News from the Executive

Welcome to the last AMSSA newsletter of the year. It has been a very successful year for the Association with 64 schools across Australia and New Zealand as members. The Staff Conference in Adelaide was a great success with over 135 registrations. The feedback from the Conference was excellent and I thank all the people who took the time to complete the evaluation form. Your input will assist us as we begin planning for the next staff conference in 2017.

Planning for the Student Conference in Sydney is well underway and the planning team is meeting regularly. The AMSSA Executive has made the decision to continue to subsidise this conference to enable students from as many schools as possible to attend. Further information will be provided in 2016 but please put the dates for the conference in your school calendars – September 24 – 28 2016.

At the Biennial General Meeting a change to the annual subscription was adopted. The subscription will be based on a per capita charge: $800 for schools with 600 – 1000+ students, $600 for schools with 400 – 599 students and $200 for schools with less than 400 students. The purpose for the change was to make the system more equitable and to ensure that AMSSA has the funds to support events such as the Student Conference. Schools will be invoiced early in 2016.

Early in 2016, the AMSSA Executive will be meeting to review and evaluate what we have done in the past and plan for the future. To inform our discussions we will seek your input through a short survey that I encourage you to complete.

On behalf of Julie Ryan, the AMSSA President, and all the members of the AMSSA Executive, I wish you all the blessings and joy of Christmas.

Kitty Guerin

AMSSA Executive Officer

Mercy and Justice Calls Dannika to Action

As a young Noongar woman growing up in a low-socio-economic part of Perth, Danikka Calyon consciously and actively sought an educational environment that would recognise her talents and potential. She was acutely aware of the institutionalised stereotypes that were casting her as an Aboriginal girl in the outer suburbs. Furthermore, she was concerned and frustrated by the low expectations she felt were imposed upon her because of her Aboriginality. In Year 10 Danikka moved from her previous school to take up a challenging suite of subjects at Mercedes College, creating a solid foundation for the promising future that she is more than capable of achieving.

Danikka is no stranger to adversity, yet she’s very pragmatic and mature about the circumstances of her life. Her father has been incarcerated for drug-related offences, and her home is often a refuge to other Aboriginal children seeking refuge or escaping neglect. Despite these challenges Danikka embraces opportunity, remains optimistic about her own future, and is a change-agent in the lives of many other troubled youth. She believes in the power of young Aboriginal people to determine their own destiny, and encourages them to strive beyond negative expectations. ‘ We are individuals who set our own path and don’t have to live up to Aboriginal steroetypes’.

These strong convictions drew Danikka to become a volunteer with the Save the Children’s One Step Closer youth engagement program, after having been a participant herself. She is now a youth mentor within the program and conducts after-school activities and workshops for 60 children from a range of ethnicities, struggling in their own challenging environments. Her convincing abilities within the program saw her selected from over 700 applicants for the role as National Youth Ambassador of Save the Children in 2015. She joined other youth state ambassadors in Canberra for the National Youth Forum where the work of writing a Youth Manifesto on the impact of key social justice issues in the lives of young Australians was written. Together with three other passionate young people Danikka presented her perspective on issues impacting young Aboriginal Torres Strait Islanders to an audience of politicians. Alongside 19 other National Youth Ambassadors from around the globe Danikka Calyon took her concerns about the plight of young people, and specifically young Aboriginal people to the world stage at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. In a panel discussion, hosted by UNICEF and The Guardian, Danikka addressed over 150 UN staff and delegates with sincerity and passion alerting them to the ‘inequality of opportunities Aboriginal youth face’.

In her local community, in the community of the College, and in the community of the world, Danikka Calyon is a powerfully convincing advocate for young people facing adversity. Her prime position is one of informing others of the injustices, and of influencing positive change for all young people. She recognises that young people too, have a major responsibility in reaching beyond the stereotyped ceilings placed above them. Her leadership calls all stakeholders into action and will undoubtedly be a strong voice of influence in the youth arena.

Sabrina Hughes

Mercedes College

Perth 

OLMC Parramatta Mock Mediation Winners

For the second year in a row, the OLMC Parramatta Mock Mediation team has emerged victorious from the Grand Final of the State Mock Mediation competition, held at the Law Society of New South Wales on Friday October 30, 2015. The team, which is made up of fourteen Mercy Girls from Years 9 and 10, competed against students from Hurlstone Agricultural High School in a case concerning alleged workplace bullying and harassment.

OLMC Parramatta Principal Stephen Walsh says Mock Mediation is a great example of how OLMC is passionate about preparing girls to be confident, independent and compassionate women who live the Mercy Values: “These girls have truly demonstrated the core Mercy Value of excellence. The Grand Final win was a result of their hard work throughout the season. Our whole College community celebrates the team’s win and applauds their dedication.”

The team’s coach Anne Maree Donnelly says the competition was introduced to OLMC in 2008 and each year the teams have made it to the Quarter Finals or the Semi-Finals; “We were thrilled when we reached the Grand Final again this year after our win in 2014. The 2015 team deserves their success due to the hours of after school preparation that they committed to throughout the year. They were able to achieve at this high level because they built on their experiences from previous competitions and every girl was receptive to learning the required skills of active listening, use of neutral language and the process of compromise. All team members contributed to the success and I feel privileged to work with such a dedicated group of hard working, intelligent and articulate young Mercy women.”

The Mock Mediation Competition gives Year 9 and 10 students the chance to develop the skills necessary to resolve conflicts without a courtroom and involved twenty five schools competing against each other throughout 2015. The Law Society’s Communications and Marketing Coordinator Lisa Whyte runs the program and says the skills required for mediation are particularly relevant to personal development. They included active listening, self-awareness, questioning, analysing, empathising, speaking clearly and logically and creative thinking.

OLMC Parramatta Race Day

On Saturday October 31, 2015 the community of Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta held their inaugural Cambodia Immersion Race Day Fundraiser at Rosehill Gardens, raising well over $30 000 for humanitarian projects in Cambodia.

Almost 400 parents, staff members, friends of the College and alumnae attended the community day which raised funds for the projects which will be visited by the Cambodian Immersion students during January 2016. Examples of these projects include providing housing, food, equipment, wheel chairs, and fresh water.

Principal Stephen Walsh said the day was the perfect community event: “It was so evident that the College community has such a strong sense of a commitment to social justice and to putting Mercy into action for this important cause. We are so thankful to the parent organising committee whose incredible hard work made this day possible.”

The OLMC Cambodia Immersion, which occurs every two years, acts as a very different, yet equally important ‘classroom,’ according to Principal Stephen Walsh: “They are a ‘place’ of vital learning about living out the Mercy Values. Once the group arrives, multiple donations are made to a number of organisations including youth training organisations, building projects, water provision initiatives, hospitals and orphanages. As part of the immersion, the 2013 group built a home for a local family in the Siem Reap area.”

Immersion Coordinator Kristen Sunner says there was a strong sense of unity at the Race Day: “It was one of the most amazing days I have experienced in my five years with OLMC. There was an infectious vibe and everyone really wanted to help as much as they could; it was a real concrete example of many hands making light work.”

Ms Sunner says the immersion experience taught her many lessons, particularly about perspective: “I learnt that happiness can be found so easily in giving to others. I feel privileged to be able facilitate the chance for others to experience visiting and working with the wonderful Cambodian people. As a teacher, I am privileged to model one our Mercy Values, Service, in this way. The big task of project managing the trip to ensure it happens - the paperwork, meetings, risk assessments, parent meetings and fundraising are all so worth it.”