From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Faith That Unites Us

So here we are, traditionally a Christian society celebrating Easter once again, and looking forward to the holidays over the next few weeks. As Christian believers, we know the stories of Holy Week - we have read about them for years; the stories of Jesus’ Last Supper with his friends, his passion, death, and resurrection, his promise of a new life beyond this earthly presence. Over the holidays, we will again walk with Jesus along this familiar journey. We will stand in solidarity as witnesses to his story. Although we know the story, we need faith to profess and live this story joyfully to the world.

Father Alatini, our College Chaplain, gave a wonderful homily this week about Lent, the Easter season and our faith which permeates. He spoke about the stories, traditions, and customs of Easter. These enable our faith, the vessels that link us to each other and help us to grow even stronger as Christians. We are living in a culture that is rapidly becoming secularlised, so these faith stories, traditions and customs are more vital than ever. Today, it seems that our media and the all too common ‘pub test’ has become the means to determining right from wrong and what we must essentially believe in and base our laws around. Increasingly, our culture is downplaying our faith by believing it is marginal. So many symbols of our faith have become commercialised, for example, crosses and religious images as objects of popular culture. Father Alatini reminded us that in such an environment, we need to cherish our rules, regulations, and traditions as Catholics and Christians more than ever. Preserving these and the stories of Easter and their religious practices is our badge of identity as Christians. They help us keep our identity and how we will live our faith and teach it to future generations. If we drop our traditions, customs and the story behind of our faith, we will dilute and weaken and even lose our faith.

This Easter, as we walk again with Jesus along these Holy Week events, may we join together in solidarity and witness the stories and traditions of our faith.

God of the journey, may all members of the Marist College Ashgrove family deeply share and embrace the story, traditions, and our faith this Easter. May they unite us as Christians and be a source of nourishment and strength on our journey ahead. Amen

End of Term Assessments, Exams, Reporting and Parent Teacher Interviews

Best wishes to all our boys as they complete their final assessments and examinations over the course of this week. Our teachers will be marking and reporting on your son’s progress at their completion. Progressive assessment results for Years 5 to 10 will be available to parents on the 30th of April. Parent/Teacher (face to face) interviews for all students at the College will be held on Tuesday April 22nd from 11am - 5pm. These can be booked via the Parent Portal. Bookings close on Friday 11th April (end of the first week of the holidays). Following these interviews on April 30th on-line Parent/Teacher Interviews will be offered. These interviews can also be booked via the Parent Portal. Good luck gentlemen with these final pieces of assessment and I look forward to meeting with parents at the Parent/Teacher Interviews.

Head of College Tour

The Term 1 postponed Head of College Tour will be held this Thursday 3rd April. This tour is a wonderful opportunity for our prospective families to view the facilities, hear about the College offerings and converse with present students, parents and staff. If you are aware of anyone who may be interested in attending the College, please invite them to undertake a Head of College Tour - simply direct them to this link to make a booking. My sincere thanks are extended to Mr Jake Toulson, Ms Meagan Loane and Ms Holly Stevenson for their organisation of this tour and for the wonderful work they undertake assisting new families and student enrolments to the College.

Easter Liturgy

The 2025 Easter liturgy will be held this Friday 4th April at the College grandstand on McMahon Oval. This is an important opportunity for our boys to reflect on Lent and the events of Holy Week which are central to our faith as Christians and at Marist College Ashgrove. All families are welcome to join us at the grandstand for this liturgy. My thanks are extended to the College Mission Team who have prepared this liturgy for the College, namely – Mrs Anna Nasr (Assistant Head of College Mission), Mrs Jenna Harding, Mrs Clare Locke and Mr Mikael Pitot.

Work and Welcome Farewell

An outstanding and long held tradition at Marist College Ashgrove is our staff, who for many years, donate to the Work and Welcome Program in Brisbane. This program involves staff donating a portion of their wages to employ a new refugee or migrant person who has recently arrived in Australia. The aim is to provide them with some skills to make them more employable into the future. These new employees also work at Marist for a term receiving a salary, to enable them to earn some money for their families. The Marist College Ashgrove staff have always generously contributed towards this program, and we are pleased to have had two employees graduating from this program in Term 1 – Marita Karorero and Angelina Shiianova. Today, our staff farewelled both Marita and Angelina and proudly wished them well for the future. We thank Marita and Angelina and all staff at Marist for their wonderful generosity and confraternity.

Rugby Union Tours and Football Trials

Best wishes to the Marist Ashgrove 1st and 2nd XV Rugby Union teams who he will be touring NSW from Friday 4th – Wednesday 9th April. During this tour, the boys will be playing the Dolphins Academy in Lennox Head on Saturday 5th April and The Armidale School in Armidale Tuesday 8th April. My thanks are extended to Mr Richard Graham, Mr Chris Daykin and Mr Adam Earnshaw who will be coaching, managing and assisting on the tour.

Also on tour will be the Under 12’s Rugby teams who will be participating in the Armidale School Rugby Union Carnival from Friday 11th – Sunday 13th April. My thanks are extended too Mr John Lambourne, Mr Anthony Graham and Mr James Trebbin who will be coaching, managing and assisting the boys on this tour. Best wishes to all boys in these games and in the preparation ahead.

Good luck to the Marist Ashgrove1st XI Football team as they participate in The Southport School (TSS) Football Tournament on the Gold Coast over the holidays. My thanks are extended to Blair Whitlock and Willem Baines for their oversight, leadership and coaching of the boys. Best wishes also to our A teams who will be playing matches against St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace and The Church of England Grammar School (Churchie) over the holiday period. My thanks are extended to all coaches and managers of these Football teams.  

Eureka Gold Rush Excursion

Best wishes to our Year 5 students who will be undertaking the ‘Eureka Gold Rush’ Excursion this Wednesday 2 and Friday 5 April. Classes attending will be 5 Maroon, 5 Silver, 5 Violet and 5 White on Wednesday, and 5 Blue, 5 Gold and 5 Red on Friday. On this excursion the boys will travel to Belivah (just near Beenleigh) where they will participate in a number of activities that will provide a simulation of what life was like during the Gold Rush. My thanks are extended to Mrs Cath Geraghty, Mr Dan Prince, Mr Michael Jones, Mr James Trebbin, Mrs Prue Maclean, Mr Bas Pelly, Mr Matt Wilson, Ms Jayde Tierney, Ms Alice Wiggins and Mr Jorge Ruiz who will be accompanying the boys and facilitating this excursion.

End of Term 1 and Commencement of Term 2

The final day of Term 1 for Marist students is Friday 4th April. It is an expectation that all students attend school until the end of this last day with the exception of our boarders who have a travel day and anyone who has received signed permission.

The first day of school for Term 2 will commence on Wednesday 23rd April. On Tuesday, the 22nd April staff will be having in-servicing, followed by undertaking Parent/Teacher Interviews. Tuesday is a boarders’ travel day as they commence boarding on Tuesday evening.

A reminder that winter uniforms with blazers and formal hats in good condition are required from Term 2 for all boys. Please ensure all boys return with a haircut as per the College expectations.

Happy Easter Holidays

I wish all families and boys a happy and holy Easter holiday break. After a busy and positive term, I am sure we all need time to refresh and recharge our batteries, ready for an important Term 2 at the College. My thanks are extended to our wonderful dedicated staff and supportive families for a terrific start to the year. See you all in Term 2.

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