From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

People of Community and Belonging

We are people of community who feel a sense of belonging when we are part of a family, whichever form that may take – spouses, parents, siblings, and the like. We create our own families outside of our immediate families and this can be in the form of friends, community groups or through hobbies. We gather as a community to celebrate and enjoy our favourite sporting teams, musicians and entertainment. People regularly gravitate towards one another, gathering together and forming relationships in a unifying and communal sense.

At Marist College Ashgrove, we too are a gathered family. As a Marist school, we belong to a wider Marist family that is formed in unity with 13 other Marist owned schools and 64 associate schools in Australia and almost 600 Marist schools worldwide. We also belong to the church. Fr Richard Leonard sj, lectures on the communal work of the Catholic Church and the importance of being proud of our best kept secret - all its enterprises and charities that we are connected to within the Catholic Church:

Third largest employer in Australia – Wesfarmers, Woolworths, The Catholic Church, CBA, Federal Public Service, BHP, NAB, Rio Tinto, Westpac and ANZ. The Catholic Church employs at least 221,000 people, of which 165,750 are women (75%)
770,018 students are in Catholic schools (up 12,018 from 2020) – 1751 schools – 98,000 staff – 75% of all teachers and 45% of all Principals are women.
Australian Catholic University – 32, 000 students, Notre Dame University 12,394 and the most successful university for Indigenous graduations.
80 hospitals - 10,500 beds (12% of all hospital beds), 25,000 residential aged care beds in 550 facilities – 7,000 retirement and independent living units and serviced apartments, 8 dedicated hospices with palliative care services; 20% of all medical research is done at the St Vincent’s or Mercy Healthcare Research Institutes; 83,300 employees.
Largest welfare provider outside government - 49 members - 12, 600 employees - 500 different services which cared for 1 million clients in 2020.
St Vincent De Paul is the largest and most extensive volunteer welfare network in the country with 18,209 members and 30,910 volunteers.
Largest provider of trained personnel for developing countries, and then AVA and Care Australia.
Caritas Australia raised $34m for the poor in 2020 and Catholic Mission raised $15m for the poor in 2020.
cathnews.com is the most visited religious website in the country.
There are 1321 Catholic parishes, including 29 belonging to Eastern Catholic churches, serving 5.26m Catholics of which 578,000 Catholics worship every Sunday (11%), which equates to filling the MCG almost six times every Sunday - some 92,334 between the ages of 13 – 18.

In the Gospels, Jesus also reminds us of our personal connection and sense of belonging with him. He equates a sense of family and relationship with a Father – a Father who loves us unconditionally, forgives us beyond anything humanly understandable and never abandons us, like a shepherd guarding his sheep. Jesus offers us a personal sense of belonging and realisation of community with him, through our faith and the people we meet each day.

Loving God, may each of our boys and all members of the Marist College Ashgrove family surrender to your sense of belonging, relationship, loving care and community.

Amen

Examination Period

Best wishes to all of our Year 7, 8, and 10 boys who are continuing their important examinations this week. These will conclude on Friday 8 September. The Year 11 boys are also undertaking their examinations, due to be completed on Wednesday 13 September. My thanks are extended to all their professional teachers who are setting and administering these exams and will then correct and report on each boy's progress. The exam timetable can be found within the Parent Portal under the 'Exam and Assessment' tile.

Madonna King and Jon Rouse Parent Presentation

On Wednesday 13 September from 6:00pm to 7:30pm in the Champagnat Centre, Marist College Ashgrove is pleased to welcome one of Australia’s most accomplished parenting journalists - Madonna King and Marist Old Boy - Detective Inspector Jon Rouse. The topic for discussion is the serious and concerning topic of 'Sextortion'. The brief for this presentation is as follows: The world is a very different place for today’s kids. The crime of sextortion has reached epidemic proportions. Increasing numbers of children and teens are finding themselves caught in an evil web of networked manipulators. 'Saving Our Kids' delivers the answers we need as parents/caregivers on how we can all protect the children in our lives. I recommend this important presentation to all parents. This event is free of charge and tickets can be obtained by following this link.

Year 12 Night and Holiday Study

Each Wednesday from 5:00pm-8:00pm, the Year 12 students have the opportunity to study together in the Br Mark Farrelly Library. This is an excellent opportunity for the students to get assistance and enjoy the support of their peers with their study. During the holiday period, this study opportunity will be extended to each Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of both weeks of the holidays. I thank the many generous teachers who support the students and help with this supervision in the library. Following this, masterclasses will be held for each subject over the first three weeks of Term 4, leading into their external examinations. For more details, please refer to the curriculum section of this newsletter.

Grandparents Day 2023

Families are reminded that our annual Grandparents Day will be held next Thursday 14 September. This day is an opportunity for the students to enjoy the company of their grandparents and to thank them for the love, interest, and support they give on a continual basis. During this morning, grandparents will be entertained by our wonderful student musicians, relish a delicious morning tea together and enjoy a tour of the campus with their grandsons. I thank our many generous staff who have prepared this morning for our grandparents, namely: Ellen Kassulke, the entire Music Department, P&F Amity Group, including parent volunteers, and our Services Staff - Jack Johnson and Denver Jensen. To make a booking for this day, please click this link. I look forward to meeting many grandparents on Thursday next week.

Art Exhibition

We congratulate four of our senior students who were shortlisted and selected to appear in Incubator 2023. This exhibition is open to all Senior Visual Art students and first-year tertiary students from all over Brisbane and the Moreton Bay Region. The students' artworks will be displayed from Saturday 16 September – Sunday 22 September at the Hands on Art Substation Gallery in Paddington - 150 Enoggera Tce, Paddington.Congratulations - Gabriel Dinneen (Year 12), Ashley Kani (Year 11), Darcy Hotson (Year 11) and Ethan Torrens (Year 11) who will have their artworks displayed. Further information about the exhibition may be found here - https://handsonart.org.au/artists-and-activities/incubator-2023/. Well done, gentlemen.

Queensland and Australian Sporting Representatives

Congratulations to the following students who in 2023 were chosen to represent at a Queensland or Australian level in their respective sports. This is a wonderful achievement and Marist College Ashgrove wishes to recognise your achievements.

Well done to James Leigh who is representing Australia in Surf Lifesaving and to the following students who have represented at a Queensland level: Lachie Vink (Surf Lifesaving and Swimming – National Championships), Archer Mellifont (Surf Lifesaving and Swimming – National Championships), Sean Bright (Water Polo), Dusty Miller (Gymnastics), Zac Milligan (Cross Country and Athletics), Damon Johnson (Hockey), Adrian Garbellini (Orienteering), Nicholas Keir (Hockey and Indoor Hockey), Lee Martin (Athletics), Shea Caminiti (Athletics), Joel Drew (Athletics), George Daly (Athletics), Connor Campbell (Athletics), Isaac Ting (Athletics), Sam Brassington (Athletics), Johan Miles (Athletics), Xavier Simms (Athletics), Asher Parkin (Cross Country and Athletics), Isaiah Burgess (Athletics), Charlie Campion (Athletics), James Prole (Athletics), Harry Prole (Cross Country), Leon Karena (Rugby League), Matthew Alvarez (Hockey), Archie Bathe (Swimming National Championships), Xavier Clarke-Bates (Swimming National Championships), Noah Coco (Swimming National Championships), Isaac Farrelly (Swimming National Championships), Lachlan Harney (Swimming National Championships), Tom Hicks (Swimming National Championships), James Leigh (Swimming National Championships), Noah Magoffin (Swimming National Championships), Nicholas Marco (Swimming National Championships), Luca Martinuzzi (Swimming National Championships), Josh Mason (Swimming National Championships), Ryan O’Toole (Swimming National Championships), Jack Purcell (Swimming National Championships), Max Russo (Swimming National Championships), Bailey Skinner (Swimming National Championships), Nathaniel Christison (Swimming Queensland) and Nicholas Osborne (Swimming Queensland).

Congratulations, gentlemen.

Safe Driving

Marist College Ashgrove will be receiving flashing school zone signs along Moola Road in the near future. Several important factors are considered when assessing school zones for flashing lights such as crash history, traffic volumes, pedestrian movements, the speed limit and visibility. The installation of these signs highlights the safety concerns along Moola Road which the Queensland Government has identified. I again remind all parents and young men to slow down and be acutely aware of children when driving along Moola Road. I thank the Minister for Transport and Main Roads and Minister for Digital Services, State MP Hon. Mark Bailey for organising these signs for Marist. Let’s be sure to protect all the Year 7 to Year 12 students of Marist and our neighbours on our surrounding roads.

Year 7 2024 – Information Evening

We welcome our 2024 Year 7 parents to our information evening to be held on Monday 11 September in the Draney Theatre. During this information evening, parents will listen to speakers representing the various sections of the College where their sons will be involved – academics, spiritual, sports, the arts and student wellbeing. I thank Joshua Kersevani and Peter Serone who have prepared this evening. We welcome our new parents and their sons to Marist College Ashgrove in 2024.

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