Ave Maria College is an inclusive Catholic girl’s secondary school located in Aberfeldie, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1963, the College was established by the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary in the vision to provide high-quality Catholic education to the young women of Essendon. We continue to provide education inspired by the patrons Mary, St Francis of Assisi, St Clare of Assisi and Helene de Chappotin and instil the Franciscan values of Truth, love, peace, and compassion in our students. Our mission is encapsulated by our stapline, ‘She Who Belongs. She Who Thrives’, as we seek to empower our students by providing a foundation of belonging and instilling curiosity to explore, courage to excel, confidence to thrive, compassion to love and community to grow. We are rich in tradition and future-focused. We provide contemporary learning environments that spark curiosity and encourage students to seek new knowledge and skills to prepare themselves for the workforce of the future. Student voice is integral to the college and students at all levels are encouraged to pursue leadership positions within the College. These include College Captain, Franciscan Captain/Leader, Academic Captain/Leader, Arts Captain/Leader, House Captain/Leader, Year Level Leader and Mentor Group Leader.
FACILITIES
The College boasts state-of-the-art facilities including contemporary learning spaces, which work to maximise the learning potential in all students and enable them to thrive. Each environment has been purposely designed to further enhance the student learning experience and the acquisition of knowledge, skill and understanding.
CURRICULUM
Our Learning and Teaching program at all levels is underpinned by the College Charter for Education. Developed in 2020, the Charter for Education consists of Franciscan beliefs, learner attributes and wellbeing skills, bound by a learning environment which interconnects each element to maximise the growth of each individual student. Working closely with families and students to address specific interests, needs and capabilities, we have developed bespoke learning programs to ensure every child has a pathway that will set them up for success upon graduation. Students in Years 7-9 engage in a broad and diverse curriculum including Religious Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities, STEM, Enterprise Skills, Health and Physical Education, Indonesian, Italian, Design and Digital Technologies, Drama, Music and Visual Arts. From Year 10, students are able to build upon and specialise in learning areas to set them up for success in the senior years. Senior pathways open to Year 11 and 12 students include: Victorian Certificate of Education (scored, unscored, accelerated), VCE Vocational Major (previously VCAL), VCE VET, VCE School Based Apprenticeship, and our Tertiary Preparation Program offered in partnership with RMIT University.
SPORT
The College is a member of the Catholic Girls Sports Association Victoria and students can participate in a range of sporting activities including swimming, tennis, indoor cricket, indoor soccer, AFL, hockey, soccer, volleyball, softball, cross country, and basketball. We are also a proud partner of Liverpool Football Club International Academy Australia and offer a high-performance soccer program for students to enhance their skills technically, tactically, socially, mentally and physically.
CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITES
The Ave Maria College co-curricular program offers a wide range of opportunities for students across various domains. It aims to foster the creative, spiritual, academic, physical and social abilities and talents of our students. Our offerings include debating, Horizons, homework club, instrumental music lessons (voice, piano, guitar, bass guitar), College production, choir, and CGSAV sports. Language students have the opportunity to enrich their studies through the Dante Alighieri Poetry Recitation Competition and Sayembara Lisan Speaking Competition. The College also offers a range of National and International Learning Tours that provide an authentic landscape for the acquisition of knowledge, skills and understanding. These include but are not limited to tours associated with Language and Culture, STEM, Enterprise Skills, and Student Leadership.
STUDENT WELLBEING
We are committed to the wellbeing of our students and ensure that cohesive and comprehensive support structures are in place for students to grow and thrive. Wellbeing is a strong focus across all year levels in the College, as seen through our daily Mentor Period check-ins, Visible Wellbeing focus and annual Wellbeing Programs. The College employs fully qualified student counsellors who work in collaboration with the Student Wellbeing Team to create learner-specific wellbeing plans to address the issues, challenges, decisions and responsibilities that our students face. We are also an accredited restorative practices college which enhances responsibility through building positive relationships across the community.