From the Principal

Dear Parents, Students, Staff and Friends of Mazenod College,

“It is essential that members of the Oblate family form a community” 

- St Eugene de Mazenod

I have taken this quote above from a little book passed onto me titled, “The Year with St Eugene de Mazenod” and in it lists a quote for each day of the year for us to reflect upon and give thanks for. It is more than an irony that this quote from St Eugene is listed in the book for today (5th May) and I say this because in my very short time here at Mazenod College, the most apparent feeling I sense is the strength of community and family.

I have been most impressed with the young men I have chatted with and am very grateful for the manner in which they have engaged with me. The most common question they ask is; “are you enjoying Mazenod?” to which I have answered in the affirmative but rather conservatively; “yes, it’s been great so far”. When I return serve and ask them if they enjoy it here, it is obvious that the boys I have spoken to, really love being a part of Mazenod College. Any Principal, including a new one at Mazenod, can’t ask for anything more.

When students are proud of their school, their levels of engagement and willingness to share of themselves is clearly evident. This was on display on Sunday night when we were treated to the gifts and talents of our music students at the Mount Gambier Preview Performance. It is always so wonderful to see students performing and my thanks go to Mr Sam Graham, Mr Brandon Poletti, Mrs Anne Greenley, our music tutors and to all of our incredibly talented students for such an entertaining evening. Thanks must also go to our parents who, through their support, encouragement and generosity, enable our young men to experience these wonderful opportunities.

It was a special pleasure to participate in Mass with our Student Leaders on Wednesday and I thank Fr McMahon for this celebration. Interestingly, it was the Feast of Saints Philip and James, two relatively unknown apostles, who along with the other apostles, were to be the foundation stones of the Church. In a similar way, we ask our student leaders to form the foundation of our school and to “lead by living out our core values – Respect and Dignity, Excellence, Courage and Passion, Compassion and Charity” (Mazenod College: Our Collective Ambition).

Welcome to New Staff

It is always a great pleasure to welcome new staff to the College and at the beginning of this term, we welcomed four new staff members;

• Mrs Cathy Giannopolous joins our Visual Arts teaching team and is also teaching Religious Education.
• Mrs Katherine Muller is teaching Mathematics.
• Mrs Alessandra Hardwick accepted a short-term role teaching in the areas of Religious Education, HASS and English classes for us.
• Mrs Kerri Lipscombe joined the College community at the end of Term One as a member of our Administration Team. 

Welcome to Mrs Giannopoulos, Mrs Muller, Mrs Hardwick and Mrs Lipscombe and thank you for accepting the invitation to join our College community.

In closing, I would to extend my thanks to all in our community who have extended a warm and generous welcome to our new staff, including myself, and we all look forward to a long and rewarding association with the Mazenod College family.

God bless.

Simon Harvey

Principal