The Hedge

Coming Together with Mercy

Last week, nine of our Year 10 Student Leaders joined students from St Francis de Sales (SFDSC) and St Aloysius Colleges (SAC) in the city, where they connected with students from 25 Mercy schools from across Australia and New Zealand online.

Holding the Australasian Mercy Secondary School Association (AMSSA) Conference online, gave our local Mercy schools the opportunity to connect with other students to discuss living, breathing, and actioning Mercy.

With guidance from online conversations and a presentation from a Mercy Sister about living Mercy daily, students put down goals to bring back to the College for consideration by other Student Leaders.

Mercedes College will host students from SFDSC and SAC for the Term 2 meeting of the AMSSA Conference, as they connect again with Mercy schools for further reflection and discussion that will continue to deepen our Mercy work.

Fun on the Farm

Last week, our Year 7s had a true adventure at their Camp at Narnu Farm on Hindmarsh Island. Across three days and two nights, students took up challenges like putting up a waterproof shelter, building functional rafts and learning the foundations of surfing. They also enjoyed mountain bike rides through the wilderness, archery, group puzzles, trust games and interacting with local farm animals.

It was a great way to build on their problem solving and communication skills, push their comfort zones and strengthen their bonds as a cohort.

Year of the Horse

Year 10 student Chloe (Barry) recently spoke with China Today about the Lunar Year of the Horse – a year symbolising strength, energy, independence and rapid progress.

A member of our International Student Programme (ISP), Chloe was well placed to discuss the topic as she is also a keen horse rider.

Recently, Chloe represented Mercedes College at the South Australian State Championships, performing exceptionally well and securing fifth place in the combined training at 65cm.

Congratulations Chloe – we look forward to seeing more of your success in this Year of the Horse!

Photos: Manning Photography

Kicking Goals

This week, our Reception students took to the Main Oval to try their hand at Aussie Rules Footy, thanks to Auskick!

Students learned foundation skills – how to hold the ball, kick, handball – some even showed their skills at bouncing!

This year’s Auskick season runs from 4 May to 17 August, on Monday afternoons. Families interested in registering their child for Auskick workshops can do so by registering here.

Service Learning at Brownhill Creek

As part of their learning, our Year 4 cohort will regularly visit Brownhill Creek this year to assist with maintaining the biodiversity and health of the region.

Last week, they had their introductory session with Jeremy from Green Adelaide, who led them through the history of Brownhill Creek, types of native plants in the area and ways to contribute to the conservation of the environment. Students even spotted a cuddly local koala!

Holiday Fun

There’s still time to book your child into Vacation Care for the upcoming Autumn school holidays.

Whether hopping on a bus to an adventure off Campus, or welcoming guests for incursion, there’s always lots of hands-on activities, energy-burning play and quiet opportunities for downtime on offer.

Check out the programme now, and book your place!

Caritas Day is Coming!

Next Friday 10 April, we will be celebrating Caritas Day and raising funds for Project Compassion.

Some reminders for all families:

• Students (and staff) are invited to wear ‘white & denim’ in a show of unity – please also bring a gold coin donation
• Sausage Sizzles will be available for students for lunch on the day:
  • Junior School families need to pre-order sausages through Qkr! before 3.00pm Wednesday 8 April
  • Middle and Senior School students can purchase their sausages on the day
• Students selling homemade treats are reminded that we are a nut aware school, so please don’t use any nut-related products
• Please have cash available to support our students’ fundraising efforts, as there will be no EFTPOS facilities available

Caritas Day is the last day of Term 1, with a regular dismissal time of 3.20pm.

School Holiday Coaching Clinics

Get your children active these holidays with a choice of Coaching Clinics being led on Campus by some of our Sporting Directors.

Tennis | Monday 13 and Tuesday 14 April
with Joshua Boots, Mercedes College Director of Tennis
A fun mixture of match play and technical tips for Primary aged students
Participate for one or both days
$60 per day
Click here to register

Basketball | Thursday 23 April
with Lawrence Verbi, Mercedes College Director of Basketball
A high performance session for athletes aged 10-18 years
Bring a friend from another school and you both get $10 off with code MERCEDESFRIEND10
$50
Click here to register

Soccer | Wednesday 15 April
with newly appointed Director of Soccer, Steven DeGiovanniello
A fun ‘World Cup’ morning for students from Reception to Year 6
$45
Click here to register

Team Machine

This week our Year 10 STEP students participated in the Team Machine experience at Kart Mania, the culmination of their unit on preparing to become drivers.

Having explored ways to assess a vehicle before purchase, conduct basic essential car maintenance, and learned about the importance of focus and road awareness, their time on the track gave them the opportunity to develop confidence in managing a vehicle while fostering a healthy respect for the responsibilities associated with being behind the wheel.