Senior Mercy 6 Day Article

On the 23rd of March, eight Year 11 students, and one Year 12 student attended the Senior Mercy 6 Day at Our Lady of Mercy College Parramatta, accompanied by Youth Mission and Religion teacher, Mr Dumas. The representatives interacted with students from a range of Mercy schools, such as Catherine McAuley Westmead, Emmaus Catholic College, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Burraneer, Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Parramatta, and Monte Sant’ Angelo Mercy College.

The focus of the day was “If Not Me, Then Who,” where a number of guest speakers educated the students on a range of different topics, and also gave opportunities to discuss as a group. Sister Marie Butcher, Sister Val Dickinson, Sister Margaret discussed topics surrounding Mercy Works, refugees, and asking the ‘why’ questions until the root cause of an issue is found. Sue Mobray and Lisa Feelan from Mercy Foundation came to talk about homelessness, and Jo Casamento, the communications coordinator from Mercy Works talked about the different initiatives they are doing. We were also able to meet the other students from the other mercy schools and discuss what initiatives their schools run. This was inspiring and motivating for our Mercy girls to gain new ideas in environmental, religious and social justice aspects.

There were a few main messages of the day, including realising what we have here in Australia in order to recognise what others don’t, to “do no harm”, to change the systems in which these people live in order to change their lives long term, and to listen to what they want as they’re our best teachers. We were also taught what a ‘Mercy Response’ entails; to accompany, to assist, and to advocate.

This was an inspiring day for the students, and was an amazing opportunity, where many ideas have been taken away and implemented into our Mercy community.

By Sienna M and Eadie C
Social Justice Captains – Year 11