Principal's Post
Dear Parents,
Next week we will celebrate Catholic Education Week, which highlights the education that Catholic Schools offer to families and to the community. The Catholic Education Week website has several resources to help get the most out of the week, including videos, prayers and classroom resources.
At Mazenod College, we are always conscious of delivering a curriculum that explores gender inclusiveness and uniqueness and demonstrates how women are involved in the formation of masculinities. In responding to this reality, we are always considering how to provide opportunities for students to raise the discrepancy between the messages they receive from society and their own view on what it means to be manly. This could include providing safe spaces and situations to enable students' voices and explore gender stereotypes, as well as the delivery of explicit teaching programs that promote inclusivity such as the Respectful Relationships curriculum. As an inclusive community, we need to be aware of and highlight the harms of adhering to rigid gender roles. We are constantly seeking ways for boys to be engaged with the school community in these critical conversations about manhood. At Mazenod College, we are in a unique position to affirm and celebrate diverse forms of manhood and identity.
On Tuesday Morning the College Student Leaders, Nathanial Louey, Jacob Luu, Noah Beck, Daniel Grano, Jason Fernandes and Ashen Perera were invited to Avila College’s International Women’s Day Breakfast. Avila’s Student Leaders led the discussion and conducted an amazing interview with a former student of the College, Jessica Box (Alumnae 1995) who is Head of Growth for Linktree and Managing Director of Girls in Tech. Avila’s student panel interviewed Jessica about her views on the constantly evolving market of tech and how girls are shaping the future. Her experiences and insight had a profound impact on everyone who attended the breakfast.
The House Swimming Carnival occurred last Monday. Students and staff from Years 7-10 converged on the Monash Sports and Aquatic Centre for a day of competition. Anthony house won the title much to the delight of their team. Grandin house came a creditable second. All the results, including year level champions, are listed below.
Results were as follows:
1st – Anthony 814 points
2nd – Grandin – 709
3rd – Albini – 574
4th – MacKillop – 563
5th – Gerard – 560
6th – Cebula – 556
7th – Chisholm – 506
8th – Charlebois – 437
Year Level Champions
Year 7 Dyon Perera
Year 8 Tyrone Van Ravenstein
Year 9 William Wirawan
Year 10 Eldrich Kiswardi
The Senior School Assembly was held last week in the Provence. These are a great opportunity to come together as a community to celebrate the diverse range of talent at Mazenod and to set expectations. One of the challenges put before the senior school students is to be mindful of the small, yet essential standards such as dress, punctuality and manners. I am confident that the senior students will lead by example and live up to the high expectations we have of all members of the community.
Students in all year levels need to continue to achieve the targets that they set in their learning goals. Starting the work for assessment tasks well before the due dates is suggested, as well as studying for tests in advance. Seeking help from teachers early in the assessment process to resolve any difficulties is important. Parents and carers can help their sons at this stage of the year by checking diaries regularly to see when major assessment tasks and other homework is due. Monitoring and discussing homework routines and due dates would be beneficial. Sharing any concerns or issues with homeroom teachers and subject teachers is essential as they are the first point of contact.
All the best,
Dr Paul Shannon
Principal