This is our first Newsletter for 2025. The Newsletter is one of the ways in which we communicate with families and our broader community. It is also a place where we showcase the successes of our students in the classroom, on the sporting field, in Music and Drama or in one of the many co-curricular activities on offer. Tips and links to ideas and support are also made available to families through our Newsletter, along with information about upcoming school and community events. It is a great source of information, and we hope that you include it in your fortnightly routine.

We extend a warm welcome to all Year 7 students who have begun their high school journey with us. Welcome to our new students in Year 8 - 11 and to our new staff. We also extend our welcome to all families who have joined the OLMC community for the first time this year.

Mrs Joanna De Bono joins us this year as Deputy Principal - Learning and Innovation. As a highly successful leader, Joanna brings with her a wealth of experience in leading Learning and Teaching, educational innovation and wellbeing for both staff and students. As a person well versed in the charism of leaders like Catherine McAuley, she will bring our values to the fore in her work. Along with Joanna, the following staff have joined the OLMC community this year:

Bernie Jones - Mathematics
(Eunice) Nan Ko Hiu - Mathematics
Matthew Sweeney - English/Humanities
Katie Clarkson - HPE
Elaine Xu - Mathematics
Faith Collado - Finance Officer and Accounts Receivable
Suzanne Lake - English
Alex Fei - Mathematics
Jack Casonato - Humanities
Michelle Rangelov - Languages and English
Angela Apted - Student Counsellor
Sophie von Tunk - Instrumental Music

On Friday 31 January we welcomed the Year 7 and Year 12 students; one year level beginning their journey at OLMC and another looking to how they can make the most of their last year. On Monday 3 February, the school year began in full.

Today, we had the privilege of celebrating the outstanding academic performances of the Year 12 Class of 2024. It was a joy to welcome back students and their families and to share, as a community, the success that has come from long hours of hard work and dedication. It was also an opportunity to celebrate the extensive and ongoing support provided to all our students by our dedicated teaching staff. Of course, the support of their families was key for all our students in achieving success.

This week, we also welcomed our Year 7 parents to what we hope is the first of many opportunities to share in our partnership. Along with some important information, they were able to participate in the first social event hosted by the Parents’ Association. Our Year 10 parents joined us on Thursday evening where the focus was on supporting students as they begin their final years. We look forward to welcoming our Year 8 and 9 families next week.

The information nights are designed to help us connect with families and to establish our partnership in supporting our students to flourish. In addition to sharing important information, the nights are also a time to connect with other parents and to meet staff who are key in the lives of your child this year. Thank you to all who joined us for the evenings.

We are looking forward to a wonderful 2025 supporting our students to thrive and building relationships and partnerships for learning.

Our 2025 Student Leadership Team has chosen our theme from Scripture:

‘Don’t be afraid. Go and be…’ (Mark 5:36b)

This passage from Mark's Gospel reminds us of Jesus’ call to faith over fear. When Jairus, a synagogue leader, was told that his daughter had died, others urged him to give up hope. But Jesus reassured him: ‘Do not be afraid; just have faith.’

As people of Mercy, we are called to live the Gospel daily—not just in words, but in action. This message is timeless and transformative, urging us to embody courage, compassion, justice, and joy in facing life’s challenges.

‘Go and be’ invites us to step forward in faith and confidently embrace our unique callings. It challenges us to be the best versions of ourselves, using our gifts to serve, uplift, inspire and respond to suffering.

So, this year, let us trust in God’s plan, embrace the unknown, and step boldly into who we are meant to be.

‘Do not be afraid. Go and be…’

Loving and faithful God,
You call us to trust in You, even in moments of doubt and uncertainty.
As we begin this new year together,
may we open our hearts to Your love.
Give us the courage to embrace new challenges,
the wisdom to lead with compassion,
and the strength to serve with love.
Help us to live out our calling with faith,
walking with our young people, their families and one another
knowing that You are with us each step of the way.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

A very warm welcome to all our returning families and to all those new to the OLMC community. There is no doubt that OLMC is a vibrant and welcoming learning community, and that the student experience is at the heart of everything we do.

The new school year brings excitement, anticipation, and an opportunity for new beginnings. I am excited about what lies ahead for this year.

Setting Goals

As we prepare for a successful year of learning, here are some simple tips to start the year off on a positive note:

• Set goals for your learning. Read and reflect on your Semester 2 report from 2024 and set some goals for your learning for the upcoming year.
• Practise self-care. Make sure you look after yourself throughout the year. Balance your studies with time playing sports or other activities you enjoy doing outside of school. Make sure you also get enough sleep every night.
• Strengthen your support networks. Remember your teachers are here to help you. Reach out to them if you are experiencing any challenges in your learning.
• Be organised. There are lots of ways to be organised. You can create a study plan, organise your folders or computer files for each subject, and organise a space to study at home.

Professional Learning

In 2025 the College Professional Learning program will continue to focus on the collective approach to continuously improve the learning outcomes and wellbeing of all students.

Over the last few years Professional Learning has focused on aligning our teaching approaches, resources, and assessments to support the learning needed to implement curriculum, assessment and pedagogical change.

A whole-school approach provides for common understanding and practices and allowing teachers to share experiences, discuss challenges and support each other in implementing new practices.

This will be evident in the use of Canvas and classroom routines.

Holidays provide a chance where we can reflect on our routines and habits. The end of Semester 2 2024 report can also draw attention to organisation, time management and other areas of learning that may require deep reflection and action. Sometimes, it will become apparent that these habits and routines of the previous year have not served our ambition, our growth as learners, as well as we would like, and therefore a commitment to a new approach is made.

Trying a new approach, a new way to be organised prior to class or to manage our time is great if we are clear as to what it is we want to improve. What is the Why? Why are we trying something new? What is the goal? What is the motivation?

Having a goal that the habit will address is important in helping to maintain the motivation. For parents and guardians it can be difficult to know how to offer support with the motivation needed to develop a new habit.

Our work with Elevate Education, who will be running time management sessions on Wednesday 12 February for our Year 7 and 12 students, includes access to free webinars for parents and guardians on a range of topics. Their first webinar is on ‘Motivation: how to get and keep your child motivated.’

If you would like to attend this webinar, on Wednesday 12 February starting at 6.30 pm, then please register via the link here.

Further information regarding Elevate webinars throughout the term can be found on PAM.

It has been wonderful to welcome all staff and students back for the new school year. We extend a very special welcome to our new Year 7 students and to our new students in Year 8 to Year 12 who have joined our College community this year. It has been great to see our students enjoying the company of their peers and to set up routines as they settle into the rhythm of the school day.

2025 Student Leadership Team

It has also been a real joy to work with our Year 12 Student Leadership Team as they begin their work in leading students and setting goals for the new school year. One focus of the Student Leaders is to increase student participation in the co-curricular life of the school. Their chosen theme from scripture this year is: ’Don’t be afraid. Go and be …’ (Mark 5:36b). This text from Mark’s gospel certainly challenges us all to push ourselves to move out of our comfort zone in an effort to develop ourselves and serve the wider community. This week, a number of our Student Leaders have been involved in presenting this theme to our families at the Parent Information Nights held through this week. The wisdom of our leaders is clear to see from this passage of their speech when addressing our community at these events:

‘Our hope for this year is simple yet significant: We want every person in this community - students and staff - to feel empowered. Instead of letting fear hold us back, this theme encourages us to move forward with courage. It invites us to step into the unknown, to take action, to be yourself boldly and courageously embrace the potential and purpose that we each carry.

At our school, there are countless opportunities to learn and grow - whether in academics, sport, arts, leadership, or social justice, but it all comes down to one thing - being willing to embrace these opportunities. These experiences are not just about success, they are about embracing new challenges, stepping out of your comfort zone, and discovering who you truly are.

But perhaps, it is also about being present in the moment - in a world where screens and social media are central parts of our days, it sometimes can be hard to stay grounded in the present. Therefore, this theme is about not letting distractions, fears, or external pressures pull you away from what matters most: focusing on you, here, and now.’

Parent Information Nights

Thank you to all parents and guardians who have attended the Year 7 and Year 10 Parent Information Nights this week. It was great to see families support these events and is certainly a clear demonstration of the importance placed on the partnership between home and school. Thank you also to the wonderful Parents’ Association who were present at the Year 7 night to help with the serving of light refreshments at the end of the evening. We look forward to meeting our Year 8 and Year 9 parents this coming Tuesday 11 February.

New Consequences for Inappropriate Mobile Phone Use on Campus

Although our mobile phone policy has not changed, we have made a decision to change the consequences if a student is using their phone inappropriately on campus.

Our mobile phone policy states that if a student chooses to bring a phone to school, they are required to keep their phone in their locked locker from 8.40 - 3.20 pm. The exceptions to this are when a teacher has given permission for students to access their phones for a classroom activity, and when students need to access their phone to make a payment at the canteen.

If a student uses their phone without permission, a staff member will record this on SIMON, our learning management system. If a student has used their phone inappropriately on three occasions, parents and students will be notified and students will be required to hand in their phone each day for a two-week period. Phones are handed in to Student Reception before Pastoral, where it will be kept in a locked locker until 3.20 pm.

Any subsequent recordings of inappropriate phone use will result in another conversation with students and parents, and the student will be required to hand in their phone each day for the rest of the school year.

Why have we taken these steps? We have decided to take these steps to firm up these boundaries around phone use in a determined effort to prioritise opportunities for our young people to connect with their learning and with others without the added distraction of a phone in the vicinity. Recent findings have also urged us to work hard in this area to support our young people. Research that has been conducted by people such as social psychologist and author Jonathan Haidt establishes a link between the advent of the smart phone and the increased use of social media, with an increased rate of anxiety and depression in adolescents.

In his book Stolen Focus, author and researcher Johann Hari highlights the importance of mind wandering - those moments through the day when we can daydream. This might happen when we take a walk without a podcast or music on, or when we are staring out the window maybe catching the train. It has become more and more challenging for all of us, including our young people, to find this time, where we can simply imagine and dream. We are often bombarded and overly stimulated with information and images and so too are our young people. However, it is this time, this mind wandering time, that is so crucial if our mind is going to have the space it needs to imagine possibilities and to find creative ideas and solutions.

This is such an important attribute for our young people to develop. We look forward to working in partnership with you as we support each other to tackle this issue.

Whole School Events coming up in Term 1

We know that one element that contributes to an individual’s wellbeing is having a sense of belonging and connection to those around them. A powerful way you can encourage your child to develop a strong connection to OLMC is ensuring they are present for our community events. Swimming Carnivals, whole school masses, Mercy Day - these are special events when we stop and step away from the busyness so we can be altogether belonging. Some of these events that are running in Term 1 are listed below:

• Whole School Opening Mass: Tuesday 18 February
• OLMC Swimming Carnival: Tuesday 25 February
• Holy Week Liturgy: Friday 4 April

2025 International Women’s Day Breakfast
Friday 7 March
7.30 am – 8.45 am
Heagerty Room, Yarra Street

We come together to celebrate women in our community who actively choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions and help create a more gender-equal world by inspiring inclusion. Our breakfast will be a morning full of lively conversation and delicious food.

Together, let's #AccelerateAction for gender equality

We are pleased to welcome Lauren Szigeti (Class of 2018) as our guest speaker.

Tickets - $25 Adult, $10 Student

Please go to https://www.trybooking.com/CYWWO

Bookings close Thursday 6 March

By attending you will be supporting the work of McAuley for Women and Children in providing much needed support for women and their children who are escaping family violence.

Enquiries: Marie Jenkins T: 9455 7571 E: mjenkins@olmc.vic.edu.au

Dear OLMC Families

The Parents’ Association are running a Bunnings Sausage Sizzle at the Preston Bunnings on Sunday 16 February. If you are shopping at Bunnings please come and say hello and grab a delicious sausage.

We are looking for volunteers to assist on the day. It can get very busy especially in the middle part of the day so please consider lending a hand.

If you can assist, can you please email Vanessa ness81@live.com.au with your preferred time slot. Your daughters are welcome to come with you.

• 8.00 am - 10.00 am
• 10.00 am – 12.00 pm
• 12.00 pm - 2.00 pm
• 2.00 pm - 4.30 pm

OLMC Parents’ Association Committee

Have you been thinking about becoming a Foster Carer? If you are interested in providing Aboriginal children with a positive and nurturing family life, please visit the link below.

If you're interested in playing football this year but not sure if you are ready, you might like to attend the free training session at Parade College on Tuesday 11 February. No experience required. See attached flyer for details.

Follow the official Our Lady of Mercy College accounts on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. We’ll be sharing regular news, student achievements and stories from around the College.