Mercy Messenger - Term 4 Week 2 15 October 2021

Welcome back to Term 4. I hope all students have returned refreshed for a final burst of effort for the year. Mercy continues to encourage and foster learning not only through the classroom but also with the wide scope of extra-curricular activities.

Our Year 10 students have only a short time remaining at Mercy before the move onto the senior schooling phase.  I would like to thank the students for all they have accomplished during their time here and encourage them to enjoy their final term at Mercy. Year 10 exam block commences on 15 November. It is really important that our students understand they need to finish well. To maximise their results by responding with good old fashioned hard work till the end.

Student Lead Conferences

Thank you to all students, parents/guardians and staff who attended the Student Led Conferences held last week. If you were not able to attend this evening, I recommend you email the relative teacher to discuss your child’s progress.

New Staff Welcome

At the beginning of Term 4, we welcomed Mr Abri van Zyl to the Mercy staff community. Mr van Zyl will be teaching in the Technology and Maths Departments. Welcome to Mercy Mr van Zyl!

Justice Mercy and Vinnies Committee

Our Justice at Mercy Committee organised a lovely Afternoon Tea and Cent Sale which was held on Sunday 12 September. With approximately 100 in attendance, guests enjoyed a variety of delicious treats and entertainment featuring a fashion parade by students, wearing vintage clothing obtained from the Vinnies Op Shop. Special thanks to all staff and students involved. It was lovely to spend a few hours with students, families, colleagues and our elderly care guests.

It was great to see St Francis of Assisi members return to play Bingo with students and enjoy the entertainment provided.  What a great way to bridge the generation gap.

Mercy Day Mass and Celebration

On the last day of Term 3 we celebrated another highlight for Mercy. The atmosphere at the beach was such a relaxed, friendly and active community. Thank you to Mrs Jeanette Refalo and staff on the organisation of this event. Sadly, it was a little disappointing that many students decided not to attend. Hopefully, next year we will advertise the importance and support needed by parents/guardians and students to be involved.

Staff Farewell

Mrs Jeanette Refalo will be leaving Mercy College next Wednesday as she starts her long service leave before commencing her new role at Catherine McAuley College. I would like to acknowledge and thank Jeanette for all her hard work, dedication and service to the Mercy College community. We wish Jeanette all the best with her future endeavours.

Youth Mass

I invite all students and members of the Mercy community to come along Saturday 23 October at 5:00pm to Mass at St Mary’s Church. Pizzas and refreshments will be served following the Mass.

Sporting Success

Statewide Schools Cricket:  Mercy College/St Patrick’s College had three teams travel to Brisbane last weekend to compete in the State Cricket event.  All teams played well and represented our College with pride and showed great sportsmanship.  Congratulations to our Senior Girls Division team, as they are now the State Champions, winning with a convincing nine wicket win.  A big thanks to teachers and parents for their support. 

All Schools Touch Football:  Congratulations to our Touch Football teams who recently travelled to compete in this competition. Thank you to the parents who supported our teams for this event.

As the year draws to an end for our sporting teams. I would like to congratulate all our teams on their dedication, effort and great teamwork at the various competitions the attend. I would also like to thank and acknowledge the coaches and parents/guardians who support our teams.

Combined Cultural Awards Evening 

The Mercy College and St Patrick’s College Cultural Departments will be holding their annual Awards Evening next Wednesday 20 October. I would like to encourage our community members to come along to this evening to celebrate our amazing musicians, dancers, singers and performers. It will be a spectacular night, featuring some amazing performances. I would like to congratulate the various ensembles on all their hard work and acknowledge their achievements throughout the year. Thank you also to our dedicated teachers and parents/guardians for supporting the students and helping them grow their love for the arts.

The Mackay and District Catholic Debutante Ball

The Mackay and District Catholic Debutante Ball will be on Friday 27 May 2022. The Debutante Ball Committee wishes to invite all Year 11 students to participate in the 2022 Mackay Debutante Ball. Practices occur on Monday nights from February through to May. More details will follow in our next Newsletter.

Mrs Janelle Agius

In less than a week I’ll be gone from Mercy College leaving a wonderful staff and student community. Over the past twelve years I have learnt about leading in a Catholic school, and in particular a ‘Mercy’ school - we should strive to be the face of Jesus to all. 

As I finish I’d like to share some do’s….

Do find depths within you and places within you that you can only imagine.  I imagined, dug deep and am richly blessed from my time serving the staff and students of Mercy College.

Do risk love; there is no other way.  I became a teacher 17 years ago with the aim to make a difference in one student’s life.

Do reach out; for the poor need your hands and you need their wisdom.  We are here to serve and learn from all those we encounter.

Do listen, truly listen with the heart.

I certainly do make many mistakes, we all do.  Do learn from them and know you will make some of them again and again.

Be gentle with yourself, and be still often - so easy for me to say but so hard to do.

Do see life as a journey, as a series of steps, and sometimes courageous ones at that.  It was a courageous step I took when I joined the Mercy Leadership Team after only being a teacher for five years.  I have never regretted that decision.

Do look to your own gifts and talents, don’t go looking to his gifts or her luck, look to your journey and the power within you to achieve and make a difference.

I know it’s not seen as trendy to talk about God and religion, but you will hear God’s voice in your life if you allow your heart to be open and to believe.  God calls us all by name and whispers to each and everyone of us ‘I love you. You are beautiful’.

Do tell those you love and who love you, tell them and show them what they mean to you.  Find your way of doing this, but never allow fear or pride to prevent you for ‘if only’ is a lonely regret.

Do play and dance and wonder.  The awesome dancing at Year 9 Leadership Camp.  Where else would I have had the opportunity to dance alongside 250 young people?

Do savour each moment and live each day. I remind myself that life is a journey and never a destination.

Do live each day with a sense of hope. Know that you never walk alone - that God walks with you.

I know I am a better person for having  journeyed with and served the many students, staff, parents/guardians and wider community, who have inspired and challenged me to be a better person. Thank you.

As I say goodbye I know I don’t do this on my own, my God walks with me.  

I pray that you believe in the God within you. 

I pray that you see each day is a gift.

I pray you look into eyes and see God in all you encounter.

Mrs Jeanette Refalo

Our school delivers a whole-school transformational process called the Leader in Me, which teaches 21st-century leadership and life skills to students and creates a culture of student empowerment based on the idea that every child can be a leader. We focus on personal leadership which allows students to find their voice.

Our school will be conducting surveys to learn more about key areas of strength and areas of needed growth in our school. Students completed a survey during Homeroom on Thursday and we will begin discerning their feedback on how we can better meet their needs. In order for us to have a holistic picture of what is going on in our school, we are asking all staff members, parents/guardians and students to participate.

Parent Participation:

If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete a survey (without sharing your name or other identifying information) that will be available through the weblink below. The survey is completely voluntary, but we do hope to get feedback from at least one member of every household.

The parent/guardian survey takes about 12 minutes to complete and will ask questions about your child and about his or her experience at Mercy College. If you have more than one child attending the school, you will be asked to think about the oldest child's experiences as you answer questions related to his or her growth. We do appreciate your generosity of time and honesty in responses as we endeavour to improve our practices.

Please take this survey: https://www.leaderinme.com/s/m...

Please complete the survey by: October 25 2021.

Mr Chris Sorbello

As we begin Term 4 I am hoping all students are aware of our Uniform Expectations at Mercy College. A school hat must be worn at all times except indoors. I have been very impressed with the attitude of students towards this rule with minimal reminders. If a student is wearing the incorrect uniform, they require a note from their parent/guardian explaining the reason why. All students (including Year 10 Students in their final Term) are expected to wear the full correct uniform up to and including the last day of the school year. To ensure you support this expectation, second hand uniforms are available to be purchased and advertised on our Facebook page. Our continued concern is the length of senior girl’s skirts and very tight fighting sports shorts. This will be one of our major focuses when we conduct our Formal Uniform Check on Wednesday 20 October before we commence our 2021 Sports Awards Assembly. All students will be required to attend school in their full Formal Uniform, including their College hat and will be checked by their Homeroom Teacher before moving to the Pavilion.

The final rule I would like to draw to your attention is ‘hair’ which can be found in the grooming section of our Student Diary. We have had a number of male students with longer hair styles and I thank those parents/guardians who have been working with us to correct this situation. I spoke to students on our School Assembly about showing initiative and correcting their hair style before a letter was sent home. Our guidelines are very clear with photograph examples included in the Diary for parents/guardians and students to refer to. Please do take the time to read over these expectations with your child. If you have any questions or concerns with regard to these rules or any other rules, please feel free to contact your child’s House Coordinator or myself.

Mr Chris Sorbello

Good Works
The Vinnies Committee at St Patrick's College - Mercy Campus continued the Good Works this year by donating $2000 to the local St Vinnies Winter Appeal, providing crucial support to those in need during winter. Last term, Vinnies also collected hampers filled with essential items like food and blankets.

Cookies for Kindness
The Vinnies Committee celebrated Catholic Education Week with their Cookies for Kindness initiative. Students baked and packaged yummy M&M cookies for the First Responders in our South Mackay region and delivered them in the Brekky Van on Friday during their lunch break. They also chose several Community groups who they felt would benefit from a sweet treat. Thank-you to all students and staff involved in the process - the donations to those who work so hard in our community were much appreciated.

What’s next…
Vinnies will turn the focus to Mercy Works this term and will hold a Father's Day stall as well as raffle. More details to be announced closer to the date.

The Year 7-9 AFL boys recently went to Townsville to compete in the AFLQ Cup Regional Finals.  Unfortunately the boys didn’t win but played well in the hot weather. See some of the skills they displayed below.

Mr Michael Comerford

Mercy and St Patrick’s College Cricket girls took to the field in Brisbane on Monday 11 October in the Queensland Cricket T20 StreetSmarts State Challenge Championships. After some convincing wins in the round games and extra training, the girls were ready to take on the Southern teams.  

After an excellent bowling attack from West Moreton Anglican School our Intermediate Girls were unfortunately defeated. Even though we lost, the girls took so much away from the opportunity to play at this level and to be treated to a trip away courtesy of Queensland Cricket.  With their heads held high some of our junior girls took to the field again in our combined Mercy/St Patrick’s team to take on Fairholme College. 

This time our senior girls dominated the bowling and restricted Fairholme to 103 runs with Meghan McCartney taking three wickets and some classic catches in the field by Haylee Holdsworth. After losing only one wicket Mercy/St Patrick’s walked away with a very comprehensive win with nine wickets still in hand thanks to the outstanding batting of Isabella Sammut. Scoring 65 runs, Issy carried her bat for the entire game and was rewarded with Player of the Final.  A huge congratulations to all of the girls who represented their schools with pride and showing excellent skills on the field.  Thank you to all teachers involved for giving up their time to take the girls away and to the parents who joined us.

Mr Adam Knezevic, Mr Chris Dunn and Mrs Angela Beardmore

Wow! What a week.  After a very rocky start, 29 students, 3 staff and a parent, boarded a plane on Tuesday morning and headed to the Gold Coast.  This year we entered five teams into the world’s biggest touch tournament.  The competition consisted of over 60 teams in each age group and over 500 teams in total.  More than 6000 participants battled it out over five days of exceptional Touch Football.

This was the first time that Mercy and St Patrick’s combined to enter our five teams - 13 Years Boys, 15 Years Boys and Girls, Open Boys and an Open Mixed team.  We also had Calvin Brown come along as a student referee.  This was our biggest contingent yet and also our most successful. 

The 13 boys were unfortunately low in numbers with only eight players.  They were still able to do incredibly well and make it through to Round 16.  Unfortunately, the lack of numbers eventually got the better of them and they were knocked out of the competition.  Congratulations to all the players, as well as Jaxon Purdue and Will Whippy, two Year 10 students who took up the challenge, showing great leadership, to coach the boys.

The 15 girls also made it through to Round 16 with a fantastic effort by all.  The girls ended up 2nd in their pool, only dropping one game during the round robin stage.  The girls played through injury and illness, with most of them having either blood, blisters or strapped joints, to contend with throughout the carnival.

The 15 boys were outstanding during their pool games, also only dropping one game.  However, they unfortunately missed out on finals by a countback of for and against.  This was a carnival of learning for our 15 boys and I am certain that they will only be stronger next year.

Our open boys and open mixed teams joined us on Thursday night.  They, along with three parents travelled to the Gold Coast ready for their competition starting on Friday.  Our open boys team consisted mainly of 16 year students and was considered to be very young compared to their opposition teams.  However, age did not hold them back, only dropping two pool games, resulting in a 3rd placing in the pool.  This is a great achievement against the much older teams full of Australian and Queensland players. 

Our mixed team was made up of St Patrick’s students.  They were very successful making it through to the semi finals, only to be knocked out by Emmaus College, who eventually went on to win the mixed competition.

2021 was a huge success for MSP touch, with our biggest numbers and best results that we have had yet.  However, we also considered this to be a development year, looking forward to what the next couple of years will bring.

Lastly, I would like to thank the many teachers and staff that are involved in our Touch Program.  Those who were unable to attend 'All Schools' this year include Danae Meigan, Tom Gaviglio, Abbi Johnson and Jake Riley.  We also have the incredible Rowena Bartlett helping us behind the scenes and Kelly Cooke who had volunteered to give up her time to come away with us.  Thank you also to Billy Gilbert from St Patrick’s College for being our contact there and Claire Blessas and Yo Hutchinson for helping the mixed team.  This year, we also called upon the parents to help get us to All Schools.  To Jamie Purdue, Sue-Anne Faulkner and Sharnie Contor, thank you for dropping everything at the last minute to come along and help supervise our students.  We would not have been able to attend this competition if you had not jumped on board to offer your help.  There are two people left to thank.  To Adam Skoczylas and Doug Bettington, your continued support and personal sacrifice for our students is far above what is ever expected.  I have received many phone calls from parents recently and each and every one of them have asked that I pass on their gratitude.  What you have done for our Touch kids this year, was nothing short of amazing.  Thank you. 

Mrs Jo Ciantar-Schatkowski

Begin with the End in Mind:

The students at Mercy College set Academic Goals each semester. They do this with their classroom teachers for each subject. This encourages and empowers students to set a goal and then reflect on their achievement when their progress results come out at the end of the first term and then their final marks at the end of the Semester. It’s important that students set goals and then reflect on how their success is going as the Semester progresses.

This is an exciting snap shot of some wonderful Goals that were set in the Manual Arts rooms this Semester.  Students have been working hard. 

Taya Cook – Year 10 student

After seeing my Coffee table finished shows how much work goes into completing the job. I also had to complete a design folio for the theory component of the subject. While completing the job I have to be responsible with the time I am given, so I believe that having goals set is so important to be able to finish it. When working towards accomplishing my goals I have learnt to multitask by working and talking at the same time. After reaching my goals I feel really satisfied with my table and how it turned out. 

Jack Ramsamy – Year 10 student

I am really happy that I get to take a completed job home. I set a goal to finish my tool box by the end of the Term. I had to:

• use my time in class well 
• not get distracted by my peers
• ask lots of questions
• check my work a lot not it’s not wrong. 

Ryan Reid - Year 10 student

Finishing my tool box has been very rewarding. I have learnt how to make complicated folds and take responsibility, managing my time and taking necessary actions to make sure my job is to a high standard. 

Some goals I set to make this possible are:

• beginning with the end in mind
• don’t get distracted
• ask questions when I get stuck
• try and get the best marks I can

Mrs Sandie Gracie

Yr 8 Mini Bacon & Egg Pies

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ short crust pastry sheets
• 2 rashers bacon-chopped
• Canola spray
• 2 teaspoons fresh parsley-chopped
• 2 teaspoons chives-chopped
• ¾ teaspoon mustard powder
• 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese - grated
• ½ cup milk (125ml)
• 2 eggs - lightly beaten
• pepper and salt

METHOD

1. Preheat oven 180c and spray muffin pans.
2. Using pastry cutter or a knife cut out 12 muffins shapes. Line muffins pans with shortcrust pastry.
3. Microwave the bacon in a microwave safe jug for 2 minutes.
4. Combine parsley, chives, mustard powder and cheese in bowl and add cooled bacon. Place half the mixture on base of the pastry cases.
5. Combine beaten eggs, milk and pepper in a measuring jug and place into each pastry case. Sprinkle with remaining bacon mixture.
6. Cook for 20 minutes or until cooked. 
7. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pans. 

Yr 9 Bacon and Omelette Muffins and Orange juice

• 2 English muffins
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• 4 shortcut bacon
• ½ tablespoon olive oil
• ½ cup grated cheese
• ¼ onion finely diced
• 2 large eggs
• ¼ green capsicum finely diced
• pinch of salt
• 4 oranges

METHOD

1. Split muffins and place split side down on paper and place bacon on the other side. Cook until bacon is heated and muffins are lightly toasted. Turn oven off.
2. Divide grated cheese among the muffin halves and melt in the warm oven.
3. Whisk eggs, salt and pepper in a bowl. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium–high heat. Add onion and capsicum and cook, stirring occasionally, cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Spread the vegetables evenly in the pan and pour in the eggs mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook without stirring, but lift edges to allow uncooked egg to flow underneath, cook for 2 minutes or until omelet is set. 
4. Fold the omelet in half and slide onto a cutting board. Cut in half. Assemble cheesy muffins with bacon and half omelette. 
5. Orange Juice: Cut oranges in half squeeze juice, strain and chill.

Yr 10 Sticky Date Pudding & Butterscotch Sauce

INGREDIENTS (makes 12)

• 250g seedless dates
• 1 cup boiling water (250ml)
• 100g butter
• 170g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• muffin papers
• 170g self raising flour
• 1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

Butterscotch Sauce

• 150g brown sugar
• 150ml thickened cream
• 100g butter

METHOD

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C.
2. Place dates and water into a small pan and bring to the boil.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool to room temperature. Use mix master to chop up the dates. Stir in the bi-carbonate of soda.
4. Place muffin papers in a muffin tray.
5. Place butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream until light and creamy.
6. Add eggs one at a time and beat.
7. Add vanilla
8. Fold in flour and date mixture, alternatively until combined.
9. Spoon evenly into muffin tray.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

Butterscotch Sauce

1. To make butterscotch sauce: Place all ingredients in a large saucepan and stir gently over a medium heat until slightly thickened.
2. To serve pour sauce over pudding may be served with cream or ice-cream.

There may not be NORFAIR this year, but our parish is selling tickets in an amazing raffle. With a First Prize of $10 000, tickets are great value at $5.00 each. The raffle will be drawn on Friday 10 December, 

Tickets are available online, outside the churches before and after weekend Masses and from St Joseph's Parish Office

(Monday - Friday 9am to 2:30pm phone 49574855).