Staff

staff REport

Albert Einstein once said ‘I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they learn.’ Pandemic-related conditions have shaken infrastructure and Mazenod transitioned from the remote classroom to Kernot Avenue requiring contingency planning, good health and the discretionary effort of staff. We were fortunate to keep every year level on campus, despite challenges associated with staff illness and mandatory isolation requirements. What would Einstein make of these conditions?

The year began with the appointment of our new Principal, Dr Paul Shannon and the gathering of the College Executive Leadership Team. David Sutton facilitated the annual Executive Conference, assuming the new role of Director of Leadership and Coaching in Term 3. In Term 2, we welcomed Kate Oberg to the role of the Executive Assistant to the Principal.

Student learning diversity was prioritised as a restructure of the Learning Diversity team aimed to accommodate the growing individual needs of students. Anne Johnson was promoted to the position of Director of Learning Diversity, replaced by Natalie Comty, in the role of Dean and Dimi Pitsas was commissioned to provide administrative support, being joined by new Learning Diversity Psychologist Suzana Cunha. The team welcomed Learning Support Officers Jeynelle Molinaro, Elizabeth O’Connor, Ruby Ford and Fletcher Ford. In addition, they were joined by Nives Milanovic, Natalie Ilievski and Szeyu Chen as part of a new initiative, the Monash Residency Program.

With the return of the College Instrumental Music Program, we welcomed Alex Keser, Ashton Vaz, Eugenie Lyons and Solvei Jankowski. The Science faculty recruited well, appointing Laura Fisher, Hayley Smith and the everversatile Hayden Young, while fellow new Maths teachers included Wajiha Tariq and Jarrod Benjamin. Mark Bowden joined Commerce, Carolyn Gekas joined Digital Technologies, Ray Ellwood was welcomed to Religious Education and Tanya Noorani joined the English faculty. The Information Technology team was enhanced by the arrival of Sai Pan and Peter McTier, supported by Data Analyst Raj Naik.

Mazenod welcomed several Old Boys including Art Assistant Joshua Bouloukis, AFL Trainee Patrick Corfee and Gym Supervisor Blake Beatty. Faith and Charism was supported by Youth Ministers Anthony Yong, Kyle Truong and Mateo Acosta Fernandez. The tutor program included graduate teachers Alex Colasante and Matthew Foo, along with Kyriaki Toumasiou. Additional support was welcomed with Scott Antidormi in Design and Technology, whilst the Languages faculty was grateful for Intern Yue Nakajima, Assistant Azusa Ueno and former teacher Pina Parisi.

Wellbeing remained a priority with College Psychologist Rosemary Kucan, Health Centre nurse Kim Marruso and Dominique Maclou who joined the Canteen. Furthermore, volunteers in the Staff Social Club and Staff Wellbeing Committee ensured morale remained prioritised. The maintenance team skilfully juggled the challenges of College renovations, with the opening of the new staffroom bearing the fruits of their labour. It would be remiss not to show appreciation of our College Daily Organiser Chris Windley and his army of Casual Relief Teachers, keeping the College fully operational.

We congratulate Ayesha Comerford, who married Brayden Hackling following three pandemic postponements. Congratulations also to Rebecca Ferrarotto and Michael Griffin on the birth of their baby boy Seán Philip Griffin. Andrew Steer and Monique welcomed their second son Chester in March. James Convery and Jess became proud parents upon the birth of their son Patrick Michael. Patrice Stevens and Ben were pleased to announce the safe arrival of their second son Oliver William Stevens. We were also pleased to welcome back from parental leave Frances Sharrock, Rachel Horne, Christina Schumann and Rebecca Ferrarotto.

It was with great sadness that we mourned the loss of our former member of both the College staff and College Board, Tommy Devoy who passed into eternal life on April 3rd. Tommy’s connection to the College spread across decades, having worked as a Learning Support Officer in the Learning Diversity team for sixteen years and educating four of her six children at the College. May her soul rest in peace.

Throughout the year, we farewelled several staff members including Chaths Sumanasinghe, Claire Bugeja, Sylvia Winfield, Linda Lin, Denise Tan, Michael MacNeill, Callum Branagan, Dan Kelly, Corey Martino, Merline Carmelus, Ben Benke, Liz Plumridge, Noel McGarry, Michelle Symss, Camilla Elliott, Alan McAlister, Sharon O’Shannassy and Rob Mann. We thank them for their contribution to the College and wish them well in their future endeavours.

Finally, the collective effort of our 205 staff members provided the conditions in which our students could learn and thrive. We thank each member of our staff for their commitment during a difficult period. Their dedication and discretionary effort ensured the conditions remained conducive to effective learning, making Mazenod College a much-loved community. Joanne Noone