Principal

PRINCIPAL’S REport

As educators, we are profoundly optimistic about the potential and intrinsic God given goodness and value of each young person with whom we have the privilege to work. On behalf of the staff at Mazenod College, I sincerely thank all parents and carers for the opportunity to be part of your son’s education. I would also like to thank the College Advisory Council, led by Dr Eugene Fredericks as Chair, for their full support in implementing the College’s vision and mission.

We are a Catholic school in the St Eugene de Mazenod tradition. As a Catholic school, we are part of the Church, a place of faith, hope and love. You and your son should experience Gospel values in word and action in everything that we do here. St Eugene founded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate to work with the poor and marginalised. We aim to have each student recognise those in need and understand that a St Eugene de Mazenod education compels them to respond.

Our College is governed by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) and along with several other schools in Victoria we follow a shared mission and vision. Working Together in Mission: Charter for parishes and schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne provides a clear statement of the Church’s mission to educate the children and young people of our families, and its parishes or associations of parishes.

The essential message of the statement is a call and a challenge for us to provide the best possible Catholic education for our young people as they embark on their life journey as a fruit of the gospel. (Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, Working Together in Mission).

Faith and Oblate Charism Formation experiences are invaluable in providing opportunities to experience the sacred in our daily lives. The formation of students and staff will be an integral element of the strategic plan in coming years. Integrating the Oblate charism, social justice experiences and the Religious Education curriculum, has formed the foundation of many initiatives to date. This includes giving priority to staff and students who engage with immersion experiences, justice and solidarity initiatives and celebration of year level liturgies and the Eucharist.

Thank you to our College Rector, Fr Harry Dyer OMI, College Chaplain Fr Kevin Davine OMI, Dean of Faith and Mission John Tighe and the Faith and Oblate Charism team of Tina Giacco, Joshua Hunter, Cristiano Grosso, and the Oblate Youth Ministry who offer outstanding leadership in this area of College life.

Student Wellbeing Catholic schools have a moral, legal and mission-driven responsibility to create nurturing school environments where children and young people are respected, their voices are heard and they are safe and feel safe. Recent legislative requirements within the state of Victoria, including the specific requirements of the Victorian Child Safe Standards as set out in Ministerial Order No. 1359, documents this safety and wellbeing for students, families and staff. At Mazenod College, we create a child-safe and childfriendly environment where students are free to enjoy life to the full without any concern for their safety. Particular attention is paid to the most vulnerable students.

I thank all staff for the gift of right relationship that they bring to Mazenod. Thank you to the Deputy Principal of Students Tim Ford, Pier Bourne our Dean of Senior School, Jamie Davin Dean of Junior School, the Year Level Coordinators and Assistants, and our student psychologist team of David Munro, Andrew Steer, Rosemary Kucan and Rebecca Ferrarotto.

Learning Educational leadership, with an emphasis on High Impact Teaching Strategies, is a key component of an evidence-based teaching philosophy at Mazenod. The quality of teachers has been shown to have a significant impact on student learning. Data tracking and analysis and establishing well-researched pedagogy are critical for school improvement. The continuation of academic awards and public recognition of academic success creates a foundation of a love of learning at Mazenod to be built upon. The allocation and organisation of teacher duties and establishing a timetable team to plan strategically for smooth implementation is an important aspect of this work.

Thanks to our Deputy Principal of Learning and Teaching Matt Fyfield, Deputy Principal of Curriculum and Staffing Noel Jenkinson, the Heads of Faculty and subject teachers for their dedication and commitment.

Learning Diversity Learning is a sequential, developmental process. Attainment of skills, understanding in different domains of knowledge, and strategies for solving problems are all acquired gradually, and in sequences that are predictable. There are substantial differences in learning status and learning rates among individuals of any given age. Individual differences characterise both the rate of development and the acquisition of specific skills such as reading, and even in the earliest years of school we can note a remarkable spread of achievement in reading or number skills among children in the same class. A huge thank you to all staff and the Learning Diversity Team, led by Anne Johnson, for the support and documentation of adjustments for

our students. Special thanks to Edna Flanagan and Athena Beshir for their assistance with the moderation of student information and evidence – a complex and time-consuming task. Thank you to the Learning Support Officers and to Nathalie Comty the Dean of Learning Diversity, Suzana Cunha the Learning Diversity Psychologist and Dimi Pitsas the Learning Diversity Administrator who were new additions to the team this year.

Operations and Compliance Team The College structure includes an Operations and Compliance Team responsible for governance, risk, compliance and management of events. This has been an extremely busy year for the team, particularly after two years of events mostly occurring online. I would like to thank Deputy Principal of Operations and Compliance Tony Rolfe, Lynne Hawksworth, Michelle Symss and Marc Johnson for the way in which they have fulfilled their roles in a professional manner.

Early in the year, a decision was made to outsource Governance, Risk and Compliance to Moore Australia. They provide risk assurance services from their specialist school governance and risk advisory team. Moore Australia has a zero tolerance approach to child safety and apply this to all advisory work. Their team have worked extensively in school policy, risk and compliance. In 2023, Mazenod College will be audited by the VRQA. Engaging with Moore Australia this year will ensure we are prepared for this area of compliance.

Evidence-based Teaching and Learning Evidence-based teaching and learning strategies has included the development of a comprehensive transition plan that incorporates diagnostic testing of Year 6 students who have accepted enrolment at Mazenod.

Since the introduction of national testing in 2008, schools have increasingly expressed the need for diagnostic information for Years 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 students to supplement NAPLAN data and provide a more indepth understanding of the skill development of students. Aptitude testing provides additional valuable insights into student potential and capability, and is carried out with the highest level of reliability, validity and integrity.

Students complete a range of diagnostic assessments that will provide the College with data on: • Aptitude: General, Verbal and

Non-verbal Reasoning • Achievement: Mathematics;

Reading; Comprehension;

Spelling; Writing • Identification of gifted and talented students • Social and emotional wellbeing of students.

Student individual needs are identified by the following means: contact with feeder schools to ascertain a level of literacy, numeracy, social and emotional skills; identification of country of birth of parents and students; interviews with students and families and referral to outside agencies for assistance as required.

Support Staff The smooth operation of the College is only as good as the support staff who are employed in specific roles. Joanne Noone (Dean of Staff), Sue Matthews (Business Manager), June Stewart (Finance Manager), Ashley Voight (ICT Manager), Kyle Hoad (Dean of Data, Systems and Analysis), Aylene Robinson and Kate Oberg (Executive Assistant to Principal), Alison Alberico (Registrar) and Greg Pargeter (Human Resources Manager) ensure the effective running of the College. I would like to thank them for the vigilant way in which they and all support staff are involved in the full life of the College community. Dr Paul Shannon