Learning and Teaching News

Year 10 2023 Subject Selection 

Last week, parents of current Year 9 students were emailed instructions on how to book in for each student’s Academic Conversation with a member of the College staff. Thank you to those who have already booked in. These interviews provide a time for each student, their parents/carers and a teacher to discuss the student’s selected subjects and future pathways. There is an opportunity at this interview to change subjects if needed. If meetings with parents have not been booked by Week 5 (next week), students will meet with a member of staff during school time to have this conversation without their parents/carers. 

Year 12 Night Study Sessions

The weekly session is available to all Year 12 students who wish to work in collaboration with their peers for assessment, revision, classwork or external exam preparation. The Science Centre is open and supervised from 5:00pm-8:00pm; students can arrive and leave as required. Normal student behaviour expectations apply; if these cannot be met boys will be prohibited from returning to future sessions. 

Upcoming Year 12 Night Study Session Schedule 

Science Centre from 5:00pm-8:00pm 

In addition, the Art rooms will also be open as a study space on Wednesday 3 August, Thursday 4 August and Monday 8 August from 3:20pm-7:00pm. Thank you to Mrs Larsen for offering this opportunity to all Year 12 students.

Well done to the 2022 Academic Captains for developing this initiative for the cohort. Thank you to Mr Damian Nelson, Mrs Sharon Davidson and Mr Michael Travers for giving up their evenings to supervise this valuable study space for our Year 12s.

Year 12 Mock Exam Block

As per the College calendar, the Year 12 Mock Exam block will run from Wednesday 24 August to Thursday 1 September. This Exam Block is an important phase in student preparation for external exams in October and November. Teachers will use the results of these mock exams to target areas of revision for students prior to their external assessment. The Mock Exam Block schedule will be released to students over the next week.

Year 12 Week 4 Exam Block

Yesterday, Year 12’s commence their IA3 exam block. As with previous exam blocks, Year 12 students only need to attend school if they have a scheduled exam. Students are to use the displayed QR codes to ‘sign-in’ and ‘sign-out’ when they arrive and depart from campus. These QR codes are located at The Tower, Student Administration, the Champagnat Centre and the Cyprian. Rolls will also be taken in the exam rooms. For students without phones, normal sign-in and sign-out procedures via The Tower will apply.

During Exam Block all normal school rules apply and extra expectations are put in place to ensure safety and the efficient and effective running of assessment tasks. Expectations during exam block are as follows:

• Normal College rules apply;
• Students must arrive to and from school in full school uniform (including blazers and bags);
• Students sign in as soon as they arrive on campus and sign out when leaving the campus using the QR codes;
• Students are to travel directly to and from school without congregating at shops, outside other schools or the like; 
• Students must arrive at the exam room 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time;
• Students must bring all required equipment (calculator, pens, highlighters, charged laptops and headphones etc.) in a clear plastic sleeve or container;
• Students must adhere to the exam coordinator's instructions at all times; and
• Students are to bring their student ID card and place it on their desk during their exams. 

If a student misses an exam, please forward their medical certificate or Covid-19 registration letter to curriculum@marash.qld.edu.au. As per the exam schedule, a make-up exam will be arranged for Friday 5 August. Students are to check their emails for information about the time and location of the re-sit.

Normal timetabled classes will re-commence of Thursday 4 August with all students expected to be in attendance. 

Subject Selections – Year 8-9 2023

Our 2023 Year 8 and Year 9s (current Year 7 and 8) will be having conversations with their Heads of House this week in deciding their subjects for next year. Information on subject offerings can be found in the Curriculum Hub section of the Learning Portal (Moodle) under 2023 Subject Handbooks & Subject Selection. In preparation for these interviews, we encourage boys to have conversations with their parents, visit the material on the Learning Portal and contact the relevant staff if they need further information on subject offerings. Handbooks and subject selection forms have been emailed and are available on the Learning Portal as mentioned above.

Year 9 Camp – Work Completion

With our upcoming Year 9 camp in Week 9, the boys are reminded that all Year 9 assessments should be complete by the end of Week 8 this term. If there are any assessment items incomplete for legitimate reasons, the boys will catch up either on Thursday the 1st of September (for exams) or in Week 10.

ICAS Mathematics Competition – Year 8 

On Monday the 29th of August, 19 of our very high-achieving Year 8 boys will be taking on the ICAS Mathematics competition. ICAS is an online academic competition that is designed to assess students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills. If your son would like to participate and has not been invited, please contact curriculum@marash.qld.edu.au by this Thursday afternoon. 

Study Hall – All Year Levels

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning the teacher librarians in the senior library offer study hall sessions from 7:45am to 8:30am. These are designed to build the student’s capacity to study independently by teaching them key skills for the first 15 mins of the sessions and then offering independent supported study for the remainder of the time.

Please find below the outline for the Study Hall for Term 3. 

How to access Academic Reports – Parent Lounge

Please follow these steps to access academic reports

1 - Open parent portal and click on “Parent Lounge”

2 - Academic Reports are accessible via the link of the left-hand side of the page, or at the bottom of the main screen. Click on the academic report you would like to see.

Accessing LMS for Task Specific Feedback 

At the completion of each drafting stage and final completion of assessment (both written and exam), your son will receive task specific feedback from his teachers. It is important that your son/s access this feedback, so they are aware of their strengths and limitations. Parents are also encouraged to access this information.

Please follow these steps to access task specific 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