Boarding News

Over the last week, it has been great to catch up with the boarders after the holidays. They have come back refreshed and looking forward to all that lies ahead in Term 2. I know many are keen to get into their sport (rugby, football and cross country) and this term promises to be very busy for the Ashgrove boarders. 

This term we welcome two new staff members who will be working with the boarders. Riley Grace (MCA Senior, 2020) is joining the team in La Valla working with our Year 6 and 7 boarders and Ben Fitzgerald (MCA Senior, 2017) will be part of Fourviere Residence caring for our Year 10 and 11 boarders. Both young men are studying Education at university and are excited to be returning to their old school to assist with our boarding program. Welcome, Riley and Ben!

Boarding parents were recently emailed the Boarder Recreation Program for the whole of Term 2, as well as a concise calendar of Term 2 school events. Hopefully, you find these useful and they assist with your planning this term. We have a number of recreation activities which we’re looking forward to this term including a mud challenge on Sunday 1 May where we are taking all boarders out as part of a big team-building event. The boarders are so fortunate to have such a variety of recreation activities outside of school time and in addition to sport, music and the other school co-curricular activities.

A flu vaccination clinic was held today for boarders. Parents were informed of this opportunity last term and it was positive to see many boys turning up to receive this protection against the flu.

I was very proud of our entire boarding cohort who attended the local Anzac Day Service at Ashgrove Memorial Park yesterday. We joined a large crowd from our local area to observe this solemn occasion and maintain such an important tradition. The boys endured wet weather through the service, and I was impressed and proud of the way the boys participated. Their uniform and behaviour was excellent and they represented our school particularly well.

A reminder that we have the inaugural Boarding Family Day on Saturday 21 May at the College. This will be part of ‘Super Saturday’ where we have a home game of sport against Padua College. We are looking forward to welcoming all families in our boarding community to the boarding tent which will be adjacent to Br Francis McMahon Oval throughout the day. There will be great hospitality and activities, as well as the opportunity to tour our boarding facilities. Please click this link to register your attendance for the Boarding Family Day.

I’m really looking forward to what promises to be a busy and fulfilling term. Please make contact if I can be of assistance and hopefully, I will see many of you if you’re visiting the College.

Around the Grounds

La Valla Residence

The return to boarding has seen the La Valla boys embrace the many opportunities that they can enjoy as part of the Marist Community. It has also seen a few struggle to organise themselves and manage their co-curricular and academic responsibilities. We are supporting them through this and when it feels a little overwhelming we remind them that they have to be so much more independent than the average Year 6 or 7 student. 

We were so incredibly proud of our boys this week as they met with the Stuartholme boarding community. The reports from staff were that our boys were inclusive, proactive, kind and respectful throughout the visit.  They represented themselves and their College as true Marist Men.  Again, their level of maturity was higher than is often seen in men of this age.

Their strong attributes shone through during the Anzac March where it rained solidly throughout the service. The boys were stoic and strong and there was no complaining from our La Valla boys. They looked smart (although the ties do still need some work!) and again, made us very proud.

It was a big week of celebrations with multiple birthdays and the celebration of our holiday birthdays with ice cream after Mass. It was a busy but enjoyable first week in La Valla.

Montagne Residence by Oliver Condon

We welcome to the College and boarding a new Year 8 student - Jonothan Kirk from Fiji. He looks to be a pretty handy basketball player and tried out rugby for the first time this week, making the 8B’s. We look forward to watching him progress in both sport and boarding over the term and seeing what he can bring to the table.

Congratulations to the boys who made the 9A’s Rugby on Saturday which was Sean Green, Wylie Gordon, and Myself. Also to the 8A’s; Makenzie Bowen, Ewan Wood and Joseph Murphy. Congratulations to the boys in 8D’s with a 32-12 win, 9A’s with a 19-5 win, 9B’s with a 29-0 win, and 9C’s with a 33-10 win against Villanova College. Great to see some boys cross the white line for a meat pie including James Milasas, Jack Mahuru, and Jock Baker with 2 of the best. Round One to start next week.

We had a great first week back up in the College. We finished the week on Friday with an amazing Anzac Liturgy and look forward to the Anzac March on Monday. Not much homework over the week, so as a dorm we all worked together with Mr Mulligan to create study and term planners for the entire term. Hopefully, this helps us all throughout each week.

Hermitage Residence

Term 2 is up and underway. After what was an extremely busy Term 1, it has been great to see so many boys return well-rested and ready for the term ahead. Three shorter weeks to commence the term sees the boy ensuring they are well organised and planned for both their academic and cocurricular pursuits. It is with great news that we welcome back finally Royden Maelaua. Royden has been away from the College since the very early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. We extend a special warm welcome back to Royden, Daisy and Robert. I’m sure Royden is both excited and nervous.

A focus in the coming weeks will be reviewing academic reports to allow boys to goal set for Term 2. This commenced for some of our boys on Thursday night during tutoring thanks to Mr Burkett.

The weekend just gone saw the final trial round for Rugby and Football. Wonderful to see almost all boys involved in Term 2 sports, which also includes Chess. I commend all boys who participated with such great Marist spirit yesterday during our Anzac march. Whilst most boys were easy to rise, some needed the assistance of the resident 6-year alarm in Harry to ensure they were up and ready to go. The boys represented the College extremely well and took the inclement weather in their stride.

Shout out to the following boys who did a great job being involved with Mass on Sunday night; Hugo Tully, Christian Gehle, George Bell, Lachy McKellar, Monty Andrews, Ben McAuliffe and Blake Kightley. I’m looking forward to the Term ahead, after what was a very busy and bustling Term 1. I really enjoyed working with all families so closely throughout the Term, as well as getting to know a number of new families.

Fourviere Residence

The Fourvière crew hit the ground running with an action-packed start to Term 2. With many champing at the bit to get on the rugby fields, there was one last week of trials before the season proper begins. The Year 11 boys got to enjoy a nice little milestone moment, donning their ‘senior blues’ for the first time… it was great to see the boys respecting the sense of occasion with pride and stepping out in style. The Year 10 lads are looking forward to the commencement of their dancing lessons while a few of the Year 11s were excited to attend the All Hallows semi-formal. Anzac Day celebrations rounded out the long weekend with the boys getting the opportunity to pay their respects in what was a lovely parade and service at the Memorial Park. Well done to our very own Zeke Esler for doing a stellar job signing in the Chamber Choir at the service.

Br Terence Residence

The return to the residence for Term 2 was accompanied with a number of holiday stories, smiles and the willingness to commence what will be busy a term. Term 2 began with parent/teacher/student interviews for many of the boys, where valuable insight and feedback was shared. With the commencement of the first school day, we also saw our boarding seniors wear their blazers for the first time in 2022. As the week progressed, another milestone for the year arrived as the Senior Photo for 2022 was taken on Hayden Oval. A few last-minute haircuts had the boys looking sharp for their photos! At the end of a busy week, our Year 12 boarders hosted the Montagne boys for a BBQ on Friday evening followed by the first full school trial for our Term 2 activities – chess, football and rugby. It has been pleasing to see the high level of participation from our senior boarders who are actively engaged across all of these activities this term.

On Monday morning, the boys were woken early to play their part in honouring the Anzac Day tradition. The boys participated in the local Ashgrove march and Anzac Day service where they respectfully endured the wet weather to pay their respects. The hot breakfast that awaited the boys’ return was certainly well received after an unusually cool April morning in Brisbane. Special mentions must go to a flag bearers Connor Lyons, Sam Miller, Chastyn Creek and Cadell Hendrikse who spent a large proportion of the service out in the pouring rain until a kind local offered them a couple of umbrellas to shelter from the rain. Well done, boys!

Recreation Report - Mr Blair Whitlock

The first week of term is always a whirlwind as the boys get used to their new routines and settle back into boarding life. This week was no different with plenty of rain and Term 2 sport trials taking place throughout the week. Rugby season brings a different level of excitement for many of the boys and was certainly the topic of most conversations around the grounds. On Friday afternoon the Year 9s joined the Year 12s for a BBQ in the Br Terence courtyard. Meanwhile, the Year 7 and 8s headed over to Stuartholme for a BBQ and Pool party. The boys love going over to Stuartholme and it was great to see many of the boys making new friends. There was also the obligatory Manu and Staple competition to see who could move the most water! The early underdog, Peter Chan, surprised with his technique and took the chocs.

Saturday saw an early start for many boys as they headed off for trial matches against Villanova College. There was a mixed bag of results which was expected with the trial and training processes so disrupted with COVID-19 and the floods. A full week of training should put us in good stead before Round 1 against Lauries on Saturday. There were plenty of tired bodies around the dorms on Saturday afternoon. We snuck a swim and some dodgeball in before retiring to the dorms for pizza and footy.

The rain set in on Sunday morning as many opted for a sleep in and late breakfast. We headed up to the gym for some basketball and indoor cricket before heading over to Brookside to stock up on supplies for the week. We had our first Mass of the term on Sunday afternoon as the boys caught an early night before the Anzac Day service. A busy week in the books to kick of Term 2!