Dear families,

Welcome back to Term 4 and I hope the girls had a relaxing break. Our Year 12s are well and truly in the thick of their HSC examinations. Please keep the girls and their families in your prayers.

Last Friday, I was down in Melbourne for several meetings and had the opportunity of visiting the foundry and meeting with Gael O'Leary, the artist who has produced our sculpture of Catherine McAuley. The sculpture titled 'Come sit awhile', will arrive at the College late this week and will be formally installed and blessed on Monday, 11 November at 5.00pm. Further details about the installation, in conjunction with the Sisters of Mercy Parramatta, will be distributed shortly.

We have also been very busy working with our architects finalising the new College Masterplan and the Stage 1 building component. You will shortly receive a brochure of the Masterplan and I will hold an Information Evening for any families who are interested in seeing the whole plan, drawing and 3D fly-throughs of the plan. Mayoh Architects will be present to answer any questions. A date for this evening will be set shortly.

Save the Dates 

Enrolment Update 

I am looking forward to the Year 7 2020 student Orientation Day on 28 November. A reminder that we are not taking any more enrolments for Year 7 2020 or 2021. Both of these Year groups are fully subscribed and we are only taking waitlist applications for 2021. There are very limited places available for Years 9-11.

Mercy Scholarship applications are now open for Year 7 2021. There has been a change in the selection criteria. Only students who have already applied and been accepted at the College will be eligible to sit for the Scholarship Exam. Please go to the enrolments section of our website for further details.

God bless

Mr Stephen M Walsh
Principal

This year the English department have implemented several new strategies to support student learning. This includes changes to programming and assessment, wide reading and writing. This reflects the changes that have occurred as a result of the new HSC syllabus and the opportunity to backward map learning so that we are building the skills, knowledge and understanding of our students from Year 7 through to Year 12.

Year 7 began the year with the Transition Program. This was an opportunity to introduce our Year 7 students to the ways we read and write in secondary English. The program incorporated two full days where students completed a variety of practical activities on reading and writing strategies and skills. While primary school reading is about learning to read, high school is about reading to learn. Students need to become familiar with critical reading habits and the ability to comprehend texts is a skill required, not just in English, but in all Key Learning Areas that involve competent literacy skills including critical reading.

We have begun the process of implementing English Textual Concepts into the teaching programs. This is a framework for program design, developed through a collaboration between the Learning and Teaching Directorate, NSW Department of Education and the English Teachers’ Association. It incorporates the Quality Teaching Framework with the NSW English Syllabus to design learning that is focused on the enduring understandings of subject English – the textual concepts. By framing our programs around the concepts that underpin the English syllabus, students will enhance the quality of their learning outcomes because the programs are intellectually challenging and engaging. This allows teachers to build a deeper understanding of their students and offer more opportunities to see the connections between their learning.

We have also implemented a new wide reading program known as Literature Circles. The first two weeks of Term 1 were devoted to pre-testing students and introducing all classes to this reading program. The program is designed to encourage and expose the students to the reading of quality literature with the objective of extending our students reading skills. In addition, the program teaches students to place their personal response to the text as a beginning point in their exploration of the text and the way it shapes meaning. Students hold an interactive conversation with the text. Literature Circles also enables a collaborative discussion, where students form small groups and talk about their impressions, reactions and reflections on the novel. This key feature of the program is designed to reshape and extend their understanding because it allows members to share, discuss, argue, defend and change their perceptions as they interact with others who have read the same text. These discussions are structured and students are provided with specific roles, guiding their reading and their conversations.

The English department has engaged in a partnership with Dr Felicity Castagna, our Writer in Residence, who has joined us each term to facilitate a writing program with targeted students in Years 8-11. The Writer in Residence program is designed to enhance the writing skills of students. Dr Felicity Castagna is a former high school teacher and currently teaches writing at The University of Western Sydney. She holds a PhD in Creative Writing and Australian Literature and directs the Western Sydney women’s mentoring scheme, The Finishing School. She was the National Ambassador for Literacy in 2015 and 2016 and has served on the Board of Directors of WestWords, an organisation dedicated to teaching literacy and creative writing in Western Sydney.

The Writer in Residence program has seen the students participate in four separate all-day workshops once a term, every term in 2019. Students have spent time focusing on the key strategies that writers use in order to convey a powerful sense of voice, learn to turn the things they see every day into powerful vignettes by focussing on imagery and consider the techniques used by writers to convey ‘a sense of place’. They have learnt how to apply these various aspects to their own writing. 

Participants have had the opportunity to enhance their skills and understanding in accordance with the English syllabus. This includes learning how to compose imaginative texts for pleasure by effectively using a wide range of writing processes, skills and strategies. Students have also enhanced their ability to both use and describe the language forms, features and structures of their compositions for specific purposes, audiences and contexts. They have learnt how to make effective language choices to creatively shape meaning with accuracy, clarity and coherence and develop strategies so that they can think imaginatively, creatively, interpretively and critically about ideas. Lastly, the program has also supported students to understand the process of reflection and evaluation of their own compositions.

Click here to see a list of the students who participated in the Writer in Residence Program.

The English department has reviewed our scope and sequence of learning for all stages and added some new texts including digital texts, which reflects the need for the curriculum to be responsive to the rapidly changing nature of the modern world.  These changes reflect our emphasis on backward mapping the learning required in Stage 6, within Stages 4 and 5 courses. In 2019, all students in Years 7-10 completed three assessment tasks in English. The decision to reduce the number of assessment tasks reflects the changes to assessment in Stage 6 as mandated by NESA. While learning how to write essays will still be a valuable skill in the English classroom, these changes to assessments have enabled the department to assess a much broader range of skills, knowledge and understanding in creative and reflective writing, multimedia, presentation and collaborative learning. This balances the need to value the process of composition with the development of exam-ready skills.

This year marks the first Year 12 cohort to undertake the new HSC syllabus for English across all courses including Standard, Advanced and Extension 1. The course of study undertaken by Year 12 English students at OLMC was both rigorous and intensive as a result. The syllabus is also designed so that students can learn to adapt their knowledge and understanding and be flexible in their thinking about the concepts and text studied enabling them to approach any examination question with confidence. While the new syllabus is designed to limit the predictability of questions, students have had plenty of support to prepare for this important examination.

Mrs Leanne Portelli
Leader of Learning English

Investigation Tasks in Mathematics

In 2019, students studying the new NESA Mathematics Standard 2 course will sit the first HSC Examination in this syllabus. Students will answer questions on Networks for the first time in New South Wales. In 2020, the Calculus courses (advanced and Extension 1) will also sit their first HSC in the new syllabus. With this new syllabus comes Vectors, a greater understanding of functions and an increased need to operate with statistics. However, the content studied in the Mathematics courses is not the only change that has come with the new Mathematics syllabus documents. With each of these new courses has been an addition to the way in which mathematics is assessed – the Investigation Task.

Investigation tasks are designed to encourage students to assume the role of the mathematician, enabling them to explore mathematics found in ‘real-life’ situations. They provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their ability to operate within the ‘Working Mathematically’ strand. The Investigation task should allow students to experience the depth of a problem when given the opportunity to immerse themselves in a complex situation over an extended time period. These tasks support the development of student abilities to communicate and reason mathematically, using and consolidating their knowledge of concepts and procedures and experiencing new methods of engaging with the content covered.

While Investigation tasks are required as a part of the assessment in Year 11 and 12 due to the new syllabus, students in Years 7-10 will also increasingly see these kinds of tasks used as a part of assessment. An investigative style of learning in the classroom will assist students to think in a more interrogatory way such as that of a mathematician. Learning activities that require investigation involve complex thinking processes and require involvement and creativity from students.

During 2019, Investigation Tasks in Years 7-10 have included working with patterns in numbers, analysing the mathematics to be found in athletics running tracks and buying a car. Students have analysed the impact of changes in the equation of the parabola and developed their own algebraic equations when given a specific set of criteria. Mathematics teachers have worked productively to develop Investigation tasks that are challenging and interesting for students. We look forward to supporting students to engage with these types of learning activities and are excited to see what can be created.

Mrs Lorraine Dredge
Leader of Learning Mathematics

During the first weeks of the winter and spring holidays, three of our Year 11 Visual Arts students attended The National Art School HSC Intensive Studio Practice. The two-week workshop provided the students the opportunity to work within a specialised discipline using a broad range of media and art-making processes, while also assisting students to refine their ability to interpret and evaluate their own and others’ artworks in preparation for the upcoming HSC course.

Students had to be nominated for this course by their Visual Arts Teacher and submit a portfolio application to be considered for the workshops. Tara Wall was accepted into the Painting Studio, Warsha Warakapola into Darkroom Photography and Olivia Briggs into Digital Photography. On the final day of the course, each student curated and displayed their course artworks as part of the exhibition celebrating the talents of the Year 11 Visual Art students from across New South Wales who had completed the program. Each of the students should be very proud of their dedicated approach and individual growth within their selected media area.

Mrs Rebecca Webb
Visual Arts Teacher

Women in Science

The talents of women in science and engineering were celebrated last week with five out of the seven Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science 2019 recognising the outstanding achievements of women in scientific research, research-based innovation and excellence in science teaching. Read more about each of the award recipients here.

OLMC alumna, Kate Trinajstic (HSC 1982) was the recipient of one these prestigious prizes in 2010 in acknowledgement of her career accomplishments in palaeontology. Kate, who was motivated to study science due to curiosity, is currently the Dean of Research at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University in Western Australia, considers the prize as one of the ‘greatest achievements’ in her amazing science career.

For those current Mercy girls who share Kate’s curiosity and motivation for the science and engineering field, there are several opportunities you may want to look at, occurring in the next few weeks and during the summer holiday break. 

2019 Coral Reef Futures Symposium and Public Forum

"What every Australian should know about climate change"

Wednesday, 23 October - 6.00pm

Australian National Maritime Museum, 2 Murray St, Sydney

This event is intended for everyone: the general public, teachers and school children (10+) as well as scientists, resource managers and policy-makers. This is a free event, please register to attend:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2019-coral-reef-futures-symposium-and-public-forum-tickets-65144739670?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

Macquarie University – Night Sky Discovery - Macquarie Astronomical Observatory sessions 2019

Friday, 25 October - 8.00am - 9.30pm

Astronomical Observatory @ North 3 Car Park, Gymnasium Rd, Macquarie Park

Discover the wonders of the night sky! The Association for Astronomy (in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at MQU) invites you to observe the cosmos with your own eyes at the Macquarie University Astronomical Observatory. View planets, moons, binary stars, star clusters, nebulae and bright galaxies through our professional maintained 12" and 16" in-dome telescopes. You will be guided by our experienced, passionate and knowledgeable astronomy staff, so definitely bring all your astronomy questions with you!

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/night-sky-discovery-macquarie-astronomical-observatory-sessions-2019-tickets-55053802405?aff=ebdssbdestsearch

University of NSW - Women in Engineering Camp (WIEC) - Applications Now Open

12-15 January, 2020

WIEC is a four-day residential experience at UNSW for female Year 11 or 12 students to learn more about engineering and participate in hands-on workshops, industry site visits, career panels, and a networking function with professional engineers. Contact wiec@unsw.edu.au for more information and click on unsw.to/wiefs to apply.

University of Sydney - Honeywell Engineering Summer School (HESS)

9–13 December 2019
For Year 11 students (entering Year 12 in 2020)

HESS aims to give NSW and ACT high school students a better understanding of what engineering is and how it works in everyday life. Successful applicants will spend 5 days living at International House at the University. Over the week, students will attend lectures and demonstrations at five prestigious NSW universities. They will also have the opportunity to meet and interact with professional engineers employed by government, private companies, researchers and academics in a wide range of engineering disciplines.  Please contact Engineers Australia to learn more about HESS.

https://sydney.edu.au/engineering/study/why-study-here/high-school-students/years-11-and-12.html

Youth at the Zoo (YATZ), Cadet Keeper, Community Youth Programs

YATZ gives teens the opportunity to learn more about how our zoos operate, develop skills for the future and spend time with like-minded people who share a passion for animals.

https://taronga.org.au/education/youth-engagement

Mrs Louise Weihen
Leader of Learning - VET/Careers

AUSTRALIAN TITLES SUCCESS

Prior to the September holidays, eight of our outstanding speakers travelled to Melbourne to compete at the Australian Individual Debating and Public Speaking Competition (AIDPSC) and its Junior counterpart, Speakfest. The Senior team consisted of Yasmine Alwakal, Veronica Chacty and Anne Nguyen  (Year 10) and Daphne Fong (Year 11) while the Junior representatives were Ainslie McNally, Ambeikaa Mishra, Tijana Pavlovic and Freya Scothern (Year 8). The program was extremely challenging, requiring entrants to perform in various events eight times over two days. 

Months of preparation and practice by the girls was reflected in the best overall result by any of the teams we have sent in the nine years of the competition. The girls were excellent in each of the disciplines required: debating, interpretive reading, impromptu speaking and either persuasive or after dinner speaking.

Our whole OLMC contingent was proud when we heard Freya Scothern declared Australian Junior Champion After Dinner speaker. Freya had the audience in stitches with her humorous address to an imaginary audience of over-zealous sporting parents. Freya delivered the same speech this week in Assembly, making it clear to everyone why she was declared the winner. No OLMC student has won this category previously, so it was a fantastic effort by Freya!

Then came the major announcement at the end of the Senior competition - the ten competitors who were to comprise the Australian team. There were over 60 speakers in the event and the reward for making the team is a trip to Shanghai, China at Easter next year to compete in the World Titles. We are proud to announce that Yasmine Alwakal was declared seventh placed speaker overall, the highest position ever achieved by an OLMC student in the Senior competition. Two years ago, Yasmine was overall runner-up in the Junior competition, so her talent is undeniable. We now look forward to the challenge of taking on champion students from all over the world. A hearty congratulations to Yasmine. 

While these two achievements were the highlight of the titles, all our girls need to be commended for the way they represented OLMC. They continued the reputation of our College for being students who displayed the highest level of effort and behaviour. Thank you to all of them.

A special thank you to Ms Maria Bujnowski and Mrs Pauline Shore who not only accompanied us to Melbourne to support the girls but who were also required to adjudicate many events. Their contribution was invaluable.

UN VOICE

Last week, OLMC hosted a heat of the UN Voice competition. Five of our students were involved as competitors. Entrants are expected to propose a solution to a choice of contemporary social issues, then face questions from a panel of judges concerning the feasibility of their proposal. This is an unusual competition in that the semi-finalists are not announced until all heats (there are seven or eight of these) are completed over the next month.

As always, our girls all performed extremely well. Avni Mathur, Jane Whelan (Year 8) and Alannah Issa (Year 9) competed in the Junior section, while Aditi Mysore and Crystal Win (Year 10) represented the College in the Senior division. We now wait for the announcement of semi-finalists.

A special thank you to our DAPS leaders, Daphne Fong and Lily Tambrchi, as well as our wonderful team of  volunteers, Lauren Buxton, Claire Cottrell-Dormer, Leyla Douehi, Harini Dulipkumar, Sade-Jane Mannah, Olivia Nesci, Karen Pannu, Isabella Samaha, Maddison Starkey and Ivana Stefanovski who ensured our visitors enjoyed the hospitality OLMC is renowned for. Thank you also to Ms Amy Rowan for assisting during the evening.

 Mr Christopher Ostrowski
Public Speaking Co-ordinator

On Sunday, 13 October, the Chamber Ensemble had the privilege in representing OLMC and play for the Parramatta Women’s Shelter Fundraising Event at Old Government House in Parramatta Park. The afternoon event involved keynote speakers and a raffle to raise funds for the Parramatta Women’s Shelter. The fundraiser supported single women and women with children in times of need such as homelessness and domestic violence. The Shelter will also assist women and their children to access services such as counselling, employment, education and training. Overall, the Chamber Ensemble enjoyed the day and felt honoured to be part of this special event.

Angela Younis
Year 11

Sport Merits

Don’t forget to collect your merits from Mr Guthrie for every co-curricular sport in which you participate in.

NSW All Schools Athletics

The NSW All Schools Athletics Championships were held at Sydney Olympic Park from 26-29 September. OLMC was represented by Lucie Francis, Summer Giddings, Brooke Luksic, Ainslie McNally and Brianna Weatherburn. Well done to all the girls on their efforts. There were a number of excellent results:

Congratulations to Summer Giddings who qualified to compete at the Australian All Schools Championships in Perth in December. Good Luck Summer!

Cheerleading

On 12 October, OLMC competed at the AASCF Cheer and Dance Spring Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park. The OLMC Cheer-Pom team consisted of Isabella Makhoul, Jasmyn Peirce, Madeleine Power, Caitlan Biviano, Rishona Johnwilfred, Winnie Vincent and Charlotte Warnant. The girls looked great and performed well, finishing 2nd in the Secondary Schools Pom division. Congratulations girls!

Saturday Basketball and Volleyball

The 1st week of Saturday Basketball and Volleyball commenced at Santa Sabina College on the weekend. Well done to all the girls on some great games. The results are as follows:

Basketball

OLMC 1 - defeated by Monte, 19-13

OLMC 2 - defeated MLC, 15-10

OLMC 3 - defeated by Monte, 25-14

OLMC 4 - defeated St Vincent’s, 45-10

Volleyball

OLMC 1 – defeated Loreto, 3-nil

OLMC 2 – defeated by Monte, 3-nil

OLMC 3 – defeated Rosebank, 2-1

OLMC 4 – defeated by PLC Sydney, 3-1

OLMC 5 – defeated by Monte, 3-nil

OLMC 6 – defeated Monte, 3-nil

OLMC 7 – defeated by Sydney Girls, 3 nil

OLMC 8 – defeated Loreto, 3 nil

Wednesday Touch Football

Round 5 games are now complete.

Please check the draw as the games/divisions have changed since last term. The draw and results can be viewed here http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=0-531-0-0-0anda=COMPS

Mr Stuart Guthrie
Sport Co-ordinator

Max Potential is a program that allows students to connect with a local community through coaching and workshops. The purpose of the program is to focus on a service project and help make a difference. I recently chose my service project 'Shoes for Planet Earth'. This is an organisation that collects old sports shoes and donates them to individuals in need. 

Wearing shoes can prevent some parasitic diseases that can be spread by walking on contaminated soil. To think that something that we take for granted, such as shoes, can save someone's life motivated me to help such a cause. 

All used sports shoes donated will be distributed to those in need, both locally and internationally by the local charity organisation ‘Shoes for Planet Earth’. Let us help encourage exercise and maintaining a healthy lifestyle to improve hygiene and disease control all over the world.

How many pairs of sports shoes do you have that you no longer wear? Are they taking up unwanted space? I challenge you to dig deep into your shoe closet and pull out the unwanted sports shoes to donate to 'Shoes for Planet Earth'. I will be collecting shoes until 1 November. Please drop off your shoes in the plastic tub outside the Staff Common Room.

Thank you for expressing the Mercy Value of Dignity.

Thalia Lake (Year 12)
Max Potential Participant

A new Facebook Group has been created for OLMC Parramatta families to use to sell and buy the old-style College Uniform. The purpose is to assist families in this changeover period to the new uniform. This is a "closed" group so only people who are part of this group can see your posts. Please request to join the group in order to participate. The purpose is to buy and sell old-style uniforms only and was set up in response to feedback from parents who indicated they would like to be able to buy second-hand uniforms in this changeover period (until 2021).

CLICK HERE to join the group.

The year has gone by so quickly and it is hard to believe that we are already here in Term 4! This term will be a very full one with many Mission activities happening.

We remember and pray for our Year 12 girls as they begin their HSC Exams.

All Saints and All Souls Days are both in November. We will remember our loved ones who have passed away. The Chapel will be opened so that girls can write in the College Book of Remembrance.

The St Vincent de Paul annual Christmas Appeal will soon be upon us and we ask you all to dig deep as there are so many families here in our local area who need a little assistance at this time of year.

Before you know it, we will be celebrating with our End of Year Mass and waving farewell to the staff and students attending the Mercy Trip and the Cambodia Trip. These both depart in December and we know final preparations for both trips are well underway!

HSC Prayer

Below is a prayer that has been used to pray for our Year 12 students. Feel welcome to use it in your personal prayer life:

Creator God,

Hold our Year 12 sisters firmly in your embrace.

Allow your loving warmth to surround them.

Fill them with confidence and calmness of spirit.

Grant them clarity of mind and a resolve to do their best.

We make our prayer as a unified community, Amen.

Mary, Mother of Mercy… pray for us.

Venerable Catherine McAuley… pray for us.

St Vincent de Paul Christmas Hampers

The Vinnies Christmas Hamper initiative has become part of the Christmas tradition at OLMC. It is a practical way to make Mercy a verb at this special time of year. Throughout December, students and staff bring in hamper items as donations. In the last week of school, these are sorted and put together by the students. 

Students are encouraged to bring their donations in reusable bags such as canvas bags. Suggested items include:

• Christmas treats such as pudding, Christmas cake, tinned ham, lollies (no chocolate), bon-bons, chips, soft drink
• Bathroom & laundry items such as soap, shampoo, detergent & cleaning products
• Pantry staples such as instant coffee, tea, milo, hot chocolate, long-life milk, cake mixes, rice, pasta, jam, honey, vegemite, sweet and savoury biscuits, breakfast cereal, canned fruit & sauce (eg.tomato/BBQ).

Enviro-Bank

We are continuing our collection of cans and plastic bottles. This is not only reducing the amount of landfill we create, but it also provides us with the State-issued 10 cent refund on each item. If you would like to commence collecting cans and plastic bottles at home, please collect an orange Enviro-bank bag from Mrs Scanlon or Ms Plummer.

Lids4Kids

Lids4Kids is an organization that takes unwanted plastic bottle lids and melts them down. This melted plastic is then re-purposed and put through 3D printers to make prosthetic arms for children living overseas. We have been collecting lids at school for approximately two months and it is amazing how quickly our collection is growing! If you would like to assist in this activity, please bring clean bottle lids to the school and give them to Mrs Scanlon or Ms Plummer.

What sort of bottle caps do you accept?

We currently use all flat soft drink, water and milk bottle tops, including those from long-life containers. The tops should be numbered either No. 2 or No. 4 in the recycled triangle. Please note that not all tops are marked. Ideally, bottle caps should be sorted into 2, 4, milk and soft drink tops without markings. 

All Saints and All Souls Days

November is a busy month in the Catholic Church. We commence on 1 November with All Saints Day. This is an important day for Catholics as it recognizes the Saints and their contribution to the world.

The 2 November is All Souls Day. This is a day when we can remember with love and affection our family and friends who have passed away. As we have traditionally done in the past, we will place the Book of Remembrance in the Chapel and allow the girls some quiet prayer and reflection time.

Girls should check the digital screens for the dates when the Chapel will be open.

Kind regards

Mrs Gabby Scanlon
Director of Mission (Acting)

The Sisters of Mercy Parramatta are seeking a Mission Coordinator. Applications close 27 October, 2019.

Click here for further details.

Body-image in girls

Your body image is how and what you think and feel about your body. Your perception of your body might or might not match your body’s actual shape and size. A positive or healthy body image is feeling happy and satisfied with your body, as well as being comfortable with and accepting the way you look. When you feel good about your body, you are more likely to have positive self-esteem and mental health as well as a balanced attitude to eating and physical activity. A healthy body image in childhood and adolescence can lay the foundations for good physical and mental health later in life.

A negative or unhealthy body image is feeling unhappy with the way you look. People who feel like this often want to change their body size or shape. An unhealthy body image in childhood can have long-lasting consequences.

Puberty is a difficult period for adolescents as it is a period of major physical and emotional changes. Fitting in and looking the same as other people becomes more important. Factors which can distort a girl’s body images include:

• Natural weight gain and other changes that come with puberty
• Peer pressure to fit in and look a certain way
• Social media images that portray the 'ideal' female body
• Having a mother who is overly concerned about her own weight or her daughter's weight

You have an influence on your child’s body image too. You can help your child develop a positive body image by:

• Explaining the effects of puberty, particularly that weight gain during this time is normal.
• Talk with and encourage your daughter to question the media messages that portray that only one body type is acceptable and that being attractive is the most important goal. Have a look at the types of accounts they are following on Instagram and listen as they explain why they follow that particular account. Offer reassurance that healthy body shapes vary.
• Discuss self-image with your daughter. Ask her what she likes about herself (not just physical attributes) and let her know what you like about her too. This can help build self-esteem and resilience and get her to focus on all of the wonderful things about her that are not related to appearance.
• Be a positive body image role model. Make healthy eating and physical activity a part of your family life. Avoid talking about diets and wanting to lose weight. Focus on health and appreciating all the wonderful things your body can do. Accept others and avoid commenting on other people’s physical appearance.
• Use positive language to discuss physical appearance, so rather than 'fat' and 'thin' use 'strong' and 'healthy'.

If you have any concerns about your child’s body image, or there have been significant changes in their eating habits or weight, please consult your GP who may refer your child to a dietician and/or a psychologist to help them develop healthy eating habits and challenge some of the negative self-talk they use in regards to their body image.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4554432/

Mrs Sandra Portela
Senior College Counsellor

What is your Leadership Portfolio?

Debating and Public Speaking (DAPS)

What are the key responsibilities of your Portfolio?

To assist in organising Debating and Public Speaking events and encouraging girls to get involved in areas under the DAPS Portfolio. Lily and I will be attending debates during the season as well as organising offseason activities. We will be supporting girls who enter public speaking competitions. We will be working alongside our wonderful mentors Ms Riley and Mr Ostrowski to ensure that we maintain the success and excellence of DAPS at OLMC!

What is your vision as Leader of this Portfolio in 2019/2020?

I would like to encourage more girls to remain involved in DAPS, especially in their senior years of education. We need more female representation in our political spheres and more women in decision making positions. I want to encourage girls to continue their involvement in DAPS as they get older. This will ensure that we have young women who are equipped with the skills to speak up and enter into leadership roles as they complete high school and move forward into their careers. This will be achieved by creating an alternative atmosphere for girls who may find this area daunting where we can debate and listen to speeches in a non-competitive space. This will ensure that even girls who may not engage in competitions, will still have an opportunity to develop these skills that will benefit them in the future.