From the Principal
From the Principal
From the Principal
Dear families,
Last Friday the College celebrated Mercy Day when Bishop Vincent concelebrated Eucharist with the College Chaplain Father Walter. It was a great day of celebrations and the girls had so much fun.
I thought this week I would share with you my speech from the Mass.
“Our College motto - Sub tum praesdium – Under her protection - Mary Mother of God - provides us with both inspiration and hope. Mary fully committed herself to the love of God by accepting his will to be the mother of Jesus. As a Mercy school, and as Mercy people, we are called to demonstrate our love of God and neighbour through our actions.
At OLMC we continually strive to make mercy a verb, just as our other role model Catherine McAuley demonstrated her love of neighbour through her devoted service to others.
Our significant role models of Jesus, and Catherine McAuley had one thing in common - they both spoke of the silence around them - what I mean by that is they were prepared to challenge authority and speak out on behalf of the neediest in their communities at the time. They were prepared to go out to the marginalised of their times.
Our world unfortunately today still has many people who need us to speak the silence. We still have a history of oppression, refugees, those in detention, violence, domestic violence of women and children, trafficking of people who are treated as a disposable commodity, the poor health, education, housing and unemployment of our First Nations people, hatred, poverty, homelessness, racism and discrimination based on gender, sexuality, age, mental health and disabilities. If we are to be a true Mercy community and followers of Christ and Catherine McAuley, we must stand up and make our voices heard for those who cannot speak and who are silenced by their situations. If we do not respond and speak out on their behalf and stand with them in solidarity, then we are not being true to living the Gospel nor our highly espoused Mercy Values.
The other aspect of speaking the silence is for our care of the earth - our life giving source that we as humans are destroying. We must speak up for our environment and fragile ecosystems. We must challenge the climate change deniers and politicians who in Australia remain inactive. It is un-Australian not to stand up for the ‘little Aussie battlers’, those who find themselves vulnerable, the marginalised, including our fragile planet. We are in the grip of drought and weather extremes in Australia.
I acknowledge that young people today are gathering in the Domain in Sydney to express their voice on climate change and the decimation of our fragile environment. Today on your behalf I stand here to express my total support and to speak out to politicians to pull their heads out of the sand and listen to the scientists and look at the obvious signs of climate change. I express my support for the right of all people to speak up speaking out and as a school we will demonstrate that today after Mass.
The message of Jesus and his follower Catherine McAuley in the Gospel says we must, as Mercy people, promote the dignity and incomparable worth of all human beings who are social in nature. It is because of this that we are called to be in right relationships of justice and love with God, self, and others.
As John 4:7 says 'Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been of God and knows God.'
Key Dates
Teaching And Learning
OLMC Connect
Sport
Sport
Sport Uniform
A reminder that the Uniform Shop is open Monday and Friday mornings to purchase the New OLMC PE/Sport uniform. All students competing for OLMC in sport, whether it be a Gala Day, a Carnival or even Wednesday or Saturday Sport, will need to wear the full new PE/Sport uniform and tracksuit.
NSWCCC Athletics
Well done to Lucie Francis, Summer Giddings, Brooke Luksic and Ainslie McNally who all competed at the NSWCCC Athletics Championships on Friday 20 September at SOPAC. Congratulations to Lucie for finishing 3rd in the 13 years 1500m and to Summer in the senior Para athlete division for finishing 2nd in the 800m and 1st in the Long jump, 100m, SP and Discus. Great results girls!
PDSSSC Basketball
On 16 September, OLMC competed at the PDSSSC Junior Basketball Championships at Penrith. Our teams consisted of Ella Maroon, Mira Hamdan, Nikita Cavagnino, Abbie Glendenning, Emily Duque Herrera, Juliana Merioles, Elyssa Wakim, Kate Sloane, Marinelle Juan, Annie Gittany, Erin Marquez, Haylee Shelton, Martha Buitizon, Meharra Josseph, Moana Tuala and Kyra Dpenha. Despite not making the finals, the girls had a great day. A big thank you to Alexandra Zito for umpiring all day and to Ms Sunner for all her help with the teams.
Gymnastics
Congratulations to Holly Walker who was selected to represent NSW and her Gymnastics Club, Sydney Hills Gymnastics in Acrobatic Gymnastics, at the National Championships in the Gold Coast in September. Holly competes in a Level 4 Trio. Despite not placing in their Balance Routine, the trio finished 1st in their Dynamic Routine, placing them 2nd overall! A sensational effort given that they have only been together since March and this is Holly’s first year in Acro Gymnastics! Well done Holly.
Saturday Basketball and Volleyball
Saturday Basketball and Volleyball games will commence on 19 October. All games will be held at Santa Sabina College Strathfield. The finalised draw will be emailed out to all students upon completion.
All students representing the College at basketball require the new OLMC Singlet and OLMC PE, Sport or bike shorts. For volleyball, the girls can compete in the new OLMC PE uniform.
Wednesday Touch Football
Round 4 games are scheduled for this week (25 September). There will be no games during the school holidays! Our Round 5 games will be played 16 October (Week 1 Term 4)
A reminder that all students are to compete in the new OLMC Singlet and either the new OLMC PE, Sport or OLMC bike shorts.
You can view the draw and results here - http://websites.sportstg.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=0-531-0-0-0anda=COMPS
Mr Stuart Guthrie
Sport Coordinator
Mock Mediation
Mock Mediation
Ex-students attending the Alumnae Reunion Day in 1996.
Other Careers Event
Gabriella Nimmo
Gabriella Nimmo
What is your leadership portfolio?
Liturgy Leader
What are the key responsibilities of your portfolio?
Preparing for Masses and the leading the Prayer at the start of assemblies.
What is your vision as leader of this portfolio in 2019/2020?
To establish a youth group with the other Liturgy Leader in order to build connections with our fellow Mercy sisters!
From the College Counsellor
From the College Counsellor
Mercy Day Mass
Three local Aboriginal women, from the Baabayan Women’s Group, welcomed us to Country with a water blessing which was said over the staff, students and special guests who were gathered in the Ailsa Mackinnon Community Centre. This was a wonderful way to commence the Mass which was celebrated by Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen O.F.M. Conv. and Fr Walter Fogarty. 'Who will speak if you don’t?' was the theme for the Mass which focused on the displacement of people and the degradation of the earth. During the Mass, the theme was woven in to the Entrance Procession, Bishop Vincent’s homily, the songs, and also Sr Mary-Louise Petro’s reflections.
The Mass was a relevant, moving and spiritually uplifting community celebration. Thank you to Mr Paul Witney and Mrs Sharon Eldridge who led the singers and musicians. Thank you also to all the girls involved in processions, readings and serving.
EcoOLMC and Mercy Action Scavenger Hunt at Mercy Day
On Friday 20 September, the EcOLMC and Mercy Action teams held an awareness-raising scavenger hunt to celebrate Mercy Day, focusing on the theme of ‘Who will speak if you don’t?’
The hunt required Mercy Girls to find answers to six questions relating to issues about the degradation of the earth and displacement of peoples such as water pollution, fossil fuels, endangered species, homelessness, indigenous peoples and refugees. At the completion of the scavenger hunt, girls were rewarded with their choice of a Mercy Action or EcOLMC badge.
The scavenger hunt was very successful with a total of 107 student groups finding the information. Some of these facts are listed below:
- Micro-plastics are plastic debris less than 5mm in length.
- If Indigenous Australians were their own nation, they would be ranked 127th on the human development index.
In addition to the scavenger hunt, Mercy Girls were able to drop off plastic bottles and bottle caps, contributing to the charity ‘Lids for Kids’ that aims to create prosthetics for children out of bottle caps.
Overall, it was a great day and we cannot wait to continue serving the broader community through engaging school initiatives!
Anya Maclure, Charlotte Burns, Chloe D’Lima, Mikayla Simpson and Justine Kim
Year 12 Mercy Engaged
On 23 September, all girls in Year 12 participated in a Mercy Engaged morning which saw them venture into the community to engage with a variety of organisations including Jesuit Refugee Services, Mercy Foundation, St Gabriel’s Special Education school, a recycled clothing workshop, and six local Primary Schools.
This morning of volunteering makes a huge impact on the community. Sue Mowbray from Mercy Foundation said 'It was an absolute pleasure to speak with the students. They were so polite, enthusiastic and inquisitive and the personal packs for our Home in a Box are absolutely fantastic! What a difference they will make to the women and men who receive them.'
Mrs Gabby Scanlon
Director of Mission (Acting)
