Learning and Teaching News

Welcome back to learning at Marist College Ashgrove for Semester 2, 2022. With Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg on Long Service Leave this semester, we welcome Mr Adam Knight to the acting position of Head of Middle School Learning and Teaching. Mrs Tara Franklin will take on the role of Secondary Learning Leader and Ms Elizabeth Kenny will be the Careers Advisor. We look forward to continuing supporting the boys in achieving their academic goals across the upcoming semester. 

Subject changes for Semester 2

A reminder to students that if they would like to change elective subjects for Semester 2, changes will be open until Friday Week 2 (22nd July 2022). Please use the following contacts for subject changes:

• Years 8 and 9 – Head of House or Mr Adam Knight 
• Year 10 and 11 – Mrs Tara Franklin or Ms Jen Smeed

Mrs Franklin, Mr Knight and Ms Smeed can all be found at the Academic Care Team office, accessible from the Studies Office before school, after school or at break time.

Year 10 2023 Subject Selection 

On Thursday this week, current Year 9 students will be sent a link to complete their online subject selection form. The online form will be open from this Thursday through until the end of Week 2 (Friday 22nd July). Year 9 parents and students will be emailed instructions and notification when the selection is open later this week. A reminder that students should be selecting subjects they are planning on completing in Year 11 and 12.

In Week 2, parents will also be provided with instructions on how to book in for each student’s Academic Conversation with a member of College staff which will begin in Week 3. These interviews provide a time for each student, their parent/s and a teacher to discuss the student’s selected subjects and future pathways. There is opportunity at this interview to change subjects if needed. Meetings prior to these interviews are not needed and will not be booked.

Year 10 SET Plans 

Year 10 SET Plans begin in Week 10 last term and continue across this week. The SET Plan interview is a compulsory conversation between the student, school representative and the parents. It revolves around students’ pathways and senior subject selection. Please arrive at least 5 minutes prior to your scheduled SET Plan interview time and register at the Tower. You will then be directed to the location of your interview.

A reminder that boys should generally be enrolled in subjects now that they are wishing to study in Year 11 and 12 e.g. if they are wanting to study Geography in senior it should be on their current timetable. This allows them to develop their skills and some basic knowledge before they commence their Unit 1 work in 2023.

Semester 1 Reports and Student Feedback 

At the end of Week 10, all report cards for students in Years 5-10 were published to the Parent Portal. Please ensure you have reviewed and discussed your son’s results with him. Instructions on how to access these reports can be found below.

How to access Academic Reports – Parent Lounge

Please follow these steps to access academic reports

1 - Open parent portal and click on “Parent Lounge”

2 - Academic Reports are accessible via the link of the left-hand side of the page, or at the bottom of the main screen. Click on the academic report you would like to see.

Accessing LMS for Task Specific Feedback 

At the completion of each drafting stage and final completion of assessment (both written and exam), your son will receive task specific feedback from his teachers. It is important that your son/s access this feedback, so they are aware of their strengths and limitations. Parents are also encouraged to access this information.

Please follow these steps to access task specific feedback.

1 - Open parent portal and click on “Parent Lounge”

2 - On the left-hand tab select “Curricular Activities Due” and select “view all activities” on the top right-hand side of page. 

This will take you to a screen that lists of your son/s assessment to complete, or has been completed.

3 - Click on a subject to view feedback. 

4 - Once you click on the subject you will be able to find the following information:

1. Task sheet for assessment – this will outline what your son needs to do to complete the task successfully
2. Draft due dates and due dates
3. Criteria sheet
4. Feedback
5. Result

Monitoring weeks for students to set goals for Semester 2 will occur across Weeks 2-3 in Pastoral Groups. Please take the time to discuss your son’s academic goals with him over the current weeks.

Year 12 Exam Block

The IA3 Internal Exam Block is scheduled to run from Monday 1 - Wednesday 3 August (Week 4). The Exam Block Schedule will be released to Year 12 students and parents in Week 2. Subjects with assessment scheduled for this block include:

• Certificate III Fitness
• Specialist Maths
• Drama
• Essential Maths
• General Maths 
• Maths Methods

Normal timetabled classes will re-commence as of Thursday 4 August with all students expected to be in attendance. 

Study Hall – All Year Levels

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning the teacher librarians in the senior library offer study hall sessions from 7:45 am to 8:30 am. These are designed to build the student’s capacity to study independently by teaching them key skills for the first 15 mins of the sessions and then offering independent supported study for the remainder of the time.

Please find below the outline for the Study Hall for Term 3.