Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community,

Welcome to the last day of Term 1 after what has been a very busy and, in many ways, rewarding term. Although we are still experiencing the season of Lent, like you, I look forward to the upcoming Easter season, the Pascal Mystery and the opportunity to continue to focus on relationships — relationships with each other, with God and with our Church. Relationship is central to our community and the relational environment we experience each day is central to the learning environment we provide.

Two events over the last week have highlighted to me the importance of relationship and how it is the building block of community.

Athletics Carnival

Last Friday, the College held our annual Athletics Carnival. It is a day of athletics competition in the truest sense of sportsmanship, and a day of community celebration involving students, parents and staff. There is a lot of unseen work that is done to prepare for the event by our sports staff, ground staff, the P&F and by all staff on the day. It is an enormous team effort, with each person contributing to the success of the day, which I often describe as organised chaos. This year the weather certainly contributed to a great carnival atmosphere. As the big day approached forecasts were studied and the experience of the cold wet, wintery Saturday that followed certainly highlighted how blessed we were.

All of the above helped to make the day a success, but they in themselves do not define the success. The success of the day lay in the relationships that were so obviously present. Success is defined by Year 12 students leading the way and working with staff to organise houses. Success is defined by the friendly, supportive competition. Success is defined by the obvious house spirit. Success is defined by the many parents who took time from work to be present to provide food and services to the students. Success is defined by the respect for ‘the other’ that is so obvious within our community. Surely our world needs such respect and compassion. Days like our Athletics Carnival give me great cause to reflect, give thanks and to enjoy our community and the obvious respect that is present. Congratulations to Carr House on narrowly winning the carnival with the most points at the end of the day.

Term 1 Student Progress Interviews

This last week also saw a change in the usual yearly calendar with the College holding Student Progress Interviews. Like most other members of the teaching staff, I spent Monday night and a considerable part of Tuesday sitting at a desk in the Doyle Centre, being available to parents. Now some may question why when I had very few scheduled interviews. But, to me, this too is an opportunity to experience community. In making myself available to families, I am available for opportunities and feedback or if any problems should arise. Overwhelmingly this was not the case. I spoke to many parents who thanked me and reinforced the positive nature of the experience and even when feedback indicated the need for improvement, this was done with a positive outlook and with genuine concern. I also appreciated parents who spoke to me about the uniform policy published in the last newsletter and the College mobile phone policy and questioned whether it too required further consideration and change. I also appreciated those who just said hello.

Again, such events reinforce for me the importance of relationship within community and as a Faith Community, how could it be any different.

Yesterday I enjoyed the experience of attending and supporting our Senior EISM boys’ cricket team as they played the grand final at Quarry Road Oval against Donvale Christian School, a school that had beaten them during the season. The game was played in great spirits with great respect and I was proud to be there to present the winning cup and medallions to the winning team — who by the way, happened to be MLMC after a closely contested game.

A Reflection

In the past week I came across a lovely article among the many things that I read that I would like to share with joy.

There was a little boy (or it could have been a little girl) who had a bad temper and flew off the handle whenever he didn’t get his own way. His sister was scared of him. His parents worried that whatever they did they would set him off. His friends started to avoid him. One day, his father gave him a bag of nails and a hammer and took him out to the wooden fence. He said, “Every time you lose your temper, you have to hammer a nail into the fence.” On the first day, he hammered 40 nails! But, gradually, the number of nails he hammered began to dwindle. He was beginning to discover it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the hard wood.

One day, he didn’t lose his temper at all. He proudly told his dad who suggested that from now on, every day he held his temper he should pull out one of the nails.

When the last nail was gone he showed his dad who said, “You have done well but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will always be damaged. When you say and do things in anger, they leave a mark. You can say something cruel and apologise but the scar will remain, just like these nail holes. Even when you say you are sorry, the wound stays.” *

What is the best way to deal with our anger? Sometimes, anger is a good thing and drives us to take action against injustice, unfairness and bullying. We can say to ourselves, “I feel angry about this and I am going to do something positive to help stop it”. That’s good anger.

But anger is often aggressive and nasty, hurting other people by hitting them, putting them down or being mean. That is the kind of anger that leaves lasting scars. That kind of anger also hurts the person who feels it.

What makes you angry? What do you do about it? Do you lash out? Do you let your anger simmer?

We all need to learn to recognise our anger and to use it to make the world a fairer, nicer, better place. And to make ourselves fairer, nicer, better people.

As Nelson Mandela said: "No one is born hating another person because of the colour of their skin or their background or their religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love. For love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." *

* (Source: Principals' Digests, Volume 25, Number 17)

There is much we could discuss within this story, as it gives me as a parent much to think about. As a community it provides food for thought.

As we approach Easter and the sacrifices made for each of us, I wonder of the many “holes in the fence” and how we might repair the damage.

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful reflective Easter and a restful holiday period.

God bless

Philip A Morison

Principal

Busy Term 1 ends

Traditionally a shorter term, Term 1 seemed to pass even quicker with the amount of wonderful activities on offer for our students. The impact these extra events has on students feeling connected to the College cannot be underestimated. A student who gets involved and participates in activities outside of the classroom is often a student who is happy and has a positive experience at school. I challenge all students to bring that mindset into Term 2.

Thank you to all host families

A big thank you to the students and families that hosted our Japanese sister school students this term. Reports from Japan voice many thanks for the wonderful experience given generously and with real hospitality. I hope the friendships shared continue to grow and enrich the experience of our students who had the opportunity to share time with our Japanese friends. It will be good for our students to be welcomed by the same students when they visit Japan in September.

Child safety

Visitors to the College will notice new posters indicating that MLMC is an active Child Safe School that commits to the provision of a supportive environment that holds the care, safety and wellbeing of children and young people as a central and fundamental responsibility. More information on how we ensure we are a Child Safe School can be found on the College website. Please remember, if you have any questions or concerns about child safety at the College, feel free to give me a call.

Central Australia

Planning for our annual Year 10 Central Australia trip is well underway with a record number of students applying. This year has seen an increase in the numbers attending, with the College now taking 80 students (two buses). As is always the case, more students have applied than we have positions for. Should your child have a change of heart and no longer wish to take up an offer, we ask that you notify the College immediately so that a replacement can be offered the spot quickly.

Winter uniform

Term 2 also sees the change in uniform to our winter uniform. Please remember that although the first two weeks allow for a transition from summer to winter, there is no mixing of the two. For example, boys should not be wearing long-sleeved shirts without a tie.

Uniform shops — school holiday hours

The Bob Stewart Uniform Shop will be open for trading on two days only during the school holidays. It will be open on Saturday 6 April (9.30am-2.00pm), which is the first day of the month, and also on Thursday 18 April (9am-2.00pm), the day before Good Friday. It will reopen on the first day back for Term 2, on Tuesday 23 April (8.00am-4.00pm). The Second Hand Uniform Shop, which is run by the P&F, will be closed both weeks of the school holidays. It will reopen in the first week of Term 2.

School holiday office closure

In the first week of the school holidays the office will be open on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday but it will be CLOSED on Wednesday 10 April (for a professional development day). And on Friday 12 April the office will close at 1.00pm (due a planned power outage).

For the second week of the school holidays the office will be closed for the entire week and reopen at the start of Term 2, on Tuesday 23 April.

IT notice

Due to upgrading works happening around the College these Term 1 holidays, please note that online services will be offline from the evening on Friday 12 April to the morning of Monday 15 April. IT staff will endeavour to restore online services by the afternoon of Monday 15 April.

I wish you all a restful, safe a meaningful Easter break and look forward to working with you in Term 2.

Prayer for Holy Week

Loving God,
I am just beginning to realise how much you love me.
Your son, Jesus was humble and obedient.
He fulfilled your will for him by becoming human and suffering with us.
I ask you for the desire to become more humble
so that my own life might also bear witness to you.
I want to use the small sufferings I have in this world
to give you glory.
Please, Lord, guide my mind with your truth.
Strengthen my life by the example of Jesus.
Help me to be with Jesus in this week
as he demonstrates again his total love for me.
He died so that I would no longer
be separated from you.
Help me to feel how close you are
and to live in union with you.
Amen

On Thursday 14 March, VCE Media students were privileged to go on an excursion into the city to see the best films from the 2018 group of Unit 3-4 Media students. We watched 14 short films in the ACMI Theatre and afterwards had a chance to meet four of the filmmakers and ask them questions in a seminar. It was so inspiring for the students to see the standard of work VCE students were able to achieve.

After lunch we visited the Canon Experience Store, where they put on a workshop for us on camera lenses. We were shown around the store, which includes an art gallery, studios, a pro shop and a hire shop. Students were then given the opportunity to use professional lenses, which in some cases cost more that $20,000 each.

Here’s what some of the Media students thought about it:

“I found Top Screen very inspiring. It gave me ideas on what I'd like to do in my film and what skills and techniques I hope to master. The Canon Experience was very insightful and hands-on. I loved being able to experiment with lenses that I've never used before. The staff were very knowledgeable and helpful and made the workshop interesting and we learned a lot.”
— Priya Richards (Year 12 White)

“This experience was really, really fun! The film festival itself was enlightening and very interactive. My classmates and I definitely learned so much from all the short films showcased there. The Canon Experience was also brilliantly insightful, too. The representatives there were extremely helpful and knew so much about the equipment and we all felt overwhelmed with how many possibilities there were.”
— Riley Atwell (Year 12 Purple)

“I really liked watching the 14 films and trying out various camera lenses. The films inspired me and I thought about new techniques and tricks I could use for my own film. I really liked the giant lenses, and I liked how far you can see through the camera and how sharp the lenses can make the image look, too.”
— Jessica Emary (Year 12 Gold)

“It was a very insightful experience and it was really great to be able to work, hands-on, with equipment that we may have otherwise not have had a chance to use since we can't afford such advanced equipment.”
— Charli Lilagan (Year 12 Jade)

Costumes, colour, community and Carr were the key factors in a successful MLMC Athletics Carnival held at Quarry Road oval on Friday 29 March.

Carr (1321 points) beat O’Neill House by just seven points to top the tally at the end of a huge day of track and field events. Highlights of the day included the highly-popular tug-of-war, especially the Year 12s competition taken out by Terry Dunn House, the staff versus Year 12s relay and the ball games.

Participation points as well as points for the best house chant proved crucial in deciding the winning house for 2019.

The day had kicked off under gloomy skies with Year 12s Charli Lilagan and Georgia McAleer singing a brilliant rendition of the national anthem, and finished in bright sunshine.

House Athletics Carnival
Carr 1321
O'Neill 1314
Maguire 1230
Terry Dunn 1147
Frayne 1116
Ryan 1036

Over the week of March 18-22, all our Year 9 students participated in the annual Summit Camp in Trafalgar East. Touted by all who have attended in the past as “the best camp ever”, the students were encouraged to push their own personal boundaries by setting goals and participating in the many challenging activities available.

The Summit Camp is nestled in lush Gippsland forest and comprises a number of activities organised around a central lake. The students began engaging with these activities almost immediately upon arrival, completing 10 different one-hour rotations over the course of the two and a half days they were away. The activities test a range of skills with students completing scavenger hunts, the 25m giant swing and the 146m flying fox through to the more challenging Leap of Faith (8m off the ground), the 60m Sky Bridge across the lake, or the Summit Window, which sees students climbing to 21m to enjoy (or endure!) a panorama of the entire area.

Student participation was outstanding for both camps. Every student found some of the activities challenging but every student also approached the camp with gusto and pushed themselves out of their personal comfort zones. What was even more impressive was the genuine care and encouragement shown by the students to those who were confronted by their fears with some of the activities and struggled to meet their targets. A spirit of kindness and support was evident in both groups and says much about how experiences such a this are such a critical part of fostering our core Mercy values.

The highlight of both camps was the Night Monster experience, a gruelling obstacle course that set each group of students against a range of physical challenges and mud, mud and more mud. Students completed the course twice and, again, this was testament to their willingness to push themselves, support each other, and take on challenges with a can-do attitude.

A huge thank you to the many staff who attended the camp — homeroom teachers, subject teachers and other support staff. Their participation and involvement both supported and inspired the students. Another huge thank you to the office and administrative staff at the College who did so much work in the background to make the camp happen. The success of the camp is also due, in a massive way to the amazing staff at the Summit site. Their professionalism, enthusiasm and dedication to the students meant that the experience wasn’t only fun but valuable and memorable. Finally, well done and thank you to the Year 9 cohort for approaching the experience with energy, openness and a positive attitude. You should be proud!

For those of you interested in the Summit Camp program, videos and resources can be found at thesummit.net.au/resources

The MLMC Old Collegians' Association would like to extend a warm invitation to all members of the MLMC community to join us at our annual Business Breakfast, to be held on Tuesday 14 May. The Business Breakfast is an opportunity to meet other members of the MLMC community and local businesses, enjoy a delicious breakfast catered by our wonderful VCAL students and be inspired by our two guest speakers.

This year’s wonderful guest speakers will be two of our Old Collegians, businesswoman Anna Baird (Class of 1995) and journalist John Kehoe (Class of 2000).

Anna is owner and director at Bared Footwear, a Melbourne-based fashion footwear business she began in 2008 when, after seven years working as a podiatrist, she saw a gap in the market for shoes she could recommend and be happy to wear. She began with a small store in Toorak Village selling women's shoes. Bared now employs over 40 people with a 300sq store in Melbourne's CBD and the online business continues to grow in both men's and women's shoes.

John is a senior reporter in Canberra for the Australian Financial Review, and was previously the newspaper’s US correspondent in Washington for five years. John studied Arts (Politics)/Commerce (Economics) at Monash University. He worked at the Federal Treasury in Canberra for two years before following his journalism dream with the AFR, all while being a part-time sports broadcaster for Triple M radio in Sydney. He had started out broadcasting local footy in the Yarra Valley for community radio, even phoning the occasional classmate or teacher on air.

MLMC Business Breakfast
Date: Tuesday 14 May
Time: 7am to 9am
Venue: Mount Lilydale Mercy College (McAuley Hall)
Cost: $35 per person
Bookings close: Monday 6 May
Tickets: https://www.trybooking.com/BBLPV

We hope you can join us. If you have any queries please don't hesitate to get in contact with Lucia Tabacchiera on 03 9735 4022.

On Tuesday 26 March the Year 7 and Year 12 students combined for an assembly in Centennial Hall to celebrate the election of Class Captains and present the captains with their badges. Principal Mr Phil Morison addressed the students about the importance of leadership and what it means to be a leader.

After Mr Morison blessed the badges, he presented the Year 12 Class Captains with their badges and, in turn, the Year 12 Class Captains presented the Year 7 Class Captains with their badges. The McAuley Prefects, Liam Charles and Molly Henderson, presented the Year 7 Class Vice-Captains with certificates to recognise their role in the leadership of Year 7.

The Year 7 and Year 12 Class Captains are listed below. We congratulate them and look forward to working with them during 2019.

YEAR 12 CLASS CAPTAINS 2019

YEAR 7 CLASS CAPTAINS AND VICE CAPTAINS 2019

The Year 10 Outdoor Education class has been learning about different coastal environments and aquatic activities throughout Term 1 and we were lucky enough to head away on an overnight camp to Queenscliff and the Surf Coast. The camp was jam-packed with adventure and excitement where students got to experience snorkelling in Port Phillip Bay and spent time swimming with the local marine life. Day two saw students surfing the waves at Torquay before trying their luck catching the bigger ocean waves in a sea kayak. Overall, the camp was a great success and the students enjoyed learning outside the walls of a regular classroom.

As part of a mentor task in their Creative Writing learning, Year 9 students were asked to analyse the style and language of their favourite piece of writing by a published author. Following this, students were then asked to write their own creative piece in a similar style. The process took about three weeks.

The aim of the task was for the students to learn to express themselves using a distinct writing style, focus on word selection and the meaning of words and learn to appreciate the highly individualistic nature of writing.

Two of the students, Chanel Fernando and Grace Napoleone, share their poetry and a little about what they enjoy about poetry.

Chanel Fernando (Year 9 Purple):
I absolutely love writing poetry because of how I can express my thoughts and feelings and let my creative juices flow with just pen and paper. Unlike Maths, it’s something I don’t necessarily need to think about and I can write endlessly when I get an inspiration. I really encourage everyone to give poetry a go. It’s so much fun!

God
by Chanel Fernando

Lost fate,
Insufferable weight,
Moon and stars separate,
Oh so bleak,
This heart is going to leak,
In search of God.

He lost the track —
Didn’t realise the crack —
As the boy split apart —
The path was broad.
Awaken to a fraud.
That looked like God.

The dream he can’t find.
It is right behind
He met his concealed heart —
‘Is it far’, he prayed.
‘Where is it laid —
The land of God?

‘Tears assemble stairways
To heaven,
The cross you carry will forgive,
Faith, will convert life,’
The heart responded, —
‘If you seek for God!’

Grace Napoelone (Year 9 Jade):
I really enjoy writing poetry as I find it an easy way to freely express myself. It is a way for me to tell others how I feel about certain things. Poetry can be anything you want it to be. It can be a light-hearted rhyme, or a deep and meaningful piece. Poetry gives you freedom and choice.

From the Depths
by Grace Napoleone

Not once, have I begged for pity
Even as I saunter through the city.
From the depths and hollows of my chest
The emptiness aches when I put my body to rest.

I am not the same as others remember
When my heart glowed like an ember
When my eyes published novels
Before my house began to fill with bottles.

By the crackling edge of the cliff
By the eye of the forest as the trees stand stiff
By the shoreline with the breeze going fast
I stand still as my soul tries to forget the past.

I followed you through the deep end
Then you left me here unable to comprehend
You were too far gone to be saved
Now all that’s left is a stone that is engraved.

You were addicted and you were consumed
All you created was a continuous wound
Lost and alone, overwhelmed with fear
All that I ever hear is the sound of your tears

My cries yelled out over the mountains and hills
But you were so busy taking your pills
The vines and valleys I wander through
Haunted by the ghost of you.

Senior VCAL student Rosalie De Francesco (Year 12 Purple) was a gold medal winner in the Intermediate Student Floristry competition at last weekend's Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show.

Rosalie has her sights set on a career in floristry one day, but for now is studying a Certificate III in Floristry at Marjorie Milner College as part of her VCAL course with MLMC. She also works at Mooroolbark florist Blooms on Brice, where she has been completing her VCAL placement.

Here she writes about what it took to create the piece and what it means to win the award:

It took a few weeks to come up with a design, tossing up what would be suitable for the flower show. I firstly had to take into account the amount of time I had (I had only six hours to create what I wanted to do). When I decided on the design being the nest, I then practised this at TAFE a couple of times from start to finish and they helped with ideas and suggestions.

In the brief provided, we only have to use 60% horticultural products (being sticks, foliage, bark, flowers, etc). They also supplied a boat-shaped container which all the competitors had to use in some way. Our design must not exceed 1.5m x 1m and all fresh flowers had to be well conditioned and last five days.

Winning this award means a lot. I have learned many skills, like working under pressure, designing ideas, etc. and I’m honoured to represent my employer (Blooms on Brice), my TAFE (Marjorie Milner College) and also MLMC, as I have learnt so many skills from all three.

I will be continuing floristry next year, as I will have about half a year of my course left, and I’ll still be working at Blooms on Brice, but hopefully I’ll start focusing on my own business, Rosie Posie Floral Designs, as well — and, of course, enter the Garden Show competition again, but in the Advanced section.

An important activity that takes place in Term 1 is the selection of the 2019 Student Representative Council. As per usual, students from Years 7–11 needed to submit a nomination form and undergo a rigorous interview process by the College Vice Captains. As always, more applicants than places available made the selection process a difficult one. After much deliberation, we would like to congratulate the following students:

2019 Student Representative Council:

Year 8
Liam Furey
Ellen Bradley

Year 9
Baxter Lill
Millie Barker
Jamie Speight
Cheyenne Moore

Year 10
Brianna Moore
Krishia Catungal

Year 11
Tatiana Lintzeris
Molly Bollaart
Kaitlyn Crymble
Ashley Herrod

A formal acknowledgement and presentation of the SRC Badges will be held at the next full College assembly, to be held on Tuesday 23 April. Due to Year 7 camps, the selection process for our Year 7 SRC is still underway. To those who had applied but missed out on a position, the invitation to assist those appointed is extended to you.

Term 1 has been a busy one for the students looking after the McAuley Park Farm. Lots of good work was done at the end of 2018 preparing plots and tending to the orchard in readiness for harvesting at the start of 2019. Adding thick layers of mulch and extra watering sessions were tasks carried out by the students.

Melbourne University recently released a report titled Melbourne's Foodbowl and it explained in detail the significance of Melbourne's city-fringe farmlands growing enough food to meet the needs of a growing population. You can read the report HERE.

Plot to Plate has been teaching Year 10 Agriculture and Horticulture students and Year 9 Science students about the benefits of reducing food miles and the idea of ‘grow local, eat local’. Apricots, peaches, nectarines, tomato, basil, silverbeet, pumpkins and apples have all been harvested in Term 1. The Discovery Community Centre in Lilydale received three large supplies of apples this term and Food Technology classes received apples and a couple of very large pumpkins.

Year 9 Textiles students have successfully responded to a brief in their own version of a My House Rules competition, with the students divided up into groups. They were asked to meet the following brief: Your best friend has just signed the lease with three other people for a studio apartment in Lilydale. As she does not have much money her room is bare. She has asked you to style her bedroom. With little money to spend on styling, she has asked you to help her as you have great textiles skills.

Each group came up with a unique theme and then worked together to decide on individual items to be made. This semester we had the themes of ‘Let's Get Fruity’, ‘Rustic Neutral’ and ‘Pinks/Greys’.

Brooke Shandley wrote the following about her team’s makeover, which was named best overall by our guest judges:
"Everyone in our group contributed something that turned out amazing. I believe that our group had an even spread of quality and quantity, which turned out very well. Chantelle made the lemon plush toy and the dreamcatcher. She put in a lot of effort and they both turned out incredibly well. Emma made the rectangle scattered watermelon pillow and the bunting. Emma put a lot of heart into her pieces and they turned out even better than what was expected. Jaimee made the two fruity pillows, and she really put her own touch into her works which made them unique. Emma and Jaimee together made the blanket, which added a nice touch to the display. I made the detailed watermelon pillow which took more time than expected to finish. I put in so much effort to make it the best that I could. The group as a whole did such an amazing job."

Our Year 10 Class Captains spent the morning of Tuesday 26 March participating in a leadership seminar with guest speaker Shane Hatton. Shane is guru in this field, having worked with many large companies and organisations in the past. The seminar provided our captains with a valuable opportunity to further develop their leadership skills.

Here are some reflections from the students:

"The Class Captains were provided with an amazing opportunity to develop our leadership skills. Shane taught us the way to deliver a compelling and influential speech to inform the audience and also convince them. The most valuable lesson that I received was what we need to be as leaders and to not just think about ourselves but about our audience and we need to connect with them. This will help me as a Class Captain and a Peer Support Leader to speak confidently and with ease in front of a group of people. I really enjoyed this day as it wasn't just learning — we played games and also applied our learning to situations and learnt how to use all the things we were taught."
— Brianna Moore (Year 10 Red)

"Shane came and spoke to the Year 10 Class Captains about how to lead and what it takes for people in a room to listen to you. He also helped us understand why we get nervous and how we can control of these feelings before a big event or speech. Shane told us that he even speaks and gives lectures to the big CEOs of companies so that they can understand the vital parts of persuading, speaking and understanding the audience that they want to get their message across to. This was a great experience for all of us and I think we were very lucky."
— Sam Green (Year 10 Red)

On Saturday 22 March, 19 students from Years 10-12 and six staff members attended RISE, a Catholic Youth Festival held at Penola College in Broadmeadows. Josh Agrisano rapped his way through the first session and singer Genevieve Bryant led a time of worship.Throughout the day we listened to engaging speakers such as Justine Cumbo, Father Dan, Archbishop Comensoli and Carlton AFL player Matthew Kennedy. We finished the day with Mass, celebrated by Auxillary Bishop Mark Edwards.

Here are some student reflections of the experience:

"I was enthusiastic as I boarded the bus heading for the long-awaited RISE Youth Festival. After the first Plenary, we split up for lunch and the other conferences. Outside were a number of food trucks that offered the most delicious food, as well as small activities, pop up shops and live music. A wide range of exciting workshops were running in the surrounding classrooms, led by spirited youth leaders and wise leaders of the church. Being in a room full of young people worshipping and believing the same thing is a truly magical experience that I will always remember. After a long day of fun and meeting new people, we headed home, tired but inspired, with many great memories and new friends."
— Willow Thomas (Year 12 Gold)

"The 2019 RISE Youth festival was an incredible experience, one that I will never forget. The day was filled with wonderful live music, interesting workshops and other fun activities. It was a place to meet new people and to discuss the beliefs and views of those living in different Catholic communities and ways of life. On this day, I felt as though I was truly able to celebrate my Catholic faith, while also knowing that others around me could do the same. I cannot wait for the RISE Youth Festival of 2020."
— Georgia Drummond (Year 11 Blue)

(1) EISM Swimming Champions Carnival

Well done to the 30 swimmers from MLMC who competed at the EISM Champions Carnival at MSAC on Monday 25 March. Special mention to Keilani Trewavis, who took home a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, a gold medal in the 50m butterfly and 50m breaststroke, also breaking the record in the 50m breaststroke in a time of 34.78 seconds. What an incredible achievement.

(2) Victorian School Associations Competition

Congratulations to Keilani Trewavis and Matthew Perry who have been selected to represent the EISM at the school associations swimming championships in May. Best wishes from all at MLMC!

(3) Athletics training

When: Monday afternoons (3.30-4.30pm) and Wednesday mornings (7.00-8.00am)
Where: Quarry Road oval
Why: to improve your skills and fitness levels in athletic disciplines. ALL abilities welcome. Commendations and house points up for grabs!
Cost: FREE
*Breakfast provided on Wednesdays back at school
Please see/email Miss Webb in the Doyle Centre for more details

(4) EISM Sport

Congratulations to all of our teams that competed in Year 9 EISM summer season grand finals during the week. MLMC won three premierships.

EISM Senior Results (27 Mar)

EISM Year 9 Results (28 March - Grand Finals)

On Wednesday 13 March, 19 students from Years 9, 11 and 12 participated in the Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad (OzCLO) competition. This is the third year that our College has participated in this event. It was a live competition that ran for two hours, where 490 teams participated all over Australia.

Students worked in groups of three or four and were given a series of challenges to solve within a 20-minute time limit for each challenge, which consisted of decoding and solving problems in real languages. Students enjoyed the challenges and they developed teamwork and problem-solving skills.

Cheyenne Moore (Year 9 Silver) said of her experience: “I thought it was a great way to have a bit of fun whilst completing challenging puzzles. It definitely got my brain thinking and working extremely hard. It was a great extracurricular activity and I would definitely recommend it to people who are interested in this type of challenge.”

The following students’ participation is commended:

• Year 12 — Jack Daelish, Tristan Mifsud and Harry Stolzenhain
• Year 11 — Ryan Finette, Chloe Rickard and Beccy Snell
• Year 9 — Lucille Belford, Gabrielle Clinton, Enndia Hicks, Ellie Inglese, Sabina Lantouris, Baxter Lill, Marisa Lopez Garza, Cheyenne Moore, Jamie Speight, Emma Williamson and Elle Zaviska.

Thank you to Mr Michael Modini and Mrs Gail Preston, who continue to support our students by supervising the event. In particular, a big thank you to Mr Modini for training the students to be well prepared for the live competition.

Have you been interested in learning the bass guitar, drums or violin?

We still have a few vacancies left for students wishing to enrol in bass guitar, drum or violin lessons for Term 2. Lessons are held weekly in the Music department (during school hours) through our Instrumental Music Program. Benefits of Instrumental Music lessons for your child include: improving academic skills, developing physical skills, cultivating social skills, refining discipline and patience, boosting self-esteem. For further information please see Mrs Flint in the Music department or email sflint@mlmc.vic.edu.au

Invitation to all parents and students in grades 4, 5 and 6

Please join us at our twilight open house event for a unique taste of what MLMC has to offer your child. Here’s your chance to explore the College, meet the teachers and students and engage in a range of fun-filled interactive activities.

Thursday 9 May, from 5.00pm to 8.30pm, at MLMC 120 Anderson Street, Lilydale.

To ensure everyone has a great experience, the event will be divided into two sessions. All you need to do is register and choose either Session A (from 5.00pm to 6.30pm) OR Session B (6.30pm to 8.00pm). For further information please visit our website.

We look forward to welcoming you to the College.