As the 2022 College year comes to a close, I would like to recognise the dedicated efforts of our teaching staff and farewell members who will be leaving us this year.

We wish all the best to Matthew Morrison and Bora Nam from our Mathematics faculty, Amani Habib from Science, Jenny Lee from the Diverse Learning Centre, Thao Nguyen-Trinh from TAS and Maria Bujnowski from our LOTE Department. We thank them for their time with us, the contributions they have made to OLMC students learning and their dedication to our Mercy Values in all they do.

Kathy Batten has taught at the College for 20 years and will retire from teaching in December. We wish Kathy all the best in her future and to take a well-earned rest after many years of service.

Stephen Dufty commenced as a Visual Arts teacher at OLMC in 1993 and has given over 30 years of service to the College. Stephen became Visual Arts Coordinator in 2000 and from the start of 2020, took on the role of Head of Visual Arts and Design & Technology. As a practicing artist, Stephen is currently building an art studio at his home, and we hope Stephen will have some well-earned rest to purse his artistic talents. We wish him all the very best for his retirement.

We also farewell our Deputy Principal, Marie Wood. Marie joined OLMC in 2016 and during her time with us, she has worked tirelessly to ensure that the school was run smoothly, with clear communication and direction. This was most evident during her role as Acting Principal during 2019 to 2020, as she steered the OLMC community through the first year of COVID-19 lockdowns. Marie will leave a profound legacy of achievements and a positive mark in OLMC history. I take this opportunity to thank her and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavours as she moves from OLMC into the next chapter of her life.

Next Monday evening is the inaugural Celebration of Achievement at the Quay Centre in Sydney Olympic Park. Many hours have been spent preparing for what will be a spectacular night of joy and celebration of student academic achievements for the year.

This event is compulsory for all students and parents are strongly urged to attend. Please email me directly at lucie.farrugia@olmc.nsw.edu.au should you need to request approved leave for your daughter. All rolls will be taken on the night and records kept for any future reference. If you have not already done so, please register your attendance by clicking here.

In closing, I wish all our students and families the very best of the Liturgical season we are entering. Advent is a time particularly close to my heart, as it reminds me to wait patiently and quietly prepare for Christmas. To reflect on the humbling event which is the birth of our brother, Jesus. In this time, I remember the depth of commitment made to the world by Mother Mary and the dawn of what we value most in our Catholic tradition.

As we all look forward to sharing this time with family, friends and community, may we also take time to participate in Parish worship. May the lessons taught within our Churches and sharing of Eucharistic celebrations prepare us for the coming of Jesus and bless our year ahead.

I look forward to another joyful year with this wonderful OLMC community. 

Ms Lucie Farrugia
College Principal

As we enter into the Advent Season, a time of preparation in the lead up to Christmas – we celebrate the birth of Jesus. While the end of the year is full of Christmas parties and many festive celebrations, may we all remember that the reason for this time of year is to remember Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

I wish you all a blessed and safe Christmas!
O God who has sent us the Radiant Dawn,
Our hearts desire the warmth of your love
And our minds are searching for the light of your Word.
Increase our longing for Christ our Saviour
And give us the strength to grow in love,
That the dawn of his coming
May find us rejoicing in his presence
And welcoming the light of his truth.
We ask this in Jesus’ name
And in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen 

Australian Curriculum Workshop: Understanding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures

Aunty Theresa Ardler came to school to talk to staff about the ways that we can incorporate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures curriculum into our classrooms. She also shared with us a water, wind and fire ceremony which was shared with our First Nations students and staff, including our Cultural Engagement Mentors. The day was truly insightful and was the first step to forging meaningful connections with Theresa moving into next year.

Christmas Hampers

For countless years, OLMC staff and students have continued to bring in food donations for our annual Vinnies Christmas Appeal. These goods will be collected by representatives from our local North Rocks Chapter and donations will go a long way to assisting families in our local community. We thank you for your generosity. 

Presents for local kids

Our students continue to give generously and once again the Giving Tree at OLMC has been left bare! Thank you to the families who have contributed to this initiative. Our gifts will be sent to the Australian Refugee Volunteers, local Women’s Shelters and JRS. This demonstrates one more small way that Mercy Girls are doing their part to ensure all people have a happy Christmas. 

Plastic Free Week

From the 21-25 November, ecoOLMC ran Anything But Plastic Week to encourage students across the College to think about sustainability and the ramifications of single-use plastics. There was a display in Francis Kearney playground explaining these impacts. The week was kicked off with an enthusiastic ‘Race Around OLMC Scavenger Hunt’. Over 30 teams competed to collect tokens that were placed at various places around the school to answer the scavenger questions. On Tuesday, students were shown how to create bees wax wraps, as an alternative to using plastic to wrap their lunch in. The follow day, we converted plastic drink bottles into hanging pot plants and on Friday students watched the Leonardo DiCaprio documentary, Before the Flood. 

Share the Dignity
Our Liturgy Group worked hard to bring in and package eight lovely hampers which are being donated to the Parramatta Women’s Community Shelter as part of the Share the Dignity Campaign.

Packs included shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste and toothbrushes, deodorant, sanitary products and a range of other beauty products.

Vocations Lecture

Today, Year 10 listened to a moving lecture on vocations by our College chaplain Father Walter. He said 'God has created us for a purpose and finding that purpose is finding our vocation.' It was a great opportunity for students to reflect on their faith. We are so fortunate to have members in our OLMC community who are open to share their beliefs and answer questions. 

Mrs Gabby Scanlon
Director of Identity

OLMC Reignites Cross Coaching Primary School Program with St Pat’s

‘Year 9 Physical Activity and Sports Studies (PASS) took part in a coaching unit that aimed to increase our confidence to train others, while developing knowledge of key directives in sports. Throughout the term, Mr. Fricot and the Western Sydney Wanderers, worked closely to provide us firsthand experiences about effective coaching. After much learning and planning, on 18 November our class put our hard work into action. We worked with the Year 4 St Patrick’s Primary Parramatta students, offering them the opportunity to learn something new and enhance their cooperative skills in a physical activity setting. In the College, we set up stations and sessions that focused on our choice of skill such as shooting, passing, and dribbling. Other groups focused on soccer, netball and basketball to allow students to walk away with new talents and abilities. This experience nurtured our learning from Term 4, giving us the chance to apply the many theory and practical lessons we spent developing our knowledge and physical abilities.

On behalf of our Year 9 PASS class, we would like to thank our teacher Mr. Fricot for the tireless effort he put into the organisation of our coaching module and training. We would also like to thank Mr. Younes for bringing his class over to OLMC. We hope that the session was engaging for the children as well as effective in teaching them some new skills they can carry in their individual sports!’
Year 9 PASS Class

Alliance Française de Sydney Excursion

On Friday, 25 November, Year 9 and 10 French students attended a workshop at the Alliance Française de Sydney in the city. In this workshop, students gained a deeper understanding of French cultural aspects and its significance. Students enjoyed learning more about a variety of topics from French history to school life, food and contemporary French music. As the workshop was conducted in French, students also had the opportunity to converse and utilise their language skills. A very enjoyable French day!

Embracing the Study of a New Language

‘I began my studies of French at OLMC having no idea how to speak or write the language. I can certainly say that have I enjoyed every minute of my French studies. I really liked the fun songs, playing games, watching short clips in French and engaging in role-plays with my classmates. Many of these activities were new to me and allowed me to get to know everyone in my class. Learning French was a new experience for a lot of my peers as well. Even though there were challenges along the way, I embraced this new language by taking every opportunity to learn and give everything a go. I overcame challenges by practising and sounding out words in French and making flash cards. I also used Education Perfect as an educational tool.  Now I can have simple conversations in French and understand more about the language and culture. Overall, French this year has been very rewarding and an amazing experience!’
Nicoletta Iaquinto, Year 7 

‘This year I enjoyed studying Japanese, especially working in groups, and playing games. This was a fun and easy approach to learning the Japanese language. I embraced learning these new skills by keeping an open mind and trying to do my best to learn the language. By learning new memorisation tricks and practicing my spoken Japanese, this class has been a favourite. The activities in Japanese have made it so simple and fun to learn.’
Krisha Avlani, Year 7 

‘I really enjoyed learning how to write, speak and understand Japanese - I particularly liked playing fun relay games to practise writing in Hiragana. Of course, at the beginning there were challenges, but I overcame these by writing everything we learnt in a book, going home and spending five minutes to revise and keep up by doing homework tasks.’
Amyllia Maneze, Year 7

‘Hola! I really enjoyed learning Spanish this year. At the start, I thought it would be hard to learn a whole new language and while there were some challenges, with confidence, time and lots of practice, I was soon able to speak comfortably on various topics. I especially enjoyed learning about leisure activities and Spanish traditions, doing Education competitions and ‘lotto’ activities to learn numbers. I still can't believe how much I've learned about the Spanish language and culture in only a year. It has been a most enjoyable class. Adios!’
Aarya Khanal, Year 7

‘For my first year in high school, I was so excited to start learning a new language. I was eager to learn about the world and when I discovered I was going to learn the Spanish language, I was thrilled! I have loved every topic we have covered and how quickly we were able to learn all about Spanish culture.’
Zahra Saadullah, Year 7

Virtual Online Exchange- OLMC and Enami Junior High School, Japan

On Monday, 28 November, Year 9 Japanese students had an opportunity to connect via a virtual online exchange with students from Enami Junior High School in Ogaki City, Gifu Prefecture, in Japan. OLMC students had been preparing self-introductions and information about our College and Australian school life. The girls enjoyed creating and presenting in Japanese and learning about Enami Junior High students through introductions in English. Both schools had an opportunity to ask questions and interact via Zoom using their language skills. Students were very excited about the opportunity to make connections with students on the other side of the world and use their language skills in an authentic setting. Thank you to Ms Hammond for guiding the session and to PCR Altia Central in Japan for facilitating and providing the opportunity.

Mrs Sheila Ibarra
Head of Languages

How to access help during the holidays

As the school year draws to a close and festivities begin, it’s important to note that not everyone finds this time of the year the easiest. There are often high expectations placed on us to see family and friends, enjoy one another’s company, share a meal, exchange gifts, laughter and merriment. The reality is often nothing like this and the higher your expectations, the more disappointment you might feel. For some, spending time with family can re-open old wounds. For others it is a reminder of those no longer with us to celebrate. Some will find that they feel an overwhelming sense of loneliness and isolation despite being surrounded by loved ones, possibly leading to low moods and/or anxiety about why they feel this way. 

UN Voice Public Speaking

In the last edition of Parragraph, we were looking forward to having Amariah Tamaro (Year 7) and Sharanya Kugan (Year 10) compete in the State semi-final of the UN Voice competition. In an exceptional result, both girls have progressed to the State Final this coming Friday. This is the first time we have had State finalists in both Junior and Senior divisions so well done, girls. This event requires not only providing a creative solution for current social issues, but entrants also have to respond to a question time where judges pose questions about the viability of those solutions. Amariah and Sharanya were outstanding in their presentations and deserve the opportunity to go one step further and represent NSW at the National Titles next year. 

Christmas Competition

This year’s Christmas Competition has proven to be a resounding success. This event has separate divisions for Years 7, 8 and 9 and the quality of speeches were outstanding. In two of the Year levels, the three judges all selected different winners, so the ultimate decisions required considerable discussion. In the end, the three girls who won were:

• Year 7 - Amariah Tamaro
• Year 8 - Claire Giffney
• Year 9 - Sierra Lake 

Congratulations to these girls who will receive their engraved shields at the first assembly next year. All entrants should be proud of their efforts in making the event such an exciting one. Thank you also to DAPS Leaders Olivia Easton and Tijana Pavlovic (Year 12) who acted as adjudicators as well as Freya Scothern and Ella McGirr (Years 12) who stood in when one of the DAPS Leaders was not available.

Saturday Basketball
The Saturday Basketball season is now over. Thank you to all the girls that signed up to play and thank you to all the family supporters that ventured out to Santa Sabina each weekend to cheer on the girls.

Here are the final results:

• OLMC 1 - Defeated Monte, 33 - 18
• OLMC 3 - Defeated MLC, 9 - 7
• OLMC 4 - Defeated MLC, 22 – 12

Saturday Volleyball
The Saturday Volleyball season is also over. Thank you to all the girls who signed up to play and thank you to all who supported.

Here are the final results:

• OLMC 1 - Defeated Santa Sabina, 3 - 0
• OLMC 2 - Defeated by PLC, 3 - 0
• OLMC 3 - Defeated PLC, 2 - 1
• OLMC 4 - Defeated Loreto, 2 - 1
• OLMC 5 - Defeated by PLC, 2 - 1
• OLMC 6 - Defeated Meriden, 2 - 1
• OLMC 7 - Defeated by St Scholastica’s, 2 - 1
• OLMC 8 - Defeated St Scholastica’s, 2 – 1

Congratulations to OLMC 8 who finished 3rd place, wining the bronze medal. Well done girls!

Tennis

Congratulations to Mia Fogolin (Year 10) who won the NSW Schoolgirls Year 10 Singles Tennis Tournament at Pennant Hills last week. Well done, Mia!

NSWCCC Cricket

On Thursday, 17 November the Finals of the NSWCCC Girls Cricket School Championships were held in Peakhurst. The OLMC team consisted of Sharon Julien, Shalini Kanagasundaram (Years 7), Madison Stewart, Jaaniya Shah, Teyana La Brooy, Shiloh Julien, Jemima Scothern, Sophia Lees (Years 8) and Rhea Bindroo (Year 10).

Our Semi-Final was against St Josephs, Gosford, who the girls defeated, surpassing their score in six overs. Our Grand-Final was against Monte Sant Angelo Mercy College and all girls bowled and fielded superbly after they were sent into bat first. A score of 80 was a tough mark to beat, but again all students showed great skill and determination to score the winning runs with two balls to spare!

What a fantastic result for such a young team. We are very proud of your achievements! A big thank you to Mrs Bushell for all her help with the team.

Congratulations must go to Shiloh Julien (Year 8) who was selected in the NSWCCC Open Girls Cricket team for 2023! Well done and good luck next year.

Australian All Schools Athletics

We wish Matilda Webb (Year 8) and Lucie Francis (Year 10) the best of luck next week as they represent OLMC in Adelaide at the Australian All Schools Athletics Championships.

AFL

Good luck to Zoe McIntosh, Jessica Hughes, Isabella Cotter (Years 9), Alannah Moujalli, Lucy McSweeny, Mia Kerr, Jessica Wehbe, Zahra Niumata, Elyssa Wakim, Niamh Nolan, Kyla Jones, Lucie Francis, Chiara Borthwick, Megan Uy and Carla Nohra (Years 10) who will all play in the Amanda Farrugia Cup this week!

Golf

We wish Annoushka Maikap (Year 9) the best of luck after she was invited to play in the Bonville Championship Trophy 2022 from 30 November to 2 December. The Bonville Champions Trophy is a World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) and Golf Australia Junior Order of Merit (GA OOM) event. The tournament will take place at Bonville Golf Resort for players who won a Jack Newton Junior Golf Tour event throughout the 2021/22 season.

Almost 20 national top junior golfers (girls of all age groups) from all over Australia will be participating in this tournament.

Merry Christmas
I would like to finish off by thanking everyone who participated in sport in 2022 and to all the family supporters who came out to watch and cheer on the OLMC girls. It is always wonderful to see our OLMC community at sporting events.

I wish everyone a very Merry, safe and active Christmas and look forward to seeing everyone again in 2023!

Stuart Guthrie
Sports Coordinator

Opening Hours and Purchases

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 and all orders will be delivered to the Student Centre for collection by students.  
 
Uniform Fittings 2023

Appointment times for the Uniform Shop are available online and can be booked via the uniform tab on the College website. Please note there are separate times and dates for senior and junior fittings.

Senior Uniform Fittings for Year 10, 2023 have begun and will continue until Wednesday, 23 November so please ensure your booking is made before then. 

Junior Uniform Fittings for Year 7, 2023 will begin from Saturday, 26 November 2022 till Monday, 12 December 2022. 

There will be no fittings over the school holidays, although, the Uniform Shop will be open before school on Monday, 23 January 2023. A booking is required if you would like to come in on this day.

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