Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community
Welcome to Term 2 after what I hope was a relaxing, warm and sun-filled holiday. We were certainly blessed with some magnificent days to enjoy, although I know many among you will eagerly be awaiting the much-needed rain. I hope you were able to participate in the Easter celebrations at your local Churches and they provided the spiritual formation sought. At the end of last term, you will undoubtedly remember the fires that devastated the Western District of Victoria and although, thankfully, there was no loss of life, many certainly suffered enormous property and livestock loss. Given that a former Deputy Principal of the College, Dr Darren Egberts (who is currently Principal of Mercy Regional College in Camperdown) had staff and students suffer extensive losses, and remembering the powerful healing effects of the overwhelming support we received at the time of the Black Saturday bushfires, the College held a fundraiser on the last day of Term 1. As a result, on your behalf we have sent $3000 to the MRC community to support them in whatever way needed. Thank you. This is a great effort, especially considering that on that same day we raised money for cancer research through the World's Greatest Shave campaign. Again, thank you.
At the time of writing this newsletter, I am eagerly awaiting the start of the College’s annual Athletics Carnival. At this stage the day promises to be fantastic, with temperatures in the mid 20s and no rain forecast. Our sports facilities at Quarry Road look spectacular after great preparation by our grounds staff and the great planning by our sports staff. This day is one of the great days that make the College a genuine community; different, special and one of which I am very proud. Each year I am surprised by the carnival-type atmosphere, by the supported friendly competition and by the genuine sense of fun experienced by most. I am thankful for the hospitality of our parents that organise time off to run barbecues and provide hospitality to our staff and students. I am reminded of three Australian athletes standing on a track, waiting several minutes to greet and congratulate a runner from the small African nation of Lesotho, in Lineo Chaka, who finished more than three minutes after the previous runner in the women’s 10,000m. After the debacle of the Australian cricket ball tampering scandal, Celia Sullohern, Madeline Hills and Eloise Wellings displayed the fair and friendly sportsmanship for which we have always taken pride in our sport. Participation and challenging yourself and never being afraid to compete is important. I look forward to the announced results in the next newsletter.
So too, ANZAC Day fast approaches. At the College we will hold services next Monday, with Year 12 students Hollee Mandelt and Andrew Purcell leading the commentary. The focus this year is the Western Front and all students will see some stark images of life on the front. The Western Front was the name given to a series of trenches that zigzagged from the Belgian coastline to the Swiss border, some 700km. After the Gallipoli campaign, Australian soldiers were rested in Egypt and then sent to the front to fight the Germans. Conditions were horrendous. In the trenches machine gun and artillery fire were a constant threat but, so too, the living conditions claimed many lives. The thick mud and standing in water up to their knees for weeks at a time was awful. The cold weather was terrible, whereby water was transported as blocks of ice. Sleep deprivation was a huge issue. One section of the front called the Somme saw a famous battle to secure a high point in the area, the town of Pozieres, which claimed more than 22,000 Australian lives (https://anzacday.org.au/ww1-the- western-front). Indeed, we will Remember. Lest We Forget.
At ANZAC Day ceremonies around our country, the Ode will feature as a prayer of Remembrance. The Ode comes from a poem called the For The Fallen, written by English poet Robert Laurence Binyon, which first appeared in The Times of London on 21 September 1914.
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children
England mourns for her dead across the sea,
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.
Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And glory that shines upon our tears.
They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eyes, steady and aglow,
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again,
They sit no more at familiar tables of home,
They have no lot in our labour of the daytime,
They sleep beyond England’s foam.
But where our desires and hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the night.
As the stars shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.
At this time, we also remember those members of our community who experience loss with the passing of loved ones. We remember and pray for Alice Maud Wescombe, great grandmother to Chantelle Pavey (Year 9), Coen (Year 10) and Blake Wescombe (Year 8). Alice passed at the age of 99 years leaving eight children, 31 grandchildren and 41 great grandchildren; and Ken Town, grandfather to Isabella de Wit (Year 12) and Joshua De Wit (Year 9), who passed on 26 March. Let us pray for the repose of the souls of Alice and Ken and may they, along with the souls of all the faithfully departed, rest in peace.
God bless
Philip A Morison
Principal
