the Lower House, the Legislative Assembly, which was all green. This is where our current Premier, Daniel Andrews and opposition leader, Matthew Guy, debate and introduce bills. The houses contain real gold from the 1856 Gold Rush. We were then showed to a room that had portraits of past Premiers of Victoria. We then went to the library which looked like the library from Beauty and the Beast! The library is for members of Parliament to educate themselves on issues surrounding the Bills because they don’t have qualifications. Finally, we were shown to the upper house which was red, the Legislative Council. This acts as a house of review to ensure the bills reflect societal values. We were able to see the Queen’s chair, which she sat in, in 1954 for the first and last time. Overall this was an educational experience and we are grateful to have this opportunity.
Claudia, Amelia, Lakisha, Angelique, Adriana, Isabel and Vinnie
On Friday 29th July the Year 12 Legal Studies class had the opportunity to go on a tour of Parliament House. The tour guide took us to the upper and lower houses where we learnt about what politicians do and where they are seated. We then got to visit the Queen’s Hall where the portraits of former premiers were displayed and the library where politicians can go to read and research to be informed about bills and upcoming laws. This was a great experience as our class is learning about the people and parliament and we found the information very useful and interesting.
Renee, Shehnaz, Samantha, Parami and Madeline
Year 8 History - Medieval Europe Incursion
This semester the students in 8B and 8C are studying History. They recently took part in a Medieval Europe incursion to learn more about life during the Middle Ages. Acacia and Rachael from 8C have reflected on this experience below.
We had the pleasure of meeting Rob and Gina on Tuesday. They both taught us about medieval history and what occurred during the Battle of Hastings. We were told what peasants, lords, and the king and queen wore during that time frame. We learned about how the battle was fought and the weapons that were used. They also showed us what they wore throughout the battle, which was ridiculously heavy. Claire was given the honour of wearing it; I'm not sure how she did it since it weighed ten pounds! Something I discovered was that they wore a head piece underneath their armour in case their head was wounded, however, all of the head parts were different; some covered the entire face except the eyes, while others did not cover the face at all; personally, I would choose the one that covered the face. Overall, I had a fantastic experience and plan to pursue it more in the future; I truly loved it.
Acacia
The history incursion, History up Close was about medieval Europe, mainly about the Feudal system and details regarding how life was for civilians at that time. It was fascinating to see the many layers and clothes worn by people at that time and the significance of these clothes, particularly how these outfits were different for people higher up the Feudal system. For example the clothes Peasants would wear compared to the Lords. My peers and I learnt about the many weapons created at that time and how they were used for battle, along with a safe timid rubber sword fight between a few students. This incursion undoubtedly opened our eyes to the challenging lives for people in these Medieval times.
Rachael
Year 7 History - Melbourne Museum Excursion
As part of their study of Ancient Australia, on Tuesday 7A visited the Melbourne Museum to explore the Ancient Worlds exhibition. They were able to view artefacts and tools used by First Nation Peoples across Australia and learn more about Bunjil, the creator of the Kulin Nation and megafauna. They were also able to learn more about the various languages spoken throughout what is now Victoria and the importance of various ceremonies such as corroboree and tandarrum.
Jemmah Ind
Head of Humanities