Old Scholars and milestones

By

Original Old Scholars and Mimili milestone

1950s and 60s Old Scholar Christmas Lunch
Old Scholars from the 1950s and 60s enjoyed catching up at Piccoli Piatti in North Adelaide to celebrate their Christmas Lunch. Many in attendance have remained in touch for more than 60 years and enjoy getting together on a regular basis, and they were delighted to welcome Principal Andrew Balkwill to the event when he called in to wish them a Merry Christmas and thank them for their ongoing support of MOSA.

Mimili Trek Reunion – Celebrating 25 Years
Past Mimili Crew and Trekkers recently gathered at the Torrens Arms Hotel to celebrate 25 years of STEP  Mimili Treks.

We were delighted to welcome Past Principal Chris McCabe, and past staff members John Gibson and Joy Leaver, who were all staunch supporters of the STEP Programme and the early Mimili Treks. Lachy Jones paid tribute to Steve Wasilewski for his unwavering passion, commitment and support to achieve this outstanding milestone and we look forward to hearing this special experience pop up in students' favourite memories well into the future.

Anne Morse
MOSA Executive Officer

Wishing you a very 'Hygge' Christmas

By Debbie Goss

Danish comfort comes to OSHC

What is Christmas hygge? Hygge (pronounced 'hoo-guh') is a Danish concept that encompasses a feeing of appreciating small actions people do for you and you do for them. It is also taking pleasure in making ordinary, everyday things more meaningful. We relate to this so much!

Our unseasonally cool, rainy weather inspired us to adopt this vibe for our OSHC Christmas celebrations this year and we love it. As usual, we began by painting our window, this year with a cosy, wintry scene displaying Danish houses lit up with Christmas lights - snow falling softly outside and wispy smoke escaping from chimneys.

As we endeavoured to tick off items on our hygge to-do list we began with a concerted effort to clear the OSHC room of accumulated clutter, but soon acknowledged that this is a long-term project -- one we're not giving up!

We brought out our pillows and throws for a cosy feel, and filled our room with the holiday smell of gingerbread, cinnamon, and rosemary as we make little Christmas wreaths. Also in keeping with our minimalist vision, we created Christmas angels and snowflakes using the humble wooden clothes peg.

This year we are celebrating the Advent Season with a 'reverse' Advent Calendar, collecting items daily for the women supported by Catherine House. In the process we will learn about the work that they do and about showing compassion for those less fortunate than ourselves.

With our fingers crossed for warmer weather over Vacation Care, we nonetheless have a project that will prolong the wintry feeling. We have LOTS of egg cartons waiting to be fashioned into an amazing ‘eggloo’ for ‘eggskimos’. This engineering challenge will be housed in the Junior School Hall and will use plenty of glue, a mountain of patience, dedicated team members, problem solving strategies, and friends ready to have lots of fun!

Make sure you book your place for your favourite Vacation Care activities! Download the summer programme and booking form on our website today.

We will be sure to take plenty of photos to capture the memories made during our summer holidays. We wish all our OSHC families a very happy Christmas and a safe holiday. Thank you for trusting our educators to care for your children, we have enjoyed every minute!

Debbie Goss
OSHC/Vacation Care Coordinator

You've got a friend in SMP

By Stephen Heuzenroeder

An end-of-year celebration of connections made

Our End of Year Student Mentoring Programme Liturgy Celebration took place in the Junior School Hall and was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the success of our mentors and students in the Student Mentoring Programme (SMP) this year.

All students who have been involved in the Programme were invited to attend, along with their student and community mentors, and student parents. It was especially great to see so many graduates return for the event! Everyone was treated to a touching rendition of Carole King’s You’ve got a Friend by Year 12 mentors Raff Raschella and Maisie Aitkin – a fitting tribute to what is at the heart of SMP.

Attendees enjoyed a photo and video montage of all the wonderful connections and relationships between students and their mentors and, looking around the room, there were a few tears shed. It was also an occasion to display our beautiful new SMP artwork that I have been working hard on this term with students and mentors. The final piece encapsulates what the Programme is all about and is a stunning display of art and team work.

Mentors joined us afterwards for morning tea, which was a great opportunity to catch up and thank them for their efforts this year. It takes a special person to be a mentor; to volunteer their time selflessly and graciously for the purpose of supporting a student in need and brightening their day without any expectation of anything in return. The reason we do this is for them. This programme could not run without volunteer Mentors, so here is another big thank you to them: mentors really do make a difference!

If you would like to be a Mentor next year, please contact me via SEQTA direqt message.

Stephen Heuzenroeder
Student Mentoring Programme Coordinator

FOTA in 2023

By Paul Kitching

Now, what's that all about?

You may have heard us talk about the FOTA Committee and wonder… "What IS that all about?!"

Well wonder no more! FOTA - aka the Friends of The Arts - is a parent volunteer-filled committee that has a number of purposes. Essentially it is ‘a vehicle for recognising the role of the Arts programs at Mercedes College within our unique Catholic identity.’ But it is also aims to ‘raise the profile and increase awareness and appreciation of the Arts at the College’.

At the recent 2022 FOTA AGM the 2023 FOTA Executive was elected.

2023 FOTA Executive

Chair - Paul Kitching
Vice Chair - Kate Wood
Treasurer - Carli Pfitzner
MPFA Liaison - TBC
Secretary - to be shared amongst committee each meeting

Congratulations to the new 2023 FOTA Executive!
We would like to thank and acknowledge three exceptional volunteers from the school community who each leave FOTA at the end of 2022 as their time as a Mercedes parent comes to a close. Thank you Fiona Aitken, Mareya Perez and Jo Tan. We thank you Fiona, Mareya and Jo for your wonderful support of the Arts at the school through being a member of the FOTA committee and always forever contributing. Your commitment to volunteering is to be applauded! 

The first FOTA meeting for 2023 will be held in Week 5 of Term 1 on Tue Feb 28 with any parent passionate about the Arts very welcome to join! Please email paul.kitching@fuller.com.au if you want to join or learn more. 

Paul Kitching
FOTA Chair 2020-23

Section 1 SACPSSA Athletics Carnival

By Jeffrey Wray

Outstanding results in athletics

Primary Athletics 2022 has come to its conclusion with the Section 1 SACPSSA (Catholic Schools) Athletics Carnival where Year 3 students competed against other schools for the first time. With 11 divisions across the Catholic Schools in South Australia, it is a privilege to be competing in the top division.

The SACPSSA competition has more track events than School Sport SA (SAPSASA), and also allows for more competitiors. As a result, we are able to take a team of more than 60 students from Year 3 to Year 6. One of the key components of the SACPSSA Carnival for Division 1 is the Pentathlon where of students compete in the 60m hurdles, 100m, 800m, long jump and shot put to accumulate points to determine an overall winning athlete.

For Mercedes College the Pentathlon was completed by Maggie Robinson and Charlie Coligan. Maggie, who was fresh off her return as the South Australian Athletics Captain the week prior at Nationals, won all 5 of her events. This included breaking the 800m record in an uncontested race. In the males competition, Charlie won the 800m and shot put, but this unfortunately did not get him the win overall. Charlie did break the shot put record that existed prior to the 2022 Carnivals, but unfortunately the record was further broken by a student from another school.

We had a number of outstanding performances, and a few that deserve special recognition are:

• Talia Cenko, awarded SACPSSA Year 6 Female Age Group Champion for her performances in 100m, 200m, hurdles and high jump.
• Year 4 Girls, broke the 4x100m record, and won the Year 4 Girls Compeition.
• Year 6 Girls, won the Year 6 Girls Competition.
• The Girls team awarded Section 1 Champions for the sixth time in the past eight years.

Final Results:

Boys		Girls
Rostrevor	245	Mercedes	302
St Michaels	225	Nazareth	271
Nazareth	219	Henley Beach	204
Lockleys	202	St Columbia	187
Windsor Gardens	170	Windsor Gardens	186
Henley Beach	129	Loreto	153
Mercedes	121	Lockleys	103
St Columbia	116

Jeff Wray
Primary Sports Coordinator

College Leadership

Reflections on a wonderful year

By Andrew Balkwill

Hope | Faith | Joy | Peace

Christmas is a time of anticipation, excitement and reflection – much like the academic year. As 2022 draws to a close, it is my hope that all of our students – from our 5 year old Receptions to our 18 year olds now awaiting their Year 12 results – has been challenging, rewarding and fun.

Now in the season of Advent, a time of excitement, hope and waiting before Jesus’ birth, we see lots of different symbols: decorated Christmas trees, angels, and the Advent Wreath. Advent candles are a longstanding Catholic tradition, and important part of the spiritual preparation for Christmas. Representing hope, faith, joy and peace, they provide us opportunity to reflect on our experiences and look forward with optimism.

From an unusual and staged return to school in Term 1, to a campus of happy children ready for the summer holidays, we have navigated the challenges of 2022 together. By being ever adaptive, students have progressed their learning, development and friendships.

Thank you
A huge thank you to our teachers, specialist, support people and the leadership team for the professionalism, energy and guidance provided to the young people in our care. Often going above and beyond, be that working with our Year 12 students in school holidays helping as they prepare for assessments and exams, to the patient teacher who takes the time to calm the nervous or excited child, thank you.

To the Class of 2022, best wishes and may you use your many and varied talents well in the years ahead knowing the learning journey never ends. The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) results will be released on 19 December, ahead of the IB Diploma results in early January. You can all be very proud of your efforts, and we look forward to hearing about your next achievements.

This year we have attained further and significant improvements in learning, as well as motivation and engagement – as assessed by others – and this is testimony to our forward thinking and ‘best better’ approach. Teaching and learning is an ever evolving process that needs to change in step with social and community wide change, without compromising on core competencies and values.

In keeping with our commitment to enable all at Mercedes College to flourish, we say goodbye to some of our team as they embark on their next professional adventure. This year we also have a number of staff retiring after many years of service with Mercedes College – thank you all, and blessings for happy days ahead.

In 2023 we are set to welcome around 200 new students and 20 new people to our teaching and support team, as well as passionate educator and leader, Narelle Sandercock our Interim Deputy Principal for Semester 1.

Achievements and milestones
As the academic year comes to an end, the culmination of teaching, learning, and growing has culminated with Year level assemblies, masses and celebrations. There have been many wonderful events, achievements and milestones this year, testimony to the commitment of our teachers, determination of our students and collaboration of our families.

In preparing for 2023, we are continuing to invest in our campus with technology and play space upgrades being progressed at pace, thanks in part to your generous donations. Likewise, work on our new high performance Arts and Sports Precinct remains on track – with purpose build spaces were our students will perform, train and compete – as well as celebrate as a community.

At Mercedes College, everyone’s contribution is appreciated, and we are blessed with team of good people doing good things for others. With volunteers contributing where and how they can, our community plays an active role in how children learn, as well as supporting their participation in sport and events that make the learning journey that little bit more special.

Many people contribute to the College through the efforts of the MPFA – our largest fund raiser – that we will continue to support in 2023. Thank you to outgoing Co-Chairs Christine Kenny and Jo Cowain, for your many years of service. Thanks also to our College Council, for their stewardship and support in achievement of milestones for the College this year.

It is a blessing to be part of the Mercedes College community, and I wish you all a Holy and Merry Christmas, and every happiness for the New Year. See you in February for another exciting year as we build figuratively and literally on our successes.

Andrew Balkwill
Principal

Junior Journeys

A fabulous year in Junior School

By Kellie Osborn

A celebration of 2022 and Season's Greetings

The final weeks of Term 4 have been a great time of celebration across the Junior School. We have been abuzz with special and significant end of year events including the Reception to Year 6 Sports Fun Day, Reception to Year 5 Footsteps dance performances, Year 5 camp to Glenhaven, final Year 4 Brownhill Creek visit, Year 1 incursion with Warrawong Sanctuary, Year 2 excursion to Hahndorf Farm Barn, Year 5 French picnic, Orientation Day, Year 5 PYP Graduation, Junior School End of Year Mass, Picnic Day visits to Bounce and Marion Outdoor Swimming Centre, Year 5 PYP student action at Carrick Hill, and our final Junior School assembly.

Mass and Advent
To mark the third Sunday of Advent, we lit the pink candle of joy at our final Mass; a reminder of the coming joy of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. We thank God for the hope he gives us, for the peace he bestows, and for the joy he pours into our hearts, particularly at this time of year when we're filled with the spirit of Christmas.

Generosity abounds
We offer a huge thank you to all our families who were able to donate goods to our Brother Michael Kirgan Christmas Appeal. Your generosity has seen many classrooms overwhelmed with hamper items for those less fortunate this Christmas. Similarly, we witnessed Mercy in action by Mila Callisto who represented our Reception students in donating 21.6 kgs of canned goods to Foodbank South Australia, as well as many festive Christmas cards to put in hampers. Well done on your initiative and compassion.

Mila and the donations to Foodbank SA (photo: ABC Adelaide)

Good luck to our Year 5 students
This week we proudly celebrated our Year 5 students at their Primary Years Programme Graduation. This rite of passage was filled with many lovely reflections of students' time in the Junior School and what they have achieved together. We wish these young people and their families all the best as they take their first steps into Middle School in 2023.

Merry Christmas
A big thank you to our dedicated staff, fabulous students, and supportive Junior School families for a successful 2022. We have celebrated many student achievements, and are immensely proud of the efforts each student brings to their studies. In particular we are proud to see the growth and development of students into well-rounded, grounded, and respectful young people who demonstrate kindness, compassion, and empathy for those around them. These are the traits by which we measure our success as educators.

Thank you to Alexis, her mum and Nonna, for beautiful cupcakes!

I wish you all God's richest blessings for Christmas and the holiday season. May you be safe, healthy, and have a wonderful time together during the summer break. I look forward to seeing you in 2023 when we will seize the moment and flourish.

Kellie Osborn
Head of Junior School

Middle Moments

Celebrating learning experiences

By Ben Dray

New student leadership and rewards

Middle School Leaders for 2023
It is my pleasure to announce the 2023 Middle School Leaders (pictured above): Annabelle Phillips, Ava Barton, Sam Doan, and Thomas Stirling. Congratulations on your successful election by your peers and teaching staff to these important roles; we look forward to having your assistance leading the Middle School next year.

On behalf of the panel, I also acknowledge the other students who took part in the selection process, which involved an application, interview, and speech to the Middle School community. It takes a lot of effort and courage and requires students to step out of their comfort zone. All participants can be very proud of the way they represented themselves, their families, and their school.

Orientation Day
Next year, we welcome 200 new students to Mercedes College, many to our Middle School, and it was great to meet many of them at our recent Orientation Day. This fun experience enables new and continuing students the opportunity to step up a grade, meet one another, experience some of the curriculum, and get to know Middle School staff. We look forward to seeing our new students again at the beginning of next year and hope that Orientation Day has made them feel very welcome here.

End of Year Activity Days
The end of the academic year is a fun time for us to celebrate with students and acknowledge the hard work and commitment they've put into their studies. The variety of experiences were coordinated beautifully by our Year Level Leaders, whose creative ideas brought smiles to many faces.

Living our Mercy Keys
To round out the final week of Term we celebrated student achievement in academics and endeavour, and presented our 2022 Mercy Key Awards. These special awards are given to students whose actions actively reflect the values of our College. Congratulations to:

Mercy Key	Year 6	Year 7
Compassion	Ruby Barter and Isaac Wood	Alex Pink-Cook and Toby Everett
Integrity	Mabel Hill and Mitchell Chan	Evangaline Brennan and Alex Wiltshire
Justice	Isobel Fitzgerald and Ian Carpenter	Jessica Mathers and Harvey Chapman
Loyalty	Maggie Robinson and Albie Park	Lucy McConnochie and James Hage
Mutual Respect	Amelia Ciplys and Christopher Cowain	Elizabeth Woods and Jared Cenko
Responsibility	Marion Dietrich and Gilbert Pronk	Ruby Beesley and Lucas Grigg

Mercy Key	Year 8	Year 9
Compassion	Claudia Paterson and Sam Doan	Emma Jones and Max Frankham
Integrity	Eleanor Wood and Thomas Stirling	Chloe Chadwick and Amitej Singh
Justice	Cara Dalzotto and Harry Mills	Naomi Carpenter and Harry Densley
Loyalty	Zoe Bassiliadis and Lewis Ward	Sienna McCusker and Callum Willis
Mutual Respect	Pallas Hannan and Eamon Ford	Vidhi Parikh and Hengyue Lin
Responsibility	Yeon Sue Choi and Carl Khouri-Revell	Yoli Ruciak and James Kroeger

Enjoy your summer break
Thank you to our parents for their support across the year, and to our students for their enthusiasm and success in their academic, spiritual, sporting, and artistic pursuits. I also thank our committed and passionate staff and Year Level Leaders for their tireless efforts to nurture our students and enable them to flourish as individuals.

On behalf of the Middle School, I wish you all a safe, happy, and meaningful Christmas, and we look forward to seeing you all back in 2023.

Ben Dray
Head of Middle School

Senior Stories

Passing the baton

By Michael Francis

Farewell to the Class of '22 and welcome to our new leaders for '23

Year 10 Retreat and Reflection Day
As part of their day of reflection, our Year 10 students were asked how they may assist the work of Louise Place, a Centacare Catholic family services organisation that offers care and support for young women and their children who are experiencing, or at risk of homelessness.

Their response was to create a collection of care packages for Louise Place clients and, with especially generous support from the Romeo and Stanley families, they gathered enough donations to create packages for more than 30 young mothers. In a lovely show of our Mercy Keys, packages included baby care items, vouchers, blankets, and self-care products that could take some of the immediate pressure off of members of the community experiencing a moment of crisis.

Students were also joined on this day by Senior Kaurna Man, Uncle Mickey Kumatpi O’Brien, who spoke of the importance of connection and relationship; values certainly demonstrated in the activities of the students earlier in the day.

Year 10 Mock Interviews
A key element of of the SACE programme is the Year 10 Personal Learning Plan, through which our students engaged in preparations and delivery of mock job interviews with some of our generous community of volunteers. Students considered job application requirements, prepared a resume, then sat with an 'employer' to experience an interview situation and discuss their suitability for the position.

Thanks go to our Student Pathways Coordinator, Bill Deegan, and his team for providing yet another rich learning experience that will help our students feel ready for life 'beyond the hedge'.

Volunteer 'employers' preparing to host interviews

Year 12 Graduation
With assessments and examinations complete, our Year 12 cohort happily celebrated the last of our farewell events: the 2022 Graduation Ball. More than 500 guests were welcomed by Year 12 Year Level Leader, Holly Potter, and joyfully reflected of the year that was, and the experiences shared across their time at Mercedes College.

To those families who have now seen their youngest child graduate, a special congratulations and a sincere thank you for your support across many years. It certainly was a fitting celebration to celebrate your children. We look forward to hearing of your achievements and wish you all a safe and well-earned break.

2022 award recipients
In their final assemblies we celebrated the academic and personal achievements of Year 10 and Year 11 students. We also presented the 2022 Mercy Key Awards, as well as two additional awards: The Award for Outstanding Service to Leadership was presented to Benjamin Hughes (Year 10), and the Mercurean Award was presented to Matthew Dachs (Year 11). Congratulations to all of our worthy award recipients.

Mercy Key	Year 10	Year 11
Compassion	Marcus Quarisa	Eleanor Auricht
Integrity	Sara Elleway	Vaughn Brereton
Loyalty	Angelle Miles	William Goss
Justice	William Hannan	Sannawar Sandhu
Mutual Respect	Reuben de Tullio	Lily Dyson
Responsibility	Matilda Barter	Samson Ranford

Student Leadership in 2023
Congratulations to students for their appointment to Student Leadership roles in 2023:

Social Justice Leaders | Poppy Willis, Lucinda Griffin, Sannawar Sandhu, Bhaanvi Mishra, Lachlan Priest and Sam Andonas

Arts Leaders | Grace McGowan and Matthew Frost.

Arts Executives | Hayley Rungie, Holly Goode-Smith, Angelina Knight and Esme Kitching

ISP Leaders | Samantha Chan Sum Yiu, Forrest ZhangTianjia, Hassanshahi Amin, Ivan Du Yifan and Katrina Lai Lok Ting

Each of these emerging leaders put a commendable effort into their statement of intention for 2023, and spoke well with their relevant staff selection panel. We wish each of these young leaders every success.

Gratitude
With the year drawing to a close and our Senior School looking forward to the year ahead, I wish to express my sincerest thanks to the students, families and staff who have made the 2023 year such an enjoyable and rewarding one. Our Year 12s have ‘stepped out’ to await their final results and some of our Senior School staff will move on to new challenges; thank you for your contributions to our College – it is a richer place as a result of your presence.

May you all enjoy a well deserved holiday break and a holy Christmas season.

Michael Francis
Head of Senior School

Director of Mission

Spirit of giving

By Therese Wilson

Tis the Christmas season…

…the angel said to them, ‘do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger’. (Luke 2:10-13).

Project Compassion
Next year Caritas is launching ‘Project Compassion’ from Mercedes College. Archbishop Patrick O’Regan will preside with our newly appointed Social Justice Leaders: Lachlan Priest, Sannawar Sandhu, Lucinda Griffin, Poppy Willis, Bhaanvi Mishra and Sam Andonas. These leaders have already started their work, travelling to Catholic schools around Adelaide with the Caritas Candle and an invitation to next year's project launch.

We know that Mercedes College students care about being global citizens and making a difference, and Caritas provide a way to reach out to others in need around the world. We are honored that our campus will be the launching point for this important initiative.

Year 10 hands and feet of Jesus
Living the Hands and Feet of Jesus is about coming up with ways to serve others in the community without expecting anything in return. At Mercedes College, hot chips were a hit at lunchtime as a smart fundraiser, and Louise Place by Centacare was so grateful for the wonderful gifts of kindness from our families. A group of year 10 students represented their cohort by delivering them to the facility and Teresa Migliore, a social worker at Louise Place, spoke about the work done there and the difference the care packages will make to these young women and their babies.

“I loved the community environment at Louise Place, Teresa was extremely helpful and gave us great insight into this wonderful care program” -- Eugenia Fiocchini

“Having to create specially made packages for the girls in need was such a wonderful experience and being there to give them donations gave us all an understanding of what life is like for them.” -- Mya Mignone.

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May the joy, peace, love and hope of Christmas be in your homes for the remainder of 2022.

God bless all of the Mercedes Community

Therese Wilson
Director of Mission

Good Sports

Summer sport 2023 on the horizon

By Tamae Ninos and Josh Archer

A summary of the year and more student achievements

2022 Sport Season Completed
It has been a year of many highlights and success across our girls' and boys' sporting teams.

The building of our new Arts and Sports Precinct has been an interruption, yet one of great positivity as we look forward to having a wonderful new facility for our students to train and compete in. Thank you everyone for their flexibility and planning to ensure the transition to off-site matches and trainings was as seamless as possible.

On behalf of the Sports Faculty we would like to extend a massive thank you to all coaches and staff for the time and effort you put into ensuring the girls and boy were well looked after, and to the parents/families for consistently ensuring your child was organised for their trainings and matches each week. We also greatly appreciate the extra support we receive on match days where assistance is given in jobs such as scoring, timing, linesperson, goal umpire or even bringing a halftime snack for the team!

We're now in the process of sorting through all the 2023 summer nominations and sending them through to our association so they can begin to create fixtures for Term 1 next year.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if there are any questions or concerns you have about the 2023 sport season. We are thoroughly looking forward to Term 1 sport commencing again next year!

Thank you 2022 Sport Leaders, Executives and House Captains
A big thanks to our 2022 Sport Leaders and Executives for the dedication and hard work you've put in this year during your tenures. Thank you Zoe Kroeger, Jordan Lewis, Lara Fox, and Patrick Case.

We would also like to extend our thanks to our 2022 House Captains: Molly Charlton, Emerson MacDougall, Lauren Williss, Olivia Connelly, Tayla Willoughby, Hayden Howard, Grace Kemish and Jack Kirkwood for all your work and efforts throughout the year and being supportive to the Sport Leaders and Executives.

We wish you all the best in your future endeavours and hopefully we will see your faces in our community within the Sport Programme coaching or assisting with a team in the near future.

2023 Sport Leaders & Executives                                        

We are pleased to announce the appointment of our Sport Leaders and Sport Executives for 2023:

• Sport Leader – Layla Kinnane
• Sport Leader – Joseph Ianniello
• Sport Executive – Sophia McArthur
• Sport Executive – Olivier Pike

Congratulations to these students for the courage and time you took to go through the process. The sport department is excited to be working with such an inspiring and committed group in 2023!

2023 House Captains
We are honoured to announe our House Captains for 2023:

• Barry House – Mia Tuhou-King and Samantha Chan
• Dalton House – Eleana Perre and Ashlee An
• Fitzpatrick House – Michaela Scardigno and Will Goss
• McAuley House – Lucia Fiocchini and Paris Young

House Captains will work closely with the Sports Leaders and Executives throughout 2023 and we wish these students well in their upcoming leadership roles at the College.

2022 Australian All Schools Athletics Championships
Congratulations to the students representing South Australia at the 2022 Australian All Schools Athletics Championships, 9 to 11 December.

• Ava Barton (Year 8) – U/15 Pole Vault
• Oliver Dixon (Year 8) – U/15 100m Hurdles
• Christian Whitwell (Year 9) – U/16 Shotput
• Noah Chlanda (Year 11) – U/17 2000m Steeplechase
• Layla Kinnane (Year 11) – U/18 100m, 200m
• Eamon Sibly (Year 11) – U/18 Long Jump & Triple Jump

These students will be competing against the best school aged competitors from around Australia. To have six Mercedes College students representing the state is a massive achievement and we as a College community are very proud and wish them all the best!

Student Achievements
Congratulations to Zara Downes (Year 8) who has been selected in the SACA Under 14 Cricket Academy. These championships are coordinated by Cricket Australia and School Sports Australia and involvement is an integral part of the Cricket Australia player pathway programme. A number of current Australian cricketers developed from this programme, which involves a 12-month weekly training program and a four game SA U14 state challenge round. Congratulations Zara and we wish you all the best with your Cricket endeavours.

Zara has also been invited by The Port Adelaide Football Club to join the AFLW Next Generation Academy U15 Female Talent Squad Programme for 2022-23. Training begins in early January and throughout the programme players hear from Port Adelaide Coaches and members of the High Performance team to provide advice and help squad members understand the hard work and character required to play in the AFL. During this programme players participate in fitness training, nutrition, mindset and resilience training. Congratulations Zara!

Congratulations also to Georgia Emes (Year 8) who has been invited by the Adelaide Football Club to join the AFLW Next Generation Academy U15 Female Talent Squad Programme for 2022-23. Back in October, Georgia represented the West Adelaide Football Club in a three day tournament in the October school holidays, where recruiters came to watch the last game of the tournament and selected their squad. Georgia begins training this week with the Crows until Christmas and will recommence in January. We wish Georgia all the best and we look forward to watching her develop in her Football career.

Congratulations to Grace Morton (Year 8) who was been selected in the South Australian School Sport Nationals Swimming Team that competed in August in Brisbane. Congratulations Grace on an incredible achievement. Grace also qualified to compete in the National Age Championships in April in Gold Coast. Grace will be competing in 50m, 100m and 200m Backstroke and is striving to qualify for 50m, 100m and 200m Freestyle in the coming months. We wish Grace the best of luck!

Tamae Ninos and Josh Archer
Sports Coordinators

ARTStanding

Amazing Arts

By

Singin' and dancin' and ceramics in the Rain

Term 4 saw the culmination of our 2022 Year 8 Arts Experience.

Whether students were involved in acting, singing, making props and sets, learning marketing basics, sewing costumes, running behind the scenes, or contributing to the ceramics exhibition in the foyer, we can confidently say that all of our Year 8 students contributed to a very memorable event.

Over three performances we saw the energy and commitment of this cohort come together as the musical Singin' in the Rain Jr, which was an evening sell out! This year we also invited residents from Resthaven Westbourne Park, who took the time to let us know how friendly and helpful our students were at the Goodwood Theatre, and how much they enjoyed the show. We look forward to seeing more local residents enjoy this experience in coming years.

All of the guests at the theatre for the musical also enjoyed the display of the ceramic Theatre of Monsters, a display of characters quirky, creepy and cute worthy of their own show.

Congratulations to all of our students for their commitment and passion to this big project, and thank you to our families and supporters for helping make all of this possible.

We look forward to next year's experience with a whole new cohort of talented students.

Natalie Goodair
Director / Drama and Arts Teacher

Sandy Lee
Key Drama Teacher

Wellbeing

Transitioning into the new year

By

Helping your child be ready for 2023

We close another academic year having undertaken extensive planning and preparation for students to transition to 2023 and celebrated student achievements large and small across a variety of experiences. We are finishing well.

We have assisted students and parents with transition planning and Home Group Teachers, Year Level Leaders, and Heads of Schools with class lists in consultation with specialist staff. Much planning occurred for a successful Orientation Day, and we will continue to work with staff to familiarise them with the particular needs of the diverse learners in their 2023 classes.

The prospect of leaving behind the familiar and beginning something new can bring many mixed emotions, which is normal and expected. Change, while inevitable, takes us all out of our comfort zone and although the alternative is sometimes interpreted as the “danger zone”, it can be better described as a “stretch zone”, where new experiences and opportunities can be explored and new skills, knowledge and connections gained. This way we expand our comfort zone and our coping capacity, resilience and wellbeing build and enables us to flourish. We live our Vision.

Preparing for the new school year provides a perfect opportunity for all of our students to step out of their comfort zones and into the “stretch zone”. Nothing that students will hear, see or experience through the transition process will place them within the “danger zone”. Student safety is never compromised and adult support through a home and school partnership is ever present during this time.

It is important that we understand children’s discomfort or upset as a normal response to change, and not risk potentially reinforcing their perception that they have something to be fearful about. If parents observe these reactions over the holiday break, encourage exploration of the triggers and support them to sit with their feelings for a time, before working on ways to manage the feelings and build problem solving, then persistence, coping and ultimately flourishing will occur.

The SchoolTV module on School Transitions, is a valuable source of information, tips and resources for students from Reception to Year 12.

We also commend the headspace resource Stay healthy over the holidays as a practical guide for young people to support their wellbeing. This includes contact details for seeking support, including in emergencies.

We thank all of the students and families we have worked with throughout 2022 for affording us this privilege and wish all Mercedes College families a joyous and blessed Christmas and a restful start to the New Year.

Anne Way
Director of Wellbeing                                         
College Psychologist R-12

Andrea Fairlie
College Psychologist R-12