This was our theme this year. We chose this because it spoke to all that we had learned from 2020 and all that we felt we would learn in 2021. It filled us with hope for the awe we could feel from all that we could learn that was new. Many new things have been revealed this year; we have been shown the depths of our strength and the fragility of life. We have been shown our resilience, community spirit and ability to “rise by lifting others” to quote our Year 12 leaders.

This is our last newsletter for the year; a year filled with triumphs and challenges that were unexpected. Students will once again receive the school magazine which has chronicled the successes in many different aspects of College life including those achieved during remote learning. Congratulations to the Communications Leaders and the Magazine Committee on an outstanding publication.

Earlier today we held our final liturgy and assembly with all students. It was an opportunity to recognise students who have achieved excellence in an aspect of school life whether that be in their studies, social justice, sport, music, public speaking or leadership. Congratulations to all who were the recipients of an award.

During the assembly I was privileged to have the opportunity to address the students. I would like to share an excerpt of that speech with you. Michelle Obama is quoted as saying:

“You may not always have a comfortable life and you will not always be able to solve all of the world’s problems at once but don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own.” – Michelle Obama

Hope can take on a life of its own. We have certainly faced many moments of discomfort over the last two years but we have much to be hopeful for. Our hope can grow in the hearts of those around us as we look forward to our return next year to new challenges and opportunities. The chance to challenge ourselves to reach new heights and take on more, knowing that the hope in our hearts will spur us forward. We have the chance to pursue excellence in new ways and new places because of all that we have learnt over the last two years. We have developed new skills and knowledge and they have opened up new possibilities for our futures. They have filled us with hope for the new chances that might now come our way. The biggest chance we have right now is to share and allow our hope to be contagious with our friends, our families and our community.

My hope for all of you is that you enjoy a wonderful break sharing in all the joy of Christmas and that you return in 2022 filled with hope for your year and all that you want to achieve.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank parents, students and our staff. Many aspects of this year were unexpected and we continued to be challenged by a regularly changing landscape. However, there were so many wonderful moments of engagement with families, amongst students and staff. Catherine McAuley once said “We should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us.” In so many ways we have seen our families, students and staff offer moments of light to others, whether that be in the support of special events, fundraising activities, attending parent teacher student interviews or doing your very best. It is a great credit to the strength of the OLMC community that we have continued to thrive.

Our students shone in so many ways and showed great resilience and determination throughout the year. We continue to be proud of our students and our community. I continue to believe that Catherine McAuley would look upon our work with pride and joy knowing that we kept our faith, continued to support the vulnerable and persevered through difficult times.

Farewells
We say farewell and thank you to a number of staff for their dedicated support of our students in a variety of roles:

Naho Hamanaka will be leaving OLMC after 18 years of dedicated service. Many of our students have developed a love of Japanese because of the work of Naho. She has been a committed and dedicated teacher and a wonderful community member. Naho has shown care and support for staff and students. We wish Naho all the very best in her new role at Presbyterian Ladies College.

Kelly Bregantic has been a member of staff for 10 years and is leaving us to take on new roles. Kelly has been a teacher and Careers Coordinator whose dedication and commitment to our students has been truly valued. As Careers Coordinator she was always available to students and worked to ensure that they were well equipped to make choices about the future pathways. We wish Kelly all the very best in her new role.

Charlie Dyring will be leaving OLMC after 7 years of committed service to take up a role as Head of Media at Bialik College. Charlie has unlocked the creativity of so many students as they work with him in Media, Digi Tech and English. He is a committed and dedicated teacher who works to bring out the best in his students. We wish him all the very best in his new role.

Brighid Kelly has been with us for three years and has over the last two years been part of our Horizon Team. Brighid has been a wonderful member of the team and has provided so many students the chance to engage in opportunities to really test and challenge themselves. Her commitment to students and dedication to supporting the Horizon program has been wonderful. We wish her all the very best in her new role as she travels to Western Australia.

Virginia Boyce is one of our school nurses. She is always ready with a smile, a chat and most of all a supportive environment whenever our students present to sickbay. She has made a great contribution to the development and refining of our systems and supports to ensure that we can do the very best for our students. Virginia is beginning a new phase in her life as she retires. We wish her all the very best for her new adventure.

Emma Fraser will be taking up a position at Lauriston, Howqua Campus next year. Emma has been with us for two years. To begin your time in a school during a pandemic is challenging and in so many ways Emma rose to it. Emma has contributed to OLMC in so many ways beyond her classroom. We wish her all the very best in her new role.

William Balme has been with us for two years and has also spent most of his time with us during a pandemic. This year he also took on a leadership role in our Social Justice Team. His commitment to our students and focus on helping them to reach out to the vulnerable or advocate and articulate for those whose voice is a whisper has been wonderful. William is taking up a role at Lauriston, Howqua Campus and we wish him all the very best.

Bridget Cowin has been with us for two years and is leaving to take up a role at Melbourne Girls Grammar. Bridget is a committed and dedicated teacher who has brought a great deal to the Health and PE department. She has supported students both within and beyond the classroom and provided them with opportunities to excel. We wish her all the very best in her new role.

Benita Bowles joined us this year as part of our Tutoring Program and also took on some classes. Benita returned to OLMC and it was wonderful to welcome her back. Her support and dedication for our students was yet again evident in all that she undertook. We wish her all the very best in her new role.

Eva Natsis joined us this year in a replacement role and will be taking up a new position at Overnewton College next year. Eva is a committed teacher and very quickly fitted in at OLMC. She has been a wonderful contributor to so many different aspects of life at OLMC. We wish her all the very best in her new role.

Although leaving us, all will continue to be valued members and friends of the OLMC community. We have been blessed by their presence and hope that their next journey will be rewarding.

Staff on Leave
Suzie Bradmore and Fran Di Biase will both be on leave for 2022. We wish them all the very best as they take time to renew and explore new adventures. We look forward to welcoming them back in 2023.

Welcoming in 2022
Jonathon Broughton- Science Teacher
Lucy Davies – Science Teacher
Jeremy Guzman – Media Studies and Digi Tech teacher
Maria Kyriakides – Humanities Teacher
Lara Tierney – Health and PE Teacher

Welcome Back
Grace Austin and Madeleine Omizzolo will be returning from parental leave.

College Office
The College Office will close 4.00pm Friday 17 December and will re-open on Monday 17 January, 2022.

Important Dates for 2022
The following is a list of important dates for all families to be aware of in preparing for 2022.

17 January College Office re-opens
28 January All staff return
1 February Year 7 and 12 students return
2 February All students return

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very joyous Christmas with family and friends. May this time be one of peace. May you find hope in the promise of Christmas and joy in being with family and friends. I hope that this Christmas we can find space to give thanks for the chances to be together and appreciate each other. I hope you are able to rest and relax readying yourself for the New Year.

Let us pray...

Lord Jesus,

Master of both the light and the darkness,
send your Holy Spirit upon our preparation for Christmas.
We who have so much to do
seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day.
We who are anxious over many things
look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways
long for the complete joy of your Kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy
seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in darkness
yet seeking the light.
To you we say “Come, Lord Jesus”.
Amen.

Henri Nouwen

May we pray that special Aramaic phrase as we read in Paul’s first letter to the people of Corinth (1 Col 16:22) Maranatha ( מרנאתא‎) Come, our Lord.

On Wednesday 1 December, some of our Senior Social Justice Leaders travelled to the Mercy Hub to visit the “World Next Door” Exhibition by refugee detainee Naser Moradi.

Naser, a Hazara man, fled persecution in Afghanistan 10 years ago and has been detained at the MITA facility in Broadmeadows for the past 7 years. He is well known to the school, we have displayed his Art at school in the past and staff and students have visited Naser in Detention over several years.

He started creating artwork in his Detention Cell using drippings from coffee cups, teaching himself to paint and eventually gained support to produce artwork. His art expresses both his grief, and hope for a better future for all of his fellow detainees.

The girls were moved by their visit to the Exhibition and inspired to raise awareness as Mercy people for the plight of refugees currently held in detention in this country. Walking with others has been very important to the Sisters in the past and continues to be so for our students as they live and invite all to live Mercy.

If your family would like to purchase any of the prints made of Naser’s artwork, please contact Lauren Marquet: lmarquet@olmc.vic.edu.au to arrange this through the Mercy Hub. Cards are $5 and Posters are $25 - $40. All proceeds go to helping cover legal costs.

Lauren Marquet and William Balme
Social Justice Coordinators

Student reports for Semester Two will be available via PAM by Tuesday 7 December. When they are available you will receive a notification via email. The email will also provide you with an outline of the reports. As with the Semester 2 2020 reports, the impact of remote learning has meant that the range of tasks reported on will, in some cases, differ to that of previous years.

Pursuit of Excellence and Excellence in Achievement Awards will be posted during the week of 6 December.

Andrew Gibson
Curriculum Coordinator

VTAC KEY DATES

END OF YEAR SUPPORT AVAILABLE FOR YEAR 12 STUDENTS

Year 12 students and their families have received a letter via email outlining support available at the College during the release of ATAR results and the December Offer Round. Please read over these details carefully to ensure Year 12 students can access the support they may require at this time. Careers Coordinator, Melinda Williams and College Counsellors will be available during this time.

ACCESSING UNIT 3/4 STUDY SCORES AND RESULTS
Students completing a Unit 3 and 4 subject in 2021 (either in Year 11 or 12) need to register for the VCE Results and ATAR service to access their final results from 7.00am on Thursday 16^th of December. To do this, students will need their VCAA student number. If students have forgotten this number, they can contact Mrs Williams or Ms Bond in the Pathways Office in the Learning Commons. Students can register for this service here and will need to scroll down to the ‘Register’ section.

For more information about this service, please visit the VCE Results and ATAR website

TAX FILE NUMBER
Students cannot enrol in a CSP (Commonwealth Supported Place) university course next year without a Tax File Number (TFN). Students who do not have one will need to apply for a TFN online and have their identity verified through an interview at a participating Australia Post office. Current Year 12 students are encouraged to begin this process now to ensure they are prepared when their enrolment details are made available.
To apply and also to find out about participating Post Offices, visit TFN Application

USI NUMBER
Along with a TFN, all students will need to provide a USI at the time of enrolment. This is a number used to record all training completed over the course of a person’s lifetime. Any students who have begun a VET study, regardless of whether or not they have completed it will already have a USI number. All other students will need to create one. This is a free number and the process takes less than 5mins although identifying documentation will be required. All Year 12 students were emailed about this last week. To create a USI, students need to visit Create USI

If a student believes they may have a USI but are not sure, they can easily check via Find Your USI

VET IN 2022
Students undertaking VET subjects external to OLMC should have already received enrolment details to their student email addresses. As these courses are not connected to OLMC, the administration and communication including start dates and material requirements for these programs is handled by the VET provider and made directly to the student. If your child has applied for a VET program and has not had any communication from their VET provider, please encourage them to see Mrs Williams or Ms Bond in the Pathways Office in the Learning Commons or email abond@olmc.vic.edu.au

Melinda Williams
Careers Coordinator

Virtual Reality (VR) has long been used as a tool of entertainment that can transport and powerfully excite the imagination. At OLMC, our incoming Year 1 Allied Health students and 2022 VCAL students were privileged to participate in an experience shifting the amazing possibilities provided by VR in a learning environment by the team at Mindflight7. Our Allied Health students became Open Heart Surgeons whilst our VCAL students were able to select from a vast variety of experiences; performing surgery, creating the first of their imagined fashion house designs, visiting and moving through locations such as the African Savannah, the diverse eco-system in the deep blue and even the International Space Station and producing a music recording in the virtual sound studio. Initially confronting and requiring a bit of getting used to, the students settled quickly into the experience and grasped the chance to participate in an activity and space that would be so challenging to access in the real world.

We look forward to exploring the amazing possibilities VR can add to student learning and thinking about their future options. Students offered the reflections below on their experience:

I enjoyed the VR experience because it was different to normal learning that we usually do. As well as that it felt very real, as if I was in the actual surgical room.
Amelia D - Year 10 (CRIV)

I really enjoyed the VR experience yesterday as it was something different from usual subjects and felt very real. I learnt a lot from it as I am a visual learner and that was very beneficial for my learning.
Josephine K - Year 10 (CRIV)

I really enjoyed the VR experience - it was so fun! It’s not something you get to do every day and was an awesome way to see how technology is expanding while providing a way for people to experience things like going for nature walks, open heart surgery or being on the International Space Station.
Bridie – Year 11 (MFKO)

Careers Coordinator
Melinda Williams

If you happened to be in the DAT building in the past few weeks your culinary senses might have picked up hints of the olfactory delights of Palermo, Beirut, Athens or Barcelona! Since the return to on site learning our kitchens have been setting a cracking pace making up for lost practical time.

Our Year 9 classes have designed and produced healthy Mediterranean bowls full of colour, multiple food groups and a wide variety of flavours. This year as part of the end stage of the food design process we have focused on styling and photography as this is an integral element of the Food Industry and also a potential career pathway for our students. As you can see in these images this has been a great success!

Mark Jenkinson
Design, Art & Technology Learning Leader

To celebrate the thirtieth ‘Fête de la Science’, the Alliance Française de Melbourne hosted an online round table discussion with five bilingual French scientists and PhD students. The theme of the discussion was: The impact of bilingualism on science and scientific careers. The panellists spoke about their experiences working in the domain of science and how being bilingual has boosted their careers. They also spoke about how languages shape the way we see the world and do research. The webinar was moderated by Professor Frédéric Hollande (Professor, Clinical Pathology, Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre) and the panellists included French scientists working in Australia from a range of disciplines (engineering, ecology, marine biology, biochemistry, etc.)

Many of our senior French students also study sciences and a number of students in Years 10 and 11 took up the opportunity to participate in the session. Here’s what they had to say:

The most inspiring thing I learnt was how the panellists used their native language to assist them in broadening their opportunities in the science field whilst tackling the culture shock and challenges with using a second language and being in a foreign country. It was also great to hear about how being able to know these languages allows you to access more material to help one with one’s goal.
Farah (Year 11)

For me, I felt that attending the webinar was really useful to think about my future in a way I hadn't really considered before. It was very valuable to hear the experiences and advice of real people who have studied abroad in science fields.
Chelsea (Year 10)

It was very interesting to hear about how much the speakers benefited from being able to speak another language in terms of their careers and being able to do the courses or jobs that they were passionate about regardless of whether they were in France or an English-speaking country.
Lara (Year 10)

The webinar was recorded (see here: https://www.afmelbourne.com.au/schools-and-teachers/fete-de-la-science/) and I encourage any student who was not able to attend to take some time to watch it during the break. It is quite inspiring.

Year 8 Italian Poetry Competition Winners
In other news, the results for the Year 8 Italian CIS (Centre of Italian Studies) poetry competition in which OLMC students participated online in October have been released. We are very proud to announce that two of our students were named prize-winners in this inter-school competition.

They are:
Nari - Secondo Premio
Stefania - Terzo Premio

These two students received a book voucher prize.

In addition, the following students were awarded an Honourable Mention:

Year 8 Italian

1. Alessia
2. Amelia
3. Mia
4. Madeline
5. Alyssa
6. Lara
7. Charlotte
8. Liana
9. Natalie

Year 8 non – Italian

1. Mary
2. Lexie
3. Hannah
4. Grace
5. Maria

The judges were very impressed with what the students were able to achieve as they recited their poems from memory, using correct pronunciation and expression. Considering that the final preparation for this competition took place during remote learning, this was a wonderful achievement.

Fleur Davison
Languages Learning Leader

Congratulations to Hannah K (7HGI) who achieved the school’s highest standardised score in the AMT Computational and Algorithmic Thinking Competition (Years 7 - 9) this year.

This is a commendable achievement, and a testament to Hannah’s talent, commitment and enthusiasm in our Mathematics classes. No doubt Hannah will continue to strive for excellence in her Maths learning throughout her time at OLMC.

Well done Hannah!

Helen Hamblin
Year 7 Mathematics Teacher

Year 8 MED investigated the number Phi.

Phi has been studied since at least 300 BCE when it was defined by the Greek Mathematician Euclid.

Phi can be found in all aspects of the universe and is the constant

The golden ratio is 1 : 1.618…

Phi can be observed in many areas of mathematics related to fractal patterns and is seen in shells, flower seed heads, pineapples, ferns and pinecones to name a few. Phi also plays a key role in Western aesthetics and architecture and features prominently in the work of artists such as Leonardo Da Vinci.

The girls learnt about the Fibonacci sequence and how this relates to Fibonacci squares. They then investigated how to use the squares to create the golden spiral which is present in everyday life.

They had great fun determining whether the ratios of the digits on their hands conformed to the golden ratio or whether the ratio of their humerus to their ulna declared them as having the most perfect arm in the class.

The investigation developed a number of skills within measurement, geometry and number patterns. The girls had to think critically about ratios and their applications.

Mark Vorster
Mathematics Learning Leader

The Year 9 Cohort of 2021 all started their journeys at OLMC in house based Year 7 pastoral groups. In 2022 these students will join our seniors in vertical house based pastoral groups. Transition at any stage in life can be daunting, so here at OLMC we incorporate a range of sessions to help the students prepare for this experience in their schooling journey.

Throughout Term 4, students have heard from current Year 10s who shared their experience moving into the senior school, and provided some great school tips, especially to do with organisation- as the lockers won’t necessarily be right outside the classroom door.

Students have also had a few pastoral sessions in the House groups, helping them connect with peers who’ll be in their pastoral groups for 2022. Last week they also meet with their new House Coordinator for a Q and A session, and this week, students shared house coloured cupcakes, and received virtual welcome messages from the current Year 10 and Year 11 students. Current Year 9 families will receive communication later this week with details on how to contact the new coordinators should they need to touch base before the start of 2022.

Stephanie Boemo
Year 9 Level Coordinator

Global Politics is an expanding subject in the Humanities Learning area at OLMC.

This subject is for girls who are passionate about world issues and enjoy the opportunity to discuss and research different perspectives.

Unit 2 students investigate Global Connections and the second area of study undertaken is Global Cooperation and Conflict. In this topic students consider the extent to which global actors cooperate and share visions and goals as part of the global community. They investigate the ability of the global community to manage areas of global cooperation and to respond to issues of global conflict and instability. As part of this investigation every student must research a contemporary case study.

In a world where news and information is readily available, traditional sources of print media are giving way to more modern, digital versions of information sharing and opinion making. Under the careful guidance of Mr Andrew Gibson, Year 11 Global Politics students were asked to create a podcast focusing on the issue of Climate change and present to an audience some carefully curated opinion and facts about how global forces are impacting this issue.

Once the girls had researched and prepared their podcasts, a Year 9 History class was invited to listen to the podcasts and provide their feedback. Some of this feedback is included below.

We commend these podcasts to you and hope they will raise your awareness of how this important issue of climate change is being analysed and evaluated on the world stage as brought to you through the voices of our most thoughtful students.

https://sites.google.com/olmc.vic.edu.au/global-politics-podcasts2021/home

Feedback from students:

Really informative and engaging podcast. I learnt how the Paris Agreement helps combat climate change.

Good to listen to and I learnt more about what world leaders have done to combat climate change.

I learnt that Australia is placed last for taking action against climate change.

Overall the podcast was very informative and taught me lots of new and interesting information.

Russell Ives
Humanities Learning Leader

Usually, at the end of each year, we hold the annual OLMC Celebration of Sport Evening. However, for the past two years due to COVID that has not been feasible. Although Sport was cut short this year, we thought it would still be a great opportunity to celebrate the performances of our students, who were awarded the 6-year commitment to sport award and also the OLMC Sportswomen of the Year Awards.

The 6 Year Commitment to Sport is awarded to Year 12 students who have committed and participated in the same sport over their time at OLMC. Some girls are awarded this for just 1 or 2 sports and others had up to 6 sports that they had committed to each and every year at OLMC.

There were 40 Year 12s that received the 6 Year Commitment to Sport Awards, which speaks volume for the class of 2021. We wish to congratulate and acknowledge their achievement. The girls awarded the 6 Year Commitment are listed below.

As well as the Commitment to Sport Award, we celebrate the Sportswomen of the Year Award. The Sportswomen of the Year Award recipients are not all necessarily the best at every sport, the Sportswomen of the Year Awards acknowledge students from each year level who have fulfilled many aspects of the criteria including:

• Upholds the school values
• Participated in a sport each term
• Has demonstrated exceptional performance in a school sport
• Shows commitment to training in a school team

They may also have:

• Represented OLMC in an external sporting competition
• Broken a school or GSV record
• Held a leadership position at OLMC
• Made a GSV Rep Team

We would like acknowledge the contribution of our outstanding students.

The 2021 individual Year Level Sportswomen of the Year are the following:

Year 7: Zarah L (7EFR), for her participation in: GSV Tennis, GSV Triathlon, GSV Cross Country, SCSA Badminton, GSV Hockey and GSV Athletics.

Year 8: Sarah B (8WBA), for her participation and achievements in: GSV Swimming, GSV Netball, GSV Cross Country, GSV Volleyball, GSV Athletics and also receiving the 2021 House Athletics Carnival Year Level Champion Award.

Year 9: Charlotte D (9DCA), for her participation and achievements in: GSV Diving, OLMC Aerobics Squad, OLMC Gymnastics Squad, a member of the GSV Diving Division 3 Senior Premier team and also receiving the 2021 House Athletics Carnival Year Level Champion Award.

Year 10: Ashleigh T (MMZI), for her participation and achievements in: GSV Tennis, GSV Netball, GSV Cross Country, SCSA Badminton, GSV Athletics, as well as being awarded the 2021 House Athletics Year Level Champion.

Year 11: Georgia A (LBCO), for her participation and achievements in: GSV Softball, GSV Swimming, GSV Cross Country, GSV Netball, GSV Soccer, GSV Athletics, 2021 House athletics Year Level Champion, GSV Cross Country Preliminary Event, placed 10^th, GSV Cross Country Captain, and most recently Georgia is one of the two 2022 OLMC Sport Captains.

Year 12: Millie C (CBRY), for her participation and achievements in: GSV Swimming, GSV Triathlon, GSV Netball, OLMC Aerobics Squad, GSV Swimming Preliminary Carnival, 1st place Freestyle C Event, GSV Swimming Finals Evening 2nd place Senior Team 50m Medley Event, GSV Triathlon, Senior Division 29th place, 6 Year Commitment to Sport Award for Triathlon, Netball and Aerobics.

As well as all of these individual awards and achievements, there are also some notable team achievements. OLMC had 10 Junior Netball teams compete each week in Term 2, of those 10 teams, teams 2, 3, 5, 8 and 9 were all undefeated throughout their season.

A huge thank you to all of the Year 12 Netball Captains that assisted in training and coaching these teams as well as our past student coaches, Lily and Emma and of course, our staff in charge that managed all the mayhem that was Junior Netball, Bridget Cowin, Kylie Willis and Ornella Dharumasena.

In Term 1, our Junior Tennis B team placed 2^nd overall for their season (finals were cut short due to COVID). Congratulations to those players and a thank you to Trevor Robertson for coaching.

Last but certainly not least by any means, we acknowledge our Senior A Netball Team and their impressive achievements. The Senior A Grade Netball Team dominated the competition in Term 2 GSV Sport. The team displayed commitment and teamwork as they cemented themselves as the clear favourites to take out the title. They brought their A game to every match and the closest winning margin was 25 goals.

Unfortunately, the finals were abandoned due to COVID-19, however we have no doubt that this group would have gone deep into the playoffs. Due to lockdown, we have just received the Netball pennant for placing first in our division. Congratulations on another fantastic Netball season. A special thank you to Lucy B (MSHO), Zoe B (LJRE) and Evelyn P (AGGL) who played their final games with OLMC. Also, a huge thank you to Jemma Banfield for not only being their coach all these years, but also their biggest supporter and cheer squad all in one.

The Sport Department would like to especially thank the many OLMC staff members that made GSV Sport possible and wish everyone a safe and happy holiday!

We can’t wait to see you all back on the court and field next year.

Beth McCullagh
Sport Administration