Around the College
CAS Calculators - Ms. Lisa Hogan
Finishing year 12 and have a CAS calculator that you would like to sell?
Moving into Year 9 or 10 and needing a CAS Calculator?
Please email Ms Hogan who will coordinate the selling and purchasing of calculators and put you in touch with each other! lhogan@mmcrc.catholic.edu.au
CECV Indigenous Graduation
Congratulations to Year 12 student Aliarna Wright who attended the CECV Indigenous Graduation along with her parents Sam and Kylie and Ms Dudman in Melbourne on 8th September. Indigenous students from right across the state attended the dinner and were each presented with a stall and certificate.
AJASS Pilgrimage - Ms. Nicole Dudman and Mr. Scott Blencowe
Four of our Year 10 students Tayla Atyeo-Peters, Taine Lowe, Alexis McGuire and Patrick Wilson were selected to represent MMCRC at the 2023 Association of Josephite Affiliated Secondary Schools (AJASS) - Year 10 Pilgrimage. The group travelled with Ms. Dudman and Mr. Blencowe to Melbourne along with close to 50 selected students from eleven AJASS Schools across Australia. The day is to further their knowledge of St Mary MacKillop, Fr Julian Tension Woods and the Josephite Charism and to meet students from other schools. In the afternoon the students travelled to Penola Catholic College in Broadmeadows before returning home.
Bass Coast Health Excursion - Mrs. Cassie Raschle
Six Year 12 students headed to Bass Coast Health on Monday 11 September to visit and take part in simulations for nursing, midwifery, Podiatry and OT!
R U OK Day?
Today we recognised the importance of having conversations, checking in and asking questions to our classmates, friends and colleagues.
Live 4 Life - Ms. Georgia Townley
This term three of our five Year 10 classes have received their Mental Health First Aid through us at Live4Life. It has been a great success and we have been able to discuss some highly relevant concerns coming out of the year level. On the second last day of term Live4Life’s Crew organised some awesome games in the quadrangle, there was ball and SHOE throwing for prizes and chocolates, to celebrate R U OK Day and improving mental health. A great end to a fabulous term. In Term 4 we will teach the other two Year 10 classes their Mental Health First Aid, we look forward to meeting them and hearing their ideas.
Year 7 Art - Mrs. Colleen Herbert
Our Year 7 Art class this term have been busy little......beetles!
Year 8 Textiles - Mrs. Colleen Herbert
Year 9 Art - Spray painting - Mrs. Colleen Herbert
Report on the work of Vinnies
Who is Patsy?
Patricia (Patsy) Hilder is the President of Foster Vinnie's organisation. For 20 years, Patsy has been working with Vinnies as a volunteer. She manages and distributes funds that support those struggling in our local communities. Her role includes providing emotional and financial support, as well as tangible goods to anyone needing help. Patsy spoke to the Year 11 Youth Ministry class about how we can help Vinnies and encouraged people to have compassion because sometimes a small chat can brighten someone's day.
What she told us about
Patsy told us about her work at Vinnies, specifically which issues are most pressing in our community, such as housing and mental illness. Through her work at St Vinnie's, Patsy responds to many calls from those in need and helps people by getting to know how best to support them, such as assisting with rent or food. Our conversation with Patsy allowed us to understand how some of these issues are seen in our own towns and encouraged us to take action by volunteering, donating or even just acknowledging and having conversations with people who can be considered outcasts in our society.
Every person has to write a statement about what they learned
Prayer
Dear God, We come before you today with heavy hearts, seeking your grace and guidance for our brothers and sisters who are struggling with the burdens of poverty, loneliness and a lack of housing and resources.
May you wrap them in your loving arms, and surround them with compassionate hearts willing to lend them a helping hand. Inspire those with the means to make a difference to extend their generosity to those in need.
We ask for your wisdom to guide leaders, their communities and our younger generation in finding lasting solutions to these pressing issues, that all may know the dignity of a safe and stable home and the warmth of meaningful connections
We offer this prayer with open hearts, trusting in your boundless love and mercy. Amen.
What can we do?
- Biggest issues locally?
- Solutions
- Work
- Food collections
Student Statements
Kira - I learned how much the people in our community care for each other, how much a little statement like saying hi in the street or showing a little bit of help can be so significant to someone down in their luck. I learned how a helping hand can mean the world to someone. The little things that we take for granted are the things that people in these situations treasure.
Laila - I learned that a lot of the work done by the Vinnies volunteers parallels that of social workers, however, the Vinnies volunteers do not get paid for the work they do.
Rebekah - I learned how important and beneficial the Vinnies are for the community and how much they support all people in need. Especially financially with food and housing and also with directing people to the support they need.
Anna- The session with Patsy was a great experience. It really showed what our society was facing during this time of age. It made me feel grateful for the opportunities that are available to me, compared to some people that are struggling with housing issues, food, work and debt. Patsy talked about how it's not just about donating or supplying food, it's truly about asking what they need and having a conversation with them.
Dini - Patsy opened our eyes to the struggles that we all know exist but don’t realise how close to home some of these issues are. The issues of housing, cost of living, and loneliness so many people are subject to were confronting. I think we collectively realised how much we wanted to do more to give a helping hand. It awakened a drive in our class to take more action and give solutions to these problems.
Christian - Patsy taught us that as a class, we need to work together and volunteer to actively serve our peers and solve issues that confront our community. In Patsy's speech, she explained how she and some other lovely individuals, volunteer their time and effort to help the most vulnerable of our community. She suggested to us how we, as youth, can also actively help in our community through; donations, volunteering, shopping at Vinnies (Vinnies donates back to the community) and showing more compassion. Patsy stands as a beacon of light and hope to those experiencing the lows of their life, but to others, she stands as a role model and inspires us to act to assist those less fortunate than us.
Kate - I learned that a lot of the work done by the volunteers at Vinnies is done through various acts of compassion. They support people experiencing all kinds of life struggles including addictions, financial issues and mental health support. It teaches us to never take for granted all that we have, and to not ignore the fact that there are thousands of people in the world struggling and going without so much. It exposes us to the harsh reality of the world and how unfair life can be, but with small acts of compassion, it can help to change a person's life.
Katie - From the presentation I learned how our own local communities need help from volunteers and the severity of the issues they face every day. I think Patsy's visit helped us realise how lucky we are and that sometimes we probably take the simple things in life for granted such as a roof over our head, food to eat, a stable income, transport and healthy mental well-being. Through this understanding of other people's needs, we take action and become more generous by donating either our time to volunteer or resources to give to charity (especially the everyday items that we need to survive like food and toiletries). As young people, we are the hope for the future and we have the ability to make a difference in the lives of others.
Sophie K - I learned that all the local St Vincent op shops, give the money back to people in need and all the money donated goes directly towards funding their services and programs.
Hollie - Patsy opened our eyes to the problems that are present in our South Gippsland area and much help people really need. She showed us how mental health is a serious issue in our area and that we all need to do our part to help those who need it. I learned so much from Patsy individually as it taught me that there are ways, as a teenager, that I can give back to the community and help.
Sophie W - Patsy taught us about how we can personally volunteer and help our community out as a youth. Patsy also shared her beautiful stories of how she's helped around Foster and the Gippsland area. Patsy expressed how the biggest issue financially at the moment is housing, especially with the rent skyrocketing and the wages staying at the base rate. Patsy is a very lovely woman who has been able to positively change and impact our community for the past 20 years.
Seth Wood - Patsy helped make me aware of the struggles in finding affordable housing, i realised that it was something that needed to be addressed and something that needed to be solved is a massive financial issue for many and most.
Coby - Patsy gave us a lot of words and wisdom when she came into our class. She told her personal experience through her time volunteering. I learned that we can actually help by giving up our time and volunteering at Vinnies. We can also help by donating our old clothes to Vinnies so people in need are able to afford the stuff they need.
Sandra - Patsy showed us how issues are seen in our own community and the different ways in which people require support. Our lesson showed me that these issues affect all kinds of people, and there are so many little things we can do to make other people’s lives better.
Divya - Patsy enlightened our minds to the challenges that we are all aware of but are unaware of how some of these situations are slowly arising. Housing, cost of living, and loneliness are all concerns that many individuals face, on top of that piles of bills and debts. We all realise how much more we want to do to help others. I learned how much our own local communities rely on volunteers and the importance of the difficulties they confront on a daily basis. Patsy's visit made us understand how fortunate we are and how often we take basic things for granted. We need to take action and become more compassionate by contributing both our time to volunteer and/ or resources to donate to charity, which is not always limited to food and clothing but may also be important day-to-day products such as hygiene items and cleaning supplies. As the future generation, we should be encouraged to individually volunteer and assist our communities.
Ash – I learned that a lot of the work done at Vinnie’s is volunteer work. I didn’t realise how important this organisation was till we had this presentation. Also, I didn’t realise how bad the housing problem was until now. I think as a society we need to try and make changes to this to make it easier to pay and afford housing and things relating to that
Alice - Through the words of Patsy in class, I learned that to help the people in our community it can just be through just making them feel welcome in their community. This can be through the actions of giving up our time and giving items that are not necessarily food but things like sanitary items, washing liquid and toys for kids. Furthermore, the housing crisis in our community has been felt by St. Vinnies and there is a need for support for those people. As our generation, we need to attend to the issues raised in our discussion and make a change for the better otherwise our community will struggle through the issues that are arising for many of us and for our future generations.