Teaching and Learning News

Over the last week, we have celebrated those students who excelled in their academic pursuits in Semester 2, 2020. Young men from Year 6 to Year 11 were applauded over two very full assemblies for their achievements.  To have your hard work, tenacity and talent recognised with ‘A’ grades across the majority of subjects is something that all awardees should be very proud of.

Excelling in your academic achievement is wonderful, but not something that every student will be able to experience.  For me, the awards that I truly love giving out are the Head of College’s Awards. These awards go to those boys who receive ‘A’s’ in every pastoral grade for every one of their subjects.  These are the boys who are punctual and prepared, respectful, focussed and engaged in every class, every day.  How special is that! The boys who exhibit these qualities may not necessarily experience the highest academic success (although some do), but they give themselves the best opportunity to achieve their personal best. And whether we are referring to the sporting field or the classroom, all that we can ask, all that we can expect, is that our boys achieve their personal best.

We were also able to celebrate another group of fine young men who achieved their personal best in 2020 and graduated at the very top of the first-ever cohort to exit Year 12 in Queensland with an Australia Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). The following young men returned to the College to help us acknowledge their success and allow us to wish them well in their future studies:

QCAA Certificate of Academic Commendation

for 6A’s in General or Extension Subjects

Mack Rennick

Harry Lyons

Shaun Klette

William Cruickshank

Tyler Galligan 

Mitchell Smyth

Thomas Collier

At this time, we were able to confer upon Thomas Collier, the title of College Dux for the highest overall results in his senior year. This title of Dux comes from the Latin term meaning ‘to lead’ and Tom certainly led his cohort and the College in every sense last year.  In his address to the College on Wednesday, he talked of the opportunities that he had while at the College; from all the co-curricular options to the prospect of making a difference in the world with the MATES program, from making great friends to having access to passionate, talented, caring teachers.  He spoke of the responsibility that all the boys had to take advantage of all that was on offer.

I hope the boys listened to Tom’s message and head into the coming weeks with a determination to achieve their personal best and to take advantage of all that is on offer at Marist College Ashgrove.