From the Principal
2020 Term Dates
2020 Term Dates
Dear families,
Welcome back to Term 3. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new Student Leaders for 2019/2020 as they take over the reins of leadership from Year 12. Also, I offer my very best wishes to Year 12 students who commence their HSC Trial Examinations next Monday.
It is NAIDOC Week. The National NAIDOC Committee invites all Australians to walk with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in a movement of the nation for a better future.
Under the theme – Voice. Treaty. Truth. Let’s work together for a shared future–
National NAIDOC Co-Chair Pat Thompson said “For generations, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have looked for significant and lasting change. We need our fellow Australians to join us on this journey – to finish the unfinished business of this country.”
“The 2017 Uluru Statement from the Heart built on generations of consultation and discussions among Indigenous people - we need to be the architects of our lives and futures,” she concluded.
National NAIDOC Co-Chair John Paul Janke believes 2019 is also a unique opportunity to hear this nation’s Indigenous voice with the year being celebrated as the UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages.“It’s time for our knowledge to be heard through our voice – an Indigenous voice of this country that is over 65,000 plus years old. They are the first words spoken on this continent. Languages that passed down lore, culture and knowledge for over millennia. They are precious to our nation and need to be celebrated but it’s our voice that needs to be listened too,” he said.
The 2019 theme acknowledges that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have always wanted an enhanced role in decision-making in Australia’s democracy.
The theme also aims at highlighting our various First Nations’ desires for lasting and effective agreements such as Treaties- which cannot be achieved unless we have a shared, truthful understanding of the nature of the dispute, of the history, of how we got to where we stand.
“The history of our First Peoples is the history of all of us, of all of Australia, and we need to own it - hearing this history is necessary before we can come to some true reconciliation, some genuine healing for both sides. Then we can move forward together.”
Last week, Mrs Scanlon (Acting Director of Mission) and I participated in an Indigenous Immersion Program in Cape York far north Queensland. Wujal Wujal is the home of the Kuku Yalanji, Kuku Nyungul and Jalunji clans – the 'rainforest people', the traditional owners and custodians of Yalanji. Country north of the Daintree.
It was a wonderful and challenging experience. We were welcomed into Country by the Elders. During the week we met the most amazing women and men who shared their lives and stories with us. A number of the Elders were taken (Stolen Generations) into the Mission and sent away to other parts of Qld. Each shared these stories as well as their strong desire for reconciliation and understanding.
Mrs Scanlon and I will now begin the process of setting up an immersion program from 2020 for our girls, so they too may share the same experiences we had. Stay tuned for further information.
Our second Open Morning Tour was held this morning – thank you to all students and staff involved.
The Alumnae Welcome is tomorrow night. There is much value for ex-students of staying in touch with OLMC through the Alumnae; each Mercy girl is already part of a network. We have a long and wonderful Alumnae tradition dating back to 1922 and this event is a great way to welcome our newest graduates into that rich tradition.
Save the dates:
- HSC Showcase 23 and 24 August
- Music Showcase 26 August
- Father Daughter Mass 30 August
Towards the end of the Term we will celebrate Mercy Day and our Graduation week as we farewell Year 12, 2019.
Term Dates for 2020 are now available – see below. Please be sure to book your holidays outside of term time.
God bless
Mr Stephen M Walsh
Principal
Key Dates
Teaching And Learning
OLMC Connect
Public Speaking
Public Speaking
Eisteddfod Success
The first weekend of the holidays saw the final events of the Parramatta Eisteddfod, a competition spread over seven weekends in May and June. Nearly two thousand entrants were involved in this competition and over sixty of these were OLMC students.
The results in the final events continued the amazing run of success by our girls. There were two sections of Individual Prepared Speaking on the day. Tia Monga was placed first, while Vedika Kothekar and Isabella Samaha were second in their respective sections. Ria Sallakonda was placed third in her section and Yasmin Sampaio received a Highly Commended certificate. Our other entrants also performed very well. Congratulations go to Allison John, Olivia Nesci, Anishha Raychaudhuri and Jacinta Ritchie for their efforts. All girls are in Year 7, a sure sign that public speaking at OLMC will be in good hands for years to come.
2019 has been our most successful year yet in this competition. Almost three-quarters of our students were among the prizewinners, a truly remarkable result. In summary:
- 10 girls achieved 1st place
- 10 girls placed 2nd
- 6 girls came 3rd
- 20 were awarded Highly Commended certificates
Congratulations to all our girls, to their parents who listened patiently to endless rehearsals and to the teachers who attended events to support our students.
Australian Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition (AIDPSC) and Speakfest
Over the holidays, the students selected to compete at the Australian titles in Melbourne in September attended an all-day workshop in preparation for their competition. The senior team of Yasmine Alwakal, Veronica Chacty, Anne Nguyen (all Year 10) and Daphne Fong (Year 11) will be striving to make the Australian team to compete at the world titles held in Shanghai, China, at Easter 2020. While the junior team does not progress to world titles, their competition (known as Speakfest) gives them good experience should they be selected in the senior team in the years ahead. The junior team comprises Ainslie McNally, Ambeikaa Mishra, Tijana Pavlovic and Freya Scothern, all of Year 8. Tijana was overseas over the holidays so a big thank you must go to Julia Kable of Year 9 who volunteered to participate in the workshop so the practice debate would be possible. In fact, Julia’s contribution throughout the day was significant. Her experience in competing at Speakfest last year was evident in the way she helped in the training session.
A special mention must also go to outstanding Year 11 student Jessica D’Souza who showed the benefit of competing at this year’s World titles in Canada. Jess volunteered to help train both teams and her input into the day was most impressive, certain to give our girls a real advantage when they travel to Melbourne.
I would also like to thank Mrs Pauline Shore who assisted on the day in order to familiarize herself with the structure of the competition. Mrs Shore and Ms Bujnowski will be accompanying the teams in September.
Our new DAPS leaders
I’d like to congratulate Daphne Fong and Lily Tambrchi who have been elected Debating and Public Speaking leaders for 2019/2020. Both these Year 11 girls have a proven record of success in public speaking and debating and their energy and enthusiasm is sure to contribute much to these co-curricular initiatives.
Mr Christopher Ostrowski
Public Speaking Co-ordinator
Sport
Sport
NSW All Schools Cross Country
On Friday 26 July, the NSW All Schools Cross Country Championships were held at Eastern Creek Raceway. OLMC was represented by Lucie Francis and Summer Giddings. Both girls ran extremely well with Lucie finishing 4th in the 13 years event and Summer winning the Senior Multi-Class event. Summer and Lucie have now both qualified to compete at the School Sport Australia Cross Country Championships in late August! Well done to both girls.
Oceania Athletics Championships
Congratulations to Summer Giddings, winning the Open Women’s Multi-Class Long Jump at the Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville in June!
Indoor Cricket National Championships
Tarni Sutton spent the second week of the holidays competing in the NSW Metro 17 and Under Girls Team at the National Junior Indoor Cricket Championships in Melbourne. The team had a very successful tournament, making it into the Grand Final against Victoria Blue but losing narrowly, to finish Runners-up for the tournament. Well done Tarni!
PDSSSC Netball
OLMC competed at the PDSSSC Netball Championships at Penrith on 24 July. OLMC was represented by Tara Wall, Charlotte Carter, Brianna El-Bayeh, Jaimee Abrahams, Thalia Lake, Alexandra Zito, Gemma Hawkes, Josie Connelly, Natalie Jiang, Analiese Hanna, Alexandria Deloso, Kate Sloane, Haylee Shelton, Abi Van Leeuwen, Jessica Barnes, Charlotte Gillies, Amelia Polley, Brianna Coorey, Abigail Mahoney, Chanelle Maikhael, Jemima McKenna, Brianna Weatherburn, Caitlin Alam, Sienna Stokes, Ella McGirr and Chiara Borthwick.
The Senior girls finished 3rd in their pool, just missing the Semi-finals. While the Intermediates and Juniors, finishing 2nd and 1st in their pools respectively, both made the Semi-finals but unfortunately were narrowly defeated by Caroline Chisholm and Marion. The girls played exceptionally well and should be proud of their efforts.
A big thank you must go to Charlotte Ryan, Mikeeli Lake and Alana Shehadie who umpired for us. Their professionalism and hard work must be commended.
Finally, thank you also to Mrs Cunningham, Mrs McManus and Mrs Bushell for all their time and effort with their teams.
Saturday Netball
OLMC has Duty on August 3 at ERNA. OLMC is required to supply 4 helpers in the canteen and 2 on Scorers’ Table duty every hour (7:30am – 4:30pm). You must be 15 or older to be able to help.
Could you please place your name (if you are old enough) on the roster here - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1KqN2pcY3nYnxb_n3YD8J8okHpx8a95puvh9yG_uTs8Y/edit?usp=sharing
Please also pass this on to anyone who might be able to help us out.
Action photos will also be taken this Saturday by Anthony Khoury!
You can continue to view the draw and all results here - http://erna.nsw.netball.com.au/common/pages/public/rv/draw.aspx?
A reminder that the final Round will take place on Saturday August 10. Semi-finals for the top 4 teams in each division will take place on Saturday August 17. OLMC 5 and OLMC 6 will play a Round 15 game on August 17.
Wednesday Touch Football
Wednesday Touch Football Registrations are now open. All students have been emailed a form and details about the upcoming season which starts on Wednesday September 4 at Doyle Ground.
Registration forms must be handed in by Friday August 9.
Students will be competing in the New OLMC Sports Singlet and PE shorts or bike shorts which can be purchased form the Uniform shop.
Mr Stuart Guthrie
Sport Co-ordinator
College Notices
School Fees
School Fees
NAIDOC Week
This week we are celebrating NAIDOC Week. The week began with the raising of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags. These two indigenous flags are raised every morning along with the Australian flag.
Girls attended a special ceremony and were then led through the Aboriginal artwork called ‘The Journey’ which was commissioned by the Sisters of Mercy and painted by Aboriginal artist Danny Eastwood. It tells the story of the Aboriginal connection to the Sisters of Mercy from the time of their arrival to Parramatta in 1888.
At Assembly this week, the girls learnt a few local Darug language words, including:
- Hello Worimi (Wor-ri-mi)
- Hello, how are you? Worimi Ngani (Wor-ri-mi Ing – ga- ni)
- Good Budaryi (Bood-ar-yi)
- Bad Wiri
Year 8 Reflection Day
The Year 8 Reflection Day will take place on 7 August at the Edmund Rice Retreat and Conference Centre in Mulgoa. The girls will hear from a range of guest speakers from a variety of Catholic organisations to share information about the people they assist and work in partnership with.
All students should have completed a TryBooking form to select workshops for this day.
Mrs Gabby Scanlon
Director of Mission, Acting
