Deputy Head of College News

Old hats. New hats. Sorting hats! The year 7 2025 Information Evening had them all!

The hat analogy rings of the rhymes of a Dr Suess kids book. It also rings the truths of the experience of 'new hat's to our Marist Family encountering 'old hats' of our Marist Family. Together, these 'hats' will share renewed 'hats' will form renewed relationships with their son and renewed relationship with each other throughout 2025 and beyond.

Steve Waugh and his Baggy Green cricket hat. It was once new. Then it became proudly old, fitting comfortably, shaped perfectly to his head, displaying the scars of many an on-field battle. Others followed. Some went a step further, whilst honouring the 'old hat' they requested a 'new hat'. They chose to start anew and begin to create a second 'old hat'. Whilst Steve Waugh will forever be in my top five Australian cricketers of all time, I'm more drawn to the hat wearing habits of others. I'm drawn to those who actively choose to honour and carry the past whilst committing to a new way of beginning - for a new hat to become comfortable in its own right and tell another tale.

Renewal is human. Renewal is fundamental to a healthy way of being, growing and engaging with our world. Renewal is a fundamental tenet of our faith. Our Marist Family is blessed with opportunities for individual and collective renewal. Taking time to be with our 'renewed hats' for 2025 affirmed the intentional time we take to be in community with one another, particularly in the early stages where hopes and aspirations can converge with doubt or uncertainty. By taking such time, we put on a 'new hat', letting it sit for a while, allowing it to rest comfortably. Occasionally, we may re-shape the brim, dust it off, forget where we left it, and then find it again.

A warm welcome to those new to our Marist Family who will visit the College this Friday for our Year 5 and 7 2025 Orientation Day. May we support our 'new hats' to become comfortable 'old hats'! 

Communication Guidelines

As part of our commitment to promoting the well-being of our Marist Family, the College has undertaken a review of communication practices. In doing so, the College understands the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life for all members of our Marist Family, especially in today's digitally connected world. Additionally, new right to disconnect legislation provides an important framework for ensuring that all members of our community can disconnect from work-related communications outside of designated working hours.

Right to Disconnect Protocols have been developed by the College to emphasise the importance of respecting individuals' right to disconnect and encouraging asynchronous communication whenever possible.

The College has a reasonable expectation that staff replies to all forms of communication from the employer, students, parents, colleagues, or others will occur within the hours of:

Teaching Staff: 7:30am to 4:00pm (school days) 

Other Staff/Non-teaching duties: During normal contracted/agreed working hours/days  

Where contact is made outside the span of hours outlined above, staff will aim to respond no later than two designated working days for the relevant employee.

The College looks forward to working with all members of our Marist Family on this important undertaking.

Fraser Road Closure

Formal notification of roadworks along Frasers Road has been received by the College from Brisbane City Council which will impact arrival and departures routes to and from the College for Term 4.

Council will be undertaking necessary drainage works on Frasers Road and Tay Street, Ashgrove from early September 2024 with an anticipated completion of late December 2024, weather and site conditions permitting. Because of the extent of the works, this section of Frasers Road will remain closed for the duration of the project to ensure safety for everyone. A detour will be in place for the duration of the works. Road users should allow additional time in your journey if you’re travelling through the area. Please follow the direction of signage and traffic control. Safe pedestrian and cycle access through the work area will be maintained at all times. Sections of on-street parking on Frasers Road will be temporarily unavailable during construction works. Access to Dorrington Park and associated off-street parking will be unavailable.

Council and Brisbane Bus lines have been in contact with the College regarding the impacts of the works. The only impact which we may experience are delays to buses departing the area of an afternoon.

Please find below a suggested detour from the council. Further information regarding the works is available at this link: Venus Street and Frasers Road drainage works - Ashgrove | Brisbane City Council

School Travel and Parking

Each school term, we identify schools with illegal parking issues based on complaints from the Contact Centre, Councillor requests, and correspondence to the CEO and Lord Mayor. These schools are then scheduled for proactive patrols the following term.

Our patrols aim to enhance safety for students, parents, and teachers travelling to and from Brisbane’s schools. Parking and traffic conditions around schools are designed to preserve sight lines and ensure safe drop-offs and pick-ups. Limited parking during these times can lead to poor driver behaviour and dangerous parking practices.

Our officers patrol in highly visible City Safety vehicles, providing education on safe parking and enforcing regulations when necessary. These patrols encourage voluntary compliance to improve safety in school areas. Our goal is to provide a safe environment for children travelling to and from school.

Balancing strong compliance with public expectations, especially around school zones, can be delicate. Please be assured that parking fines are issued in many cases where illegal parking is observed.

The Parking Compliance Team will use several enforcement approaches, including:

• Officers on foot monitoring the area and engaging with the public.
• Mobile Enforcement Technology that identifies alleged offences using Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and GPS software.
• Vehicle Mounted Cameras, which are manually operated camera vehicles