It came as a wonderful and completely-unexpected surprise when Samuel Marsden Collegiate School German Teacher and Director of International Students, Caroline Robertson, won the inaugural ASG Parents’ Award at the National Excellence in Teaching Awards late last year.
Caroline, affectionately known as “Frau” to the Marsden students, says: “I am very passionate about teaching, but I am more passionate about the lives of young people than whether they can do German irregular verbs.”
Running the Marsden international programme and caring for a wonderful group of international students, as well as moving her teaching online, was a responsibility Caroline took seriously. She met with students online every day, spoke with homestay families and managed to keep the “chill vibe”, as described by her students, shining through in her classes and interactions online too.
She describes all of her students, and particularly her international ones, as incredibly resilient. Her philosophy is “students need to know that you are interested in them”. That is what Caroline has been for the past 23 years at Marsden and it is something her students can look forward to this year.
