We entend our congratulations to all our students for their academic achievements throughout Semester 1, 2023.
On Tuesday 1 August, we gathered as a community to congratulate and celebrate students who have a high level of academic achievement across all subjects and students who were recognised by their teachers in individual subjects in Semester 1. Year 7 students received awards for the first time which always bring some extra excitement.
The pinnacle of Merici’s Principles of Powerful Learning is Academic Excellence which assists our girls to build successful futures. At the ceremony, we recognised students whose efforts have led to personal levels of Academic Excellence, as well as being role models to other students.
Awards fell into two categories:
- Academic Excellence and Outstanding Effort within individual classes. Teachers nominate students for Outstanding Effort awards while Academic Excellence awards in each subject are decided by the top ranked students in each course.
- We also award special certificates of Credit, Distinction and High Distinction to those students whose academic achievement has been excellent across all of their subjects.
Mrs Anna Masters, Principal, addressed our community about the importance of being faithful to ourselves as learners.
"B.B.King, a famous blues guitarist and singer-songwriter once said:
“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.”
King was born in 1925 on a cotton plantation in Mississippi (USA) and later worked at a cotton gin. He was attracted to music and taught himself to play guitar and began his career in community gathering spaces and local radio. He overcame so much to become the “King of Blues” and tour the world extensively as a master of his musical craft.
B.B. King knew the power of community as he developed his craft, he also knew that learning would free him and it did! He is a wonderful example of a great performer who became who he was because of Ubuntu: the philosophy we keep coming back to in our year of Communitas: "I am what I am because of who we all are."
His learning journey took courage and the support of others. His companions helped him have the sense of certainty that the invisible, intangible dream that he held inside COULD become a reality. B.B.King’s community and fellow musicians supported him as he worked to overcome fear, prejudice and hold true to his dreams.
This is so clear when look to the example of others in our world.
I know that many of you are Taylor Swift fans and have eagerly bought tickets for her upcoming concerts. You probably know much more of her story than I do. Nevertheless, she is another fantastic example of a passionate and talented individual who has had the support of her community– especially her loved ones, to grow, evolve and learn as a musician. No-one can take her learning away from her! In fact, she has refused to be typecast as a musician and continues to experiment in many different genres, from country and western to pop and folk. She is also very aware that, as a role model, she has much that she can do to support others in our community and world – her influence as a creative, political and philanthropic voice is considerable. She is living Ubuntu!
With B.B. King and Taylor Swift in mind, I ask you to humour me a moment. Reflect on your learning so far this year.
When did you believe in the potential that lies in you?
When did you let fear stop you from learning and growing?
How did you work to overcome your challenges last semester?
How did you work in community to grow yourself and those around you?
Did you:
- Talk to someone
- Change your self-talk
- Seek help or work with others
- Accept feedback and apply it
- Find a role model
- Find new resources or try new ways to approach a challenge?
Did you take time to reflect on and celebrate the incredible things that having faith in yourself helped you achieve this semester? Always gift yourself some special moments to do so in the next little while. By doing so, you will get the chance to experience a rush of deep pride and satisfaction that comes with knowing that you have been really learning! No-one can take that away from you!
Today we recognize those who have had the courage to follows their passions and seek excellence. We acknowledge their dedication, talent, skills and resilience. Congratulations to all who will receive awards today. You should be very proud. You should also be confident that, with courage and faith in yourself, and in those around you, you will continue to grow and achieve.
Well done."
Anna Masters, Principal
We also welcomed a member of our Alumni, Class of 2019, Rosemary (Rosie) Zielinski to address our community. Rosie graduated from Merici in 2019 and is currently an honours student at the Australian National University studying theoretical physics. She is investigating how we can describe the phenomenon of 'quantum tunnelling' using theories beyond quantum mechanics which also include relativistic effects. She has previously worked in areas including molecular dynamics, nuclear/accelerator physics, and many-body quantum mechanics. She has also done research with both the CSIRO and the University of Melbourne. In her spare time, she enjoys weird podcasts , feminist literature, patting other people's cats, inexpertly playing the French horn, and op-shopping. Rosie spoke to our students about her life since leaving College, the challenges she has faced and her aspirations for the future. We would like to thank Rosie for spending time with our community and wish her continued success in that she does.
The College also announced the students who have been awarded scholarships and congratulate:
- Emily Gow recipient of the St Ursula Scholarship
- Hannah Scott recipient of the Kath Pentony Mathematics Scholarship
- Georgia Ween recipient of the Melissa Van Poppel Scholarship
- Zoe Bullock recipient of the Vocational, Education and Training Scholarship
- Francesca Bower, Rebecca Price, Guntas Sidhu - Partial Board Scholarships
- Grace Barber and Ishita Gutpa - Full Board Scholarships
Congratulations to all of our awardees today.
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