At this time when a newly elected government has been voted into office, we have a record number of women elected to parliament. It is my hope that these women are empowered to utilise their position and feminine points of difference, to critique and to fearlessly challenge what we know to be unjust. This election result speaks clearly of Australia’s trust in women to fulfill the promises they made in their campaign to their successful election. The electorate has clearly seen the need for women to be in the highest offices of leadership in Australia, and I cannot but feel that ‘in this history’s page, let this stage truly advance Australia Fair’

As we look to intelligent and articulate role models in all walks of professional and personal lives of just what can change when we dare to challenge, our four speakers at last week’s Women in Leadership Forum exemplified this and so much more. This truly remarkable event which took place last Wednesday, 25 May saw over 300 people gather in the Ailsa Mackinnon Community Centre to hear from our speakers who inspired and ignited in us a sense of limitless possibility.

Our speakers included:

• Multicultural Community Liaison Officer, NSW Police Force and facilitator of the Cultural Exchange Program Rosemary Kariuki-Fyfe
• Founder and CEO of Mentoring Women, Founding Director of Western Sydney Women and Founder and CEO of Small Business Women Australia Amanda Rose
• Paediatrician and Paediatric Rehabilitation Specialist and Head of the Kids Rehab Department at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead Dr Mary-Clare Waugh
• Advisory Board Member of Advise Wise and member of the Advisory Council for the Sydney Women’s Fund Joanna Ryan.

Thank you to our speakers, all our visitors, which included students, parents, staff, ex-students and students and staff from other schools, Sisters of Mercy and other members of our community. A big thank you to our event organiser Sue Giacomelli.

Thank you to our Year 12 Mercy Girls for organising a wonderful Biggest Morning Tea on Thursday, 19 May in the Convent Garden. Raising money for the Cancer Council, Year 12 students and staff enjoyed the sunshine while taking their pick from the array of caramel slices, macarons, pastries, doughnuts and other delicious foods on offer.

Last week it was wonderful to open the Sydney Morning Herald and see a big picture of our OLMC girls! A great article about our Future Not Followers pilot program was featured in the Independent Schools Hub section. Run by Western Sydney Women, the program is designed to improve financial independence among young women. CLICK HERE to read the article.

During this last week, 50 students from Years 10 and 11, along with 5 staff, have been taking part in the Central Australia Immersion. As part of this, they visited Uluru, King’s Canyon and two Aboriginal homelands. The girls participated in activities, ceremonies and community building projects. Staff and students spent time at the homelands of Rodna and Kirku. I hope this immersion opportunity has been a rich experience of mercy and I look forward to their return and to reading their report in the next newsletter.

Lucie Farrugia
Principal 

Seeking Truth Seminar

On the evening of 18 May, a number of Year 11 and 12 students attended the Seeking Truth seminar which was designed to stimulate discussion, highlight global perspectives and bring a sense of alertness and voice to women’s experience of the Church. Offered in partnership with the Broken Bay Institute, the seminars feature leading academics and theologians from around the world. We listened to Theologian Melinda Jolly who is a Catholic Indigenous woman from the Cubbitch Barta Clan in the Dharawal Nation. She holds a BTheol (Hons), minoring in Philosophy and History. Melinda presented a very interesting discussion about Freedom. The students were engaged in her presentation and the discussion it generated about Rainbow Spirit Theology, Freedom and women in the Church. 

Caritas Australia Project Compassion Cheque Presentation

At the Assembly last Tuesday, we presented Mr Chris Nolan from Caritas Australia with a cheque for $10,000 which was raised by the College during Lent this year. Thank you to all staff and students who donated money to Caritas. The money raised during the Caritas Australia Lenten Appeal is used both in Australia and overseas to provide funds that allow grassroots programs to be developed and also improve living conditions and allow access to education for women and children.

Gabrielle Scanlon
Director of Identity

Writer in Residence

The OLMC Writer in Residence Program has continued in 2022 with several workshops run for students in Years 10, 11 and 12 in Term 1 and Term 2. Facilitated by author and Lecturer in Creative Writing with The Writing and Society Research Centre at Western Sydney University, Felicity Castagna, the workshops invited students to share their own compositions and develop aspects of their writing by applying feedback from Felicity and their peers.

Year 10 Workshops

At the end of Term 1, Year 10 students participated in a Virtual Writer in Residence Workshop with Felicity to gain insight in preparation for our English Major Work. We were then able to consult with Felicity in small groups in additional workshops to develop our ideas, discuss initial drafts and receive feedback. These workshops enabled us to deepen our understanding of the need to plan and the importance of limitations when composing creative pieces as well as how to utilise language techniques such as motifs and manipulate structure to express meaning. This experience was highly beneficial and collaborating with Felicity inspired us to continue to cultivate our creative writing skills.

By Rhea Bindroo, Tayla Ishac and Deeya Vashi 

Virtual work experience offers students a chance to gain experience in the workplace, develop skills, boost employability and explore new industries and job roles without leaving home.

Did you know that through www.olmccareers.com you can access a virtual job experience program? There are 14 experiences – nursing, policing, psychology, vet/vet nursing, physiotherapy, hairdressing, engineering, law, creative industries, environmental science, game development/design, construction, fitness/personal training and forensic science. Click here to learn how to access a virtual job experience.

Alternatively, you may wish to explore other virtual work experience opportunities offered through The Forage.

Donna Jones
Careers and VET Co-ordinator

Personal boundaries are guidelines, rules or limits that a person creates to identify reasonable, safe and permissible ways for other people to behave towards them and how they will respond when someone passes those limits. Setting and sustaining boundaries is a skill that is essential to the establishment and maintenance of healthy relationships.

Making and maintaining friends is another important skill, but what makes a good friend? Many young people think that a good friend is there for you no matter what. However, a lack of boundaries can create unrealistic expectations within friendships. Having boundaries isn't selfish; it's a form of self-love, and an essential way to ensure that the friendship is a healthy and functional relationship and is meeting the needs of both parties.

Setting boundaries isn’t always comfortable, particularly in established friendships, and friends may push back if you say NO to some things or try communicating your needs more clearly. It is normal for friends to test your limits, to see how serious you are about drawing the line. Or they may be used to you responding in a certain way (agreeing to take on everything), and they may push back when you try to make some changes. That doesn’t mean that you’re doing something wrong. It may just mean that you need to be clear and consistent until your friends adjust to the new way of interacting.

If you are experiencing any of the following, then it may be time to set a boundary:

• You feel taken advantage of
• Your space or privacy is not being respected
• Your friend is trying to compete with you
• You're being blamed for something you are not responsible for
• Other peoples’ ideas, actions and/or feelings are being pushed onto you
• You feel disrespected, insulted, or hurt
• Someone is being aggressive towards you
• You feel emotionally drained after spending time with a friend
• Your friend embarrasses you in front of someone else

Boundaries can sound like:

• “I don’t feel comfortable talking about other people behind their backs”.
• “I can’t talk right now, but I will call you back when I am finished dinner”.
• “I am not okay with you making jokes about my insecurities”.
• “I will lend you more money, once you have paid me back what you owe me from last week”.
• “I am struggling with my own mental health right now and I don’t think I can be your primary support person”.
• “I can’t make any last-minute plans right now, but thank you for inviting me. Maybe next time we can plan something in advance”.
• “I really wish I could help you with your task, but I have so much on at the moment”.

Lastly, remember that you’re allowed to set these boundaries, and there’s no need to feel guilty about it. Friendship is not better when we ignore our own needs for the comfort of others — the people who care about you want to know what you need to feel safe. But they can’t help until you know that yourself, and are able and willing to communicate those needs.

If you feel that your daughter needs some assistance in managing appropriate boundaries, please reach out or encourage her to reach out to the College Counsellors or her Head of House for support with this.

Sandra Portela
Senior College Counsellor

Year 7 Parents and Students are asked to save the date of Tuesday, 7 June for the Study Skills Evening.

Please CLICK HERE for more information about the evening.

CLICK HERE to read the latest Study Skills Tips.

www.studyskillshandbook.com.au OLMC's access details are:

Username: OLMC
Password: 64results

Our girls continue to excel in both Debating and Public Speaking competition. Two weeks ago, our Debating teams clashed with Loreto Normanhurst and shared the spoils with six debates each. Most noteworthy is the continuing success of both Year 8 teams who remain undefeated after three rounds this year. These teams excelled last year and should be very proud of their achievements. Coached by ex-student Priyanka Sangar, 8A have now recorded wins in ten of eleven debates over 2021/2022 while last year’s Year 7 Champions 8B, coached by Lily Tambrchi, have been undefeated in twelve consecutive debates over that time. Rumour has it that a supply of Krispy Kremes has something to do with these amazing achievements!

Special mention to those girls who went to Loreto to support their teammates. Many of these girls stepped in to help out as chairpeople and timekeepers when Loreto teams were affected by illness.

Unfortunately, last week’s debates against Eastwood had to be cancelled, but we look forward to competing against Oakhill this week.

In Public Speaking, our girls have once again excelled. Megan Keller of Year 10 competed in the Regional Final of the Plain English Speaking competition and, while falling just short of reaching the State Final, has revealed exceptional talent. Megan is definitely bound for greater honours.

The Parramatta Eisteddfod has always been a competition that has reflected not just the talent, but the hard work of our girls. Two weeks ago, competing in the Individual Prepared Public Speaking section for 11/12 year-olds, Isabella Bousimon won the event, while Aarya Khanal was third and Tvisha Patel, fourth. Magdalena Gilchrist was awarded a Highly Commended certificate. Well done also to Zara Biswas for her presentation. On the same weekend, in the very entertaining Telephone pairs for 13/14 year-olds, Kaira Dasgupta and Sierra Lake took out second place, Annabelle Sococ and Tenesha Navan were fourth while Hasini Madukuri and Lohita Gollavilli joined Claire Scanlon and Lara Alam in being awarded Highly Commended certificates.

Last weekend at the Eisteddfod, the results were quite exceptional. In the two events contested by our girls, our talented students took out the first three major placings in each. In the Individual Prepared Speaking for 11/12 year-olds, Elissa Abboud was first, Sahana Arudselvan was second and Sampurna Das claimed third. Well done also to Ananya Karthik, Isabella Salloum Frances Nolan and Ekaspreet Sohi who performed very well. In the telephone Pairs for 11/12 year-olds, Aakriti Khanal and Hiya Mahida were first, Aarya Khanal and Zahra Saadullah were second while Georgia Draiby and Teresa-Maree Saba were placed third. Amutha Naranthirathan received a Highly Commended certificate. This is an exceptional effort and all girls are to be congratulated.

In an event held four weeks ago, Ysabel Cion Daelo of Year 7 received a Highly Commended certificate in her event but was omitted from the report at that time. Well done to Ysabel.

This week, several of our girls are submitting entries in the Speaking 4 the Planet competition while many others are preparing for the next weekend of the Parramatta Eisteddfod. We wish them all the best of luck in their respective events.

Christopher Ostrowski
Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator

Saturday Netball

Click on the following link to view draws and results on the ERNA PlayHQ Results page 

https://www.playhq.com/netball-australia/org/eastwoodryde-netball-association/b9db8104

A reminder that on 11 June there will be no games due to the long weekend.

Saturday Soccer

Round 4 of the IGSA Soccer was washed out with ground closures but here are the results from Round 5:

• OLMC 1 defeated Ascham (13 - 3)
• OLMC 2 defeated Ascham (5 - 0)
• OLMC 3 were defeated by St Catherine’s (8 - 2)

A reminder that on 11 June there will be no games due to the long weekend.

Hockey

Congratulations to both Ekaspreet Sohi and Ann Walker who are both representing their district representative Hockey teams (Northern Sydney and Nepean) at the upcoming State Hockey Championships. Best of luck girls.  

NSWCCC Soccer

Congratulations to Isabelle Zoghbi who represented PDSSSC at the NSWCCC Football Championships on 26 and 27 May at Valentine Sports Park. Despite PDSSSC not losing a game, they, unfortunately, missed out on qualifying for the Grand Final on goal difference.

Stuart Guthrie
Sports Coordinator 

Opening Hours and Purchases

Please note the Uniform Shop will be closed on Wednesday, 22 June and Thursday, 23 June for stocktake. Otherwise, the Uniform Shop is open Monday to Thursday, from 8.00am – 9.30am, and 3.00pm – 4.30pm on Monday and Wednesday (school days only).

Online purchases can be made via the Online Uniform Shop (https://shop.olmc.nsw.edu.au/) and all orders will be delivered to the Student Centre for collection by students.

Terms 2 and 3 - All girls are to wear the full winter uniform. 

Scarves

Currently, the Uniform Shop is out of scarves and we apologise for any inconvenience. The shop will soon have in stock a non-wool version, which when available, can be purchased either online or via shop. 

If you have any concerns regarding uniform items, please don't hesitate to contact the Uniform Shop on 8838 1275 or uniformshop@olmc.nsw.edu.au

The College’s canteen provider is Evette’s lunchbox.

CLICK HERE to view the Canteen Menu and Price List.

Orders can be made via Flexi Schools each day, or students can come into the canteen before school and place orders directly with the canteen team. All pre-orders can be collected at Morning Tea and Lunch via a separate queue.

A reminder that students can pay with tap and go using their card only or cash. As per the College’s Portable Electronic Device Policy, payment cannot be made using these devices: 

• Students may not use mobile phones or similar devices while on College grounds from the time a student arrives at school until departing from school at the end of the normal school day. This means no student should be using a personal electronic device from 7:30am (gates open) until after 3:20pm (final bell). This includes before school, during and between classes and at recess and lunch. 

What is your leadership Portfolio? Mercy Action Leader.

What are the key responsibilities of your Portfolio? My key responsibilities involve promoting social justice issues and events within the OLMC community, while also encouraging and carrying out social justice initiatives around the College. Mikayla and I work closely to raise awareness on issues both nationally and internationally such as injustice within Indigenous Australian communities, refugees, poverty, gender equality and so much more. It is important to try and make a difference in the world and in the lives of those around me.    

What is your vision as Leader of this Portfolio? My vision is to encourage Mercy Girls to enact meaningful change (both locally and internationally) through a focus on inclusion and reconciliation within disadvantaged communities.    

What is something about you that others might be surprised to know? I am obsessed with planes and the logistics of flight! I find planes so fascinating. During the 2020 Lockdown, I became so interested in aviation that I wanted to become a flight engineer or aeronautical engineer! My favourite plane is the Emirates Airbus A380.