Boarding News

An important reminder to parents/guardians that all boarding students are expected to attend Boarders' Mass every Sunday night at 6:00pm. This is part of a long-standing tradition at the College, observed and respected by Marist boarders and boarding families for decades. Having Mass on Sunday night hopefully allows everyone to enjoy the best of the weekend and then our boarders come together for Mass. It is also special because we announce ‘Boarders of the Week’ for each year level and other key community messages are relayed to the boys. Can I please ask everyone to support this expectation.

There is a bit of excitement in the air with the upcoming Ekka holiday break in Week 5. The boys effectively get a five day long weekend from Wednesday 12 – Sunday 16 August inclusive. This will be a welcome break for our boarders to refresh and recharge in the middle of the term. No doubt, some of our families will be excited to get their son home for a few days! Our dorms will remain open and supervised during this period, but with limited numbers we may combine dorms to assist with staffing. There will be some on campus recreation options if boys wish to take these up, but the Ekka break always offers the chance for a restful time.

There are a few key events coming up just before the Ekka break which are important to note:

• The College Walkathon happens this coming Sunday 9 August. This time-honoured event raises a significant amount of money for projects to directly benefit the students. It’s also a great morning with loads of fun activities, including the Battle of the Bands.
• The City vs Country rugby league match will be played on McMahon Oval on Tuesday 12 August in the afternoon. The City team is made up of Year 12 day students and the Country team is made up of Year 12 boarders. This match is always a great spectacle and I hope boys and families can join us for this event.

• Marist is hosting a dance which is open to boarders in Year 7 and 8 on the evening of Tuesday 11 August. This dance raises funds to support Australian Marist Solidarity and was a very popular event last year.

   

Thanks to all those who attended the Boarder Parent Network (online) meeting last Wednesday evening. The Deputy Head of College and I provided an update and there was also productive discussion around upcoming events and boarding many aspects of the boarding program. I appreciated the positive involvement of those parents in attendance and it was great to have this opportunity to listen and provide feedback.

ICPA Federal Conference

Assistant Head of Boarding, Ty Casey, recently attended the ICPA Federal Conference, providing an invaluable opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the important advocacy work undertaken by the Isolated Children's Parents' Association (ICPA) on behalf of rural and remote families across Australia.

Hearing directly from delegates and families reinforced the ongoing issues surrounding access to education, services, connectivity and equitable opportunities, all of which continue to impact many of our boarding families.

The conference provided an excellent opportunity to connect with prospective, current and past Marist families, further strengthening these important relationships. Ty was privileged to meet with a number of key leaders within the ICPA network, including Nikki MacQueen (Federal Webmaster), Jayne Cuddihy (Queensland State Council), Sancia Feagan (Queensland State Council), Nikki Mahoney (Federal Vice President) and Amanda Watt (Executive Director, QIS Parents Network), all who have sons attending or have attended Marist.

Marist College Ashgrove values its strong partnership with rural and remote families and remains committed to listening, learning and advocating alongside organisations such as the ICPA to ensure every boarder has the opportunity to thrive.