Staff Report

Last year’s Staff report concluded with the rhetorical question ‘may the oceans provide smoother sailing ahead?’ This was not the case in 2021. Instead, we adapted to uncertainty and grew accustomed to expecting the unexpected. In fact, this year’s report is written with a strong sense of déjà vu following four lockdowns and countless COVID-19 tests, all underpinned by growing expertise in online teaching and learning strategies.

Consequently, enormous pressure was placed on our students and staff, requiring increased flexibility and growing resilience. The College leadership team was enriched with the appointment of our new College Rector, Fr Harry Dyer OMI. Fr Harry’s humour, faith, and passion for reaching out to our de Mazenod family have been invaluable in navigating the uncertainty. The Executive team expanded with the creation of three new roles. The position of Deputy Principal of Learning and Teaching was assumed by Matthew Fyfield. John Tighe stepped into the role of Dean of Faith and Oblate Charism and Kyle Hoad was appointed Dean of Data, Systems and Analysis. Thus, began the new threeyear tenure for all College positions of leadership. In particular, we thank our Middle Leaders for taking on additional responsibilities to steady the ship.

As a means of targeting teaching to students whose learning was disrupted by the pandemic, a governmentfunded learning initiative was implemented at the beginning of the year. Over 250 students received additional literacy and numeracy tuition from accomplished teachers Erika Tennant, Bronwyn De Beer, Mary Stoforidis, Chris Murphy, Mary Pegram and our very own Fr Kevin Davine OMI. We appreciate their support and commitment to our learning programs.

We also welcomed new teachers Mie Takamatsu to the Japanese department, Peter Nguyen to classroom Music, Joshua Hunter and Claire Russo to the Religious Education faculty and Lucia Hosking to the English faculty. Their flexibility in adapting to the College remote learning environment was testament to their professionalism.

Flipping to the online learning environment with minimal notice would not have been possible without our education support staff. This year, we welcomed IT Support Technician Callum Branagan, who displayed incredible patience along the journey. Other recruits included Food Technology Assistant Karen Ansell and Technology Assistant Scott Cunningham. Bridgette Gray replaced Fleur Ellis as Sport Facilities Coordinator and former student Trent Symss was employed as an AFL Sports Trainee. The Faith and Oblate Charism team also welcomed Old Boys, Adil Alvarez and Luke Schaefer. Our new office administrative assistants Eleshia Hill and Wendy Liu were tasked with keeping us connected via staff mail-outs. They were joined by Jenna Dye who returned from maternity leave.

Georgia Lawrence showed versatility, stepping into the dual roles of Learning Support Officer and Italian Language Assistant. Other Language Assistants included Huroko Akatsuka and Yu Lei. With ‘an eye on tomorrow’, Alison Alberico, from Emmaus College, was appointed to the position of College Registrar.

Furthermore, as our own staff navigated the challenges of the pandemic, juxtaposed with the demands of family life, we were fortunate to enlist the support of relief teachers. We thank Richard Faragher, Annaliese Leon, Miram O’Brien, Emmanuel Gelberidis, Carolyn Gekas, Alex Keser, Meg Newman, Mel Asik, Ross Vernon, Christina Klonis, Maggie Georgopolous and Lydia St Ange. During an era of teacher shortages, we were grateful for attracting such talent.

Meanwhile, we celebrated new life and marriage. Jamie and Ardrie Davin were thrilled by the arrival of their son Ethan. Nick and Adriana Marturano welcomed Alessio Angelo. Ben and Lauren Benke were blessed by the arrival of Michael Dominic. Adrian and Elspeth De Fanti welcomed their daughter Fenella Elsie Fern, Paul and Rachael Harrop welcomed Kailani Sophia and, Christina Schumann and Sam became proud parents of Jack Gabriel Rebbechi. In addition, the year ended with the new arrival of Isabella Rose to Rachel and Joe Horne and the Sharrock family welcomed Cora May. In a stroke of good luck, Lauren Oliver married her beau Matthew Hames between lockdowns at the beginning of the year. Along the way, we farewelled staff members Trevor Parker, Fleur Ellis, Naomi Grima, Denise Tan, Matthew Rowland, Mira Strengers, Yoshi Fuji, Maurice Lee, Georgia Lawrence and John Wright. We wish them success in their future endeavours and show our appreciation for their contribution to the College.

Finally, we thank our entire team of dedicated staff who looked out for each others’ wellbeing without ever losing sight of the wellbeing of our students. We acknowledge our skipper and Principal, Tony Coghlan. As he steps away from the helm, we express our gratitude for his leadership and wish him and his wife Cathie a welldeserved break.

Joanne Noone Dean of Staff