Principal’s Report

As educators, we are profoundly optimistic about the potential and intrinsic God given goodness and value of each young person with whom we have the privilege to work. On behalf of the staff at Mazenod College, I sincerely thank all parents and carers for the opportunity to be part of your son’s education. I would also like to thank the College Advisory Council, for their full support in implementing the College’s vision and mission.

We are a Catholic School in the St Eugene de Mazenod tradition. As a Catholic College, we are part of the Church, a place of faith, hope and love. Gospel values should be experienced in word and action in everything that we do. St Eugene de Mazenod founded the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate to work with the poor and marginalised. We aim to have each student recognise those in need and understand that a St Eugene de Mazenod education compels them to respond.

Our College is governed by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), along with several other schools in Victoria we follow a shared mission and vision. Working Together in Mission: Charter for parishes and schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne provides a clear statement of the Church’s mission to educate the children and young people of our families, and its parishes or associations of parishes.

The essential message of the statement is a call and a challenge for us to provide the best possible Catholic education for our young people as they embark on their life journey as a fruit of the gospel. (Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, Working Together in Mission).

Faith and Oblate Charism

Formation experiences are invaluable in providing opportunities to experience the sacred in our daily lives. The formation of students and staff is an integral element of the strategic plan. Integrating the Oblate charism, social justice experiences and the religious education curriculum has formed the foundation of many initiatives to date. This includes giving priority to staff and students who engage with immersion experiences, justice and solidarity initiatives and celebration of year level liturgies or the Eucharist. Thank you to our Oblate Faith and Charism team who offer outstanding leadership in this area of College life.

Student Wellbeing

Catholic schools have a moral, legal and mission-driven responsibility to create nurturing school environments where children and young people are respected, their voices are heard, and they are safe and feel safe. Recent legislative requirements within the state of Victoria, including the specific requirements of the Victorian Child Safe Standards as set out in Ministerial Order No. 1359, documents this safety and wellbeing for students, families and staff. At Mazenod College, we create a child-safe and child-friendly environment where students are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety. Particular attention is paid to the most vulnerable students.

Learning

Educational leadership, with an emphasis on High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS), is a key component of an evidence-based teaching philosophy at Mazenod College The quality of teachers has been shown to have a significant impact on student learning. Data tracking and analysis and establishing well-researched pedagogy are critical for school improvement. The continuation of academic awards and public recognition of academic success creates a foundation of a love of learning at Mazenod College to be built upon. The allocation and organisation of teacher duties, establishing a timetable team to plan strategically for its smooth implementation is an important aspect of this work.

Learning Diversity

Learning is a sequential, developmental process. Attainment of skills, understanding of different domains of knowledge, and strategies for solving problems are acquired gradually, and in sequences that are predictable. There are substantial differences in learning status and learning rates among individuals of any given age. Individual differences characterise both the rate of development and the acquisition of specific skills (e.g. reading), and even in the earliest years of school we can note a remarkable spread of achievement in reading or numeracy skills among children in the same class. A huge thank you to all staff and the Learning Diversity Team, for the support and documentation of adjustments for our students.

Operations and Compliance Team

The College structure includes an Operations and Compliance team responsible for governance, risk, compliance and calendaring and management of events. This has been an extremely busy year for the team, particularly after two years of events mostly occurring online. Early in the year, a decision was made to outsource governance, risk and compliance to Moore Australia. They provide risk assurance services from their specialist school governance and risk advisory team. Moore Australia has a zero-tolerance approach to child safety and apply this to all advisory work. Their team have worked extensively in school policy, risk and compliance. In 2023, Mazenod College will be audited by the VRQA. Engaging with Moore Australia this year will ensure we are prepared for this area of compliance.

Evidence-based Teaching and Learning

Evidence-based teaching and learning strategies has included the development of a comprehensive transition plan that incorporates diagnostic testing of Year 6 students who have accepted enrolment at Mazenod College. Since the introduction of national testing in 2008, schools have increasingly expressed the need for placement/diagnostic information for Years 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 students to supplement NAPLAN data and provide a more in-depth understanding of the skill development of students. Aptitude testing provides additional valuable insights into student potential and capability and is carried out with the highest level of reliability, validity and integrity.

Students complete a range of diagnostic assessments that will provide the College with data on:

• Aptitude: General, Verbal and Non-verbal Reasoning

• Achievement: Mathematics; Reading; Comprehension; Spelling; Writing

• Identification of gifted and talented students

• Social and emotional wellbeing of students.

Students’ individual needs are identified by the following means: contact with feeder schools to ascertain level of literacy, numeracy, social and emotional skills; identification of country of birth of parents and students; interviews with students and families; referral to outside agencies for assistance as required.

Support Staff

The smooth operation of the College is only as good as the support staff who are employed in specific roles. Staffing, business and finance, ICT, data, systems and analysis, administration, enrolments, and human resources ensure the effective running of the College. I would like to thank them for the vigilant way in which all support staff are involved in the full life of the College community.

Dr Paul Shannon Principal