The Hedge

Week 1, Term 2 | Thursday 1 May 2025 Welcome back! Here's our weekly snippet of what’s happening ‘behind the hedge’ as we start Term 2...

Welcome to Term 2

Welcome to a new Term and a new series of The Hedge!

It was wonderful to see many families stay on for our community prayer on Monday morning, where we reflected on three significant events that occurred during the break: Easter, ANZAC Day, and the passing of Pope Francis.

Looking ahead, we have an exciting calendar of activities and events, in addition to the great learning opportunities for our students. Click here for a downloadable calendar of key events for your diary or refrigerator!

Molly’s Shooting for the Stars

We are thrilled to celebrate Mercedes College Open A Netball Captain Molly (Year 12, Dalton), who was on South Australia’s Netball U17 Team which won the National tournament in Sydney recently.

To add to the excitement of the win, Molly was also selected for the Australian U17 National Team!

In July, Molly will spend a week at the Australian Institute of Sport with the National squad, and we look forward to the learnings she’ll bring back to her team, just in time for Intercol.

With the netball season starting this weekend, we can’t wait to see Molly in action on the court. Our Netball Coach, Cassie Lange was also delighted with Molly's achievement!

Wild Times

Our Year 10 students are halfway through their camps and already making the most of their time in the wilderness.

With a choice of surfing off the Yorke Peninsula, fishing around Rapid Bay, or kayaking, rock climbing and hiking on the Fleurieu Peninsula, our students will build further independence and life skills, including preparing and cooking all their meals.

In these smaller activity groups, their social networks will broaden as they make new connections that will build during their time in the Senior School.

Riding a wave, hauling in a fish, or abseiling a cliff face will provide great memories for years to come.

En route pour la France !

In 2026, Mercedes College will be taking French language students on an optional immersive three-week tour of France. Students currently studying French in Year 9 or Year 10 and their families, are invited to join an information session to hear about this opportunity, learn abut the full itinerary, and payment options.

The Tour will start and end in France's capital, Paris, with visits to its iconic monuments, and will also take in the history of Joan of Arc in Rouen, enjoy the landscapes of the Loire Valley, explore the Chateau de Versailles, and more.

Families eligible to consider this trip should register for the information session now.

Outstanding Athletes

Mercedes College has a great history in athletics, and this continued at the Statewide schools Athletics Carnival in the last week of Term 1, where we were represented by students in 117 events.

All our athletes should be proud of their achievements, with Mercedes College bringing home 36 podium finishes, including 11 firsts – special congratulations to Ava (Year 11, Dalton), Leonardo (Year 10, Dalton), Maggie (Year 9, Fitzpatrick), Sam (Year 10, Fitzpatrick), Sophia (Year 10, Barry), and Tom (Year 9, McAuley) on your blue ribbons!

Help Shape Our Masterplan

As part of our Strategic Planning process, the College is undertaking the next stage of its Masterplan, which involves reviewing our College Campus and facilities. Working closely with our Leadership Team, our architects JPE are conducting a brief survey which is being shared with students, staff and families. We'd love to hear your ideas!

The survey only takes 3-5 minutes to complete and will be a great help in shaping the next phase of Mercedes College. Please share your thoughts with us by next Friday 9 May.

All About Shirts

As part of our ongoing uniform review process, we are phasing out the pinstripe on our shirts, with students in Middle and Senior School changing to plain white shirts from 2026. Our Junior School students will be wearing the white shirts from 2027 (Years 3-5).

There are two cuts of new white shirts, suited to boys and girls, and both options are available to all students. The girls’ shirts also come in two weights of material, to suit personal preference.

As well as crisping up our uniform shirts to the plain white, we ask all students to wear their shirts tucked in during the winter uniform period (Terms 2 and 3).

We launched our updated Uniform Policy last Term, and there has been a noticable difference in student presentation, and the white shirt is part of that process.

Being part of Mercedes College, taking pride in appearance, and adhering to our Uniform Policy is important to support brand pride and it's wonderful to see so many students being more aware of their personal presentation.

It's Time to Play

Next Thursday 8 May, we welcome parents and their little ones to our Mercedes College Playgroup

Families, staff, friends and their pre-school aged children are all welcome to join the fun on Thursdays, 9.00am until 10.30am in our OSHC room behind our Junior School classrooms. We'll have a coffee ready for you, and a warm environment for little ones to play and families to get to know each other, and enjoy our Mercedes College community.

Getting Engaged

Our Term 2 Parent Engagement Group (PEG) Meeting will be held on Monday 19 May at 2.20pm in the Staff Room. We will also stream the meeting online for those interested parents who aren’t able to attend in person.

This Term, meet our Director of Performing Arts, Jayan Mace, and hear her vision for our students in music, drama, and dance. She’ll also give some insight into our second College Musical, Grease.

Mindful Creativity

Parents and friends are invited to join our 'sculpt and sip' event, Modern Icons, hosted by our Director of Visual Arts, Jane Finnimore.

Over two sessions, you will shape, decorate, and detail your very own clay masterpiece for yourself, as well as contributing to a College mural which our Visual Arts Team are planning for Term 3.

We'll provide all the materials, plus some wine to enjoy while you craft! Grab a few friends from your year level, come along, learn the art of clay modelling, patterning and glazing and enjoy a few hours of creative connections!

The first session will be on Wednesday 21 May (Week 4), then return on Wednesday 4 June (Week 6) to complete your work.

Buy your tickets now and leave your mark on Mercedes College with your unique Modern Icon.

Winter Sport is Underway

This week marks the beginning of the winter school sports season and we'll be hosting netball and basketball games in our Yitpi Centre and outdoor courts across the weekend. With a cool, cloudy day forecast, spectators will be happy to hear that we'll have coffee available on site, just look for George and his van if you need a warm brew.

Please also remember to check Stack Team App regularly, as this is the most up-to-date platform to learn about games, cancellations, venues and timings.

Coffee will be available at all Mercedes College home games this winter to keep our netball, basketball, and soccer spectators cheering... Go Camels!

New Café Specials

The Mercedes College Café changes its specials with the seasons and this Term, there are some delicious hot meals available for lunch.

Pulled pork sliders with apple chutney and house slaw, and lamb rogan josh with steamed basmati rice will be served up, and we also have honey soy and ginger Asian vegetable stir-fry with coconut rice, or Mexican bean chilli with avocado salsa and light sour cream served over corn chips as vegetarian options.

Read the full menu here, and remember that hot food availability can only be guaranteed by placing an order.

How Your Vote Can Benefit Catholic Schools

This Saturday 3 May, Australia heads to the polls for the Federal Election and Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) encourages our community to consider how your vote will benefit our Catholic school network.

The National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) is focussed on the following priorities:

Ensuring affordability and choice in Catholic education
Addressing hardship, wellbeing and disadvantage
Building and innovating for the future.

CESA asked the Australian Labor Party, Liberal National Coalition, and the Australian Greens to provide their response to these priorities, and have made their responses available on the NCEC website so that you can take this into consideration when choosing how you vote.

Coming up...

Friday 2 to Sunday 4 May | Generations in Jazz, Mt Gambier
Saturday 3 May | Federal Election voting day | Sisters of Mercy SA Foundation Day
Tuesday 6 May | SAPSASA Years 5/6 Netball Carnival | Years 6-11 Learning Reviews (night 1) | early dismissal Years 6-12 only (1.00pm) | Debating SA Competition
Wednesday 7 May | Whole-of-College Mass
Thursday 8 May | Year 10 STEP 1 Caving excursion | World Peace Games commence
Friday 9 May | Year 5/6 MTB Championship | Mother's Day Lunch
Monday 12 to Sunday 18 May | Catholic Education Week
Monday 12 May | Year 10 Outdoor Education Bushwalking excursion | Years 6-11 Learning Reviews (night 2)
Tuesday 13 May | SAPSASA Year 4-6 Cross Country Carnival | French Tour Information Session
Wednesday 14 May | Modern Icons 'sculpt and sip' clay workshop 1
Monday 19 May | Year 10 STEP 3 Caving excursion | Paul Dillon Senior School presentations | Term 2 PEG Meeting (2.20pm)
Tuesday 20 to Friday 23 May | Year 9 Camp | Stage 2 Outdoor Education Kayaking Camp

More upcoming activities can be found on the College Calendar.