Humanities

mr Peter Bermingham | Head of Humanities

Despite everyone’s hopes for a better year, we were all confronted with similar educational challenges to those experienced in 2020. Given our experiences and the new skills developed last year, however, the Humanities team was well prepared to continue offering our students the opportunities they deserve to develop their knowledge and understanding across the broad range of subjects that fall within our department.

We welcomed a number of new staff to the team in 2021, including former students Styron Augustus and Tom Andrews. Other new additions to the team included Tim Cox, Rachel Timos, Rachel Holland, Molly O’Shea, Gazielle Pinili and Jason Collins. Our new colleagues quickly developed into valued and respected members of the department and positive contributors to our team’s achievements.

The Humanities team was able to once again adapt effectively to the demands of both face-to-face and remote teaching in a most professional manner. Staff utilised their experience from last year, putting into practice the skills fine-tuned during our first experiences with teaching from home. This reflected very highly on all staff members, highlighting their passion for teaching and their commitment to engaging and motivating students to continue on their journey of growth and education.

The rollout of Project Based Learning (PBL) continued at the College this year, with the entire Year 7 cohort and two Year 8 classes adopting this approach to teaching and learning in 2021. Next year, the whole Year 8 cohort will also adopt PBL, so the training and development of staff continued in preparation for this significant change.

Humanities staff also spent considerable time and effort developing new Year 9 electives. As part of the reinvigoration of the Year 9 program offered at the Mannix This reflected very highly on all staff members, highlighting their passion for teaching and their commitment to engaging and motivating students to continue on their journey of growth and education.

Campus, staff were given the challenge of planning for the delivery of new Humanities subjects that are not only educational, but also engaging and relevant to 15-16 yearold boys. This work will continue into 2022.

In spite of the 2021 lockdowns, a number of excursions and incursions were able to be enjoyed by students. These included the Year 12 Economics students meeting online with an economist from the RBA to discuss the implementation of monetary policy in Australia, and the Year 12 Legal Studies students attending an online seminar hosted by the Victoria Law Reform Commission looking at the need for change in Victoria’s laws. The Year 9 Marvellous Melbourne class was fortunate enough to enjoy two visits to the city in between lockdowns, allowing students to experience Melbourne culture and landmarks such as the Melbourne Museum and Melbourne Star. Such activities enrich the learning experience of our Humanities students by adding a practical element to classroom learning.

I have enjoyed another year in my role as Head of Humanities. The challenges I have faced have been made easier through the support and hard work of the Humanities team. I am very grateful for their encouragement and wish them all continuing success in 2022 and beyond.