Learning and Teaching News

2024 Brain Bee Challenge 

The Brain Bee Challenge is an annual competition for students in Year 10, sponsored by the Australasian Neuroscience Society. This year, in March, we had six boys representing our College in Round 1 of the Brain Bee Challenge.

• Harper Frazier 
• Archer Altun 
• Luke Garvey 
• Riley Hughes 
• Cooper Matthews 
• Fletcher Wessling 

During Round 1, students undertook a Neuroscience short course, learning all about the brain before participating in the Official Brain Bee Challenge Quiz.  

The Quiz is engaging and intentionally challenging. Each of the above-listed young men worked very hard to achieve great results for themselves and the College. Congratulations boys! 

The Brain Bee Challenge runs across three rounds of competition. Students who receive an exceptional score in Round 1 are invited to progress to Round 2.  We would like to congratulate the following two gentlemen. 

• Luke Garvey 10 Gilroy 
• Cooper Matthews 10 Rush 

These young men have been recognised for their exceptional results and have been invited to represent Marist College Ashgrove in Round 2 of the Brain Bee Challenge.  The boys will complete an online quiz before attending a Challenge event at the Queensland Brain Institute based out of the University of Queensland.  

We wish these young neuroscientists every success in Round 2 of the Brain Bee Challenge.  We are so very proud of their achievement so far and wish them the very best as they compete to progress to the final round of the 2024 Brain Bee Challenge. 

2024 OZCLO Competition

Silver Awarded to Marist College Ashgrove

Four talented Marist Men in Year 11 participated in the 27th annual Australian Computational and Linguistics Olympiad (OZCLO) in March of this year. 

• Aidan Phillips
• Tommy Barron 
• Matthew Rowston 
• Elliot Schanzl 

(AND a special mention goes to Lachlan Vink who captained and inspired the team but was unable to participate on the day). 

OzCLO is a team-based competition challenging students to solve puzzles based on unique languages from around the world. Our young men demonstrated a knack for logic and language as they tested themselves against some fiendish linguistic problems. 

Our students excelled in the Team Challenge, demonstrating excellent teamwork and outstanding decoding skills. They expertly applied linguistic patterns and code-breaking skills to decode and decipher messages written in unfamiliar foreign languages. 

As a testament to their decoding skills Team Marist were awarded Silver in the 2024  

Competition.  Well done boys, we are exceptionally proud of you.  

Try one of the OzClo Challenges for yourself. Try this Problem!!!!  We will post the solution in next week’s newsletter. 

Study Tip

Marist Reading Night – Years 6, 7 and 8 

Thank you to everyone in our community who donated books and attended the Marist Reading Night for our Middle School Fundraising Initiative.  

It was a wonderful night spent listening to Rupert McCall recite poetry from Green and Gold Malaria.   

With over $400 raised and over 300 books donated to Books4PNG Kids, it was a successful night, and we are already looking forward to our Marist Reading Night in 2025!   

A big thanks to our four Year 9 students who volunteered their time – Theo Calder, Jack Cannon, Cooper Heather and Jack Rosenberg.  A special mention also to Ms Anne Kirkwood and Ms Alicia Lee who organised the evening.

Year 10 and 11, 2025 Subject Information Night 

Year 10 and 11, 2025 subject information night originally scheduled for the evening of Monday 27 May will now occur on Tuesday 28 May.  All students should attend this event with a parent/carer. Information regarding this evening has been emailed to parents of current Year 9 and 10 students.

Year 11 Subject Changes

Any consideration of Year 11 subject changes must be discussed with the Academic Care Team first. Any changes to Year 11 subjects must be completed by Wednesday the 5th Of June (Week 8). 

Year 12 Academic Interviews

Academic Interviews for each Year 12 student will commence this Thursday 23 May where discussion around your son’s performance and progress will occur. Emails with booking information were sent last Thursday afternoon to Year 12 students and their parents/carers. If you have any questions, please email curriculum@marash.qld.edu.au.

Year 7-10 End of Semester Exam Block 

The exam block schedule will be released to students this week.  It is important that students make note of when there are exams are on and plan their study accordingly.  Throughout ASH lessons, boys have been provided strategies for Homework and Exam prep. They should be trying these strategies to prepare themselves to achieve success. 

The Exam Block for Years 7-10 will be held from 7-13 June. We are not able to sit exams prior to these dates for integrity reasons. It is expected that all students will be present during this important assessment period.

If you are absent during exam block a medical certificate is required. Please contact curriculum@marash.qld.edu.au for the relevant paperwork. Please note that once students return to school they will be expected to make up this assessment as soon as possible.

Old Boys Maths Tutoring  

It is wonderful that we are able to continue to offer Maths tutoring every morning in Room 402 from 7:40am-8:30am.  We have a wonderful group of Old Boys who return each morning to support our boys with their Maths. Any boy from Years 7-12 is welcome to attend.

School Tutoring Opportunities  

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

*Other faculties by appointment with the classroom teacher.  

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 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.     

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

Where: Senior Library

Who: 2024 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 5:00pm-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 5:00pm-8:00pm to assist if required; however, these are not tutoring sessions.