Last week we welcomed students and families to the Year 7-10 Music Concert. It was a joy to see how much students have achieved over the course of the year as we listened to instrumental and vocal performances. It is always a humbling experience to be in the presence of the talent of our students. They are to be congratulated for their courage to perform and the joy in the music shared with all of us.

Each year at this time I am reminded of how much is left to do when the end seems so near. I am sure that many of your children are feeling like that too as they complete assessments and get ready for exams. A highlight of this time of year is the arrival of our families from Year 7 2023. On Tuesday we welcomed them and it was wonderful to see parents excited about the next stage in their child’s educational journey. The night also marks the beginning of our transition to the 2023 year. Our Year 12s have now completed all their exams and are finding ways to celebrate while they await results.

Year 10 and 11 students are in exam mode. At OLMC we introduce exams at Year 10 in line with the view that this is the beginning of the senior years at secondary school when assessments in their final year will include exams. As such, this is an important time for students to learn about how they work in preparation for exams and during the exam itself. Following exams, both year levels will have an opportunity to do some preparation work for 2023.

The year is rapidly coming to an end and we will soon move into the season of Advent where we begin our preparations for Christmas. However, we still have some work to do and I encourage all of our students to make the most of the next few weeks continuing to strive to achieve their best.

I share this prayer for exams in the hope that you might also share it with your child. In a small way, it may help to bring calm to the exam room.

Prayer For Exam
Come still my heart,
O Lord Calm my nerves and focus my mind.
Father, I lay before you everything I have studied.
May I channel all I have learnt into this exam.
Please give me the faith to believe I can pass this test,
Yet the peace to know that all is well.
Thank you that you are with me no matter what the result,
Thank you that your friendship is eternal.
Amen.

Last week, we celebrated the feast day of Catherine McAuley, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy. As Mercy people worldwide, we pray that we continue her works inspired by her life, charism and spirituality of Mercy, with all.

To have hope,
is to believe that history continues to be open to the dream of God and to human creativity.
To have hope,
is to continue to affirm that it is possible to dream a different world,
without hunger, without injustice, without discrimination.
To have hope,
is to believe in the revolutionary potential of faith and to leave the door open,
so that the Spirit can enter and make all things new.
To have hope,
is to begin as many times as necessary.
To have hope,
is to live.

Give us the blessing of courage to ask what you want of us, Lord. Amen
Give us the blessing to know that to live is to change. Amen
Give us the blessing to trust that you always have faith in us. Amen

We also commemorate Remembrance Day, which marks the anniversary of the Armistice, which ended the First World War.

Each year on 11 November, Australians observe one minute’s silence at 11:00 am in memory of those who died or suffered in all wars and armed conflicts and in appreciation of their sacrifice.

As we remember the lives that have been lost, let us promise each other to work for the freedom of all who are oppressed in the world today.

We ask this prayer in the name of Jesus, who taught us how to live. Amen

The Ode

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning.
We will remember them. Lest we forget.

Source: Catholic Education Cairns Remembrance Day Prayer for Families. Image: Pixabay.

Students who attend Our Lady of Mercy College are invited by St Gregory the Great Parish Doncaster to participate in a program to prepare for the Sacrament of Confirmation.

If your child would like more information about preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation, parents are invited to contact the parish office on 9412 8425 or by email DoncasterRE@cam.org.au

Margaret O’Donnell will conduct the program on Tuesdays after school.

There will be an information evening on Tuesday 14 February, at 5:00 pm in St Gregory’s Parish Church.

It has certainly been a productive year in the English Learning Area and students are currently working on a range of different tasks as the year draws to a close.

In Year 7, classes are preparing to write an analytical essay on the film, The Hunt for the Wilderpeople whilst the Year 8s are finalising their multimodal presentations on The Book Thief. Year 9 students meanwhile are preparing their oral presentations on Romeo and Juliet. At Years 10 and 11, students are busily preparing and revising for the English exams that commence in Week 8.

VCE English teachers are currently designing curriculum to reflect the significant changes to Year 11 (Units 1 and 2) English as a result of the new Study Design for 2023 and beyond. Our current Year 10 students will learn more about this in their forthcoming VCE English Orientation. We are confident that the changes will be engaging for students and develop their sense of agency and voice when responding personally to texts and creating their own responses.

Thank you to families for supporting your daughters to read, view, engage, reflect, plan and write this year.

One Year 8 English class has shared some of their short descriptive responses to phobias:

Claustrophobia
'It will only last 30 seconds' I tell myself, '30 seconds.' The monster arrives, the metal doors slowly open beckoning me inside. I take one small step after the other, dread fills me from head to toe as I enter the elevator. DING! the doors shut, my life ends. The lights begin to flicker, the walls come closer as if the elevator is desperate to crush me to death. My lungs are frozen, my eyes are filled with the sea of the ocean and my legs lose all feeling. I can’t breathe, I can’t see, I can’t feel. DING, ding, ding!
Ava O. Year 8 LWH

Ornithophobia
It was a beautiful day for a walk. The sun was beaming on my chest and the sky was free from clouds. I could hear the leaves crunching under my feet and feel the delicate breeze. It was peaceful, until…. A bird soared through the sky almost touching the ground. I could feel my heart and lungs working as if they were trying to power a whole city’s electricity. The sinister creature lands right before me. Its dark, royal feathers contrasted its bright terrifying eyes that were so blue they invited you like a sea to dive in. I didn’t realise I was staring at it until it pounced viciously at me. Ringing that irritated my ears, vision slowly weakening and a body that froze, I fell to the ground losing all consciousness.
Tilly C. Year 8 LWH

Anne Morrison
English Learning Leader

Year students studying Dance in Semester 2 participated in an incursion with a guest dance teacher on Thursday 3 November.

Students have been learning different dance styles from around the world, including African, Bollywood, Salsa dance, Classical Ballet, Balinese and Social Dance.

Dagago from the Nikki Visaj Movement inspired the students with exciting contemporary and fun Bollywood and African dance movements and sequences.

Students were also given some insight into the history of both cultural dance styles. With new inspiring dance choreography, the Year 8 Dance students will now be able to choreograph a dance routine that demonstrates three chosen cultural dance styles for their assessment next week.

It was impressive watching 100 Year 8 students all participate with enthusiasm in the dance incursion. They all thoroughly enjoyed the workshop.

Music
In Year 10 Music this semester, we have been looking at 20th Century music and breaking the boundaries. This included listening to multiple unique and unusual pieces, with silence, pianos plunged in water, interpretations of comics using voice, impressionism and serialism.

Listening to them was both amusing and interesting, exposing us to a whole new genre of music. This also aligns with our assessment for this term, in which many of us composed and arranged our own pieces based on 20th Century music. This was difficult as it stretched our musical knowledge and challenged us to think outside the box. However, we enjoyed having the opportunity to compose/arrange and perform abstract music.

We were also pretty happy with the end result.
|Isa S. Year 10 (AGLE), Neha M. Year 10 (CMSM) and Giulia C. Year 10 (CCTR)

Madalena Broadbent
Performing Arts Learning Leader

This term students in Year 8 have been participating in a Bike Education Unit in their Physical Education classes. Students start with 1 - 2 introductory sessions held on Marylands. They are taken through bike set up and basic bike skills such as; braking, gear changing, and bike handling. Students are taught how to safety pass, ride in groups and use shared paths safely.

With the amazing bike trails only a stone’s throw away from the school, Year 8’s complete trail rides outside of school. It is a great opportunity for students to apply learnt skills and extend their bike riding experience. Bike riding is a fantastic form of fitness and many students report wanting to dust off their bike in the shed and give it another spin.

Next year, students will participate in a Horizon Outdoor Education Unit where they will complete further training to ready them for riding longer distances throughout their camp.

Student reflection:
‘Bike riding was a fun experience for us we, I really enjoyed bike riding as it was something new and different. Being able to leave school and go for a bike ride in the park with my class was a really fun experience. Overall, we feel bike riding is a great skill to have. It is good that the school encourages this by having bike riding as an area of Physical Education.’
Gracie. R. 8JSE and Alexis. E. 8JSE

Madeleine Omizzolo and Teresa Cerra
Health and Physical Education Leaders

This week, our Year 10 students continued to volunteer to work with the students of St Pius X Primary School to improve their reading skills.

They were focused on the theme of World Kindness Day, reading stories with this focus and helping the primary school students engage with the characters and ideas within the pages.

It is wonderful to see that the students act with such compassion and understanding to help the youngsters find the joy of their stories – really demonstrating those OLMC values!

Bernadette Hogan and Elise Cooper
Religious Education Learning Leaders

Booklists for 2023 are now available here on the North of the Yarra website.

A reminder that orders should be placed by Tuesday 6 December 2022 if selecting the home delivery option.

Any queries can be directed to Anna Apfelstedt, Learning Commons Coordinator (aapfelstedt@olmc.vic.edu.au).

A public lecture sponsored by Banyule Churches Together featuring Fr. Frank Brennan SJ AO.

Frank Brennan is a Jesuit priest and Rector of Newman College at the University of Melbourne.

He is a Distinguished Fellow of the PM Glynn Institute at Australian Catholic University, an Adjunct Professor at the Thomas More Law School at ACU and research professor at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture.

He chaired the National Human Rights Consultation for the Rudd Government and was a member of the Turnbull Government’s expert panel which conducted the Religious Freedom Review. The Morrison Government appointed him to the Voice Co-Design Senior Advisory Group to help guide the Co-Design process to develop options for an Indigenous voice to government. Frank serves on the boards of Jesuit Social Services and the National Apology Foundation for Indigenous Australians and on the Advisory Council of the Global Foundation. His research interests include conscience and faith, human rights and the rule of law, and the rights of Indigenous peoples and asylum seekers.

Thank you to everyone for supporting this fundraiser and all of the other events we have held this year.

A very Merry Christmas and best wishes for the holidays from all at the Parents Association.

We thank you all for your support and look forward to an exciting year in 2023.

Our first meeting next year will be on Tuesday 21 February at 7.00pm in Abe's Staff lounge in the main administration building. Our Annual General Meeting will be held on Tuesday 21 March, 2023 at 7.00pm.

WINNERS

OLMC Parents’ Association

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