Learning and Teaching News

End of Term 1 Exam Block – CATCH UP EXAM PROCESS

Due to the significant number of students who have not been able to return to school due to COVID-19, we are holding catch-up exams throughout Week 10. If your son has missed an exam, he will receive an email later this week with a revised schedule.   

For students who have returned to school after isolation, you will sit your exams as per the schedule.  Makeup exams are only for those students who are not on campus.  Please know that teachers will ensure that if results are atypical this will be taken into account when determining Semester 1 results.   

If students are unable to sit exams due to being unwell/isolating across Week 9 and 10, they will receive an N/A on their Interim Report for the relevant subjects. Rest assured, they will complete assessment, with feedback and results uploaded to Parent Lounge early next term. 

Year 12 Exam Block

A reminder that the Year 12 exam schedule has been pushed back to now commence on Friday 25 March. Students will remain in normal classes until the commencement of this exam block. As per previous communication, Year 12 students will go home when they are on exam block, attending campus only when they have an exam scheduled. Any student who has outstanding assessment/competencies (with no extension in place) will lose exam block privileges and will remain at school.

If a Year 12 student cannot attend an exam due to illness a medical certificate must be provided to the College. For those needed to isolate as they are a close contact, a medical certificate of the household member is appropriate. For Covid-19 cases, these certificates can be obtained by making telehealth appointments.

Due to the delay of this exam block, Year 12 Unit 3 reports will not be released until Week 3 of Term 2.

Year 10 and 12 students

When you arrive on College grounds you are required to sign in and out via the QR codes placed around the school.

Please remember that exam block privileges will only be given to students who have completed and are up to date with all assessments - this includes the Year 10 Work Skills competencies and Year 12 Certificate and Diploma competencies. All Year 10 and 12 students will be expected to attend school and complete the work they have due before being given the privileges of exam block. 

When utilising the exam block to study at home, the expectations are as follows:

• Normal College rules apply when on campus
• Boys must arrive to and from school in full school uniform, including College hat and bag.
• Boys are to travel directly to and from school without congregating at shops, outside other schools or the like.
• Boys must arrive 15 minutes prior to their scheduled exam.
• Boys must bring all required equipment (calculator, pens, highlighters etc).
• Boys must always adhere to the exam coordinators’ instructions.
• Boys are also encouraged to bring their equipment in a clear plastic sleeve or container and that their water bottle should be clear. This is great practice for external assessment in Year 12.

Extensions for assignments

Years 7-10

Students can request an extension form through the Studies Office or via the Portal / Curriculum Form tile (Special Consideration Form). It is easiest if students present with the form complete with the assistance of their parent/guardian stating why they require an extension (illness, COVID-19 quarantine, bereavement) and that it is signed by their parent/guardian. Students will need to take the Special Consideration form to their relevant subject teacher/s and discuss the reason for the extension as well as the new due date. Once this conversation has taken place, the form needs to be returned to Mrs Kim Rabie through the Studies Office. Your son will receive an email confirmation once it is processed.

Years 11-12

Students can request a Special Consideration form for extension/s on assessment due through the Studies Office or via the Portal / Curriculum Form tile. According to QCAA regulations, in senior this extension must be accompanied by a medical certificate. Students will be given an extension form to take to their relevant subject teacher/s to discuss the extension and a new due date. Once this conversation has taken place, the from needs to be returned to Mrs Kim Rabie through the Studies Office. Your son will receive an email confirmation once it is processed.

Middle School News

Congratulations to our Year 7 cohort who sat their first high school exam last week!  The boy’s behaviour and diligence were outstanding, and I look forward to seeing how they go in their upcoming exams this week. 

A reminder to all middle school students to have the right equipment for their exam days.

This includes:

• 2B pencil
• Sharpener
• Eraser
• Blue, black and red pen
• Calculator
• Water Bottle

Those students who have special consideration for exams (technology, scribe etc) you will be contacted by the Centre of Learning Enrichment about where you will need to be.  If you are a student eligible for extra time, these exams will take place in a designated classroom, and you will be emailed this information prior to your assessment. 

Learning from Home

If you are unable to attend school due to COVID-19 please access your classwork via the Moodle subject page and ensure you are revising for your upcoming exams.  If you are unsure of what work to complete or require further work or assistance, please contact your classroom teacher for further guidance.

2021 GPA Progress Awards

The following students are to be congratulated on the outstanding progress they made from Semester 1 to Semester 2 last year in their studies.  Continual improvement and always trying your best is our key expectation for each of our students.  The following boys achieved an improvement in their grade point average by 1 standard or more.  To do this, a student must have an overall improvement in most of his subjects, which takes continual preparation and dedication to their studies.  Keep up the good work boys.

Year 6, 2021

Year 7, 2021

Year 8, 2021

Year 9, 2021

Extra-curricular activities

Year 12 English Masterclass

With assessment period upon us, the Year 12 English and Essential English students were invited to attend an afterschool masterclass yesterday. For English students, this was in preparation for the submission of their online literary essay which analyses the representation of a concept across both Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and an episode of Four Corners. The Essential English students used this time for final preparations for their Common Internal Assessment (CIA) which is being sat this week. 

The after-school session saw the Cyprian come alive with nearly 100 students engaging in conversations around their assessment topics with their teachers. The sessions allowed the boys to receive targeted and individual feedback from the senior English teachers. Many of the boys commented on how helpful the session proved to be.

I would like to thank the wonderful senior English, Literature and Essential English teachers who made themselves available for this great opportunity for our boys – Steve Littleton (Curriculum Leader English), Kathryn Badini, Bonita Gerry, Daniel Bull, Damien Nelson, Andrea Williams, Charlie Taylor, Scott Minogue, Madonna Spillane and Bruce McPhee.  

Study Hall

Study Hall continues to be held at the Resource Centre on Tuesday and Thursday morning from 7:45-8:30am. Please note Thursday’s session is a repeat of Tuesday’s lesson. These sessions are open to all boys from Years 5-12. 

Please find below the outline for the Study Hall for the remainder of Term One.

Brilliant Brains STEM Club

Our sharp minds who form part of the BBSC have been busy the last couple of weeks engineering bridges. Who would think that spaghetti could be so strong?

Again, thank you for the brilliant work of Mr Varghese and Ms Dekkers. Watch this space – this group has plans afoot with programable drones!