As a Mercy community, we began the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday liturgies. Staff and students received the ashes as a public expression of our faith and reconciliation, in preparation for the resurrection of Jesus.

As a young girl, I recall having to ‘give up something’ for Lent. Friday abstinence from eating meat was strictly adhered to in my family and there was no television allowed on Good Friday. The ‘Easter Show’ was not open on Good Friday or Easter Sunday and the Saturday Night Vigil was a yearly commitment we made and an important tradition to our understanding of waiting for the resurrection of Christ.

As important as it is to sacrifice something during Lent, the lead-up to Easter for me, as an adult, is centred around being a time of stillness and preparedness for the resurrection; a time for remembering how privileged we are to live in a country which is peaceful and largely environmentally stable (In writing this, what comes to mind is the war in Ukraine and the devastation of lives in Turkey and Syria in recent earthquakes).  Lent is also a time of reconciling ourselves to one another and asking those we may have hurt, for mercy for the mistakes we make as human beings. Living Lent is being attentive to the needs of others and responding with mercy and with practical compassion.

As a Mercy community, almsgiving gives a great sense of meaning to ‘giving up something’. It provides the opportunity to see the impact that our generosity can have on others. Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of Caritas Australia’s Project Compassion which is the only campaign we at OLMC support at this time, and I encourage our Mercy community to donate generously so others, much less privileged than we,  may live better and know they are cared for.

Opening College Mass

On 10 February, we gathered together as a community to celebrate our Opening College Mass. Thank you to our College Chaplain, Father Walter Fogarty for leading us in prayer and encouraging us to open our hearts and show compassion, our Mercy Value for 2023.

We were honoured to be joined by the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta, Sr Mary-Louise Petro, Sr Maria Lawton, Sr Patricia Bolster, Sr Margaret Jones and Sr Margaret Sheppard and Board Chair, Kerrie Walshaw. Mary Refalo, Principal of Catherine McAuley, Caroline Thompson from Mercy Partners and Jo Casamento from Mercy Works were also in attendance to celebrate with us.

It was a lovely occasion where we could celebrate our faith and set our intentions for the year ahead.

Twilight Swimming Carnival

It was a pure delight to attend the College’s Swimming Carnival held last week at SOPAC and it was great to see so many parents in attendance to support their daughters. I am sure you will agree that it was full of colour, sportswomanship and great House spirit. The Year 12 theme of the day was ‘cowgirls’ and our girls dressed up in creative and colourful costumes to reflect this. Congratulations to Mercedes who won the Championship House and to Doyle who won the Spirit Shield.

On another note, I understand there were some issues getting out of the carpark after the event. We have expressed our concerns to SOPAC in relation to this and are currently awaiting a reply. 

P&F Cocktail Party

Our annual P&F Cocktail Party was held on a beautiful balmy night on Friday, 24 February. Welcoming both new and old families to Kavanagh Place, the night was a lovely way to relax and wind down at the end of the week. Thank you to our Year 11 Hospitality students who showcased their culinary talents with delicious food and outstanding service. To Staff members, Alison Dalby, Sia Aristidou and Kim Spits for their direction of the girls. To our P&F Committee who so freely give up their time for the benefit of the College.

Year 7 Start to the Year

The start of a new school year brings with it many events and activities and our Year 7’s have been particularly busy. The House Welcome Evening was another example of our community coming together. Providing an opportunity for our new Year 7 students and their parents to meet each other and hear about what they have been up to in their first few weeks of high school. Year 7 and their parents also gathered on the evening of Monday, 27 February to hear from cyber safety expert, Susan McLean. The girls are now getting ready and are excited for their camp next week – they are making memories to treasure every day at OLMC.

HSC Celebration of Achievement Assembly

The College held our HSC Celebration of Achievement Assembly on Tuesday, 14 February. As a community, we welcomed back graduates from the Class of 2022 and acknowledged the students who had achieved an ATAR of 90 and above in one or more of their courses.

In particular, I congratulate Charlotte Saker, named ATAR Dux for 2022. Charlotte achieved an ATAR of 98.70. I am proud to announce that 19 students, 14.6% of the cohort, achieved an ATAR equal to or above 95, and 40 students, 30.8% of the cohort, achieved an ATAR equal to or above 90.

In addition, five students were placed on the State’s All-Round Achievers’ List, Emmaline Didic, Amelia Kraszewski, Charlotte Saker, Isabella Wahbe and Anastacia Wandandy. Isabella Loader was placed on the Top Achievers’ List having received 8th place in Community and Family Studies.

These young women have made themselves, their Class, their College, and their families proud by their outstanding achievements. We share in their pride and congratulate each and every one of them for their hard work and determination in their academic pursuits.

It is with great pride that we share with our community our new publication, OLMCelebrates – HSC Results and Achievements 2022. 

Open Day

What a wonderful celebration of community at our annual Open Day held last Sunday. Over 1,800 visitors came to experience the Mercy Values and witness the benefits of a Mercy education.

Thank you to our Mercy Girls who extended their hospitality and service to our guests, and to our dedicated Staff, Alumnae, P&F Committee and parent helpers during the day.

Enrolments for Year 7, 2025 are now open and will close on Monday, 3 April. Please click here to apply.

International Women's Day

As you receive this edition of ‘Parragraph’, many people universally are celebrating International Women’s Day. At OLMC, this is significant for us as an all-girls’ school believing and enacting on the empowerment of the young women in our care.

As many organisations customarily hold breakfasts and talks at which people gather to commemorate this significant occasion, we attempt to be represented at these gatherings and our musicians are much sought after to provide entertainment.

It is during this special week that we also held our Catherine McAuley Alumnae Award assembly at which the Alumnae recognise ‘one of their own’ for the great works of service she has provided since leaving OLMC. This year, the recipient is Laura Carollo. Laura has spent much of her life being involved with Girl Guides, both as a Guide in her younger years and as a Leader in her adulthood. Laura is now the District Treasurer and works hard to support and ensure the delivery of guide programs in the District. Congratulations Laura!

College Musical - The Little Mermaid

I am overjoyed to announce our upcoming College Musical, the Disney production of The Little Mermaid. Students and staff have been working very hard to bring this exciting event to you on 18, 19 and 20 May at 7.00pm in the Edith Angel Hall. I'm sure you will recall our successful production of The Wizard of Oz back in 2019. The Little Mermaid will also showcase the incredible talent that we have at the College in Creative and Performing Arts and it is a most exciting time. To purchase tickets please click here.

I thank all in our community for your involvement and support of the many and varied events and activities of the past few weeks, and hope for you all a blessed Lenten Season as we approach the end of Term 1 and our Easter break.

Ms Lucie Farrugia
Principal

International Women's Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. For IWD 2023, the global campaign theme is #EmbraceEquity.

We can all challenge gender stereotypes, call out discrimination, draw attention to bias, and seek out inclusion. To truly embrace equity, means to deeply believe, value, and seek out difference as a necessary and positive element of life. To embrace equity means to understand the journey required to achieve women's equality.

To mark this important day at school, we handed out purple ribbons. The colour purple is used as it symbolises justice and dignity. We also had Sr Sally Bradley and Jo Casamento come out at lunchtime to talk about the wonderful work of Janaya, a local Aboriginal woman, who is working hard in her community to raise the numeracy and literacy skills of other young mums.

Emily Orszulak, Year 11, participated in the Lions Youth of the Year competition and presented a moving speech about a strong and powerful woman in her family’s history. Her idea of Forgotten Women fits in perfectly with International Women’s Day.

An extract from Emily's speech is below:

'My background is Polish and I had occasionally heard about my family’s involvement in World War II. Most of the stories were about how Polish men suffered but fought bravely to protect their homeland. Yet it was my grandfather’s story that made me realise that women, too, suffered so much.

I heard about what my great-grandmother, his own mother, went through.  I heard how Nazis came to my great-grandmother’s farm and enquired about any guns they might have on the property. Despite denying having any weapons the Nazis ordered the family into a line, and the eldest brother was shot in front of the family. From there my great-grandmother was taken away from her family and was forced to work in factories, living in poor conditions with little food, and minimal clothing through harsh winter weather. Like so many women at that time, there is much more to her story which we don’t know because her story wasn’t passed on or talked about nearly as much as my great-grandfather’s and other men during this period.

Yes, we should appreciate that men have contributed in the past in a variety of ways, but so did women. Too often, forgotten women.

The fact is, women make up only 0.5% of recorded history despite making up roughly 50% of the population. Whatever the reasons for this, it’s time this changed. If I was to ask you to name famous people from the past, for example, World War II, you would find that apart from Anne Frank, it would be difficult to think of a woman’s name.'

As we continue through our Lenten journey, we have two groups of people engaged with the annual Lenten Prayer reflections. A group of staff meet before school on Tuesday mornings to share Gospel reflections and prayers, whilst families who accepted the offer continue their spiritual journey at home. If this is something you would like to take advantage of, please email me for details of the program and access to the resources.

Staff and students commenced our annual fundraising for Caritas Australia by selling pancakes before school last Tuesday. We raised over $900 which is a terrific start for our Lenten Appeal. All students are reminded to donate generously this Lent to allow Caritas to assist people in Australia and around the world with training and education to assist them out of poverty.

On Thursday 30 March, all Year 9 students will participate in their annual Reflection day.

Students are to be at school at the usual time. They will attend homeroom prior to boarding buses for the day and will return for dismissal at 3.20pm. Students must bring their own water and food for the day and are to wear their sport uniform. 

OLMC has been working with the Simply Cups recycling program. We deliver coffee cups and lids to our local 7-Eleven store for upcycling. 7-Eleven work with multiple industry partners to use these products in sustainable ways. Currently, these include high-performance asphalt, lightweight concrete and sustainable building material.

Paper cups are traditionally difficult to recycle for many reasons including their waterproof lining. For this reason, we always encourage the use of reusable cups - but in the meantime, we will continue to assist in the upcycling of these cups and lids!

One example of upcycling is saveBOARD. This low-carbon building material has no additives including zero glues, zero chemicals, zero adhesives, and no manufacturing waste. This product reduces the use of chemical and carbon-based products.

Assessment

Oftentimes, the word ‘assessment’ can send a chill down the spine.  I think its poor reputation is because it is usually associated with large-scale formal assessments, like HSC assessments, that are considered ‘high-stakes’.  When the stakes are high, of course assessment brings with it an associated level of stress.  What students usually don’t realise, however, is that assessment is occurring in most of the lessons they attend.  Furthermore, such assessment is used just as much as larger, more formal assessments, to help teachers make judgements about achievement grades.  Hence, I would like to see us flip the narrative about assessment at OLMC. 

Assessment has, in fact, three key purposes:

• Assessment for learning – assessment is used to inform the future direction of learning;
• Assessment as learning – assessment is used by students to help them understand their strengths and areas for development, and to inform their own goals for the next steps in their learning; and
• Assessment of learning – assessment is used to collect evidence of student learning.

Many of us mistakenly identify assessment solely as an evidence-gathering exercise.  But when we accept that it has multiple purposes and modes, what is reinforced is what our primary schools have long been in the habit of telling us: that every lesson matters.  Important learning and assessment happen in every class.  And in every class, teachers and students make regular judgements about student progress.

Assessment activities can take many forms.  Assessments can involve class discussion and group work. They may include teacher observations made during class learning activities.  They even include verbal questioning within a lesson.

For large-scale formal assessments, students receive notice and have the opportunity to prepare.  For the day-to-day assessment that occurs in the classroom, teachers are able to see students working in situ, drawing simply from their ongoing learning.  To my mind, this is the most authentic assessment of many student capabilities.

Year 7 and Year 9 NAPLAN tests

NAPLAN testing is scheduled for Wednesday 15, Thursday 16 and Friday 17 March this year.  Girls should by now be well aware of the requirements for installing the NAPLAN Lockdown Browser on their laptops, having received a number of messages to do so.

NAPLAN is a useful indicator of a school’s progress, and we ask all students to present for the tests with a positive mindset and a willingness to do their best.  But NAPLAN should not be a matter of great stress for any individual student, for it provides only a 1-test snapshot of their performance.  It does not capture the breadth or depth of a student’s learning.

Communications about the testing come from Mrs Jennie Mater (Leader of Academic Programs).

Year 10 Learning and Curriculum Session

On Tuesday, students in Year 10 met with Mrs Mater and I to review their year ahead.  Please speak with your daughter about the following details we covered:

• NESA Confirmation of Entries – to ensure courses are recognised on student ROSAs (Record of School Achievement).
• Activating their NESA Students Online account – this will see them through to their HSC results in a few years.
• Requirements for satisfactory completion of Year 10 courses
• HSC Minimum Standards Testing
• Malpractice
• Illness & Misadventure for assessments
• Year 11 2024 Course Preference processes (commencing end of Term 2)

Year 11 Learning and Curriculum Session

Last week, students in Year 11 met with Mrs Mater and I to review their Preliminary HSC year.  Please discuss with your daughter the following matters we covered:

• NESA Confirmation of Entries (to ensure Year 11 courses are appropriately recognised by NESA)
• Three credentials: ROSA, HSC, ATAR
• Requirements for satisfactory completion of courses
• Assessment – including issues of malpractice and Illness/Misadventure

Year 12 Learning and Curriculum Session

Last week students in Year 12 met with Mrs Mater and I to ensure success on their HSC journey. Much of what we covered was a reiteration of information we presented in our webinar to parents and students in October last year. Please discuss again these matters we covered:

• NESA Confirmation of Entries (to ensure HSC courses are appropriately recognised by NESA)
• Two credentials left: HSC, ATAR
• HSC 2022 results and lessons to take away – in particular we demonstrated the importance of the whole group continually lifting their performance, and not sacrificing work in courses that students believe will not count (the belief does not always reflect reality)
• HSC Rules and Procedures – last year the girls were provided with this NESA document in hard copy, and this year in digital form.  The girls signed a declaration that they had read the document; please ensure they have!
•     More on Disability Provisions, Illness/Misadventure and malpractice.

Louise Millar
Director of Teaching and Learning

Year 12 students recently completed their practical study for the VET Course Business Services, which included work placements at various locations. Four students were placed at The Winning Academy in Waterloo, where they gained valuable insights into the workplace and they had the opportunity to explore an emerging neuroscience survey called 'Deep Sphere'.

During their time at The Winning Academy, the students delved into the Deep Sphere program, which is a personality test consisting of five spheres: play, care, seek, rank and guard. Each individual has two dominant spheres that represent their personality. The students were able to compare their own Deep Sphere profiles with those of others, gaining a deeper understanding of what they meant and how they could leverage them to their advantage.

In addition to exploring the Deep Sphere program, the students engaged in various activities throughout the week such as developing a project plan tailored to a specific brief, creating a buyer's persona, designing an ad targeted at specific consumers and even crafting their own personal profiles, which could be transformed into a resume.

On Friday, the students presented their final products to the team at The Winning Academy in a showcase that highlighted their hard work and creativity. The experience left the girls feeling excited and well-prepared for future endeavors.

The students express their gratitude to Chris Tan for providing such an enriching experience and for pushing them beyond their limits.

Does your daughter need help with Mathematics?

Maths Help is an opportunity for students to receive individual or group assistance from the OLMC Mathematics teachers in a relaxed and enjoyable environment or just to get a head start on their Mathematics homework or study.

All students from Years 7–12 are welcome to attend Maths Help in F103 every Thursday at lunchtime. Bring your lunch and come along. There is no need to book in advance!

This term, Year 8 have had the privilege of being the first year group to experience our new state-of-the-art training facilities. As part of the integrated unit 'Let’s Get Physical', students have been engaging in functional fitness training exercises. Functional fitness training is a type of strength training that readies your body for daily activities. These exercises equip you for the most important type of physical fitness - the kind that preps you for real-life, daily living activities like bending, twisting, lifting, loading, pushing, pulling, squatting and hauling. Most functional fitness contains multi-joint movement patterns that involve your knees, hips, spine, elbows, wrists and shoulders, which all build strength and improve your range of motion. These movement patterns help with increasing balance, stability, core strength and decrease the risk of injury.

On Thursday, 9 February, the Year 11 and 12 Dance classes travelled to the Seymour Centre to watch Callback. Callback is an annual showcase of exemplary performances and compositions from the 2022 HSC Dance practical examinations.

The show included a Q&A session with the Callback performers who provided valuable tips for success in Stage 6 Dance. Our students left the theatre feeling inspired and excited to apply these strategies and ideas.

This is a national campaign promoted by the Australian Library and Information Association every year. This year the theme was 'Only You' and visitors and users of libraries were asked to think about the following: Has your library enriched your life in big or small ways? Is there something that your library does that no other space can do? Is your world a better place because of your library?

The OLMC Catherine McAuley Library celebrated with displays, a guessing competition and the Readers Group co-curricular wrote on hearts telling their peers what books and libraries mean to them. 

In these first five weeks of term, the Wellbeing team has ensured our new students felt welcome through a variety of activities. The aim of these activities was to enable Mercy Girls to develop a greater sense of purpose and wellbeing.

The House Welcome evening was held on 13 February. After some brief formalities, each of the  Houses met to formally welcome the newest members to their House. Girls received House badges and House t-shirts. This year, we provided parents/carers with a copy of ‘Building Success in Secondary School’, by Angi Wilcock which has some very useful information to assist parents and carers with the transition to high school.

A snapshot of Horizontal Wellbeing Lessons:

• Years 7 and 10 were engaged in the Big Sister Program with a focus on organisation and digital wellbeing.
• Year 8 participated in a lesson developed by Susie Edmonds from Inner Directions in preparation for a mindset workshop later this term.
• Year 9 launched their BEYOND OURSELVES project, learning about the organisation, Orange Sky, and how they can THRIVE in their local community. Years 11 and 12 participated in workshops run by ELEVATE that assists them with time management and elevation in the lead-up to their assessment blocks.

Year 7 Cyber Safety Evening

OLMC hosted a Cyber Safety Information Session in February, delivered by Susan McLean for Year 7 students and their parents/carers. Susan McLean is Australia's foremost expert in Cyber Safety and was a member of the Victorian Police for 27 years. Widely known as the 'cyber cop', she was the first Victorian Police Officer appointed to a position involving cyber safety and young people. 

Susan’s presentation was engaging and provided many practical steps so students can work in partnership with their parents/carers to ensure they are good digital citizens. Susan’s message to the students: ‘Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody’ both online and offline, echoes our the College value of dignity, and resonated with the girls.

Girls need to consider 3 R’s before using the internet:

• Respect myself, others and my body                              
• Be Responsible
• Consider my Reputation

Susan’s top tips for parents/carers were:

 More information and resources can be found on Susan’s website cybersafetysolutions.com.au. Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services (www.enhanced-learning.net) also provided the following advice to parents/carers with regard to mobile devices:

Why do students need to turn off devices at least half an hour before sleep?

Artificial light from electronic and other devices generally emits blue light (it may not look blue, but that is the underlying light). Blue light is a type of non-visible light at a very short wavelength. 

What does blue light do to the human body?

Non-visible light has a lot of energy, and studies show that increased exposure to this type of light can impair your sleep cycle. During sleep, essential physical processes take place and it is also when our learning from the day is consolidated into our memory. This means that having enough sleep is vital for students.

Blue light is naturally generated only during the day, from sunlight. When it gets dark, naturally occurring blue light ceases, signalling the body to produce melatonin, the hormone associated with sleep. Using artificial lighting and devices which emit blue light at night confuses the body clock (the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle) by stopping the body from producing melatonin. This can result in disrupted sleep patterns, including difficulty in falling asleep, staying asleep and shortened sleep duration.

Those at greatest risk from night-time exposure to blue light are those with existing sleep disorders and adolescents who often experience delayed sleep patterns as a result of biological changes.

What can students do to limit their exposure to blue light at night?

Some suggestions include:

• Be exposed to sunlight during the day to assist in accurately setting your body clock.
• Stop using all electronic devices, preferably an hour before bed.
• Get a red or orange reading lamp, which does not emit blue light.
• Use blue light-blocking glasses at night. 
• Install a program or app on your computer or device to change the type of light it emits.  A variety of programs are available including F.lux, EasyEyez, Night Filter, Zzz iPhone filter, Bluelight and Twilight.
• Invert the colours on your smartphone or iPad or Kindle, or change the device to the night-time setting.
• Turn the brightness down on your device for a few hours before bed (not perfect, but better than nothing!).

Upcoming Wellbeing Events:

Year 8 Wellbeing Day – Tuesday, 14 March

Our Wellbeing Day, Susie Edmonds from Inner Directions will assist students in building skills in self-awareness to manage thinking, emotions and actions. This interactive workshop will help them with practical strategies to interact positively with others, build confidence and step out of their comfort zone. As a number of the activities are interactive, the girls will need to wear their PE Uniform – please ensure this meets the uniform regulations. Girls can also bring a sports bag on this day as they will only need their diary, pencil case, recess, lunch and water.

Year 10 Study Skills Session – Tuesday 14 March

Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services (www.enhanced-learning.net) will run study skills sessions with Year 10.  These will be focused on helping students identify changes and improvements to how they approach their studies in order to maximise their results in their final years of school.

The main areas to be covered with Year 10 include working effectively in the evenings and dealing with distractions, managing time efficiently, planning for assessments, making brain-friendly study notes on a regular basis and using a wide variety of active study techniques to suit individual learning preferences.

Parents are encouraged to review the handout from the session with the daughters and discuss the main areas identified where changes need to be made. All students and parents at the College have access to the Study Skills website to assist students in developing their study skills.

Go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and enter the following:

Username: OLMC

Password:  64results.

There are lots of useful handouts on the THINGS TO PRINT page and students can work through the units where they need additional help.

If you feel there is any way in which to assist in the care of your daughter, please don’t hesitate to contact your daughter's House Mentor, Head of House or myself.

Take care

Ann-Marie Herd
Director of Wellbeing

A New Record

The number of girls involved in Public Speaking continues to grow. In 2023, a remarkable 178 girls have registered for competition and with this record number, our Public Speaking successes are sure to continue. Much of this growing enthusiasm can be attributed to the Public Speaking section of the Year 7 Transition Program, a workshop that in 2023 has seen no fewer than a record 58 Year 7 students sign up for Public Speaking. A special thanks must go to outstanding Year 8 speakers Mira Sharma and Amariah Tamaro as well as DAPS Leaders, Olivia Easton and Tijana Pavlovic, who were instrumental in generating enthusiasm at the workshop as well as presenting the finer points of good speaking in an informative and humorous way.

All Public Speaking applicants have been allocated one or two events during the year and have been emailed the relevant information. About three or four weeks before the event (or when topics are released), girls are emailed to remind them to start preparing. There is copious information for each event on Information Gateway/Public Speaking but Mr Ostrowski is available in F101 each lunch hour or via email to assist students throughout the process.

Lions Youth of the Year

Even before the year started, Sophie Assaad and Emily Orszulak, now in Year 11, had begun preparation for the highly prestigious Lions Youth of the Year competition. This is a very rigorous program that requires students to write a detailed submission about their contribution to school and community, also to attend a long interview in front of judges as well as present a challenging series of prepared and impromptu speeches. Both Sophie and Emily were worthy entrants for this event and while they did not take out the major prizes, were truly worthy representatives of the College.

CSDA Public Speaking

Last Friday night, the first heats of CSDA Public Speaking begin. Twelve of our girls, the maximum number allowed, competed at St Patrick’s College, Dundas, with semi-finals and grand finals to follow for successful contestants. All our girls were well prepared and are to be complimented on their performances. Well done to Sophie Ackroyd, Riya Kanade and Lavanyaa Saravanan of Year 7 (Lavanyaa competed in the Year 8 section), Elissa Abboud of Year 8, Snigdha Bommasani and Tenesha Navan of Year 9, Alexandra Attard and Siona Trivedi of Year 10, and Senior entrants Tia Monga, Ruwindri Parndigamage, Neha Sharma and Deeya Vashi of Year 11. Special congratulations to Elissa of Year 8 and Siona of Year 10 who have progressed to next week’s semi-finals.  

Debating

The 178 girls mentioned above do not include Debating, where around 100 or more girls will be involved in either Interschool CSDA Debating in Term 2 or the new Intraschool competition in Term 3, which proved to be highly successful in its inaugural year in 2022. Applications for debating have been received and successful applicants for the various teams will be advised later this week, with auditions held where necessary.

International Women's Day

Our students impress whenever they speak. Last year, Mia Fogolin of Year 11 competed in the Soroptimist competition and made such an impact that she was invited to present a speech at the International Women’s Day breakfast this coming Friday. Mia has displayed outstanding success in Public Speaking over the years and it is no surprise she has been asked to address a large gathering at Rydge’s Hotel, Baulkham Hills. A number of Year 11 girls will be there to support Mia. Thank you to Mrs Scanlon for organising the excursion.

Christopher Ostrowski
Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator 

On Friday 3 March, OLMC hosted The FUSE Cup Just Dance competition for the Western Sydney division. Esport students in Years 7 and 8 competed against teams from St Michael’s Catholic Primary School and Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College.

After a tough day of competition, our students achieved fantastic results:

OLMC Blue Team - 1st Place Just Dance Winners

Congratulations to Eliza Kidd, Zara Vilaris, Shree Anthanar and Stephanie Hu. These students have each received a golden ticket to compete in the State Finals on the Gold Coast later this year.

St Michael's - 2nd Place

A special shout out to OLMC player Isla Moyes who graciously substituted as a player in the St Michael's team. Isla received a 2nd place medal for her achievement.

OLMC Red Team - 3rd Place

Well done to Radha Lukka, Riya Kanade, Sara Bhardwaj and Alisha Pradhan for competing in the competition all day.

MVP and Top Players

Eliza Kidd (1st place) and Zara Violaris (2nd place) achieved the highest scores in the Just Dance competition on the day and received gold and silver medals respectively. Eliza, Zara and Stephanie also received an MVP award (Most Valuable Players) for consistently displaying positive values and supporting other players throughout the competition. Well done girls.

In addition to an exciting and fun-filled day of dancing, our students listened to a number of educational presentations that were provided and sponsored by Kid’s Helpline, the eSafety commissioner and Education Perfect Matterworks. Students learned about the importance of digital wellbeing, mental health awareness, addressing cyberbullying and screen time management. By the end of the day, our students not only had an exciting time of ‘just dancing’ but also learned about and developed their knowledge regarding the importance of digital wellbeing.

Each Tuesday morning at 7.15am, a group of Mercy girls supported by Ms Connor, Ms Simmons and Mrs Simpson head over to Parramatta Park to engage in one of our newest cocurricular options - Run Club! It is a differentiated activity that caters for all abilities from the very capable runner to the jogger, or even jogger/power walker. Although it’s a once-a-week opportunity, programs are available for those girls who wish to take their running further and even prepare for the upcoming Cross Country carnival. Some Mercy Girls are using Run Club as part of their Duke of Edinburgh award. Starting off the day with physical activity is a fantastic way to develop your fitness and enhance your wellbeing overall. 

Surf Life Saving

Kasey Bolt (Year 9) recently competed at the NSW Surf Life Saving Championships, a multi-disciplinary competition allowing individuals to compete against each other in three sections: physical skills, theory and resuscitation. Kasey placed 1st in Theory, Resuscitation and Tube Rescue, and 2nd in the Surf Race, Board Race and Beach Sprint.

Kasey achieved a total of 102.75 points out of 120, 14 points ahead of her nearest competitor and was crowned the State Champion Lifesaver. Congratulations Kasey!

NSW Juniors Athletics Championships

The NSW Junior Athletics Championships were held at SOPAC on 17-19 February. Congratulations to Lucie Francis (Year 11) who won the U18 2km Steeplechase and to Matilda Webb (Year 10) who won the U15 3km Walk. Well done girls!

Golf

During the Christmas break, Annoushka Maikap (Year 10) travelled to India and participated in two prestigious Golf tournaments. The ‘Royal Junior Open 2022’ was held at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club - the oldest golf course in India, where Annoushka was Runner Up in the 13-14 years age group. She also competed in ‘The Tolly Cup 2023’ at Tollygunge Golf Club. This was a team game consisting of randomly selected players of all ages. While in India, Annoushka was invited to play a social match at Calcutta Ladies Golf Club - one of the oldest ladies golf clubs in the world. Congratulations Annoushka!

NSW All Schools Cricket

Congratulations to Shiloh Julien who was selected in the NSWCCC Open Cricket team which competed at the NSW All Schools Cricket Championships from 28 February to 2 March at Barooga. Shilo batted and bowled exceptionally well, even finishing as the leading wicket-taker for NSWCCC. Well done Shiloh!

Finally, best of luck to the girls who have qualified to compete at the PDSSSC Swimming Carnival to be held on Thursday, 9 March. 

NSW All Schools Triathlon

The NSW All Schools Triathlon was held in February at the Sydney International Regatta Centre. Congratulations to Lucie Francis who finished 4th in the Senior Girls’ Individual event (2nd in NSWCCC). Lucie was successful in qualifying for the School Sport Australia event to be held in Tasmania in March. Best of luck Lucie!

The following girls represented OLMC in the Teams event: Amber Haywood, Maeve Nolan, Sarah Kenna, Ava Galang, Emma Georgis, Natasha Tween, Bronte Herberstein, Isabella Cotter and Stephanie Lake. All the girls performed extremely well and should be proud of their efforts. Thank you to Ms Farrugia and Miss Connor for their help on the day.

OLMC Cross Country

The 2023 Cross Country Carnival will be held on Wednesday, 29 March (Periods 1 and 2) in Parramatta Park and will be for Competitors Only! This is a normal school day. Any student in Years 7-12 who would like to participate needs to register on the nomination link below which has been emailed to all students. https://forms.office.com/r/8kfviYVDTc

All competitors will be eligible for selection in the PDSSSC Cross Country.

Distances are as follows:

• 12 & 13 years run 3km
• 14-17+years run 4km (18 years run 6km at PDSSSC)

Competing students will be required to change into their PE uniform when they arrive at school and change back at recess. Students are encouraged to bring their own water, sun protection and medication. 

The cross country course can be seen on the OLMC Cross Country program which will be emailed to all students.

Stuart Guthrie
Sports Coordinator

On Friday, while the rest of the school were sleeping in after the Swimming Carnival and enjoying the day off, Arlene Kumar, Isobel Cassin and Ella McGirr represented the College at the School Strike 4 Climate Rally. They travelled to Town Hall where they stood front and centre, to hear speeches from other young students expressing their concerns about Climate Change and urging the government to take more action.

The students had 5 demands:

• No new coal, oil and gas including the Narrabri coal seam gas project and the Kurri Kurri gas plant
• 100% public renewable energy and exports by 2030
• Funding for a just transition and jobs for fossil fuel workers and their communities
• Real carbon cuts not offsets
• Resource first nations-led solutions that guarantee land rights and care for country. 

Just as the speeches began, so too did the rain. However, it did not dampen the enthusiasm of the students and their supporters. They marched from Town Hall down George Street, through the city finishing at Hyde Park. Mardudhunera traditional owner, Mark Clifton, from the Pilbara region of Western Australia warned of the carbon emissions from this project and the danger of losing the largest collection of Indigenous rock art. The students enjoyed the experience and felt hopeful calling for Climate Action.

School fees were due on Friday, 24 February 2023. If your account remains outstanding, please ensure that the Finance Office receives payment promptly.

Any queries on fees can be directed to the Finance Office on 8838 1214 or email finance@olmc.nsw.edu.au