Our Lady of Mercy College (Australind)

Our Lady of Mercy College (previously known as Bunbury Catholic College Mercy Campus and commonly called OLMC, or simply Mercy) is a Catholic secondary school located in Australind, in the South West region of Western Australia.

Our Lady of Mercy College
Crest of OLMC
Address
100 Leisure Drive

Australind, South West region, Western Australia

6233

Australia
Coordinates33°16′10″S 115°44′50″E
Information
Former nameBunbury Catholic College Mercy Campus
TypeCatholic systemic secondary school
MottoEmbracing Life | Nurturing Faith | Inspiring Learning
Religious affiliation(s)
DenominationRoman Catholicism
Established
  • 2015 (2015)
    (as Bunbury Catholic College Mercy Campus);
  • 2020 (2020)
    (as Our Lady Of Mercy College)
ChairmanJoseph Musitano[1]
PrincipalRob Crothers[2]
Employees~50
Years7-12
Enrolment586[3] (2020)
Houses
  • Costello
  • Hayes
  • McAuley
  • Read
Colour(s)Navy blue, sky blue, green
   
PublicationMercy Snapshot
Mercy Stories
School feesA$3,265–4,465[4]
Median ATAR 85.20 (2020)
WebsiteOfficial website

The College was originally formed in 2015 when Bunbury Catholic College built it as a second campus.[5] The campus name is derived from the Sisters of Mercy, who co-founded Bunbury Catholic College.[6] The College officially became independent on 1 January 2020.[3]

History

Early history and origins

The Sisters of Mercy opened St Joseph's School in 1883. The Marist Brothers founded St Francis Xavier's College as a boy's school for the Bunbury region in 1954. By the end of 1972, the enrolment had risen from 84 to 290. In 1955, Sacred Heart High School (opened 1899) merged with St Joseph's.

In 1973 the Bishop of Bunbury, Myles McKeon, ordered the amalgamation of St Francis Xavier College (Marist Brothers) and St Joseph’s School (Mercy Sisters). The amalgamation of the two schools formed Bunbury Catholic College.[7]

As a second campus to BCC

Our Lady of Mercy College was originally constructed as a second campus for Bunbury Catholic College to “alleviate the enrolment pressures [on BCC] but also [to] open up more enrolment places for students in [the Australind area]”.[8] It was referred to as the Mercy Campus (with the original campus being known as the Marist Campus) and opened in 2015, catering for Years 7 through 9.[6] The first graduating class departed in 2018.

As the Mercy Campus began to become more independent of the original school, the decision was made in 2019 for the two campuses to separate and for Mercy to become a fully independent school.

The name of the new college was put to the community, with the top ten names by popular vote being put to Bishop Gerard Holohan for the final decision. The final name was announced to the college community on 22 May 2019.[9]

On 5 July 2019, Rob Crothers was announced as the new principal of the school as Denise O'Meara retired from the role after 12 years.[2] Crothers had previously been principal of Nagle Catholic College since 2014.

As an independent school

Signage around the campus was replaced in the week following the conclusion of lower-school classes in December 2019. The College became officially independent on 1 January 2020.[3][10]

The first classes as an independent school were held on 3 February 2020 for Years 7 and 12, with the first Year 8-11 classes held the following day.[11]

The school directed parents to keep their children at home beginning 27 March due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.[12] The College reopened for Year 11 and 12 students on 29 April, and in a limited capacity for students in other years.[13] It resumed full operation on 8 May.[14]

Campus

The OLMC campus is constructed on former farmland close to the suburb of Kingston. At the completion of Stage Two of the construction process, the campus consists of:

  • Catherine McAuley building (Stage One): consisting of general purpose classrooms, the CM building also provides the facilities for upper-school exams.
  • Ursula Frayne Learning Commons (Stage One): the UF building contains the College administration and library.
  • Champagnat Technology Centre (Stage One): formerly referred to as simply the Technology and Enterprise building, the CT centre provides industry-standard facilities for hospitality, trades, and computer-aided design.
  • Angela Costello building (Stage Two): the AC centre houses the bulk of student classes and consist entirely of general purpose classrooms.
  • Placida Hayes Science Centre (Stage Two): currently the newest building on campus, the PH Centre provides six specialised laboratories for chemistry, biology, and physics.

The College currently expects work on the gymnasium (to be linked with the Read faction) to begin in late May or early June.[15]

Aside from the main buildings, the College also provides an AFL oval, soccer pitch, basketball/netball and volleyball courts. In 2017, the College also acquired the neighbouring block of land, previously Geographe Grammar School (a non-denominational Christian primary school)[16] which had closed at the end of 2015 due to low enrolments.[17] It is referred to as the Mercy Centre (alternatively as Mercy 101 for its street address)[16] and is used primarily for College retreats, and currently as a uniform shop.

Architecture

The campus was designed through a collaboration with Broderick Architects and CODA Studio.[18]

The Stage One design won the 2015 Think Brick Horbury Hunt Commercial Award[19] and was also awarded a Commendation in Educational Architecture at the 2016[20] and 2017 WA Architecture Awards.[21]

College activity

Academic

OLMC offers courses in the general, VET, and ATAR frameworks, allowing students to achieve a WACE. In 2020 the school was ranked 27th in Western Australia with a median ATAR of 85.20, the highest of any regional school.[22][23]

Arts

OLMC has notably performed several biannual musical productions in conjunction with BCC. Productions are performed at the Bunbury Regional Entertainment Centre.

YearProduction
2016The Addams Family[24]
2018 Beauty and the Beast
2021 Matilda (upcoming)

Sports

OLMC holds an annual cross country event and school sports carnival.

The school is a member of Associated & Catholic Colleges of Western Australia.[3]

Pedal Prix

As BCC Mercy, OLMC entered several Australian HPV Super Series teams with Bunbury Catholic College the in 2016-2019 City of Busselton 6 Hours events. The teams were composed of students from both the Mercy and Marist campus. The entries were initiated by Mercy students in 2016,[25] and the vehicles were prepared at the OLMC campus prior to each event.

City of Busselton 6 Hours results
Year Team Vehicle No. Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos.		 Cite
2016 Bunbury Catholic College Bunbury Catholic College 335 2 104 27th 6th [26]
2017 Bunbury Catholic College BCC 306 2 162 20th 6th [27]
2018 Bunbury Catholic College Bunbury CC1 354 S2 173 16th 5th [28]
Bunbury CC2 353 S3 94 48th 7th
Bunbury CC BCC 3 12 S2 87 49th 21st
2019 Bunbury Catholic College BCC1 346 S2 92 47th 23rd [29]
BCC2 347 64 48th 24th

Extracurricular activities

The College participates in the annual Western Australian Debating League regional competition, and were 2016 Junior Champions and 2018 and 2019 Junior Runner-ups.

OLMC is the equal most-successful school in the South West Philosothon, with three consecutive team wins.

Publications

Mercy Snapshot

The Mercy Snapshot fills the role of the former newsletter, containing announcements regarding the College.[30][31] Issue 1 was published on 13 May 2020.[31]

Mercy Stories

Mercy Stories is the College's news facility and published its first story on 5 May 2020.[32] Mercy Stories focuses on college life and events, describing itself as a "students' voice".[30]

Newsletter

The College newsletter was a fortnightly publication containing notable news and announcements regarding the school. It was replaced by the Mercy Snapshot and the Mercy Stories service on 13 May 2020, after only four editions.[30] The final newsletter was published on 3 April 2020.[33]

The Daily Bulletin

The College produced The Daily Bulletin, a daily notice paper which contained announcements regarding College activities, student groups and services, and notices from staff. It ran from the school's inception in 2015 as a BCC campus until 20 February 2020. From 2015 to 2019 the Bulletin was produced in collaboration with BCC and contained both campuses' notices, until it was split in 2020 to two different publications. Publication of the OLMC Bulletin ran for only 18 days with 14 editions.

Houses

Houses at OLMC are linked to specific buildings, which share the house’s colour.

OLMC factions
House Dedicated to Colour Formerly*[34]
Costelllo Sr Mary Angela (b. Ellen Costello) Teal Marcellin (gold)
Hayes Sr Mary Placida (b. Elizabeth Hayes) Purple Valentine (blue)
McAuley Catherine McAuley Red McAuley (green)
Read Sr Mary Xavier (b. Mary Josephine Read) Yellow Xavier (red)

* Students who commenced in 2019 or earlier were assigned to Bunbury Catholic College houses, and were transitioned to OLMC houses in 2020.

Principals
OLMC principals
Principal Vice Principal Notes
Years served Principal Years served Vice Principal
2015-2019 Ms Denise O’Meara 2015–present Mr Eugene de Lima As BCC principal and vice principal.
2020–present Mr Rob Crothers

College identity

Name

The name of the college was open to suggestions from the community. Parents, students, and staff were then encouraged to vote on the potential names with the 10 most popular put to Bishop Gerard Holohan for the final decision, which was announced on 22 May 2019.[9]

The college's name is commonly abbreviated to OLMC (and in some cases as OLMCA to distinguish from schools with a similar name) and is often referred to as simply Mercy, a widespread habit originally derived from the former name, Mercy Campus. The name recognises the campus's history and pays tribute to the role that the Sisters of Mercy played in its formation.

Crest
The OLMC crest.

Six potential crest designs were proposed, and the College community was encouraged to vote. A second round of voting followed, with a vote being held between the two most popular designs, with the winner being used as the College crest.

The crest contains the Mercy Cross (in recognition of the Sisters of Mercy and their values, as well as the College's Catholic faith). It is contained within "a modern shield to represent our contemporary education", with the three strands representing "each student's [unique journey and] path to success".[35]

Motto

The College’s motto was decided upon by the inaugural principal, Rob Crothers. It is intended to outline the values of the College.[35]

Colours

The College colours were chosen by the Parents & Friends association and staff.

Navy "is the colour of the largest [strand] and the Mercy cross" representing the centrality of the College's faith and the unity it inspires. Light blue "symbolises understanding and compassion", and green represents "nature and growth" while linking the College to the local landscape.[35]

See also

References
  1. "Newsletter 2 - 3 March 2020". OLMC Newsletter Archive. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  2. Griffin, Danny (5 July 2019). "Announcement_of_incoming_principal_to_the_community_(003)_(1).pdf". CEWA Connect. Retrieved 12 December 2019. |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help) Alt URL
  3. "Our Lady of Mercy College". Associated & Catholic Colleges of WA. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  4. "Schedule of Fees and Charges 2020" (PDF). Our Lady of Mercy College. 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  5. Eadue, Chloerissa (11 February 2015). "Bunbury Catholic College's new campus opens doors". Bunbury Mail. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  6. Eadie, Chloerissa (11 February 2015). "Bunbury Catholic College's new campus opens doors". Bunbury Mail. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2016.
  7. "History and Heritage". Bunbury Catholic College. 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  8. Salmeri, Nicole (12 April 2019). "College set to separate campuses". South Western Times. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  9. Sayce, Debra (22 May 2019). "2019.05.22_Bunbury_Catholic_College_Mercy_Campus". CEWA Connect. Retrieved 12 December 2019. |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help) Alt URL
  10. "Our Lady of Mercy College". CEWA. 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
  11. Bunbury Catholic College (19 January 2020). "2020 Start Dates". Facebook. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
  12. Crothers, Rob (6 March 2020). "RE: Remote Learning" (PDF). Our Lady of Mercy College. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  13. Crothers, Rob (22 April 2020). "Letter from the Principal: Term Two Update" (PDF). Our Lady of Mercy College. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  14. Crothers, Rob (6 May 2020). "Return to Face to Face Learning" (PDF). Our Lady of Mercy College. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  15. "Gymnasium Construction Moves Closer". Mercy Stories. 8 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  16. AISWA. "Geographe Grammar School". AISWA. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  17. Lee, Stephen (27 November 2015). "Geographe Grammar School Closure". Swan Christian Education Association Inc. Archived from the original on 11 March 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  18. Pendal, Simon (31 August 2015). "Joyous learning: Bunbury Catholic College". ArchitectureAU. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  19. Tai, Bonnie (18 August 2015). "Winners of the 2015 Think Brick Awards revealed". Architecture & Design. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  20. "2016 WA Architecture Awards". ArchitectureAU. 2 July 2016. Archived from the original on 10 January 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  21. "2017 WA Architecture Awards". ArchitectureAU. 24 June 2017. Archived from the original on 24 November 2018. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  22. Hiatt, Bethany (10 January 2021). "WA's top 50 schools in ATAR ranking revealed". The West Australian. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  23. Pilat, Lauren (11 January 2021). "WA's top-performing high schools revealed as students don't let pandemic hold them back". WAtoday. Retrieved 14 January 2021.
  24. Granger, Jacqui (11 August 2016). "Addams Family Musical". Bunbury Catholic College. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  25. Granger, Jacqui (11 August 2016). "Design and Technology". Bunbury Catholic College. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  26. "2016 RAC Pedal Prix, Busselton WA - Race 5, Australian HPV Super Series - Official Event Results". Speedhive. 20 August 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  27. "2017 RAC Pedal Prix, Busselton WA - Race 5, Australian HPV Super Series - Official Event Results". Speedhive. 19 August 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  28. "2018 RAC Pedal Prix, Busselton WA - Race 5, Australian HPV Super Series - Official Event Results". Speedhive. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  29. "2019 RAC Pedal Prix, Busselton WA - Race 5, Australian HPV Super Series - Official Event Results". Speedhive. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  30. "New Communication Tools". Mercy Stories. 12 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  31. "Mercy Snapshot (Issue 1)" (PDF). Mercy Snapshot. 13 May 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  32. "Mercy Stories". Mercy Stories. 5 May 2020. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  33. "Newsletter". Our Lady of Mercy College. 3 April 2020. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  34. Bunbury Catholic College. "House Patrons". Bunbury Catholic College. Archived from the original on 9 March 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  35. Our Lady of Mercy College 2020 Planner, p. 2
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