Humanities

The last twelve months have been extraordinary in many ways. It was a surprise, though a welcome one, to be interviewed as the Humanities Coordinator by The Age in December. As you might have subsequently read, the newspaper identified the College’s 2019 Humanities VCE results as being foremost in the state. It was heartening to learn that, based on the number of scores above 40, thereby placing students in the top 9% of the state in their subject, The Age statistically evinced that Mazenod’s History Revolutions, Global Politics and Geography VCE scores were, collectively, the most impressive in the state. Indeed, it is now clear that Mazenod College was the only school to appear in the top 10 for published 40 plus scores in Victoria for all three Humanities disciplines! It was a wonderful accolade for the College, an academic apotheosis built on the rich legacy of excellence established by Mr Joe Moore, which highlighted the efforts of the talented colleagues in the faculty, coupled with the sterling efforts of our talented students. Such feats were underscored by the fact that the 2019 Dux, Sam Warner, took three Humanities courses as part of his senior school pathway culminating in his quite outstanding ATAR ranking.

We were delighted to welcome three History teachers to the faculty in Mr James Convery, Mr John Tighe and Mr Noel McGarry, and the Year 9 Enhancement History elective was introduced to afford more students the opportunity to potentially access the highly successful accelerated VCE History program championed by The Age. The faculty also recently purchased the raw materials for an Augmented Reality Sandbox – we look forward to showcasing the fruits of Mr De Fanti’s innovative labour in next year’s Mazenodian.

Nick Young Year 12 VCE Geography: Fieldtrip Report and Reflections on Remote Learning Despite the disrupted year, the Year 12 Geography class was lucky enough to sneak in a field trip to the site of Boronia Secondary College at the start of the year, to investigate the environmental impacts of housing development in the area. With assistance from some clippage and the dulcet tones of Mr Faragher, we toured the site, observing and recording our surroundings, and identifying significant remnant vegetation such as the silvertop stringybark and infamous symbiotic Cherry Ballart. Meanwhile, another brave group of men ventured into the streets of Boronia, interviewing local residents about their views on the proposed housing development. We then had the privilege of visiting the Knox Environmental Society, where we explored how we can maintain and support indigenous species of the Knox community. The information collected on the day was used to inform the first SAC of the year, the Old Boronia Heights Secondary College field report. Back in the classroom, under the guise of both a virtual and tangible Mr De Fanti, the Geography class continued its studies, investigating and analysing the impacts of land cover change, such as desertification, deforestation and ice melt. More recently, lockdown 2.0 has seen the Geography class establish a vast array of knowledge surrounding the challenge of people movement, building up our expertise for our final exam, with its ever looming presence growing closer.

Simply put, Geography has been an enjoyable year. Even more notably, it has been an informative one. No matter how we all perform at the end of the year, we can safely say we have learned applicable lessons about the world, which will stay with us in the years to come.

Jordan Tranter