Art, Design and Technology students are to be commended for their efforts, enthusiasm and positive approach to learning, whilst in the period of online learning. They have truly taken advantage of the many opportunities afforded them during this Semester!

As great Henri Matisse stated, 'creativity takes courage' and online learning has provided the context for our artists, designers and technologists to take risks, push the boundaries, and extend their own practices.

When we think of Design and Technology or Art, many of us are drawn to the days of our own HSC Major Works. Each year the quality and calibre improve and 2021 is no exception. Our Year 12 D&T and Visual Arts students have worked diligently and with passion on their Major Works with all students producing works that should make them and our community very proud. These works are the culmination of 12 months study and were celebrated through an online exhibition catalogue. Well done to Year 12! We celebrate you and what you have achieved in challenging circumstances.

You might think Zoom lessons would stop practical cooking lessons, but this is far from the truth. Years 9 and 10 Food Technology students have been busy researching, preparing, and designing meals such as caramel popcorn, gnocchi, baked pizza and mango pancakes. No doubt families were very happy to be well-fed after these lessons!

Also inspired by food, our Stage 4 artists have been busy looking at alternative ways to paint in lockdown using tea, coffee and food dye. They also explored the genre of still life and abstraction.

Portraiture is a key and recurring theme in Visual Arts and our Stage 5 photographers used themselves as subjects, which was ideal in this period of Online Learning. Building a sophisticated and mature Body of Work, their portfolios demonstrated diverse influences and techniques. You will have seen many of their works promoted on our College social media platforms. We hope their photographs brought you moments of joy and appreciation during the lockdown.

Technology students in Years 7 and 8 students embraced the challenges of remote learning with their characteristic energy and enthusiasm, responding to real, relevant and topical design problems, embracing their role as responsible citizens of the world. Focusing on the concept of ethical design and sustainability, students developed their creative skills by designing products as diverse as marionette puppets, re-usable tote bags and community gardens.

We have the knowledge, understanding and skills to solve problems in the real world! Our Stage 5 Software Technology students collaborated to solve problems and complete tasks and projects as they learnt about database design (using Microsoft Access), software development and programming (using Python), and robotics and automated systems.

We have had great success with our photographers. Tamsyn Houseman in 12 Visual Arts was a finalist in the Olive Cotton Portrait Photography Prize with her artwork ‘Portrait of Annie’. Her work was awarded the People’s Choice Award. Congratulations also to the two OLMC winners of the photographic competition Home which was run by Wollongong Art Gallery. Valerie Liu (10) was awarded First Place for her age group with her artwork Trapped Insideand Nikita Krzeminski (7) was awarded Third Place for her age group with her work Quarantine.

Did you visit our online OLMC Virtual Gallery Exhibitions? Staff and the OLMC community explored the theme of Shadows as the winter sun provided us with wonderful walks outdoors. CLICK HERE to view the Shadows exhibition. Our students captured the turn of the seasons with their exploration of Spring. CLICK HERE to view the Spring exhibition. 

The OLMC Careers website offers a careers newsletter that is published twice a term. A copy of last term's newsletter can be found here. I encourage you to subscribe to the newsletter by completing your details here.

Donna Jones
Careers and VET Co-ordinator

What a difference a week makes!

Finally last week we returned to face-to-face learning, and it was such a joy to hear the College grounds again be a place of laughter and togetherness. The excitement was wonderful to see after such a long time apart. My thanks to Mrs Patricia Pinto and Mrs Lulu Toli for preparing all our welcome back decorations.

As we re-establish friendships and routines, I would ask you to remind your daughter of the uniform regulations, particularly with regard to hair and jewellery. Whilst this may seem a trivial thing after 13 weeks of lockdown, it is actually an important part of setting routines in place and working together as a community, and I thank you in advance for your assistance.

I am sure the girls will have been exhausted after the first week and I truly hope they have taken time to recharge over the weekend. CLICK HERE to read an article from SBS about 5 ways parents can help their children adjust to being at school.

Please remember that we are here to support the girls and our families. Please reach out to your daughter’s Homeroom Mentor, House Leader, a College Counsellor or myself if you have concerns.

Take care,

Ann-Marie Herd,
Director of Student Wellbeing

The Value of Gratitude

Gratitude is an active choice to be thankful for what is, not focussing on what is not or what could be. It is not just about saying ‘thankyou’ but also thinking ‘I am thankful’. Gratitude is one of the easiest and long-lasting ways to reap psychological, relational and possibly even physical health benefits. Studies suggest that gratitude is not only helpful for healthy, well-adjusted individuals, but also for those who struggle with mental health concerns.

Gratitude is beneficial for us in so many ways; actively practicing gratitude allows us to let go of toxic emotions. It is virtually impossible to be practicing gratitude while also ruminating on negative experiences, or negative feelings like rage, resentment or envy. Gratitude does not come naturally for all of us, some people have more grateful dispositions than others. These differences may be rooted in our brains, genes, our upbringing and even our personalities. But we are not defined by these differences, in fact, gratitude like most other things can be practiced. The more we practice gratitude, the more spontaneously grateful we may become.

Tips for practicing gratitude daily:

1. Actively make time and be intentional about being grateful. The skill of being grateful needs to be practiced like all other skills.
2. Keep a gratitude journal or write gratitude letters (even if you never send them). Make a daily routine of remembering the grace, benefits and good things you enjoy. Write these down and notice the language you use. Actively being grateful isn’t just about using positive emotion words – but rather a reframing of negative emotion words. 
3. Being grateful is not about denying reality either – there are times where life is particularly challenging. We are currently recovering from an extended lockdown, but it can be helpful to be grateful now by remembering previous challenges that you have experienced. This lets you reflect on how far you have come and the contrast between then and now, is fertile ground for gratefulness.
4. Reframing current frustrations and seeing the silver linings in the clouds. A lower mark on an assignment is a warning to study more and seek help before a future test. A messy house means an abundance of loved ones under one roof. Being stuck at home can also mean the blessing of time to try new things, spend moments with family, and practice self-care.

Some apps available which may help guide your journey of gratitude include:

• 365 Gratitude Journal gives daily prompts for self-care.
• The Smiling Mind app includes a number of gratitude meditations to help guide gratitude practice.
• Grateful: A Gratitude Journal includes picture prompts of things that the user is grateful for.

Rose Sedra
College Counsellor  

MAKING THE MOST OF CLASS TIME

There are many advantages apart from deeper learning and improved results to making the most of class time. By completing more work in class you will have less to do at home, your teacher will be pleased with your application and so will your parents when they read your report, and of course, you will learn more! And if you don’t use class time efficiently? Well, you will have to do more work at home, you will find you don’t always understand the work, your teachers will have to be continually disciplining you and you may even make it harder for other people in your class to learn. It’s a no-brainer!

What does working effectively in class mean?

1. Sit next to someone who will help you stay on task rather than someone who distracts you.
2. Ask questions whenever you are unsure, unclear or do not understand something.
3. Be polite and respectful of your teacher and your classmates at all times.
4. Come prepared to the lesson with all the books, technology and equipment you will need.
5. Contribute your thoughts and ideas at the appropriate times.
6. If you find yourself day-dreaming, ask yourself questions about what is going on or take notes about what is being discussed so you regain your focus.
7. Try at all times to stay on task and be engaged in the work you are doing.

Learn more this year about how to work effectively at home and at school by working through the units on www.studyskillshandbook.com.au. OLMC's access details are:

Username: OLMC
Password: 64results

Vinnies Christmas Appeal

With Christmas fast approaching, we will once again be asking for donations for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. Donations of non-perishable food items can be placed in the marked tubs at the Staff Common Room verandah. Year 11 students are asked to please take their donations to Miss Fornito on Level 4.

CLICK HERE to view the list of items.

Mercy Day Liturgy 2021

The OLMC Community will be celebrating a Mercy Day Liturgy on Tuesday 23 November. The Liturgy will be pre-recorded and viewed in Homeroom. Students will be encouraged to wear mufti on this day. The theme of the day is “Open the eyes of my Heart” and students are encouraged to wear red or pink or any colour that might be an eye colour (like blue, green, brown)!

All students are encouraged to donate money on this day to Mercy Works who supports and assists people living in Timor Leste, Papua New Guinea, and Indigenous Australians.

The Liturgy will take place during Homeroom and then students will resume timetabled classes for the remainder of the day. (Students are to remember to wear enclosed shoes, refrain from clothing with offensive slogans, rips, tears, or midriff tops).

Letter from a Mercy friend

How lovely to receive the following email from one of the parents whose child received one of our letters from a Mercy friend which were written by Mercy Action students during lockdown:

I just wanted to thank you or your staff for arranging such a beautiful partnership with OLMC. {My child} received a personalized letter from a “ friend” who knew what he liked. The look on his face was beyond imagination. His first ever letter coming in the post from a friend.
What a beautiful way to make them feel inclusive. He was so delighted. I wanted to thank you for this beautiful act.

It is responses like this that make us realise that our Mercy community is such a wonderful place to be. Thank you again to all girls who participated in this initiative - you all made a huge difference to the lives of the children who received your thoughtful messages, activities and pictures.

Gabrielle Scanlon
Director of Identity

Over the last two weeks, both Year 7 teams competed in the semi-finals of CSDA Debating, an outstanding achievement by any standards. Both teams had been undefeated over seven debates and hopes were high for an all-OLMC Grand Final. Sadly, this was not to be as the 7A team went down narrowly to Domremy in their semi but 7B kept the Mercy flag flying by defeating Lewisham in their semi-final debate.

Both teams should be so proud of their outstanding results . The girls in the 7A team were Vishnu Gude, Isabel Homairi, Celeste Ieronimo, Shiloh Julien and Sofia Tong. Ex-student Priyanka Sangar was their coach. The 7B’s were A’ishah Ali, Lizzy Butler, Pia Goradia, Bianca Mina and Celina Wassef, coached by 2019/20 DAPS Leader, Lily Tambrchi.

And how did 7B go in the Grand Final against Domremy? We’ll let Bianca Mina tell the story.

After having our photo taken in the Stanley Rooms, we began walking up two flights of stairs in the Brigid Shelly Building where the Grand Final debate would commence. Our coach Lily had the tough task of selecting the three girls to debate but finally settled on Lizzy, A’ishah and Celina. Pia and I were still proud we had played our part in helping to win every debate during the season.

At the coin toss, the host announced what side of the argument each team would have.  

“The affirmative team is Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta, and the negative team is Domremy College. The topic is…that young people have it better than their parents.”

The chatter was like a swarm of bees buzzing throughout the preparation room (a Zoom breakout room, of course) while we all waited for the hour before the debate would begin.

As we sat in the waiting room, I thought about how far we’ve come and the journey we had taken to get us to this point. With great teamwork and collaboration, we were undefeated in all the rounds leading up to the finals. We thank our amazing coach, Lily Tambrchi, a former Debating Leader and OLMC student, for investing her time and effort with us. Most importantly, we wouldn’t be here if not for Mr Ostrowski, because he gave us this opportunity to be a part of the debating team this year and consistently motivated us to do our best.

An hour passed and the grand final had started. After thirty long minutes of strong arguments exchanged, point after point, the debate concluded. As we sat there waiting for the three adjudicators to give us the verdict, we tightly gripped onto our chairs, with our hands shaking and our hearts racing.

The announcement came after such a long wait. Finally, the Chief Adjudicator declared: “We have decided that the winner of the CSDA Year 7 Grand Final is…”

“…the affirmative team!”

Deafening screams shook the walls of the school as we excitedly hugged each other to revel in the moment. We were extremely proud of our teammates who did an amazing job as the speakers that evening. We were congratulated by our parents, our coach Lily, Mr. Ostrowski, our Principal Ms Farrugia and Deputy Principal Mrs Wood for our well-earned win that night. Our team went on to celebrate in Prince Alfred Park where, not only did we share our McDonalds meals, but we immersed ourselves in the sheer joy of our success and newfound friendships.

What a sensational first year of high school it has been for our team, and we are already looking forward to what next year will bring.

Bianca Mina, Year 7

Last week Ms Farrugia received this message from Senator The Hon. Jane Hume, Minister for Superannuation, Financial Services and the Digital Economy, and Minister for Women’s Economic Security, to recognise the efforts of Gabrielle Blaine and Mia Totino of Year 9. Gabrielle and Mia participated in a live pitch of their social enterprise You Are, which focuses on helping girls build positive self-esteem and self-image. Gabrielle and Mia were also national finalists in the Teens In Business Awards 2021, celebrated this week in a virtual ceremony.

These two young women represent our aspiration for Mercy Girls to become courageous advocates with limitless possibilities! 

Matthew Esterman
Director of Innovation and Partnerships

NSW All Schools Athletics Championships

Even though the PDSSSC and NSWCCC Athletics Championships were cancelled this year, students are still able to compete at the NSW All Schools Athletics Championships (No qualifications necessary). This event will be held December 9 – 12 at SOPAC.

CLICK HERE for more information and how to register (entries close November 29).

If you choose to compete, you will need to wear the OLMC singlet (from the Uniform Shop) and make your own way to and from the event.

Please contact me if you have any questions.

Staying Fit & Healthy

On the MyOLMC Sport Canvas page you can find a document with numerous links to online sport-specific training resources. CLICK HERE to access MyOLMC. If you would like to keep training for your chosen sports over the next few months, these resources can help you by providing a number of drills you can try at home with minimal equipment, space or people.

Stuart Guthrie
Sports Coordinator

Opening Hours and Purchases: The Uniform Shop is open Monday to Thursday, from 8.00am – 9.30am, and 3.00pm – 4.30pm on Monday and Wednesday (school days only).

Online purchases can be made via the Online Uniform Shop (https://shop.olmc.nsw.edu.au/) and all orders will be delivered to the Student Centre for collection by students.

Year 7 2022 Uniform Fittings began in October 2021 and all bookings can be made via the college website under Uniforms, and then click the tab ‘Make a Uniform Shop Appointment’. House Shirts will also be fitted during this time, and delivery will be via the College in Term 1 2022.

A recommended Junior College Summer Uniform Package will soon feature on the Online Uniform Shop.

Year 10 2022 Uniform Fittings: If a fitting is not required, uniform purchases can be made via the Online Uniform Shop and will be delivered to the Student Centre for pick up.  If you would like a fitting, then please make a booking via the website. To do this, click on the Uniforms tab and then click the tab ‘Make a Uniform Shop Appointment’.

A recommended Senior College Summer Uniform Package will soon feature on the Online Uniform Shop.

In Term 4, all girls are to wear the full Summer Uniform. 

If you have any concerns regarding uniform items, please don't hesitate to contact the Uniform Shop on 8838 1275 or uniformshop@olmc.nsw.edu.au

To align with the new OLMC P&F Constitution, the AGM will now take place in November each year starting in 2021. 

To nominate for a position on the P&F Committee, please complete the form below and email it to pandf@olmc.nsw.edu.au

P&F Committee Nomination Form

P&F Committee Roles and Responsibilities

We invite you to attend the P&F AGM via Zoom at 7.00pm on Tuesday, 16 November 2021.

Please note you will need to register for this meeting. Registration will close 4.00pm Monday, 15 November and IDs will need to be checked prior to attending to maintain our security. Click here to register your attendance.

P&F Committee

Sophia Santos: Creative and Performing Arts Leader (CAPA)

What are the key responsibilities of your Portfolio? My role as CAPA leader is to ignite the creativity within each student in our College. We help organise various events and keep the students up to date with all things creative through our CAPA Corner updates.     

What is your vision as Leader of this Portfolio in 2021 and 2022? My vision is to embrace each student's personal talents and to be open to student ideas. I believe OLMC has so many creative students and I hope to help showcase all of their talents.            

What is something about you that others might be surprised to know? When I was in Year 3 I was in an advertisement for NSW gas. My favourite part was that I got a day off school and I got to keep the clothes afterward!

What would be a good theme song for your life?505 by the Arctic Monkeys. This song has been with me in some of the most cherished memories in my life. It sounds extra good slow!        

Name one person with whom you would like to share a meal and why? Na-Kel Smith as he is a really funny actor, skater and singer and I just find him to be a carefree person. I think it would be a really fun meal - probably from a fast food outlet!  

What would be your superpower? Why? I would want to be able to clone myself, this would be so fun to be in two places at once and be in a fun place in boring situations.

What are your interests outside of school? I love to dance, play guitar, skate, listen to music, crotchet, meditate, read, sew and sleep. Definitely love spending my time doing fun creative projects, but you can never undermine the power of a good afternoon nap!