From the Executive 

Essential Workers in Unprecedented Times

How many times have we heard that expression, ‘We are in unprecedented times’? Never was a statement so true. We, as school administrators, have faced so much uncertainty and confusion. All of our decision making has been based upon the advice and directions that have been presented by the respective governments, the Education Department and Catholic Education Melbourne. 

When we finally have the opportunity to catch our breath and reflect on 2020, we will feel for our Year 12 students whose final year has been marred by lockdown and restrictions. They haven’t had the usual celebrations of a Formal, Year 12 RE days nor the traditional gatherings that make their final year so special. Dylan Peiris, our College Captain, and the leadership team have tried to inspire the student body through video clips, but in reality, they haven’t had the opportunity to impart their style, their wisdom, or their love of Mazenod to the wider community.

Our Year 7s have also missed out on their induction into secondary school. They haven’t experienced a Mission Action Day, or had the privilege of representing their Mazenod in the ACC competition. It really is difficult to find something to celebrate in these ‘unprecedented times’. 

One positive is the knowledge that we gain, of those who usually go unnoticed in the busyness of school life. It has been a privilege to become better acquainted with some of our essential workers who laboured tirelessly at the college to ensure the health and safety of our students and staff. 

I would like to introduce five members of our community who worked selflessly over the past three months where we have had to endure the hardships of COVID. The first three; Laslo, Eddie and Jorge, are employees of Danihers, the company contracted to clean our College. The fourth is Fasih Rehman who is employed by Trident IT Solutions and is seconded to our IT Department to magically repair computers that won’t come to life for mere mortals, and the last is Merry De La Zilwa, one of our own.

Laslo Kaldy was born in Hungary, and was trained in IT. He married his childhood sweetheart and moved to France. Seven years ago he and his wife were transferred to Australia as she was headhunted as a CEO for a finance company. Laslo was employed by Danihers and has been a cleaner at Mazenod for three and a half years. The family moved to Officer, where they built their first home. They have two primary aged children, a girl and a boy. 

Jorge Arguelles was born in Villavicencio, a small village outside of Bogota in Columbia. He went to Santo Tomas University, studying Marketing and Advertising as did his wife, who also lectured in Marketing at the same University. They immigrated to Australia a year and a half ago to pursue greater opportunities and to further their English speaking skills.

Eduardo Robledo or Eddie, is another of Daniher’s finest. He was born in Argentina and grew up in Rosario, the largest city in the Sante Fe Provence. He ran a successful restaurant until deciding to immigrate to Australia to be with his wife’s extended family. Eddie worked in supermarkets until he gathered the funds to open his own café in Box Hill. This was a very successful business that provided lunches for the surrounding factories and offices. Unfortunately, Eddie’s wife suffered a serious leg injury in a car accident and they had to sell the business. Eddie has worked for Danihers for three years and has been at Mazenod for the majority of that time. When he is not working at the College, Eddie operates his own cleaning business after hours. Eddie has two adult children, a son twenty-eight and a daughter who is twenty-five years of age.

The legend of the laptops is Fasih Rehman. Fasih’s was born in Pakistan and studied, and obtained, a Bachelor of Information Technology. He came to Australia for the opportunity to complete his Masters of Information Systems. Fasih has worked for Trident IT Solutions for the past two years and during the first period of remote learning, he was present every day at Mazenod, assisting staff and students with laptop repairs, software installations and the supply of accessories and parts. Fasih married in 2016 and has one child. 

Finally, it would be remiss of me not to mention one of our own, Meredith De La Zilwa. Merry’s title is that of Audio Visual Technician, however, he is much more than that. He has been a staff member at Mazenod for over thirty years and has always assisted staff and students in any aspect of audiovisual technology. He has also taken on the responsibility of overseeing the day to day running of the canteen and on most days he can be found serving the senior students in the Canteen. Merry never missed a day during the first period of remote learning and the regular student attendees quickly found a friend who would assist in providing the canteen food or finding a treat that made the remote learning at school a more bearable experience. Merry has vast experience in catering and he also is the driving force behind many of the functions that are held at the College. Nothing is too much for Merry and his generosity is legendary! 

These individuals kept us safe and ensured that we could cope with this pandemic. They were present every day during the previous period of remote learning and were always behind the scenes; sanitising, disinfecting, providing food or repairing computers. It would be fantastic if, the next time your son saw one of these essential workers, that they took the time to say thanks, that they shared a smile or that they made that extra effort to make their job more pleasant. 

All are essential to the Mazenod Community, all are great men, and all deserve our appreciation. 

Mr Tony Rolfe

Deputy Principal (Operations)