Assistant Principal – Karen Shawcross
Congratulations to the Class of 2025, who this week finished their formal studies and now have the HSC examinations to finish their secondary education. Their graduation was a true celebration of Mercy spirit and all students wished them the best of luck in their future endeavours.
Our postponed Mercy Day was a wonderful celebration of who we are; the talent displayed by a small group of staff and students was well received. It can be daunting to perform in front of your peers, but I hope that 2026 will have a few more courageous performers. It was a difficult time to hold the day at the end of term but the students rallied well and enjoyed themselves. The atmosphere was light and relaxed to commence the school break, the weather was great and I am positive everyone had a great time.
Over this term I have reminded the students and parents about the importance of punctuality to school and in turn class. We have seen some great improvements over the last few weeks and this needs to continue. As of term 4 the Compass Chronicle will have a negative point attached to it and therefore accumulate towards detention. If your daughter is consistently late to school, I ask your support in encouraging her to be more organised. Each minute of missed class time is valuable learning time as every minute counts. A reminder also about detentions;
- detentions are held on a Wednesday afternoon commencing at 3pm and conclude at 4pm and they appear in the Compass schedule,
- during this time students are asked to complete a few reflection questions on why they have been issued a detention and the impact that it has had on themselves and others,
- they can then work on assessments, homework or study
- detentions that are missed are moved to the following week, missing two detentions will result in being withdrawn from classes.
I understand that some students may have work or sporting commitments after school and in some cases it is difficult to make their own way home therefore attendance at the detention may be difficult. However this does not excuse the detention, I encourage these students to speak to me in regards to an alternative afternoon, or they will be withdrawn from classes. In most cases the dimensions are issued for demerits, these can be easily avoided by doing the right thing.
In the previous newsletter I reminded the community about the use of mobile phones at school. They are not permitted to be seen, heard or used during the day – once a student has arrived on site. However, it is interesting to watch the number of students who immediately get their phone out once the day is over to check for messages, posts, social media etc. From December 10th the government’s legislation of the social media ban will come into effect for young people and it will have an impact. As a parent or an educator this ban is welcomed, however from a young adult under the age of 16 this may feel quite restrictive or even unnerving. Over the break I encourage all parents to speak to their daughters about the legislation and listen to how they may feel about it. Encourage them to start to connect with their peers, without the use of social media; and speak to them about the positive effects this will have on their everyday lives. The goal of the social media ban is to ensure that young people are mature enough to understand the risks of social media.
Term 4 commences on Monday October 13th. All students are to return in summer uniform; skirts need to be at the correct length. If your daughter has had a growth spurt, please ensure that the skirt is at the correct length; currently many girls are in need of the skirt hem being lowered. During the break some girls may also have false nails, or coloured nails, etc. These must be removed prior to the commencement of Term 4 or we will ask parents to collect their daughters to have these removed. We will be continuing to ask girls to remove make up, false eyelashes and jewellery that is not part of the uniform policy stated in the diary.
Karen Shawcross, Assistant Principal