Science and Engineering Challenge – State Champions
Congratulations to our Mercy STEM team who won the State Final of the Science and Engineering Challenge at the Gold Coast this week. This was an outstanding success for all involved as 180 schools participated in this event. Mercy College allows students freedom of creativity and innovation and the promotion of our STEM subjects have been rewarded. Congratulations to all for supporting this, especially James Cook University who sponsored our students.  

St Patrick’s College – Vision and Mission Statements
In preparation for the combining of both Mercy College and St Patrick’s College, the combined College Board have been working on the new Vision and Mission Statements. Parents and staff of both colleges were emailed the proposed statements this week and the Board would appreciate feedback before Tuesday 12 September.
 
The Assumption of Our Lady
On Monday 15 August, the Church celebrated the Feast Day of the Assumption of Our Lady when according to our faith, the Holy Mother, “having completed her course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory”. Although defined as an article of faith by Pope Pius XII just over half a century ago, the Assumption of Our Lady into heaven has been accepted from back to the earliest of Christian times.

Enrolments for 2023
We are now finalising our Year 7 enrolments for 2023.  It is an exciting time for these students as they will be starting their secondary educational journey. Many new opportunities will become available for them. This offers excitement and an opportunity for change and growth.
 
If you know of someone who is thinking of enrolling at St Patrick’s College for 2023, please ask them to contact the office urgently so enrolments can be finalised. It is very important that students select their required subjects early, as our 2023 timetable is generated by student demands.

Macrossan & Amiet Solicitors 75th Annual Mackay Eisteddfod
Over the last week, our Combined College Cultural Ensembles have been competing at the Eisteddfod. I have been in awe of the musical talent that our students have displayed. Their dedication and skills have resulted in some well-deserved placings.

I would like to acknowledge and thank our dedicated teachers in our Cultural Department, Mr Marcus McConnell, Ms Molly Rossetto, Mr Samuel Bauer, Mr Tim McClelland, Mrs Kathleen Campbell and Mrs Sarah Rozekrans. Thank you for all that you do for our cultural students.

Aaron Payne Cup Final
Good luck to our St Pat’s Rugby League team as they travel today to Townsville to compete in the final of the Aaron Payne Cup tonight against Ignatius Park. The game will be played as a curtain raiser for the game between the North Queensland Cowboys and the New Zealand Warriors. I would like to acknowledge and thank the coaches and support staff for your commitment to the St Pat’s and Mercy Rugby League teams this year.

For those interested, the game will be livestreamed through the Courier Mail.

2022 Early School Leavers Survey
The Queensland Government is seeking the support of the College community for the annual survey of Year 10, 11 and 12 students who left school in 2021, before completing Year 12. This short, confidential survey collects information about what young people are doing the year after leaving school. The results of the survey help provide valuable information to improve services available to school leavers in the future.
 
Between August and September, these school leavers can expect to receive instructions to complete a web-based survey or a telephone call from the Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. Please encourage them to take part. If their contact details have changed, please assist the interviewer with their updated details or forward the survey to their new address so they can participate.
 
Thank you for your support of Next Step post-school destination surveys in 2022.
 
For more information, visit www.qld.gov.au/nextstep/ or telephone toll free on 1800 068 587.

Last week I took a group of Year 11 students to St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School as we had been invited by Mrs Price to come and speak to their Year 6 students about what faith means to us? We were given a list of questions beforehand, and we took it in turns to answer their questions. The St Joseph's students were busy recording our answers and then we took a lot more questions from them.

The students at St Joseph’s were all very engaged and asked some very profound and deep questions which made our students stop and think about their faith. Our students responded well and gave very insightful answers.  

Looking back on the visit, I reflected about what someone once said, “Do not walk behind me; I may not lead. Do not walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend”. I believe we need to find a way to join others on their walk of faith. We should seek a common connection point and first be a friend. When we start here, sometimes we will see them follow us as we follow God. We cannot push, and we must not drag them along the way. After they spend time following, we must give them an opportunity to lead. It requires patience, prayer, and perseverance. What a blessing to join others on this walk of faith – especially last week at St Joseph’s. Along the way, we walk beside in friendship, we walk ahead in leadership, and we walk behind in companionship.

Book Week Dress Up - Week 7 

Friday, 26 August

Students can look forward to a fun-filled lunch time on Wednesday 31 August in Glennon Gardens. Local musician Tiffany Grace, and the Mercy College Music Teachers will entertain students while they have a chance to browse Op-Shop clothes from both the ‘Shop Till You Drop’ Mercy College Op-Shop as well as clothes from the Vinnies Op-Shop. Softdrinks, lolly bags and Vinnies fundraising chocolates will be available for sale. This project seeks to raise awareness about sustainability, and raise much needed funds to support the Sisters of Mercy Charity Mercy Works. Donations of pre-loved clothes for both adults or students are most welcome and can be handed in to Student Reception.

Vinnies are also running a chocolate raffle in Term 3. The first prize is a 10 kg block of Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate worth over $200. There will also be three runner-up prizes of large jars of M&Ms. Vinnies Committee members will be selling tickets on Wednesdays and Fridays around the school. Tickets are $1 each and the winners will be announced on the last day of the Term.

Also, thank you to all who have already donated second-hand uniforms for CatholicCare (formerly Centacare’s) January School Savy project. We will be collecting donations of second-hand uniforms from any school in Mackay for the rest of the year; donations can be given to Student Reception.
 
Lastly, there will be a Teacher Personal Assistant Auction on Friday of Week 9. Various teachers have volunteered to be a student's ‘personal assistant’ during a lunchtime. Tasks to be carried out include helping with homework, performing a dare etc.
 
If you are interested in joining the Mercy Vinnies Committee, come along to our meetings on Weeks 6 and 8 of this term. We meet at 11.15 am in C01. The meetings are fun and even sometimes include packing lolly bags. All age groups welcome.
 
Thank you for supporting Vinnies!

The clubbies were amped and hit the sand and surf with expertise beyond their years, taking out the Surf Life Saving Queensland 2022 Secondary School Surf League. Congratulations to all involved and a special mention to past student Zoe Breitkreutz (Education & Membership Development Coordinator - Surf Life Saving Queensland) and the many wonderful parents who both supported and made this day happen.

We hope to extend this opportunity to many more students in 2023 and look forward to defending our crown.

The Drama Club had the chance to participate in The Queensland Theatre Company’s Scene Project this year. Throughout the first five weeks of this Term, students workshopped the play Chroma Town by Suzie Millar and created their own version, with the help of acclaimed Director, Steve Pirie. By condensing the one hour show into a 7.5 minute performance, the Club extracted the essence of the play; building a meaningful and evocative collage piece, which was presented at Mackay Northern Beaches State High School on Monday 17 August.

Students received glowing feedback for their impressive performance, and appreciated the opportunity to collaborate with other schools. New skills were learnt and students got to see a live performance of the script performed by professional actors - a highlight of the day! It was a wonderful experience for all involved and we look forward to participating again next year.

Wow, what a busy and successful week it has been with this year's Annual Eisteddfod.  Our combined Ensembles have performed over several nights with some great results, as well as our student volunteers helping out backstage in a professional manner.  Beginning with the choral section on August 11, the results are as follows:

Choir
Small group folk          - 1st Place
Hymn & Folk Section   - 3rd Place
Open Choral Section    - 2nd Place
Jazz/Modern Section   - 1st Place

The combined winnings in this section lead to our combined Choir winning the Myrtle Macgyver Choral Aggregate Trophy!  This is a great accomplishment, especially considering this is our first Eisteddfod as a combined Choir.  I would especially like to thank our Choir Conductors, Ms Molly Rossetto and Mrs Kathleen Campbell and Accompanist, Mrs Sarah Rozekrans for their dedication to our ensemble.

Next up we had our instrumental section.  Beginning on August 14 and taking place over 3 nights, we achieved the following results:

Instrumental
Large group of any instrumentation (open)    - Highly Commended
Concert Band for secondary students             - First
String Ensemble (small group acoustic)          - Third

Percussion/handbell ensemble secondary students
St Patrick’s Handbells                                    - Third
Combined Drum Corps                                   - Very Highly Commended
Combined Percussion Ensemble                      - First

These are some fantastic results for our combined Ensembles, especially considering we were not always the largest ensemble (Secondary concert band) and at times were up against groups primarily made of adults (Large group open).  I would like to thank our instrumental Conductors, Tim McClelland, Sam Bauer and Chelsea Jansen for their commitment to our Cultural Program and always getting the best out of our students.  Finally I would like to thank our Ensemble students.  Through countless early morning rehearsals and public performances, you delivered a sound that was unified through your individual talents, and thoroughly enjoyed by the Mackay public.  Well done. 

Changes to family systems can impact children in a variety of ways - but there are plenty of things you can do to support your children through a big change such as separation or divorce. 

Throughout the process it is helpful to be ‘child centred’ wherever possible. Which means trying to understand how your child sees the world and pay attention to how these changes impact them socially and emotionally. 

You can open up lines of communication with your child in a few ways: 

• Asking ‘open’ questions – these are questions that don’t have a yes or no answer and that open up a conversation. For example instead of “Is this making you sad?” try questions like “Can you tell me how this is making you feel?” or “What do you think has made you feel like that?” 
• Active listening – try listening to your child without jumping in, interrupting, asking questions or making comments. Instead try showing that you are actively listening through non verbal queues like nodding and eye contact or verbal nods like “uh-huh”, “mmm” or “yes” to show that you are really listening. 

Kids helpline is a great place to start for the basics of how to support your children through the process. 

https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/supporting-kids-through-separation-or-divorce

However, if your family is going through a big change and you would like some extra support from the school, you can contact the House Coordinators or School Counsellors to discuss how we can support students. 

Year 7 & 9- Darcie O’Grady Darcie_OGrady@rok.catholic.edu.au

Year 8 & 10- Donnetta Trannore Donnetta_Trannore@rok.catholic.edu.au

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.