A weekly snippet of what’s happening ‘behind the hedge’ at Mercedes College…
Last Friday, our families, staff and Year 9 to Year 11 students came together to acknowledge the efforts and achievements of this year’s graduating class at their official Graduation Ceremony.
With outstanding live performances by students Archie (McAuley), Pallas (McAuley), Eleanor (Barry), Beatrix (McAuley), and Patrick (Dalton), and a heartwarming reflection from international student Joanna (Dalton), the morning celebrated our Year 12’s memories, successes and aspirations for the future.
Now officially Old Scholars, graduates were also welcomed into the Mercedes Old Scholars’ Association (MOSA) by President Nick Pipinias (Class of 1995, McAuley). We also presented special awards for Leadership, Excellence in the Arts, Sport, and VET studies, as well as handing out six Mercy Keys – each representing the values that underpin a Mercedes College education. The pinnacle award – the Principal’s Mercy Award was the final accolade, given to a student who demonstrates all six of our Mercy Keys.
Congratulations to the Class of 2026 – as you all sang, Everybody Wants to Rule the World to close out the ceremony … we think you all stand a good chance of doing just that!
Each term, our students take part in different activities (Sport, The Arts, Academia, Social Justice) to earn points for their House.
Points determine House winners for each activity and ultimately contribute to an overall House winner.
This year, after collating points won from Term 4, 2025 to Term 3, 2026 – we can confirm that the 2026 Champions are McAuley!
The Perpetual House Cup, adorned in McAuley green, will be on display in the Yitpi Centre until next year, when the 2027 House Champion is announced.
Our College has had a fantastic year of Debating, with 12 teams across the Primary and Secondary Competitions taking part in a State-wide competition.
Our Blue Year 8 team made it through to the Grand Final and were Runners Up to Glenunga International High School. It was a challenging topic to debate – as our team argued in the negative that ‘we should embrace the Swedish practice of Döstädning (death cleaning)”.
It was an outstanding season, with teams across all year levels taking on interesting topics ranging from the value of homework, the workload imbalance between Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, how organ donation should be managed in Australia and the rights of the Great Apes.
Many thanks to our volunteer mentors who helped prepare our teams and practise their debating skills – we look forward to another strong Debating year in 2027.
We are delighted to welcome Mark Valenzuela, acclaimed Adelaide-based artist and ceramicist, to Mercedes College as our Artist in Residence for the next six weeks.
Mark was the 2022 SALA Festival Feature Artist, a prestigious recognition celebrating his outstanding contribution to South Australian contemporary art. With a career spanning more than two decades, his work has been exhibited at the Art Gallery of South Australia and in major exhibitions both nationally and internationally. His distinctive artistic practice brings together ceramics, sculpture, painting and installation, drawing on his Filipino-Australian background and exploring powerful ideas of identity, culture and place.
Over the coming weeks, our Year 10 students will work alongside Mark on a ceramic project, giving them a valuable insight into the world of contemporary art, encouraging them to experiment and take creative risks.
Late last term, our Year 10 Indonesian students were privileged to spend a day at Flinders University immersed in Indonesian studies and culture with Lecturer Pak Tom Power.
A language lesson provided insight into how Indonesian is studied outside of high school, then students were given lessons in gamelan, the traditional ensemble music of Java and Bali, played inside a traditional open-sided Javanese pavilion known as a pendopo.
Gamelan relies on each performer listening closely to each other’s bronze instruments and our students did a wonderful job finding the rhythm together in this unique experience.
Finishing the day with a tour of the Flinders Uni campus, students came away with a good sense of university life and pathways available for continuing their studies of Indonesian after they graduate.
Each year, our community supports the Brother Michael Christmas Hamper Appeal, donating non-perishable goods which help make up 200 hampers, which are distributed to people in need over the festive season.
Our Social Justice Leaders have embraced this initiative and created a way for College Houses to be acknowledged for their contributions to this annual appeal.
From today (Thursday 22 October) until Tuesday 3 November (Week 4), collections by House group can be delivered to Strathspey Reception, the Carmel Bourke Library and the Senior Study, with donations attracting different points which will go to each House.
The House points accumulated will determine the Term 4 Social Justice House Winner and kick off the race to be the 2027 Overall House Winner.
Earlier this year, our Year 7 cohort took inspiration from their Reflection Day and committed to raising funds in support of educational opportunities for girls and women in Afghanistan.
This commitment presented itself as a lunchtime of “Mercy Moments”, with treats, games, activities and handmade products available for sale, with all funds raised going to The Empowerment Network – Circle 132 of the Circle of Friends, who are supporting these schools through the provision of teachers, supplies and safety measures.
Just $200 supports one class of 10 girls for a month, and our Year 7s’ Mercy Moments raised more than $2,400 – supporting a class of 10 girls for over a whole year!
Well done to our Year 7 students for this initiative and our community for their generosity and support of this project, which will make a tangible difference for Circle 132, who gratefully accepted this donation at our House Assembly earlier this week.
Our community is invited to explore the creative works of our talented SACE Visual Art, Design and Media students next week.
Located in the Coolock Atrium and inside Gleeson Theatre, the students’ work will take visitors on a creative journey, showcasing work from a wide range of themes, mediums and presentation styles.
Opening Night
Friday 30 October
4.00pm – 6.00pm
Coolock Atrium and Gleeson Theatre
Refreshments provided
RSVP here
The Exhibition will remain up until Wednesday 4 November, giving everyone an opportunity to view these special pieces of work, which represent the culmination of our students’ Art and Design studies at Mercedes College.
Our Year 9 students recently participated in a Reflection Day, exploring connection, friendship and healthy relationships.
Students worked in gender split groups for the day, creating space for meaningful conversations around respect, communication and their relationships with others.
It was a valuable opportunity to pause, reflect and consider how the choices we make can strengthen our connections with those around us.
Through the co-curricular Adelaide University STEM Girls Academy Programme, nine students from Year 9 to Year 11 have been working with university academics and industry partners, using design thinking to address real-world STEM problems.
Now, these girls have been accepted into Mission Sprouts, a national space science experiment led by Australian astronaut and 2026 Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg.
Our students have received seeds that have travelled to the International Space Station, and will grow and compare these ‘space-flown’ seeds with Earth-based control seeds. They will be participating in an authentic scientific investigation alongside other students around the country – only one in every seven schools were accepted, so we’re delighted that our students were chosen!
We’ll keep an eye on their work and look forward to sharing more about their Mission Sprouts experience!
We recently launched our 2027 Co-Curricular Extension Activities (CEAs) on Clipboard.
We have three main streams – Sports, Performing Arts and Clubs & Societies.
We are calling for nominations for Term 1 2027.
All Sport nominations are due on Friday 30 October. These are for Summer Sports in Term 1. If students are currently playing these sports in Term 4, they need to re-nominate for Term 1.
All of our Performing Arts, Clubs & Societies nominations are due on Friday 4 December.
All nominations need to be done through Clipboard.
CEAs are a great way to meet new students, follow a passion or learn a new skill – so we encourage all students to have a look and dive into something new in 2027!
More upcoming activities can be found on the College Calendar.
