We acknowledge the original custodians of the land on which we learn, the Bunurong People of the Kulin Nation. Mazenod is committed to working in partnership to establish a future of reconciliation and shared story.
As a Catholic school for boys inspired by the charism of St Eugene de Mazenod, we are extremely proud of over 50 years of achievement established by the dedicated families and staff, in collaboration with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Mazenod is committed to the holistic development of each boy and the pursuit of personal excellence in the intellectual, social, moral, spiritual and cultural dimensions of school life. We offer a broad and rich curriculum to encourage young men in their academic pursuits, to make learning fun, inspiring, and engaging. Our staff specialise in evidence-based teaching and learning practices, enabling students to achieve personal excellence and cultivate their abilities to the fullest as part of a lifelong process of learning.
The process of learning extends well beyond the classroom as Mazenod College offers a multitude of co-curricular activities. This includes opportunities to participate in a variety of sports, outdoor education, language tours to Italy, China and Japan, social justice advocacy, mission immersion experiences, instrumental music, drama and musical productions, debating, public speaking and chess.
The truth about boys is that they have relational capabilities that include the capacity for thoughtful self-reflection, empathy, and compassion. Boys crave personal relationships characterised by trust, understanding, and care. Mazenod College is full of boys who are self-aware, considerate of others, and responsive in their relationships to the needs of others. At Mazenod, we are committed to developing boys’ relational capabilities and ensure that they are personally known, cared for, and respected as individuals.
Finding the best environment for your son to grow can be challenging. If the vision, mission, values, and inclusive faith of Mazenod College are aligned with your family values, we invite you to enter into a close working relationship with us in the formation of your son.
Dr Paul Shannon Principal
Mazenod College takes its name from St Eugene de Mazenod, founder of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. It is a Regional College administered under the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools Ltd (MACS) who work collaboratively with the Oblates who continue to exercise administrative and pastoral care to provide holistic Catholic Education. The School Advisory Council provides a crucial point of connection between the wider school community and school leaders. The College motto is to ‘Leave Nothing Undared for the Kingdom of God.’
Mazenod College is a Catholic boys’ secondary school striving to live the charism of St Eugene de Mazenod. Centred on the person of Jesus Christ, our community is built on faith, nourished by the Eucharist, and seeks to live and share Gospel values in word and deed.
To Leave Nothing Undared for the Kingdom of God by being people who value learning and service. To acknowledge the owners of the land, care for the gift of creation and embrace the spirit of inclusion for all who work and study at Mazenod College.
“Enter to Learn, Leave to Serve” is the focus of our Catholic Education at Mazenod College, aiming to develop young men who are emotionally intelligent, respectful, well-balanced, committed, articulate, and equipped to make a difference in our society as they respond to the needs of others in answer to Jesus’ call to serve.
FOUNDED ON THE LABOURS OF THE OBLATES
In 1967, Mazenod College was founded as a regional Catholic boys’ secondary school under the administration of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The five local parish priests and parishes of Springvale, Springvale North, Clayton, Glen Waverley, and Mulgrave decided that the new College should be established in Mulgrave.
The parishes selected the name Mazenod College once the Oblates of Mary Immaculate had decided to administer the new Secondary College. In 1967, the College began on the grounds of St Joseph’s Parish Primary School, Springvale, and moved to its present location in Mulgrave in 1968.
Whilst the College’s early years were financially difficult, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the five parish communities, our parents, staff and students, all united to make the new school a success. From the earliest days of our College’s humble beginnings, our students have always been encouraged to live out Jesus’ gospel message, and St Eugene de Mazenod’s edict to “Leave Nothing Undared for the Kingdom of God.”
The knowledge that each of us is created in the image and likeness of God and called into a relationship with Jesus Christ permeates everything we do. It informs the way we treat each other with dignity and compassion and informs our attempts to create a community in which the God-given talents of each young man are empowered and celebrated.
While we are a proud Catholic community, a number of our students and staff are members of other traditions, or no faith tradition, and we celebrate this diversity. We welcome enrolments from any family who feels they can support the values and programs of the College.
Our Catholic faith is a visible and natural part of the rhythm of College life, and we are blessed to have on staff a Rector, College Chaplain and Oblates of Mary Immaculate priests. This means we are able to offer a full sacramental program, including daily Mass, that each student is encouraged to attend at least once per week.
Our Religious Education program is a core part of our curriculum, and one that leads to a state-leading VCE program.
Mazenod College has a history of outstanding success in VCE and Vocational education. This success is underpinned by an evidence-based approach to learning, focusing on explicit teaching and individualised educational pathways. We recognise that young men thrive in well-structured classes, nourished by affirming teacher-student relationships.
We hold young men to the highest standards of literacy, oracy and numeracy, leading our students to achieve well above expectations in both NAPLAN and VCE results. This involves developing targeted individual plans for students with additional needs while recognising and enhancing personal excellence in all students. Beyond academic success, Mazenod students develop skills in analytical and critical thought and emphasise the value of learning as an ongoing factor in self-development throughout life. Overall, we expect our students to become compassionate and resourceful young men.
A truly Catholic education should nourish the diversity of skills in our community and honour the dignity of every vocation. To make this belief manifest, we offer an astonishing variety of subjects culminating in a list of 40 subjects to choose from across the VCE and VCE Vocational Major pathways. These subjects cover the traditionally academic, the cutting edge in technology, the performing and visual arts, and the trades.
Our breadth of offerings ensures that for every young man there is a pathway. We are confident that each student can find an educational path that is both enriching and which fosters future success. We encourage you to explore our subject offerings, and to investigate our subject selection guide.
We pride ourselves on providing a broad and challenging curriculum at every level. While our Junior curriculum focuses on exposing each student to our full range of curriculum areas, our Senior school sees students forge their own journey from 40 VCE subjects and five university enhancement subjects, focused on their abilities, interests and the demands of their chosen pathway.
These are years of transition from primary school and consolidation in the basic skills required for ongoing education; together with exposure to the broad range of options in secondary school. The subjects offered span all learning areas of the Victorian Curriculum.
Years 9 & 10 builds on Years 7 & 8 with students studying the same foundation core, but now they also choose from a wide range of electives in areas of particular interest to them. They can choose multiple electives and study these areas of interest in greater depth, and they begin their pathways into the final years of secondary school.
In Years 11 & 12 students complete the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). The VCE is Victoria’s senior secondary qualification. It recognises the successful completion of a student’s secondary education and opens pathways to university, higher-level TAFE or VET certificate courses, apprenticeships, traineeships, and the workforce.
The VCE has expanded to include the Vocational Major (VM), a two-year vocational and applied learning program, replacing Senior and Intermediate VCAL from 2023.
The co-curricular program at Mazenod recognises the need to nurture the creative, sporting, spiritual, leadership, and academic capabilities of the whole person. Our co-curricular experiences are designed to allow for maximum participation while also developing elite programs of excellence. We invite you to explore our range of programs, many of which regularly achieve state and national success.
Each student spends one afternoon per week either playing internal house sport or representing the College against other Associated Catholic Colleges (ACC) boys’ schools.
Beyond these competitions, the College has a nationally-recognised volleyball program and an emerging elite badminton program, which offer students the chance to play state and national competitions. Students in these programs train with dedicated elite coaches.
Music is an integral part of College life. While all students participate in classroom music in the Junior levels, students are given the opportunity to study instrumental music through to VCE levels. The ensembles emerging from this program are nationally, recognised and awarded.
We work in conjunction with Avila College to stage an annual College Musical. This event gives students across all year levels the opportunity to develop and showcase their skills in acting, dance, backstage management, set and costume design, and playing in a theatrical band. Mazenod also hosts an annual Performing Arts Festival that never fails to bring joy to friends and families who come along to watch.
All students participate in a wide range of outdoor activities including overnight camping, snorkelling, horse riding, bushwalking, surf kayaking, mountain bike riding, rock climbing, surfing and a city experience. This well-established program enables students to build self-confidence and self-reliance, as well as a sense of community that fosters a supportive and positive attitude towards each other and the environment.
To support the formation of students’ skills in research and their ability to deliver speeches confidently in formal and public settings, training is provided during lunchtimes via the Debating and Public Speaking club. This program is supported by dedicated staff, former students, the Mazenod Debating Captain and ViceCaptain and students from Years 10 to 12.
My education journey was about far more than just study. I was passionate about community which led me to take on the role of environmental prefect in Year 12. I was passionate about sport, and I was able to represent the College in the ACC. Finally, I was passionate about music, and I was able to be involved in the College ensembles throughout my time.
Jeff Xia (2016 College Dux, ATAR 99.75. Environmental Strategy Consultant,The opportunities afforded to you at Mazenod to pursue your passions both in the classroom and outside are a highlight. When I graduated, I received an ATAR much higher than what I needed and I could have applied for something a little ‘higher status’ like Law or Medicine, but I was encouraged by my teachers, my family, and my friends to pursue my passion and for me that was always Archaeology. Now I literally unearth history.
Robert Todesco
Career Development is about actively creating the life one wants to live and the work one wants to do. It is a continuous process which acknowledges the notion of lifelong learning. An integral component of this process is self-management through the ever-changing contexts and circumstances of an individual’s life and work journeys.
Year 10 & 11
Students are encouraged to focus on their abilities, interests, needs, and values and to put them into a work perspective. To support students in their career development journey, all Year 10 students complete the Morrisby Online Diagnostic Assessment. Morrisby provides an integrated assessment of an individual’s aptitudes, interests, personality and working styles and highlights their strengths and underlying abilities. With the help of our expert careers counsellors, students use these results to explore suitable careers and areas of study, informing their Senior School Program in Years 11 and 12. Following vocational assessment, students participate in a Work Experience placement of one week where they can try out and test their career aspirations.
After Work Experience, students return to school with renewed enthusiasm for study. It is now time to focus more directly on choosing subjects for the Senior Secondary School Certificates namely, VCE or VCE Vocational Major.
In Year 11, students use Morrisby tools and Careers resources to refine their selections or to select new subjects and career directions in which they may have developed an interest. Year 11 students also engage in presentations from universities and other post-school providers.
Year 12
The final year at Mazenod College, sees our young men researching individual courses or occupations in greater detail. They are encouraged to visit universities, TAFE institutes and employers to get the latest information on their chosen careers. All students participate in oneon-one career interviews as they finalise university and TAFE applications, or apply for gap year, apprenticeship or traineeship opportunities. Our careers counsellors are kept busy assisting students deep into December, ensuring that every young man has a pathway post school.
We are also actively working on our Laudato Si Action Plan, a bold and active response to the ecological crisis, so urgently illustrated in Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si’. This plan has seven goals that provide guidance on urgent and immediate actions each one of us can take in the care of our common home.
To have a true and lasting impact we know that this focus on ecological sustainability must be driven by our students and as such the student-driven ‘Ecology and Sustainability Team’ (EAST) was created in 2022. EAST has a junior and senior team and these students have already produced and actioned several initiatives to address our various ecological goals.
These goals include:
• various recycling programs
• solar panels
• initiatives to reduce waste
• water harvesting
• vegetable and produce garden
• leading and participating in ecological sustainability forums
• a focus on ecological sustainability throughout the curriculum across multiple subject areas
• developing links with local councils, businesses, and other schools to widen our impact and reach
• development of indigenous gardens in various areas of the College.
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Mazenod College has made an investment in solar power because we have a responsibility to reduce our carbon footprint for the benefit of future generations.
Mazenod College has made a commitment to ecological practice and to respond to the call to protect our common home for the wellbeing of all, as we address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and ecological sustainability. Currently the College is recognised as a ‘Resource Smart school’ and a ‘Catholic Earthcare school’, and we are on the journey to five stars with both programs.
Our community network consists of a number of organisations through which past students, families, and former staff can remain connected to the College. These span sporting, service, and faith interests. We encourage all members of our community, both past and present, to make contact and connect with the various organisations.
The Mazenod Old Collegians’ Association (MOCA) seeks to unite all our Mazenod College alumni into one interconnected community. MOCA believes that our Old Collegians are definitively part of the Mazenod College community for life. Irrespective of the situations involved, our Old Collegians are always very welcome to contact Alumni Officer, Tina Giacco, and to be in touch with MOCA.
The Association is run by a committee made up of former students who are committed to developing initiatives that enable community connectivity and support, while living out the core values of MOCA: community, daring, passion and loyalty. Some of MOCA’s activities have included: pastoral care, sponsorship and seed funding, employment opportunities and reunions.
The Association is open to all Mazenod past students, as well as their parents and other friends of the College. MOCA is always looking to evolve and to grow. We not only welcome your involvement in our events but we also encourage you to implement new ideas, by either joining our Committee, or one of our sub-committees.
ONCE A MAZENODIAN, ALWAYS A MAZENODIAN
Applications
To apply to Mazenod College, visit our website and fill out the online application form.
For further information about the College or the application process, contact our Admissions Manager.
The Admissions Manager Mazenod College
PO Box 286 Mulgrave, 3170
All education, especially a Mazenod education, is not just for you. It is also something for the world – to be used for and shared with others.
Dr. Paul Shannon, Principal.