Many congratulations to our newly appointed Student Leaders for 2022/2023. Freya Scothern (Head Girl), Jessica Abrahams (Assistant Head Girl), Arlene Kumar (SRC President) and Brianna Coorey (SRC Vice President) have all taken the challenge to lead in the way of Catherine McAuley. We wish them well on their leadership journey as they continue to enrich our Mercy community. Congratulations to the following girls who were yesterday announced as Portfolio Leaders:

Creative and Performing Arts - Anna Janczewski and Pauline Said
Debating and Public Speaking - Olivia Easton and Tijana Pavlovic
Liturgy - Katherine Baker and Joanna Davino
Mercy Action - Isabella Houseman and Olivia Metcalfe 
Stewardship - Kaytlin Alphonso and Isobel Cassin
Sport - Amelia Harvie and Sofia Polson

House Leaders

Clare - Ella Maroun and Ella McGirr 
Callan - Alana Attard and Sienna Stokes 
McAuley - Lucy D’Silva and Nha Vo 
Doyle - Nikita Cavagnino and Britany Youssef 
Mercedes - Valentina Giglio and Simone Sabat 
Callaghan - Isabel Chung and Chelsea Harb 
Stanley - Nicolette Anastasio and Nicoletta Zito  
Kavanagh - Isabella Reese Tadiaman and Evangeline Yap  

As we conclude Term 2 this week and find ourselves already halfway through 2022, I am excited to share with you all the details for our Celebration of Achievement. Planning has commenced for this special event which will take place in December. Attendance at the Celebration of Achievement evening is compulsory for students and parents are strongly encouraged to attend. There is so much to celebrate as a community in 2022 and this inaugural event will be one not to be missed.

It is fitting that as our student leadership process was occurring, our community took great delight in watching an ex-student of the College being sworn into a cabinet position in the new government. In this most recent election, Michelle Rowland (Class of 1989, pictured below) was re-elected as Federal MP for Greenway and was then appointed as Minister for Communications. Congratulations Michelle!

On a very chilly morning on the first day of Winter, we were delighted to be joined by over 60 visitors for our June Open Morning Tour. Thank you to all our families who joined us to discover what a Mercy education has to offer and to all the staff who made this tour possible.

In the final week of school next week, Year 10 students and their parents will attend the important Course Preference Evening to gain more information to help them make the best decision for their choice of subjects for Year 11, 2023. On that same day, we will be inviting a small panel of alumnae to speak at our annual Careers Breakfast. Here, Mercy Girls will have the chance to hear their stories and tips for choosing subjects and navigating early career decisions.  

I would like to take this opportunity of the final Parragraph newsletter for the Term to thank all parents, students and staff for their support this Term and I wish all a relaxing and safe holiday break.

Finally, I wish the best of futures to Christine Pace, Communications Officer at OLMC and part of our Advancement Team. Christine leaves OLMC at the end of this term to pursue an appointment at Kincoppal Rosebay. Whilst it is time for Christine to leave us after 13 years, she will be sadly missed. Christine has been instrumental in developing “Parragraph” to the highest of quality School Newsletters, edition after edition, and she leaves us a strong legacy on which to build.

Lucie Farrugia
Principal 

The Identity Team have participated in many varied activities in the last couple of weeks, and we would love to share a snap shot of them here!

Year 8 Reflection Day

On Monday 30 May Year 8 travelled to Mulgoa for their Reflection Day at Winborne, the Christian Brothers’ Retreat Centre. The theme of the day was “Growing Further” which followed on from their Year 7 day, “Growing Together”. The focus for the day was growing in our relationships with each other and doing this by recognising the power of our words. Throughout the day, students had many opportunities to explore the way we speak to each other and how we grow in our relationships with each other through the use of our words and actions. The day culminated in the celebration of Mass with Father Walter.

Thanks to the girls for entering into the spirit of the day and for the teachers who took the day out of class to be with the students.

Central Australia Immersion

Our immersion to Central Australia had a focus on understanding and immersing ourselves in Aboriginal culture. Our trip consisted of visits to Yulara (Uluru and Kata Tjuta), Kings Canyon and the homelands of Rodna and Kurku, each place teaching us about different aspects of Aboriginal culture, spirituality and Dreamtime stories, and introducing us to new faces. Some highlights from my experience included our nightly campfires reflecting on our day, listening and sharing stories with Traditional Owners Benji and Syd, watching the stars at night-time, spending time in the Gorge, carving clapsticks and being taught about Aboriginal art. This experience was truly life-changing and I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity and all of the memories it has created. 

Ella McGirr
Year 11

Winter Sleepout

The night commenced with an eye-opening presentation from Sue and Leesa from the Mercy Foundation, informing us about the many forms homelessness can take such as sleeping rough, where a person sleeps on the streets because they cannot afford a safe home, and couch surfing where a person without a home sleeps on the couch of family, friends or in some cases a kind stranger whilst they try to find longer-term accommodation.  Each of the students who attended paid $10 and donated warm clothing. We raised over $350 which will be donated to the Mercy Foundation.

We participated in a budgeting activity to see if we could manage to live on $40.41 a day, the amount many people are expected to live on to pay for not only food, but also phone bills, rent, health insurance, transport, and many other things we take for granted.

We shared a simple meal of soup and a roll together. The pumpkin and minestrone soups were made by the TAS Department and were both delicious! A choice of sour cream, grated cheese, a bread roll and salt and pepper made both soups taste amazing!

We watched The Blind Side, a movie based on a real story. This told the tale of a boy facing homelessness who was taken in, given the opportunity to be educated and play football, and escaped the cycle of homelessness.

We were all so sad that we had to leave at 9.30pm as the experience was a fun, informative and eye-opening experience. I would highly recommend for all students to join us at the 2023 Winter Sleepout!

Alexiah Byrne
Year 7

Reconciliation Week

Warrami! (hello) 

Last week, we marked National Reconciliation Week. This year’s theme was “Be Brave. Make Change”, which challenges all Australians to be brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so that we make change for all of society.  

We began the week by encouraging members of the College to sign a pledge for reconciliation on the official National Reconciliation Week poster, which we hope will encourage action in the name of change. 

Students had the opportunity to learn a new Dharug word in Homeroom each day, which allowed us to recognise and appreciate the culture of our local First Nations people.  

We invited history teacher Ms Murray to give us a lunchtime lesson on the Frontier Wars, which were a series of conflicts and events that happened throughout the first 140 years of settlement in Australia as First Nations peoples defended their land. This encouraged the girls to acknowledge the unknown parts of Australian history and ensure they are equipped with the information about the importance of reconciliation. 

The library commemorated the week with a book display of literature written by and about Australian First Nations peoples, as well as a visual action wall at the library entrance. We hope this will encourage the girls to immerse themselves in the stories of our First Nations people and develop a passion for justice through reconciliation. 

Throughout the week, we also celebrated the music of First Nations artists with our school bells which featured music from artists such as Baker Boy and Drmngnow. We hope to see OLMC students take action in the name of reconciliation, answering earth's call to care for all.

Mikayla Simpson and Jewel Jackson
Year 12

Mercy Futures Event

Our next online event will be taking place tonight, commencing at 7pm. The guest presenter is Margery Jackman who has a connection of over 40 years with the Sisters of Mercy. The topic of the session is The Relationships of Catherine McAuley. 

CLICK HERE to view the invite for more details.

The zoom link here can be used: https://olmcparra.zoom.us/j/87122544472

Meeting ID: 871 2254 4472

Vinnies Winter Appeal

We will continue to collect clothing and non-perishable food until the end of the Term. These will be delivered to our local Vinnies Collection Point in Wentworthville.

Thank you to the families who have already supported this initiative so positively.

Junior Mercy 6 Day

On Wednesday 1 June, 10 Mercy Action students travelled by train to Monte Sant Angelo in North Sydney to participate in the Junior Mercy 6 day. Six secondary schools make up this group and were all founded or run by the Sisters of Mercy.

The focus of the day was on social justice and our ability to make a change in the world. The day was full of fun activities, guest speakers, including the Australian Youth Climate Coalition (AYCC), and Resource Living Sustainability. It provided us with an opportunity to work and interact with students from other Mercy schools around Sydney. Thank you to Ms Little and Mr Esterman for escorting us on the day.

On Wednesday 22 June 2022, the College will be holding the annual Careers Breakfast for Years 10 to 12 students.

This year we welcome the following ex-students (alumnae) to our panel:

• Jessica Denlow (2011) – Finance
• Rebecca Chong (2015) – Exercise Physiology
• Claire Stephens (1994) – Management
• Dr Anna Samecki (2005) - Medicine

For more information on our fantastic speakers, see the flyer above.

Students are to arrive 7.15am for 7.30am start (Access will be through Gate 7). A breakfast of danishes, muffins, and fruit together with tea, coffee, and hot chocolate will be served.

Students can CLICK HERE to Register for this event.

Managing Perfectionism

Perfectionism is a double-edged sword – it can prompt us to perform better, but it can also cause unnecessary stress and slow you down. Setting unrealistic and inflexible expectations can lead to the development of anxiety, diminish our self-esteem and an inability to focus well whilst preparing for exams.

Perfectionism often stems from fear and self-doubt, concerned that if we let go of our conscientiousness, that it will hurt our performance. Many people have traits of perfectionism and are even proud of them, but an important difference between perfectionists and high achievers is where your focus lies. If you are striving for excellence, you can be happy about your achievements and learn from your mistakes. However, perfectionism can be less forgiving and robs you of the satisfaction and pride that comes from all the things that you do well. In fact, perfectionists achieve less than those with healthier attitudes, because their focus on perfection can bring on procrastination and other self-defeating behaviours.

Perfectionism affects how one thinks, behaves, and feels. This may include:

1. Feeling depressed, frustrated, anxious, and even angry, especially if you constantly criticise yourself for not doing a good enough job, after spending a lot of time and effort on a task
2. Feeling unable to feel pleasure in your achievements
3. Experiencing black-and-white thinking (e.g., “Anything less than perfection is a failure”) or catastrophic thinking (e.g., “if I make a mistake, I won’t be able to survive the humiliation”), or should statements (“I should never make mistakes”)
4. Behaviours like chronic procrastination, difficulties completing tasks or giving up easily, avoiding situations in which you may ‘fail’ or ‘make a mistake’, being overly cautious and thorough in tasks, and constantly re-doing tasks to ‘improve them’

Perfectionism simply isn’t sustainable as it uses a lot of psychological battery. Redirecting the positive aspects of our perfectionism and managing our stress so that it becomes a beneficial motivator, can help to let go of perfectionistic tendencies.

1. Reduce unhelpful thinking

• A thought diary can be a useful way to check out the accuracy of perfectionistic thoughts (e.g., ‘I must do things perfectly’) and find a more balanced way of thinking.
• Replacing self-critical or perfectionist thoughts with more realistic and helpful statements that are practised regularly (e.g., “all I can do is my best”). Practising these statements regularly, even if you don’t believe them right away, will turn positive realistic thoughts into a habit, and help crowd out the negative self-talk.
•  Learn how to view situations as other people might see them or ask yourself what we might advise a close friend in this situation

2. See the big picture and embrace ‘good enough’

• Attention to detail can be incredibly time-consuming. Recognising the opportunity cost and time of your behaviour.

3. Gradually and purposefully facing our fear of making mistakes or being imperfect

• Exposing ourselves to situations that we may otherwise avoid such as stopping yourself from re-checking assignments more than a few times, or asking for help

4. Overcoming procrastination

• Breaking down larger tasks into manageable steps and reward yourself for reaching each goal

If you feel like your daughter needs some help with her perfectionism, please contact a College Counsellor on 8838 1273.

Ms Chloe Gresham
School Counsellor

On Tuesday 7 June, we welcomed Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services to speak at our Year 7 Study Skills Evening.

This evening helped families assess what changes could be made to help students move towards achieving their personal best efficiently and effectively. Families examined the following areas:

• Home study environment
• Organising and managing their resources
• How to work effectively at home and how to deal with distractions
• How to manage the workload in high school

Families also have access to a video highlighting the steps to studying in high school, including making study notes, learning the notes by testing yourself, and doing as much practise as possible!

Parents are encouraged to review the slides and the Family Handout from this session with their daughters and discuss the main areas identified where changes need to be made. Parents can also find extra study skills tops on the website below.

http://studyskillstoptipsparents.com/ 

All OLMC students have access to a study skills website to help further develop their skills. Check out www.studyskillshandbook.com.au and enter the username: OLMC and the password:  64results.

CSDA COMPETITION

Last week saw the end of the preliminary rounds of CSDA Debating. Our results have been very pleasing in the last fortnight, with nine out of twelve teams being successful against Oakhill and four against Mt St Benedict College. We now await the announcement of which teams progress to elimination rounds or directly to semi-finals. Overall, OLMC won 32 out of 60 debates, reflecting a consistent effort from our girls. All teams and their coaches should be congratulated on the effort they have put into their preparation and training. Thank you to Mrs Ann Kumar and ex-students Alison McGuirk and Gaby Mizzi, who have acted as adjudicators throughout the Debating season and of course, our wonderful debaters, reserves and supporters who have often stepped in when other schools needed additional chairpersons and timekeepers.

Each team competed in five debates and results are as follows:

A NEW INTRASCHOOL DEBATING COMPETITION

Last week, our DAPS Leaders, Sakshi Chouta and Stephanie Ogle, announced a new cocurricular activity at Assembly. The Intraschool Debating Competition has been designed to allow those numerous students who missed out on selection for the CSDA Competition to participate but is also open to any student who wants to try their hand at debating. Current CSDA debaters cannot apply.

Held during Term 3 with semi-finals and grand finals in Term 4, the competition has two sections: one for Years 7 and 8 and another for Years 9 and 10. Girls can form their own team of four speakers and can even ask experienced CSDA debaters to be their coaches.

The competition will be streamlined to make things easier for beginner debaters and the reward at the end is the names of the winning teams being engraved on two new trophies. For Years 7/8, this will be the Doris Goldie trophy, named after a teacher in the 1950s and 1960s who contributed much to Debating at OLMC. For Years 9/10, the Sr Barbara McDonough trophy acknowledges one of our previous College Principals who also organized Debating at the school.

A new site has been established on Information Gateway/Debating at OLMC with all details and guidelines for each speaker in a debate. You can also contact Mr Ostrowski at any time.

Entry forms are in the Student Centre and final date for submissions is Monday 20 June.

PARRAMATTA EISTEDDFOD

The achievements of our girls at this competition continues to amaze. In the latest round of competition, our girls participated in four different events and were declared winners in each one. Exceptionally well done to Olivia Saab of Year 7, Abera Satyajith and Emily Johnson of Year 8 who won their Individual Prepared Speaking events and Emily Orszulak and Meihan Sun who took out their section of Telephone Pairs. Our other entrants were also successful. Natasha Tween of Year 7 and Zivelle Seasay of Year 8 were awarded third placings. In Telephone Pairs, A’ishah Ali and Lizzy Butler of Year 8 were awarded fourth place while Year 7 girls Sybella Hanna and Aruvi Nadarajan received Highly Commended certificates in their respective events. More Highly Commended awards went to Vibha Ravi and Georgia Draiby of Year 8 and Willow Higgins of Year 9. Arsh Preet Kaur of Year 7 received an Encouragement award while Aishani Gaur of Year 8 received a special award for most original speech in her section.  

Well done also to our other competitors: Crista-Nicole Gahdmar, Ananya Sharma, Kasey Bolt, Caitlin Yeliseev, Ruhara Parndigamage and Rajvi Parma, all of Year 8, who performed very well and should be proud of their efforts.

A sincere thank you to Mrs Ellen Lonergan who gave up her time on a Saturday morning to support the girls when I was unable to attend.

After a break over the long weekend, the Eisteddfod concludes this weekend, with no fewer than twenty-eight of our girls competing across several events. We wish them all luck.

Christopher Ostrowski 
Debating and Public Speaking Coordinator

Congratulations to Jennifer Wang (Year 9) and Bailee Blackman (Year 8) who were selected, via an audition process, to perform in the West Phil String Ensemble as part of the Western Sydney Philharmonic. The students performed amongst professional and non-professional musicians and provided some beautiful music for the afternoon concert. The String Orchestra performed at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Monday 13 June and performed Bela Bartok’s Divertimento for String OrchestraI and Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Serenade for Strings in C Major op.48. Jennifer and Bailee gave an impressive performance and should be commended on their achievement.

Saturday Netball

CLICK HERE to view draws and results.

Just past the halfway point, here is the Ladder after Round 8:

OLMC 7 (13/4) – 3rd

OLMC 6 (14/5) – 4th

OLMC 5 (14/5) – 5th

OLMC 4 (14/4) – 3rd

OLMC 3 (15/3) – 4th

OLMC 2 (Cadets 5) – 5th

OLMC 1 (C9) – 5th

Just a reminder of the upcoming weeks and when games and training are on:

There WILL be games on Saturday 18 and 25 June.

There are NO games in the school holidays – Saturday 2 and 9 July. Games then resume on 16 July.

There will be NO training during the School Holidays. Training will resume Tuesday 19 July.

A good news story from our netballers - 6 OLMC girls (who play for Alexanders - Maddie Stewart, Stephanie Lake, Emma Maroun, Gretel Hyde, Bronte Herberstein & Isabella Cotter) played a netball game against one of the All-Abilities team on Saturday afternoon. As a team they decided to volunteer to ensure that the All-Abilities team would be able to have a game as not many other teams put their hand up. The girls were all so grateful to experience this and the joy from the other team was very humbling. Well done girls!

Saturday Soccer

Here are the results from round 5:

OLMC 1 defeated Kincoppal Rose Bay (5 - 1)

OLMC 2 were defeated by Kincoppal Rose Bay (4 - 3)

OLMC 3 were defeated by MLC (8 - 1)

Our final round for the season is on June 18.

NSWCCC Softball

After numerous postponements due to the weather, the NSWCCC Softball Championships were finally held on June 6 at the International Peace Park, Seven Hills. Congratulations to Teyana La Brooy and Grace Cini who were chosen in the PDSSSC Open Team to compete at theses championships. Well done girls.

NSWCCC Cross country

The NSWCCC Cross Country Championships were held on Tuesday June 7 at Eastern Creek Raceway. This year the course was mainly run on the track due to the poor recent weather. Well done to all the OLMC representatives - Lucie Francis, Matilda Webb, Niamh Nolan, Sofia Polson, Katherine Baker and Kasey Bolt.

Congratulations to Lucie who finished 6th and has qualified to compete at the NSW All Schools Championships on Friday July 22. Matilda is a reserve after narrowly missing the top 10.

Well done to all the girls!

NSWCCC Teams Tennis

On Monday May 30, OLMC competed at the NSWCCC Teams Tennis event in Bathurst. The team consisted of Catherine Yue, Renee Poon, Mia Fogolin and Archa Chavan. The girls all competed in an individual set and 2 doubles sets against each school. The girls played exceptionally well and made it through to the Semi Finals. Unfortunately the rain set in, and the finals matches where abandoned. The Finals were then rescheduled for Monday June 6 at Parramatta. Archa was unable to compete due to being oversees, so Elyssa Wakim was able to step in. Unfortunately, Santa Sabina was too strong, defeating OLMC 5 sets to 3. The girls should be very proud of their achievements with OLMC finishing 3rd, our best results ever at the tournament!

NSW All Schools Tennis

Congratulations to Catherine Yue who, after competing in the NSWCCC Teams Tennis event in Bathurst on the Monday, then backed up on the Tuesday and competed in the NSW All Schools Championships which were also held in Bathurst. Well done Catherine.

NSW All Schools Swimming

The NSW All Schools Swimming Championships were held on Friday June 3 at SOPAC. OLMC was represented by Zoe McIntosh, Emily Shumack and Ashleigh Hamilton. Emily narrowly missed qualifying for School Sport Australia finishing 4th in the 16 years 400 Freestyle, Zoe finished 7th in the 15years 50 Breaststroke and Ashleigh finished with a 5th in the senior Multi Class 50 Backstroke and 100 Freestyle plus 6th in the 50 Freestyle and her Freestyle Relay team came 2nd! Well done to all the girls on their awesome achievements.

Taekwondo

More amazing results from our Taekwondo expert, Chelsea Gomez, who competed recently at the Cadet and Junior World Championships Selection Event and won!!! She’ll be representing Australia in the Cadet - 41kg division at the 2022 World Taekwondo Cadet Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria in July!!!  As part of her preparations, she is also competing at the Chuncheon Korea Open at the end of June.

Chelsea’s coach, Justine Abigail Sangalang is an OLMC Alumni, who also represented Australia at the Junior World Championships while still at OLMC (she graduated 2015).

OLMC is so proud of Chelsea and wish her all the best in her preparations for the World Championships! Good luck!

Stuart Guthrie
Sports Coordinator

OLMC Parramatta is one of the foundation partners of Western Sydney University’s AcademyU program, which allows students in Years 9, 10 and 11 to participate in university studies whilst still at school. Students undertake modules of learning drawn from across the Schools of the university, as well as The Academy, a unique multidisciplinary pathway. Year 11 students will also have the opportunity to complete a 1^st year university subject. The Welcome Ceremony was a great event held at WSU’s Parramatta South campus, and an opportunity for our students and their parents to be welcomed into this program.

On Tuesday 14 June, Year 12 Dance students travelled to the Sydney Opera House to watch 10th anniversary performance of ‘Terrain’, a dance work choreographed by Frances Rings and performed by the Bangarra Dance Theatre. ‘Terrain’ is a prescribed HSC text that our Year 12 Dance students are currently studying in class.

The nine-part work depicts the transformation of Lake Eyre, Australia’s largest salt lake, and explores the power of ancestral ties that bind people to Country. It was a captivating performance which was thoroughly enjoyed by our Dance students. 

We were also fortunate to see the sails of the Opera House lit up for the Vivid Festival!

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.

There will be some back in stock soon, which when available, can be purchased online or via the 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. 

Year 10 Camp, 2000