Newsletter

Learning, Serving and Making a Difference

Term 4 has been a busy and rewarding time for Mercy in Action at St Aloysius College, with students across several year levels taking part in experiences that encouraged them to look beyond their own lives, develop a greater understanding of social justice issues and put our Mercy values into practice.

Junior Seeds of Justice Conference

One of the highlights of the term was the Junior Seeds of Justice Conference, proudly hosted by St Aloysius College on 28 October. The conference brought together approximately 70 students and 13 staff members from eight Mercy schools across Victoria.

With Homelessness as its central theme, students engaged in discussions, collaborative activities and reflection, considering the causes of homelessness, the challenges faced by people experiencing housing insecurity and the importance of responding with compassion, dignity and practical support.

The conference also offered a wonderful opportunity for students to connect with their peers from other Mercy schools, share ideas and recognise that they are part of a wider Mercy community committed to social justice.

For lunch at the Conference, we ran a soup fundraiser with the great support of Food Technology Teachers Owen Stott, Lisa Luong, and year 9 Food Tech students. We raised $300 for St Mary’s House of Welcome.

Thank you to all the student volunteers who assisted, and especially to our new Social Justice Prefect Mia Pillevo, and our outgoing vice Social Justice Prefect Sebastien Hall who helped run the various aspects of the day.

The Social Justice was an amazing and immersive day for everyone. It was wonderful to see all the other mercy schools get involved with the theme, Homelessness. It was wonderful to see all the other schools engage with each other and the topic. Holly Pabian, who leads the volunteers from St Mary’s House of Welcome had also come and gave us a very informative presentation on St Mary’s House of Welcome and really gave us more insight about homelessness. The day itself was an amazing day and a day to really reflect and be grateful for how lucky we can be, and how we can take action and help.
Charlotte Burrows, Year 7

During my personal experience at Seeds of Justice, I learnt about the theme of Homelessness, which is a lot bigger than some people might find. There are so many ways to become homeless- some ways most people would have never thought of, that is something that I have learnt. Of course, the day gave me memories I will never forget and the soup that was given at lunch was amazing. The day also was a way I made friends with many of the other Mercy school. Homelessness gave us all so much information especially from our guest speaker Holly who answered many questions and taught us information we never knew. The Seeds of Justice Conference not only taught me and many other people about homelessness, but it taught us all to take action which really summed up the experience.
Adeline Gardiner, Year 7

Year 10 Leadership in Mercy Program

Our Year 10 students have continued their involvement in the Leadership in Mercy Program. Throughout the last two terms, students have had opportunities to learn from people and organisations working to address disadvantage and social inequality.

Visits to The Big Issue Headquarters in the city provided students with valuable insights into homelessness, poverty and the challenges faced by people experiencing disadvantage. These experiences encouraged students to reconsider assumptions and stereotypes, and to appreciate the importance of initiatives that create opportunities for people to regain independence and dignity.

Some students continued to visit St Michael’s Primary School to help in the Maths classroom and run reading activities and games at recess. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with St Michael’s in 2027.

Other students had the opportunity to visit the Brigidine Asylum Seekers (BASP) in Albert Park who support refugees and asylum seekers in our community. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the food drive.

We were also fortunate to welcome guest speakers to the College, including Anne Mitchell from Concern Australia and Mawien Ariik from South Sudan Health Matters who shared their experiences and perspectives on social justice and community service.

Connecting with the North Melbourne Language and Learning Centre

Another particularly rewarding experience was the Year 10 visit to the North Melbourne Language and Learning Centre.

Students had the opportunity to meet and converse with people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, helping them practise their English while learning about their lives and experiences.

What began as an opportunity to support others quickly became a valuable learning experience for our own students. Through conversations and shared stories, they developed a deeper appreciation of the resilience, determination and experiences of people who have come to Australia from different parts of the world.

The North Melbourne Language and Learning center was a wonderful experience for the year 10's this week. We were lucky enough to converse, support, and learn about the lives of a variety of people who attend the NMLL, serving as practice to better their English speaking. I personally found the session extremely eye-opening and inspiring. Listening to the unwavering resilience and determination of many individuals brought me immense gratitude for my access and opportunity to education and family. Overall, the Year 10s had a wonderful time, socializing, helping others and reflecting on how we as a cohort can take better use of our opportunities in the latter of our schooling career.
Audrey Lawlor 10F

Seasons of Creation Excursion with the Mercy Hub

A small group of students in Years 7-9 were successful in their applications to attend the ‘Seasons of Creation’ excursion at Carlton Gardens and the Mercy Hub.

Ms Bourgault escorted the students to the event hosted by the Mercy Hub who create incredible opportunities for our students to explore different perspectives and connect with the Mercy Values in the wider world. The students travelled to the Carlton Gardens where they considered ways to meaningfully care for our common home. They then travelled to the Mercy Hub in North Carlton to participate in a workshop and art reflection.

The Mercy Hub has contacted us to thank the students for their enthusiastic participation:

It was such a joy to welcome your wonderful group of students and see their enthusiasm, curiosity and engagement with the activities we had prepared for them. It was especially lovely to see their ideas come to life through their boards. We hope they left feeling inspired to put their ideas into action and find meaningful ways to care for our common home.

Lauren Marquet
Mercy in Action Leader