Leadership's Letter

Parent Carer Teacher Interviews 

As a teaching team, we look forward to the chance to meet you all in parent/carer teacher interviews next week. These conversations bring together the two most important supports in the educational journey of your sons. We ask that your son is present for every interview, as without his commitment and buy in any discussion between the other parties has limited impact. 

Effective Study Evening 

Continuing this theme of partnership between school and home, I am excited to invite every family to join us for our second annual Effective Study Evening. Following the success of last year’s offering, which saw over 300 families participate, we have secured the services of three high achieving alumni from 2023: 

• Alexander Tsipos – College Dux ATAR 99.95 (Studying Juris Doctor and Science - Melbourne) 
• Dominic Kaka – ATAR 99.75 (Studying Law and Arts) 
• Herbert Fischbacher – ATAR 99.05 (Studying Law and Commerce – Monash) 

The event is free, and the whole family (including siblings at other schools) are warmly welcome. Our hope is that the evening gives your family a chance to find common ground and a shared approach to effective study. 

VCE Hall of Fame Online 

Many of our students derive great motivation from the stories of our past Mazenod students. Indeed, it is one of the key reasons for our academic day of excellence. To share these stories, we have now made our VCE Hall of Fame a prominent part of the O’Rourke building, and have replicated this online. I invite you to spend some time looking at the success of our past students, and perhaps watching a video message or two from our impressive past students. We are proud of all of our alumni, and more stories will appear here over time.  

https://mazcom.mazenod.vic.edu.au/homepage/20510  

Powerful Parent/Guardian Questioning 

I leave you with a challenge. Research shows that the more often learners are forced to recall knowledge, the more likely it is to be retained. Your questioning at home is extremely powerful. Consider trying one of these ideas: 

• Ask your son if he has any knowledge to remember (terminology/dates/formulas) and offer to quiz him 
• Look up the current topic on MazCom (go via courses) and ask him to explain the big ideas. The trick here is to put aside any expertise you have and feign ignorance. The learner needs to recall, not be taught. 
• Invite your son to write simple visual notes and stick them on the fridge – the whole family can then be part of the learning. 

As always, we remain committed to the wholistic education of your Son, in the charism of St Eugene De Mazenod. 

Every Blessing, 

Dr Matt Fyfield 

Deputy Principal (Learning & Teaching)