This week is National Reconciliation Week. At OLMC, our staff and students engaged in activities within our classes and throughout each day recognising the gifts of First Nations people as we explored culture, truth telling and treaty. It was also a time when we recognised the generational trauma for First Nations people that has occurred because of policies and practices of the past that did not respect their dignity, community or status. The whole school mass included prayers for hope, truth telling and treaty.
This week, Joanna De Bono, Shane Taylor, Nicolas Sulzberger, and I attended the Australasian Mercy Secondary Schools Association (AMSSA) conference for staff. The conference for staff and students is held once every two years in alternating years. The theme this year is ‘Community, Connection, Celebration’. Leaders and staff from Mercy secondary schools came together in Western Australia, from New Zealand and all over Australia to share in the charism of Mercy and to discern how we contribute to shaping the future of Mercy charism and works into the future. There are 67 schools represented in AMSSA, each sharing in and committed to the ongoing work of Mercy. The conference themes explored our role in leading charism, innovation in the education space, and our contributions to treaty and truth telling for First Nations peoples. It is a privilege to be part of such a strong charism lived so powerfully in all parts of Australia and New Zealand.
We have also been busy preparing for our week of activities next week focused on ‘Learning Beyond the Classroom’. Learning beyond the classroom has long been celebrated as an important means of extending the learning of students as they encounter opportunities to apply, in a practical setting, the skills and knowledge they have built up through their classroom learning. It also allows students to build connections with new members of the cohort or reinforce the connections that already exist.
A great deal of planning and organisation has gone into the development of all of the activities for the week. They include camps for Years 7, 8, and some in Year 9, along with Year 12 Retreat. Each year, as Year 12 students prepare for the end of their time at OLMC, the most frequent and fond memories shared are those from camp and Retreat. The moments away together are important ones for our students.
Year 10 and 11 students will begin their examinations, allowing them to trial their exam techniques in preparation for Year 12. In addition, there will be guest speakers, workshops and problem-solving activities held at school for a range of year levels. Classes for all Year 12 classes will run as normal on Monday and Tuesday.
We look forward to welcoming all students into new ways of learning and developing new skills. Parents are reminded that normal expectations remain in place for notifying the College of any absences. Please note anything that is missed during this week will not be available again this year for students to access.