Learning and Teaching News

Year 12 Optimus Breakfast 

Yesterday morning our Year 12 Gold Optimus Award recipients and their parents/carers gathered to celebrate their success across Unit 3. The breakfast event welcomed Professor Elizabeth Whiting PSM who spoke about her career in medicine travelling the world and the importance of taking advantage of opportunities that present themselves to you. We thank Prof. Whiting for her time and words of wisdom.

Congratulations to the 2023 Unit 3 Gold Optimus Award recipients - 

Roman Ah Loy, William Armstrong, Oscar Azzopardi, Luke Ballantyne, Harrison Barrett, Angus Bosse, Luke Carr, Alexander Clark, Leo Copeman-Hill, John Davidson, Thomas Davies, Daniel Feltrin, Alem Fitzgerald, Will Ford, Nathaniel Gillett, Oliver Gordon, Joshua Gray, Patrick Hooper, Flynn Hubbard, Austin Keates, Benjamin Kelly, Ben Kumaru, Jamie Landolt, Oliver Lee, Isaac Lynn, Luca Malghem, Lee Martin, Alexander Masel, Luke Mifsud, Cole Miklashek, Thomas Mitchell, William Moon, Maxton Murray, Edward Price, Louis Rebula, Darcey Salter, Declan Tunny, Charlie Weaver, Zachary Wright.

Term 3 Exam Block, Feedback and Reporting 

The end of Term 3 has seen exam blocks for all secondary Year levels over the past two and a half weeks. Well done to the boys who came to exams well prepared and put in their best efforts. Your teachers are currently very busy marking your assessments. The grades for these tasks, as well as feedback, will be released this Friday 16 September in the afternoon. You will be notified by the College via email when the results are live in the portal.

This Friday, Year 12 families will receive their final report card from the College. This is a Unit 4 progress report as it does not include External Exam results.

Year 11 families will receive their son’s Unit 2 report card in Week 3 of Term 4.

Academic Care Team Contacts

From this Friday, Ms Jen Smeed is taking leave and will return on Monday, 6 November. Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg will assume the role of Deputy Head of College – Learning and Teaching, while Mrs Jessica Turschwell will step into the position Assistant Head of College – Learning and Teaching (Middle School). Please see the contact details of the members of the Academic Care Team below:

• Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg (Deputy Head of College – Learning and Teaching) – rosenbergr@marash.qld.edu.au
• Mrs Jessica Turschwell (Assistant Head of College – Learning and Teaching Middle School) – turschwellj@marash.qld.edu.au
• Mr Adam Knight (Curriculum Leader – Senior Years Academic Care) – knighta@marash.qld.edu.au
• General enquiries – curriculum@marash.qld.edu.au

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about academics at the College.    

Year 12 Masterclasses 

To prepare students sitting External Exams, the College has developed a Masterclass timetable which allows targeted revision in classes of each student’s choosing. Masterclasses will run from Week 1 – Week 3 in Term 4. Over the next two weeks, the Masterclass timetable will be presented to Year 12 students, where they will also select their class preferences online.

The Masterclass timetable provides students with two sessions per day, one starting at 9:00am (Period 1) and the other at 12:20pm (Period 4). Students are only required to attend these classes (not Pastoral Group) and can leave once their sessions have finished. For students who complete fewer than six General subjects, this will mean they may leave the campus after the morning session or not arrive on campus until the afternoon session.

For all Masterclasses, students will need to be dressed in full school uniform and ensure they have all the required equipment for their subjects (e.g., calculators). Rooms where each of the Masterclasses will be held will be emailed to each of the boys at the start of next term.

If you have any questions about General subject Masterclasses, please contact Roxanne Rosenberg at rosenbergr@marash.qld.edu.au or Adam Knight at knighta@marash.qld.edu.au.

For boys who are not enrolled in any General subjects and therefore will not be required at General subject Masterclasses, the College is running Skills Masterclasses across Weeks 1–3 of Term 4. These classes are designed around the concept of life skills required after school. While these classes are designed for students not completing General subject Masterclasses, if your son has a break in his Masterclass schedule, he is welcome to attend. Further information about Skills Masterclasses will also be presented to Year 12 students. If you have any questions about Skills Masterclasses, please contact Mrs Robyn Gooley at gooleyr@marash.qld.edu.au.

The External Exam block runs from Monday 23 October to Tuesday 14 November 2023. The External Exam block schedule, as well as the required equipment lists, are available on the Marist portal (via this link for parents and via this link for students), and on the QCAA website.

Year 12 Holiday Library Opening Hours 

Over the September holidays, the Senior Library will be open for Year 12 students to access a quiet study space in preparation for their final assessments in Term 4.  Normal library rules apply during this time. Students are to wear plain clothes and bring their ID cards to sign in and out of the library. Supervision will only be provided in this space with boys free to arrive and depart at times of their choosing. 

September Holidays Library Opening Hours for Year 12 Marist Students - 

Year 8 Short Story Writing

As part of the Year 8 English Unit on Short Story Writing in which the boys filled a gap or silence in a poem, the boys were asked to experiment with a number of different poetry forms. 

The examples below are from Ms Sparrow’s class. We hope you enjoy them.

Cooper Heather – Cinquain Poem

People 

Kind, caring 

Making, building, creating 

Then they make hate  

People. 

Jack Rosenberg - Haiku

Beneath the moon's grace,  

Whispers of night fill the air,  

Stars in silent chase. 

Isaac Mahoney – Pyramid poem

Stars 

Twinkling, shining 

Glowing, illuminating, dazzling 

Galaxies of wonder in the night sky. What do they hide? 

Curtis Cuddihy - Senryu

The big cheetah hunts

Hunts for the surrounding birds 

But he got hunted.

Year 9 2024 – Subject Selection  

Last week all boys entering Year 9 in 2024 selected their subjects for 2024. All parents should have received a copy of their selection.  Can you please ensure that you digitally sign this copy for our records. 

Year 8, 2024 – Subject Selection 

To align with our offering of subjects in Years 9 and 10, boys entering Year 8 will be completing a set course of study. The Year 8 2024 Subject Handbook will be emailed to all families this week. Students will be rotating through a variety of subjects throughout the course of the year and therefore will not need to select elective subjects for Year 8, 2024.

Marist Reading Night – Term 4 Books for PNG Kids

After the success of our first Marist Reading Night, we are holding another night in Term 4. This will be open to all Years 7 and 8 families. There will be a slight change, however, and we will be running a book drive on the night. Some of our Year 8 students are going to spend the next four weeks collecting books, and then we will sell them back to our avid readers for a few dollars. All proceeds will be donated to the Books for PNG Kids program. If you have any books lying around that you no longer read, please drop them off at the Senior Library.

More information will come about date, time, and author.

Let’s get those books rolling in.  

Griffith University Academic Boot Camps    

Griffith University Academic Bootcamps are courses designed to assist students in achieving their full academic potential. They aim to improve confidence and understanding in senior science and mathematics subject areas, reducing anxiety around assessment, and preparing students for future tertiary study.    

This year the boot camps will be run both in person and online across the September holidays for the following subjects –    

• General Mathematics    
• Mathematics Methods    
• Physics    
• Chemistry    
• Biology    

For more information about these courses please visit Academic Bootcamps (griffith.edu.au)

Senior Library Hours

Our senior library is open from 7:30am every morning until 5:00pm Monday-Thursday. It closes at 3:30pm on Fridays.    

Your son is encouraged to head to the library before and/or after school to complete his homework or study, free from the distractions at home.           

Year 12 Night Study Sessions          

There will be no Year 12 night study sessions this week. They will resume Week 1, Term 4.      

Accessing Student Results 

Student results and feedback for assessment items can be accessed by parents on Parent Lounge. The 1 minute clip below shows how you can access student results by subject or for every subject in one document –

Alternatively, please follow the steps below which highlight how to access your son’s results and 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