A weekly snippet of what’s happening ‘behind the hedge’ at Mercedes College…
Last week, our College celebrated the ever-popular annual Book Week and this year’s theme: a Symphony of Stories.
Students from Reception to Year 6 enjoyed pyjama day, visits from special guest readers and shared their favourite books with friends, but it was Friday’s Parade when everything came to life!
Our students did not disappoint… turning fictional characters and non-fictional tales into walking, talking celebrations of literature, all shown off to high-energy songs for family and friends to enjoy.
Our younger students then did a Parade around our Campus to the cheers and applause of our older students and staff, who also outdid themselves when it came to their Book Week costumes.
It was a wonderful week of books, storytelling, costumes… and more books!
With R U OK? Day just around the corner, our College Captains have rallied the College community to put Wellbeing front and centre of every day this week.
Starting with community prayer on Monday morning, our Captains and Student Counsellors Jesse McGowan, Treesa Parrish and Emma Papps, spoke about the importance of looking out for one another and the many ways students can find support when they need it.
Each day this week has had a Wellbeing theme, including Connection through one-on-one conversations and lunchtime games, Belonging and Inclusion, through Silly Sock Day and donations for the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation, sharing moments of Gratitude with our community, and committing to random acts of Kindness.
Tomorrow, Wellness Week will conclude with discussion about Seeking Help and Hope, with guest speakers and a special lunchtime surprise.
Thank you to everyone for getting behind this week – a great initiative from our College Captains and Wellbeing Team.
Throughout this year, Year 10 Delegates from Mercedes College have been joining peers from fellow Mercy Schools, St Aloysius and St Francis de Sales Colleges, to join the virtual annual conference of the Australasian Mercy Secondary Schools Association. Last week our students completed their final session.
Continuing their exploration of their Mercy leadership identities and State-based Mercy Leadership Projects, our student delegates heard the story of Mercy school alumni Madeleine Kelly, who graduated from St Aloysius College in 2017 and took her talents to Tanzania, where she worked more than five years at The School of St Jude’s.
In 2021, Maddie was entrusted with writing The School that Hope Built, telling the story of St Jude’s and the people whose lives have helped shaped it.
It was a wonderful final Keynote address to inspire our students to bring their reflections and learnings back to Mercedes College.
We love highlighting student successes throughout the year, and this week we have much to celebrate!
In Primary AFL, our Year 5/6 Boys’ Football Team remained undefeated all season – a brilliant achievement. Their coaching team, led by Year 11 students Archie L (Barry) and Archie B (Dalton) was especially proud of the way they represented our College, both on and off the field. Bravo Boys!
Last night, our Middle Girls’ Soccer Team were unlucky to miss out on a back-to-back Premiership, falling to Wilderness School 2–0 in a hard-fought Grand Final. Their season outcome is a great reward for effort and putting in weeks of personal skills training and development and commitment to each other. Well done girls!
Off the grass, our Chess players have worked hard through a very competitive division this season, with our Secondary Mercedes Gold Team finishing a mere two points short of a third-place podium finish. Commitment across the year to building on strategic skills has been apparent in both our Primary and Secondary squads, and we look forward to continued growth in this area.
Table Tennis has become very popular in recent years, with increased participation reflecting the enthusiasm and commitment of our students. This winter, the growing interest has resulted in outstanding success on the table for our Open C Mixed Table Tennis Team, who also completed their season undefeated! The team’s success, led by Captain Yuki (Year 11, Barry), is a testament to their hard work and determination. Congratulations all!
After a successful launch last year, we are looking forward to another great afternoon of networking at the 2026 Business H-Edge Lunch.
This is a great opportunity to catch up with other parents, Mercureans and Old Scholars over a delicious lunch overlooking the beautiful Adelaide Oval.
We will hear from a Panel of Guest Speakers, who will touch on the theme of Integrity in Leadership.
Grant Stevens
Past Mercedes Parent – SA Police Commissioner
Alf Ianniello
Past Mercedes Parent and Council Chair – CEO, Codan
Jamie Briggs
Current Mercedes Parent – Chair – Adelaide Oval Stadium Management Authority
Please put these details in your diary and we’ll be in touch soon with more information.
Friday 13 November 2026
12.00pm – 3.30pm
Adelaide Oval
This week, two teams of Middle School students committed to the annual Write a Book in a Day challenge, working together to plot, write, illustrate and submit a complete story in a single day.
Adding to the excitement, teams are given a unique setting, character, object and list of words that must all feature somewhere within their tales.
Good luck to both ‘The Plot Thickens Society’ and ‘The Plot Masters Team’ – we look forward to reading your books soon!
Next week, we celebrate the teamwork, stage presence and performance skills of our Year 11 and Year 12 Drama and Theatre students.
Join us in the John McDonald Performing Arts Centre to watch solo performances from Patrick (Dalton) and Archie (McAuley), before our Year 11 students present an adaptation of the iconic play Our Town, written by Thornton Wilder.
Described by acclaimed US Playwright Edward Albee as “the greatest American play ever written”, Our Town explores the everyday lives of the citizens of fictional American town Grover’s Corners from 1901 to 1913. It will showcase our Year 11s’ work in character development, refinement and portrayal, as part of their AT1 development in Performance.
Our performers are supported by our Stage 2 Drama students, who have also taken on the roles of Directors and Costume Designer.
This week, our Year 3 students had a wonderful adventure away from home, spending a night at Narnu Farm on Hindmarsh Island.
The farm is a wonderful environment for hands-on outdoor learning, interactions with farm animals and working on farming routines which sparked our students’ curiosity and grew their confidence as they tried new things, many outside of their comfort zones!
They also played a series of Pioneer games, built shelters, and made hand-packed mud bricks!
Sounds like a great adventure…
In Term 4, our students will swap over to their summer uniforms, so if your child has had a growth spurt in the past months, or you’re just in need of some updated items, please remember to pop into the Uniform Shop in the McAuley Building, or visit our Second-Hand Uniform Shop in Strathspey House.
Monday and Tuesday: 8.00am – 2.00pm
Thursday and Friday: 9.00am – 4.00pm
During the October holidays, the Uniform Shop will be open on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October from 8.00am – 2.00pm.
Volunteer assistance is available during the Term, on Thursdays, 3.00pm – 4.00pm
Please consider donating pre-loved uniform items to the SHUS before the holidays to help other families prepare for Term 4.
Clean uniform items can be dropped to Jenny at Strathspey Reception.
Early this week, our Year 2 students began a new Unit of Inquiry, ‘How the World Works’, with a visit to the National Motor Museum in Birdwood.
Exploring the changes in technology over the years and how this has impacted the way people live, work, and socialise was a perfect way to introduce this topic, with students working in small groups to navigate the different vehicles on display.
It was a great day out!
This week, all of our Year 5 and Year 6 students took part in a Catholic Primary School Touch Football round robin contest.
With the support of many families, as well as a number of Mercedes College secondary students who took up roles as coaches and referees, even our most inexperienced students were quick to embrace the opportunity in this fast-paced day of fun and skills development.
It was a great way to learn more about this ever-growing sport.
Students who have participated in our Winter Sport Programme this year are invited, with their families, to attend our end-of-season presentation evenings, to hear from Team Coaches and for the announcement of our MVPs and Mercy Awards.
These events are the culmination of two Terms of Winter sport – so come along, cheer on your Team and all the other students who took part!
Primary Sport Teams
Year 2 – Year 6 RSVP
Monday 21 September
Gleeson Theatre
3.30pm arrival, presentations 3.40pm – 5.15pm
Secondary Sport Teams
Year 7 – Year 9 RSVP
Monday 21 September
Yitpi Centre
3.30pm arrival, presentations 3.40pm – 5.15pm
Year 10 – Year 12 RSVP
Wednesday 23 September
Gleeson Theatre
3.30pm arrival, presentations 3.40pm – 5.15pm
More upcoming activities can be found on the College Calendar.
