Learning and Teaching News

Welcome back to all our families, new and old!  We warmly welcome you to Marist College Ashgrove, where our mission is to educate boys in the Marist tradition, inspiring them to love, learn, lead and serve.  Please know that we will aim to provide a holistic education for your son in a supportive, engaging and challenging environment. 

You are encouraged to read the newsletter each week to find out what is happening regarding curriculum at the College.  

Congratulations to Year 12 2023 

As outlined in the Head of College article, our Year 12 cohort of 2023 performed highly in their exit results at the end of last year. We would like to acknowledge the hard work of not only the students, but the teachers, support staff, parents and carers who guided, assisted, challenged and supported these boys on their academic journeys at the College.  

It is wonderful to see boys pursuing post-schooling options from university courses such as Medicine, Law, Economics, Education, Music, Business to apprenticeships, TAFE courses and employment. Well done, seniors of 2023; you should be extremely proud of yourselves. 

For an outline of the Year 12 2023 results, please see the Head of College article. 

Academic Care Team Term 1 - 2024 

Marist College Ashgrove’s Academic Care Team (ACT) works with students to track and assist their academic growth at the College. The ACT is divided into several roles: 

Acting Deputy Head of College - Learning and Teaching: Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg. Roxanne oversees learning and teaching across the whole College. Along with Jessica Turschwell (see below), Roxanne has a particular focus on the middle years (Years 7-9). Roxanne can be contacted at  rosenbergr@marash.qld.edu.au 

Acting Assistant Head of College – Learning and Teaching (Senior School): Mr Adam Knight. Adam works with the Senior School students (Years 10-12) and staff to ensure our Senior school academic programs prepare the boys for senior learning. Adam can be contacted at  knighta@marash.qld.edu.au  

Acting Curriculum Leader: Senior Years Academic Care: Ms Kathryn Badini. Kathryn primarily focuses on student tracking across the senior school (Years 10-12). This includes the Year 10 preparation programs and subject selections. She assists boys in subject selection and with their many pathway options in senior schooling. Kathryn can be contacted at  badinik@marash.qld.edu.au  

Curriculum Leader: Middle Years Academic Care: Mrs Jessica Turschwell. Jess works with Middle School students (Years 7-9) on academic success through our student tracking program. Jess can be contacted at  turschwellj@marash.qld.edu.au 

Primary Learning Leader: Ms Jen Little. Jen works closely with primary school teachers to develop an engaging and targeted curriculum for Years 5 and 6. She tracks student progress and is focused on continual improvement for all. Jen can be contacted at  littlej@marash.qld.edu.au  

The middle and senior years Academic Care Team can be accessed at the Studies Office (under the Resource Centre). Jen Little, the Primary Learning Leader, is in the Primary Administration building. Please feel free to contact the relevant member of the ACT if you have any questions about your son’s subjects or overall academic progress across the year. 

Curriculum Leaders 2024 

Our Marist College Ashgrove Curriculum Leaders (CLs) lead the subject areas in departments across Years 7-12. These CLs are experts in subjects within their departments and work with their departmental staff to build programs aligned with the Australian Curriculum and the Queensland Years 11 and 12 syllabuses. Please contact any of the CLs below if you have questions about a subject within their department. 

Year 12 Academic Leaders – 2024 

Vice Captain: Max Bathersby 

Ridley: Harry Lee 

Ephrem: Liam Bourke 

Foley: Thomas Demeteryous

Gilroy: Luca Martinuzzi 

Harold: Hayden Barnes 

Ignatius: Tristan Woods 

Rush: Zane Cooper 

Slattery: Edward Wild

Throughout the course of the year, our academic captains will lead initiatives as well as promote curriculum activities throughout the College. We wish all our leaders a successful year.

Year 9-11 Subject Changes  

Over the break, students in Years 9-11 may have decided to change elective subjects that they chose last year. If your son would like to change his subjects, please encourage him to visit the Academic Care Office (located under the Senior Library)  

• Year 9 subject changes – Acting Deputy Head of College (Roxanne Rosenberg) or CL: Middle Year Academic Care (Jess Turschwell) 
• Year 10-11 subject changes – Acting Assistant Head of College – Learning and Teaching (Adam Knight) or CL: Senior Years Academic Care (Kathryn Badini)

All subject changes need to be completed and submitted by Wednesday 31 January (Week 2). 

Year 5 -10 Semester 2 2023 Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards 

Year 5-10, Semester 2, 2023 Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards will be presented at the College’s Inaugural Mass on Tuesday 30 January. Parents of students who will be receiving awards will be notified over the next week, via email and invited to attend the mass and awards ceremony. A list of recipients will be included in the Week Three newsletter. 

Head of College Awards for Semester 2 2023 will be presented on year-level assemblies this term. A list of recipients will be included in a newsletter later this term. 

Year 7 Information Night – Tuesday 23 January 

This event is being organised by Mr Josh Kerservani (Pastoral Leader – Middle School).  Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg will be presenting to discuss academics and the Laptop Information at the College. If you have any questions relating to the event, please contact Mr Kerservani (kerservanij@marash.qld.edu.au).

Student Laptop Agreement 

Parents of Year 7 and 10 students, please note that a student laptop agreement has been released on Parent Lounge.  Please access this document by Tuesday 23 January.  Read the agreement and accept prior to your son collecting his device.  Please note that if this agreement has not been accepted, your son will not be able to collect his device. 

TEAMS 

As the College transitions away from the Moodle platform, all class resources will now be found on TEAMS. Students will have a TEAMS page for every subject that they are enrolled in, and all documents will be saved here.  

NAPLAN 

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy takes place during Week 8 of Term 1 this year. Information regarding these tests and arrangements for upcoming school readiness tests will be emailed to students in Years 5, 7 and 9 shortly. 

2024 Calendar 

The College calendar provided to each family outlines the scheduled exam blocks across the year for students in Years 7-12. Please ensure you check these Exam Block dates before booking any holidays, as they are an essential and compulsory part of the learning process at the College. Leave is not granted to students during this time.  

Please note that a medical certificate is required for all students from Years 7-12 who are absent during the exam blocks. 

Assessment Schedules 

From Week 3, your son will have access to his assessment schedule. This can be located on Student Café. Your son is encouraged to download this schedule and transfer assessment dates to his College Diary. There will be more information on accessing this information in the Week 3 newsletter.