Learning and Teaching News

End of Term 3 Exam Blocks

Year 7-12 End of Term 3 Exam Block schedules have now been released to all students and parents. Please check your emails or access the Parent Lounge – Exam and Assessment Schedule and Information for a copy of these schedules.

It is an expectation that all students will be at school for their exams. A Medical Certificate will be required if a student is absent from these important assessment tasks.  No exams will be sat early.

ICAS Writing Tests

Last Friday, 46 primary and 22 Secondary students participated in the ICAS Writing Test. This online exam required students to write a narrative to supplied stimulus in 40 minutes. The boys participated well, and we look forward to seeing the results of their creative narratives.

2024 Brain Bee State Championships

On Tuesday 30 July, we had two young Marist Men represent our College at the State Championships for the Brain Bee Challenge. 

Luke Garvey and Cooper Matthews were runner up State Champions in the Team event.

The Brain Bee State Championships were held at the Queensland Brain Institute on the University of Queensland Campus at St Lucia.  Our boys received Silver Medals on Challenge Day and were recognised for their conduct and participation. The Challenge Day was facilitated by two Professors at the Institute, with workshops and challenge activities coordinated by PhD candidates who each had a specialisation focus. It was a very big day, but our boys were inspired in their learning and were able to make connections in the Challenge activities, before excelling in the Championship Round and coming second out of the final four teams. 

I did also want to recognise our boys for the way they represented Marist. Professor Bruno Van Swinderven of the QBI emailed me to make a special mention of our boys. He commended the boys for standing out at the event: 

Cooper was commended for how he related socially and assisted others with problem solving and making connections.  Bruno said “Cooper is a natural communicator and team player. He asks questions and seeks clear answers”.

Luke was commended for his persistence and quiet/humble intelligence.  Bruno shared that more than one of the PhD students highlighted Luke’s unique intelligence. “Whilst other students pondered and queried the Science, Luke was a quiet observer who sat back and allowed others to consider. He then completely surprising the group by providing matter of fact, astute, accurate answers that demonstrated a Scientific aptitude beyond his years.”

A wonderful achievement for these boys not just on their Silver Medal, but for being recognised as exemplary Marist Men.

The Big Science Competition

During Term 2, selected Year 8 and Year 9 boys competed in The Big Science Competition. 

The Big Science Competition is open to students in Years 7 to 10 globally and results are competitive to the total students registered. It is a 50-minute online challenge testing science knowledge, critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Questions are set in real-life, contemporary contexts, making them relatable… and interesting! 

I want to highlight the achievements of some Marist Men who achieved excellent results in the overall competition rankings.

Year 8 Students

Credit

Zac Anderson, Will Broughton, Arthur Corbett, Aidan Currie, Jack Davis, Teo Dehamel, James Doolan, Leo Doolan, Liam Fitzpatrick, Xavier Kelly, Barney Leadbeater, Roma Park, Aarav Patel, Thomas Shaxson, Montek Sidhu, Mitchell Stacey, Parker Stayte, Eddie Thompson, Andrew Vetter.

Distinction

Oliver Dyer, Caleb Fuller, George Henderson, Tom Ryan, Mav Tucker, Lucas Weigl.

Year 9 Students

Credit

Clancy Barrett, Jesse Brunning, Theo Calder, Jack Cannon, Lachlan Chandler, Callum Curtin, Jakub Falcnick, Harrison Hind, Joshua Jones, Riley Kennedy, Julian Lewis, Aidan Mansul, Tom Masel, Max McRae, Coen Netzler, Jack Northcote, Loughlan Patterson, Will Stigter, Thomas Stute.

Distinction

Matthew Alvarez, Julian Cassar, Jack Liddell, Joseph Niere, Lincoln Rucker.

High Distinction

Jacob Newman.

Pecan +

PECAN+ is a national cyber security Capture The Flag (CTF) competition.  With an aim of raising cyber security awareness, skills and aspirations.

On Sunday 7 August, four of our Year 11 students participated in this competition where they honed their skills in “ethical hacking” and cyber security skills, and co-operative strategy. 

I congratulate the following young men on their outstanding conduct and achievement at this year’s event. With 97 teams across Australia competing, the Marist team came 12th overall, and 7th in the Advanced Division. 

• Max Gallagher
• Ben Hartfiel
• Cullen Fitzgerald
• Hammish Darr

Our boys competed at the Advanced Level. We commend them for stepping up to this challenging level and for an excellent overall result as representatives of Marist College Ashgrove.

Australian Maths Competition

On Thursday last week, we had several of our students participate in the Australian Maths Competition.  This provided an opportunity for them to compete across the Australia, New Zealand, and Asia Pacific regions. We very much look forward to seeing their results in the coming weeks.

How do I access my son’s assessment feedback?

Student results and feedback for assessment items can be accessed at any time by parents on Parent Lounge. 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 

Subject Selection Year 9 2025

Current Year 8 students will be choosing their electives for Year 9 2025.  The Year 9 Subject Handbook along with instructions for selecting subjects were sent home last week. Boys are encouraged to select subjects that they would like to try and that they would enjoy. 

Electives need to be decided by Tuesday 13 August.

Old Boy’s Afternoon Math Tutoring

Old Boy Maths tutoring is available to students on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in the Senior library from 3:10pm-5:00pm. All are welcome.

Old Boys Tutoring List  

Please find here a list of Old Boys available to tutor your son outside of school.  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.   

Tutoring at the College 

Tutoring is available for all students, and outlined below are faculties where you can receive assistance:

*Other faculties by appointment with the classroom teacher.

Year 12 Night Study Sessions   

Due to the public holiday, there will be no Senior Study night this week. 

Study Tip