Learning and Teaching News

A Word from our Academic Captain 

Ben Allpass – 2026 Academic Vice-Captain 

Starting off the new year, it is important to remain on top of all the work you receive in each subject. To help with this, it is recommended that you utilise all the features within the diary such as the goal setting program, reminding yourself what subjects are coming up, and especially writing down what homework you have that night. 

It’s important to start the year strong and maintain it for the remainder of 2026. 

2026 Calendar 

The College calendar provided to each family, and available on the Orbit app, 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. 

 Please note that a medical certificate is required for all students from Years 7-12 who are absent during the exam blocks.  

NAPLAN 

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) will take place during Weeks 7 and 8 of Term 1 this year. Details about these assessments, as well as arrangements for upcoming readiness tests, will be emailed to students and parents in Years 7 and 9. 

NAPLAN Readiness Testing for Year 7 and Year 9 Students 

Year 7 and Year 9 students will participate in the NAPLAN Readiness Testing in Week 4. 

Details for Year 9 NAPLAN Readiness Testing: 

• Date: Tuesday 17 February 2026 
• Location: Draney Theatre and then allocated classrooms 
• Time: Periods 1-3 

Details for Year 7 NAPLAN Readiness Testing: 

• Date: Wednesday 18 February 2026 
• Location: Draney Theatre and then allocated classrooms 
• Time: Periods 1-3 

What students need to bring: 

• A fully charged laptop 
• Wired headphones/earphones 
• Pen 
• Water bottle 

The purpose of the readiness testing is to familiarise students with the online testing experience ahead of the NAPLAN tests in March. These sessions will also assist schools with technical readiness checks, so no results will be recorded.  

All students will participate in the session. At the end of Period 3, students will return to their regular timetable.  

For further information about NAPLAN, please refer to the public demonstration site which is an excellent resource for both students and parents, offering more practice tests to help students continue familiarising themselves with the platform. Click on the link to access the Public Demonstration site: NAPLAN Public Demonstration Site 

We appreciate your support in ensuring students come prepared with the necessary items.

Year 9-11 Subject Changes   

Over the break, students in Years 9-11 may have decided to change elective subjects that they chose last year. If your son would like to change his subjects, please encourage him to visit the Academic Care Office (located under the Senior Library)   

• Year 9 subject changes: Curriculum Leader - Middle Years (Ashley Hutchings) or Assistant Head of College – Learning and Teaching Middle Years (Leigh Jackson) 

• Year 10-11 subject changes: Curriculum Leader - Senior Years (Adrian Brown) or Assistant Head of College – Learning and Teaching (Adam Knight)  

   

 All subject changes need to be completed and submitted by Wednesday 5 February (Week 2).  

Year 11-12 Information Night – Monday 9 February  

This serves as an opportunity to welcome our Year 11 and 12 parents where important information will be shared regarding ATAR, Vocational Education and Careers.  The Pastoral Care Team will also contribute with important matters. The Year 11 presentation will begin at 6:00pm, with the Year 12 presentation starting at 7:00pm. It will be held in the Draney Theatre. We look forward to seeing our senior student families next Monday.  

Student Laptops 

All Year 7 and 10 students and any new students to the College have been issued with their laptop. Rory Edwards (Director of Information Technology) and his team implemented an excellent plan to ensure students received their devices prior to the start of the term, enabling a smooth transition into learning. 

If you have any questions about your son’s laptop, please contact the College's IT HelpDesk at computerservice@marash.qld.edu.au. 

Diary Use 

As Ben mentioned above, it is expected that each boy has a diary that is free from markings, in good order, and filled out at the end of each lesson. 

As a school, we encourage students to be self-regulating, and building good organisational habits is central to this. The boys are responsible for their learning, and their organisation and preparation will determine their success. 

Teachers will continue to monitor diary usage and assist boys with their organisation. 

As guardians, please continue to sight and sign the diary weekly. Pastoral Care teachers will also sight and sign diaries weekly. 

Assessment Schedules   

From Week 3, your son will have access to his assessment schedule. This can be located on Student Café and the Orbit app. As per the information provided above, your son is encouraged to download this schedule and transfer assessment dates to his College Diary. There will be more information on accessing this information in the Week 3 newsletter.  

 Year 5-10 Semester 2, 2025 Outstanding Academic Achievement Awards

Congratulations to the following boys who received academic awards during the Inaugural Mass last Friday: 

Year 10 Gold

Thomas Bartlett, Jeremy Harvey, Julian Lewis, Thomas Masel, Joseph Niere, Luca Bordignon, Theo Calder, Jack Cannon, Thomas Stute, Ben Flanagan, Julian Cassar, 

Jacob Newman

Year 10 Silver

 Hamish Jackson, Connor Campbell, Luke Dwyer, Harrison Monaghan, Riley Kennedy, Aiden O'Reilly, Kane Patricks, Ike Rowland, Ethan Heiner, Thomas Lynn, William Stigter, Jack Northcote, Fraser Ullman, Arthur Sweedman, Lachlan Chandler, Clancy Barrett, Harrison Grayson, Indiana Headrick, Samuel Mapledoram

Year 10 Bronze

Harrison Hind, Tarkyn Howard, Samuel Russo, Matthew Alvarez, Jack Liddell, Alastair Williams, Addison Mills, Xavier Peatey, Joshua Simonetti, James Starrenburg, Shehan Tenison, Hamish Ansell, Jakub Falcnik, Maximillian McRae, Thomas Revis, Rafael Gonsalves, Aidan Mansul, Owen Moreira, Jesse Brunning, Vincent Butten, Samuel Plumb

Harry Eccleston, Darcy Mahoney, Loughlan Patterson

Year 9 Gold

Matthew Kepka, Lewis Neighbour, Harry Player, Thomas Shaxson, Parker Stayte, Teo Dehamel, Remi Dehamel, James Doolan, Kieran Dwyer, Gabriel Pua, Yuvraj Keeney, William Quinn, Quinlan Taylor, Isaac Bell, Nathaniel Christison, Barnabas Leadbeater, Eamon Reeves, Christian Manning, Timothy Watts, Henry Walker, Jack Davis, Oliver Davis-Dodd, Caleb Fuller, George Henderson, Dohyon Park, Aarav Patel, William Webster, Lucas Weigl, Andrew Boys, William Marshall, Thomas Ryan, Maverick Tucker

Year 9 Silver

Reilly Keane, Oliver Dyer, Leo Doolan, Ethan Londema, Nicholas Steffens, Oliver Ve, Andrew Vetter

Year 9 Bronze

Oliver Blakemore, William Broughton, Harry Coulter, Thomas Wilton, Benjamin Mason, Montek Sidhu, William Silec, Xavier Tyndall, Edward Armstrong, George Ball, Jasper Belyea, Christopher Hartfiel, Liam Fitzpatrick, Liam Goddard, Hunter Morgan, Thomas Blaszczyk, William De Maria, Cormac Deady, Riordan Patterson

Year 8 Gold

Tristan Krueger, Archie Martin, Luca Pennisi, Sean Rennick, Hugo Russo, Ethan Wu, Samuel Bennett, Wyatt Castleman, Percy Hede, Hugo Larard, Harry Anderson, Cooper Chaseling, Frankie Hain, Xavier Hill, Remi Rowland, Joseph Tickle, Nicolas Cienfuegos, Casey Kuhnert, Toby Mannix, Matthew Davies, Jack Donohue, Tomas Guerrero Hayllar, Lincoln Hughes, Henry Mackay, Benjamin Nolan, Isaac Ruffini, Pedro Chadud, Oliver Crowley, Thomas Graham, George Holland, James Phelan, James Stute, Oscar Walker, Noah Watherston, Julian Bishop, Jimmy Corbett, Isaac Gervais, Hunter Kayra, Harvey Pye, Adhithya Sudheesh, Isaac Arthur, Ned Clifford, William Croft, Alistair Schweitzer, Angus Steel

Year 8 Silver

Oscar Broad, Oliver Holt, Hamish McAndrew, Lachlan McDonough, Jack Hamilton, Alexander Holding, Elliott McGregor, Oliver Petrie, Lachlan Scanlan

Year 8 Bronze

Angus Burton, Meredith Chee, Samarage Jayasundara, Quinn Smith, Jack Somerville, Joshua Davis, Thomas Di Sipio, Harrison Gill, Daniel Glen, Ronan Sadimenko, Jackson Davis, Oliver France, Oliver Allen, Harry Heather, Luke Landolt, Harrison Leigh, Caleb McCluskey, Isaac Nicholson, Morgan Elphinston

Year 7 Gold

Finn Beaver, Patrick Keating, Samuel Mellifont, Alexander Michael, George Padilla, Joseph Allen, Yevin Bandara, Lincoln Bartlett, Charles Davis, Bharghav Lakshminarayanan, Jonathan Lutkic, Oliver Scott, Harry Stevens, Jack Willoughby, Thomas Bounas, Sebastian Kaminski, Roman Krutil, Barnaby Armstrong, Virom Bastara, Mitchell Belyea, Jake Byrne, James Channells, Archer Hardiker, Harrison Lewis, Aidan Rainbow, Liam Santos, Patrick Hambleton, Harry Maher, William Minahan, Anishwar Palampati, Asher Price, George Scerri, Owen Ambrose, Lucas Crowley, Hugo Elliott, James Sexton, Joseph Sullivan, Nathan Wright, Daniel Carey, Dominic Guinea, Flynn Barrett, William Hutchison, Maxwell King, Benjamin Mulholland, Lachlan Widt

Year 7 Silver

Thomas Macdonald, Oliver Nicholas, Morgan Kennedy, Brendan Sarich, Harrison Heisel, Samuel Martin, Isaac McGeachin, Luca Pozzebon, Balthazar Caesar, Hugo Lockhart, Thomas Martin, Rhys Adams, Sebastian Averillo, Beau Ballinger, Jai Cranswick, Cormac Gannon

Year 7 Bronze

Joe Campion, Campbell Chapman, Jaxson Grapsas, Harry Burnett-Nudd, Patrick Power,Etien Raad ,Edward Perpich ,Edward Cuddihy ,James Murdoch Connor O'Neill, Joshua Bany, Archie Jankowski, Chanwoo Kim, Noah Gimber

Year 6 Gold

Perry Ballinger, George Bond, George Coulter, Benjamin Crerar, Harrison Davis, Max Davis, Hamish Donnelly, Aaron Doyle Henry Dwyer, Jack Felix, Chandler Forrest, Maverick Hardiker, Matthew Hendrick, William Jackson, Jack James, Benjamin Jefferies, Edward Jorgensen, Joseph Kahler, Harrison Kirkman, Tejas Koirala, Charles Mackay, Charlie Maclean, Callum Murphy, Corey Murphy, Noah Newman, Ned O'Farrell, Toby Patricks, Jackson Real, Jimmy Ryan, Daniel Sadimenko, Leo Scuderi, Harmon Sidhu, George Swan, Remington Taylor, Charlie Taylor, Patrick Thirgood, Rory van Gent, Ruben Vos, Fraser Walsh, Jack White, Oscar Wilton, Man Shui Yeung

Year 6 Silver

Benjamin Blinkhoff, Thomas Cairns, Edward Caton, Elijah Dobos, William Firouz, Cameron Fitzpatrick, Harry Geraghty, Finn Hamel, Clancy Heenan, Angus Hutchinson, Patrick Moffat, Chase Richardson, Benji Robertson, William Smith, Jovi Zanre

Year 6 Bronze

Jacob Ariza Moreno, Rafael Cienfuegos, Hugo Conway, William Davies, Angus Graham, Remy Grammare, Olivier Grammare, Edward Hallo, Orlando Kelly, Spencer Leach, Eli Li, Sawyer Martinez, Emerson Maxwell, Jack McCurry, William McLaren, Hamish McMahon, Frank Monforte-Strati, Jacob Nipperess, Miles Peric, William Petie, Lucas Puzey-Reitmayer, Bailey Scholz, George Thomas

Year 5 Gold

Sebastian Baker, Nate Baldwin, Frederick Barber, Patrick Beacroft, Cameron Browne, Otto Calder, Benjamin Cipriano, Charlie Davis, Cian Dillon, Andre Dua, Xavier Fruk, Preston Gallagher-Beck, Nate Hodgetts, Cooper Kadri, Roman Kaminski, Henry Krinke, Connor Leung, James Macfarlane, Harold Martin, Ryan Noronha, William Pringle, Arthur Sheahan, Morrison Sowerby, Jed Stevens, Henry Tracey, Harvey Van Tooren, Anderson Wild, Jack Wurf

Year 5 Silver

Marlon Davies, Carter Gladwin, Edward Leyden, Charles Moule, Harry O'Shea, Edmond Porter, Case Purcell, Henry Trebbin, Harry Vickers, Henry Vos, Ryan Wallington

Year 5 Bronze

William Baker, Henry Biggs, Harry De Luca, Keita Ly, Noah Packer, Daniel Perpich, James Rennick, Torben Zupp

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