Learning Diversity

DiversityLearning

2020 saw the Learning Diversity team undergoing a restructure with the departure of two key members. Judi Gregory resigned at the end of 2019 after 16 years in her role as a Learning Support Officer. Judi’s contributions to the work of the team in ensuring that students with disability were provided with a level playing field have had a significant impact on the lives of many of our students. The College community extends their gratitude to Judi and wishes her well in all her future endeavours.

In Term 2, 2020 Michael Beavis – Learning Support officer, tendered his resignation. Michael has worked at Mazenod for over 7 years and his expertise in the area of disability support has further enhanced our standing as an inclusive school. Additionally, Michael has provided focused support to students in the technology area. We wish Michael every blessing for his future.

With departures, there are arrivals and in 2020, the team welcomed three part time Learning Support officers. A very warm welcome to Dominique Crasto, Brinda Manogaran and Denise Tan. While joining the team during a pandemic created its own challenges, Dominique, Brinda and Denise have certainly risen to the challenge! We also welcomed Yavanna Dyson to our teaching team. She brings a wealth of knowledge in the area of Science and is working with teachers to develop adjustments and modifications to programs.

As the Mazenod College community headed into the 2020 academic year, who could have predicted the changes and challenges that would be faced by people across the world, with the COVID-19 pandemic. The enormously dedicated Learning Diversity team, who work tirelessly to support students, again showed their resilience by facing and managing the challenges that presented. As the manager of this wonderful team, I would like to publicly acknowledge the amazing work that has continued despite the difficulties and challenges of remote learning. The young men of Mazenod have certainly had exemplary care during this period of time

So, to Shaun Akkermans, Athena Beshir, Christine Boyle, Dominique Crasto, Yavanna Dyson, Edna Flanagan, Dennis Leong, Brinda Manogaran, Sharon O’Shannassy, Denise Tan and Rosie Welsford, thank you for doing an amazing job in a difficult year.

Anne Johnson

Lockdown Reflection 2020 has been an extraordinary year, one that will be written and re-written about in history books. This pandemic has brought about profound and unexpected challenges as well as innovative and exciting learning prospects for us all. In March of this year, I undertook the position of Learning Support Officer at Mazenod College. This was a time of uncertainty, the pandemic was the talk of the town and everyone was preparing for what remote learning would look like. The Learning Diversity Team made me feel welcome and prepared for what was to come, however, I must admit that I was nervous that I would not be able to cope with learning the new role in a digital climate. It was encouraging to see the Mazenod community band together to take on the challenges of remote learning. We all soon became accustomed to the new normal of remote learning; being able to wake up slightly later, wearing tracksuits to class, and finding ways to stay connected online. As the year progressed, I was able to get to know the Learning Diversity Team, making connections with students and learning how to deal with the struggles and frustrations of poor internet connection. 2020 has been nothing short of an amazing, exciting and difficult year. It has taught me to always be prepared for the unexpected, to be resilient and that there is always support available. I cannot wait to see what 2021 has to offer!

Dominique Crasto

Film Club This year has proved to be quite difficult for many extracurricular activities at Mazenod, but in order to keep in touch with everybody in the Film Club, Mr Akkermans and I decided to switch to a remote experience during lockdown. By hosting presentations during Wednesday lunchtimes, a decent amount of regular members attended as lockdown continued. To provide further opportunities for social interaction, the idea to create a ‘Film Club Movie Night’ was established. With strong interest, a group of movie buffs gathered remotely to enjoy a movie every Friday night from 7pm onwards. From Steven Spielberg’s video game flick “Ready Player One” to the hit musical “Hamilton” to the original 1989 “Batman”, these movie nights turned out to be an astounding success with at least ten people coming each week! From there on, we all recommended a movie we wanted everybody to watch the following week and as time has gone on, we have run these nights for over 20 consecutive weeks. We hope to continue these nights even when we return to normal circumstances as they turned out to be the highlight of everyone’s week!

Kieran Rahilly and Shaun Akkermans