Dear members of the Mount Lilydale Mercy College community,

Welcome to the month of May, a month which is dedicated to Mary and the month in which we celebrate the role of all mothers and all those who fulfil the role of mother within our society. Many would say that in a world which places a priority on paid work, that the role of the mother in being the primary carer and love giver to children is underrated and underappreciated. May that not be the case. Taking Mary as our model, may all mothers enjoy the love and appreciation of family on this special day.

May is also the last month of autumn and my barometer of seasons — the maple tree outside my office — is still very green with only a tinge of yellow. I await the falling of the leaves as winter approaches, and hopefully some rain comes with it.

The last fortnight has seen a few milestones, a major one being the Student Progress Interviews conducted last Monday evening and all of last Tuesday. It is a substantial undertaking to close the College, but an important one, and I trust the opportunity was worthwhile with the discussions supporting the learning for each and every child.

A second milestone was the first of the three Debutante Balls, with the remaining two occurring this weekend. This, too, is a substantial undertaking and I appreciate the efforts of the Parents and Friends' Association, the College staff and staff at Sassi Dance who make these events so special. To witness the pride and joy on the faces of parents and grandparents is rewarding.

This last week, however, another milestone has left me reflecting. Our first fully student-led College Captains Assembly for the year, which was fully planned and implemented by our College captains, prefects and student leaders, was held last Tuesday. The format of the Assembly was indeed a celebration of College life and the College community and it included:

• The College Sports Prefects, who updated the student body on sports successes this year, including the Swimming Carnival, EISM and the presentation of the Cup to O’Neill house which won the Athletics Carnival
• A vignette from the College play Pink Panther Strikes Again, which will run from 10-12 May in Centennial Hall
• The College Captains addressed the student body about their understanding of the concept of ‘Respect' within the College 2018 theme “Whilst knowledge may empower, character builds respect”
• An update from the SRC and College Vice Captains, who spoke about their work around the World’s Greatest Shave.

A highlight of the assembly was a presentation by past student and Olympian Casey Wright (class of 2012) who competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in the events of women's Sprint Classic and women's 10km free cross-country skiing. Casey is studying in Alaska, but she took the time to record a substantial interview which to me highlighted how proud she was to be an Old Collegian of MLMC. Her clear message to our students was to continuously work towards your goals and never give up on your dreams.

As I walked away from the Assembly, a staff member asked me if I was happy with the Assembly and expressed “how good was that?” It caused me to reflect about the success of the Assembly and success itself. Was the Assembly successful? Indeed, it was. How could it not have been? It was a student-focused and student-led Assembly, full of student participation and with students celebrating and congratulating each other on their successes. The Assembly discussed sporting success, work in social justice, performance arts and the celebration of an old collegian. Indeed, a success.

Success has been a focus of late as I continue to interview Year 12 students. With each one I discuss the subjects and the course they are currently undertaking and ask them to discuss their plans and how they would define success and, of course, the answer is different for each and every one of them. For some success is an ATAR of 98 plus and entry into medicine. For others it is an ATAR of 75 plus to become a teacher or a nurse. Others talk of the entry into TAFE and trades, or the police force. For each and every one of these students, success is different and success is self defined. Success is goal dependent. Success is about taking dreams and putting steps in place to achieve them. Success is ensuring that dreams become goals and not fantasies. We are, indeed, fortunate to celebrate the wide and diverse community that makes up Mount Lilydale Mercy College.

Yes, the student-led Assembly was a success, as was the process of the Student Progress Interviews and Debutante Balls.

God Bless
Philip A Morison
Principal

Please find below the key dates for the remainder of Term 2:

Thursday 10 to Saturday 12 May - the College Play Pink Panther Strikes Again

Monday 14 May - EISM Athletics Carnival

Friday 18 May - Student Free Day (Staff Professional Development)

Tuesday 22 May - Taste of MLMC from 6pm

Monday 11 June - Queen's Birthday Public Holiday

Tuesday 19 June - Old Collegians Business Breakfast from 7am

Friday 22 June - Student Free Day

Friday 29 June - Term 2 concludes

Please note - key dates relevant to the entire College community can be found here on the website calendar at any time.

From 2019 there will be significant changes to the way in which the College is allocated funding for students with disabilities.

Please find attached an information sheet from the Catholic Education Commission of Victoria Ltd (CECV) regarding changes to funding associated with the Students with Disabilities (SWD) Program which aims to improve the learning outcomes of educationally disadvantaged students.

From 2019 onwards, the NCCD (Nationally Consistent Collection of Data) will be used to inform funding. The SWD Program will transition to the NCCD from that year forward.

The flyer attached contains links to further information. Alternatively, if you have any queries please do not hesitate to get in touch with me via email at acochrane@mlmc.vic.edu.au or by phone 9735 4022.

The Catholic Church dedicates the month of May to Mary. She is a great role model of love, devotion, and faith. Mary was a simple woman who had to work hard to meet the needs of a family. Mary prayed and sought the guidance of God in every move of her life. She loved God so much that she entrusted herself to the complete will of God. One of the most valuable strengths Mary possessed was her ability to persevere. She went through many trials in her life, but she never lost sight of the Lord. She used her complete trust in God and her strong will to overcome obstacles and setbacks.

To all who are mothers and to all who “mother” others, I wish you a very happy and blessed Mother’s Day.

Prayer for Mothers

O Loving Lord,

You have created mothers in love and blessed them with children.

As they work tirelessly to support their families, may they be showered with your blessings.

Give mothers strength to exercise compassion as they live each day under your care.

May those who are joined in your love, support mothers by their fervour of spirit and devotion to prayer.

We thank you, O Lord, for the gift of Motherhood.

May those blessed with children be granted the gifts of courage, perseverance and good health.

May they face each new day with faith and hope in your abiding love.

May all families find in the strength of your love

The priceless gift of peace

And so bear witness to your glory.

As Mary was the model of prayer, of love, and of obedience to the will of God, by your grace make mothers holy and rich with your gifts.

Bind families together in the bonds of peace and safety so that mothers will feel nurtured by love.

May all mothers enjoy good health and spiritual wellbeing to enable them to care for their families.

Source: Written by Bishop Kevin Manning, Parramatta Diocese.

On Wednesday 25 April, 14 members of the College choir joined Ms Caroline Dickason and Mr Gus Garces as well as Principal Philip Morison and College Captains (pictured) at the Lilydale Cenotaph to help remember our diggers in the Anzac Day Dawn Service.

Arriving at 5.15am the students performed three pieces - the recessional Lest We Forget and the national anthems of New Zealand and Australia. The College captains Ethan Wake and Danielle Virgona laid a wreath on the Cenotaph. It was wonderful to see and feel the enthusiasm and respect that our students displayed to the community. The College is grateful to all the choir members and their families for participating in such an important and memorable event.

Lest We Forget.

On Friday 20 April, the annual College House Athletics Carnival was held. Always a highlight of the school calendar, the weather was perfect and the day was filled with track and field events as well as tug of war, ball games and dress-ups. It was great to see all the students and staff involved and getting behind their houses, with some highlights being the Year 12 tug of war, the year level relays and the number of students competing to earn points for their house. It was a very successful day where the whole school community came together to celebrate MLMC and its students.

The final results are listed below. Our congratulations go to O'Neill house and their prefect Mikeely Dell.

College Captains Danielle Virgona and Ethan Wake hosted their first all-school Captains Assembly on Tuesday, with everyone at the College coming together in the Doyle Centre.

“We never have an Assembly that’s not for a special event,” Danielle said. “We wanted something to get people excited about being at an Assembly and something engaging.”

The pair said they would like to have more Captains Assemblies throughout the year. “We hoped that we’d get a closer connection between year levels,” Ethan said. “We’ve had a lot of positive feedback.”

The Assembly included Mercy and Justice Prefect Ava Brown and Faith and Ministry Prefect Ashleigh Clinton acknowledging the land and leading the welcome prayer. Sports Prefects Serena Gibbs and Jay Harris also gave an update on sporting achievements this year and the progressive tally for the House Cup. While O'Neill House was presented with the trophy for winning the Athletics Carnival, Maguire House is in the lead overall, ahead of Carr and Frayne, followed by O’Neill, Terry Dunn and Ryan.

Four students performed a scene from the upcoming College play, Pink Panther Strikes Again, to give everyone a taste of what to expect come 10-12 May. You can book your tickets here MLMC Pink Panther Strikes Again

Principal Phil Morison addressed the College about the meaning of sacrifice, and how we can all learn that our needs are often second to the needs of others. It’s an important part of the Anzac story and also the mercy story and its traditions.

Australian Winter Olympian and former MLMC student Casey Wright was also part of the Captains Assembly at MLMC despite being on the other side of the world.

The 2012 graduate was in her dorm room at the University of Alaska in Anchorage, Alaska, where she is in her third year of a Health Science degree, looking forward to the summer break. Via a video, she was able to tell the students about her achievements and experiences at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February.

Casey was only notified of her selection one week before she left for South Korea, taking the last of the 11 spots to open up. She realised her dream of representing Australia in two cross-country skiing events. She went on to finish 61^st in the Classic Sprint and 83^rd in the 10km Skate.

The 23-year-old told the students and staff that she had been battling illness leading up to the Games and was not able to compete at her best, but “this is one of the unique aspects of being an athlete”.

“You can train as much and as hard as you can, however the real test comes when you have to deal with situations not going in the direction you want.”

She said the Olympic experience was “absolutely amazing”. “It was not like anything I have ever experienced.” She also spoke of the “awesome” opportunity to learn about other winter sports and meet other Australian athletes.

College Vice Captains Erin Jones and Anthony Molluso highlighted the achievements of the Student Representative Council, with the College raising over $1000 for the Leukaemia Foundation through the World’s Greatest Shave event at the end of Term 1.

The Assembly ended with the singing of the national anthem led by the College Choir.

(1) EISM Division 2 Athletics Carnival

On Thursday 26 April the MLMC athletics team travelled to Lakeside Stadium to compete at the annual EISM Athletics Carnival, this time in Division 2. This year, we were competing against new schools and it was unknown territory. Having finished last the previous year, MLMC had a point to prove — that we belonged in Division 1. And prove that point we did, taking out some age group wins and the overall boys championship. The best part was also taking out 1st place on the day, allowing us to be promoted back to Division 1 in 2019. Congratulations to all athletes represented MLMC on the day, we are extremely proud of you all. Good luck to those students who qualified for the Champions Carnival on 14 May.

Results:

• U13 Boys - 1st
• U14 Boys - 3rd
• U15 Boys - 3rd
• U16 Boys - 1st
• Overall Boys - 1st
• U13 Girls - 2nd
• U15 Girls- 2nd
• U16 Girls - 2nd
• Overall Girls - 2nd

OVERALL - MLMC 1st

Report by Serena Gibbs and Jay Harris (Sports Prefects)

(2) VEIS State Championships

The Victorian Equestrian Interschool Series (VEIS) state titles were held at Werribee National Equestrian Centre over the first week of the Easter holidays. Five students represented MLMC in dressage, showjumping and combined training —Lily Callaway (Year 8), Ruby Pittock (Year 8), Lachlan Nicholls (Year 8), Jasmine Dillon (Year 9) and Mia Wright (Year 9).

Jasmine Dillon, riding ‘Enzo’, competed in the 120cm showjumping competition and placed fourth in the two rounds, eighth in the round 1 stakes and eighth overall.

Mia Wright, riding ‘Ronnie’, competed in the 90cm showjumping and the 95CT. She had three clear rounds in the showjumping and for the combined training came 1st and won the State Championship for the 95cm. Leading from the dressage phase and doing another clear round of showjumping, Mia will now be part of the Victorian team for the National Championships in October.

(3) Tintern Horse Trials

At the weekend, 13 students from MLMC competed at the Tintern Grammar Horse Trials. All the MLMC riders rode very well and many riders placed in their divisions. MLMC had great camaraderie throughout the event and we were the third biggest school competing. Well done to everyone who competed, and a special thank you to parents and teachers who support MLMC students this weekend.

Results:

• Mia Wright - 1st / ea95
• Maddison Jackson - 9th/ ea80
• Lachlan Nichols - 5th/ea80
• Brooke Leist - 5th/ unofficial ea65
• Jasmine Dillon- 5th/ CNC 1*
• Jamieson Manger - 3rd/ unofficial ea65
• Ruby Pittock - 20th/ ea80
• Lily Callaway - withdrawal / ea80
• Grace George - 8th/ ea80
• Taryn Williams - 10th/ ea80
• Ruby Commerford - 11th/ Unofficial 65
• Brookley Williams - 11th/ ea80
• Alix McDonald - 20th/ Unofficial ea65
• MLMC Cougars (Jass, Maddie, Brooke, Lachlan) placed 9th out of 50 teams
• MLMC Jaguars (Taryn, Brookley, Jamieson) placed 25th
• MLMC Panthers (Mia, Ruby, Grace) placed 34th

Report by Jass Dillon (Year 9)

(4) Coming Up

EISM Champions Athletics Carnival

Monday 14 May at Lakeside Stadium, Albert Park (students who qualified for this carnival will be notified in coming days).

Training details:

• The last session of athletics training will be on 10 May.
• Final week schedule:
• When: Monday afternoons (3.30-4.30pm), Wednesday mornings (7.00-8.00am) and Thursday afternoons (3.30-4.30pm)
• Where: Quarry Road ovals. See Miss Webb or Mr Leaumont for details.

EISM Winter Season

• Year 8, Year 9 and Senior Winter seasons are about to begin.
• 9 May: senior boys’ football
• 16 May: all other senior sports
• 15 May: Year 8 sports
• 24 May: Year 9 sports

Please make sure you have all correct uniform for your games including long navy socks for hockey and soccer and mouthguards for hockey. You must be in 100% correct uniform to take the field in all sports.

Do you like ignorant detectives, ninja sidekicks and the antics of various assassins?

MLMC’s Unit 3/4 Theatre Studies class of 2018 is carrying on the honourable works of film director Blake Edwards and actor Peter Sellers through this year’s production of Pink Panther Strikes Again.

It will be on stage next week, in Centennial Hall, on 10, 11 and 12 May from 7.30pm.

Just released from a mental hospital, Pauline Dreyfus (Rachel van der Linden) intends to kill off Inspector Clouseau (Garrett Harrington), a former underling who lives with his manservant Cato (Ashleigh Clinton) and whose blundering drove the previous head of police around the bend.

Dreyfus captures Professor Fassbender (Riley Atwell) and his daughter Margot (Talisha Nichols), ordering him to create a weapon that will destroy the planet— the Doomsday Machine. Dreyfus threatens world leaders with annihilation unless they hand over his nemesis by using assassins, including Russian femme fatale Olga Bariosova (Maddy Leane).Meanwhile, Clouseau goes to England, accompanied by his loyal sidekick Francois (Erin Jones), to look for the missing scientist, and his obliviousness turns out to be an asset

TICKETS: $15 adults, $12 concession, $10 children
BOOKINGS: MLMC Pink Panther Strikes Again
FOLLOW US: @The Pink Panther Strikes Again #mlmcstrikesagain

Pictures in gallery:

• Garrett Harrington (playing Inspector Jacques Closeau) and Kirra Smark (German girl) during rehearsals
• Rachel van der Linden (Pauline Dreyfus) conducting her subordinates in a dramatic scene where she threatens world domination
• The set team constructing and painting Dreyfus's organ
• The costume/makeup team spray painting and decorating headpieces

Lots of exciting things have been happening for the students that are involved in the Young Farmers’ Poultry Club. A number of lunchtime meetings have been held and the students have had a first-hand look at the heritage and rare birds at school. Five of the birds will be entered in the 2018 RASV Poultry Show.

Recently Ebony Damen attended the Mountain District Poultry Club Show and Ebony won her category for silky bantams that she and her father Peter have bred at home. Inspired by her experiences in the Young Farmers’ Club, and more recently Agriculture classes, Ebony is now an enthusiastic chook breeder and we look forward to seeing more success for her in the future.

Main picture: Sienna Allen with a black ancona chicken

Gallery pictures:

• Emily Hoiles, Isabella Green and Rhonda Green at the 2017 Royal Melbourne Poultry Show
• Kaitlyn Barnes with a red ancona
• A gold legbar chicken

Tickets are now on sale for the Time to Shine 2018 concert at the State Theatre on Saturday 28 July. There are two performances, at 2.00pm and 7.30pm.

Time to Shine 2018, featuring over 450 students from 50 schools across the Archdiocese of Melbourne, has become a key celebration for Catholic secondary schools in Melbourne to display the performance talents of their up and coming student talents.

Catholic Education Melbourne is proud to present the third Time to Shine with performances featuring 75 individual singers, a massed choir of 160 students and over 200 dancers.

Performers have been working with industry professional directors and choreographers for over nine months to ensure a top-class, diverse and cosmopolitan production with a taste of everything from musical theatre and beatbox through to contemporary and classical hits with the support of a live combined professional and student orchestra.

This high-calibre artistic production improves and grows each year. A fantastic variety show, not to be missed.

Tickets, between $30 and $50, can be accessed via the Catholic Education Melbourne website https://www.cem.edu.au/ or from the Arts Centre via https://www.artscentremelbourne.com.au/en/whats-on/2018/contemporary-music/time-to-shine

Mount Lilydale Mercy College Old Collegians' Association Business Breakfast

We are excited to announce the return of our Business Breakfast! Come and be inspired by our guest speakers Laura Turner (award-winning journalist, drug reform advocate and Old Collegian) and John Goodfellow OAM (Former Principal of the College). Please see below for further details on each of our wonderful speakers.

For the first time, the breakfast will be held at the College, hosted and catered by the College VCAL students.

• Date: Tuesday June 19
• Time: 7.00am
• Venue: Mount Lilydale Mercy College (McAuley Hall)
• Cost: $35 per person
• RSPV: Friday 8 June
• Bookings: https://www.trybooking.com/VIOM

We hope you are able to join us. In the meantime, if you would like to join our Business Registry, please register here or you can call Lucia Tabacchiera on 03 9735 4022.

Laura Turner
In 2001 Laura Turner graduated from the College, going on to study Journalism at RMIT University. Laura worked for WIN Television and TV3 in New Zealand and received a Rural Press Club Award and Quill Award for her journalism. Laura joined Nine Network Australia and travelled the globe reporting on many big stories including the shooting down of flight MH17, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and the disappearance of flight MH370. She became Nine’s US correspondent, reporting on the mass shooting in Orlando, the San Bernadino terrorist attack and the United States Presidential Election campaign. Laura now works on Channel Nine’s A Current Affair and has campaigned for drug reform, while showing enormous courage in sharing her own personal loss of her sister. Laura’s professionalism, compassion and determination to strive for social justice demonstrates to our students how they can go on to create positive change. In 2017 Laura was inducted into the MLMC Old Collegians' Mercy Honour Roll.We are thrilled to have Laura back at the College again.

John Goodfellow
John Goodfellow OAM was the Principal of Mount Lilydale Mercy College from 1990 to 1995. Appointed the first lay Principal of the College, John has been described as a hugely enthusiastic and energetic leader who empowered staff and allowed them to flourish. In 1996, he became the founding Principal and a longstanding Director of Kardinia International College near Geelong. He retired as Principal at Kardinia College in 2015, having grown student numbers from 26 in 1996 to 1900 at the time of his retirement. He was Principal of four Colleges over a 29 period, taking his first Principal post at the age of 26. He was also a senior lecturer at Catholic University, Canberra, and Edith Cowen University, WA. He received his Order of Australia in the Australia Day Honours of 2013 for his service to education. He remains very passionate about human values and the important outcomes of education. We look forward to welcoming him back to the College.

A Taste of Mount Lilydale Mercy College 2018

A warm invitation is extended to all parents and students in grades 4, 5 and 6. Please join our College staff and students on TUESDAY 22 MAY to experience a taste of what Mount Lilydale Mercy College has to offer your child in the areas of Technology, Humanities, LOTE and Music. Activities include:

• Free sausage sizzle from 6.00pm to 6.30pm

• Registration and welcome in Centennial Hall at 6.30pm

• Interactive experiences of the different College faculties begin at 7pm.

Registrations are now closed - tickets will be available at the door. We look forward to welcoming you to the College.

Semester 1 student enrolment numbers into the Instrumental Music Program for 2018 has been the highest intake in years at MLMC and we're proud of the commitment and progress that our students have made in their chosen instruments to date. Personal growth and confidence levels have heightened among our music students and ensemble numbers have never been so strong.

The College is fortunate to have Ms Caroline Dickason (piano and voice tutor) and Mr Dean Cooper (drum tutor) teaching here for many years. We are also extremely excited to have new instrumental music tutors in Ms Tanya Bradley (cello and violin), Ms Lauren Innes (brass and bass guitar) and Mr Emilio Kormanic (guitar).

If your child has recently expressed an interest in learning a musical instrument, we encourage you to fill out an enrolment form for Semester 2. All lessons run for 30 minutes on a one-to one basis with a music tutor. Instruments include brass, cello, drums, bass guitar, piano, violin, voice and woodwind. All private lessons are run during school hours. If you are interested in joining this exciting program for Semester 2 please download an enrolment form from the MLMC Parent Portal website or alternatively, email me at sflint@mlmc.vic.edu.au