Dr Geoff Lee MP Parramatta

Dr Geoff Lee, who is our local NSW representative, spoke in Parliament last week about our wonderful Year 12 Visual Arts and TAS showcase as well as OLMC and the Sisters of Mercy in general as we continue to celebrate our 130th anniversary. Read the statement recorded in Hansard:

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1323879322-107308/link/71

P & F Reminder

The OLMC P&F have initiated a Facebook Group for parents to sell second hand old-style uniforms. Please ensure you read the rules and regulations for this Facebook group carefully. Click here to join the group.

Term 4

The end of Term 3 is this coming Friday. I wish all girls a safe and relaxing break. Term 4 commences for all students on Monday 14 October.

Closure of Victoria Road during School Holidays

The College has received notification about the full closure of Victoria Road during the coming holidays. Victoria Road will be closed between Marist Place and O’Connell Street, from 8pm Sunday 29 September to 5am Tuesday 8 October. This will be a full 24 hour closure - days and nights.

Alumnae Reunion Day

The College’s Alumnae held its annual Reunion Day on Sunday here at the College. It was great to see over 200 ex-students gather for Mass in the Mother Mary Clare Dunphy Chapel. This was followed by a luncheon in the Edith Angel Hall where a special 130 Year Anniversary cake was cut by one of our oldest Alumnae members – Gloria McGrath. It’s wonderful to take opportunities such as these to celebrate the College’s long and rich Alumnae tradition which dates back to the early 20th century.

God bless,

Stephen M Walsh

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.'

News for Year 12 students and their parents from UAC

ATAR 2019 Release Date: Tuesday 17 December at 1pm– the same day as HSC results.

Students will have all the information needed on the day to make future study decisions and have more time to finalise their preferences for December Round 2 .

ATAR Enquiry Centre

UAC is once again operating its ATAR Enquiry Centre for students who have queries about the calculation of their ATAR.

• Tuesday 17 December, 12pm–8pm
• Wednesday 18 December, 8.30am–4.30pm
• Thursday 19 December, 8.30am–4.30pm
• Friday 20 December, 8.30am–4.30pm

ATAR Notices

Students Note: Download and print your ATAR Advice Notices when ATARs are released in December. You only have free access until February; after that you will be charged for a digital or printed copy.

Offer Rounds to Year 12s

The most important offer rounds for Year 12 students are:

• December Round 2 – Monday 23 December 2019
• January Round 1 – Friday 10 January 2020.

Not all courses will be offered in December Round 2, and applicants should check UAC’s website for details of excluded courses before they finalise their course preferences. Students whose results are not available in time for December Round 2 can be assured that they will not be disadvantaged – universities will still have places available to make offers to all courses in January.

The Mercy Music and Performance Academy would like to congratulate the Class of 2019 on their graduation. A very special thank you to those who have been a part of any Music event, or ensemble during their time at OLMC. You will be missed!

This past week has been extremely busy for students, with the Orchestra and Choir playing for the annual Mercy Day celebrations, and on the 22 September, the Chamber Ensemble and Mercy Chorale playing at the Alumnae Reunion Mass.

These school holidays, the Mercy Music and Performance Academy opens its doors to the Sydney Symphony Fellows. In this special three day Orchestra Workshop, talented young musicians have the opportunity to be mentored by 12 musicians who have been chosen from 200 applications nationwide.

For more information about the three day workshops please follow the link: https://academy.olmc.nsw.edu.au/the-academy/workshops/3-day-orchestral-workshop

As we finish up for the term, now is a fantastic time to look into learning a new instrument, or continuing with existing studies. Lessons are held from 9.00am – 6.00pm Monday to Friday.

Interested in Instrumental/Vocal Lessons?  https://academy.olmc.nsw.edu.au/the-academy/apply-now

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 QUARTERFINALS

On Monday 16 September, OLMC participated in the quarter final of Mock Mediation, hosted by the Law Society of NSW. In this round, the team consisted of Kyah Day as Jamie, Kirsten Patel as Ashley, Yasmine Alwakal as Charlie, Ariel Santoso as Jay, and Riley Rodewald and Veronica Chacty as the mediators. 

The storyline for the mediation was that Jay and Charlie - the gardeners, and Ashley and Jamie - the mechanics, were happily living as neighbours in a duplex for two years before a dispute about the backyard and front yard broke out. While the four neighbours had very little in common, it worked to their advantage as the differences seemed to complement each other. The neighbours had an arrangement which outlined that the mechanics were allowed to use both garages and therefore were able to complete their hobby of fixing vintage cars, whilst the gardeners were given full access to both sides of the backyard, allowing them to complete their passion for gardening. To help make some extra money to pay for their hobby, Ashley and Jamie began to repair friends and family’s cars. Considering they were a lot cheaper and more convenient than other mechanics their customer count began to grow. As a consequence of the numerous cars, the front yard was trampled and contaminated with oil spills. Once the gardeners realised this they became unhappy with the mechanics’ disregard for the front yard and the unregistered ‘business’ which developed from their hobby. In addition to this, the mechanics became irritated by the gardeners’ early morning meetings and loud rooster which woke the neighbourhood at 5.00am every morning. These disagreements resulted in the mechanics demanding for their half of the back yard back and the gardeners demanding their garage back. Out of spite, each neighbour continued to act upon petty actions in order to make life more difficult for the other. Tired of hearing the four neighbours constantly fighting, neighbours from across the street recommended that the four try mediation, who ultimately agreed that it would be worth a try.

The mediation was adjudicated by Helen Miedzinski, who specializes in a range of legal practices and awarded our team 90/100. Our team received feedback congratulating the skilful work of our mediators, animated characters and ability to successfully solve issues. The efforts and hard work of the whole mediation team have ultimately represented OLMC at its best and provided an opportunity in which our problem solving and conflict resolution skills have been developed. We are proud of the efforts of our Team and can confirm that OLMC will participate in the semi-final of the competition in early Term 4. Congratulations girls!

Katie Smillie
Year 10

Ex-students attending the Alumnae Reunion Day in 1996. 

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!

Anger

Anger is a normal healthy emotion when expressed appropriately. It can help us protect and stand up for ourselves when we feel that we have been wronged. However, anger can be harmful and can cause unwanted circumstances.

When is anger a problem?

• When it negatively impacts on others - if we express anger in a way that is harmful to others it can negatively impact on our relationships with them,  and may result in severe consequences such as expulsion or legal trouble.
• When it impacts performance at school or work - if we are preoccupied by anger it makes it difficult to concentrate on a task. It can also hinder our ability to communicate effectively with others, making working with others problematic.
• When it has a negative impact on health and wellbeing - anger affects both physical and emotional health, contributing to heart disease, anxiety, depression and alcohol and other drug misuse.

As parents we are often faced with an angry adolescent, so it can helpful to understand the following:

• Anger is often not really about anger. Anger is great at masking more vulnerable emotions like anxiety, worry, hurt, sadness, frustration, distrust, uncertainty, guilt, shame, regret.
• No one can make you angry without your permission based on how you interpret what happened. Our perception mediates our emotional response. Change how you think and you can change how you feel and thus react.
• People don't get angry about things they don't care about. They get angry about something that matters to them and that is often worth talking about.

We can help manage anger through the following:

• Relaxation training such as progressive muscle relaxation (learning to systematically tighten and then relax the muscle groups of the body), yoga exercises, mindfulness or meditation.
• Self-monitoring of thoughts and/or behaviours such as keeping an anger log to record current and/or new behaviours.
• Learning the difference between passive, assertive, and aggressive behaviour.
• Identifying triggers for anger (e.g. running late, leaving an assignment to the night before) and the early warning signs of anger (e.g. increased heart rate, feeling hot, clenched jaw).
• Distraction techniques - engage in these techniques when the early warning signs of anger are detected. These techniques may include counting to 10, removing oneself from the environment, breathing, physical activity or using humour.
• Learning problem solving skills in order to provide a wider range of methods for coping with anger provoking situations.
• Learning social skills to assist in developing interpersonal skills which may be contributing to a misinterpretation of body cues of others.

If you feel anger is a problem for you or your child, please visit your GP for a referral to a Psychologist or a group program which can assist in developing skills in managing and expressing anger in more appropriate ways.

Mrs Sandra Portela
Senior 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)