From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Unity Between the World and God

In 2020, Australia celebrated 200 years of Catholic Education. This year Marist schools celebrate 150 years of education in Australia. Catholic education has been an important fabric in the development of the life and culture of Australia. Education and academia have always been a feature of Catholicism in Australia and throughout the world, including many prominent philosophers, theologians and scientists. Many famous Australian citizens who have contributed greatly to society, attended Catholic schools. Catholic education has as its overarching touchstones the practical elements of teaching and learning, plus faith - but today, the question that has really surfaced is, what is the relevance of Catholic education in this world of growing secularism? What is the point of having Catholic schools in existence today?

Thomas Groome, a professor in Theology and Religious Education at Boston College gives a very interesting synopsis of the essence of Catholic schools. He describes this in a series of books, including “What Makes Education Catholic?” I believe that his writings describe the key elements Catholic schools like Marist are trying to incorporate in the education they provide. Groome speaks of five cornerstone aspects of the Catholic school – anthropology, sacramentality, community, rationality and tradition. I believe that this description gives us some insight regarding that which is quintessential to a Catholic school and as a consequence the ability of Catholic school students and graduands to positively reflect upon the many conversations and debates which exist in Australia and the world today. I have taken the liberty of summarising these elements below. In essence, Groome describes the world and God existing together in unity. I commend Thomas Groome’s writing to you all.

Anthropology - the understanding that each student is formed in God’s own image and likeness. We are made for God, require God’s love, are to develop our God given gifts to the fullest and to live in the hope of God’s love for each of us.
Sacramentality – We need to be sacramentally conscious. That is, we are to experience God in the ordinary and the everyday. Our God is more than what we can see – the still, the quiet, in prayer, grandeur, design and the ordinary. We need to engage deeply in the presence of God in all things.
Community – we are made and created by God to love. We find our true selves in relationship with others. Being socially responsible for the common good is finding our true selves. We need to reflect on what we do – prayer, retreats, reflections… We need to be welcoming, respectful, hospitable, community orientated people.
Rationality – rationality and education have always been hallmarks of Catholic education. Faith and culture go hand in hand. We prepare students to dialogue, question, critically think and develop informed consciences. Students are not taught what to think. Faith and reason go hand-in-hand. Much of the intellectual rise of the world grew out of Catholicism, including the earliest schools in Australia.
Tradition – enable students to encounter Jesus through the scriptures and traditions of the Church. The Church has continued to understand, live and articulate the faith over time – there is much to learn from this. Schools enable students to learn from the faith, the past, the saints, the people and the traditions. Studying the scriptures helps us acquire what we need to do in life and enables students to encounter God in prayer, service and formation.

God of the journey, may all the young men of Marist receive a Catholic education in its fullness, enabling them to find unity between the world and you. Amen.

Academic Assembly

Marist College Ashgrove welcomes back our 10 Senior 2021 graduands who received an ATAR over 99. Congratulations gentleman:

Hugh Torpie (Dux) – ATAR 99.90
Alex Pitman (Proximae Accessit) – ATAR 99.80
Will Curr – ATAR 99.75
Jacob Anderson – ATAR 99.55
Samuel Garbellini – ATAR 99.55
Oli Vandenberg – ATAR 99.40
Leon Simonetti – ATAR 99.15
Will Waters – ATAR 99.15
Noah Wright – ATAR 99.05
Jacob Kumaru – ATAR 99.05

Together we will celebrate the very strong academic achievements of our 2021 graduands where 40% of the boys received an ATAR above 90. These boys have clearly demonstrated, to all present students, that with clear goals and dedication, combined with the dedicated teaching staff, excellent ATAR results can be achieved at Marist College Ashgrove. These excellent ATAR achievements follow our significant improvement in the 2021 NAPLAN results where we saw a 70% improvement in the achievement of student results in literacy and numeracy between Years 5 to 7 and Years 7 to 9. A continuation of these significantly improved academic results at Marist College Ashgrove will be a clear focus for the College in the years ahead. This academic assembly will conclude with an address by the 2021 Dux of the College, Hugh Torpie who achieved a score of 99.90. The College is very much looking forward to Hugh’s insights and tips into how to achieve such a result and your personal best.

I congratulate all boys who received an academic award for Semester 2, 2021. Boys will be recognised on achieving 6 A’s or 5 A’s. I refer you to next week’s curriculum section of this newsletter for full details and the recognition of each boy’s wonderful achievement.

Well done, gentlemen.

Rugby Skills Program

We are truly grateful to our many experienced and celebrated Old Boys who are returning to coach our Marist boys in rugby skills in Term 1. Each Wednesday morning from 6:30am – 8:00am, a number of generous Old Boys will meet on McMahon Oval to facilitate extra rugby skills for the boys. This is a wonderful opportunity and one we are most grateful for. A special thank you to Old Boy Pat Howard as the overall convenor of this coaching clinic for the boys. Dates for the clinic are February 16, 23 and March 2, 9, 16. Come along, gentlemen and develop your skills under the tutelage of our outstanding rugby Old Boys.

COVID-19 Update

We continue to implement our plans around a safe environment for the whole Marist College Family. If you have any COVID-19 symptoms, please stay home. Boys are to wear a mask indoors unless seated in the classroom. Boys are to keep a mask in their pockets. If a boy doesn’t have a mask, they can purchase one from the student administration office. Please ensure as visitors or when attending events that you use the QR code, wear a mask and have had two vaccinations. Parents are reminded to report to Administration and wear a mask when visiting the College. It is important to keep all members of the Marist College family safe and to remember that we have a boarding community living at the College. We will continue to ensure that all boys, staff and visitors to Marist are adhering to the COVID-19 safety regulations, as instructed by Queensland Health.

Each week, I will present the latest data on the number of students who have presented with COVID-19 at Marist College Ashgrove. Currently, there are 5 boarders, 3 staff members and 1 day student.

Welcome Return of the Boys

What a full and exciting first week back at the College! I do hope that all new boys are enjoying Marist and settling into the routines and making new connections and friends. Parents, don’t forget we are only an email away – all staff can be contacted on: surnamefirstinitial@marash.qld.edu.au - e.g. John Smith – smithj@marash.qld.edu.au

May I take this opportunity to thank our wonderful graduands from last year, our Year 13’s, for buddying with our new Year 7 students in Week 1, making them feel welcome, showing them around and explaining the ropes to them.

Thank you to Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg, Head of Middle School Curriculum and the IT Department, led by Mr Kevin Berry, for their rollout of the new Year 7 and 10 computers and facilitating the information evening.

Congratulations to Mr Derek Lennon and Mr John Lambourne for their organisation and facilitation of sport on Saturday. The 1st XI Cricket and 1st VI Volleyball commenced their season with strong wins on the weekend. The swimmers competed strongly in a home meet and the 1st XVIII AFL went down narrowly.

Well done Marist on a huge Week 1. Boys, keep getting involved and study hard.

P&F AGM

This Monday 21 February at 7:00pm, the Parents and Friends Association will meet for the first time in 2022. We invite all new parents and friends to the College and all past parents to attend. In these meetings, you will hear about the news of the College and all the ways you can be involved in the education of your son. It is also a great way to meet other parents and have your questions and queries answered. The committee is very active and one that all parents should be very proud of. This committee is responsible for parent functions and events, supporting College activities, sports canteen, the annual walkathon and support groups. Further, each year, the P&F funds many projects for the boys. Last year, the P&F funded the external painting of the Champagnat Centre and new fans on the mezzanine level. May I take this opportunity to thank the current committee: Mr Jim Gordon (President), Mr Paul Guy (Vice President), Ms Donna Lynn (Vice President), Mr Andrew Howse (Treasurer) and Ms Bethany Sharman (Secretary). Do come along and join us. Meetings are normally held in the Tower Function Room; however, this first meeting will be held online. Please click here to join the meeting. All dates are contained in the College calendar.

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