Learning and Teaching News

Elevate Parent Seminars

We’re excited to announce that on Wednesday 15 February, Elevate Education will be hosting its first free webinar of the year for parents.

Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high-impact workshops on study skills, motivation, well-being, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series, you will learn how you can help better support your children at home by reinforcing the skills they learn at school:  

Webinar: How to Help Get (and Keep!) Your Child Motivated

Date: Wednesday 15 February

Time: 6:30 – 7:30pm (AEDT)

Cost: Free

✅ What impact does praise, and reassurance have on your child’s motivation?

✅ What are the best types of goals to set with your child? 

✅ How can you help your child create meaningful and lasting motivation?

Click here to register for free

Year 12 Night Study Sessions

The Night Study Sessions are weekly study times available to Year 12 students who wish to work in collaboration with their peers for assessment, complete revision, revisit classwork or work on external exam preparation. The Night Study Session will recommence this Wednesday, 1st February, with further details outlined below.

When: Every Wednesday during term time from 5:00pm-8:00pm

Where: Senior Library

Who: 2023 Year 12s only

Requirements:

• Current ID card is to be presented on arrival
• All students must sign in and out of the library
• All standard library rules are to be followed (including no eating)
• Normal student behaviour expectations apply; if these cannot be met, boys will be prohibited from returning to future sessions
• Students are free to wear full College uniform or plain clothes
• Students are free to arrive and leave as they see fit. Supervision is only provided in the library between 5:00-8:00pm.
• Students are to be in the library only. This is not a time for sport or social gatherings. 

A librarian will be on duty from 5:00-8:00pm to assist if required; however, these are not tutoring sessions. Students are encouraged to work collaboratively.

Thank you to Mrs Mary Stirling and the wonderful librarians for staffing these valuable study opportunities for our 2023 Year 12 students.

NAPLAN

Across Weeks 2 and 3, we conducted school readiness testing for NAPLAN in Years 7 and 9. Can I please remind all parents to ensure that their sons are coming prepared for these assessments. There were several students who came without a fully charged laptop or corded headphones. Both are essential for the tests. 

The NAPLAN test will take place during Week 8 and 9 of Term 1 this year. It is integral that students try their best in this testing as teachers will use this data as a diagnostic tool to further improve their teaching in the classroom. It also gives parents a clear understanding of how their child is progressing in the areas of writing, reading, grammar and punctuation, and numeracy. Information regarding specific timetabling for classes will be released in Week 7. 

Head of College Awards

Mr Newman will be visiting Year level and Primary Assemblies in the coming weeks to present the Semester 2 2022 Head of College Awards. These awards will be presented to 2022 Year 5-10 students who, in Semester 2, achieved all A’s on their report card for learning behaviours. The names of all award recipients will be included in the newsletter once all presentations have concluded. Congratulations to all recipients of the Head of College Awards.

Academic Care Interviews – Middle School

The Academic Care Team are continuing to meet individually with students regarding their academic progress. During these meetings, the students will identify strategies to improve their academic performance. These interviews are for students only and take approximately 10 minutes. Boys and their parents will receive an email outlining the date and time. Can you please remind your son to attend these meetings as they are greatly beneficial for students. Communication from these interviews will then be shared with parents, teachers, and students to help the boy to succeed. 

Assessment schedules 

Assessment schedules have now been published to the Student Café and the Parent Portal. Your son is encouraged to download this schedule and transfer assessment dates to his College Diary. 

Illness

If a student has tested positive for Covid-19, Queensland Health recommends that they isolate until they have been fever-free for 24 hours, register positive RAT results and wear a face mask for 7 days after receiving a positive Covid-19 test result. Students who are absent from school should contact their Head of House and class teachers and access work on Moodle. It is important that any student requesting an extension on assignments due to illness have at a minimum, a letter from their parents (Years 5-9) or the registration of RAT results with Queensland Health or a medical certificate (Years 10-12). 

2023 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.

Year 12 – QCE Health Check

As mentioned in the Year 12 Parent information evening, please contact Mr Adam Knight at knighta@marash.qld.edu.au if you would like to check your son’s QCE points. Of particular risk is any boys who have obtained “Unsatisfactory” results for multiple subjects in Units 1 and 2.  

Study Hall – All Year Levels

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning, 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 critical skills for the first 15 minutes of the session, then offering independent supported study for the remainder of the time.

Please find below the outline for the Study Hall for Term 1. We encourage students of all year levels to attend these valuable sessions.