From the Principal
From the Principal
From the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers
At last week’s College Assembly, I spoke to the community about the importance of persistence in the face of adversity and the character development that would accompany this. Persistence in spite of challenges or opposition is such an important character trait, especially when it is driven by dignity and conviction.
I spoke of the example of the Australian World Number 1, tennis player Ash Barty and the humility with which she approaches successes and losses. She constantly speaks of herself, her family and her team as simply trying to do the best that they can every single day. Before and after any tennis match Ash Barty never minimises her opponent’s skills or exaggerates her own. She just references 'trying to be the best you can be, and that’s all you can ask of yourself.'
Such a positive philosophy aligns perfectly with who we are as a Mercy community. What matters to us is being our best selves every day 'expanding beyond what we know we can be' and affording others the same opportunities for growth. It is about never giving up - persisting - valuing growth and valuing one’s family and the team (the College staff) who support you to be your best. At the Assembly, I encouraged the community to consider what persistence would look and feel like for each of them both inside and outside the classroom? It is a good conversation for us all to have.
On Wednesday, 19 February the Master Plan Information Evening was held at the College. As well as an address from me as Principal and the College Board Chair, Ms Kerrie Walshaw, Mayoh architects were in attendance and were very thorough in outlining the campus changes with the new Master Plan, including the imperative of maintaining the heritage of the Brigid Shelly building. It was an opportunity for all to ask questions about the refurbishment of buildings and the implementation of the Plan. Emphasis was on the vision for the Master Plan, including the provision of a “connected oasis of learning” that will continue to meet the evolving needs of dynamic OLMC learners. The first phase of the Plan will commence in the second half of this year and further timely updates will be provided.
I have to say that last week’s College Twilight Swimming Carnival was a great example of the OLMC community coming together! From the moment the students gathered to board the buses to Homebush, to the conclusion of the Carnival that evening, the enthusiasm and House Spirit was palpable. There was much friendly rivalry because House points towards the Spirit cup were to be won, however, what really stood out, apart from the colourful decorations, was the joy and positivity of everyone - students and staff alike. Thank you to Mr Stuart Guthrie, Sports Coordinator, to the PDHPE staff, to the House Leaders and to all staff who made this event such an enjoyable experience. Thank you also, to the many parents who were able to join us for this evening.
As a faith community, everyone gathered together in the Ailsa Mackinnon Community Centre for our Ash Wednesday Liturgy on 26 February. We were reminded that, as we begin our Lenten journey, it is important to focus not only on the dignity and integrity of our friends and family but also on the people whom we endeavour to help through Project Compassion. Lent is a time for reflection, and traditionally, for the foregoing of a luxury. This allows us to consider the needs of others and to be grateful for the many gifts that we have in our lives. Sometimes, it can be an opportunity to consider how we might help others and show our appreciation of them. As well as fasting and donating to Project Compassion, we might forgo watching our favourite television program, limiting or halting our social media usage or we might commit to completing some chores on a regular basis that would really make a difference to a family member. Just some ideas to consider.
Upcoming events to note:
- 5 March – Year 10 Reflection Day
- 6 March – International Women’s Day – Guest speaker - Dr Erin Mackenzie is a lecturer in science, STEM, and educational psychology in the School of Education at Western Sydney University. She is also a researcher in the Centre for Educational Research, where her studies focus on why girls choose to study STEM subjects (or not), and on how and why teenagers use social media. In this talk, Dr Mackenzie will discuss the possibilities that studying STEM subjects open up for future careers
- 12 & 13 March - Year 7 Camp
- 18 March - Year 9 Reflection Day
Open Day
A reminder that the Annual College Open Day is this Sunday, 8 March from 10.00am to 2.00pm.
The P&F always show their Mercy hospitality in providing a BBQ for the visiting families. The P&F are calling for parent helpers throughout the day. Please click here to volunteer some of your time at the P&F BBQ.
To return to the beginning:
Ash Barty has been named as the 2020 Young Australian of the Year in the recent Australia Day Awards. Amongst other qualities, she has been recognised for her
“Dynamic tennis game, formidable serve and down-to-earth attitude.”
I would add: “Nevertheless, she persisted.” What a fine role model for us all!
Warm regards
Mrs Marie Wood
Principal (Acting)
Teaching And Learning
Historical Discourse: Reading, Writing and Speaking the Language of History
Historical Discourse: Reading, Writing and Speaking the Language of History
History is a subject in which high levels of literacy are both valued and necessary. As a discipline, History has moved from a view of the past as a series of ‘immutable truths’ or ‘grand narratives’ to a much more inclusive view, which incorporates diverse narratives and interpretations (Coffin, 2002). By engaging with the broad range of discursive and linguistic features of these narratives and interpretations, students interact with the building blocks of argument and causal explanations.
In the History Faculty at OLMC, we are taking a new approach to the development of literacy within our discipline. Students will be engaging with the processes of historical debate, explanation, interpretation and evaluation by understanding the fundamental role of linguistics in the construction of history. Our focus will be on the process of communicating complex historical understanding through reading and writing activities that challenge students to think and communicate outside their comfort zone.
The model of literacy development that we are adopting has student understanding of language and grammar in context as its aim, drawing heavily on the research of linguist Caroline Coffin (see Coffin, 2009). Students are immersed in rich and varied historical texts, forming the foundation upon which content knowledge and understanding is built. In this three-stage model of textual analysis and construction, students:
Deconstruct – read exemplars, predict content and purpose, label parts of the genre, cut and paste features in order, and erase keywords and predict replacements.
Jointly Construct– co-construct a text genre with teacher or peers using scaffolding that helps them to identify the organisational and language features of the genre of historical text.
Independently Construct – draft, revise and publish a sample of the genre text with authority and confidence.
These learning routines will be applied to the different genres of historical reading and writing: the recording, explaining and arguing genres, teaching students to first identify the key linguistic and grammatical features that characterise each genre, and then to reproduce these appropriately in their own writing and speaking.
We are also setting aside dedicated time in class for students to engage with wider historical reading of choice (fiction, non-fiction, popular magazines etc.), connecting students with a facet of History that holds appeal, while continually building student literacy.
This year, OLMC is also participating in two separate History Debating competitions: the J.A. Thompson History Debating Competition and the Les Gordon History Debating Competition, both designed to build student skills in historical research and argumentation. This will be the practical application for students in Years 10 and 11 of their skills in reading, writing and speaking the language of History.
References:
Coffin, Caroline (2002). ‘The Voices of History: theorising the interpersonal semantics of historical discourses’. Text, 22(4), pp. 503-528.
Coffin, Caroline (2009) Historical Discourse: The Language of Time, Cause and Evaluation; Continuum: London.
Ms Melissa Riley
Leader of Academic Programs (Acting)
VET/Careers
VET/Careers
Year 12 Work Placement
The Hospitality and Business Services students recently completed their final work placement for VET. The girls attended venues across Sydney, the experience providing a valuable opportunity for them to put their skills and knowledge into practice in a real-world setting. Olana Lai from the Year 12 Hospitality class reflects on her week:
'My time at Novotel in Darling Square was such a positive and fun work placement. I learnt so much about working in a commercial kitchen and in the hotel industry. During my work placement, the head chefs gave me tasks which needed to be completed for the day and expected it to be done in a certain time frame. The pressure was a bit intense at first but soon became easier. I was able to practise my cutting skills and I believe they have improved immensely. The head chefs put a great deal of emphasis on working as a team and clear communication as working in a hotel can get very busy and difficult. I got a taste of just how chaotic it gets as I was helping prepare food during a heavy service period. As I would like to work in hotels, meeting employees from different areas in the hotel was a great chance for me to discover the employment opportunities available. Overall it was a great experience and it has helped me figure out what kind of job I would like to pursue after school.' (Olana Lai, Year 12)
School holiday experiences
There is a range of school holiday workshops and experiences on offer for students looking for creative experiences and STEM opportunities.
Australian Theatre for Young People - School Holiday Program
Monday, 14 April – Friday, 17 April. 9.30am to 3.30pm
Surry Hills
Years 10, 11, 12
'I know I’m meant to enjoy Shakespeare but I find it hard to understand.' Sound familiar? Don’t worry you’re not alone. Spend a week with a former Bell Shakespeare actor and uncover the tools that will make these plays make sense to you. Learn some of the great speeches, examine some of the classic scenes and unlock the endless potential that is found in Shakespeare’s work. There is a reason he is considered the greatest of all time so join us and find out why. Participants will explore the language and meaning of Shakespeare’s work, rehearse Shakespearean text and perform with direction. Most auditions for Drama Schools require a Shakespearean monologue, so this session will give participants invaluable feedback and new methods for performance. https://atyp.com.au/product/year-10-12-shakespeare-intensive/
Australian Theatre for Young People - Yrs 10, 11, 12 Audition Technique
Wednesday 22 April – Friday 24 April. 10.00am to 4.00pm
Surry Hills
Whether it be for drama school, a play or a television series, one thing is for certain – if you want to be an actor you will have to audition. The audition room can be a daunting place, so learn the tricks of the trade and leave those nerves at the door and make the most of your time in the room. Discover how to prepare in the right way, choose the right piece, learn how the industry works and know what is expected to deliver your best. Find a monologue that works for you, spend 3 days really intensively working on it with an industry professional and finish your week with a mock audition to test your new found skills. https://atyp.com.au/product/year-10-12-audition-technique-3-days/
2020 Curious Minds – Winter Camp
12-16 July 2020
A residential and mentoring program for girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Curious Minds is aimed at highly capable girls in Years 9 and 10 who have an interest in STEM learning areas. This is a six-month program that combines two residential camps and a STEM coaching program. The camps will enable the girls to explore all aspects of science, technology, engineering and maths through guest lectures, interactive sessions, practicals and field trips. The coaching program will see each student matched with a female coach recruited from a variety of STEM backgrounds and together they will construct personal goals for the student. This might include discussing study options and career pathways, undertaking further extension work with support from their coach, developing ideas based on learnings from the camp or working on a project. https://www.asi.edu.au/programs/curious-minds/
OLMC Connect
Debating
Debating
CSDA State Champions
Our 2019 10A debating team consisting of Yasmine Alwakal, Veronica Chacty, Kyah Day and Riley Rodewald were victorious in the Catholic Schools Debating Association (CSDA) State final last Friday evening! Our students were up against a formidable team in St Pius X College Adamstown, and faced an even more formidable case to prove, having to take the negative for the topic:
‘That public safety is more important than an individual’s right to privacy’
Our debaters were simply superb – strong conceptualisation of the topic formed the basis of their matter, the logic of their arguments and finesse of their refutation demonstrated their superior method, and their easy confidence and persuasive manner clinched the debate for them! A cleverly crafted team line of ‘The exception should not be the norm’ was argued very effectively in relation to infringements on personal privacy, and the audience was left with little choice other than agree that an equal balance between the rights of the individual and the greater good must be upheld.
Congratulations to Yasmine, Veronica, Kyah and Riley for an outstanding result to end what was quite an extended season. They will soon launch into the defence of their title when CSDA debating begins again in Term 2.
New Inter-school Debating opportunities
OLMC will be broadening its participation in debating competitions in 2020, entering into two competitions designed for debaters with an affinity for history. The J.A. Thompson History Debating Competition, open to students in Years 10, and 11 is a round-robin debating competition which focuses on broad themes and issues of contention from history. Students have forewarning of the historically-themed topics for each debate, giving them time to research and support their case with robust and detailed historical information. Historical Matter far outweighs Manner and Method in the adjudication, so beyond providing just another opportunity to hone debating skills, the J.A. Thompson Competition with its research, deep thinking and historical argumentation builds skills that can be directly applied to student learning. Similarly, the Les Gordon History Debating Competition, a knock-out competition open to Year 10 students, provides an intellectual challenge for students not readily found elsewhere in the curriculum.
OLMC will enter teams in both of these competitions, so students in Years 10 and 11 should keep their eye out for an email in the next few weeks calling for participants.
Developing our young debaters
With more than 100 students signing up to participate in Debating this year, we are hoping to offer as many opportunities as possible to develop the skills and dispositions required for high level debating. To this end, we will be offering a series of after-school debating workshops, small-group coaching and mentoring, and a school-based competition for students in all Year groups. These will be offered progressively throughout the year, so students should watch out for emails and announcements for these opportunities.
We look forward to an exciting and rewarding year of Debating in 2020!
Ms Melissa Riley
Debating Coordinator
Sport
Sport
NSW All Schools Triathlon
Congratulations to Lucie Francis who finished 3rd overall (2nd in NSWCCC) in the Junior Girls Division at the NSW All Schools Triathlon on Wednesday, February 26 at the Penrith Regatta. Another fantastic achievement.
NSW Junior Athletics Championships
The NSW Junior Athletics Championships were held at SOPAC on 21-23 February. Congratulations to Lucie Francis who finished 3rd in the U15 2km Steeplechase and to Summer Giddings who in the U20 Ambulatory division finished 1st in Long Jump and 2nd in the 400m. Ainslie McNally also made the U15 400m final. All 3 girls have qualified to compete at the Australian Junior Athletics Championships in March. Good Luck girls!
CGSSSA Cricket
The CGSSSA Cricket Championships were held on Tuesday, 18 February at Queens Park, Waverly. The team consisted of Aditi Iyer, Charlotte Johns, Caroline Thewlis, Vaishnavi Deobhankar, Tanisha Majumdar, Tarni Sutton, Skye Gregory, Warsha Warakapola and Jaimee Abrahams.
It was a beautiful day and all the OLMC girls were ready to play. In their first match against St Clare’s, it came, down to the wire, finishing in a draw! The girls went on to defeat Bethany and played strong matches against Mt St Josephs and Marists Sisters College. The girls finished the day with a win over Santa Sabina to come 7th overall. There have been great improvements over the last few years at OLMC cricket and it was exciting to see so many awesome shots and precision bowling throughout the day. Well done girls!
A big thank you must go to Mrs Cunningham for all her help with the team.
PDSSSC Basketball
On Monday, 24 February, OLMC competed at the PDSSSC Open Basketball Championships at Penrith. The team consisted of Karla Krncevic, Angela Younes, Caitlin Gallacher, Meharra Joseph, Kate Sloane, Annie Gittany, Erin Marquez, Kyra Dpenha and Moana Tuala. The girls played some great games defeating Marion and Delany but were unlucky in their other matches to finish 3rd in their Pool. Everyone played exceptionally well and should be proud of their efforts.
A big thank you to Alexandra Zito, who refereed for us and to Ms Sunner for all her help with the team.
Saturday Soccer
Soccer registrations have now been emailed to all students. If anyone would like to play Saturday Soccer for OLMC during Term 2, then please submit the registration form by Friday, 6 March.
OLMC Swimming Carnival 2020
The Annual College Swimming Carnival was held on Thursday, 27 February at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre as a Twilight carnival.
The College community entered into the spirit of the evening with the girls dividing their time between competitive events and exuberant cheering for their 'House'. It was great to see so many dressed in a colourful and patriotic display for their respective Houses. It was also wonderful to see so many students participating in the swimming events throughout the night, especially the seniors.
A big thank you must go to the Sports Leaders and to all the House Leaders, who inspired such enthusiasm, spirit and commitment from all students, as well as enthusiastically and generously assisting in the preparation for the Carnival.
Compliments must go to the following students for their outstanding swimming efforts throughout the carnival and being awarded Age Champions:
| 12 Years | Tiana Karl |
| 13 Years | Mia Cleary |
| 14 Years | Emily Shumack |
| 15 Years | Amelia Harvie |
| 16 Years | Riley McIntosh |
| 17+Years | Olivia Towle and Charlotte Carter |
Congratulations also to Tiana Karl who broke the 12 years 50m Breaststroke Record on the night, setting a time of 41.00 seconds.
Congratulations must go to Renuga Inpakumar, Jazmin Cleary and all the other Mercedes students for their victory on the Night as Champion House and to Brianna El-Bayeh, Daniella Younes and all the other Doyle students for their victory as Champion Spirit House.
Finally, many thanks to all the staff and students for their efforts and also to all the parents who came along to cheer and support their daughters.
Mr Stuart Guthrie
Sports Coordinator
Scuba Diving
Scuba Diving
'From birth, man carries the weight of gravity on his shoulders. He is bolted to earth. But man has only to sink beneath the surface and he is free.'
Jacques Cousteau, Time Magazine, 28 March 1960
…and the same applies for OLMC students in 2020.
This year OLMC students from Years 9 to 11 have the opportunity to participate in a co-curricular activity that will give them a skill (and joy) for life: their Open Water PADI Dive Certification. The program has both a theory and practical component: the online theory component and knowledge examination is crucial for an understanding of the importance of safety underwater. The practical component enables students to action the skills and knowledge that they have learned in safe environments under the direct supervision of a PADI Dive Master. The online theory component of the program will commence in Term 2.
After passing their knowledge test, students then complete a series of confined water (pool) dives on a Saturday in August to apply their theoretical learning, and then travel to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef in December to complete their open water (ocean) dives over five days. The trip also provides students with an opportunity to interact with some of the other ecological wonders in this part of the world such as turtle nesting, bird watching, reef walking and a special trip to the University of Queensland’s Research Station, where the scientists on hand will explain the work they are doing to better understand the effects of climate change on reef systems. We are also very fortunate to have been asked by the Australian National Maritime Museum to help gather data on the shipwreck HMAS Protector, an ex-Australian Navy ship which was scuttled off Heron Island as a breakwater.
To be eligible to participate in this co-curricular activity, students must be 15 years or older by 30 June 2020, be able to swim 200m unaided and have no history of asthma. Students should indicate their interest by nominating the dive program in the co-curricular preferences form, the link to which was emailed to them last week.
As we say in diving, see you at the bottom!
Ms Melissa Riley
Scuba Diving Program Coordinator
From The Uniform Shop
College Notices
Parents and Friends' Association
Other Careers Event
Do you have an OLMC School Bag not being used?
Do you have an OLMC School Bag not being used?
We would like donations of any good condition, second hand OLMC school bags please...
If you do have one please bring it to the Student Centre.
Thank you!
Study Skills Tips for March
Study Skills Tips for March
We have had a busy fortnight in the Mission team with Project Compassion in full swing. As well as collecting money this year, we are also asking for donations to the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRF). At this time of year when the focus turn to Project Compassion, we can forget about our local families who still need assistance. Information is below on how you may be able to assist.
We wish Year 10 girls the best of luck for their Reflection Day tomorrow and look forward to hearing about their day.
Project Compassion
Shrove Tuesday was a terrific way to start our Lenten fundraising and I am pleased to say that we raised $390! Thank you to the staff and students who assisted so capably with pouring, flipping and serving the pancakes. It was such a lovely community activity and one we hope to run again in the future!
Disabled Surfers Association 'Hands on Day'
Thalia (Year 12), Mikeeli (Year 10) and Sierra (Year 7) Lake's grandfather founded The Disabled Surfers Association’s annual 'Hands-on Day' over 30 years ago. Each February they hold an event at Collaroy. London Ardeleanu (Year 7) and Claudia Attard (Year 10) also volunteered at this day as well.
Their role was to assist disabled children and adults paddling on the surfboard, surfing in the ocean, playing volleyball and also serving a BBQ lunch. Summer Giddings (Year 12) participated in the event and had a great time commenting that the support she had was amazing.
This is a terrific way of putting your Mercy value of Service into action. Thank you girls for volunteering in such a positive way!
Mrs Gabby Scanlon
Director of Mission
