Faculty News - Humanities

Humanities Report August 2021

As the subject selection deadline approaches, there is considerable cause for celebration in the Humanities Faculty. It was recently announced that one of our current Year 12 students, Daniel Plowman, has won a prestigious Premier’s Award for his outstanding performance in VCE History Revolutions last year (Daniel was on the accelerated pathway so he took this course in Year 11). It is not every year that a Mazenod student wins such an accolade, so the faculty warmly congratulates both Daniel on this achievement, but also his VCE History teacher, Mr Rob Mann.

Moreover, last week Mr Spasic received the results of the Australian History Competition that our Year 9 History Enhancement class entered earlier this year. I am pleased to report that the College mean was an impressive 70 per cent, compared to a national average of 63 per cent. Furthermore, congratulations should be extended to Matthew Curran and Adyn Duong, who were awarded High Distinctions, and Jackie Li, who received a Distinction.

I am mindful that students and their families are currently in the midst of making their subject selection choices for 2022. The Humanities Faculty offers three subjects: History, Politics and Geography. History is a core subject until Year 11, but both Politics and Geography are available as electives from Year 9. There is no need to have studied either Geography or Politics previously, even for VCE Units 3 & 4. I have asked my talented colleagues in the faculty to explain why studying Humanities subjects is important and beneficial:

Humanities subjects are very important in understanding the ever-changing world we live in, to hone critical higher order thinking and communication skills and provide students opportunities to boost their ATAR through the VCE humanities suite of subjects historically obtaining very high results.

Mr Rob Mann

Students should strongly consider studying the Humanities for a multitude of reasons, but frankly the case is simple. The subjects are diverse, relevant to their everyday lives and taught by a dedicated team of enthusiastic teachers who are expert in their fields. The skills learned in these subjects are directly transferable to others, and as such it is no surprise that Humanities students do so well at the VCE level at Mazenod. The best of ALL worlds.

Mr James Convery

Humanities puts our world in context. We gain an understanding of the physical, political, social and spatial processes that have occurred over time. This challenges us to take action to solve problems and develop systems to shape a sustainable future. Humanities makes us better global citizens.

Mrs Jacinta Girolami

Studying humanities helps us to better understand who we are, our identity as a people, a society and a culture, and how to organise our societies so we can achieve our goals.

Mrs Claire Russo

In Geography we tackle some of the biggest issues around the world. Underpinning these studies is a focus on environmental, economic and social sustainability. As global citizens, knowledge of these issues is essential.

Mr Adrian De Fanti

Myles Odinson, Mazenodian and Child Protection Officer with the Public Service, emailed asking to direct more Humanities Mazenod students into his area of work. He is one of the few males in his department and he believes that Humanities prepared him with the ability to analyse, communicate and problem solve. He thinks the world needs more communicative Humanities males.

Mr Joe Moore

The Humanities help us to understand our world, ourselves and each other. The importance of that understanding cannot be put into words.

Mr Mal Spasic

Geography gives students the skills necessary to go out and investigate real life issues and come to well informed conclusions. This is a hugely important skill for life outside of Mazenod.

Mr Mike Pearson

Students should study Humanities subjects as they encourage social and emotional intelligence through their emphasis on discussion, decision making and reflection. These skills are crucial in all areas of society but particularly in the workplace.

Mrs Karen Hindle

Taking Humanities subjects for VCE will help make you a well-rounded, thinking, independent learner with a great chance of scoring a very high result in your VCE scores as witnessed by past successes of Humanities students!

Mr Gary Fox

A fantastic opportunity to learn about the ever-changing world, both past and present. Humanities can open so many doors and there are endless possibilities to engage in relevant and engaging topics that will be of value for the rest of your life. Humanities can help you excel in other subjects and can be of great benefit when out in the world of work. Finally, you will be in a class with like-minded people, debate ideas, develop conclusions and reach new heights.

Mr Noel McGarry

"To know your future is to understand the past and present".

Mrs Mira Strengers

Mr Nick Young

Head of Humanities