From the Principal: Term 2, Week 3 2025

Principal Report

We hope that our mums and motherly figures were celebrated and appreciated on Mother’s Day last weekend. As we settle into the rhythm of Term 2, our students are immersing themselves in their studies and assessments are in full swing across the life of the school.   

Many students in Years 11 and 12 are turning their attention to preparation for the upcoming examinations, balancing hard work with consistency to optimise learning. We know that revising every day, for small increments of time, is a better strategy for learning than revising for large periods of time just before the examinations.  This theory can be likened to the impact of the aggregation of marginal gains. Small positive choices, consistently and repeatedly enacted, do not feel very burdensome in the moment, however those small positive choices lead to exponential progress as time moves forward. 

In the beginning, there is basically no difference between making a choice that is 1% better or 1% worse. (In other words, it won’t impact you very much today). But as time goes on, these small improvements or declines compound and you suddenly find a very big gap between people who make slightly better decisions on a daily basis and those who don’t.

In the past two weeks, Year 9 students have been busy outside of the classroom. A representative from Youth Focus, Brodie Mack, discussed mental health with the girls, stressing the importance of self-care, staying connected, and seeking support. The Year 9s also talked with Trinity Prefects about respectful relationships and began practicing ballroom dancing partnering with the Year 9 Trinity cohort for their upcoming social event. 

The Year 9 students contributed donations to the Mother’s Day stall held last week. This event provided students with an opportunity to buy thoughtful presents for their mums, while also raising funds for Mercy Works. The event was a great success, with goods selling out within five minutes. We hope you all enjoyed the gifts from this wonderful event.  

Our Year 11 students welcomed a guest speaker from Happiness Co who discussed the important link between inner confidence and staying true to your values, in the pursuit of happiness. The presenter shared with the girls that our actions, not just our words, reveal to ourselves and others the values that we truthfully live by. As these students transition into their final years, we hope these learnings will assist the girls to focus on decisions that allow them to thrive both in school and in life beyond our campus walls.  

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of welcoming 120 guests to Mercedes for our Principal’s Morning Tea. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our beautiful campus, and all that Mercedes has to offer. It was wonderful speaking to these prospective families, and I look forward to welcoming many of them to Mercedes College in the future. We are waitlisted for Year 7 2026 and there is a strong demand for places in 2027 and 2028. Given the demand, please ensure younger siblings are enrolled for the coming years as early as possible.  

I am pleased to announce that Mercedes has been accepted into the IGNIS STEM Mission as part of an ECU initiative, working alongside NASA. This amazing program allows students to be guided by engineers and university academics as they develop key skills in data analysis and scientific investigation while exploring the relationship between lightning strikes and bushfire ignition.  

Our College Library underwent a renovation this year and is due to open on Monday of Week 4. The beautiful new space is now more of a Learning Hub, housing our technical support team and device charging facilities, collaborative spaces, single use study area, silent reading lounges, library function, two classrooms and the space will also provide a Hub for Professional Growth of staff.  We sincerely hope the students enjoy the modern ambiance and find it a fruitful venue for collaboration, study and learning. 

Last Friday our new Pope – Pope Leo XIV was elected. He is the first ever American born and Augustinian Pope, he was a long-term Missionary in Peru, is 69 and is named Robert Prevost. In his opening speech, Pope Leo XIV affirmed the work of the Church under Pope Francis and focused on peace and welcome for all. He appears centrist in his views and has been quoted in the past to openly recognise the difficulty in leading a worldwide Church of people, with nations across a spectrum of human experience.  What is accepted and celebrated in some countries, is not accepted in others.  Culturally set contextual norms in one nation are established and appreciated, yet these same norms are challenged and admonished in other nations. The role and freedom of women in some nations, is vastly different in others. Yet we are all connected to the one loving God, ideally heading in a similar direction towards salvation, simply put, the deliverance from the clutches and consequences of earthly struggles. Leading to the freedom and capacity to be loving people, in both difference and similarity. A difficult space for a Pope to spiritually lead! The quote that jumped out to me from Pope Leo XIV’s opening speech was:  

“You (God) help us to build bridges with dialogue and encounter so we can all be one people always in peace.” 

We look forward to the next new chapter for our Catholic Church under the guidance and leadership of Pope Leo XIV.  

The Faith and Mercy Charism Hope Project art installations have been completed. Beautiful messages of hope and displays of colour and inspiration continue to light up the campus. A special thanks to Art staff, for oversight of the project and especially to Ms Hosking and Ms Starcevich who completed the final installations this term on the wall next to St Joseph’s building.

This term the Senior Leadership Team, Year 12 Student Leaders and Staff will be unpacking the results from our recent student, parent and staff perception surveys.  The findings will lead to recommendations that will inform resource allocation, lead to change decisions and hence actions that move us towards evidence-based continuous improvement across all aspects of College life. Thank you for your collaboration and for sharing your voice within this community. 

As we approach the period of examinations and an increase in assessment, I want to extend my best wishes to the girls and all our families. We understand that this can be a stressful time, but with support from home and school coupled with the girls’ diligent preparation, I am confident they will achieve great personal success. Your encouragement and understanding play a crucial role in helping them to navigate this busy period. Thank you for being such an integral part of our community. 

 
Regards 

Dr Lucie McCrory 
PRINCIPAL