A weekly snippet of what’s happening ‘behind the hedge’ at Mercedes College…
On Thursday morning last week, we welcomed nearly 100 dads and their children for a delicious breakfast ahead of the Father’s Day weekend.
Dads caught up over coffee, croissants and egg and bacon muffins… and the mandatory dad jokes! It was a great opportunity to get our dads together for a good chat, a few photos for the family album, and even a kick of the footy on the Main Oval.
Thanks to our students for serving everyone, and to Chef Lou in our College Cafe for the hearty fare – all topped off with a barista coffee from our College Coffee Cart! The perfect way to start the day.
We hope all our Mercedes Dads, Grandfathers, and father-figures enjoyed their Father’s Day on Sunday – and at least got a sleep-in and didn’t have to mow the lawn!
Last week was ‘Wellbeing Week’, an initiative led by our four College Captains. The week came to an end on Friday with a presentation to our Senior students by Hugh and Leesa from the Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation. This was followed by a visit from JWBeats – two local DJs who bring the tunes and joy to schools around Adelaide. The music pumping across the College certainly put everyone in a good mood to end the week.
Hugh’s presentation talked about 10 steps to positive mental health, which are available for families to download as a booklet. He also highlighted where young people can find support and resources for their wellbeing. The session ended with a cheque presentation to Breakthrough for $550, raised by our community on Silly Sock Tuesday.
This initiative will be a legacy of the Class of 2026, with Wellbeing Week to be included as an annual fixture in Term 3, to ensure that student and staff Wellbeing remains at the heart of our College life.
In response to the devastating flash floods that have impacted Nepal, Archbishop of Adelaide, Patrick O’Regan, has appealed to the Catholic community to offer support through Caritas Australia.
Last week, as part of their Unit of Inquiry ‘Where we are in place and time’, our Year 1 students were transported back to the 1800s to experience a day of school like no other.
Learning that their personal grooming would be checked alongside their handwriting and arithmetic, revealed some fingernails that needed a good scrub after lunch. Students also explored sewing, hoops, elastics and coits, all while doing their best to avoid wearing the Dunce cap in the corner. Yes, it was a thing back in the day!
It was a fantastic day of learning for our Year 1 students – who generally agreed that College life in 2026 is much more enjoyable!
It was all about the waves for our Year 10 Outdoor Education students last week, who spent time off Middleton Point, honing their surfing skills in picturesque conditions.
Under the guidance of Surf Coaching Australia, students took to the waves to master the balance, timing, strength and agility needed to stay upright on their boards.
There were many cheers when they managed to stay ‘on board’ but also many laughs with a few wipeouts!
Another great learning experience outside the classroom for our Outdoor Ed students.
Last week was a busy time on Campus, with additional lunchtime activities inspired by recent Religious Education sessions.
Two SACE Stage 2 Spiritualities, Religion and Meaning classes prepared and presented a Bake Sale on Wednesday, raising funds for Mercy Works Australia, whilst our Year 7 cohort were moved at their recent Reflection Day to design a ‘Mercy Movement’ activity, hosting a range of food, craft and activity stalls on Friday in support of Afghan Schools for Girls.
Both of these initiatives are great examples of how our students embrace the spirit of Mercy. A special shout out to our teachers who bravely volunteered for the ‘Sponge Throwing’ activity, as well as the freezing ice-buckets challenge!
More than $2,300 was raised from both activities – a great way to have fun and support others in need.
As part of their recent Reflection Day, our Year 10 students practiced service to others by putting two different kinds of kits together that will benefit the next generation.
The first was to bundle together baskets of donated goods for young mothers who seek out the help of Louise Place, which is based in Adelaide and supports mothers and babies in the first few weeks of life, as well as Catherine House, who support local women experiencing homelessness.
Our Year 10s also packed 200 Birthing Kits, which will be delivered by the Birthing Kit Foundation Australia (BKFA) to women in remote areas of developing countries. To date, they have distributed 3 million kits worldwide and an essential part of this success is the volunteers who pack them. Clean birthing kits reduce infections by roughly 25% and are estimated to have already saved the lives of tens of thousands of women and newborns in developing regions, so the work of our students will have a huge impact.
We are also delighted to share that Old Scholar, and mother of five children, Teresa Palmer (Class of 2003, Fitzpatrick), has joined Birthing Kit Foundation Australia as a Patron. Lovely to see so many Mercedes College connections to this important cause.
Last week, our Year 12 Business Innovation students participated in a ‘Shark Tank’ experience, based on the entrepreneurial reality show of the same name.
Students worked in small teams to develop a business concept that was presented to a panel of ‘Sharks’ from our College community.
Each presentation had to show the research, rationale, projected costs versus income, market demand and unique selling points, and then our Sharks decided whether to opt ‘in or out’ as an investor. Just like the TV Show, a Shark investment could mean the difference between a start-up becoming a success story or heading back to the drawing board!
It was a tough field of entries – congratulations to our two winning teams!
Thanks also to our volunteer Sharks for providing great feedback and advice to our budding entrepreneurs.
We’d love you to visit our IB Diploma Visual Art Exhibition and explore the culmination of two years of work, comprising a whopping 40% of these students’ final grade.
Personally curated by the students themselves, the exhibition will be set up in our Staff Room from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 September, 8.30am – 4.30pm.
If you would like to attend the official opening of the Exhibition tomorrow evening (Friday 11 September), please click here to record your RSVP.
We hope you can stop by to see their work!
Our Year 4 students spent one night and two days in Wellington last week, on their annual adventure camp. It was a time to boost their confidence, share new experiences and grow their leadership skills as they climbed, flew and ran around their campsite.
Highlights included archery, aerial ziplines, rock climbing and laser tag.
This Camp is a great experience for our students, before they enter their final year of Junior School in 2027. Their willingness to step out of their comfort zones and support each other will be great assets in Year 5.
Mercedes College is proud to have had nine students representing the district in recent SAPSASA Athletics competitions. Congratulations to Emily (Year 5, McAuley), Maya (Year 6, Fitzpatrick), Ashlyn (Year 6, Barry), Seb (Year 6 McAuley), Xavier (Year 5, McAuley), Walter (Year 5, McAuley), Thomas (Year 5, McAuley), Darcy (Year 5, Dalton) and Georgia (Year 6, Barry), who competed against the best in the State as part of Division 1.
A special mention to Thomas for winning bronze in the Discus and Xavier for achieving first place for the 800m.
Year 7 Soccer player Saul (Dalton) has recently been selected for the School Sport SA U12 State Team after a stellar season in our College Soccer squad. Next month, Saul will travel to NSW with his team to compete in the Australian Championships. Brilliant achievement Saul!
Finally, we congratulate Lily (Year 10, Fitzpatrick), whose U16 YPL A League team, the Adelaide Jaguars, topped off their minor premiership by winning the Grand Final 4 goals to 1. A great achievement after a long season on the pitch!
Last week, our Year 3 students combined their knowledge of French impressionism and their current studies about Matisse in Junior School Art.
They spent time at the Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition Exhibition at the Art Gallery of South Australia, which was a special opportunity to see some of the most iconic artworks by European and American artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Next week, our Year 2 students will also visit the Exhibition to gaze upon this world-renowned collection.
Last week, six of our Year 9 students participated in the annual French Quiz Night, organised by the South Australia French Teacher Association. And who doesn’t love a Quiz Night?
Held at Scotch College, with 12 teams battling it out, our students enjoyed a great evening of laughter, team building and French, testing their general knowledge across themes including music, geography, art and sport.
This is another wonderful experience our students get to share as part of our languages programme at Mercedes College.
More upcoming activities can be found on the College Calendar.
