Boarding News

Last Thursday night, our Year 12 boarders had a special dinner in the Champagnat Centre with their families to celebrate their journey as boarders at the College. This coincided with the last night in the boarding house for this senior cohort. It was an emotional night, fuelled by the bonds formed from living together since they first arrived several years ago from all parts of Australia and overseas. The boys have shared the highs and the lows, including two years of COVID-19 interruptions. But their unity and mateship was very evident at this special time, as was their pride in the school. We wish the Year 12 boarders of 2022 well in all their future endeavours.  

We also celebrated our last Mass as a boarding community on Sunday night. Participating in the ritual of this weekly service is integral to our faith as a Marist School and we are very grateful to Fr Alatini for saying Mass each Sunday and Mrs McLean who supports us with the smooth running of the services. 

As we reach the end of a busy year, I’d like to acknowledge and thank our boarding staff, in particular our coordinators Anthony Mathison, Ben Maddox, Pierce Hardy, Ty Casey, Josh Mulligan, Tim Sedgwick and Camilla Sedgwick. Their commitment to the role and to the boys is outstanding. I also extend my thanks to Jane O’Shea and the Health Centre team, our Boarding Recreation Officer Blair Whitlock, Nathan Ayre and the catering team and to Les Brown and Heather Ryan who look after the boarders’ laundry. Special thanks also to Renae Lewis (PA to the Head of Boarding) and Erin Livingstone (Boarding Receptionist) who have helped me through my first year in the role and in so many ways have assisted the smooth running of our boarding program in 2022.

I would also like to extend my thanks to the parents and guardians of our boarders for their trust in the school to provide a home away from home for their sons. Boarding is a very special part of Marist College Ashgrove and I thank our families for their unique contribution to our community. I wish all families a happy and safe holiday period and all the blessings of the Christmas season.

Year 12 Boarding Dinner Gallery

Boarding Rec - Mr Blair Whitlock

It was another busy weekend to round out the rec program for the year. The Year 8 boys cooked up a beautiful BBQ by the grandstand on Friday afternoon before setting off to Eat Street alongside several other boarding schools. The boys bring all sorts of bizarre food back with them and the most interesting purchase this time was a bag of “The Worlds Hottest Chips” and after eating roughly ½ a chip I can confirm they are extremely spicy!

Many boys were taking the chance to get extra study in during the weekend which led to a quiet Saturday morning around the dorms. We opened the pool up in the afternoon before heading down to the Southbank cinemas for the new Black Panther movie. There were wide-ranging reviews with some boys sleeping for large sections and others hanging on every scene. Either way, it was a marathon three hours and we were all ready for a kip afterwards!

The final rec activity of the year was a classic trip up to Mooloolaba beach. The weather was looking a little ominous but we were lucky in the end and treated to sunshine throughout. Most of the Brisbane boarding schools were in attendance so it was a great chance for the boys to catch up with many friends before the summer break. Our new skimboards and some big dumping waves led to a few wipe-outs but everyone had a great day and there were plenty of tired bodies on the way home.

It’s been a great year on the Boarding Reception front with the majority of the boys getting stuck into the program. I’ve recently done a survey with the boys and taken plenty of their feedback onboard as we start planning our term calendar for 2023. There’s a lot to be excited about for the coming year and we look forward to hitting the ground running in Term 1!