Learning and Teaching News

Year 7-11 Exam Block 

Exam block starts this week (Wednesday 19 November) for our students in Years 7-11 and will continue until Wednesday 26 November.  

 Students in Years 5-9 will all remain at school throughout the assessment period. The only cohorts who are granted study leave (to study at home and only come to campus for scheduled assessments) is Year 10-11. Any student not up to date with all the required assessment items will not be granted study leave and will be required to remain at school. This includes modules for Certificate and Diploma courses.  

 A reminder that if students are absent for an exam, a medical certificate is to be submitted for all year levels to curriculum@marash.qld.edu.au. Please also note that no exams will be sat prior to the scheduled exam block date. If your son misses his exam, he will make this up and be provided with an NR (no result) for that assessment item if the leave is not approved prior.  We ask that you organise appointments outside of these dates and remain at school until the completion of the school year.  If your son is leaving school early and not returning, you must complete an Early Departure form. 

We wish all boys the best as they prepare for this busy assessment period.

Year 11 Academic Conversations 

Year 11 Academic Conversations have progressed well with students and parents taking the opportunity to reflect on Unit 1 & 2 and identify progress opportunities for Unit 3 & 4. For any ATAR student who missed this opportunity and would like to have an academic conversation please contact  leea@marash.qld.edu.au. When making contact, please include your list of exam subjects for this term.

Year 12 External Exams 

Congratulations to Year 12 students on completing their external assessment block! Over the last three weeks the 2025 Marist College Ashgrove cohort sat 34 exams across 28 subjects. The boys were well prepared and worked hard to ensure they gave their best effort in every paper – most working until the very end. Well done Year 12!  

Release of 2025 Year 12 subject results and Senior Education Profiles (SEP) to students  

From 9 am on Wednesday 17 December 2025, Year 12 students who have completed a QCAA subject in 2025 can access their final subject results and SEP from their learning account in the Student Portal via the myQCE website at https://myqce.qcaa.qld.edu.au. Depending on students’ individual circumstances, their SEP will comprise one or more of the following documents:  

• Senior Statement  
• Statement of Results (students who have completed a QCAA subject but are not in Year 12)  
• Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE)  

SEPs are issued as electronic documents and stored in students’ learning accounts. Students can save their SEP on a computer or mobile device and provide it to third parties electronically or they can download it as a secure PDF and print it. Electronic SEP documents in students’ learning accounts are official documents. They contain an embedded digital signature to confirm they are authentic, and they cannot be altered. If students download or print their SEP, an employer or further education provider can scan the unique QR code on the document. This will direct the user to a unique QCAA webpage confirming the SEP’s authenticity. For more information see www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/assessment/results/authenticating-a-certificate. 

Please note the QCAA nor the college will print student SEPs. The QCAA will provide an option to request a printed copy of their SEP, and this will become available in the Student Portal when SEPs are issued and will close on 31 January 2026. SEPs will be posted during March 2026. Printed copies are free. SEPs printed by the QCAA are no different from those that students can print for themselves and are not official documents. They are provided for students’ convenience only. 

Request for Leave – Unapproved Leave Over Assessment Periods 

Please be advised that if leave is not approved for missed assessments (including assignments and exams), a summative mark of NA will appear on your son’s End of Semester Report for the relevant subject. In accordance with the College Examination Policy (available via the Parent Portal) and QCAA guidelines, events such as holidays, weddings, or family reunions are not considered unavoidable and will result in an NA for the missed assessment.

Students will still be required to complete the assessment upon their return to school; however, no assessments will be scheduled earlier.

While students will receive formative feedback on the completed assessment, the result will not contribute to their summative grade due to the following reasons:

• Reporting deadlines cannot be met
• Academic integrity must be preserved
• Teacher and staff workload during marking and reporting periods
• The validity of assessment results within the designated timelines

Please note that this does not apply to leave that has been granted for approved reasons (Illness, etc.) as per QCAA policies. 

Year 11 English Masterclass

Last Friday morning, the English and Literature Department hosted a Masterclass for Year 11 English to receive feedback on their IA1 persuasive speech script from another teacher. This has always been an interesting rite-of-passage for the Year 11s as they begin their Unit 3 studies. Quite simply, they need to select a contentious social issue that has been in the media in the last 12 months and persuade a Triple J audience on it. Over the years, the topics may have changed from COVID and Bushfires to now the advent of AI and assistive technologies, but it’s always been a great task for students to take hold of their own voice and style.

It was great to see so many Year 11 students come on Friday to seek feedback and advice. The library was a buzz with activity. My sincere thank you also to the following teachers who facilitated the morning, many of whom don’t teach Year 11 English but were happy to be there for the students: Mrs Andrea Williams, Ms Mel Taylor, Mr James Walton, Mr James Lymer, Ms Lucy Colman, Mr Tom Dangerfield, Mrs Bonita Gerry, Mr Damian Nelson, Mr Jye Davies, Mr Adam Kngiht, Mr Scott Minogue, Mr Gareth Kolkenbeck-Ruh, and Mr Charlie Taylor. 

Japanese Immersion Students

Next February, we hope to welcome 20 Japanese students (aged 14 – 15) from Ritsumeikan Moriyama High School (Shiga Prefecture, west of Kyoto). If this goes ahead, they will spend 9 days on campus and 15 nights in homestay accommodation. 

We are now seeking expressions of interest from families to potentially host these students from 7th February to 22nd February 2026. Families who host will receive a payment of $1200 per student. The program is coordinated by Global Student Institute (GSI), who will manage logistics including Blue Cards and a Homestay Orientation Session.

If you are interested in the possibility of hosting, please complete this survey: Hosting Japanese Students 2026 – Fill in form or please contact Ms Kathryn Badini at badinik@marash.qld.edu.au.

Academic Integrity 

With assignments due it is important that students are reminded about the nature of academic integrity.  All students in the Senior Years have completed the QCAA Academic Integrity course as part of their ASH lesson.  This course taught our students about effective academic practices, ways to improve their work as well as understanding academic misconduct (particularly plagiarism and the use of AI) and how to avoid this. 

Please continue to work with your son to ensure that the work he submits is his own.  Failure to do so is academic misconduct. 

Old Boys Tutoring List

Please find here a list of Old Boys who are available to tutor your son outside of school hours. This list can also be located on the parent portal or via this link. Please note it is the parent’s responsibility to organise and liaise tutoring times with the Old Boys.

Year 8 and 9 2026 Subject Information 

Students received confirmation via email of their 2026 subject information last week (12/11.25). 

If there are any issues with the 2026 subjects, boys will need to visit the Studies Office to discuss with a member of the Academic Care Team. 

Study Tip