Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community,
It is cold and I am starting to feel it. Each day as I arrive at about 7.00am I drive up our hill to be greeted by our new digital sign which greets me with a welcome, the date and the current temperature. I am not totally sure that I want to know the temperature. This past week it has been one degree, zero degrees and minus one degree. I am sure it has been colder out in the valley.
The concept of temperature has me reflecting on why we talk about it so much. Having lived in rural communities for many years, I recognise that temperature, rain, frosts, etc. have such an impact on the livelihood of those whom we serve. It was certainly true in a dairy community like Warrnambool where I lived for 11 years and it is certainly true for the flower, fruit and wine communities that surround us. Temperature is also something that impacts each and every one of us. Today is the last day of winter and I am sure we look forward to the beautiful new growth of spring.
Melbourne weather is both beautiful and ever changing. The cold conditions of winter help us appreciate the magnificent days of autumn and spring and the heat of summer. Melbourne weather is ever changing and I must admit that I like change and the whole concept of change. To me, change builds adaptability which, in turn, builds resilience. I hope that as students graduate and leave our great College they are indeed both adaptable and resilient as there are many opportunities within our College to build both.
Tournament of Minds
Last weekend the College hosted one such opportunity in Tournament of the Minds, affectionately known as TOM. Their website explains that TOM is about ‘Challenging the world to develop problem solving skills’. It offers the opportunity to solve authentic, open-ended challenges that foster creative, divergent thinking while developing collaborative enterprise, excellence and teamwork.
TOM actually began in Melbourne in 1987 with only 300 students and now over 16,000 students participate nationally. It is a great pleasure and thrill that MLMC hosts the regional event.
The TOM website explains their objectives as:
- To provide the challenge of real, open-ended challenges
- To develop creative problem solving approaches and techniques
- To foster cooperative learning and teamwork
- To promote knowledge and appreciation of self and others
- To encourage experimentation and risk taking
- To expand and reward creative and divergent thinking
- To stimulate a spirit of inquiry and a love of learning
- To develop enterprise
- To celebrate excellence.
What better way to build adaptability and resilience.
I am indeed honoured to be the Principal of the College to host it and grateful to the staff and students who give their time to participate. The merits cannot be measured. Students across year levels working together, parents, teachers, and students enjoying the challenge together.
Frayne Speech Festival
Another activity that I have enjoyed for many years is the Frayne Speech Festival, which this year was hosted by Notre Dame College in Shepparton. This festival is a celebration of the spoken word with students participating in Debating (Years 10-12), Individual Speech (Years 10-12) and Voice Choir (Years 7–10). The Voice Choir is spectacular. A group of students bring poetry to life by voice and stance with very few props. The Frayne Speech Festival is a very special event, made more special by the fact that in many ways it, too, is a celebration of the resilience of our College processes. It started as a festival in 1996 to celebrate the centenary of our College here at MLMC. It is now a festival attended by many Mercy and Mercy connected schools in Southern seaboard of Australia. The Voice Choir has been working for some years under the direction of Ms Caroline Dickason and so it is fantastic to bring the trophy back to MLMC. Congratulations to all involved in the Frayne Speech Festival for 2018 and the staff that trekked to Shepparton to be with them.
Football
Girls football is an ever-growing sport and has been on offer here at MLMC for many years. It is with great pleasure that I congratulate our Senior Girls’ Football team on winning the EISM grand final against Emmaus College this week. I understand that it was a very tight game and our footballers played extremely well. They now move on to the Herald Sun Shield competition.
Father’s Day
Father’s Day is celebrated this Sunday. Congratulations and thank you to all male caregivers who support our children in providing male role models that are authentic and caring. Know that your contribution can never be underestimated.
Farewell
Members of our community continue to suffer with the passing of family members. We remember and pray for Michael, brother to Mrs Mary Hicks (teacher) who passed away suddenly last weekend; and Lionel Rose, grandfather to Matthew (Year 11) and Chelsea-Leigh (Class of 2016). Lionel passed away in South Africa earlier this month. Let us pray for the repose of the souls of Michael and Lionel. May they rest in peace.
God bless
Philip A Morison
Principal
