In Memoriam

Principal's Address

Lisa Mandeltort Memorial Assembly Monday March 1, 2021

Good afternoon everyone – we gather today for a very different assembly – one where we will commemorate, honour, and thank Ms Lisa Mandeltort.

I warmly welcome her partner Bill and her parents Linda and Mick and thank them sincerely for joining us today. I know that there is little that we can do or say that will alleviate the enormous grief you are experiencing, but I hope that in some small way we can show you how loved and appreciated Lisa was, and the indelible and positive mark that she leaves behind.

While there are still some restrictions on the number of guests we may have, I also welcome members of the Nossal alumni and parents. School Council President Dr John Inns, the President of the Nossal PFA – Mr Larry Larkins, Lieutenant Commander Dave Lassam (Ret) from the ADF, the Director, and staff from the Casey tech, and of course our students and staff. I also welcome and thank the wellbeing team from Suzanne Cory High School who have come all the way from Hoppers Crossing to bring their therapy dogs here today to provide additional support for our school community.

We are a relatively young school and have not had occasion to confront the trauma of an unexpected death within our immediate community and sometimes it is hard to know how to respond. Grief effects people in different ways and we all have different reactions and different emotions and there is no right or wrong answer, and no easy solutions or shortcuts. It is OK to be upset and emotional; it is also OK not to be – people manage grief in their own way and in their own timeframe. I do thank all the members of our school community for their supportive and empathic responses and as always encourage you to look after your mates and to seek assistance as required. In times of adversity these community bonds will sustain and protect us all.

Many people were involved in the planning and delivery of today’s program and I thank the students and School leaders who are responsible for the tributes and performances that will follow.

I also thank everyone for dressing up today – Lisa was known for her interesting dress sense, bright colours and flamboyance so she would be very pleased to see a less formal assembly, although I’m afraid some of us have very dull wardrobes by comparison – although I have been able to give the Homer Simpson socks a run today. All the funds we have raised through the free dress today will be donated to the MS Foundation in Lisa’s name.

Some of you will not have had the pleasure of meeting Ms Lisa Mandeltort and sadly you have now been denied that opportunity. Lisa’s death was a tragedy and it was heroic; she placed her own life on the line to assist someone she didn’t know. When asked by a stranger to assist some swimmers in trouble she did not hesitate and immediately went to their aid. As, Bill her partner, said at the funeral – he wished that she had not been so heroic, and she would still be here but he also acknowledged that she did not hesitate and probably could not have been stopped from helping. That the people in difficulty ultimately survived while Lisa drowned seems so unfair and is hard to accept, although no-one who knew Lisa was surprised that she would take such an action and put others before herself.

 I know that teachers appear to be quite old to students, (some of us more than others) but Lisa was young, younger in fact than my own daughter and not yet 30 years of age when she died. Nossal was her first school and she loved teaching – sadly not all teachers are as passionate about their jobs as Lisa was and this was one of the qualities that came through strongly when we interviewed her in 2016 for a Science teaching position. It is one of the things that the students and her peers most remember, and it was wonderful to see someone so committed to their role, and so invested in their students. For me as principal these are exactly the qualities I seek in staff at Nossal – I want them to be very knowledgeable and passionate about their subject area, but more importantly I want them to build excellent relationships, love what they do, and care about their students. Lisa epitomised these qualities, but she also brought an individuality, a sense of fun and wonder, and her enthusiasm and excitement about her work infected those around her. She was not perfect, and she had much to learn; the joy of teaching is that every day is different and as you are working intensively with dynamic and diverse groups of individuals you are regularly challenged. It can be a very challenging and confronting role and is quite hard to do well – which is not always understood by those outside the profession, although perhaps more now following the periods of home learning we have recently experienced. One of Lisa’s other great qualities was her desire to improve, to seek and accept critical feedback and to act on that feedback to better herself and to provide better experiences for her students. Teachers are also learners and never stop doing so and Lisa was not afraid to push herself and to have a go at new things. As a relatively junior member of staff she took on the Leadership of the Science Domain, and in spite of the fact that nearly everyone in her team was more experienced than her, or held significant senior leadership roles in the school, they speak glowingly of her ability to lead and inspire them. 

So, what positives can we take from this awful situation? I take some comfort from the fact that Lisa lead a very full and happy life – she took many opportunities to travel, to follow her passions, to experience new things, to meet new people and to do good. In her relatively short lifetime, she experienced more than most and appeared to enjoy every moment and leaves a lasting legacy and fond memories. I think this is a powerful lesson for us all – seize the day, embrace the challenge, grab the moment – make a contribution, give back, and have fun – you don’t know what the future will bring.

We will commemorate Lisa’s excellent contribution to the school and keep her memory alive with a memorial plaque and tree at the front of the school; the alumni have commissioned a special paver for the commemorative walk, and Rotary Districts 9800, 9810 and 9820 have contributed significant funding to the school in Lisa’s name and we will put that towards an annual Speech Night prize for the student who has made the greatest contribution to improving the environment through an annual “NEST” Award.

We are all greatly saddened by Lisa’s passing, but are very fortunate to have known her – she will not age – she will forever remain in our memories as the dynamic, flamboyant, passionate and quirky young teacher, colleague, leader and friend. 

We will miss her greatly.

Roger Page

Principal

A Legacy Speech

I would like to thank Ms Mandeltort’s family and loved ones for coming to join us today and I sincerely hope that they feel warmly embraced and welcomed into the Nossal family. 

Hello, everyone.

May I say that I am quite relieved that Ms Mandeltort did not teach English? I feel like the pressure to write the perfect tribute would have been too much to handle, especially whilst trying to capture all of her good sides. Luckily, she taught me that full sentences aren't required in Chemistry, so I'm sure if I spoke in dot-points, she’d still be proud and award marks where appropriate.

Ms Mandeltort knew what she loved and what she loved was known by all. She loved science. 

[She was] Head of the Science Domain in 2020, responsible for directing Nossal’s science programs and curricular, one of which was the Science Week that we host annually to help promote interest in the various branches of science. In any normal year, Science Week is successful and exciting. Ms loved to participate in the Staff vs Student Kahoot, despite knowing that she would inevitably lose to the superior team. Last year during lockdown, it became apparent that without a school, there would be no school Science Week, but no amount of social distancing would stop Ms Mandeltort and her need to spread her contagious love for science. From home, students were still able to enjoy a blog launch, various competitions and an online Kahoot.

She was ambitious at times, asking the science leaders to let loose and blatantly ignore Occupational Health and Safety regulations, as we came up with a thousand and one ways to burn down the school, but even then, she was a realistic, authentic and lovely person to work with. 

She loved to travel and had a curious mind that enjoyed learning and exploring.  Ms accompanied the school’s 2019 Central Australia Tour, where she spent eight days in the outback, making memories with her friends - teachers and students alike. 

She loved the environment, the world and all of its creatures, big and small, wide and tall. In 2017, Ms Mandeltort would begin her three and a half year tenure as NEST’s prominent leader and lovable supervising teacher. Every week at lunchtimes, she would hold meetings for NEST members to develop strategies and plan ways so that the school would be more environmentally-friendly, through saving electricity, water or helping plant trees. Through fundraisers and bake sales, Ms helped raise thousands of dollars that would go towards multiple charities and organisations. Over the years, she has helped NEST to develop into the school’s largest club, with its own budget and self-sustaining leadership structures. It is now one of the state's leading student organisations and was awarded ‘Student Action Team of the Year’ in 2019 by the Victorian Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change.

But above all, she loved to teach.

Ms Mandeltort started her weekdays as the tutorial teacher of OA5, and until 8:48 of the next day, she was a teacher of Science, Digital Technology and VCE Chemistry. Her dedication to her vocation was not limited to regular school hours. In fact, I’m beginning to have a sneaking suspicion that if there was any teacher that lived at school, it would be Ms Mandeltort.

On the other side of Clyde Road, Ms was part of the initial program design at the Casey Tech School and was beyond thrilled about the opportunities for her students to use state-of-the-art equipment and learn new skills. Some of her ideas have led to exciting programs that now benefit students not just from Nossal, but also from other schools.  Ms Silvester, the Director of Casey Tech, told me about the way Ms would smile and bounce on her toes whenever she was excited about what her students were doing and I think this memory encapsulates the type of teacher that Ms Mandeltort was. She loved her students. At her service, I believe Bill, Lisa’s partner, said that she was incredibly stoked over the 99.95ATAR that one of her 2020 Chemistry students had achieved, and would continually mention Hasna’s accomplishment in the weeks that followed. 

Having been taught by Ms Mandeltort for two years, I am lucky to have experienced her love as I am sure many of us have in the past. She always filled a room with presence and immense energy. Even [teaching] from home, she had an inspiring aura that sparked a love of learning in each of her students. She always looked for criticism and advice from her students, always willing to accept her flaws so that she would be better in class the next day. It felt like she would do anything for us, simply out of love. Across four years, Ms Mandeltort led 40 classes of students to brighter futures, teaching close to a thousand kids and treating each one as if they were her own. 

The school will never forget her love. Whether it was her love for her family, friends, colleagues, or students, we will always hold our memories of her in our hearts. 

Rest easy, Ms. We will miss having you in class.

Thank you, everyone.

Nam Nguyen 

Year 12 (Class of 2021)