Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community

Mercy Week
Welcome to Mercy Week. I’m pleased to be able to report that for the first time in three years we are preparing for Mercy Day today in beautiful weather and I am not expecting rain or having to consider cancelling. Indeed, we are all thankful. We can proceed with certainty.

New Bronze Relief
Wednesday of Mercy Week is always a highlight for me as we entertain many Sisters who have worked at our College as they come back to join us for lunch. This year was made more special with the unveiling of a bronze wall relief (pictured below) that has been in the planning for over 12 months. Once the idea was formed and the artist selected, Miss Elizabeth Keogh and her then Year 11 Ministry Group worked with the artist, Christine Sage, to ensure the interpretation was unique to our community and, indeed, it is. The plaque next to the relief has the following inscription.

Catherine McAuley graces our entrance, accompanied by two students, the young woman representing the past and the young boy, the present. The young child nestled in Catherine’s dress is a symbol of community, family and trust. The wave below describes the journey of the Mercy Sisters across the seas from Ireland to Australia. It also tells our local story of the Yarra Valley and its rich heritage of viticulture. The vine and its fruits, is a metaphor of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community with Christ at the centre. The eagle, representing Bunjil and the power of the Holy Spirit, stretches its wings across the land as the ancient protector. Our faith tradition is told through the familiar symbols of wheat and vines, reflecting our Eucharistic story.

I am most grateful to all involved, especially the artist, Christine Sage from Hullabaloo Studio in Malmsbury.

Lilydale Cemetery
Wednesday also saw us visit the Lilydale Cemetery where we paid respect and remembered all those Sisters who came before us and worked or lived here in Lilydale. Those great hard-working women travelled from Mansfield and Carrick on Suir in County Tipperary, Ireland, to start a school on a hill in Lilydale. At the time of the laying of the foundation stone for the convent, Mount St Joseph, in November 1896, they stood atop Rourke’s Hill and could see the Valley afar, the Olinda Creek winding amid the farms and the Yarra River flowing past Yarra Glen.

Their task was enormous. It was reported in the local Lilydale paper that the school opened on a Monday with the Rev Fr Hennessy present and the attendance was expected to be high. Rev Mother opened the door and 46 children were present. The next day it was 52, followed by 56. By the following week there were 65 children. Again the local paper reported that in every probability the school would reach the standard of success. Indeed, we have. Over the next 100 years the College grew consistently and with the first intake of boys in 1975 we were on the path to becoming the successful coeducational College that we are all so proud of today.

We are most grateful to the Sisters that lay in peace at the Lilydale Cemetery and thank God for their enormous contribution. Please find below a list of these wonderful women. May they rest in peace.

Plot number:

(1) Bernadette Matthews
(2) Cyril McKendry
(3) Gregory Brazel
(5) Julian Calwell
(6) Monica Taylor
(7) Geradus Nordon
(8) Angela Zanelli
(9) Hilda Warburton
(9) Leo Willis
(10) De Sales Hayes
(10) Vianney Finn
(11) Anthony Starkie
(11) Pauline Kirby
(12) Aidan Connell
(12) Julia Fahey
(13) Sabrina Conway
(13) Bernadette Naughton
(14) Teresa Maher
(14) Ursula Slater
(15) Berchmans Murphy
(16) Clare Coakley
(16) Columba Neville
(17) Martha Hanrahan
(18) Brigid Bradshaw
(19) Patrick Maquire
(20) Veronica Green
(20) Gertrude Power
(21) Magdalen Donnellan
(22) Alacoque O’Shae
(23) Margaret Mary Campbell
(24) Ignatius Duffy

Today, Friday 14 September, we celebrate Mercy Day — although the rest of the world celebrates it on 24 September, which is during our school holidays. To our Year 7 students, I hope you enjoy your first experience of Mercy Day. To our Year 12 students, I hope you enjoy your last Mercy Day as a student. We celebrate Mercy and we celebrate the birth of our great College. We are thankful for and to the Mercy Sisters who are currently working in our College in Sr Anila Isaac rsm and Sr Mary White rsm. They help us understand Mercy every day.

Happy Mercy Day to all.
God bless
Philip Morison

Term 3 concludes on Friday 21 September and resumes on Monday 8 October.

School holiday office hours

In the first week of the school holidays (24 to 27 September) the office will be open from 8.00am to 4.00pm. In the second week of the school holidays (1 to 5 October) the office will be CLOSED.

Second-hand uniform shop

The shop will be closed over the school holidays, reopening on Thursday 11 October. In Term 4 the shop will be open every Thursday from 12noon to 1.30pm. Our wonderful volunteers who run the shop are asking parents to bring in any uniforms that they no longer need. Uniforms can either be donated or they can be sold on your behalf.

Lost property

There is currently a substantial amount of uniform and non-uniform items in the lost property cupboard. Please be advised that anything that is not claimed by the end of term will be donated.

The tender mercy of God has given us one another.

Catherine McAuley

Prayer
Like Abraham and Sarah,
Like Mother Ursula Frayne and her companions, may we respond to the call of God.
Like sisters of Mercy before us, may we be a channel for the Mercy of God.
May we follow the teaching of Jesus not just in words, but in action.
May we make a journey to the heart.
Like Mother Ursula Frayne, Sister Anne Xavier Dillon and Sister Mary Joseph Sherlock,
may we be willing to sail to new shores.
May we dare take the risks of discipleship.
May we be people of conscience.
May we find the living water.
May we dream for the future, to believe other ways are possible.
May we hear the sound of the deep.
God, be the deep spring inside each of us.
We ask this through Jesus our Lord,
Amen

Prayer inspired by Sr Deirdre Mullan

Harry Stolzenhain (Year 11 Bronze) and Ethan Cornish (Year 11 Jade) attended the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF) orientation program at CSL (Commonwealth Serum Laboratories) in Parkville on Saturday 8 September. Both boys have been selected from 1300 applicants to participate in the forums to be held in Canberra and Brisbane in January 2019. Rotary is a founding partner of the program and continues to support students, with Ethan being supported by the Lilydale club and Harry receiving assistance from the Maroondah club.

The 12-day residential program aims to encourage young people in their passion for science and to expose them to the wide variety of options available in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields. At the same time, students meet people of their own age from around Australia and overseas who share their passion and they get to experience being part of university life. They are encouraged to develop teamwork and leadership skills.

At the orientation program, the 40 students introduced themselves outlining the subjects they are studying and their areas of interest. Past alumni of the program, acting as the new leaders, gave information as to the structure of the upcoming camp and an insight into their own experience at the NYSF. They also heard from a practicing scientist working at CSL about his journey in science to reach his current position.

We thank Merlin Sykes and Trish Condon from Rotary (pictured in the gallery below with myself and the students who attended), along with Harry and Ethan’s families. The boys are excited about their upcoming adventure and we look forward to hearing their stories on their return.

The 2017 vintage of the McAuley Park Cabernet Sauvignon was launched at Centennial Hall on Friday 7 September. The evening was a wonderful success with over 150 people in attendance. At the launch our wine program patron, Suzanne Halliday, spoke of the quality of the vintage, while special guest, Channel 9 newsreader Peter Hitchener, spoke about the amazing opportunities our students have in being part of the winemaking process over the course of a full year.

The 40 students who created the wine were a key part of the launch, with Ivy Ferguson-Mayer, Antony Hawkins, Abigail Van Bergeijk and Molly Henderson all taking part in the official presentation. The students, their families and friends, staff and other guests were treated to delicious canapes and desserts from our VCAL hospitality students. Several of our star musicians, including the College band, entertained throughout the evening and there was a wonderful display of works from our Art students for guests to enjoy.

Students are involved in every stage of wine production at MLMC. They manage the vine canopy and check for pests, take yield estimates, monitor sugar, flavour and acid levels, harvest through the school holidays, bottling the wine and design the wine labels. Our wine won a bronze medal for the 2016 vintage at the Victorian Wine Show, up against more than 80 wineries (all of them commercial operations). It has also won bronze at the Eltham wine show, the largest amateur wine show in Victoria.

The vineyard has been at the school for about 20 years, but this is the fourth year of the student-created wine program and the fourth vintage produced. The 226 plants on approximately half an acre in the school grounds on the doorstep of the Yarra Valley yield about 300 bottles annually.

Yering Station has supported the College for four years, supplying wine analysis and barrels. Its chief winemaker, Willy Lunn, hosts tours of Yering Station to link the students’ classroom learning about biosecurity and the full winemaking process. Establishing a partnership with Yering Station has allowed motivated young students like Abigail to explore future careers while completing school. Abigail (Year 11 Orange) works in Yering Station’s cellar.

“The wine program has exposed me to career opportunities I would have otherwise not considered. I enjoy the Agriculture program in our school and knew I wanted to find a career in this industry, but hadn’t considered winemaking until studying it at school,” Abigail said. “The wine program gave me some experience that I could build upon with work at amazing wineries such as Yering Station. My career aspirations are definitely wine related as I enjoy learning about the process and find it such an interesting career pathway.”

Ivy (Year 11 Jade) is another student who is part of the wine program with industry connections. Her parents operate Bloody Hill Wines in Healesville. Her father, Timo Mayer, was once a winemaker for De Bortoli and for many years was a winemaker for Gembrook Hill.

Ivy says she aspires to use what she has learnt at the school farm beyond the College, but for now one aspect of the program she enjoys is the teamwork. “Everyone gets excited and we are never short of a helping hand. From students, to teachers, even parents. It produces a great community which is what I think makes our MLMC Agriculture program such a great one.”

We would like to thank our wonderful sponsors for allowing our students to have this real life experience whilst at school. And, in particular, we would like to thank the students who through this project have shown the tremendous capacity of our youth.

This term our Intermediate VCAL students have partnered with Yarra Valley ECOSS (ecological and social sustainability) — a not-for-profit organisation in Wesburn that has adopted a community enterprise model to provide education that demonstrates sustainable living practices. Students have been working in teams to develop the site. Over several weeks they have been involved in a variety of projects to develop skills and knowledge of sustainable building practices. The projects include:

• Building an earthship stage
• Straw bale and rendered walls
• Building a wood-fired pizza oven
• Biodynamic farming
• Cooking with a wood-fired pizza oven.

The program provides an opportunity for students to be self-reflective and self-directed learners and make a contribution to their community.

Here are some student reflections after their first visit to ECOSS:

ECOSS has helped the development of being eco-friendly. It’s shown me and my Year 11 class that you can do certain things without wasting materials or by using eco-friendly materials. My group are building a wall out of hay bales and mud, which works as a great insulator to keep the heat or cold in and is also a very sound-proof and structurally strong wall. — Thomas Trezise (Year 11 Jade)

ECOSS is a company in the Yarra Valley that helps many people to learn a wide range of skills such as cooking , building and learning how to work in a team and how to live a more sustainable life. The value of the ECOSS partnership is to teach people how to live sustainably and learn new skills. The ECOSS partnership has supported me in learning how to live more sustainably and how to cook with what you have available. — Rosalie De Francesco (Year 11 Bronze)

In the first week l learnt how to make potting mix myself so that it was eco-friendly and did not have bad chemicals in it. I realised that it was a big process. The potting mix consisted of 70% compost, 20% pit, 10% sand. We then placed all of these on top of each other and my group then had to shovel the pile from one side to the other four times so that everything could be mixed. Now that l have seen how much time and effort goes into farming, l appreciate it more. — Chloe Baulch (Year 11 Blue)

We had to design and lay out an area where we had to place our first concrete slab for our wood-fired pizza oven. We first started with our frame, which was rough but got the job done. It was measured up, then hot glued and screwed together so there would be no leaks. We had to make the concrete, pulling wheelbarrows full of stones and sand up a muddy hill then shovelling nine portions of stone, one small bucket of water, six portions of sand and three portions of cement mix. Through all of our hard work we got the first bit of the pizza oven done. It was a great experience learning how to mix cement and learning different portions and what goes into it. — Josh Boede (Year 11 Gold)

MLMC is pleased to offer a Parent Seminar on Monday night with Hugh van Cuylenburg from The Resilience Project. The seminar, titled The Impact of Social Media on Adolescents, will be held on Monday 17 September from 7.00pm in the Lecture Theatre. Please join us for a coffee and an engaging presentation on an issue that impacts so many young people today.

Click HERE to watch a clip of Hugh when he recently appeared on Channel Nine's Today TV show talking about The Reslience Project. Click HERE to watch a clip of Hugh discussing the impact of smart phone addiction on teens.

For booking details and further information please see the flyer attached.

(1) EISM Cross Country

On Wednesday 12 September, several MLMC students travelled to Ruffey Lake Park in Templestowe to compete at the annual EISM Cross Country Carnival. As the last sports carnival of the year all the students were excited to finish the year strong. With perfect weather conditions for running, the Year 11 Sport and Recreation students led each age group through a thorough warm-up prior to their races. These warm-ups progressed into many podium finishes for our College on the day, finishing in fourth place overall. All students should be commended for their tremendous efforts at the carnival.

Placegetters from the day:
Max Benson - Gold (Under 15 Boys)
Kelly Whitchell - Gold (Under 16 Girls)
Jack Silvester - Bronze (Under 15 Boys)
Olivia De Vincentis - Bronze (Under 15 Girls)
Amy Frazetto - Bronze (Under 16 Girls)
Harrison van Duuren - Bronze (Under 16 Boys)
Mikayla Byrne - Bronze (Open Girls)

Here is a student reflection from the Cross Country Carnival:
Cross Country was an enjoyable day because I got to meet other long-distance runners and cheer everyone on. It was a great feeling when I came through the finish line because everyone was cheering and getting involved. My friends and I were on the side of the track enjoying watching other contestants run past. — Louisa Inglese (Year 7 Blue)

(2) Individual Achievements

Football
Congratulations to the Girls’ Under 14 Coldstream Football Club team for winning their Grand Final last weekend. MLMC girls playing in the team include Perry Byron, Katie Kollosche, Kathleen Rhodes, Olivia Shaw, Sophie Morris, Samara Hull and Paris Saunders.

Congratulations also to the Girls’ Under 16 Seville Football Club team for winning their Grand Final last weekend. MLMC girls in the team include Tali Butler, Matilda Carroll, Bridget Deed, Ella Garrett, Ella James, Stacey Mercuri, Charlotte Sims, Chloe Stokes, Madeline Stokes and Kaylah Young.

Congratulations to Torey Burns (Year 7 Purple) who was awarded runner-up best and fairest in the Eastern Region Girls Football League’s Under 14 competition, playing for Bayswater Football Club. She is pictured with her trophy.

Another well done is to be passed on to Emerson Woods (Year 12 Silver) who has been named in the TAC Cup Girls’ Team of the Year.

Swimming
Congratulations to Keilani Trewavis (Year 11 Bronze) who competed at the State Age Group Championships last weekend. Although her times were a little off her best, she still managed to win medals in the 200m breaststroke (silver), 400m individual medley (bronze), 200m butterfly (silver) and 100m breaststroke (bronze). Well done, Keilani! Best wishes for the Open State Championships this weekend.

Netball
Congratulations to Sienna Spencer (our AFL trainee) who played her 100th game for Warburton Netball Club recently.

If you have any other student achievements, please email them to dwebb@mlmc.vic.edu.au

(3) EISM sport

The Year 9 sport spring season commences on Thursday 11 October (Week 1 of Term 4). If you are selected in an EISM team please make sure you have correct uniform and equipment ready to go (ie. mouthguard, long navy socks). If you have any questions, please see Miss Webb in the Doyle Centre.

Weights training will return on Wednesday mornings in Term 4. A supervised gym will be open on Wednesday mornings, 7.00-8.00am. Either train with your own program or we can help you out. Breakfast will be provided afterwards. See Miss Webb for more information.

Year 8 Results 11 September

Seven students represented our College on Sunday 9 September at the State Final of the Tournament of Minds competition. Kaitlyn Crymble (Year 10 Gold), Michael Douthwaite (Year 7 Silver), Ella Preston (Year 8 Bronze), Emma Di Paolo (Year 9 White), Jelinna Santiago (Year 10 Red), Molly Bollaart (Year 10 Jade) and Madeline Onley (Year 7 Bronze) received a wildcard entry to the final following their high-scoring performance in the Arts Challenge at the regional TOM event, held at MLMC two weeks earlier.

The MLMC team arrived at La Trobe University’s Bundoora campus to compete with some of the best teams in Victoria and were given three hours to create a 10-minute performance which demonstrated their solution to a problem they had never seen before. They had to argue in favour of funding the arts when a rival group wanted to relocate the funds to the war effort during World War II. When then British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding to support the war effort, he replied: “Then what are we fighting for?” The students needed to explore the consequences of removing the arts funding and express this in a dramatised performance, including either a song or dance, which expressed their reasons. Students also had just four minutes to solve a spontaneous problem with only one minute available to present to a panel of judges. All the students worked hard and had a fantastic time showing off their problem solving skills and their ability to work as a team. They should be very proud of their achievements on the day.

Students are living in a technology-centred world with online textbooks and digital learning resources an increasingly significant component of their education. It is very important that students switch off each night. Regular rest and exercise are also integral to being switched on for learning. Teenagers require lots of rest and quality sleep and too much screen time before bedtime impacts on students’ ability to wind down and rest effectively. Being able to switch off games is highly important for health and well-being. Turning the wifi off at a certain time may help with this.

As students switch off at night time, it is the ideal time to recharge their laptop. Students need to make the charging of their laptop at home a priority each day — charging a laptop should not be occurring in classrooms. The best place to charge a laptop is in a central place in the home with a powerboard, away from bedrooms, so that a healthy habit is formed. The charge on a laptop should get students through an entire school day.

Year 9 Textiles students recently had their own taste of home renovating TV show My House Rules when they took part in a bedroom makeover competition on Tuesday 28 August. They were divided into groups of three or four and given the task of coming up with an agreed theme for a bedroom makeover. They then had to make a minimum of one textile item each that adhered to that theme.

It was wonderful to see the wide repertoire of skills that the students learnt while completing this task. The items were varied as students produced buntings, bean bags, wall hangings, cushions, patchwork quilts, rugs and even hand-stitched embroidery items.

Here is a student reflection on the project:

I made the bean bag and the blue cushion with the word 'love' embroidered on to it, using pink wool and chain stitch. Olivia Savini (Year 9 Gold) made the pom pom wall hanging on a denim piece of fabric, with dark blue wool hand stitching used to decorate it. Ellen McDonald (Year 9 Bronze) made the quilt. She used four different pastel patterned fabrics. They were cut into squares and then sewn together in a specific pattern. She used a plain white fabric to back the quilt as well as for the border. Abbey Wheeler (Year 9 Silver) made the macrame wall piece, with dark blue dye used to colour the string ends. She also made the small purple cushion with a feather photo transfer patch design attached. — Tiana King (Year 9 Jade)

Year 9 Outdoor Education students took part in the orienteering course at Mt Lofty State Park in Warrandyte on Friday 31 August, in preparation for a three-day hike early next term to Wilson's Promontory.

Here are some student reflections of the experience:

The class undertook a 3km trek, along the way finding 10 different markers with hole punchers hanging off them. Each team was required to find all 10 of the markers using only a map, the knowledge gained in class and their own wits. The class did this course to make their navigation and orienteering skills better, and to ensure that the class is in peak condition for their three-day hike. The class got a lot better at understanding hiking and how to use a map, with no other resources other than the environment around them. — Daniel Ryan (Year 9 Silver)

On Friday 31 August, our Outdoor Education class travelled to Mt Lofty State Park for an orienteering activity. We were given a map and a recording card. In groups we were challenged to get around the course in the fastest time as a team. There were 10 orienteering markers scattered around the park with hole punchers attached. Each hole puncher had a corresponding pattern for the scorecard. If a team returned all together, as well as recording each marker correctly, in the fastest time they won. We were given this opportunity to enhance our navigation skills while preparing for the three-day hike to Wilson’s Promontory. I was able to try new ways of making my way around an unfamiliar area with a map, while working as a team to complete the course in the fastest time possible. — Andre Parlas (Year 9 Blue)

Nineteen Young Farmers Club members from MLMC along with three staff and a parent made the journey to Rural Industry Skills Training in Hamilton on Sunday 2 September. Leaving for the five-hour drive on Father's Day, the Young Farmers enjoyed the overwhelming hospitality of Monivae College in Hamilton that evening. After a meal in town, the students went swimming in the Monivae indoor pool, played table tennis and basketball and watched a movie in the school theatre.

Early on the Monday morning, the students woke and ate with the boarders in the school dining hall before heading to RIST for a day packed with learning and fascinating activities. Students were involved in shearing sheep, classing wool, exploring agronomy and the use of drones, artificial insemination and a full autopsy of a sheep with a consulting vet. An excellent College, specialising in sheep, Monivae always makes a significant impact on our students’ learning.

We thank the teams at Monivae and RIST in Hamilton, not only for their wonderful support of the program but their amazing hospitality.

Unit 2 and 4 VCE Dance students performed their composition solos on Wednesday 5 September in Centennial Hall. These solos were different to their previous technique solo that the students performed last term, as they require a story or theme behind them. The students that performed were Emily Leach, Annika Voelling and Katelyn Ennis from Unit 2 and Ciara Robinson, Hayley Crymble, Jade Fairweather, Georgia McAleer, Katie Lowry and Grace Clinton from Unit 4.

It was a wonderful evening where parents, grandparents and friends got to see how hard the girls have been working. They will perform both technique and composition solos externally on 30 October. We wish them all the best for their exam.

The Alumni Gala is the premier event of the year for the MLMC Old Collegians’ Association. It's where we celebrate the excellence of our alumni, catch up with old friends and make new ones. This year’s event will be held in Centennial Hall at the College on Saturday 20 October, from 7pm.

We invite everyone to join us, as we come together as a community to celebrate the past, present and future of Mount Lilydale Mercy College. It's a fun evening of entertainment, live music, awards, delicious food and the best in local beers, wines and ciders from the Yarra Valley. We thank our Old Collegians from Punt Road Wines, Payne’s Rise Winery, Napoleone Brewery and Coldstream Brewery for supporting our Gala.

A highlight of the evening is the celebration of four MLMC alumni who will be inducted into the Mercy Honour Roll. We are thrilled to announce that the 2018 inductees include entertainer Diana Trask, past teacher and Deputy Principal to the College Terry Harrison, Australia's highest ranking female in Military Education Colonel Fiona Haynes and local businessman and supporter to the Yarra Valley community Michael Napoleone.

At the Gala, guests will have the opportunity to learn about our inductees’ remarkable stories and to be a part of celebrating their induction into the MLMC Mercy Honour Roll. Recipients of this award are not judged merely on their excellence in their chosen fields but they have also demonstrated the Mercy Ethos shown by the Sisters of Mercy.

We hope you can join us! Come alone or book a table! All proceeds from this event will go towards the Old Collegians’ Scholarships and to helping those within our community who are in need.

For bookings please go to trybooking.com/VJZZ

If you require any further information please contact the Old Collegians via email to oc@mlmc.vic.edu.au or call 9735 4022.