Boarding News

Dear Boarding Parents,

The last week has been busy in boarding with several activities, events and community gatherings.

Last Friday, the boarders made the trip away to support our Marist 1st XVIII AFL team as they took on Padua College at Brendale. For the second week in a row the boarders proudly made up most of the crowd supporting our players as they did their best on the field. Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way this time but the loyal and vocal support provided by our boys certainly lifted the 1st XVIII. I am always proud of our boarders turning up in numbers and voice to maintain a long-standing tradition of positive support for our Marist teams.

On Sunday, the annual Boarding Staff vs Students Cricket Match was held on McMahon Oval. There was quite a bit of banter between the team of Year 12 boarders and the staff in the lead up which set the scene for a tough contest. In the end, the staff got away with the victory, largely due to a strong run chase, but the most pleasing aspect of this event was the positive, good-natured way that our Senior boys and staff played the game and enjoyed each other’s company. The match was watched by many of the younger boarders and everyone enjoyed the spectacle.

Later on Sunday afternoon, we gathered as a boarding community to celebrate Mass together. This week we decided to have an outdoor Mass at the grandstand and this was appreciated by all who attended. As the shadows got longer in the late afternoon it was a lovely setting for our service and many commented how cool and comfortable it was to have the service outdoors at this time of day. One of our aims this year is to make the Sunday Boarders’ Mass engaging for the boys and it appeared that having a change of setting helped in this regard.

And on Monday night, our Year 12 boarders hosted all the younger La Valla boarders for a BBQ in the courtyard outside the Br Terence Residence. This is another great initiative from our Year 12s to build connection and a strong sense of belonging in our boarding community. The younger boys loved spending time with the Seniors over dinner and also playing games in the Seniors’ common room and joining together for a massive game of touch football. Congratulations to our Senior boarders for the fantastic leadership they are displaying in 2024.

Reuben Simpson – “If I was Prime Minister”

Reuben Simpson, Year 10 boarder, entered and won a competition run by the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) ‘If I was Prime Minister’. As the winner of this competition, Reuben had the opportunity to travel to Canberra and meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Parliament House.

Together they discussed challenges such as healthcare, education and social inequality. Reuben was also fortunate to meet the Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, Minister for the Environment and Water, Tanya Plibersek and Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, just to name a few.

We are so proud of Reuben for this incredible accomplishment and look forward to hearing all about his experience when he returns to school.

Sunday Night Mass

Boarding Recreation

On Friday afternoon we headed over to the South Pine Sports Complex to support the 1st XVIII AFL boys as they took on local rivals Padua College. The boarders did a great job leading the Hive as the boys ultimately went down in a spirited game. We wish the AFL teams the best of luck as they look to get back on track in round three and we can’t wait to support the 1st VI Volleyball in their first home match of the season against Iona next Saturday.

After Saturday sport we had our first social for the year as boarders from Somerville House and Stuartholme came over to Marist for a swim and ice cream. It was great to see many new friends, old friends, cousins and siblings united to tell stories of their first few weeks of the year and we look forward to visiting both of their schools later on in term.

On Sunday morning a group of Broncos fans headed up to Red Hill for the Broncos Fan Fest at their training ground and HQ. The boys were lucky enough to rub shoulders and have gear signed by many of the Broncos stars and it was a great way to build some excitement for the upcoming season. Later in the afternoon, 25 boys jumped on the bus as we drove out to Aqua Warrior Redcliffe for a 2-hour session at the inflatable wipeout course. There were several other boarding schools in attendance and the constant wipeouts zapped any final energy the boys had from the weekend!

The undoubted highlight of the weekend was however the first boarding staff vs students clash of the year on the Cricket pitch. The McMahon wicket had taken plenty of rain on Saturday but dried out sufficiently for our T20 match to take place on Sunday. There had been plenty of fighting talk during the week from a naïve student XI who lost the toss and were sent in to bat first. Some early promise from openers, Marcus Paulsen and Hugo Tully, quickly evaporated as their dismissals led to a middle-order collapse and prolonged run drought. A late flurry from Tyrell Wolmby and Monte Andrews restored some respectability to the students score as they finished their innings on 89/6. The 90-run target looked light as our hard-hitting left-handed openers, Mal Grealy and Tom Dangerfield, scythed through the bowling attack and 14-man field. After losing a couple of wickets, Callum Francis and Ben Lee, steadied the ship as the staff ultimately cruised to an 8-wicket victory with 10 overs to spare. Actions speak louder than words and it will be interesting to see if any lessons have been learned ahead of the week nine Volleyball match. Thanks for the game boys!