Staff
Farewells
Paulette Weegberg Mrs Paulette Weegberg commenced employment at the College in 1994 in the Food Technology area and has provided 27 years of dedicated service. She has been instrumental in ensuring that the men of Mazenod develop basic life skills in food preparation, methods of cookery and technologies used in the safe production of food. Many Mazenod College students have fond memories in the kitchen, baking chocolate chip cookies, making festive gingerbread houses and learning to cook meals for their families. Food Technology has for many years been the most popular subject within the College with over 400 students undertaking classes in a given year! Paulette is to be congratulated for her most professional, engaging and creative lessons. Over the years she has also inspired many students to continue with studies or businesses within the hospitality industry. Of note, is former Master Chef George Calombaris. Other chefs and business owners include The Last Piece and Sette Bello, both local restaurants run by former students of the College. Of course, Food Technology has not been all about career paths within the hospitality industry, it has been about encouraging the young men of Mazenod to not be afraid of the kitchen and to embrace the special cultural dishes and traditions within their own families. For many students, food technology lessons at school were the first time that the young men had washed a dish. Paulette soon made it known that it would never be the last! Over the past 27 years, Paulette has amazingly managed food allergies, life-threatening anaphylaxis and has adapted work stations within the food technology area to ensure that every student could participate in the practical classes, and not be excluded. During the period of remote learning, she creatively ran her own YouTube channel, ‘Cooking with Paulette’ so that the young men of Mazenod could still actively engage in practical lessons and more importantly, could develop meals for themselves and their families whilst at home. Congratulations Paulette on your amazing years of service to Mazenod College and over 40 years of service in Catholic and State schools. The entire Mazenod College community, both past and present, are richer for the gift of having you on staff! We pray that Almighty God blesses you, Mark and your children. We wish you good health and happiness in this next stage of your life. Your smile, good humour and the occasional special morning tea in the staffroom, will be sorely missed! Vivian Seremetis
12
Richard Faragher The year was 1994. Movie goers flocked to the cinema to watch Forrest Gump, Bon Jovi and Mariah Carey ruled the airwaves, Blue Heelers was a smash hit for the Seven Network, and Richard Faragher joined Mazenod College. 1994 will certainly go down in history as a very successful year! As a teacher, Richard is the consummate professional. Despite often being tasked with students who were ‘mathematically challenged’, Richard has an amazing ability to connect with all students, accepting them as individuals, encouraging them to reach their potential and being able to deconstruct difficult concepts to a comprehensible level. While there is no questioning Richard’s skills as a Maths and Science teacher, it was in the Outdoor Education environment where Richard came alive. Whether it be kayaking, mountain biking, surfing, hiking up a mountain or driving a mini bus, this is where Richard thrived as a teacher, providing a once in a lifetime experience for hundreds of students over many years. He is a notoriously brilliant storyteller around the campfire, and loved nothing more than challenging the students to get out of their comfort zone, ‘bush bashing’ through rugged terrain. On a personal note, Richard will be greatly missed by so many. With a lack of pretentiousness and the ability to make people laugh, he is the perfect office companion, supportive colleague and coffee buddy. He is extremely generous with his time, volunteering to assist colleagues with marking or to accompany his mates to Arbor for a quick coffee and dose of perspective. As the President of the Breakfast Club, a quiz master in the staffroom at lunchtime and a regular attendee on a Friday afternoon, Richard always guarantees lively conversation and plenty of laughs. We have watched Richard’s 1994 dress sense evolve from short shorts to a svelte figure with matching shirt and tie combinations in 2020, while those that have boxed with him can testify to the epic power of his right hook. While we will miss the many social interactions, we know that you will keep in touch and hopefully be an honorary guest at Breakfast Club meetings. We hope that you will still make the time for us in your busy schedule of bike riding, hiking, volunteering for the Knox Environment Society, gardening, Magnetic Island trips and most importantly, grandparent duties. Forrest Gump was right when he suggested that “life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get”, but in Richard we always know what we are going to get - honesty, integrity, engaging conversation and a plethora of Dad jokes. Clare Caldwell
