Curriculum News

Welcome back to Term 4! This short term promises to be busy as we complete our studies for 2021. At the end of last term, report cards which outlined each boys’ academic progress were made available to all parents.

• For students in Years 5-10, these progress reports gave a mid-semester indication of how your son was travelling in their subjects in terms of academic achievements and learning behaviours. 
• For Year 11 students, these reports outlined the results awarded for Unit 2 studies as well as learning behaviours. 
• Year 12 report cards were Unit 4 progress reports before QCAA release final results on Friday 17 December from their MyQCE online accounts. 

While these reports provide a snapshot of student achievement to date, they also provide reflection and the setting of goals for Term 4 studies. Please take the time to have conversations with your sons around their academic objectives for the end of 2021. If you would like to discuss your son’s academic achievements please do not hesitate to contact his classroom teacher, subject Curriculum Leader or a member of the Academic Care Team.

Year 12 Masterclasses

General Subjects 

In order to prepare Year 12 students sitting External Assessment, the College has developed Masterclasses that allows targeted revision of skills and subject-specific exam strategies. For each G-eneral subject, it was compulsory that boys enrolled in three classes (e.g. English A1, B3 and C6 across Week 1-3). 

There are two Masterclass sessions per day, one starting at 8:50am (period 1) and the other at 12:20pm (period 4). The timetable was sent to parents and students in Week 10 of Term 3 and was re-sent to students today. Students are only required to attend classes (not Pastoral Group) and can leave the campus once their session has finished. For students who complete less than six General subjects, this will mean they may leave the campus after the morning session or not arrive on campus until the afternoon session.

For all Masterclasses, students will need to be dressed in full school uniform (including blazer and College bag) and ensure they have all required equipment for their subjects (e.g. calculators). Your son can access his masterclasses by logging into the web preference link they used to enrol in each of their courses. This email was sent on Thursday 9 September. 

The external exam block runs from Friday 22 October to Tuesday 16 November. The external exam block schedule, as well as the required equipment lists, are available on the MCA portal and on the QCAA website.

If you have any questions about Masterclasses please do not hesitate to contact Jen Smeed, Head of Senior School Curriculum at smeedj@marash.qld.edu.au 

VOC Masterclasses

For boys who are not enrolled in any General classes and therefore, will not be required at Masterclasses, the College is running VOC classes across Weeks 1-3 of Term 4. These classes are designed around the concept of life skills required after school. While these classes are designed for students not completing General subject Masterclasses, if your son has a break in his Masterclass schedule and would like to attend, please ask him to email Mr Peter Gaiter at vet@marash.qld.edu.au so that his place can be confirmed. 

For the VOC classes, boys will need to meet at the Cyprian Pavillion each morning at 9:00am. Classes will run from 9:00am-11:00am. While there are no formal classes in the afternoon and boys are not required to be on campus, they are encouraged to take advantage of the support services at the College including working with Mr Gaiter and Mrs Franklin for individual help in career planning, developing employment resources or discussing tertiary education opportunities.

The VOC masterclass timetable was sent to parents and students in Week 10 of Term 3 and was re-sent to students today.

If you have any questions about VOC Masterclasses please do not hesitate to contact Peter Gaiter at gaiterp@marash.qld.edu.au 

Commencement of Unit 3 for Year 11 students

Term 4 is the beginning of Unit 3 studies for Year 11 students. This means that for General subjects, student assessment is now summative and contributes to ATAR calculations (if the student is ATAR eligible). According to QCAA requirements, Units 3 and 4 for all subjects must be completed as a pair. This means that students will not be allowed to change subjects across these units. If your son is contemplating changing subjects please direct him to the Studies Office as soon as possible. All subject changes will need to take place by the end of Week 2 (Friday 15 October). If you have any questions or would like to discuss subjects changes, QCE points or senior academics please do not hesitate to contact Ms Jen Smeed, Head of Senior School Curriculum on smeedj@marash.qld.edu.au or Mrs Tara Franklin, Secondary Learning Leader at franklint@marash.qld.edu.au 

Head of Middle School Curriculum

Progressive Achievement Test (PAT)

On Friday 8 October Year 8 students will participate in PAT testing for reading and mathematics. These tests measure what students are able to demonstrate and provide evidence of progress over time. All boys will sit these tests in the Champagnat Centre from Periods 1-2. They will return to normal timetabled lessons for Periods 3-6. 

An email will be sent to all Year 8 students this week outlining what they will need. There is no preparation for these assessments.

OECD PISA-based Test

This year Marist College Ashgrove is going to take part in the OECD PISA-based test that provides us with a global benchmark in comparison to National, OECD and global averages. The test will look at our student’s ability to apply their learning in Maths, Reading and Science to real-world problems. This test will be sat on Friday 8th October during Periods 1-3.

Students have been randomly selected by OECD to participate. If your son has been selected he will receive an email this week outlining computer requirements and equipment for testing. There is no preparation for this test.