Mercy Messenger - Term 2, Week 2 - Friday 29 April 2022

Welcome back to Term 2.

As the start of the term has now commenced, I ask students to reflect and remember back to when they would have played “catch me if you can” games as youngsters. I reflect on my own experience as I became game savvy and tried to keep one step ahead of my opponents. I ask students to remember how they felt when they played this game and how they aimed to be the best. I ask students that as we start the new term that they continue with the same excitement and feelings with their own education. I would like to highlight the ability of Jesse Owens who in 1936 won four of the American gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games proving to the world that he could win against all odds, despite the discrimination and prejudice he received in this time. Owens used the “catch me if you can theory” to win showing determination, attitude and hard work. I urge students to get back the “catch me if you can feeling” – to lead – to let others nearly catch them and for them to progress and advance to another adventure or higher level. To push themselves one step further in their educational goals and aim high, fly high and let others follow. 

Anzac Day
Congratulations to all students who represented the College in marches commemorating ANZAC day on Monday throughout the Mackay region. This year St Pat’s and Mercy walked together on the parade symbolising our united front.
Mercy College had over 400 students and staff representing the College at the many different services around the district. I wish to state how proud I was of the students who displayed so much pride in their uniform and respect for the many men and women who served Australia and New Zealand.

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

Combined St Patrick’s/Mercy College P & F Meeting 
The next combined P & F meeting will be held on Wednesday 4 May at 6:00pm at Mercy College Library. 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 either College office on 4994 8700 for St Pat’s or 4969 4199 for Mercy.

This year has seen the introduction and implementation of Writer's Toolbox across both Mercy and St Patrick's Colleges.  This system provides real time feedback and guidance to coach students in the important components of writing, in any subject area.  Mr Sean Geoghegan, Deputy Principal - St Patrick's College, will be presenting an overview of Writer's Toolbox at the St Patrick's/Mercy College Combined P&F Meeting on Wednesday 4 May, 6:00 - 7:30pm.  Please click on the LINK for a summary of the Writer's Toolbox  initiative.

Staffing News

I would like to welcome Lynda Cook and Blake Paskins who are joining our teaching staff.  Lynda will be working in the Maths department while Blake will be teaching Geography and PE. 

Our Mercy College Open Night will be held this Tuesday, 3rd May from 4:00pm - 7:30pm. We invite all families with a student in Year 7, 2023 to attend this evening. Students interested in applying for Years 8 - 10, 2023 are also most welcome to attend. Enrolments are now open.  Visit www.mercymackay.qld.edu.au and complete our online enrolment application today!

https://www.nap.edu.au/naplanNAPLAN Online Testing

Students will be using their own individual iPad and will require a set of earphones for the testing.

Parents and caregivers of students in these NAPLAN year levels will need to be aware of important information relating to privacy, which can be found on the NAPLAN Online Queensland website’s parent information page -https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan

Week 4 in Term 2, Tuesday 10, Wednesday 11 and Thursday 12 May, all Year 7 & 9 students will be participating in NAPLAN testing. This is National testing in both Literacy and Numeracy.

The assessments will be held immediately after Homeroom, in designated exam rooms on these three days. Students must be at school prior to the commencement of the test as there is very strict protocol regarding its administration.

NAPLAN Test Times:

Opportunities for absent students to complete the test will be made available to students in line with NAPLAN protocols.

If there are any questions or concerns from parents, please contact the college.

The Christian quality of mercy shows in how the apostles healed the sick and suffering who came to them. Christian disciples ever since have carried on that mission, and it is going on right now in places like Nogales, Mexico. There the border with the United States is only a few paces–and a security apparatus of fences, cameras, and guards–away. Also there: a small building where Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist welcome and feed thousands of migrants deported from the United States each year. Some of those arrive with injuries from nights crossing the Sonoran Desert. Others have been forcibly removed from life in the United States, without money, a phone, or a full set of clothing. Their ticket of admission is their documented record of rejection. “No one can be admitted without their deportation paper,” Sister Alma Delia said to the crowd.

Their work offers a lesson: “I believe the church is living a moment of crisis,” Sister Rosalba Avalos Ramos told Kevin Douglas Grant in the Global Post. “The church needs to be transformed and live out a more radical commitment to the most needy. If we are really trying to follow the way of Jesus, there is a lot of his path that we need to pick up again and start living”.

There is an old pop standard that begins, “I’ll be seeing you, in all the old familiar places”. It is a classic song because it evokes the many layers of meaning of the phrase “I’ll be seeing you”. And as the Easter season plays out, we observe that the disciples “see” Jesus in all the old familiar places–when they gather together, when they break bread, when they preach the Good News, and when they heal the sick. And that is where we will see Jesus, too–in all the old familiar places that God reaches out to people.

Sunday 15th May will be the very last time we ride/walk under the banner of the Mercy College Bikeathon since 1988. The Bikeathon will continue to live on as the St Patrick’s College Bikeathon which is where it originally began by the Christian Brothers back in 1970. To mark this special occasion, we have invited current St Patrick’s students to ride or walk as we celebrate this final year as Mercy. I spoke to St Patrick’s students at their school assembly on Wednesday and extended an invitation to them to attend. 

The Bikeathon was launched this year by Evan Corry, from Corry Cycles at our School Assembly on Wednesday. A few students were invited to replace a tyre tube on a bike rim with great difficulty. The students were also informed about how to use the online platform Ticketebo for Registrations and Donations. Please click on the link below and for those parents of students unable to attend, please follow the prompts to complete a donation. The major prize of a new $700 Giant Mountain Bike which was kindly donated by Corry Cycles and the P&F was certainly an incentive for students to register to attend on the day or donate. There will be many other minor prizes including gift vouchers and two other used bikes donated by Mr Jim Snee.  

www.ticketebo.com.au/mercybikeathon

There is always plenty of spaces available for parents to ride or walk the course on the day and we ask that you contact the office or complete and return the Parent Helper Letter sent out earlier this term. We are also looking for some further Parent volunteers to supervise intersections around the course as safety on the day is our main priority. Please stay behind afterwards to enjoy a sausage sizzle, softdrink and build the Mercy community spirit. 

SUPPORT THE MOBILEMUSTER SCHOOLS CHALLENGE.

HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR ZOOS’ CONSERVATION PROJECTS AND WIN PRIZES FOR OUR SCHOOL!

Our school is participating in the MobileMuster Schools Challenge. The Schools Challenge encourages teachers, students, families and our local community to recycle old and unwanted mobile phones and their accessories between March and the end of June 2022.

There are THREE great reasons to support the MobileMuster Schools Challenge:

• You will help raise much needed funds to protect critically endangered primates. Every mobile phone
• recycled during the challenge will raise money for participating zoos and their conservation projects.
• You will help our school win amazing prizes.
• You will be helping the environment. Recycling benefits include avoiding future greenhouse gases, saving energy, and conserving and reusing natural resources.

What our school could win

Zoo Prizes

Each of the participating zoos have generously donated a range of fantastic prizes including family passes, special animal encounters and online classes and experiences.

Top Collector Prizes

The top three collecting schools in each State and Territory will have the chance to win tech gift vouchers.

How you can help  

Help us fill up our MobileMuster collection box! Find old and unused mobile phones and accessories in your home. Every home has one or two in the bottom junk drawer!

• Drop them off at school.
• Spread the word and ask friends and neighbours to help you recycle.
• If you have been given a MobileMuster satchel, fill it up and return it to school or post it back for free.

For more information visit www.mobilemuster.com.au/education/schools

Last Wednesday, after school, some of the Justice at Mercy students went to assist at the Vinnies warehouse.  

Mr Kelly took Ynol Membrebe, Rex Melocotones, Elena Matthew and Charlotte Mau for their induction and then they began the process of disinfecting some of the donated items.  Items must be left for 24 hours before this process can begin.  Once items are cleaned, they can then be sorted and priced ready for sale in one of the Vinnies stores.  Students will be going every other Wednesday to help out at the Vinnies warehouse and we would like to thank the Vinnies staff for making us so welcome.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to Project Compassion in Term 1! $1500 will be donated to Caritas Australia, and $1500 to Caritas Ukraine.

Congratulations to Braden Verroen for winning the 10 kg Cadbury chocolate block raffle. Stay tuned for more details about the Term 2 Vinnies fundraiser; the Winter Appeal.

On Friday some of the brightest minds at Mercy spent a day competing with 5 other schools, from Mackay to Bowen, in the annual JCU Science and Engineering Challenge. Teams competed in many events over the day including making a bridge that can hold 25 times its weight, designing a bionic hand, and building an earthquake proof apartment! Over the 8 total events that were held. The Mercy team won half of the events winning 1330 points out of a possible 1600, taking home first place and beating Bowen in second place by 270 points. All students who participated in this competition are to be congratulated for their exceptional teamwork, application and for representing Mercy College in such a wonderful way.

The Mercy College AUSLAN Club has been busy over the last two terms. We meet every Tuesday at first break and we practice our signing. Mid last term we went to perform the Australian National Anthem at the BB Print Stadium for the Cowboys V Broncos NRL trial game here in Mackay.

This term we signed the New Zealand and Australian National Anthems at the Mackay ANZAC Day march. We have Open Night next week and are signing as we move around the school. Later in the year we have been invited to the Deaf Festival in Brisbane and to sign the National Anthem in Townsville for the Cowboys V Panthers NRL game.

This week on assembly Ms O’Grady and myself presented on  the National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence.  This day was held on the 18th March.  The National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence is a day for schools to say no to bullying.  Our presentation encouraged the students in our school to say no everyday!!

During our presentation we discussed in detail what bullying is.  Bullying is an ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that causes physical and/or psychological harm.  It can involve an individual or a group misusing their power over one or more persons.  We went over with the students and provided examples of the different types of bullying, including verbal, physical and social bullying.  Considerable attention was placed on what is known as “Covert” bullying.  This can be almost impossible for people outside the interaction to identify and can include weird and threatening looks, whispering, excluding, facial expressions and hand gestures (information provided from https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/)

We then went on to discuss how we can all help to stop bullying.  The students were reminded of our noblame email address (noblame@mercymackay.qld.edu.au) where they can send through any information they may have on bullying they have witnessed, which is confidential.  Another strategy discussed was being an upstander.  This is a person who speaks out and intervenes against bullying.  There are a number of courses of action a person can take to be an upstander without putting themselves at risk.  Distracting the person doing the bullying can be an effective and safe strategy, and also letting an adult know what is happening.  Further strategies around managing bullying and peer conflict will be addressed in upcoming assemblies.

If you have any concerns regarding bullying or your students mental health, you can contact the students house co-ordinator, or email one of the counsellors, Dee Trannore (years 8 and 10; donnetta_trannore@rok.catholic.edu.au) or Darcie O’Grady (years 7 and 9; darcie_ogrady@rok.catholic.edu.au).

Thank you everyone for the kind donation of Easter Eggs last term during the Easter Egg Appeal. The Interact committee has since delivered and donated the eggs to The Women's Shelter, Men's Shelter, Youth Center and the Mackay Base Hospital. We are all very grateful for your support in helping others.

 

A big congratulations to our drum corps. Your participation and musicianship on ANZAC day was commendable as you marched through the rain without missing a beat. The public were very impressed with your marching and playing. Thank you for representing our schools so professionally. 

Coming up on Tuesday Week 3 is the Mercy Open Night. All cultural ensembles will be performing this evening, so please make sure you have read the letter posted on google classroom and know when you are performing. You have all been given a cultural performance polo shirt that you are to bring on the day, so please make sure you remember it. For many ensembles, this will be their first performance, so if you are interested in seeing what our cultural program has to offer, please come on down to Glennon Gardens on open night.

We held our volunteer information session on the 20th April, thank you to those who attended.  You will be able to register to volunteer at both CQUniversity Carnivals via our website www.confro-qissn2022.com.au.  We will let you know when the website is live.

The CQUniversity Confro balls have arrived.  Thank you to our Gold Sponsor, Key Solutions Group for sponsoring the balls, they look great.

We are in development stages of designing supporters shirts that will be available to purchase to anyone who would like a supports shirt to wear throughout the CQUniversity Carnivals.

We would like to thank the following business for coming onboard as sponsors of the Carnivals:

Sponsorship opportunities are closing soon, so if you are interested in looking at any of our sponsorship packages, please contact either school campus or email confro2022@mercymackay.qld.edu.au and we will send you sponsorship package information.

Volunteers are needed in the tuckshop. Monthly, fortnightly or weekly. Mums, dads, grandparents, relatives are all welcome. The hours are from 9am until 2.30pm. These hours are flexible. 9am till 12 is the busiest period. If you can only come for a couple of hours we would  be very appreciative. 

If you are interested in helping out, please contact Margaret Floyd on 4969 4199 or email margaret_floyd@rok.catholic.edu.au.