The College year has begun very well. Students and staff are exuberant and appear grateful to all be on site. We are cautiously optimistic that 2022 will be a year of less interruption to learning and filled with more of the joyous community days we have enjoyed pre COVID.

I appreciate that some of our families are in isolation or partial isolation from time to time. Please know you are in my thoughts and prayers as we continue to navigate the ever-changing conditions in which we live and work.

Parent Portal

This morning you would have received an email announcing that the Parent Portal is now live. The Portal enables parents to access important College information, pay school fees via credit card, view news and notices, and access information related to their daughter's enrolment. The Portal can be accessed by clicking on the ‘PARENTS’ link at the top of the College website. I encourage parents to visit the portal regularly as it is a great way to stay up to date and connected to the College.

COVID-19 Update

The College today has received the next batch of RAT tests. These will be distributed to students before the end of the week.

The current reported COVID cases at the College are as follows: 

• Year 7 - 6 cases
• Year 8 - 6 cases
• Year 9 - 8 cases
• Year 10 - 2 cases
• Year 11 - 1 case
• Year 12 - 3 cases
• Support Staff - 3 cases
• Teaching Staff - 0 cases

HSC Celebration of Achievement

Yesterday it was a privilege to celebrate with the Class of 2021 their wonderful HSC results. We heard from Marta Abicic, College Dux for 2021, and Clarissa Grace Guino and Katrina Coorey who each shared their HSC journey and how OLMC helped them achieve great success. I am so proud of the young women these Mercy Girls are becoming; they are a true credit to our College and our culture of excellence. 

Year 7 Mercy Girls on TV

Last Monday OLMC was featured on both the Channel 7 and Channel 9 news. The Year 7 students featured on Channel 7 certainly made our community feel very proud as they articulated their excitement to be starting high school at OLMC. Click the link below to watch the full segment.

Congratulations to Sister Barbara McDonough

A warm congratulations to Sr Barbara who received a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) as part of the 2022 Australia Day Honours List. She was recognised for her service to education and to the Church alongside over 1000 recipients across the country. The College is incredibly thankful to Sister Barbara for her service to our community over the years.

CLICK HERE to read the Catholic Outlook article about her OAM.

Mercy Scholarships for Year 7, 2023

A reminder that applications for Year 7, 2023 Mercy Scholarships close this Friday 11 February. Click here for more details.

Lucie Farrugia
Principal 

Come, Spirit of Life!

You never waver in your faithful Presence amid the changing seasons of our lives.

Be our inner illumination and give us a passion for what is vital and deserving of our enthusiasm.

Fill us with new awareness and understanding, and by your transforming fire which glows within each of us, remain in us as a steady flame of unconditional love and compassion.

We pray this mindful that you are our constant friend and steady guide.  Amen.

In this prayer, we are reminded that we walk our journey of life with God by our side as a friend and guide, and it is timely at the beginning of the year to remember that, as a College community, we always have a friend at school. To hear the buzz on the playground has been terrific and I look forward to all that 2022 has to offer.

Year 7 Formation Day

Year 7 joined together to share a day where they learnt about the story of Catherine McAuley, as well as our own Parramatta Mercy story, and the rich Indigenous story of the Darug people. Girls worked well together to solve problems, find answers, and reflect in prayer as they commenced their transition to High School.

Mass at the College

We look forward to joining as a College Community to share our Opening School Mass this coming Friday. Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Vincent and this will be the first opportunity for the entire community to gather as a faith community.

Following this Mass, we will then commence our regular Friday morning Mass schedule. For those new to the College, our Chaplain, Fr Walter Fogarty, leads Mass in the Chapel each Friday morning. These Masses are led by Sister House groups, and all staff and students, regardless of religious belief, are welcome to join us for this short 20-minute service.

If there is anything that I may be able to assist families with throughout the year, please email me.

Gabby Scanlon
Director of Identity

Issue 1: Preparing for a good start to the new year:

How did the holidays go by so fast? The reality of going back to school or work can be difficult after such a long break and affects people of all ages in different ways. There are a few things that you can do to help your transition, or your daughter's transition, back to school.

1.     Establish routines: The late nights and sleep in’s need to be swapped for earlier nights and setting the alarm clock in order to give yourself time to wake, get ready, eat breakfast and get to school on time. If you had a routine that worked for you last year then stick with that. If you found yourself rushing in the mornings, forgetting to have your laptop charged, or not having enough time for breakfast, then it is a good time to reflect and develop a new routine. Simple things like making your lunch the night before, putting your school bag next to your laptop charging station, making yourself a smoothie the night before so you can eat as you travel to school. Changes to your routine will feel like a lot of work and effort initially, but you will be rewarded in the long term as these turn into habits.

2.     Organisation: Being organised can help to settle any nerves associated with coming back to school. Some key things to think about are: ensuring your laptop is charged; having all of the resources that you need; ensuring that your uniform still fits; shoes polished; PE uniform on days when you have a practical lesson; and print a few copies of your timetable/schedule and place these in key places for you and your family to refer to.

3.     Manage your expectations and set realistic goals: Instead of setting the expectations for the school year as “getting straight A’s” learn how to set more realistic and measurable goals and expectations. In the long run, this will put less pressure on you. An example might be “Getting a B in maths rather than a C”. Once you have established a goal, you should focus on how you plan on achieving this? You may need to invest more time in revising e.g “I will revise maths for 20 minutes each day” or you may need to ask for help “I will ask a friend to explain it to me and if they can’t then I will ask my teacher”. Breaking your goals down into small achievable steps will help you attain your larger goal.

4.     Self-care. During the holidays you had more time to invest in taking care of yourself and doing the things that you love. Just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean that the self-care has to stop too. Make time to do the things that you like regularly by adding these things into your routine or schedule, creating a healthy habit and bringing much-needed balance into your busy life as a student.

Remember that if you are feeling overwhelmed and you need some extra support, talk to someone about how you are feeling. The College Counsellors are here to help support you.

Sandra Portela
Senior College Counsellor

Welcome back to school sport for 2022. 

If students are interested in trialling in any of the sports mentioned below and are competing at a state representative level, then please get in contact with me.

The below trials are for the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges to compete at the NSW All Schools Championships. These trials are not run by OLMC, they can be held all over Sydney/NSW and are a high level representative State trial.

The link to the NSWCCC website will provide all the information you need for the trials. Please be aware some trials are age-restricted or capped.

NSWCCC 2022 Individual Registrations for pathway sports are open:

Here is the link to register: CSNSW.sport 

Here is a link for a parent’s guide on how to register:  csnsw.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/2/article/198901765?src=584134009

There are numerous Saturday Sporting opportunities at OLMC where no trialling is needed (Netball, Soccer, Basketball, Volleyball and Wednesday Touch Football). Our Carnivals also provide a representative pathway for the winning students in each event. There will also be a number of OLMC trials for Sports Gala Days throughout the year with some events providing further pathway representation. I will email students the details needed when these trials and sporting events are approaching.

You can also find sports information on the MyOLMC Sport Canvas page - https://myolmc.instructure.com/courses/39/pages/olmc-sport

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to get in contact with me.

Saturday Netball

Saturday Netball registrations are now available for all students who wish to play for OLMC at Eastwood Ryde. Registrations must be completed online (see below link). Students will also need to complete the registration form which has been emailed to all students. Students can choose their own teams and Team lists are attached to the registration form.All players will need to purchase the OLMC Netball Uniform! The OLMC Tracksuit will also need to be worn on the colder days.

Netball Australia now uses a new online system called PlayHQ. MyNetball is no longer used. So all registrations will now go through the new PlayHQ system. During the online registration process you will need to pay upfront. Here is the new registration link - www.playhq.com/netball-australia/register/a47441

A reminder that all families can also apply for $100 Active Kids Rebate during the online registration before you pay. You will need to register for an Active Kids Rebate before your Register for Netball.

The season runs from April 2 – August 27.

Teams will not be able to be finalised until all registrations are finalised. Registrations (online and paper) and Team Lists must be completed and handed into the Student Centre Sports Box by Friday February 18.

OLMC Swimming Carnival 2022

The annual College Swimming Carnival will be held at Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre on Thursday February 17. Students are reminded of the following:

• The OLMC Swimming Carnival is held after school!
• The Carnival will start at 4:30pm and conclude at 8:30pm.
• Thursday February 17 is a normal school day (Day 4) with slightly shorter lessons.
• Students WILL NOT need to bring their notebooks to school on this day.
• Students in Years 7-10 may come to school in full PE uniform. Students in Years 11 and 12 are to wear school uniforms during the day. All students may get changed at school at the end of Period 5.
• Students are encouraged to bring only a small bag to school this day to help minimize congestion in the grandstands at the Carnival.
• Please note that girls in Years 11 and 12 with a study lesson in Period 5 on Day 4 will be required to remain at school on this day (rather than leave early).
• Ages are as at 31st December. JUNIOR – 12, 13 and 14 INTERMEDIATE 15 and 16, SENIOR 17+
• Appropriately dress in clothes of your House colour.
• NO CREPE PAPER, BALLOONS, WHISTLES, DRUMS, TRUMPETS OR NOISE MAKERS ALLOWED
• BODY PAINT/ZINK, CAPES OR CLOTHING ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE POOL
• All students need to remain quiet at the start of each race so competitors can hear
• All students are welcome to enter any 50m events on the day for fun without registering, but if students wish to be considered for selection in the PDSSSC Swimming Carnival or would like an official time recorded they will need to have already filled out the entry form that was emailed to all students.   
• Parents/carers are welcome to attend the Carnival. Please be advised that no photography or videography is permitted at the carnival and that judges and timekeepers are not to be distracted while on duty.             
• The Carnival will conclude at 8:30pm when students will be dismissed from the venue ready for Parents. 
• There will be NO School on Friday, February 18.

The Swimming Carnival provides an excellent means of enjoying the wonderful spirit of the College. Students are encouraged to participate in an enthusiastic manner.

Open Water Nationals

Congratulations to Imogen Burns and Zoe McIntosh who competed at the Australian Open Water Championships in Adelaide. Both competed in 15 years girls 5km swim. Imogen came 10th and Zoe placed 32nd. Well done girls on your fantastic achievements.

Golf

Congratulations to Annoushka Maikap who has had a very busy and successful summer, participating in the following events:

• Harvey Norman Sydney Week of Golf (10-14 Jan’22): This is the only "5 day long (90-holes) junior Golf tournament" in the world, played in 5 Golf courses around Sydney. Annoushka’s result was outstanding. She finished 1st in the “Girls 12 – 13 years Nett event” and 3rd in the “Girls 12-13 years Scratch Event”.
• Greg Chalmers Junior Masters (22-23 Jan) at Shelly Beach GC: Annoushka secured her best scores to finish 2nd in both “Girls 12 – 13 years Scratch and Nett” events.
• NSW Junior Championship (6-9 Dec) at Lynwood Country Club: Annoushka finished 3rd in the Girls 13 years Scratch event.
• Blue Mountains Junior Masters (11-12 Dec) at Wentworth Falls Country Club: She finished 3rd in Girls 12-13 years Scratch event.

These are fantastic results Annoushka! To top things off Anoushka’s current handicap now stands at 6.0 – a year back, she was 25.8!

Taekwondo

Congratulations to one of our new Year 7 students, Chelsea Gomez, who competed in the Australian Taekwondo Performance Pathway Development and ID Competition on the weekend, winning gold in her division (12-14 yr old 37-41kg Black Belt) and she was also awarded Female Fighter of the Day. An amazing result - well done Chelsea!

Stuart Guthrie
Sports Coordinator

Instrumental and Vocal lessons

Private Instrumental and Vocal lessons are held during school hours, right here at the College! We offer lessons for a wide range of instruments, for students of all skill levels. All lessons are 30 minutes in length and cost between $40 - $50. 

CLICK HERE to apply. Lessons will commence in Week 3 so now is the perfect time to sign up!

Music Ensembles at OLMC 

If your daughter was in a choir or instrumental ensemble in Primary school or currently learns an instrument, or just wants to get involved, we would encourage her to join one of our Co-curricular ensembles.  

We have a range of ensembles, to cater to a variety of experiences and levels.  

• Orchestra 
• Concert Band 
• Clarinet Ensemble ­
• Saxophone Ensemble 
• Flute Ensemble 
• String Ensemble 
• Jazz Band
• Percussion Ensemble – Open to all
• Choir – Open to all

Rehearsals for ensembles occur once a week, either before school (7:45) or at lunchtime. Ensembles will be commencing in week 4. For all questions and queries please contact us at music@olmc.nsw.edu.au. 

The P&F is a wonderful way to keep up to date with developments and events at the College and enjoy social time with other parents. P&F Meeting dates and information will be posted to the Parent Portal.

The first meeting for the year will be held on Tuesday, 22 February at 7.00pm. Please enter via Gate 7 and proceed to the back of the Ailsa Mackinnon Community Centre. Please note: this may be subject to change. Updated information will be posted on the Parent Portal.

We will be welcoming the College's Director of Student Wellbeing, Ann-Marie Herd to brief parents on programs and initiatives in the area of Student Wellbeing.

We look forward to seeing you there.

P&F Committee

The OLMC Uniform Shop is located in a historic cottage opposite the main College block on the corner of Ross and Trott Streets. The address is 4-6 Ross Street, Parramatta.

 The Uniform Shop is open (term time only):

• Monday 8.00am - 9.30am & 3.00pm - 4.30pm
• Tuesday 8.00am - 9.30am
• Wednesday 8.00am - 9.30am & 3.00pm - 4.30pm
• Thursday 8.00am - 9.30am

Online purchases can be made via the Online Uniform Shop or by emailing uniformshop@olmc.nsw.edu.au

Phone: 02 8838 1275

The College Canteen is operated by Total Canteen Solutions.

CLICK HERE to view the College Canteen Menu.

Students and parents can place an order through Flexischools via this link Flexischools or by downloading the App.

Year 7 in 2006

What is your leadership role? Stanley House Leader.     

What are the key responsibilities of your Portfolio? My responsibilities centre around keeping Stanley a lively and dynamic House. Working alongside my friend Zara, we aim to collaborate and come up with new ideas for special occasions as well as weekly housekeeping duties. These include preparations for House Assemblies, meeting with Mrs Webb our House Mentor to communicate news from leadership meetings and planning Homeroom activities.          

What is your vision as Leader of this Portfolio in 2022? My vision is to make 2022 a year that every Stanley girl and staff member will truly remember. 

What would be a good theme song for your life? Why? The first 30 seconds of Mac DeMarco's 'Chamber of Reflection.' There's something so calming and melancholy about the tune but at the same time, it sounds epic.     

Name one person with whom you would like to share a meal and why? Moana Tuala - I just really want to buy her lunch!

What would be your superpower? Why? Teleportation, because who wouldn't want to reduce their travel time by 100 percent. I could also live somewhere in the mountains without worrying about travelling to a 9-5 corporate job every morning.