On the 7th December 2020, all of Year 7 had a Reflection Day, we all played many games and because of Miss Gange and the teachers, we all had a wonderful time. One of our favourite activities that we did was writing a letter to our future Year 12 self and also playing two games of bingo. Ms Stojanovski taught Year 7 the happy dance, which everyone loved to dance to, we also did a prayer and we reflected on our morning. We all wore crazy socks to raise money for Catholic Mission. Lastly, we played Miss Gange’s famous game called “Getting to know you…” where we found out new information about our teachers and students in our Year that we hadn’t talked to. Everyone had an amazing and fun time with each other.
Olivia O 7F
On the 7th of December 2020, Year 7 had our first Reflection Day. Our theme for the day was ‘Have courage, and be kind’. We learnt ways to be courageous, by interacting with people that we wouldn’t normally talk to, and to do this, we played games such as ‘Getting to know you’, finding a partner and learning something about them. We did activities and games that would help with our communion skills including, Silent Charades, Sinking Ship and the quiet line up game. Going along with our theme, we were also asked to wear crazy socks, bring along a gold coin donation to raise money for Catholic Mission’s Socktober (even in December). We also listened to a story about growing up, and we wrote letters to ourselves that will be opened in Year 12. We meditated and reflected on our time in Year 7, and we look forward to our future as Mercy girls.
Some of our personal favourites from our reflection day were the activities that we had to do that involved us meeting someone new, and communicating with our peers because we got to make new friends and connect with each other as a Year group. We also particularly liked writing letters to our Year 12 selves as we are able to set goals and achievements for ourselves that we can aim to achieve, and when we open them, we can reflect on our time at Mercy College
Gaby P and Rhiannon T 7F
Wow, starting Year 7 seems like a long time ago, the fun we have had this year is incredible, the information we have learnt, and the things we have done has been very fun. In Year 7 I have learnt a variety of things including how to use my locker and how to read a timetable. I have also learnt a lot of new things in all subjects. In Term 1 and 2, my class did art, we learnt how to use Photoshop and how to make a clay bird. In the end of Term 1 and the middle of Term 2, we had to do Home-Based Learning. All our classes were online and we couldn’t do face-to-face learning; this to me had a huge impact on the way I learnt. We ended up going back into school by the end of week 5 of Term 2. Home-Based Learning was not what I was expecting to do in Year 7.
Some other things I learnt this year i Religion in general. Overall in Religion, I have learnt a lot. One of my favourite parts of the year is making new friends. These friendships I have developed this year have been one of my highlights for the year. My Big Sister has also been one of my favourite things this year. My Big Sister is very kind and always checks up on me and how I am going in school. Some of my highlights this year have been my first Mercy Week, doing different subjects than what I did in primary school, making chocolate moulds in tech and the excursion to the rocks in Term 1 before COVID. Overall Year 7 has been very enjoyable and I hope the rest of my time at Mercy Catholic College is going to be as good as this year.
Catrin B 7F
This year was quite the handful, not only did we move schools, we also had HBL due to COVID. When we eventually came back to normal school we started to find our places, we formed friendship groups and quickly found our favourite subjects and activities. Mercy has given us all a community where we are welcomed and accepted, I am very excited to spend the next 5 years of my life in this wonderful school. My favourite parts about Year 7 were the Year 7 Camp, Mercy Week and making chocolate moulds in Tech. The Year 7 Camp is an extremely fun experience with activities such as, water sliding, flying fox, drumming, orienteering etc. Mercy week is a fun week full of activities stalls and also reflection. Finally in Tech class at the end of the year we made chocolate moulds with which we made our very own chocolates. Overall 2020 was a fun and unusual year.
Juliet J 7F
This year is our first year of studying at Mercy Catholic College, and many unforgettable events have happened. Firstly, this year has been a bit tough and different as we had a period of Home-Based Learning to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This was hard not only to the students but also to all of our teachers because many of our lesson syllabus needed to be changed as we were not at school. Fortunately, we still had a lot of fun when participating in different school activities and the most unforgettable day to me is the History excursion in Term 1. In this excursion, we went to the Rocks to have some deep study about the Indigenous people and the events that happened when Captain Arthur Phillip arrived in Australia. This is the most remarkable event in the history of Australia and us as an Australian we must know all the details about it. We also heard some stories and traditions of the Dreamtime.
Julia L 7F
On the 29th of January was the first time around 130 new people walked through the gates of Mercy Catholic College. It was a new year, a fresh start, with new experiences waiting for us and new friendships to be made. Some memorable experiences that we both personally enjoyed include our first-ever camp at Mercy, our class’ first excursion which was at The Rocks and the Reflection Day.
Year 7 camp was an amazing experience for new undiscovered friendships to be made. The camp helped us Year 7’s make new friends. When people were sorted into their groups, not everyone was sorted with their friends. This forced people to communicate and talk to one another. Some activities we did on camp included canoeing, archery, scavenger hunts and water slides, and at night, we watched the movie Abominable. The activities were an enjoyable experience as you needed to use your social skills to work through them. At the end of the day, we got sorted into our cabins for the night. By the end of the camp, we had spoken to everyone and had met at least 3 or 4 new people that we are close friends with today.
On the 7/12/2020 we had our first ever Reflection Day. Many fun games and stories were told and played throughout this day, reflecting on what we had learned through our first ever semesters at this school. We would like to send a special thanks to Ms McDonald and Ms Gange for organising this day for us, it wouldn’t be the same without you guys. This Reflection Day pushed us to talk with other girls who we might have never talked to. Some of us got to know new people and leart new names. This year was a fun experience for all Year 7s and, we have a lot of memories from this day
Ariella R and Esha S
YEAR 10 SEMINAR ON PERSONAL SAFETY
Last Friday, Year 10 had a guest speaker, Brent Sanders deliver the Back Off seminar to us. Brent had worked in the Police Force for many years and has written books on self-protection. He now delivers seminars in schools and universities on strategies to stay safe as young adults. He used a mix of humour and real-life experiences to discuss and educate us on topics such as consent, personal safety, conflict psychology, decision making and life skills. Brent gave us tips and tricks on how to stay safe and get out of dangerous situations all while still going out and having fun. His main point wasn’t to scare us into never leaving the house or to never trust anyone but to be able to look after ourselves on the occasion we would find ourselves in a dangerous situation.
He taught us different techniques to use when in a dangerous situation when we are vulnerable, using a psychology trick that the police use in weapon situations to trick the other person to thinking they are in control and using that to your advantage to get back to safety. He then went on and taught us a series of self-defence moves which went ‘eyes, nose, throat, and groin’.
Year 10 would like to thank Mrs Cunningham and Mercy for organising this opportunity for the valuable skills and knowledge we gained throughout the day.
Mackenzie W
