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 his farm upbringing near a town connected to two Aussie music legends, his childhood fascination with a terrifying mythical creature, his career before he took up teaching, and of course the serious injury he suffered as a result of his infamous tumble in the teachers’ 100-metre sprint a few years ago... Manorisms is co-hosted by Year 11 student and secondary school vice-captain Ruby Collins, and college writing mentor, author and former journalist Ben Collins. The show is produced by Aiden Arandez, with support from Jamie Canning and Jonathan Lynch. Cover art and music provided by Michael Poke.

(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 has made a meteoric rise, first impressing with Geelong in the VFLW competition before receiving a shock call-up to the Cats’ AFLW team. Mel's whirlwind journey became even wilder on Saturday when she made her AFLW debut in the No.44 guernsey. But it hasn’t been all fun and games – along the way, Mel has dealt with several setbacks and heartaches, including a family tragedy that has made her even more determined to cherish every moment and every opportunity… Manorisms is co-hosted by Year 11 student and secondary school vice-captain Ruby Collins, and college writing mentor, author and former journalist Ben Collins. The show is produced by Aiden Arandez, with support from Jamie Canning and Jonathan Lynch. Cover art and music provided by Michael Poke.

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 Japanese and Brazilian heritage (his surname originated in Japan), Josh was also an elite junior footballer and basketballer... Manorisms is co-hosted by Year 11 student and secondary school vice-captain Ruby Collins, and college writing mentor, author and former journalist Ben Collins. The show is produced by Aiden Arandez, with support from Jamie Canning and Jonathan Lynch. Cover art and music provided by Michael Poke.

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 development officer he recruited several future Bulldogs stars, including a Brownlow medallist, eventually rising to serve the Dogs as club secretary. He later joined his old mate Kevin Sheedy at Essendon. During this interview, Doddsy also:

• Playfully reveals some surprising insights about his long-time friend, our principal Steve Warner.

• Opens up about his near-fatal brush with the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009.

• Performs a comical phantom race call of the Manor Lakes College Cup, which features some familiar names from around the campus. Who wins the Cup? And who finishes last? Tune in to find out...

Manorisms is co-hosted by Year 11 student and secondary school vice-captain Ruby Collins, and college writing mentor, author and former journalist Ben Collins. The show is produced by Aiden Arandez, with support from Jamie Canning and Jonathan Lynch. Cover art and music provided by Michael Poke.

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 college writing mentor, author and former journalist Ben Collins. The show is produced by Aiden Arandez, with support from Jamie Canning and Jonathan Lynch. Cover art and music provided by Michael Poke.

First-time co-hosts – Year 11 student and secondary school vice-captain Ruby Collins and college writing mentor, former journalist and author Ben Collins – discuss their new school podcast, where they will share the stories of people from their school community.