Learning and Teaching News

Year 12 Unit 3 Optimus Awards 

Last Wednesday the College gathered to celebrate the outstanding academic achievements of over 100 Year 12 students across their Unit 3 studies. Optimus Awards are the College’s senior Academic Awards which show sustained achievement over all courses of study. It was wonderful to see so many of our senior boys receive this impressive acknowledgement of their success.

Bronze Optimus Awards

To receive a Bronze Optimus Award, students must receive a minimum of 80% for General subjects and/or an A in Applied subjects across 4 courses of study. 

Congratulations to the Unit 3 2023 Year 12 Bronze Optimus Awards recipients - 

Silver Optimus Awards

To receive a Silver Optimus Award, students must receive a minimum of 80% for General subjects and/or an A in Applied subjects across 5 courses of study.

Congratulations to the Unit 3 2023 Year 12 Silver Optimus Awards recipients -

Gold Optimus Awards

To receive a Gold Optimus Award, students must receive a minimum of 80% for General subjects and/or an A in Applied subjects across six (6) courses of study. This is particularly impressive as this means that these students have achieved very high grades across all the subjects they study in Year 12. 

Congratulations to the Unit 3 2023 Year 12 Gold Optimus Awards recipients -

Year 7-10 Exam Block 

The Year 7-10 exam block commenced on Friday 9 June and will run until Thursday 15 June. Due to the College Athletics Carnival on Friday 16 June, any makeup exams due to illness will take place on Monday 19 June. Timetabled classes will run as normal for all year levels throughout the entire exam block (including the make-up exam day) with students expected to attend class when not in a scheduled exam.

Room allocations are listed on the exam block schedules. If the exam is held in a classroom, students' class numbers (e.g. English 8.2) will be listed alongside what room they will attend. Cohort exams are held in the Gym (Champagnat Centre), with the Gym 3 classroom being used for students who have extra time exam provisions. If a student has additional exam provisions, he will receive an email directly from the Centre for Learning Enrichment advising him of his exam time and place.

The exam timetables are available to view via the Parent Portal under Exam and Assessment schedules and information.

Extension and Adjustment Requests – Assessment

It has been a busy period of illness for many of our boys at the College. Please ensure you follow the process below for requesting a change to assessment.

Assignments – if your son has been unwell and cannot complete his written assignment by the due date, he will need to complete a "Request for Adjustment" form. The curriculum leader for that subject and a member of the academic care team will sign off on this reasonable adjustment and will communicate new due dates. If your son is in Year 11 or 12, he will need to have a medical certificate.

Exams – if your son is at the College for the day of the exam, he will sit this exam with the cohort. If your son is absent from the College on the day of the exam, he will sit a makeup exam. Again, a medical certificate will be required for Year 11 and 12 students.

Consistent Classroom Learning Behaviours

During Champagnat Day, our Heads of House celebrated the achievement of boys who have been recognised as continually demonstrating consistent learning behaviours, by their subject teachers. These awards recognise the commitment many of our young men display each day including;

• Consistently engaging in class activities
• Consistently demonstrating appropriate classroom behaviour
• Consistently showing respect to the teacher, fellow students, and the learning environment
• Consistently arriving to class on time and with the correct equipment

Congratulations to these boys and I encourage you to continue working hard and aiming high to achieve success.

At the start of Semester 2, we will also celebrate the academic improvement of boys in the House assembly. This will be based on overall GPA improvement from Semester 2, 2022.

Nathan Wallis – Neuroscience Education    

 Marist College Ashgrove is fortunate to have secured Nathan Wallis to present to our parent community this Wednesday14 June at 5:30pm. Nathan is a neuroscience educator who will discuss with us everything about the teen brain.   

More than 600 people have already secured their free tickets for this event.  I encourage you all to come along and listen to Nathan – he is an excellent presenter and will provide you with some valuable takeaway messages. 

https://events.humanitix.com/nathan-wallis-conscious-intelligence   

Year 11 2024 (current Year 10s) subject selection and SET planning  

Year 11 2024 subject selections were due yesterday. Students were sent the selection link on Thursday 1 June and have been sent reminder emails each day to enter their subjects online. If your son has not selected his subjects for 2024, please get him to do so as soon as possible.

All subjects selected will be checked and confirmed during the SET Plan interviews at the end of this term and the start of Term 3. Information about booking these interviews will be emailed home this week. SET Plan interviews are a compulsory part of the senior planning process. All students and a parent or guardian are required to attend.

Year 5-10 End of Semester Report Cards

End of Semester One reports are currently being compiled by our teachers. They will be available to students and parents on Friday 23 June via the Parent Portal and Student Café. Please take time this holiday to go through the report with your son over the holidays, celebrating his achievements and reflecting on areas of potential improvement. 

 Year 12 External Exam Timetable

The Year 12 External Exam timetable was emailed to all students and parents on the day it was released from QCAA (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment). It is also available to view online at External assessment timetable | Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (qcaa.qld.edu.au)

External Assessment Invigilators 2023

Background Information

The QCAA appoints members of the Queensland community to observe the administration of external assessments. The invigilator role is independent; they are appointed to observe and report on the administration of the external assessments. Invigilators play an important role in promoting public confidence in the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) system and ensuring that proper and fair administrative procedures are implemented. 

Invigilator roles 

Applications for invigilator roles from Queensland community members — including those who have already registered their interest — are now open. Those who have worked as an invigilator in previous years will also need to reapply. Invigilators are appointed as casual employees under the Education (Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority) Act 2014. 

Role summary 

Invigilator duties and eligibility requirements are detailed in the Position description: External assessment invigilator available at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/assessment/external-assessment/qcaa-invigilators.

Invigilators are required to attend allocated assessment sessions at assessment venues to observe the administration of assessments. Invigilators report their observations to the QCAA after each assessment session by completing an online Invigilator report.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for an external assessment invigilator role, community members must hold a current, paid blue card/exemption card from Blue Card Services or, for teachers, a current Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) registration. Applicants must be at least 18 years old and eligible to work in Australia. They must possess personal attributes of discretion, tact, attention to detail, and an ability to maintain confidentiality, as well as meeting straightforward requirements for identification and access to technology.

Prospective applicants 

1. Read the External assessment invigilator position description and the frequently asked questions, available on the QCAA website at www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/assessment/external-assessment/external-assessment-invigilators.
2. Obtain your paid blue card/exemption card from Blue Card Services or, for teachers, hold a current QCT registration. If necessary, register for a QCAA Portal account, following the instructions on the External assessment invigilators webpage at: www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/senior/assessment/external-assessment/external-assessment-invigilators.
3. Submit your application for an external assessment invigilator role via the Assessor Jobs application in the QCAA Portal. 

Finding out more 

Please email externalassessment@qcaa.qld.edu.au or phone 1300 239 227.

Tutoring at the College

Tutoring at the College is available for all students, and outlined below are faculties where your son can receive assistance.

*Other faculties by appointment with classroom teacher.

Additionally, the CLE run touch-base tutoring for specific students in the College. For more information, contact CLE@marash.qld.edu.au 

If you would like an external tutor, please find a list of Old Boy tutors here.

Senior Library Hours

Our senior library is open from 7:30am every morning until 5:00pm Monday-Thursday. It closes at 3:30pm on Fridays. 

Your son is encouraged to head to the library before and/or after school to complete his homework or study, free from the distractions at home.

Study Hall

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: 2023 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.

Accessing Student Results

Student results and feedback for assessment items can be accessed 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 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:

a. Task sheet for assessment – this will outline what your son needs to do to complete the task successfully

b. Draft due dates and due dates

c. Criteria sheet

d. Feedback

e. Result