This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day and I would encourage all to remember their fathers, or those who fulfil the father role in their lives, on Sunday. In reflecting on my own life, I was blessed to have a wonderful, gentle and caring man as my Dad.

Cultural Department

The St Patrick’s and Mercy College Cultural Departments have had a very busy past couple of weeks. From competing in the 74th Annual Mackay Eisteddfod, to going ‘on tour’ to the primary schools in the Mackay area. I would like to congratulate the various ensembles on all their hard work and acknowledge their achievements in the Mackay Eisteddfod. Thank you also to our dedicated teachers and parents for supporting the students and helping them grow their love of music.

R U OK? Day Next Thursday 9 September, is R U Ok? Day. On this day, we are encouraged to start a conversation with those in our world who may be struggling with life. ‘You don’t need to be an expert to reach out – just a good friend and a great listener’. I encourage everyone to check on your friends and ask R U OK?

COVID 19 Procedures

Recently, we have noticed an increase in colds and flu in our community. In line with our college procedures and current COVID-19 protocols, we remind all parents that it is a legislative requirement that students who are unwell do not attend school. Under the Public Health Directive, if students are displaying flu like symptoms at school, their parents will be contacted and must collect them as soon as possible. We thank you for your support and keeping our community safe.

P & F / Board Meeting 8 September

A reminder that our next P & F Meeting will be held next Wednesday 8 September in the College Library. The P & F Meeting will commence at 6:00pm and be followed by the Board Meeting at 7:00pm. All interested parents are invited to attend either of these meetings.

There has been a buzz of excitement around College this week as students had various opportunities to showcase their talents and skills.

Instant Restaurants

The Year 10 Home Economic students hosted their ever popular instant restaurants as part of their assessment. What an excellent eating experience, from walking in the door and being greeted by a student to the exquisite 3 course meal. I really enjoyed my French themed meal.

Economics & Business

Thank you to our Year 10 Economics and Business students for the various market stalls set up around the College. There was bubble tea, hot chips, slushies, coffee, fairy floss and many many more. Students employed their enterprise and entrepreneurial skills, empowering them to meet challenges of the real business world while giving back to the Mackay community with their profits.

Cowboy’s Challenge Grand Final

The Year 10 Division 1 Rugby League team created history during their Cowboys Challenge Final on Wednesday, securing the first title for the College after defeating St Brendan’s 22 – 20. What a game!

Subject Information Evening

On Thursday 9 September the College will be holding a Year 9 Student & Parent Subject Selection Information Evening from 5:30pm-6:30pm. The session will take place in the Mercy College Hall including the following topics:

Overview of pathways for Senior Schooling - Mrs Marie Martin (Secondary Curriculum Consultant)
Subject Selection Process for Year 10 2022 - Mr Skoczylas
Interactive stations for each department

Mrs Janelle Agius

Assistant Principal Mission - Brendan Gunning

Your Are My Sunshine

The following reflection I’d like to share is one from Fr Richard Leonard who beautifully breaks open the Gospel (Matthew 7:31-37) for this Sunday….

I read the other day a true story about a baby girl who was seriously ill in a Neonatal ICU. The paediatric specialist said there was very little hope. The baby’s five-year-old brother, Michael, kept begging his parents to let him see his sister. ‘I want to sing to her’, he kept saying. Children were not allowed in the ICU, but Michael’s mother eventually insisted that he be able to see his sister.

When he got to the humidicrib he sang: ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey’. The nurse reported that as Michael sang, the baby’s pulse rate began to calm down and become steady. ‘Keep on singing, Michael’, encouraged his mother with tears in her eyes. ‘You never know, dear, how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.’ The baby recovered and left the hospital three weeks later.

I am not pretending for a moment that Michael’s song healed his sister, but we should never underestimate the power of human support and love. It helps us to be healed.

The Gospel story of the healing of the deaf mute is striking because it is one of the few stories where the crowd makes the request of healing from Jesus. This is understandable given that the man cannot speak for himself, but the scene, as Mark writes it, is very touching. Mark tells us that the crowd brought the man to Jesus. ‘They’ beg Jesus to heal him, ‘they’ are ordered not to tell anyone about the miracle, but ‘they’ go straight out and tell everyone about it.

What happens there is what happens here every Sunday. Coming to Mass is not a private affair. It is not my Mass, my prayer, my Church. The pronouns we use reveal a lot about our attitudes. It’s our Eucharist, our prayer and our Church. Within the Mass there are opportunities for private prayer, but Eucharist is, essentially, an action of the assembled community. In our own way we bring the deaf and the mute to Jesus each time we gather. This is what the Prayer of the Faithful is all about. This is why it is so important.

Miracles still happen. Sometimes the first miracle that occurs is that we notice the needs of some group beyond our immediate circle. Their suffering moves us and we choose to help them.

Everloving God, You lead us in your ways. Send us your Spirit that we remove our blindness, open our ears and loosen our tongue so that we speak up for those who are most in need of a healing word that brings them justice and peace. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen

Mrs Jeanette Refalo

Brekky Van Sponsors

Thank You to Our Brekky Van Sponsors

Justice@Mercy - Kelsey Wallace

Service Learning - Term 3 Week 8

Brekky Van

Year 10 students have been busy serving breakfast and chatting with members of the Mackay community. We have lots of regular friends visiting the Brekky Van for breakfast and a chat. This includes young families who are loving a hot breakfast and fresh fruit for a later in the day snack. Mercy College year 10s are doing a fabulous service to the community to build on the foundations of Compassion, Hope and Justice. Thanks to our sponsors who allow us to keep this community service going.

Year 8 and 9 Buddy Reading

Our year 8 and 9 students are reading stories to St Mary’s prep students, listening to year 2s read, and helping the year 1s develop their fine motor skills. It is great to see the different ages come to together to form new friendships and help each other.

What our students are saying:

Buddy reading is enjoyable because you get to interact with little kids and it is a new experience for them to be reading to you. Ella Purchase

We got to teach them new words and the stories were funny. Tess Radke

We get to help them learn and to teach them things they struggle with. It’s fun. Billy Cruden

Mrs Cecelia McLoughlin

Sports

Rugby League - Cowboys Challenge Series, Champions!

Science Department - Tania Attard

Science Week Activities

Library - Stephen Crocker

Book Week and the Prize Winners Were!

To recognise the importance of reading, the Mercy Book Club celebrated a significant event on the library calendar - Book Week 2021. The theme this year was Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds and it was fantastic to see so many staff and students who came to school last Friday, all dressed up. There was a host of prizes on offer, so congratulations to:

Best Dressed

Charlotte Redfern as Celeana from Assassin’s Blade
Sophie Westcott as Silky from The Faraway Tree
Ethan Dunn as Ernestode de la Cruz from the movie Coco

Runners Up

• Jacoby Stokes and Dannah Labastida as Felix Kranken and Ashley Parks from Bon’s Burgers

Team awards

The Ninja Turtles - Jayda Skinner, Elizabeth Black, Mili Smith and Tayah Poli
Team Fort 2 - Will Zimmerman, Jerry Breen, Tahsin Mursalin, Simba Meende and Oliver Pinnington

Encouragement awards

Stephanie Silman as Uraraka from My Hero Academia
Cameron Riddick representing ‘The Great Rescue’ in Indonesia
Jayden Langham as Nurse Joker from Batman the Dark Knight
Paige Tonga Dream from an SMP game

And finally, a big thank you to the Mercy SRC for their annual donation of $500 to Headspace, Mackay.

Mr Stephen Crocker

Technology Department

Greater Whitsunday Markets Visit

Year 9 Food Students had the opportunity to visit the Greater Whitsunday Markets to see what local produce is available. This experience will assist them with their choice of sustainable cooking recipes for this term's assessment.

Cultural Coordinator - Marcus McConnell

Eisteddfod Part 1: That's a wrap! & Primary School Tour

As Part 1 of the Eisteddfod concludes, it has been wonderful to see, listen and hear our students excel in the Arts. Congratulations to all students who placed during in their sections. A special congratulations to Michael Mauchline who was awarded two piano trophies for his wonderful performances. He also placed 1st in the Open Quartet with his siblings one of whom is a current staff member, Miss Annaleise Mauchline. With Part 2 of the Eisteddfod beginning in just over a month, we look forward to seeing our dance and drama students take to the stage.

Mercy and St Patrick's Colleges School Tour!

Mercy and St Patrick's Colleges have yet again taken to the road to tour our district's primary schools. All sections of our Cultural Department including, stage band, dance, drums and an impro competition were well received at the primary schools. Congratulations and thank you to the staff and students who gave up their time to perform. It was a fantastic two days filled with many laughs and great memories!