Mercy News

Pyjama Day, Friday 24 July 2020, is all about wearing your comfiest pyjamas to help raise vital funds for The Pyjama Foundation so they can continue their life-changing work in our community. The Pyjama Foundation support children living in out-of-home care by empowering them with learning life skills and confidence to change the direction of their lives. Make a donation or find out more at www.nationalpyjamafoundation.com

Year 9 students studying Aerodynamics for Human Improvement, finalised their studies building several models of exterior Human Powered Vehicles. They used a variety of techniques to build the models after a term studying aerodynamic design principles.

Various ideas from both nature and man flowed into incredible designs which the students tested in the school’s new wind tunnel. Using the wind tunnel proved a learning experience as they worked through the problem of controlling the direction of the smoke, delivered in bursts from the smoke machine. Eventually a series of smaller pipes provided a solution, but that in itself provided more problems to solve, including condensation forming in the pipes stopping the flow of smoke and heat melting the plastic pipe joining the smoke machine.

Solving problems is the 21st century learning goal - the students in this subject proved not only could they handle 21st century problems, they could easily provide 22nd century solutions.

Naidoc Week celebrations were held this week Monday 22 – Friday 26 June

• Tuesday during first break we held our Naidoc BBQ in the Tuckshop area. A massive thank you to the staff members who took the time out of their lunch break to join us in eating some delicious traditional foods: crocodile, emu & kangaroo. The Indigenous students involved showed so much pride in serving and preparing these special cultural dishes for their teachers and peers.
• Wednesday – special guest didgeridoo player Lyndon, entertained staff and students during the lunch break with wonderful music and entertaining stories.
• Thursday - we held a Kup Murri, (which is similar to a Hangi) out on the oval for Mercy College staff, which was enjoyed by all who sampled our cultural food.

Naidoc week celebrations continued throughout the week and we appreciated the ongoing support from the Mercy College Staff.

In exciting news, the Mercy Runners have recommenced weekly meetings after COVID19 caused break. Each Thursday morning, Mercy’s fittest and finest, open their sleepy eyes and dust off their runners at the Botanic Gardens from 7:00 to 8:00am.

Over the past fortnight we have seen our numbers grow and are extremely impressed with the development of our team. Just last week, Damien Rutland and Brodie Hocking ran an outstanding 4km, in under 16 minutes. In addition, many of our newer members have smashed both distance and time personal bests after only 2 weeks of training. This Thursday we are having breakfast after our run, and are looking forward to a pancake frenzy.