Mercy Messenger, Term 2 Week 6, 28 May 2021

Reconciliation Week

This week is Reconciliation Week and marks two key events in Australian history. The first when indigenous Australians were recognised as full Australians at a referendum in 1967, and the second event when the High Court decision in the Mabo case gave traditional custodians the right to claim native title. Australia was considered as Terra Nullus prior to European settlement – that is land owned by no one.  

Indigenous Australians still suffer effects of this treatment – prior to 1967 they came under the Fauna and Flora Act. Prior to 1992 there were no traditional land rights.  The sad truth is, that indigenous children are still more likely to be taken from their families and put into care than non-indigenous children. More still needs to be done to support indigenous communities – especially remote communities where employment and educational opportunities are limited.

Reconciliation is about two sides coming together, holding hands and walking together into the future as equal partners. It is not about one side dominating the other. We celebrate and work together as indigenous and non-indigenous Australians for a better and fairer Australia for all. 

This week student reflected on what reconciliation means to them and their responses have been displayed on the banner at the front of the school. 

The Next P & F Meeting – Combined with St Patrick’s College – Guest Speaker Bernadette Kreutzer

A reminder that the next P & F meeting will be held on Wednesday 2 June at 6:00pm. This meeting will be a combined meeting with the St Patrick’s College P & F Committee and will be held in J1 at St Patrick’s College.  Bernadette Kreutzer from Catholic School Parents Queensland will be the guest speaker for this meeting. This will be a great opportunity for committee members, parents and staff to talk with Bernadette, answering any questions that you might have.

I would like to invite all parents from both Colleges to come along and attend this meeting. If you have any questions, please contact the College office on 4969 4199

NSIT Review June 1,2 and 3

Next week, the NSIT team will be conducting interviews and reflections at the College. The feedback received from this will give the Leadership team at the College, improvement outcomes to focus on. This process will be vital as we come together as a united College in 2023.

Introduction to Senior Schooling Evening for Year 11 2022

I would like to invite all parents of our Year 10 students, along with the students to St Patrick’s College next Thursday evening to the Introduction to Senior Schooling Evening which will commence at 6:30pm in St Patrick’s Hall. Canapes will be served from 6:00pm. Mercy College students traditionally complete their senior schooling at St Patrick’s. 

With the combining of the two colleges in 2023, from this year, Mercy students will still need to complete the online enrolment process, however, they will not be required to pay the $100.00 enrolment fee. When you receive the email request through the automatic process, please disregard it and do not make a payment. Staff from St Patrick’s College will be in contact with you to guide you through the online enrolment process. If at any stage you have questions, please contact the College office on 4994 8700.

Bikeathon

Thank you to everyone who attended and supported the recent P & F Bikeathon. We had fabulous weather and it was wonderful to see so many students and staff supporting the event. Well done everyone!

2021 Youth Pilgrimage

Students from Mercy College, Holy Spirit College and St Patrick’s College gathered together at St Patrick’s College recently to participate in the Catholic Education Diocesan Youth Pilgrimage for 2021. Students enjoyed being able to gather together and participate in the livestreamed event.  Many thanks to all those involved.

200 Years of Catholic Education in Australia – 24 May

The solemnity of Our Lady Help of Christians, a Diocesan was livestreamed from St Joseph’s Cathedral, Rockhampton with Bishop Michael McCarthy presiding. Everyone was warmly invited to join via the livestream to participate in our major celebration to mark 200 years of Catholic Education in Australia.

Year 6 Parent Enrolment Evening – 27 May

The Year 6 enrolment interview evening was held last night with many enthusiastic upcoming students being interviewed by Staff.  Students will be notified by the end of Week 1 Term 3, if they have been offered a place at Mercy College. 

Fame Musical  

Our talented Mercy and St Patrick College students have been dancing up a storm in rehearsals.  Tickets have now been released for purchase through the MECC.  Dates for the shows are:   Thursday 24 June at 7:00pm.  Friday 25 June at 11:00am and 7:00pm. 

Student Achievement

The College community would like to acknowledge and celebrate the success of past student, Thomas Henderson.  At the recent National Titles on the Gold Coast in April, he swam two qualifying times which has now enabled him to swim at the Australian Olympic team selection trials in June. These trials will be conducted in Adelaide from 12 to 18 June.

The events that Tom has qualified for are the 100m and 200m backstroke. He is relatively new to the sport of swimming due to only having taken up swimming at the age of 13, so it has been quite a steep learning curve for him. 

The upcoming trials are qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics and Tom will be using this as a means to gain experience against not only Australia’s best swimmers, but also current world champions. Tom has his eyes on the Commonwealth games in 2022, World Championships in 2023 and the Paris Olympics in 2024 as further potential events to swim at. 

Mercy College wishes Tom all the best in the upcoming trials and we look forward to hearing more of his achievements in the future.

Mrs Janelle Agius

On my wall I have a photo of my husband and I at Cape Finisterre, the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula of Spain. The view around us - the lighthouse at the tip and the Atlantic Sea were magnificent. One of the greatest challenges in life is to be able to truly see.  To see our own strengths and failings, to see the beauty in our relationships, to see where we are stubborn and need to forgive, to see the need to be present to another. These and many other ‘seeings’ are often so difficult.  

This coming Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity.  The Holy Trinity is not about how three goes into one. It’s about gaining the strength at the Eucharist to come together to see that we all have the opportunity to hear the good news of how much God loves us as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are invited to take our privileged place at God’s table. Most people will learn about the love of God primarily through the way they observe others seeing, judging and acting.

It’s not an accident that in our Catholic tradition the usual moment we invoke the Trinity is when we make the sign of the cross. It reminds us that ‘we cannot have our cake and eat it too’. Every time we profess the Trinity we recommit ourselves to die to self so that God’s saving love may be realised for everyone, everywhere.

So let’s not only profess our belief in the three persons that make up our one God, but live the life that goes with it, ‘In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.’

Mrs Jeanette Refalo

Please contact Mrs Bennett -  email: carmen_bennett@mercymackay.qld.edu.au or Ph 4969 4199 for further information.

Mrs Carmen Bennett

Mrs Melissa Russell

Brekky Van

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Dalrymple Bay for their very generous sponsorship for the Brekky Van over the next two years. With their assistance we are able to continue a service that improves the day to day lives of others.

We would also like to thank ESA International Alpha Rho Mackay Branch who have made an amazing donation towards the Brekky Van. These ladies do an incredible job raising money for many community service groups. They are the ladies you see at Christmas time wrapping gifts for a gold coin donation at the shopping centres! Both Helen Patroni and myself were fortunate enough to attend their recent 26th Annual Changeover Dinner, and were invited to present on the Brekky Van. It was a wonderful experience and we enjoyed meeting many likeminded people who we can work in unity to improve life for those in our community.

This service provides a nourishing meal for those in the community who are struggling to make ends meet. Just as importantly it allows conversations to occur between our students and the wider community. Conversations that do not always occur for the friends we serve. It is a valuable service and we look forward to seeing it grow.

There are many organisations and businesses that come together to build a better community. Thank you to St Vincent de Paul who allow us to run our service from their building, and Orange Sky with whom we work in partnership.

Coming up is the CASA Mackay Homeless Expo, of which the Brekky Van will attend. Several of our Year 10 students will cook sausages and eggs to provide a meal for those who attend. Apples, bananas, bottled water, dignity bags and sweets will also be given out to the community. We are looking forward to this event on the second of June.

Justice@Mercy

The Justice@Mercy Committee have been busy making dignity bags and rocky road for the upcoming Homeless Expo. These dignity bags include various items such as soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, toothpaste and toothbrushes. They are also baking cookies to be given out at the Homeless Expo.

The Justice@Mercy Committee are also working on preparations for the upcoming Take a Sip High Tea and Cent Sale. They are working with the Vinnies Committee, who are busy collecting donations for the Cent Sale that will go towards their fundraising. Make sure you add the date to your calendar! More details to come.

Ms Cecelia McLoughlin

Year 7 Geography

Year 7 students in Geography have been learning about Liveable Cities this term. They are currently working on their assessment task of designing and building their own liveable city using Minecraft Education. The first part of the process is to complete a planning permit. They must seek approval for their plan before they begin building. They then design and draw a map of the city with specific liveability features. The fun part of designing their city is putting their design into Minecraft. Students will finish by writing about the features of their city and explaining how they could enhance the liveability of their design.   

Ms Cecelia McLoughlan

Year 7 students are currently studying Classification and Ecosystems in their Science class. A Wetland Walkabout excursion was attended on  Wednesday 26 May. A beautiful day greeted the students as they strolled around the amazing wetlands and participated in activities that directly related to their classroom learning and assessment for this Term.

Mrs Tania Attard

Mercy’s Running Club the Mercy Runners have returned for another year of fitness filled fun. We are commencing our morning run on Thursday 3 June and welcome students of all abilities to join in. This year we will be combining our Mercy Runners with St Patrick’s College and look forward to seeing an increase in student participation. 

Our weekly run occurs on Thursday before school, with a bus pick up at 6:50am from the front of the Hall or meet at 7:00am at the Botanic Gardens. We will return on the bus to school at approximately 8:00am and allow time for students to get changed and eat some breakfast.

If your child is interested in joining the Mercy Runners, please collect a permission note from the Student Reception. Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions, my best contact is email: douglas_bettington@mercymackay.qld.edu.au 

Yours in Running

Mr Doug Bettington

The Auslan Club met on the Friday 19 March to watch the National Simultaneous Storytime time signed reading of “ Give Me Some Space”, by Philip Bunting. The Auslan students joined other students from across Australia and New Zealand at the same time to watch the National Simultaneous Storytime. The story is read at the same time each year. This year the book was read by an Astronaut on the International Space station above our Earth, a one off and very interesting experience for our Ausland club members. 

Mr Brett Comerford 

With 75 riders from eight Central Queensland High Schools across six categories, the recently held CQ School Mountain Bike Championships has been aptly described by most riders as ‘awesome fun’.

Mercy College contributed eleven riders riding in the female Intermediate, male Junior and Intermediate age groups. The results, other than heaps of fun, some fears conquered, and fitness tested, were Kristen Rowlands and John Jones-Trifelly taking first place in their categories, Lachlan Bourke and Edward Spicer taking second and third place respectively. With only eleven riders, we managed to take second place as a school despite having no riders entered in the senior categories.

The point of the race, coordinated by the Rocky Trail Academy, and Mackay Christian College, a School of Mountain Bike Excellence, was to introduce mountain biking as a sport and pastime to a younger generation. Judging by the comments of participants and parents, it sounds like the day was a roaring success. We look forward to participating again in 2022.

Mr Ben Palise

Pedal Prix is the new name for Human Powered Vehicles - consensus among the state's race coordinators was that this name makes it easier to distinguish the pedal powered vehicles.

The Pedal Prix Super Series race in Mackay will be held on Saturday 12 June at Palmyra raceway. Teams from Townsville and Emerald will be racing this year alongside our growing number of local teams. Our students have been practicing hard over the year and are looking forward to using the local race to build their skills before heading to races around Queensland. The Pedal Prix is an 8 hour event starting at 9:00am and ending at 5:00pm, it is free to attend and we would welcome all of you to come out and have a look. With speeds of up to 60km/hr the student really can move in these vehicles. We are also looking for volunteers to help with the running of the event.

Our teams will be attending the Emerald 18hr endurance in July, Benaraby 8hr in August and then the biggest race in QLD, the Fraser Coast Technology 24hr Challenge in September. 

Our Mackay race is part of the Whitsunday Festival of STEM, which continues the following week with a robotics competition, F1 in schools, and a couple of new innovations with the Pedal Prix trikes which we will be turning into competitions over the next few years. The event is supported by our naming rights partner BMA along with platinum partners Mackay Regional Council, H and E Parts international and Temporary Fencing Hire. We also have several businesses supporting the teams in all of the events along with CQU as a major sponsor for the event. All of these businesses see the very big benefit of raising STEM education in the region.

The funding has allowed the Whitsunday STEM Challenge charity to provide new equipment for schools to compete in various events as well as help out with some of the running costs of teams. 

For further information on the Mackay Pedal Prix, please visit  - https://pedalprixsuperseries.c...

Mr Michael Duggan

Mercy College continued its successful campaign in the Bill Turner Cup on Wednesday 19 May at Mackay SHS. The team was challenged right from the beginning by a well drilled and skillful Mackay SHS team. Mercy’s constant attacking eventually broke through by scoring three quick goals, however it was our outstanding defence that won the game with Mercy only conceding one goal in the second half. Special mention must go to the Mercy goalkeeper Joshua Williamson who saved a direct penalty in the goal box. The Mercy team’s next challenge will be to travel to Bowen in Week 9 to play against the Townsville champions.  Further details will be given in the next few weeks. Congratulations to the following players and good luck in the next stage of the Bill Turner Cup.

Joshua Williamson, Toby Hackney, William Radke, Luke Dowden, Daniel Harris, Henry Cahill, Flynn Cureton, David Dogao, Julien Mezieres, Ryan van der Berg, Max Morrison, Xavier Zamparutti. Hunter Searle and Liam Neilson.

Mr Glen Cureton

Year 10

Sweet Potato Gnocchi   

250g sweet potatoes

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¾ cup plain flour

salt to taste

1 egg yolk                                    

8 sage leaves

2 tablespoons butter

seasoning

parmesan cheese shaved to garnish

METHOD

1. Microwave the sweet potato on high for 10 minutes or until very tender. Set aside to cool.

2. Remove skin and mash the sweet potato using a potato masher until smooth. Add salt, nutmeg and pepper.

3. Add the egg yolk and stir with a wooden spoon until combined. Add the flour in batches and stir until well combined and a firm         dough forms. (If dough is too soft, add more flour.) Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.

4. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

5. Divide dough into two equal portions. Roll 1 portion into a 2cm-diameter log about 30cm long. Use a lightly floured knife to cut          into 2cm pieces. Repeat with remaining dough portion.

6. Lightly flour your hands and roll each piece of dough into a ball. Use your thumb to roll each ball over a floured fork. Place on            tray.

7. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil over medium heat. Add one-half of gnocchi (drop onto base of pan in a single layer, but do        not overcrowd as they can stick together) cook until they rise to the surface and then 15 seconds more. Use a slotted spoon to            drain and transfer to a bowl.

8. SAGE BUTTER: Melt butter in a small pan and continue cooking until golden brown colour appears in the thinnest liquid of the            butter. Add sage leaves and remove from heat.

9. Toss gnocchi in sage butter. Serve and garnish with parmesan and parsley.

Year 9

Pizza Scrolls

Pizza Base:

2 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 slices bacon

2 teaspoons instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons oil

1 cup warm water

Pizza Topping:

2 tablespoons pizza sauce

2 slices pineapple-chopped

2 slices bacon

½ cup grated mozzarella cheese

¼ capsicum-finely diced

1 boiled egg-chopped

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.

Prepare dough: 

1. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre then pour in oil and water.

2. Mix with a wooden spoon until well mixed.

3. Turn onto a lightly floured bench and knead for 5 minutes until dough is smooth, elastic and shiny.

4. Roll out the dough into 20cm rectangle.

5. Spread sauce over dough.

 Prepare topping: 

6. Dice the bacon, capsicum, pineapple and boiled egg into even pieces and sprinkle over the dough. Sprinkle grated cheese over            evenly.

7. From long edge, roll up tightly incorporating the filling.

8. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut through log into 1-1.5cm slices.

9. Place slices cut side up on greased trays.

Cooking: 

10. Bake for approximately 20 minutes or until cheese is golden. 

Year 8

Cob Loaf

INGREDIENTS

2 bread rolls

125g Philadelphia cream cheese

2 rasher of bacon

1 eshallots

150ml sour cream

1/3 cup of grated cheese

salt and pepper

spray oil

1. Preheat oven to 160ºC

2. Cut the top of the loaf off and pick bread from the centre in chunks. 

3. On a baking tray, place loaf in the centre and small pieces of bread around the loaf. Lightly spray with oil.

4. Place in the oven for approximately 10 minutes.

5. Chop bacon and eshallots on a red chopping board.

6. In a microwave safe bowl add bacon and eshallots. Cook on High for 2 minutes

7. Add Philly cream cheese, sour cream and cheese. Cook on High for 2 minutes.

8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

9. Pour into the centre of the loaf and use the smaller pieces of bread to dip into the cheesy mixture.