Editorial

From the Editors

With an optimistic dose of hopefulness, the 2020 Mazenodian Editorial concluded by suggesting, “we eagerly farewell 2020, embrace the lessons learned and welcome the positivity that 2021 will bring.” Our words seemed prophetic as the year started relatively smoothly. Lockdown interruptions were minimal and Outdoor Education activities, ACC Sport and music rehearsals all resumed. Students whinged about price increases at the canteen and staff questioned the efficiency of the O’Rourke climate control system, school had returned to regular normality. Sadly this normalcy, and many other mundane idiosyncrasies of Mazenod life were short lived.

The corridors fell silent, tea cups were abandoned and the canteen line drastically reduced. Teachers clad themselves in their favourite activewear, students donned their hoodies and beanies and we were once more plunged into the world of remote learning, a type of learning that welds the joy of muting students with desperate attempts to create class discussion.

Nerves were already frayed and the frustrations at the lack of progression and innumerable and incomprehensible policy updates meant that teachers and students alike had their resilience tested more than ever before. Unlike the Year 12 students from 2020 who had a delayed start to their exam period, the 2021 cohort found tensions increasing as they sprinted to both their final exams and the vaccination hubs.

However, for all students, there were still classes to attend, homework to complete and tests to conquer. Yet it is the extra curricular events that truly unite the Mazenod community and they were the landmarks that were missed most of all — ACC sporting matches, retreat days, orchestra rehearsals, chess matches in the library, lunchtime banter in the cafeteria and the Friday afternoon buzz at the lockers. Thankfully, in a similar manner to 2020, there is still much to be celebrated in the school calendar of 2021 and the pages of the Mazenodian have many triumphs to share.

On behalf of the Editorial team, we extend our thanks to the many people who have assisted in the 2021 publication. Our appreciation goes to Tony Rolfe and Merry De La Zilwa, who are always in the right place at the right time to capture the perfect photo. Congratulations to Anthony Yong who collated the student leadership reports and we appreciate the efforts of Zachary Frisch who continued the tradition of students designing the front cover. We also give thanks to all the students who contributed to writing a majority of the Mazenodian reports. Our Art students have again produced beautiful pieces and we thank the Visual Arts faculty for their assistance with collation, layout and design.

And so, at the risk of a jinx, we end our Editorial in the same way we did in 2020. We hope that this publication is an accurate reflection of a difficult year, but one that has also brought valuable lessons and new appreciations. We eagerly farewell 2021, embrace the lessons learned and welcome the positivity that 2022 will bring.

Adrian De Fanti and Clare Caldwell Designed and produced by Lynne Hawksworth Printed by NEO