Manorisms: The Manor Lakes P-12 College Podcast

PLEASE NOTE: This episode was recorded on June 24, 2025, but publishing was delayed because of technical issues... In January, Tori Mulligan landed his first principal job at our school after building a wealth of experience in leadership roles at Bacchus Marsh Secondary College, Narre Warren South P-12 College and Glen Eira College. In a wide-ranging chat, the father of two young children revealed...

While living in America in 2015, Jennifer Mair became a foster parent to two teenage brothers from a challenging family situation. And Jenn, a Canadian, took on that responsibility at the busiest time of her life, when she was also teaching at a “tough” school, as well as studying for her masters and planning her wedding – all while still in just her 20s. The foster parenting experience had a prof...

A creative soul, primary teacher Benjamin Cazaly is the author of a book of poetry, as well as performing a range of roles in local stage productions, and creating various pieces of art. And, yes, football fans will recognise Benjamin’s famous surname: Cazaly. He’s a great-great-great-nephew of the legendary footballer Roy Cazaly, who was immortalised in the iconic footy song  Up There Cazaly . An...

Dean Lee loves teaching, and he loves football – and in recent years he’s been able to combine these two passions wherever he goes. After a short stint as an accountant, the western suburbs boy turned to teaching, first working at schools in Darwin, where he also served as team manager at the legendary St Mary's Football Club. When Dean returned to Melbourne in 2022 and started at our school,...

Manorisms  is finally back on the air after finding a new producer in former student Josh Ferguson, who now works at our college as an IT technician. A massive thanks, Josh! We hope to release new episodes on a regular basis… Our first guest for the year is one of the most popular people on campus: our VCE Leader, Head of School and comic relief extraordinaire Tara Hyatt. Quick-witted Tara has won...

Primary school PE teacher Connor Thar was one of the hard-luck stories of this year’s VFL Grand Final when he was a late withdrawal from the Werribee team with injury.   It was just the latest misfortune for the pocket rocket, who has suffered a few long-term injuries in recent years. At one point Connor even considered quitting football, but he has bounced back with admirable resilience to have a...

Primary school teacher Dwight Farrer has lived in three countries on different continents, for at least nine years each time. He spent his first nine years in India, then almost two decades in Canada, and the past nine years here in Australia where he is now a permanent resident… Dwight is our Grade 3-6 maths learning specialist, and he’s passionate about maths, along with basketball (particularly...

Chase Smith-Wood’s acting career is going according to script. At the tender age of just 14, Chase has already appeared in two film productions that have been screened internationally – award-winning short film  Bad Beat ; and eerie drama  The Clearing , an eight-part Disney Plus series in which he appeared in scenes with Aussie stars such as Miranda Otto and Guy Pearce… In a stunning development,...

Our vocational programs leader Kate Goodwin was 19 when she was diagnosed with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) – a development that finally provided an explanation for some of her behaviour since she was a young girl. The condition has continued to be a daily battle for Kate, both in her career and as a mother of three young kids. One of her aims is to create more awareness and und...

Mark Stewart has been the gentle giant of our primary school since our college opened in 2009. Remarkably, the 50-year-old is still playing football. In fact, on Saturday he will reach an astonishing milestone when he plays his 600th game of open-age footy... The man-mountain ruckman is a local legend around the Geelong district where his long list of achievements include two league best and faire...

At 13, Brigitte Godfrey was offered a role in Aussie TV soap opera  Neighbours . However, the Hoppers Crossing talent knocked back this opportunity of a lifetime because of the bullying she received at school. Brigitte's intended role, that of a character named Hannah Martin, ultimately went to Rebecca Ritters, who remained on  Neighbours  from 1992 to 1999 and later appeared in a 2005 reunion...

Primary teacher Gordon Webb proudly served in the Australian Army for 23 years, reaching the rank of sergeant. He first became an air-defence gunner and later worked in administration as a clerk. Most notably, Gordon was deployed to Egypt as part of Operation Mazurka, which oversees the terms of a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, but the task was always fraught with danger… His pre-army jour...

Music teacher Aiden Arandez is the bass player and backing vocalist in The Teeny Tiny Stevies, the popular children’s music group that won an ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Award) for the best children’s album in 2020. They even beat the iconic Wiggles! ... Aiden is also a member of the band's side project, The Little Stevies, an indie/folk group also fronted by the Stephen sisters, Beth...

There are few more engaging personalities at our school than secondary assistant principal Penny Owens. But beneath that bubbly exterior is a woman who has overcome considerable challenges. Born to a Maori mother and a white father in New Zealand, a young Penny faced identity issues as she felt caught between two cultures. Later, in Australia, one of her nine-day-old twin daughters suffered a brai...

Scott Dellar has been involved in education for nearly 40 years, working at 15 schools and being principal at eight of them (including ours). So it’s a surprise to learn he became a teacher by accident, initially studying to be a metallurgist before discovering his passion for teaching PE, outdoor education and physics... In an extensive chat, we learn many other things about our new leader: that...

Madie Walters has seen Manor Lakes College from both sides of the teacher’s desk. One of our original students when the college opened in 2009, Madie graduated our school as a student in 2017, and now she’s one of our Grade 6 teachers. She also reveals the personal stories behind some of her tattoos, including one that represents her transgender brother... Manorisms  is co-hosted by college co-cap...

Steve Warner has been our executive principal since November 2016 and has overseen enormous growth at our school – but that’s only part of Mr Warner's story. Most notably perhaps, in 1988 he was a “carryover champion” for several successive nights on popular game show Sale Of The Century . In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Warner also discusses the terrible tragedy that opened up a vacancy for h...

Renee Liprino has been principal of our secondary school for the past six years, and now she’s leaving us to become assistant principal at Melbourne Girls’ College – but not before sitting down for a chat. Ms Liprino opens up about her time at our school; how she introduced the SMOD (Student Management On Duty) program that has been adopted by other schools; how a childhood spent around animals on...

Join us as Asunta Majur – one of our African community school liaison officers – shares the extraordinary, emotional story of her journey from war-torn South Sudan. Asunta was born into a well-known family in South Sudan – her late father served as Lieutenant General of Police and Auditor-General and was an heroic figure in a long-running civil war, while her mother is a Christian reverend who rai...

This is one of the most amazing and inspiring stories in our school’s 13-year history. Kai Seymon is a Year 9, Supported Learning student who is autistic, dyslexic and battles anxiety. Remarkably, the 16-year-old has had his own business for the past five years. And not just any business, but a successful one that’s changing people’s lives. Kaiko Fidgets creates sensory products that help people o...

Globetrotting primary teacher Ben White has experienced some extraordinary things on his travels – swimming with piranhas, climbing steaming volcanoes, bathing with elephants, getting up close in the wild with an anaconda and alligators, and being lucky not to come to grief via an earthquake, an avalanche, or sharks. Hear about Ben’s favourite (and least favourite) holiday destinations, along with...

(PLEASE NOTE: Since our original interview with Mel, this episode has been updated with a new segment at the end to include her AFLW promotion and debut.)… From 2018-21, local Werribee girl Melissa Bragg made 26 appearances with Collingwood in Suncorp Super Netball – the world’s premier professional netball competition. This year the 27-year-old secondary health and PE teacher took up football and...

First-year Secondary health and PE teacher Josh Matsubara is a passionate environmentalist, a proud vegan and a talented sportsman. Josh, whose green leanings were influenced by his wife Georgia, discusses his stint as the volunteer coordinator for Greenpeace in his native Geelong, including how he organised a climate protest that brought some major Geelong streets to a standstill... Boasting Japa...

The school’s resident funnyman and storyteller, John “Doddsy” Dodd, is a much-loved Education Support staff member with quite a story to tell about his wonderful lifelong association with sport. Nearing 75, Doddsy was a prominent figure at the Footscray football and cricket clubs for many years. He captained or coached five cricketers who went on to play for Australia; and as the footy club’s deve...

Primary art teacher Dannii Brighton and her husband Tim were strong performers in Lego Masters on the Nine Network in 2020. But that's only part of their story. The catalyst for their Lego limelight was a near-tragedy six years earlier when Tim was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumour...  Manorisms  is co-hosted by Year 11 student and secondary school vice-captain Ruby Collins, and c...