Grandparents Day - A Time to be Thankful

Grandparents Day #unitedinhope

A very special prayer reflection and morning tea were held on Wednesday 26 July with Year 7 students and their grandparents.  The service was also in celebration of the Feast Days of Saints Joachim and Anne, grandparents of Jesus held also on 26 July. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to express their love and appreciation to their grandparents for playing such an important role in their lives. Throughout the reflection, grandparents and students shared the special memories they have experienced together. The Year 7 granddaughters also wrote cards to their grandparents as a symbol of their love and appreciation. Colette Paterson, Year 7 student, presented a speech about life at Merici today and spoke about what it was like at Merici many years ago. 

"Good morning, Year 7 students and grandparents. My name is Colette Paterson and I am a current Year 7 student here at Merici. At Merici there is a real sense of community – first among the students, but also among the families.

This is evident today as I look around the room and see the grandparents here to support and celebrate their Merici granddaughters. This special celebration for our loving grandparents is the perfect time to tell you about my amazing time at Merici so far and also the stories of my great aunt’s time here at Merici long ago.

I have always held a special bond with my great aunt and godmother Margaret who we call Margo. Margo was a student at Merici for Years 11 and 12 in 1962 and 1963 during the time it was called Catholic Girls High School Braddon. 

In preparing for today, I  enjoyed the opportunity of spending some special time with Margo chatting about how much the school has changed between the years1963 and 2017 – when I started.

But to know just how much it has changed you need to know about Merici today.

I started this year excited but a little overawed by the size of the school.  It’s true that you soon got used to it – but we all got lost walking around it in the first weeks.  But in the 1960s Merici was much smaller, consisting of just one small L shaped building, which is now known as the old building. 

Today we have amazing teachers – both female, male and from different walks of life and even countries. What is most different is that in Margo’s time there were only a few teachers at the school who were not nuns. All of my aunt’s teachers were nuns from six different orders who all wore different habits. At that time having more than one order of nuns was seen as a very modern approach to teaching.

We are very privileged today as not only do we have a great range of teachers, but also an amazing wide range of subjects beyond the usual English, Science, Maths, which I am pretty confident were also on offered in 1960s, to other subjects such as Information Technology, Dance, Drama, Media – which I am equally confident were not all available in the 60s,

One thing that is constant is that here at Merici you get the opportunity to study a language.  However what is different is that in my aunt’s time Latin was on the list, whereas today we have languages such as Chinese.

I love playing sport on the oval.  In my aunt’s time they did also have PE but it was held in an old hall at the end of the playground.  There was no gym back then, whereas what we use as the gym today actually used to be a church  called St Patrick’s.

Technology is such a big part of our school life today from our interactive whiteboards to our own laptops. But in the 1960s there was no such thing as laptops or computers. Everything was written by hand – Oh! Their poor wrists!

Here at Merici today we are very proud of our healthy canteen.  In Margo’s time, not only was there not such a fancy canteen but they ate their lunch at the desk before going into the playground.

The students in the 1960s didn’t have lockers. They kept everything in a desk in their home classroom.  This was the classroom where most of their lessons were held and the teachers came to them.  Today we move to different classrooms for each class.

What was most shocking to hear was that Margo even had to come in on Saturday morning from 11am to 12 noon for an English lesson.  I think the idea of this would be equally shocking to today’s students and teachers alike!

It’s clear that in the last 50 years there have been a lot of changes in the life of a Merici student.  School life was very different.

Just imagine if we Year 7’s could step back in time and spend even just a day here at Merici back in the 60s  Would we want to come back? I think so…………..

But while there are differences I like to think that the community and support that we Merici students have today – was also around in the 1960s – and has been ever since.

I would like to thank my aunt Margo for letting me share her stories here with us all today – and I look forward to my future years at Merici   to build on my own stories." Colette Paterson (Year 7)

After the prayer service, the grandparents were invited to the restaurant where they enjoyed a delicious Devonshire Tea. Students then escorted their grandparents on as tour of the school. This was a very special opportunity for some of our grandparents who attended Merici College themselves. One grandma, Vicky Morris, reflected on her wedding day with her granddaughter where she was married in the then-St Patrick’s Church, now our Gymnasium.

After the school tour, our guests returned to the Chapel for a special music performances by the College’s Beginner Band and Junior Band.

Dear Father in heaven, thank you for the gift of our devoted grandparents. Thank you for their wisdom, love and generosity. Thank you for the time they are willing to spend with us in a world where many adults are in a hurry. Thank you for making them a rock where our families find security in a world of turmoil and change. Thank you for their faith which acts as a strong foundation for our families. Help them when they face the difficulties of old age and when the “golden years” are not so golden. When their strength fails, be the strength of their heart. As they have been a refuge to many, be their refuge in life’s difficult times. Help us to learn from their wisdom which inspires us to reach our goals in life. Amen.

We would like to thank all our grandparents for coming along and celebrating this special occasion with our school community.

Please follow the link https://merici.news/view-galleries/grandparents-day-time-be-thankful to find the complete photo gallery.

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