Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Burraneer

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Burraneer welcomes first ever Year 12 Cohort

A new era has begun at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Burraneer as the school proudly celebrates its first-ever Year 12 cohort in 2025.

Led by Principal Christine Harding, the school is embracing this new chapter with a strong focus on academic excellence, pastoral care, and community spirit.

“This is an incredibly exciting time for our College,” said Mrs Harding. “For the first time, we have Year 12 students preparing for the HSC, alongside our inaugural Year 11 group. Having been here as Assistant Principal when we were a Year 7 to 10 school, it’s truly special to now welcome senior students, especially in our 90th anniversary year.”

The growth to a full Year 7 to 12 model has been accompanied by significant developments in the school’s structure. As part of the Sydney Catholic Schools Sutherland Shire Precinct, Our Lady of Mercy Burraneer offers a broad range of subjects for senior students.

“We’ve been very deliberate about continuing to hire experienced teachers, many of whom are HSC markers and specialists, so that our students are getting the absolute best support possible,” Mrs Harding explained.

A cornerstone of the school’s commitment to supporting its senior students is the stunning new Coolangatta House, transformed into a dedicated Stage 6 wellbeing hub.

This space is designed to provide a calm and supportive environment where senior students can study, collaborate, and recharge. It features quiet study areas, access to teachers, and resources to assist with both academic and personal development.

“The wellbeing hub is unique to our school. It’s a place where students can relax during recess and lunch, attend study sessions, and get the support they need,” said Mrs Harding. “Wellbeing and learning go hand …

baden.parkerbrown@syd.catholic.edu.auMarch 3, 2025|

Sutherland Shire Colleges Welcome New Cohorts

Sydney Catholic Schools’ (SCS) Sutherland Shire precinct is set to enter an exciting phase in 2024 with each of the precinct’s three schools welcoming new cohorts for the first time.

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Burraneer and De La Salle Catholic College Caringbah will both welcome their first Year 11 students this year, while St Aloysius College Cronulla will welcome its first Year 7 students.

The introduction of the new cohorts is the latest phase in SCS’ Sutherland Shire precinct, which has seen the three colleges transform into Year 7-12 single-sex and co-educational learning environments.

The precinct is the only one of its kind in the Shire, offering families different models of Catholic education with the same excellent teaching and learning SCS is renowned for.

Christine Harding, Principal of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College Burraneer, said the college was looking forward to welcoming its first senior students.

“The college has a long history of empowering young women and providing them with a strong, well-rounded education, and we’re delighted to extend this to senior students for the first time,” she said.

“We have a number of new, dedicated teachers with specialised knowledge and expertise in the Year 11 and 12 curriculum, and we’re excited about what our students will be able to achieve under their guidance.”

Peter Buxton, Principal of De La Salle Catholic College Caringbah, said the addition of the new cohort of Year 11 students will help further establish the college as a leader in boys education in the Sutherland Shire.

“The response to the transition from the wider community has been overwhelmingly positive and we are well positioned to …

domenictrimboli01February 9, 2024|

New education precinct announced for the Shire

Sydney Catholic Schools has unveiled its plans for a cutting-edge new education precinct in the Shire’s beachside suburbs.

Executive Director of Sydney Catholic Schools, Tony Farley, said the new education precinct will transform three existing college campuses into Year 7-12 single-sex and co-educational contemporary learning environments.

“This is a defining moment in the combined histories of De La Salle Cronulla, De La Salle Caringbah and Our Lady of Mercy Burraneer, as we reimagine this part of the Shire and transform it into a world-class precinct,” Mr Farley said.

The three precinct schools will retain their current leaders – Peter Buxton (left), Leonie Pearce and Stephen Mahoney – to usher in the new era of collaboration.

Increased connectivity between campuses

“This will be the only Catholic education precinct within the Shire’s beating heart, on the boundary of the beautiful Gunnamatta Bay, with expanded student offerings at each school site and increased connectivity between the three campuses,” Mr Farley said.

“For example, new subject offerings linked to Gunnamatta Bay, such as Marine Science, Marine Biology and Aquaculture; sporting competitions, in rowing, sailing and rugby; creative and performing arts programs; and social outreach initiatives.”

A precinct of vast opportunity and choice

“This will be a precinct of vast opportunity and choice as De La Salle Cronulla, Our Lady of Mercy Burraneer and De La Salle Caringbah expand into Year 7 to 12 colleges from 2024, providing a smooth transition for students as they move through to the senior years of schooling,” Mr Farley said.

“Expanding De La Salle …

Isabell PetrinicSeptember 13, 2022|

OLMC’s new SBS News mentor

Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) Burraneer has welcomed a new high profile mentor for students as part of a strengthened future-focused learning approach.

SBS and BBC World News journalist, Tanya Dendrinos, spoke to the college’s Year 10 students about career pathways on 12 May, ahead of their transition to senior studies.

A former student of the college’s principal Leonie Pearce, Ms Dendrinos shared insights from her path to success and time as a foreign correspondent, including the importance of networking and the nonlinear nature of career pathways.

OLMC’s Leader of Learning and Innovation, Lauren Batty, said Year 10 were currently considering subject selection for years 11 and 12, and both ATAR and Non-ATAR pathway options.

“We hope that Tanya’s pathway insights resonate with Year 10, and motivate them to seize opportunities and feel excited by this time of future-focused thinking and planning,” she said.

Principal Leonie Pearce said the mentoring complements a teaching approach that aims to develop students’ capacity to transfer knowledge and skills to their future studies and careers – no matter the subject – through relevant learning experiences.

“Exposure to different life and career experiences prompts the girls to reflect on their own passions and be inspired by others” – Leonie Pearce

“Like other young people, many of our students are unaware of the endless possibilities or the ways to achieve their goals,” Mrs Pearce said.

“We believe in the importance of every girl exploring their own personalised pathway.

“By fostering opportunities for deep learning and meaningful challenges, we hope that our students will become empowered women who contribute to the common good, address global challenges and flourish in a complex world.”

Mercy breaking news

Ms Dendrinos also provided OLMC’s new …

jaderamirezsydcatholiceduauMay 23, 2022|

Philosophy electives: Thinking for the future

What can a group of long-dead philosophers teach a student today? The answer is plenty.

Amid the more prescriptive elements of the NSW curriculum, two Sydney Catholic schools have created imaginative and intelligent courses to develop their students’ critical thinking skills.

We take a look at the skills and concepts Our Lady of Mercy Catholic College (OLMC) Burraneer and Marist Sisters’ College Woolwich philosophy students take with them into a future of rapid change.

OLMC: PHILOSOPHY BY THE BAY

In 2015, OLMC Burraneer introduced the course Philosophy by the Bay, fusing the work of Renaissance philosophers with modern science, society and politics.

The NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) endorsed the elective for students in years 9 and 10.

Philosophy by the Bay’s first students with teacher Kerrie Ramsay in 2015. Photo: Kitty Beale

So what exactly can an OLMC girl learn from a bunch of dead philosophers?

It’s a question that the school’s philosophy teacher and gifted education facilitator, Kerrie Ramsay, asks students at the beginning of each year.

“Always for us the concept is first: ethics, power, legacy, truth,” Mrs Ramsay said.

“Then the philosophers’ opinions become ones to consider alongside our own, our family’s, our friends’. It’s a big melting pot of ideas.

“Philosophy by the Bay gives the gift of time, listening, and checking what you think about the world around you and your own values.”

“The students know they’re formulating their first beliefs and that their first beliefs won’t necessarily be their last beliefs” – Kerrie Ramsay

Mrs Ramsay said past students have been drawn to North Carolina …

jaderamirezsydcatholiceduauNovember 30, 2021|