Curriculum News

Year 12 Mock Exam block

The Year 12 mock exam block will run from Friday 27 August until Friday 3 September. This is an important part of the boy’s preparation for their external assessment scheduled for Weeks 4-7 in Term 4. 

As per the assessment schedule released today, due to the number of exams required, the original student free day on Friday 3 September will now be used to hold necessary exams.  As with previous exam blocks, students only need to attend if they have a scheduled exam. However, this privilege is provided to students who are up-to-date with assessment for all subjects.  If your son has not submitted assessment or completed the tasks to a reasonable standard, he will be required to remain at school over this exam block in order to catch up on this work. You will be contacted before the commencement of exam block via email if this applies to your son. 

Expectations during exam block are as follows:

• Normal College rules apply when on campus
• Boys must arrive to and from school in full school uniform (including blazers and bags)
• 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 adhere to the exam coordinators’ instructions at all times.
• Boys are also encouraged to bring their equipment in a clear plastic sleeve or container.  

Any questions regarding senior mock exams please contact smeedj@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 7-11 Exam Block

Year 7-11 exam block will run from Monday 6 September to Friday 10 September.  The exam block schedule will be released in the coming weeks. 

Optimus Breakfast

Next Wednesday morning we will celebrate the Year 12 Gold Optimus awards recipients.  These are awarded to Year 12 students who have received a minimum of 80% for General subjects and/or an A for Applied subjects across 6 lines of study on the end of their Unit 3 report. 

The College looks forward to welcoming Professor Ian Frazer as the keynote speaker for this celebration of excellence. Professor Ian Frazer is a clinician scientist, trained as a clinical immunologist in Scotland. As a professor at the University of Queensland, he leads a research group working at TRI in Brisbane, Australia on the immunobiology of epithelial cancers.  He is recognised as co-inventor of the technology enabling the HPV vaccines, currently used worldwide to help prevent cervical cancer. He heads a biotechnology company, Jingang Medicine (Aus) Pty Ltd, working on new vaccine technologies, and is a board member of several companies and not for profit organisations. He was the inaugural president of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and a member of the Australian National Science and Technology Council. He chairs the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board of the Medical Research Future Fund.

He was recognised as Australian of the Year in 2006. He was the recipient of the Prime Ministers Prize for Science, and of the Balzan Prize, in 2008, and was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of London in 2012.

He was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list in 2013. 

We look forward to celebrating the outstanding academic achievements of these Year 12 students, along with their parents next Wednesday morning. 

Study Tips

As your son prepares for his assessments for Term 3, please remember that Study Hall is available Tuesday afternoon and Thursday morning in the Senior library.  It’s also important that your son is getting organised for his assessments.  Things that may help include;

• Using the College diary to write down all homework and due dates
• Be specific about tasks that need to be completed (E.g. which page to complete and what questions)
• Write a list of everything you need to complete each day
• Break down larger tasks into smaller parts that are manageable

Aside from organisation, ensuring your son has a designated study space is essential.  Studying requires concentration, therefore remove any distractions and factor in break times.  Allowing a 10-minute break every 45 minutes and varying study techniques can assist to consolidate learning.

Below are two strategies your son may like to try.

Concept Maps	Concepts maps are a great way of connecting key terms and ideas.  Concepts maps, or other graphic organisers (Venn Diagram), show how information is connected and helps to deepen understanding.
Flash Cards	Making flash cards helps your understanding.  Use flash cards to summarise key ideas.

flashcards