Mercy News - Friday 24 February 2023
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Key Dates
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Prayer
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Message From Our Principal
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A warm welcome to our new staff
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Student Executive Reflection: 2023 Mission Captain
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Deputy Principal
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College Tuition Statements
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Year 7 Learning and Wellbeing Level Leader
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Learning Diversity Team
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Sport
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Information Services
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Alumni - Sr Cathy Solano RSM
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Community Notices
Key Dates
Monday 27 February
- Monday Musical Rehearsals in our Performing Arts Space (3.30pm to 6.00pm)
Tuesday 28 February
- VCE/VCE-VM Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences in our Performing Arts Space (3.40pm to 8.00pm)
Wednesday 1 March
- Years 7 to 12 House Swimming Carnival at Coburg Olympic Outdoor Swimming Pool (All Day)
- Wednesday Musical Rehearsals at Parade College (3.30pm to 6.00pm)
Thursday 2 March
- Year 7 History Excursion to Melbourne Museum (8.40am to 12.00pm)
Friday 3 March
- World Day of Prayer
Monday 6 March
- Monday Musical Rehearsals in our Performing Arts Space (3.30pm to 6.00pm)
Tuesday 7th March
- International Women’s Day Assembly (11.00am to 12.00pm)
Wednesday 8 March
- International Womens Day
- Wednesday Musical Rehearsals at Parade College (3.30pm to 6.00pm)
Thursday 9 March
- SCSA Tennis Tournament
Friday 10 March
- Year 12 English SAC 1 in McAuley Hall (10.51am to 12.45pm)
Prayer
2023 Project Compassion Prayer
God of all generations,
We thank you for those who have gone before us,
especially those who have cared for your earth and
who inspire us to help respect your creation
and contribute to its healing.
We thank those with whom we share our lives today,
especially those who work for justice and peace.
May we welcome the opportunity that Lent brings
to walk more closely with you,
especially through fasting, almsgiving and prayer.
We thank you for the challenge of the future.
May the cross of Jesus remind us that only love finds the way forward.
As we work with big hearts, may we join with Mary in her hope
that from now on all generations will experience
the great things you will do through us.
We ask this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Message From Our Principal
COMMENCEMENT EUCHARIST
On Wednesday, we gathered as a school community to recognise Ash Wednesday as part of our Commencement Eucharist. This was an opportunity to celebrate the beginning of a new school year and the beginning of the season of Lent. We are grateful to our celebrant Fr Colin Xavier, Parish Priest of St Mark's Fawkner, who was able to be with us on this significant occasion.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40 day period of repentance, fasting and abstinence in preparation for the most important Christian season of the year - Easter. By observing the 40 days of Lent, Christians remember Jesus’ 40 days of fasting and repentance in the wilderness before he started preaching his message.
PROJECT COMPASSION-FOR ALL FUTURE GENERATIONS
Ash Wednesday also marks the beginning of the annual Caritas Australia Project compassion appeal. Each year, Project Compassion comes as a timely reminder of the importance of solidarity and how a single act of kindness – whether big or small, can make a life-changing impact in the lives of those who need it most.
This year's theme reminds us that what we do today can have an impact For All Future Generations. This message invites us to step up for those who do not have the essential resources they need for their survival and those whose needs at this time are far beyond ours. By putting compassion into action, we can make a difference.
To begin our fundraising for Project compassion our Student Executive hosted a Shrove Tuesday Pancake fundraiser.
SCIENCE AND FAITH ‘SHARE CORE VALUES AND PURPOSE CAPABLE OF HEALING THE WORLD’
Cath News featured the following story about our involvement in the launch of a new Laudato Si’ resource from the Vatican, titled “Our common home: A guide to caring for our living planet.”
If you would like to read the article, please click here.
MERCY LEARNING COMMUNITY
There have been a number of activities that our community has engaged in over the past fortnight including instrumental performances, classroom learning in all subject areas including a focus on UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Year 7 Reflection Day, participation on the Dicastery launch video of the new ‘Laudato Si resource” Our Common home: A Guide to caring for our Planet, Mercy Discover days and so much more. Our students have certainly relished the opportunity of what will be possible this year as evident by our student speakers at our Mercy Discover days:
“I am so grateful to be at a school like Mercy which has so many opportunities for me to learn and grow”
- Mia C (Year 7)
“I sincerely hope that everyone in this room today will enjoy Mercy College in the same way that I did, whether it be through a leadership role, extracurricular activities, sporting possibilities, or enlightening subjects. Mercy always has something to offer everyone, which enables girls to grow and prosper while discovering themselves and their passions in life.”
- Ritam U (Year 12)
Enriched with a diverse range of people within our community, Mercy supports all students and staff to fully flourish. This year we have had some new staff join our community. You will be able to read a brief introduction on some of them later in the newsletter. We will feature others in our next newsletters.
We look forward to what the next two weeks and the remainder of the year will hold for us as a Mercy learning community and the opportunities that will be presented to engage in dialogues with families as we know that the partnership between home and school is both a significant and valuable one.
Let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God.
Lila McInerney
Principal
A warm welcome to our new staff
Dr Fiachra Barry
Dr Fiachra Barry has joined us at Mercy this year as our Science and STEM Learning Leader and is teaching VCE Chemistry, Science and STEM. Originally from Ireland, Fiachra has taught Science in China, the UK and Australia.
Ms Tania Benevento
Ms Tania Benevento is our new Year 8 and 9 Learning and Wellbeing Level Leader. She is an experienced Maths and RE Teacher having taught at St Monica’s, Marymede and Marcellin College. A fun fact about Ms Benevento is she has been known to bring in delicious donuts for her students when they achieve great results.
Ms Jessie Burns
We welcome Ms Jessie Burns who joins us as a Legal Studies teacher. Ms Burns has a Masters of Teaching and a Bachelor of Criminology. Prior to her work as a teacher she worked as an Assistant Border Force Officer.
Mr Lukasz Rabenda
Mr Lukasz Rabenda is joining us as Director of Data, Innovation and Growth. He is also teaching VCE Business Management. When asked what his focus for this year was, Lukasz shared he hoped to help drive innovation and growth in our students, staff and Mercy community.
Ms Natalie Taylor
This year we have welcomed Natalie Taylor as a teacher of Years 7-9 English and Religious Education. Natalie is a past student (Dux and Mission Captain, Class of 2014) who is thrilled to be re-joining the Mercy community as a teacher. She understands the wonderful opportunities that the Mercy environment provides, and is looking forward to supporting the academic and personal growth of students within our rich school culture.
Student Executive Reflection: 2023 Mission Captain
My name is Emily and I am the Mercy College Mission Captain for 2023. I feel very fortunate to have been chosen for this role and will work hard along with my fellow Student Executive Team members to support the school community.
This week we recognised Shrove Tuesday with a BBQ - an event where the Student Executive Team cooked pancakes and sold them to students and staff, to raise money for Caritas Australia's Project Compassion. We will continue to support this worthy cause throughout the Season of Lent.
I hope to hold more fundraising events this year or similar events to raise awareness about important issues.
Encouraging students to use the chapel more often and possibly holding Homeroom sessions where students can write their own prayers and be involved in mindful activities including mindful colouring or meditation is one of my goals for the year.
I am looking forward to planning masses and other activities with the mission captains in the younger year levels, and working to have the school be more close with each other as we are involved in faith filled activities.
Emily Gaffy
Year 12 (SHG8)
Deputy Principal
At Mercy College, we are committed to fostering a culture of excellence and creating a learning environment that allows all students to excel across all their subjects. To create this environment, we believe it is important that there are clear expectations relating to academic progress and achievement as well as behaviour and attendance.
In establishing clear expectations relating to student learning, we are equally committed to providing feedback on the progress and growth every student is making throughout the school year. In addition to this, it is important for schools to establish a shared understanding of what student progress looks like for every individual learner.
The VCE/VCE-VM Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences are key elements in providing such feedback and provides an opportunity for parents to work in partnership with their daughter’s teachers in developing a shared understanding of what student progress looks like for their daughter.
NAPLAN Online 2023
Did you know NAPLAN is moving to Term 1?
The new NAPLAN testing window for 2023 is now from 15-27 March.
This means the results will be in the hands of education authorities and school systems earlier in the year to inform teaching and learning programs throughout the rest of the school year.
It will also give teachers more time to better assess what support students need for the rest of the year.
Check out the NAPLAN key dates for this year and beyond.
Mercy College will be conducting NAPLAN Online for Years 7 and 9 students on the following dates.
- Wednesday 15 March
- Friday 17 March
- Monday 20 March
Families will receive further detail about NAPLAN dates and times at Mercy College in the coming weeks.
VCE/VCE-VM Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences
The VCE/VCE-VM Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences will be held on Tuesday 28 February.
The Booking System for the Term One VCE/VCE-VM Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences is now open for you to access via the Parent Access Module (PAM). The interviews will take place face to face in the Performing Arts Space (PAS) from 3.40pm to 8.00pm and will be 8 minutes. There will be a staff break from 5.40pm to 6.20pm.
To access interview details, please log on to PAM using your personal USERNAME (your email address) and PASSWORD details. Click on ‘Parent Teacher Interviews’ to begin booking an interview with your daughter’s teachers.
For direct access to PAM please click on the link below.
This is an opportunity for teaching staff at Mercy College to share with families their understanding of the needs of each VCE/VCE-VM 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 ensures that they 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 VCE/VCE-VM goals and flourish in the learning environment.
Special Provisions within the VCE and VCE-VM
The VCAA Special Provision policy provides students in defined circumstances with the opportunity to participate in and complete their secondary level studies.
The underlying principle of the VCAA Special Provision policy is to ensure that the most appropriate, fair and reasonable options are available for students to demonstrate their capabilities if their learning and assessment programs are affected by disability, illness, impairment or other circumstances. Special Provision should provide equivalent, alternative arrangements, but not confer an advantage to any student over other students.
Applications for Special Provisions close on Friday 24 March.
For further information please visit the VCAA website.
Nicholas Ambrozy
Deputy Principal
College Tuition Statements
The 2023 College Tuition Statements have now been emailed out to all families. If you believe you have not received your statement, we ask you check your spam/junk box as the emails were sent via our invoicing platform.
If you have any further enquiries, please contact our Finance Team on 9319 9242 or email accounts@mercycoburg.catholic.edu.au.
Year 7 Learning and Wellbeing Level Leader
I am pleased to report that our Year 7 students have navigated their way through their first couple of weeks at secondary school with huge success. The students have experienced all of their Semester One subjects now and have been introduced to all of their teachers. They are adapting to their new environment seamlessly, quickly determining where they need to be for each subject, adjusting to their new routine of six periods a day, establishing which folders and books to take for each subject and have quickly become a familiar part of our school scene.
Their first weeks have been spent being introduced to many new rules and expectations about their learning as well as topics such as punctuality, uniform, mobile phones and using break times properly.
On Wednesday 8 February we gathered for our Year 7 Welcome BBQ. It was wonderful to see so many of our families mingling and making new friends. Following a shared meal we gathered in Homerooms to meet the Homeroom teachers and share some important information with parents and guardians about school procedures and expectations. It was a positive start to our relationship building with parents and families and we thank everyone who came along.
Last Friday was our Year 7 Reflection Day. This was a highly engaging day of fun and learning for all students. We began with a hard fought “Mercy Amazing Race” which was narrowly won by a group from 7A (Harriet, Jessica, Aranya, Belle and Annie). The next session was spent with Sr Cathy Solano RSM, a valued Mercy alumna, who inspired us with stories of her work with the Mercy Sisters and encouraged us all to be active participants in the Mercy mission. Finally, we took some time to reflect on where we are at the moment. Students wrote letters to themselves about their hopes and dreams for the future, which are to be read again at their Year 12 graduations. This was followed with our first Year Level Liturgy where we were invited to “shine our lights” for the community to see. It was a special day and I congratulate all the students for the way they embraced the activities and made the most of our time together.
A reminder that Year 7 immunisation forms need to be completed and returned to Homeroom teachers by Friday 24 February. Please return these forms, regardless of whether your daughter will receive her immunisation at school or with a GP. Immunisations will take place at the College on Monday 27 March. If your daughter is particularly fearful of injections and is likely to be too overwhelmed with the process, we would recommend your family doctor administer the immunisation instead.
This week we have celebrated Ash Wednesday in McAuley Hall. This meant coming together as a whole school for our Commencement Eucharistic celebration.
Next week we gear up for our first House event, the Swimming carnival on Wednesday 1 March. I am looking forward to seeing the students bring their “A game” to both the swimming events themselves or to cheering on their House representatives in true Mercy spirit.
Please enjoy some photos taken from our Reflection Day on Friday
Jacquie Russell
Year 7 Learning and Wellbeing Level Leader
Learning Diversity Team
Please find the attached Information Sheets from the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD), available in the following 5 different languages:
- English
- Arabic
- Tagalog
- Vietnamese
- Chinese
Sport
On Tuesday 14 February, the Mercy College Sports Captain and House Captains attended the CGSAV Sports Leadership Breakfast at Marian College in Sunshine West.
Steve Moneghetti, one of Australia’s best long distance runners and Australian Olympian (1988-2000), gave an insightful outlook on what it means to be a young leader in sport. He also spoke about his dedication to leadership and shared some helpful tips on how the students can lead within their schools.
Brianna Shears
Sports Convenor
The Mercy College House Swimming Carnival will be held on Wednesday 1 March at the Coburg Olympic Swimming Pool. If you have not yet returned your daughter's permission form via PAM, please do so by Monday 27 February.
Parents and guardians are welcome to join us on the day.
Information Services
Library Lovers' Day is celebrated internationally each year on 14 February. It is a day to celebrate libraries and library lovers.
This year Mercy College library celebrated the day with a display of our collection of resources about love, friendship and romance in our lives.
Alumni - Sr Cathy Solano RSM
Sr Cathy grew up in Fawkner and attended Mercy College from 1973 - 1976 and then went on to finish her studies at Geoghegan College. Cathy is a Sister of Mercy from Melbourne who began her ministry as a secondary education teacher and taught in regional and urban schools. She worked in Karachi as a teacher trainer, then with Jesuit Refugee Service in Adjumani, Uganda and most recently as education and pastoral coordinator for the diocese of El Obeid in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan and South Sudan. Cathy has completed a Masters of Theology in Intercultural Studies from Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.
Last Friday we were delighted to welcome Sr Cathy back to Mercy College for the Year 7 Reflection Day. Sr Cathy had a special connection with these students as it was 50 years ago, in 1973, that she herself first walked through the doors as a Year 7 Mercy student.