Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community

I think I have told you before that one of my favourite books is Waiting for the Mountain to Move: Reflections on Work and Life by Charles Handy. I first came across the book, originally published in 1992, when a friend lent me a copy. On returning it, I told my wife how much I enjoyed it and she presented me a copy as a gift. As is my habit with books I like, I told someone about it, lent it to them and I have not seen it since. This is a lesson I really must learn.

Last week, a librarian at MLMC supplied me with a copy of the book and I am thrilled. I have started to re-read it. Handy has a way of presenting his experience in the public service, business world and education in very provocative short anecdotes that compel the reader to think. Remembering that it was written before 1992, before the proliferation of personal computers and mobile phones, Handy presents old issues in a very different light.

So why the title? In the opening story Handy discusses the times which he describes as his blackest. The times when he has no control over what is happening. Things may or may not happen. He is powerless to intercede to create change.

Does this sound familiar?

Handy refers to Kierkegaard’s story of the traveller who was walking in the countryside and on seeking a village, he found the road to be blocked by a mountain. So he sat and waited for the mountain to move. Years later he was still sitting there and eventually he died. He is long remembered in the village by a proverb “the man who waited for the mountain to move”.

So what is the point?

God does not move mountains or cause stock markets to crash or create viruses to kill us. God helps us climb mountains and to find vaccines for viruses. Now is not the time to be looking outside at the world and seeking God. Now is the time to look within and find in ourselves the beauties that we never knew were there.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day. I understand that family dinners at restaurants and pubs will not be possible, but a family dinner at home or a picnic or a barbecue in the back yard is certainly possible. I understand that grown children cannot visit or you cannot visit grandparents, but you can join with them in spirit over the phone, skype, zoom, Google Meet or whatever means. You might not be able to shop to buy that perfect gift, but the gift of appreciation and demonstrated love is always possible.

A smile, a hug, a kiss within families and within the social distancing rules is always possible.

Don’t wait for the mountain to move. Climb it and make that special mother, grandmother and female caregiver understand your gratitude for all that they do each and every day.

God bless
Philip A Morison
Principal

A Mother’s Garden

My Mother kept a garden,
A garden of the heart.
She planted all the good things
That gave my life its start.
She turned me to the sunshine
And encouraged me to dream.
Fostering and nurturing
The seeds of self-esteem.
And when the winds and rain came,
She protected me enough.
But not too much because she knew
I’d need to stand up strong and tough.
Her constant good example
Always taught me right from wrong.
Markers for my pathway
That will last a lifetime long.
I am my Mother’s garden.
I am her legacy.
And I hope today she feels the love

Author unknown (https://www.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/holidays/mothers-day)

The Catholic practice of assigning a special devotion to each month goes back to the early 16th Century. One of the best known of those devotions is probably the dedication of May as the month of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis has requested that families try to pray the rosary together during this month. Below is a prayer he has recommended saying together at the end of the rosary:

O Mary,
You shine continuously on our journey
as a sign of salvation and hope.
We entrust ourselves to you, Health of the Sick,
who, at the foot of the cross,
were united with Jesus’ suffering,
and persevered in your faith.
'Protectress of the Roman people',
you know our needs,
and we know that you will provide,
so that, as at Cana in Galilee,
joy and celebration may return
after this time of trial.
Help us, Mother of Divine Love,
to conform ourselves to the will of the Father
and to do what Jesus tells us.
For he took upon himself our suffering,
and burdened himself with our sorrows
to bring us, through the cross,
to the joy of the Resurrection.

Amen.

Archbishop Peter A Comensoli has recorded a special message for all the faithful of Melbourne, assuring us of his prayers, care and concern during this time. In it, he encourages parents who are going through the joys (and challenges!) of home learning at the moment, invites us all to reflect on the various ways we are called to grow as a domestic church and shares the work he has been doing with government and health authorities to open up our churches. You can see the Archbishop's message HERE.

Anzac Day dawn services across the country were very different this year due to social distancing regulations but many of our staff and students still honoured our fallen and those who have sacrificed so much for our nation on Saturday 25 April.

Music teacher Ms Lauren Innes joined many other brass players across Australia in playing The Last Post on her cornet in her driveway as part of the Music for Mateship campaign. While she played music in the dark, she later shared photos of herself (above).

“The 6am driveway Anzac Day service was a unique and very moving experience for many. I was genuinely concerned that our neighbours would be angry about being woken up by a cornet. To see our street lined with candles and neighbours out, paying their respects to our fallen, was an uplifting sight in these extraordinary times.

“I was one of a chorus of Last Post buglers that could be heard eerily cannoning throughout our suburb, and that sound is something I will never forget. The respect of the minute’s silence wrapped up by the Rouse was a fitting tribute to extraordinary generations of people who gave so much for us.”

Vice Captain Harrison George and Humanities prefect Casey Parker-Turner have also shared photos of themselves at the end of their driveways at home at dawn (below).

Well done to everyone who found a way to Light Up the Dawn on Saturday 25 April. Lest we forget.

We are very pleased to announce that this week we launched our first Virtual College Tour.

The tours are led by the Principal Mr Philip Morison and the Registrar Mrs Marilyn Ryan and provide prospective parents and students with a wonderful opportunity to go on a guided walk (virtually) around the College and discover all that it has to offer. There is also a Q&A session hosted by the Principal.

The Virtual College Tour is a small group tour that runs for approximately 30 to 40 minutes. Bookings are now open and you can find all the details and dates HERE.

We look forward to extending a very warm welcome to prospective parents and students to Mount Lilydale Mercy College.

In trying to reinforce the very special quality of community we have here at Mount Lilydale Mercy College, the Student Leadership team has been active in sending out positive messages to our students to support them in their learning and wellbeing.

The first initiative of our Student Leadership team was a video message from the College’s Captains, Tatiana Lintzeris and Riley Swankie, along with the Vice Captains, Summer Thomas and Harrison George, in which they discussed tips to successfully engage in remote learning. You can watch it HERE.

Tatiana said it is important to still be able to connect to the community that the school has made “because even in times of social distance we must still be socially present”. Harrison said the videos that the leaders make are "so that those who wish to seek help know that they are not alone during these difficult times".

The second initiative was a video message by McAuley prefects Georgia Drummond and Molly Bollaart, who have shared ways to stay healthy and active during isolation. You can watch their video HERE.

Molly said the videos are "important in this time to ensure that our College community is safe and happy". Georgia said "I believe these videos represent the value of every student at the College and the importance of their wellbeing".

The third initiative is a visual message pictured above which was shared with students: "Let's stick together in this tough time. We will get through this. Make the most of each day. We are keeping you in our thoughts and prayers. Stay positive".

The commitment of our student leaders is to be applauded. They are a very special group of young men and women, who are exemplifying our Mercy values and showing true leadership in this challenging time.

To help provide opportunities for faith development and continue with some Ministry Lounge activities in this time of remote learning, we have made a Ministry Google site. This site gives students and staff access to a weekly activity/post and also some resources that can be used daily to deepen their faith.

Some previous posts include:

• Steps on ‘How to stay connected to God’, including ideas for prayer and reflection
• A 'get to know' the prefects with Amy Roberts (Faith and Ministry prefect) and Melissa Mathews (Mercy and Justice prefect).

This week the site included a 'get to know' video with our College Chaplain, Father Dean Bradbury (pictured). It also includes a ‘Why is May the month of Mary?’ slideshow created by some of our Year 12 CSYMA students. In our Prefects Corner, Melissa and Amy speak about their favourite scripture quotes and why they are important to them.

We have been working hard on creating fun and engaging activities for CatholicCare Family Week which began on Wednesday 6 May, so stay tuned. You can check out our Ministry Google site HERE.

MLMC’s Science teachers are working hard to keep students engaged, learning and collaborating despite the distance between them. The students are rising to the challenge. They are showing strong resilience and learning great problem-solving and thinking skills as they navigate this new form of learning.

The Year 12 Physics class (pictured) has been successfully using Jamboard, an interactive shareable whiteboard. Students are able to work through problems together in real time with each other. Students split their computer screen in two, one screen contains the Jamboard they are watching and the other has the Google Meet, and I am able to turn the mic on quickly to respond to any questions the students may have.

Year 12 Biology is a mixture of Google Meet, Edrolo and Screencastify for teacher Mr Danny Katzen. He records Google meets when he is explaining theory so that the students can replay it later, the Edrolo videos reinforce a concept and Screencastify allows him to work them through a problem and give detailed explanation and the students can then replay the video at their own pace. Unlike a regular classroom, remote learning means he cannot ‘read the room’ to ascertain levels of understanding or energy but most students are responding well.

Other year levels are also using a combination of Screencastify videos, slideshows, workbooks and simulation pracs. Ms Jenny Morison’s Year 9 Science students have also been venturing outdoors to send photos of an ecosystem near their house and they now have plants with plastic bags over them as they get ready to discuss photosynthesis.

The Science teachers and the students are all learning wonderful new skills during this period of remote learning.

Careers Update
Lauren Ferguson, Careers Leader

In this time of remote learning, students are still able to explore their career options digitally and virtually. Even though many events, including Expos and Open Days at universities, TAFEs and other institutions have been postponed, there are still plenty of opportunities for students to plan their futures. The best thing is, students have the time and the ability to do it all from home.

MLMC has a Careers website that students can access through Simon or they can visit www.mlmccareers.com. This resource has links to current information. Students can subscribe to newsletters and register their own account and create a resume using the templates. On the site, they will also find information about upcoming events, including the Torrens Virtual Careers Expo. Most of the Victorian universities and TAFEs are involved in the event which provides a great opportunity to explore courses and pathways as well as have a look inside the institutions. It is on today, Friday 8 May, and finishes at 8pm tonight — but it is not too late to take part, you can join in HERE.

The staff in the Careers centre are available for students and parents to contact us with any questions you might have. Students are also encouraged to keep an eye on Barak Careers Portal for messages and updated information from us as well.

Members of the College community are invited to collaborate and be part of a unique project. During these unprecedented times that we are living through, we are asking the MLMC community — students, parents/guardians, staff and alumni — to collect, create and hang on to ephemeral artefacts for an exhibition about ‘Living and Surviving a Pandemic’ which is being coordinated by myself and Mrs Glenda Tobias, from The Arts and Technology faculties.

We are asking our community members to do this with a view to creating an exhibition at the College, and possibly at the Yarra Ranges Museum at a later stage. Items to consider would be:

• photos taken while in isolation
• photos of what is different in our lives during the pandemic, for example the crosses on pavements or at shopping centres to mark 1.5m distance and tape around picnic tables
• videos or music created or performance art
• visual art and literature (collages, drawings, paintings, letters, journal writing, poetry, narratives, signage in the community).

Items should truly represent your thoughts, feelings, ruminations and experiences at this time. Items put together with materials you have at hand can also achieve this in a unique and interesting way. No artistic skills are required. We thought that this project would capture a significant historical moment and it is a wonderful opportunity for students and all members of our community to contribute to this collection and be part of this history-making project.

If you are interested to create, write or collect items about your lived experience of what it is like living and surviving a pandemic, please send a photo of your creations to counsellingwellbeingteam@mlmc.vic.edu.au

Once on-site schooling resumes, we will be asking participants to bring their items to school for storage, collection and exhibiting. Thank you in anticipation of receiving your wonderful creations!

Members of the College’s student leadership team (Captains Tatiana Lintzeris and Riley Swankie, Vice Captains Summer Thomas and Harrison George and McAuley Prefects Molly Bollaart and Georgia Drummond), along with Deputy Principal — Pastoral Care Mr John Rodgers and the College’s Sports department, have been working together to find a way to deliver a program to our students that is inclusive, active and, most of all, fun.

We have been lucky to team with Debbie Leaney, a qualified Zumba instructor, and deliver some fantastic online sessions to our students. Each session has been run via a Google Meet, with students and teachers logging on and following Debbie as she leads everyone through the class which usually runs for about 45 minutes. The classes are easy to follow and upbeat with all sorts of music throughout and it definitely makes you raise a sweat (just ask Mr Hysted and Mr Kelly).

So far, sessions have been run for students in Years 7, 8 and 9 with the information shared on the Year Level announcement pages on Google Classroom. There is also a class scheduled for next Wednesday afternoon for senior students. Participation has grown each session, with as many as 60 students and teachers all logging in during Pastoral Care time this week and getting involved.

The feedback has been fantastic so far and these sessions are for everyone — you can even turn your camera off and literally dance like no one’s watching.

Students should keep an eye out on their Year Level announcement pages on Google Classroom for their chance to join in the next Zumba class!

Every 60 seconds online there are 4.1 million Google search queries, 194,444 people tweeting via Twitter, 1400 Tik Tok downloads, 4.7 million YouTube videos viewed and 694,444 Instagram views. We live in a world where websites such as Wikipedia, as well as blogs and social media offer the opportunity for anyone with internet access to create and share digital online content. With access to such an abundance of online information, it is critical that people using the internet are able to understand how to find, evaluate, use and create content in meaningful ways.

Several studies have shown that students often experience difficulty in evaluating digital resources to determine the credibility and trustworthiness of online material. A survey of Australian students aged eight to 16 conducted by Western Sydney University also showed that only one third of students felt they could identify fake news from real news.

Here are some tips for students to use when evaluating online resources to ensure that the information they are utilising is appropriate:

• currency – is the information up to date?
• relevancy – does the resource contain the information needed?
• author – who is the author of the source and are they an expert?
• accuracy – is the information correct? Is the same information available from multiple sources?
• purpose – why does the information exist? Is the source trying to persuade, sell something or provide an opinion?

MLMC libraries have a range of resources to assist students with completing research, referencing, and developing digital and information literacy skills. These include:

• access to a range of quality print texts, digital texts and databases (such as World Book Encyclopedia online and Gale In Context)
• research and referencing instructional guides (including information about how to research and reference, evaluate resources, use Wikipedia and digital literacy skills).