From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Peace

After the resurrection, one of the first words Jesus said when he appeared to the frightened disciples was, “Peace be with you.” These words are so important today as we celebrated Anzac Day over the weekend. Anzac Day is a day where Australians reflect upon the suffering, bravery and death of soldiers due to involvement in wars, and to pray that such atrocities and bloodshed never ever happen again. These words are also still relevant today as we hear about the major conflict in Ukraine and ongoing wars and/or minor conflicts in other countries, most of them in the Middle East, North-west Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. More recently, there have been concerns following the announcement of China signing a security pact with our close Pacific neighbours, The Solomon Islands. Peace is what we all long and pray for wholeheartedly, together.

Sunday’s readings (John 20:19-31) hear these words by Jesus to his disciples and Thomas’s doubt followed by his restored faith as he places his fingers into Jesus’s wounds. It is apt that we celebrate the Octave of Easter and its associated themes, during Anzac Day.

Easter is a time of great faith and hope in a God of peace where love conquers death. It is a time where we embrace God’s mercy and remember his promise of life beyond this world. As we remember all those fallen men and women at war we pray in faith to a God of mercy and hope.

God of the journey, may all members of the Marist College family have faith in a God of peace for all humankind. Amen.

Online Parent-Teacher-Student Interviews

One of our learnings from COVID-19 is the preference of some families to undertake online Parent -Teacher-Student interviews. Such a style of interview can be both practical and timely. As a result, a second round of interviews (online) will occur on Wednesday 27 April. These interviews will require a link from the College which will be provided by email to those parents who have made bookings. These interviews occur for 7 minutes for Secondary and 15 minutes for Primary. All interviews will be held between the times of 3:40pm – 8:00pm. I thank Ms Madeleine Tong who has organised these online interviews. If you have any questions please contact Madeleine Tong: tongm@marash.qld.edu.au

Best wishes with these important interviews which follow the major distribution of College reports for Years 5-10 at the end of last term. Please continue to show as much interest and engagement in your son’s academic progress, as possible.

COVID-19 Update

Close Contact Change:

The Queensland Government has announced that from 6:00pm Thursday 28 April 2022 there will no longer be quarantine requirements for close contacts (household or household-like contacts of people with COVID-19) or unvaccinated international arrivals. Isolation requirements for people diagnosed with COVID-19 (i.e. positive cases) are unchanged.

Someone is a close contact if they have been with a person that has COVID-19 for more than four hours in a house or other accommodation, a care facility or similar. For more information see the close contacts definition. You are not a close contact if you have had COVID-19 in the past 12 weeks.

We understand the following requirements will apply to close contacts as from 6:00pm Thursday 28 April 2022:

Close contacts will have to inform their work or educational institution (e.g. a student at a school) that they are a close contact before returning to work/school.
Close contacts will be required to take a RAT test every two days for a seven-day period, ensuring they have a negative result before going out into the community. RAT tests will need to start from the day the person becomes a close contact (and then additional tests performed on days 2, 4 and 6). At this stage the provision of RAT tests will be the responsibility of individual close contacts (or their parent/carer in the case of children). Currently tests are available free of charge at Queensland Health clinics for close contacts, people with symptoms or individuals complying with directives (see this link for more information about testing).
Close contacts will be required to wear masks indoors at all times at work or school and outdoors where they can’t socially distance for the seven-day period.
Close contacts who are symptomatic (but who are returning a negative RAT test) are advised to stay at home.

Returning from COVID-19:

All boys, staff and visitors to the College need to wear a mask for 7 days after returning from COVID-19 isolation.

Marist College Ashgrove COVID-19 Positive Numbers:

Student Day: 15 Student Boarding: 0 Staff: 2

Goondiwindi Show Visit

All families, Old Boys and interested parents are invited to attend the Marist College Ashgrove boarding tent on Friday and Saturday 29-30 April, at the Goondiwindi Show. This annual show, organised and facilitated by the P & A Society, is held at the showgrounds on Boundary Street. Our Head of Boarding, Mr Jim Noble and Assistant Head of Boarding, Ty Casey will be present to meet, answer questions and explain to the locals the wonderful boarding school experience that is available for young boys who choose to attend Marist. We know what a great reputation Marist College Ashgrove has always had with its boarding school and this year, we have decided to share its great qualities with various local country communities. We look forward to you visiting Jim and Ty and making yourself known.

Boarder Parent Network Meeting

On Tuesday 3 May, all Boarding parents are invited to participate in a Zoom Meeting. The Boarder Parent Network Meetings are an opportunity for parents to get together online and discuss issues of relevance with the Head of Boarding, Mr Jim Noble, Assistant Head, Mr Ty Casey and I. Parents can bring to these meeting their desire to share successes, concerns, points requiring clarification and of interest, at this meeting. These meetings commenced last year and continue this year, after having much positive feedback. I look forward to this Boarder Parent Meeting from 5:00pm. My thanks are extended to our chair, Mrs Kath Nolan and Head of Boarding, Mr Jim Noble, for their organisation of this meeting. See you all online.

Term 2 Sporting Competition Commences

Best wishes to all boys who will commence their AIC Sporting Competitions for 2022, on Saturday. In Term 2 our major sports are: Rugby Union, Football, Chess and Cross Country. The boys completed their final trials versus Villanova College on the weekend and are looking forward to their first competition game versus St Laurence’s College. This is traditionally Old Boys Day where Old Boys of the 2012, 2002, 1992, 1982, 1972 and 1962 1st XV Teams of both Marist College Ashgrove and St Laurence’s College are invited to the College for a meal and are publicly presented prior to the 1st XV game. We expect large crowds on Saturday, so please consider this for travel and parking plans. I look forward to cheering on the Blue and the Gold on Saturday and throughout the term.

Immunisations and Flu Vaccinations

All boarders and teaching staff have the option of obtaining the flu vaccination shot this Tuesday 26 April. We encourage all day students to also organise receiving the flu shot this season.

The next stage of the Year 7 Immunisation program will be rolled out this Wednesday 27 April. This involves vaccination against HPV and Whooping Cough. I thank Mrs Kelly Byrnes for organising these health measures for the Year 7 boys, boarders and staff over the coming days.

Autumn Concert

The 2022 Music Autumn Concert will be held this Thursday 28th April in the Draney Theatre. This annual concert will see performances by the Performance Choir, Guitar Orchestra 2, Guitar Ensemble, String Ensemble and Senior Strings.

I thank the following staff who prepare and facilitate this high-quality student concert, namely: Andrew Butt, Darian Johns, Melanie Stewart, Sean Flynn, Joseph Rabjohns, Catherine Wasserman, Rhiannon Fenn, Vanessa Mitchell, Enrico Le Mura

To book a seat, please follow this link: https://events.humanitix.com/autumn-concert-2022

Year 5 Parent Function

The Parents and Friends Association continue their successful parent gatherings this Friday night with the Year 5 Parent Function. This social gathering will be held in the Tower Function Room and will involve a social get-together with drinks and nibbles and will include an address by the Parents & Friends President, Mr Jim Gordon and I. This is always a very enjoyable evening to socialise with other like-minded parents and one I strongly encourage you to attend. We look forward to Friday evening.

To book tickets, please follow this link: https://events.humanitix.com/2022-year-5-parent-function

Year 6 Excursion

I wish the Year 6 boys the best of luck as they travel to Emu Gully Helidon, to undertake a leadership and bonding day this Friday 29 April. During this day the Year 6 boys will focus on team work, character, leadership and communication. My thanks are extended to the staff who have organised and will accompany the boys, namely: Michael Connolly, Richard Coles, Shane Wheeler, Catherine Barnett, James Furminger, John Lambourne and Liam Beatty.

Year 11 RACQ Docudrama

On Friday 29 April, the Year 11 boys will be participating in a docudrama facilitated by RACQ. The RACQ Docudrama is a two-and-a-half-hour road safety educational experience. This docudrama is both engaging and interactive with the aim of empowering the boys to make better and more informed choices both as a driver and passenger. Docudrama takes a community approach to road safety issues involving emergency service workers and other local professionals to help demonstrate a powerful ‘mock crash’ road safety scenario. Students then explore and are equipped with real-world strategies for combating the ‘Fatal Five’ road safety issues; Drink and Drug Driving, Fatigue, Not Wearing a Seatbelt, Speeding and Distraction. We wish all boys much learning from this important presentation. My thanks are extended to Mr Peter Serone, Head of Students for organising this presentation for our Year 11 boys.

Australian Track and Field Championships

Congratulations to Joel Drew (Year 10) and Lee Martin (Year 11) who competed at the Australian Track and Field Championships in Sydney over the holidays. Joel received a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles and Lee received a bronze medal in the shot put. Both fantastic Australian achievements. Well done gentlemen!

Lee Martin and Joel Drew with Head of College Michael Newman

Australian National Swimming Championships

The Marist College Ashgrove Swimming Club finished at the Australian National Swimming Championships with 7 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze Medal. Congratulations to:

James Leigh (Year 10): who obtained bronze in the 15 Years 200m freestyle and 15 Years 400m freestyle.
4x50m Freestyle Relay team consisting of Noah Coco (Year 10), Hayden Barnes (Year 10), James Leigh (Year 10) and Thomas Hicks (Year 11) who broke the Australian national Age Record in a time of 1.36.36.
4x50m Medley Relay team consisting of Noah Coco, Alex Pedroni (Year 10), Thomas Hicks and James Leigh who obtained bronze.

A huge effort by all competitors and Head Coach, Mr James Boyce. Congratulations.

Update on Dino

Thanks to the generosity of Marist families, 2021 Year 12 student, Dino Lopes from East Timor, has commenced his TAFE studies and work experience. The College would like to acknowledge the very generous contribution of the transportation integration company Keolis Downer. Keolis Downer has not only offered to meet Dino’s fees at TAFE Queensland but have also begun work experience for Dino with their expert engineers. Dino’s stationery needs have been generously supplied by Stationery Aid. Where Dino has additional expenses we will use our further funds collected. Please be assured that all funds contributed as part of ‘Dino’s Dream’ are now held only for Dino and for his benefit. It is only after Dino has completed his Associate Degree and all expenses associated with the degree have been met that any excess funds which exist will be allocated to the Champagnat Trust. My special thanks are extended to all generous donators and the whole Marist College family for your persistent efforts in caring for Dino. Well done team Marist and Lauren Caplick (guardian) and Anthony Collins (Old Boys’ Association).

Below is a quote from Dino, reflecting on his workplace experience to date which he is most grateful for:

“I am certainly grateful for Keolis Downer for everything they are offering me, especially in the past couple of days I have spent with them. One of the most notable things about this organization is their culture of welcoming and friendly environment where every person is respected and valued highly. This placement, I consider utmost valuable because it has exposed me to broader areas than just my field of interest – I spent some time with the OCC group, the LRV operator, Engineer Technicians – which, has been an eye-opening experience for me. I believe this is crucial for anyone who wants to be a part of a team/organization to understand things beyond their field of interest. Overall, it shapes the person to be an ideal team player.”

Best wishes Dino!

May our loving God with Mary our good mother and St Marcellin Champagnat walk with all members of the Marist College Ashgrove Family.