Mercy Messenger - Term 4, Week 2 - Friday 14 October 2022

Welcome back to Term 4. I hope all students have returned refreshed for a final burst of effort for the year. Term 4 is a busy term with many events taking place over the coming weeks including our Aquatics Carnival, Cultural Showcase, Speech Night, Year 10 Semi-formal, Graduation Mass, Year 9 Camp and our Year 7/8 Week activities. It is really important that our students understand they need to continue working hard and to finish the Term well.

Mercy Aquatics Carnival

The 2022 Mercy College Aquatics Carnival will be held next Wednesday 19 October. All students are required to attend this annual event and be involved in representing their Houses. The event commences in the afternoon and runs into the evening as has been the sun safe tradition over many years. Due to the late finish, students will have a study day at home on Thursday 20 October.

Champion Schools Basketball Competition

At the end of Term 3, Mercy and St Patrick’s College entered teams in the Champion Schools Basketball Competition in Brisbane. Our Year 7-10 students are currently playing in the CQSQ Junior Secondary Competition and will return home from the Gold Coast this weekend. This has been a fantastic opportunity for our students, and we are grateful to the coaches, staff and parents who have assisted with the teams.

Mercy Encouragement Award

Our Mercy Day celebrations at the end of Term 3 included the presentation of the annual Mercy Encouragement Award.  This award is presented to a student from each of Years 7, 8 and 9.  The students who receive the award have been identified as living out the Mercy values of Hope, Compassion and Justice through their service for the poor and vulnerable.  The annual award acknowledges the continuation of the work of Catherine McAuley who saw a need and did something about it.

In addition to acknowledging the efforts of the recipients, this award aims to encourage all students to strive to initiate social justice projects within the College and further afield in the wider community.  Congratulation to our three award recipients:

Year 7  -  Harper Shields

Year 8  - Matilda Kelly

Year 9  -  Ynol Membrebe

Message from Mark Bailey MP Minister for Transport and Main Roads

In a world-first road safety initiative, new speed camera technology will soon target speeding drivers at selected school zones across Queensland. Everyone has a role in keeping our roads safe. It is imperative drivers reduce their speed to the signed 40 km/h speed limit and be aware of activity by students on or near the road.

Speed cameras will only operate during school zone times at the selected schools.

Parents and guardians dropping off or picking up students are urged to comply with school zone speed limits. Those who slowdown will not be penalised.

REMINDER: There will be a Student Study Day on Thursday 20 October, due to the Aquatics Carnival being held from 2:00 - 9:00pm Wednesday 19 October. 

Mercy and St Patrick’s Colleges sent five teams to the Gold Coast Performance Centre, Runaway Bay to compete in the All Schools Touch Competition which was held over five days. It is the world’s largest touch football tournament, with over 460 teams representing various schools both nationally and internationally. Across the 5-day tournament, over 6,200 students will take to the field playing over 1,720 games across 30 fields, attracting between 6,000 and 10,000 spectators. All teams performed well, with the final standings for all our teams.

• 13 Boys - Made it to the Round of 16 finals (51 teams)
• 15 Girls - Finishing 2nd in their pool, narrowly missing finals (96 teams)
• 15 Boys - Finishing 3rd in their pool (81 teams)
• 18 Mixed - Finishing 4th in their pool (63 teams)
• 18 Boys - Finishing 5th in their pool (41 teams)

It was good to see leadership in action with our 13 Boys being coached by some of our senior boys, Jaxon Purdue and William Whippy with the assistance of Mr Gaviglio. Thank you also to staff who helped with coaching and supporting the other teams on the trip Mrs Ciantar-Schatkowski, Miss Johnson, Mr Riley, Mrs Meigan, Mr Schifilliti, Mr Gilbert and Mrs Cooke.

A short time after dusk in November of 1965 10-year-old Jay Hounsell walked home after an afternoon with his friends, making his way through the side streets of Conway, New Hampshire. Wishing nothing else but to pass the time, the boy picked up a stick and began to whack it harmlessly against the trees and mailboxes. With equal lack of concern, he struck the side of a large electricity pole. Just when the stick hit the pole, he noticed the light go out. Looking around, he saw that the lights of the entire neighbourhood had gone out. Panicked, he went home and hid up in his room.

The next morning his mother informed him that power had gone out throughout eight states of the Northeast. Unable to bear his guilt any longer, the boy confessed. He had “caused” the Great Blackout of 1965 with a swing of his stick.

Truth, of course, was that a faulty switch in the power grid was the cause, it just happened to coincide with Jay’s swing. But how clear it seemed to him that his actions carried such great effect. How could he doubt the might of his action?

Joshua, Moses and the people of Israel easily could have believed that it was truly their power that drove back Amalek. But God could not let Moses forget whose power it really was. So, he had Moses demonstrate this fact physically. Every time he brought down his hands, he was reminded of a power much larger than his own.

One of the psalms this week reminds us that our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The 2022 Mercy College Aquatics Carnival will be held next Wednesday October 19.  It is an annual event where all students are required to attend and be involved in representing their House. All students have several opportunities to participate in a range of both participation and competitive events at the carnival. 

The Carnival runs from 2:00pm to approximately 8:45pm. Due to the late finish, there will be no school for students on Thursday October 20;  this will be a study day at home for students. 

Throughout the Carnival, students are asked to remain in their House areas when not participating in an event.  Parents and guardians are welcome to attend and support students but are asked to remain in the designated parent area. 

Students will need to be collected by their parents or guardians at the conclusion of the event (approximately 8:45pm). They will not be allowed to leave the venue without a parent or guardian present.

See below the student expectations for the Aquatics Carnival:

• students can wear their House shirt on the day of the carnival 
• no brief swimming costumes 
• all students are requested to leave their iPad at home on the day of the Carnival (October 19) 
• the Vinnies Committee will be selling drinks, chocolates and chips. The P&F will be providing a BBQ and selling steak burgers - $5 and sausages on bread - $2 for students to purchase food 
• no crepe paper, coloured zinc, glitter, coloured hair spray or hair fudge
• don’t bring any valuables to the Carnival, e.g. phones, large amounts of money, etc
• if students are unable to swim on the night a note must be given to their House Coordinator on the day prior to the Carnival
• students who are unable to attend the Carnival must attend school for the normal school day on the day of the Carnival and have submitted a letter to their House Coordinator explaining their absence from the event 
• students are to remain with their House when not competing in an event. Parents and guardians are not to be in student areas 
• as parent and guardian seating will be extremely limited, it is recommended you bring a chair 
• if a student needs to leave prior to the Carnival’s conclusion, a signed note must be presented to the relevant House Coordinator. The student must be collected from the front gate and signed out by the parent or guardian; this letter needs to be submitted prior to the day of the Carnival. 
• our usual School Rules apply for the Carnival and any student who chooses not to follow them will be sent home

On Wednesday 5 October, the indigenous students from both Mercy College and St Patrick’s College attended a Deadly Day Out with students from Catherine McCauley and Holy Spirit College at Slade Point Community Centre. Activities included  a cultural talk with Ms Fiona Bobongie, traditional dancing with Mr Patrick Thaiday and painting with Ms Nina Ahwong. Deadly choices also came and played a variety of sports with the students throughout the day.  During the day students and staff enjoyed food made by Mrs Bianca Dorante and her family, which was a big talking point of the day. The day provided the students with the opportunity to learn about their culture, history and  integrate with other indigenous students in the wider community while taking time to reflect on their own culture and its significance as a whole and on an individual basis. 

Last week our combined Cultural students went on a tour to the local catholic primary schools; St Francis, St Johns, St Josephs, St Anne’s and St Mary’s.  Performing for prep - yr 6 students, our combined choir, stage band, percussion ensemble, drum corps and dance troupe shared their talents in an effort to showcase what we have on offer at our combined colleges.  Our ensembles were wonderfully received by the students and we look forward to seeing them again, whether it’s in our Cultural Department in the future or on another tour. 
 
There are some important dates coming up for our Cultural Department this term.  Next  Tuesday (18 October) is St Patrick’s Valedictory, which will require our combined concert band, choir and percussion ensemble.  On Thursday (20 October) our annual Cultural Showcase is being ehld.  This will take place in the Mercy College Hall and will showcase the talents of our entire Cultural Department.  This is a great event and we welcome parents, family and friends to come and see the amazing talents our combined Colleges have to offer.  Information regarding rehearsal times and equipment will be posted on google classroom to students.

Please find attached our Term 4 gig guide:

Thank you for your continued support of our cultural program.

Please find below the roster for the Brekky Van for October. Remember our friends are truly grateful for our service and rely on a good brekky and conversation to start the day - consistency and reliability are core foundations of Trust. If you are unable to attend a shift, please text the school mobile 0448 984 936, or email Mrs Wallace at kelsey_wallace@rok.catholic.edu.au. 

Term 3 was a huge term for Vinnies! A big congratulations to Isabella Brown, the winner of the 10 kg Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate drawn on Mercy Day. Runner-up prizes were three large jars of M&M chocolates, and the winners were Mr Van Zyl, Jacob Smart and Jack Henderson. 

Thank you to all who supported our Term 3 Mercy Works fundraisers, including the Shop ‘Till you Drop Mercy College Op-Shop, the Mercy Day Stall, the Giant Chocolate Raffle and the fundraising chocolate boxes. We were able to donate $3500 to Sister Denise Hinton during the College Assembly in Week 1. This money will go towards supporting Mercy Works projects in Australia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and The Philippines.

This Term our fundraising focus is the Vinnies Christmas Hamper Appeal. The Vinnies Christmas Appeal serves to bring joy to families and individuals who may need a little extra support. The Christmas Season, for most, is often a time of celebrating with family and friends, sharing in the joy of giving and receiving presents, laughing over family traditions and silly season moments. However, for 2.2 million Australians, including families and 750,000 children, living below the poverty line, it can be a time when meeting even their most basic needs, like having food on the table, a place to call home, or keeping the lights on is a real struggle.

The items in the St Vincent de Paul hampers are designed to be used for a basic Christmas lunch. You may also wish to put in other optional items as well. Please note the Woolworths or Select Brand is preferable. To uphold the dignity of those receiving the hampers, please ensure that all food items are not due to expire for another six months and are in date and in good condition.

Here is the list of items required for each Christmas Hamper:

Cash donations are also welcome if preferred. All Homerooms will present their Christmas Hampers to Annamaria from St Vincent de Paul on College Assembly Wednesday 23 November (the Year 10 final assembly).

Furthermore, the Mercy Vinnies Committee are supporting Catholic Care’s 2023 School Savvy Project. Basic stationery supplies and second-hand uniforms from any school in Mackay are made available to families at a very low-cost at a pop-up shop held throughout January 2023. The goal of School Savvy is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to be well-equipped and ready to make the most of each new year. Hairdressers are being called on to donate their time to this project. If you are a qualified hairdresser and are able to assist, please contact Flavia from Catholic Care on 0409 534 895.

Also, Vinnies will be running a stall at the College Aquatics Carnival in Week 3. Softdrinks will be on sale for $2, lolly bags for $2, and chocolates for $1. The money raised will go towards the Vinnies Christmas Hamper Appeal.

Thank you for your support

Xmas2022 Schools Info Kit National

In Term 4, the Justice@Mercy group, in conjunction with Orange Sky, are compiling dignity bags for the homeless. The Mercy College Staff have kindly donated travel size shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothbrushes and toothpaste. However, as the summer months approach, insect repellent and sunscreen are in great need for the homeless in our community. We are asking the Mercy College community to donate these items; donations can be dropped off to the College Office.

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.

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Tutoring Days

• Maths:  Monday Room D04 - 3:00-4:00pm
• English:  Monday Room Library - 3:00-4:00pm
• Science: Tuesday Room S04 3:00-4:00pm