It has been an incredible start to the school year here at OLMC. The energy is palpable, and it has been a joy to see our students—both new and returning—fully engaging in everything College life has to offer. From the classroom to the sporting arena, music, performance and special interest groups, there is a wonderful sense of purpose and school spirit in the air. In line with our scriptural theme this year, there is a sense that all are striving to give of themselves with all their heart.

Our recent Swimming Carnival was a spectacular display of House spirit and athletic talent. Whether it was the competitive races or the pure fun of the novelty events, the atmosphere at the pool was electric. Congratulations to all our swimmers for their participation and to our House Leaders for fostering such a supportive and vibrant environment. It was a day defined by cheering, teamwork, and some very impressive personal bests! We are also blessed to have a dedicated team of Sports Administrators whose focus is always on providing the best for our students.

This week, we officially welcomed our Year 7 cohort and their families into our faith community at the Year 7 Welcome Mass. It was a beautiful, reflective service that marked the beginning of their journey as OLMC students. Fr Kevin, who celebrated Mass, reminded us of what it means to be part of our OLMC Community, where he encouraged students to engage with all that is on offer with all their heart. To be a thriving learning community, we need students and staff who embrace school with all their heart. Fr Kevin, very generously, also celebrated our teachers. Teachers were moved by the spontaneous applause from parents. It was a very special moment and one I will cherish this year.

We look forward to watching these young people grow in confidence and spirit over the coming years.

Elevating Excellence: The LEARN Instructional Model - This term, we are excited to see the full roll-out of our new Instructional Model: LEARN. This framework is designed to provide a consistent, high-impact approach to teaching and learning across all subjects. By focusing on explicit learning intentions, active engagement, and structured reflection, the LEARN model ensures that every student understands not just what they are learning, but how to succeed. Ms Joanna De Bono, Deputy Principal - Learning and Innovation, has shared more about our model in this newsletter.

Finally, a sincere thank you to the many families who attended our recent Parent Information Evenings. Education is a partnership between home and school, and your involvement is vital to your daughter's success. It was wonderful to see so many parents and carers on campus, connecting with staff and learning more about the year ahead. Thank you for your ongoing support and for being such an active part of the OLMC community.

We have entered the time of Lent, a time of invitation and hope as we await the Resurrection of Jesus. It is also a time when we are called to go beyond ourselves and to think of others. This year, we especially include all those who live with war or devastation or natural disasters and keep them in our prayers. We pray for peace, just outcomes, unending generosity and support for all who need it both near and far. As is the case every year, OLMC will focus on the work of Caritas and Project Compassion throughout this season of Lent.

As we continue our Lenten journey, we pray this prayer shared by The Project Compassion Team of Caritas Australia.

Lenten Prayer

God of all love,

We remember that on the night before he died
Your son, Jesus, prayed
that his friends ‘may all be one.’

Yet we see so much division in the world.
War, conflict, violence and hatred
must all distress you.

Millions of people suffer
when they don’t have peace and respect.
They lack the necessities of life: food, water,
health, education and security.

We pray that we may all
Unite Against Poverty this Lent.
May our support for Project Compassion
be a sign to ourselves and others,
of our hope for a better world.

This Lent, we pray that our dedication
to prayer, fasting and almsgiving
will help restore your vision of justice and peace.

Guided by the Holy Spirit,
we pray in Jesus’ name,

Amen.

https://www.caritas.org.au/

Sisilia's story, Tanzania

Sisilia is a 13-year-old girl living in remote Tanzania, who had to walk long distances to collect water every day. Thanks to Project Compassion, Sisilia’s school and village now have safe clean water close by and she can spend more time studying so she can fulfil her dreams of one day becoming a pilot.

The photo above shows Sisilia refilling her cup from newly installed water taps at her school in rural Tanzania.

Photo: Caritas Australia

For more information or to donate please visit https://www.caritas.org.au/

Project Compassion

Students in the Social Justice Club and Year 9 Horizon class ran a very successful Shrove Tuesday pancake stall, and also sold icy poles at the recent Swimming Carnival which were appreciated on the warm day. A little over $700 was raised, which we are pleased to donate to Project Compassion's focus on clean water access projects.

Anita Galli
Social Justice Coordinator

How do we show care for our common home?

Climate justice is a vital part of social justice - learn about clean energy, community food and native gardens, solar education, and more knowledge being shared at this local festival.

Sunday 15^th March 11am-4pm in Petrie Park, Montmorency

Anita Galli
Social Justice Coordinator

This year marks the 180th anniversary of the arrival of Mother M. Ursula (Clara Mary) Frayne and the first Sisters of Mercy in Australia.

Ursula was a close companion of Venerable Mother M. Catherine McAuley, founder of the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin, even accompanying her when she died on 11 November, 1841. Four years after Catherine’s death and at the age of 28, Ursula, along with seven other young women and Sisters of Mercy, made the long and arduous journey from Ireland to Australia aboard the Elizabeth, at the request of Bishop John Brady. They arrived in Fremantle, Western Australia, on 8 January 1846, thereby establishing the first Mercy mission in Australia.

Of her arrival, in her Sketches of Conventual Life in the Bush, Ursula wrote: ‘We stood in the wilds of Australia on that midsummer night, and we could truly say with our Divine Model, “We have nowhere to rest our heads.”’ Suffice to say, Ursula and the first Sisters of Mercy in Australia were brave, pioneering and resilient women.

On 20 April 1857, at the request of Bishop James Alipius Goold, Ursula established another Mercy convent and school in Melbourne (Nicholson Street, Fitzroy) where the Academy of Mary Immaculate continues to operate. Ursula died there on 9 June 1885 and is interred in the school chapel, which is named in her honour.

Years later, on 24 January 1910, five Sisters of Mercy from Fitzroy came to Heidelberg, at the invitation of the local priest, Father Patrick Michael Parker, to oversee a primary school and, shortly after, a secondary school (our present day OLMC), with Sister M. Basil Emoe as the first superior and principal. Consequently, our Mercy mission in Heidelberg was established, and the great gift and legacy of these early Sisters of Mercy lives on in our OLMC students, staff and facilities today.

Last month, on 8 January in Perth, many current and former Sisters of Mercy, religious, priests, past and present Mercy school students and staff members, current and former Mercy ministry staff members, residents and friends gathered together to celebrate 180 years of mercy in Australia. You are welcome to read more about this celebration here.

On 9 February, during our OLMC Opening Year School Mass, we acknowledged 180 years of Mercy in Australia and welcomed locally-based Sisters of Mercy to celebrate with us. We will continue the celebration of this special milestone at other moments throughout our academic year, including Mercy Day.

In the previous newsletter I indicated that the 2026 the College Professional Learning program for staff will continue to focus on embedding the OLMC Instructional Model and Real School’s routines. The OLMC Instructional Model is designed to engage learners and develop relationships by employing restorative language, conduct and mindsets designed to teach and model behaviour that supports student learning through positive relationships, and clear expectations for behaviour and learning.

One of the areas that the College has focused on is Entry Routines. An entry routine is a short, explicitly taught sequence that directs how students enter the classroom and begin learning. For example:

• Where students sit in a seating plan
• How quickly they begin learning
• Where the teacher positions themselves
• How expectations are reinforced

This also includes when and what technology is allowed. Students need to know when they are allowed to use their devices. The beginning of the lesson may include verbal or handwritten exercises where devices are not required. Students also need to know which digital tools are appropriate for certain learning tasks. There should be some type of explicit signal as to when and how much students can use their device for completing their classroom work.

From a learning perspective, entry routines matter because they protect attention and make learning possible from the very first minute. Entry routines help ensure that attention is directed to the right thing at the right time, before instruction begins. The research shows that:

• Students learn best when staff maintain consistent class routines.

• Structured routines help improve self-regulation, wellbeing, growth, and academic achievement.

• Predictable routines create a positive learning environment where students feel ready to engage.

An important document at the College is the 2026 Year 7-10 Curriculum Overview.

This document provides a summary of each subject, the number of lessons a cycle, as well as the strands taught in each subject. The strands are ways that a subject curriculum is organised according to skill or content. For example, English has three strands: Reading and Viewing, Writing, and Speaking and Listening.

In the Course Outline section, you will find more detail on the subjects being studied at each year level. In this area of the Curriculum Overview, each subject area lists the topics explored, as well as the associated assessment tasks with that subject. An indication of subject areas where the four capabilities are assessed is also provided in the course outline.

It can be accessed via the Parent Handbook, under Year 7-10 Programs. It is also available on the College website: 2026 Years 7 - 10 Curriculum Overview.

Information regarding the curriculum for VCE and the VCE Vocational Major, can be accessed through the publication on our website: Course Guide 2026 Senior Programs. It can also be found via PAM in the Parent Handbook, in the Subject Selection folder.

You can find all our curriculum Course Guides here: Learning and Teaching.

The contemporary nature of Humanities subjects allows students to apply what they are learning to the world beyond the classroom. Although we are only in the fourth week of the school year, there has been plenty to talk about in Humanities classes. For example, since classes begun, we have had:

• Floods, while other places in Australia experience heatwaves, bushfires and ongoing drought
• Leadership spills in parliament and a new federal opposition leader
• Discussions in the media about the future of work
• Increased police powers to maintain social cohesion
• An interest rate rise
• Australia’s success in the Winter Olympics, despite its landscape and climate
• A court case about supermarket pricing strategies

Year 7 students are currently undertaking a new and exciting unit called ‘Electro-Life’. They have discussed what makes a place liveable and are now beginning to focus on liveability in an Australian electorate. Students are currently building a profile of their electorate. This profile includes researching the elected member of parliament, using Census data to describe the average person, learning mapping skills by creating overlay maps and examining climate data related to their electorate. This has generated vibrant class discussions and exposed students to incidental learning opportunities, such as questioning whether the location of a member’s seat within their party in the House of Representatives is significant. By the end of the semester, students will be evaluating the liveability of their electorate and proposing ways it could be more liveable. We are looking forward to seeing their ideas!

Jemmah Ind
Humanities Learning Leader

Buon pomeriggio tutti! Bonjour à toutes et à tous! Mina san, Konnichi wa!

The Languages Learning Area staff welcome all language students back to school for an exciting year of language learning. We especially welcome the Year 7 students who have begun learning a new language, one of French, Italian, or Japanese. In Semester Two the Year 7 students will also have the opportunity to try a second language. We wish the Year 7 students, our returning language students from Years 8 to 12, as well as the students who do a language outside of school, such as Chinese, Greek or Vietnamese, the best of luck on their language learning journey in 2026.

Elsewhere in Languages, from Thursday 9 April to Sunday 26 April, 18 students and 3 staff will participate in the Japan Study Tour. Excitement is building amongst the group as the tour approaches and the group meets weekly to prepare for their departure. We are also looking forward to strengthening our ties with our Japanese Sister School, Seirei Gakuen High School in Akita City when the group spends eight days visiting there.

Also, in late June there is a tour to France where a group of students and staff will travel through France and attend language classes in Lyon.

More information about these tours and other events will appear in future newsletters.

Bocca Al Lupo! Bonne Chance! Ganbatte!

James Stavretis
Languages Learning Leader

During these first few weeks at school, Horizon has been a chance for us to explore learning in a different way than inside the classroom. Instead of focusing on our core subjects, we have been learning about financial literacy, researching skills, planning our future pathways and more. Developing knowledge on interest and opening our own (fake) bank accounts has given us insight into future responsibilities, while also helping us gain skills in saving and managing money. Throughout Horizon we have also been given the opportunity to explore future jobs that interest us and explore what paths will take us there. This has encouraged the class to start thinking seriously about our future.

Every Thursday, the Horizon students step away from regular classroom learning to build independence, strengthen connections and develop resilience through our Trail Days. In the first few weeks of term, we visited Heidelberg’s main street to help prepare us for our upcoming City Experience. This gave us the opportunity to practise navigating public spaces and working together as a group. Soon after, we headed into the city for the first time, travelling by train to Melbourne Central. From there, we walked to RMIT University to gain insight into what our future pathways might look like. We took part in an engaging activity that led us across to explore the campus, and everyone embraced the challenge.

The following Thursday, we returned to the city, this time splitting into classes. 9A got off the train at Flagstaff to tour the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. In small groups, we explored the court and learned more about how the justice system operates. Afterwards, 9A visited The Big Issue, where we completed a task that challenged us to think about social issues beyond our own experiences. Meanwhile, 9B continued on to the Old Melbourne Gaol for a guided tour, learning about its history and the stories connected to it. Both groups later reunited at Melbourne Central to enjoy lunch together and share what we had discovered. Each Trail Day has helped us grow in confidence, awareness and independence, preparing us for even bigger experiences ahead.

By Kuzi M (9A) and Vivienne G (9A)

The Senior House has launched into Term 1 with energy and enthusiasm. The first weeks of the year are always busy, but it has been wonderful to see the sense of connection and positivity already building across our Senior areas.

Our Year 10 students are to be commended on the way they have settled into Senior School. Joining a senior pastoral class that brings together students from across year levels is a significant transition, and they have embraced the opportunity with maturity. Navigating new spaces, new classrooms and new routines can feel overwhelming, yet they have approached these changes with confidence and openness.

Year 11 students have commenced their VCE journey with focus and determination, stepping into greater independence and academic challenge. Meanwhile, our Year 12 students have taken their first strides into what is often described as a marathon year. They are setting the tone through their leadership, commitment and support of one another.

On Tuesday 17 February, our pastoral groups had the opportunity to take part in a shared lunch. It was wonderful to see so many pastorals organise generous spreads and connection-building activities. These shared lunches are incredibly important within our vertical homerooms, providing valuable opportunities for senior students to build strong connections with our new Year 10s as they navigate their transition into Senior School.

On Friday 20 February, all houses took part in the Annual Swimming Carnival. As House Coordinators, we were so pleased to see the enthusiasm shown throughout a very warm day. There was excellent participation across all events, and we were incredibly proud of those who competed, cheered and enjoyed the day together. The carnival was led by our creatively dressed Year 12 students and was once again a day of encouragement, celebration and fun. Thank you to all those involved, and congratulations to McAuley for winning the overall trophy in a close final result.

It has been a full and purposeful start to 2026, and there is a genuine sense of excitement and joy in the Senior House as we look ahead to the year of growth and opportunity before us.

Lara Tierney
Carmel House Coordinator

Matthew Sweeney
Mercy House Coordinator

Kathryn Williams
McAuley House Coordinator

Benjamin Hodges
Loreto House Coordinator

Welcome back students, staff and parents. We are so excited to start a new school year with you, even with all the different emotions you may be feeling.

As your College Captains for 2026, we want to challenge you (yes, even the parents) to make this your year by following our College theme: 'Whatever you do, do it with all your heart' Colossians 3:23a. Yes, we know it can be difficult, but we truly want our whole school community to do everything with all their heart this year.

We want you to use all of the passion, authenticity, determination, love, courage and compassion you have inside you and give it everything you’ve got. Commit yourself to something. Take responsibility for your mistakes. Forgive and apologise. Give yourself everything you've always deserved; your peace, your growth, your discipline and a life that reflects everything that you've been putting in.

As your College Captains it means putting genuine care into everything we do, leading with empathy, giving our time and energy and always acting in the best interests of you. Because we have decided that we will give this role our whole heart.

Enjoy everything that this year throws at you, the ups and the downs. Leave last year's worries behind you and look at 2026 as a fresh start. We can’t wait to see what you all choose to do this year with your whole hearts; whether it be for yourself, someone else or the school. And we can’t wait to be here to cheer you on with the rest of our school community.

With all our heart,

Aprila D (12 A6) and Hannah K (12 M2)
College Captains

We are excited to announce that our Senior School Production of Midnight - The Cinderella Musical has officially been cast! The audition and call-back process were highly competitive and all students are to be commended on their efforts.

Rehearsals are set to commence this week and the production team are excited to work with a talented cast to make this a spectacular theatrical event!

Performance dates for the Senior School Production have been provided below. The musical will be staged in the Mercedes Hogan Theatre in May. Ticket sale information will be released at a later date.

We look forward to seeing you there - before the clock strikes ‘midnight’ of course!

CAST LIST

Benjamin Hodges
Production Coordinator
On behalf of the Midnight – The Cinderalla Musical Production Team

Please join us for the

2026 International Women’s Day Breakfast
Friday 6 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 conversations and delicious food.

Together, let's #Balance the Scales for gender equality

We welcome Angela Scaffidi AM (Class of 1988) as our guest speaker.

Angela Scaffidi AM is a distinguished alumni of Our Lady of Mercy College and a lifelong advocate for community service, social justice, and women’s leadership. A true woman of Mercy, Angela was recognised in this year’s Australia Day Honours as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for her significant philanthropic contribution to the community. Her enduring connection to OLMC includes her current role as Co-Chair of the Advisory Board, and her unwavering support reflects a deep commitment to empowering others and advancing inclusive, compassionate leadership.

Across her career, Angela has led and served at the highest levels in both the social welfare and business sectors. She is Global Chair of PROI Worldwide, a founding partner of SenateSHJ, and an active contributor to education as a lecturer at RMIT University. Her philanthropic leadership spans organisations supporting missing persons’ advocacy, women experiencing disadvantage, autism education, and community networks. Widely recognised for her impact, Angela’s honours include international industry awards and fellowship in Australia’s peak public relations body. Angela brings to this International Women’s Day Breakfast a powerful blend of purpose, leadership, and lived commitment to making a difference.

Tickets - $25 Adult, $15 Student

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

BOOKINGS CLOSE TODAY - Friday 27 February.

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: Raelene Mathewson E: rmathewson@olmc.vic.edu.au

Applications for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) 2026 are now open and remain open until the end of Term 2 - Friday 26 June 2026.

Parents/Legal Guardians holding a Concession Card and being successfully validated with Centrelink will be entitled to a payment of $400 per year for each Secondary School student.

Parents, please refer to the 2026 Camps, Sports & Excursions Fund (CSEF) Application Form attached.

Please complete this application and return it as soon as possible to Visitor Reception at OLMC along with a photocopy of your relevant Concession Card.

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.