Alumnae News

The OLMC Alumnae Association held its 17th Annual General Meeting on 20 October 2020 via Zoom. Click here to read the President’s Report.

While Reunion Day was cancelled this year, the Committee looks forwards to celebrating both 2020 and 2021 milestone years at the next Reunion Day in September 2021.

If you are organising a reunion for your year group, please contact the College Development Officer, Susan Giacomelli susan.giacomelli@olmc.nsw.edu.au for class contact details and other assistance such as College tours, staff attendance or OLMC memorabilia.

Christine Robertson (Zadro, 1970)
OLMC Alumnae President

Applications for Mercy Scholarships for Year 7, 2022 are now open.

Three types of Mercy Scholarships are available:

• Mercy Scholarship for Academic Excellence
• Mercy Scholarship for Music Excellence
• Mercy Scholarship for Alumnae

Mercy Scholarships provide full or part remission of tuition fees. All other costs, including resource fees, co-curricular activities and uniforms, are required to be met in full by the families. The College’s non-refundable Enrolment Application Fee and Enrolment Acceptance Fee must be paid by the family prior to applying for a Mercy Scholarship.

OLMC PARRAMATTA ALUMNAE SCHOLARSHIP

For over 130 years, OLMC Parramatta has been educating women of Western Sydney. Thousands of women have benefited from an excellent education in the rich Mercy Tradition. The OLMC Alumnae Association is a vibrant and active association of ex-students committed to keeping the Mercy spirit alive and revitalising connections made through the College.

Each year, the OLMC Alumnae Association funds one scholarship for a student entering the College in Year 7. The Scholarship will cover tuition fees for a six-year period from Year 7 to Year 12. The intention is to enable the daughter, granddaughter or great-granddaughter of an OLMC Parramatta ex-student to be educated at the College.

CLICK HERE to learn more about scholarships and to apply.

Applications close on Friday 12 February 2021

It is with great pleasure that the Board of OLMC announces the appointment of the highly qualified and extensively experienced Catholic educator, Lucie Farrugia, as our next Principal.

Lucie has more than 35 years experience in Catholic education and is currently serving as the Acting Principal of Christian Brothers’ High School Lewisham. She previously held leadership positions in curriculum, pastoral care, communications and development, and identity and mission at St Patrick’s College in Campbelltown and MLC Sydney.

She holds a Master of Educational Leadership, a Bachelor of Education, a Diploma of Teaching and Certificate of Religious Education from the Australian Catholic University. She also holds a Certificate in School Management and Leadership from the Harvard Business School.

Lucie’s appointment follows an independent recruitment process that was very competitive with numerous high-calibre candidates reflecting the current strength and potential of OLMC.

Ultimately, the Board selected Lucie for a number of reasons including her strong values and beliefs that align so well to the Mercy Values and their role in contemporary education, her broad experience and success in leadership and her vision for community engagement within the school community.

The focus moving forward will be to continue to enhance our school, our academic and vocational offerings, our community and most importantly, our faith.

Lucie will be ‘on deck’ from January 2021 and we look forward to welcoming her in the new year.

In the meantime, Marie Wood will continue as Acting Principal. Marie’s service continues to be exceptional and from next year she will move into a revamped Deputy Principal position which reflects her growth, capacity and ongoing contribution to OLMC.

This is an exciting next era for OLMC. As we enter the last term of what has been a very challenging year for all, this appointment will inspire us to continue our mission for the benefit of the girls now and into the future.

Thank you for your support as we have worked through this process. I am sure you will agree that we have secured a first-rate outcome and transition.

Ms Kerrie Walshaw,
Chair of OLMC Parramatta Board

For the past two years, the OLMC Parramatta Mercy Tree has supported the Parramatta Women’s Community Shelter.

In 2020/2021, donations from the Mercy Tree appeal will go to The Sanctuary - Castle Hill Women’s Community Shelter and The Haven - Penrith Women’s Community Shelter.

Principal (Acting) Marie Wood says that Women’s Community Shelters is such a worthwhile cause for our community to get behind and show their support: "We are wholeheartedly committed to seeing the Shelters benefit from our donations and we realise the importance of this initiative. We know our community will get behind the 2020/2021 campaign to ensure the shelters operate at full potential to help as many families as possible."

By supporting this cause, we are carrying on the legacy of the Sisters of Mercy and Catherine McAuley, who opened their hearts to the disadvantaged and marginalised. – Principal (Acting) Marie Wood.

Annabelle Daniel, CEO Women’s Community Shelters, says that both The Sanctuary – Castle Hill Women’s Shelter and The Haven – Penrith Women’s Shelter have done critical work supporting women and children during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time of escalated violence in the home for many: "Each service has made extraordinary efforts over the course of this year to continue to provide their much-needed services with safety, and against a backdrop of fewer fundraising events to assist in generating the funds they need to operate."

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS AND TO DONATE

The whole Mercy community is warmly invited to the next Mercy Futures taking place via Zoom on Tuesday 10 November 2020. Please rsvp to mercyfuture@parrsom.org.au.

The College is advertising for a number of teaching positions in the areas of Science, PDHPE, TAS and Dance. We are also looking for an Inclusive Learning Teacher, a Director of Music and a College Counsellor.

CLICK HERE for more details.

It was great to see a recent story about ex-students from the Class of 2008 going from strength to strength, ready to take their engineering company international!

Click the link below to read more.

https://www.smartcompany.com.au/startupsmart/profiles/vapar-ai-sewer-repair-global-expansion/

We are putting together a story for the next OLMsCene Magazine about Mercy Day through the ages and we would love to invite alumnae to contribute. 

You are invited to email social@olmc.nsw.edu.au with your thoughts on any of the below questions by Monday 16 November 2020. Please include your name and year of graduation.

• What are some of your memories of Mercy Day?
• What was your favourite part of Mercy Day?
• How would you describe Mercy Day to someone who had never attended the day? 

We love to hear about the great things our Alumnae are achieving! Feel free to forward news of any engagements, marriages, births or personal or professional achievements to our Development Officer, Susan Giacomelli susan.giacomelli@olmc.nsw.edu.au

The College is now on LinkedIN and Instagram!

On LinkedIN, you can stay in touch and see positions available as well as achievements of students, staff and ex-students!

Click here to see our LinkedIN page.

Click here to see our Instagram account.

Have you recently moved house or prefer us to use another email address?

CLICK HERE to update your details on our database.

Please forward this email onto any girls you are still in contact with from your time at the College, so they too can update their details and stay connected to OLMC Parramatta.