Mercy Messenger Term 1 Week 2, 4 February 2021

On Thursday 4 February all of Year 10 Leaders attended a conference tailor-made to address and inform them of what is required to be a Leader at Mercy College. We were very fortunate to have our Mayor Greg Williamson as our Guest Speaker. He spoke to them about different leadership styles, challenges in his leadership role and was very informative about our local community and its workings. He challenged them to “chew off as much as possible and to keep on chewing.”

Mr Williamson really challenged our students to take action and not be a bystander. He asked them to get involved in our community, in whatever field they are involved in and he encouraged them to aim high.

Other topics covered by members of the College Leadership Team and Middle Leaders were: Event Management, Skills for Public Speaking, How to run an Effective Meeting, Leadership in Me and most importantly the Catholic Character and Ethos of Mercy College. The day finished with a planning session, in which students and their House Coordinators mapped out the year ahead and what they would like to achieve in 2021. Our Committee Chairs worked with Mr Gunning and myself on the direction forward for their committee, and challenged themselves on how they could build their numbers, especially to include the younger Year levels.

I strongly encourage all students at the College from Years 7 – 10 to be involved in a committee during the year. It is never too late to sign up, and I have included a list of committees that are offered at the College: Sport, Social, Environmental, St Vincent de Paul, Interact, Justice @ Mercy, Cultural, Wellbeing, Young Christian Committee, Indigenous, Book Club, Auslan, Photography and Student Lighthouse Team. The Committee Chairs are Year 10 students, and each committee should consist of students from all Year levels so that every student can be involved in at least one throughout the year. We will be asking students to nominate one Service Goal and one Co-Curricular Goal for our 2021 year during Homeroom later on in the term.

Mr Christopher Sorbello

The Mercy College Library welcomes all students and parents/guardians to a new year.

Jackie French, one of our great Australian authors (and one of our most prolific!) once said, “The measure of a good book is one where you are the better for having read it!” (Connections, Issue No.97, pp 1-2, www.curriculum.edu.au/scis/connections)

At Mercy College we not only encourage reading as a means to access information and knowledge, but to allow students to read simply for the joy of reading. To help achieve this, we have implemented a program called USSR (Uninterrupted Silent Sustained Reading) where the entire school stops for 30 minutes on a Tuesday morning and devotes that time to silent reading. In today’s fast-paced world I believe that, that silence is truly a gift.

I realise that your child has an I-pad and we teach and learn and play with technology every day, but we do need to strike a balance in education between the new and the old. Therefore, to get the most benefit out of USSR every Tuesday, we ask the students to read only physical books. Tree books not e-books!

Additionally, our purpose is to encourage as many students through our doors as possible. The Library can be seen as a sanctuary and an opportunity for some quiet reading; or a busy, active space that caters not only for the learning needs of our students offering research facilities, homework facilities, and tutoring (English tutoring is every Monday afternoon from 3:00 – 4:15 pm); but also providing for students’ social needs where they can gather and enjoy a whole host of school activities such as – board games, card games, the Chess Club (who meet every week on a Wednesday), or the Book club (who meet every odd week on a Thursday).

But many parents/guardians may not be aware that the Library is open from 8:00am - 4:00pm every day except Friday, when we are open until 3:00pm (page 20 of the Student Diary). Therefore, if your child needs to stay at school for whatever reason until 4:00pm, then you can be rest assured that the Library can cater for their needs. They could make use of the various facilities on offer, all in a safe and secure environment. There is always something to do in the Library!

Thank you and please encourage your child to commit to participating in our USSR program and even ask them, “So, have you read a good book lately?”

Mr Stephen Crocker

Welcome to 2021. It’s my pleasure to once again lead the Science Department and welcome our wonderful new science staff Miss Abbi Johnson, Mrs Rachael Arlott, Mrs Amanda Riddick and finally welcome back from Maternity Leave, Mrs Kate Gibbs.

Below is an outline of what each Year level is studying and some resources that are available to support students as they explore the Scientific world. If you need any further information and support, please don’t hesitate to contact myself or your child's teacher.

Areas of Study:           Year 7             Chemistry Substances, Mixtures and Separation techniques
Year 8             Biology Cell Biology and Human Systems
Year 9             Chemistry Atomic Science and Chemical Equations
Year 10           Invest. Science Scientific Process and Forensic Science
Chemistry Atomic Structure and Chemical Reactions
Biology Ecology
Physics Kinematics

Supporting Resources: Each Year level now has access to a web based interactive learning resource “STILE”. It is available as an App on their I-pads.

While each teacher will utilise this resource differently, students should be able to access the relevant class and lessons. In many situations Stile offers an excellent platform to review topics covered in class. Students are encouraged to see their teacher if they have not got access to the class lessons.

Google Classroom: Every class will have a Google classroom, where teachers will post resources and messages. Students should ensure they have joined each relevant classroom and teachers are currently in the process of inviting all parents/guardians to their classroom so they can opt to receive frequent updates of their child's activity in the classroom.

SCIENCE TUTORING: Every Tuesday afternoon, in SO2. 3:00 - 4:00pm

Ms Tania Attard

Year 10

Mini Pavlova

Ingredients

150ml egg white (approximately 4 eggs)
Icing sugar, for dusting
1 cup caster sugar
150ml thickened cream
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 teaspoon caster sugar
2 teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
125g strawberries
¼ cup passionfruit

Method
1. Preheat oven to 150˚C. Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form.
2. Gradually add the sugar (1 cup), whisking well until stiff and glossy.
3. Add the cornflour and vinegar, and whisk to combine.
4. Spoon ½ cup of the mixture at a time onto baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper OR pipe into even sized mounds onto baking tray.
5. Reduce oven to 120˚C, place the trays in the oven and bake for 20 – 30 minutes.
6. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlovas to cool completely in the oven.
7. Add cream, caster sugar and vanilla essence and beat until whipped cream consistency.
8. Spoon cream over the pavlovas, top with strawberries, passionfruit and dust with icing sugar to serve.

Year 9

Bacon and Vegetable Bake

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini
¾ cup self-raising flour
1 carrot, peeled
2 tablespoons oil
½ onion, finely chopped
1 egg
2 slices bacon, diced
½ cup grated cheese
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Spray baking dish with cooking oil spray.
2. Grate carrot and unpeeled zucchini coarsely.
3. Finely chop onion.
4. Dice bacon.
5. Combine zucchini, carrot, onion, bacon, cheese, flour, oil, beaten egg, salt and pepper in a bowl.
6. Pour into a well-greased baking dish.
7. Bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes.

Year 7

Pikelets

Ingredients

1 cup flour SR flour
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons caster sugar
190ml milk
1 egg
oil spray
1 tablespoons butter
jam

Method
1. Sift flour and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the sugar.
2. Whisk milk and egg together, then add to dry ingredients, whisking until smooth.
3. Heat a non-stick frypan over medium heat and lightly spray with oil spray. Drop level tablespoonful of the mixture into the pan and cook for half a minute or until bubbles appear on the surface.
4. Turnover and cook other side for 1 minute until golden.
5. Allow to cool and serve with butter and jam.

Mercy Messenger Term 1 Week 2, 4 February 2021