Video Testimonials
Shalani De Silva - English student
Fiona Lin - Literature student
Katie Zhou - Media student
Joe Reischel - English teacher, Glen Waverley Secondary College
Kylie Price, Head of Literacy, Eltham College
Maskit Matityahu - Media Student
Megan Lee - English Student
Written Testimonials
Helen has proven herself to be one of the most exceptional and outstanding practitioners that I have had the privilege of working with in my career. Helen’s ability to deliver consistently high outcomes and value add in VCE English, Literature and Media is due to her ability to develop the required high level of rapport with her students that enables them to thrive academically.
Recent evidence of Helen’s work can be seen in the school through her design and implementation of the VCE English High Achievement Program and the VCE English High Potential Program which has contributed to a rise in the VCE English mean of between 0.8-3.0 study score points in just one year.
I highly recommend her as a tutor especially at the VCE level.
Joanne Wastle - Principal, Glen Waverley Secondary College
Helen is a highly skilled educator who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the English classroom through both the mastery of her discipline and the uniqueness of her pedagogical approaches. Helen’s experience has seen her teach across years 7-12 mainstream English as well as Literature, alongside her secondary discipline Media. She is able to apply a holistic overview to the knowledge and skills across the various study designs governing assessment and reporting. Currently, Helen is the Learning Specialist for High Ability Practice (English). Once again, her experience has seen her deliver a program that is designed to extend students’ thinking by encouraging them to reach for possibilities in learning to ensure students are not inhibited in their approaches to their growth and progression. I highly recommend Helen as a tutor.
Hanna Khoweiss - Head of English, Glen Waverley Secondary College
I always struggled with English all throughout high school. I thought that my English was beyond saving and never put in much effort to improve until I was taught by Helen in year 12! Her passionate and engaging teaching style not only made it effortless for me to focus in class”, but it also made me look forward to all her lessons. She was able to facilitate my thinking and creativity in ways that I did not even know I was capable of. This motivated me to work harder than ever before. Coupled with her crucial and incredibly insightful feedback on every essay that I submitted to her, I saw tremendous improvement in my English grades for the first time! From average grades to one of the highest in my school in less than a year, all thanks to her! I strongly urge everyone looking for tuition to give her a shot!
Ian Fernando
Hey everyone! This is Dylan here! I am currently studying a Bachelor of Commerce at the University of Melbourne. I had the privilege of working with Ms Mason over the course of 2022 as a student in her VCE English class. Before year 12,
English was always my biggest fear, it was always the subject I hated and ignored, and most importantly, I never felt comfortable participating in class or contributing my answers to questions. Despite grappling with that fear, Ms Mason was always determined, from the very beginning, to help all her students to elevate their English studies to the next level, no matter our ability. From her engaging classes to mini sessions that she would provide for students, Ms Mason was always engaging,
interesting, masterful, insightful, and you will always leave her classroom at the end of each class learning something new, perhaps new ideas and concepts that you can add into your pieces of work! From an initial goal of a 30 in VCE English, my confidence grew over the course of year 12 to a score of 40 in English! But to me,
this score wasn’t my biggest takeaway of VCE English. It was the hard work, the dedication and the never-giving-up attitude that Ms Mason brings into classrooms day in and day out, that deserves so much credit. She is an exceptional teacher and tutor, and I cannot speak more highly of her ability to teach and navigate through
the challenges that each student may deliver. By working with Ms Mason, you will be equipped with strong understanding of your pieces of work, whether that’s analysing a novel or oral presentations, you will experience a high-level and interactive learning experience like no other!
I had Miss Mason for VCE English 3/4 in 2020, and I can say that throughout the year her continual dedication to providing personalised feedback on everything I handed in really motivated me to push my writing further and further while thinking about texts from wider perspectives. Whether I was working on a scrap of paper with a few sentences or extended-form essays, her holistic approach to teaching English helped me to develop a unique voice in my writing and to see the analyses for their value in the world beyond the classroom. Although I struggled with writing essays under time pressure, Miss Mason's planning strategies allowed me to target this weakness as well as gain confidence in identifying evidence for my ideas to then integrate into fluid expression to the point where I scored a raw 50! If you're looking for a tutor to raise your skills with English to the next level, Miss Mason has definitely got you covered.
Isaac Pope
Ms Mason was my Literature teacher in year 11 and year 12 and she’s absolutely fantastic! She taught me so much over those two years and helped me hone skills I had never even used before, like close analysis. Her personalised feedback on my essays was invaluable and gave me the confidence to do well on the exam and get a raw 50! I definitely recommend her as a tutor.
Brooke Ellis
Helen Mason is a highly skilled and knowledgeable teacher who works from the basis of building positive learning relationships with students. I am so impressed with Helen's imaginative capacity to create highly engaging learning experiences. She supports students to think deeply and become confident readers and writers in English. Helen is an exemplary teacher who I would highly recommend as a tutor for your children.
Associate Professor Amanda McGraw-Pleban - Federation University and Academic Advisor - Teaching Excellence Program.
Dylan Lim