Ignatius House News

It has been an honour to serve as Head of Ignatius House over the past four years. 2022 has been another year of great success along with challenge and development. My sincere thanks to the support, professionalism and compassionate approach of the Ignatius Pastoral Care teachers to guide the boys towards their personal and academic goals: Mr Cullen, Mr Hardy, Mr Taylor, Mrs Naughton, Mrs Del Vecchio, Mrs Scott, Ms Dekkers and Ms Earle as well as Mrs Davidson.

Mission Captain - Spencer Sharman

The first big mission event for the year was the Lenten Funday. Lent was arguably the most important and busiest time of the year for the mission captains. After many meetings with Ms Mclean and lots of organising with the other Mission captains (plus a little bit of last-minute stress), we were able to get the mass and the stalls to run perfectly. I would have not been able to do it without the other Ignatius House Leaders who reminded everyone in Pastoral Groups to bring donations in. On the day, the Ignatius stall was able to sell out quickly and I saw lots of boys enjoy what the other houses had to offer.

Up next in the year was the Champagnat Day mass: this is one of the most important events for Marists as it celebrates the founder of the Marist brothers, Marcellin Champagnat. All boys were well-behaved and acted like proper Marist gentlemen, really showing the Marist Spirit. The Walk for Innocents was a great success too, with the boys coming out in numbers to get around the cause and walk a mile on McMahon oval. As always, the Ignatius seniors ran a sausage sizzle after to acknowledge the effort of the boys and generous donations towards the Innocents Relief foundation.  Big thanks to Mr Quain and all the boys that ran the barbecue and helped make the walk run smoothly, as well as the extended community who showed up on the day to show their support. 

I am now a bit sad to be finishing my time at Marist, but I have had an amazing time. I would like to thank Mr Quain for his constant support throughout my time and as a house captain. Also, I would like to thank Dylan, Jack, Chastyn, Douglas and Connor for helping me make everything run smoothly. Now that my time is up, I am very happy to be leaving the Ignatius House Mission to the safe hands of Joshua Foxon. 

Cultural Captain - Dylan Nona

The Ignatius House motto, Ex Nihilo Nihil Fit, translates as "nothing comes from nothing". This sentiment was notably put to the test in 2022. Despite several interruptions to events, uncertainty did not threaten the boys within the cultural scope at Marist. For the second year in a row, Ignatius was able to place in the Grand Final of the Theatre Sports competition and were well-presented in the Ignatius Walk for Innocence, Harmony Day, and peer mentoring sessions. A special mention to our Like A Version band with their arrangement of Running Up That Hill featuring Zane Seeto, Jack Mestric, Douglas Cowlishaw, Ruben Darwin, Luka Manahan, and Jacob Doyle.

As usual, it was pleasing to see the enthusiasm and valour shown by the boys to determine a prosperous year for the cultural domain. I would like to thank the Ignatius pastoral staff for establishing such a positive environment for boys to thrive in, and Mr Quain for sacrificing so much of his time to prioritise the boys and ensure a better experience within the College for everyone, it does not go unnoticed. Best wishes to Luka Manahan who takes over in 2023 and to Eoin Paznikov who takes on the new challenge of Ignatius Wellbeing Captain.

Academic Captain - Jack Mestric

The academic year in Ignatius House was one full of hard work, excitement and growth as the boys participated in countless assessments and extra-curricular academic endeavours. Coming off outstanding ATAR results from the 2021 cohort, the boys of Ignatius House understood the direction to head in with their academics for 2022. The Seniors had a busy year, completing their internal assessments and starting their arduous but rewarding journey studying for the external exams in Term 3, with the external assessments in Term 4.

Many thanks must be given to the invested and outstanding senior teachers as they have shown their dedication to all students as they strive for their best. The Year 11 students had a similarly busy year, completing formative assessments, and I am sure they are aware of what it takes to undertake ATAR as they arrive back at the College in 2023 in the thick of Unit 3. Recognition must be shown to the Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 boys, especially those routinely picking up Head of College and Academic Awards, as they have all completed another year of schooling at Marist College Ashgrove, and edge ever so closer to the senior years.

A few highlights of the year in the academic area of Ignatius House include a Ridley Masterminds 3rd place finish and Top 4 efforts in Mr Stem. The Ignatius House Chess Competition saw true chess mastery on display as many boys took part and got involved. Furthermore, a huge thank you to the pastoral team of Ignatius house as they have helped each and every boy in trying to achieve their academic goals throughout the year; I am in no doubt that 2023 will be any less of a success and wish Michael Garske all the best as he takes over the Academic Captain role.

Sport Captain - Chastyn Creek

This year proved a success in sports for Ignatius house. We had a lot of boys who were involved in extra-curricular sports, and plenty were fortunate enough to put on the Blue and Gold for our various 1sts teams or even make representative teams. The College’s Athletics Carnival saw some of our young athletes emerge, as the seniors had one last go with our mates. Our second-place result indicated the hard work put in by so many. In the Foley 7s, the Opens team went down throwing an intercept at the buzzer, which saw the hope for a back-to-back disappear. Similarly, the Years 7-8 team, threw an intercept try before halftime, which ended up deciding the game! Not even our Years 9-10 team could bring home a result for the House.

Lastly, I want to thank all the Ignatius Pastoral Group Teachers for encouraging the boys to get involved, particularly the Year 7s who might have otherwise been too shy to volunteer for an event. A huge congrats to the incoming Sports Captain, Lee Martin; I have no doubts that he’ll continue the legacy. All the best to you and to the rest of Ignatius House for 2023. Cheers.