From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Pain and Joy Intertwined this Easter

As we approach Easter, the quintessential feast day of the Church’s calendar, we reminisce the events of Holy Week - Jesus praying in the garden, his final remembrance meal with his friends, enduring his final long journey carrying a cross and his suffering - mocking, crowning, scourging and nailing to this cross and eventually death. We particularly recall three days, Good Friday to Easter Sunday - of loneliness, darkness, and suffering, leading into the ultimate joy of the resurrection, promised to each one of us at our own death. As Christians, it is an important time of reflection and a reminder that our lives will also mirror that of Jesus - suffering and joy throughout our lives, in large and small ways.

Jesuit Priest, Fr Brian Stony, worked with the homeless and addicted people of the inner streets of Sydney for many years. For 40 years, he embodied and fought for a commitment to the poor that was based on sharing their lives. In his initial conversion to the poor, through his early contact with the Matthew Talbot Hostel, Fr Brian recognised that reflection on the plight of the poor must begin in accompaniment, and that the poor are teachers, not topics. Fr Brian became well known for providing constant meals, a friendly ear and being guest to the lives of street people who dropped into his homes at Redfern and Surry Hills. Many young people resonated with him and joined him.

In his reflections on Holy Week, Fr Brian describes the three special days of suffering to joy – Good Friday to Easter Sunday. He spoke of the importance of not separating suffering and joy in our lives, or the need to get rid of suffering to know joy. Fr Brian believes that suffering and joy go hand-in-hand. He tells the following story that he witnessed on a train in the middle of busy Sydney, which emphasises the reality of living this “Good Friday” and “Easter Night” experience as a whole, and not as two separate events:

The other day. I was sitting on a train as it came to a stop at Town Hall Station in Sydney. Behind me was a mini commotion. Into the carriage piled this very big woman of about 55 carrying half-a-dozen plastic bags full of shopping. It was a very hot day, and she was really puffing. She almost fell into the seat. But there were two people. In the rush and rumble from door to seat, this woman, with the shopping in one hand, had her other arm entwined around a man. This man was about 30 and he was severely handicapped: his legs went in all directions and his head twitched and rolled around on his shoulders while his face was quite distorted. Somehow, they piled onto the seat opposite me, and she proceeded to disentangle herself from the man and drop her shopping bags. Then, this red-faced, puffing, very big woman looked up at us with a big smile and said, with her arm around this man, holding him erect: "This is my son - isn't he lovely!" I (and I'm sure my seat companions) saw mess, distortion, suffering - How does she cope? She saw (while living in the pain of it all - note that it wasn't separate) beauty, pride, dignity in her son - a reason for gratitude. She is Mary at the foot of the Cross. She is a woman of the Resurrection. That woman lives the reality of God-at-one-with-all-that-is human: Jesus.

God of love, witnessed so powerfully at Easter, embrace all humans and all members of the Marist College Ashgrove family in their joint pain and joy of each day. May we, in turn, reach out and accept your loving embrace in our suffering and acknowledge the joy you promise this Easter. Amen.

Exams, Assessments and Reporting

My thanks are extended to all teaching staff who are working hard to complete all marking and reporting by the end of the term. Boys in Years 5-10 have now finished their assessments and exams and their results and all comments will be on the parent portal by the evening of Friday 31 March. A reminder to all parents that assessments can be found live on the parent portal during any given term once your son has completed his work and it has been marked and moderated. This up-to-date and timely reporting of your son’s progress will keep you highly informed before you receive his summative reports at the end of semester one or two for Years 5–10 and at the end of each unit for Years 11 and 12. If you have any questions regarding reporting, please email curriculum@marash.qld.edu.au. I thank our Curriculum Team and all Middle Curriculum Leaders for their organisation and leadership of each individual boy’s assessment, exams and reporting.

Easter Liturgy

On the last day of term, Friday 31 March from 1:00pm to 1:50pm, Marist College Ashgrove will be holding an Easter Liturgy for all boys. During this liturgy, the boys will have the opportunity to reflect upon the solemn events of Jesus’ suffering, death and resurrection. This will be held in the Champagnat Centre, and parents are welcome to attend. We trust that this ceremony will also be a reminder to all boys to attend their local churches and to spend time in prayer during this central time in the Church’s calendar. My thanks are extended to the Mission team led by Anna Nasr (Head of Mission) who have organised this meaningful liturgy for the boys.

Term 1 Sports Dinner

We look forward to gathering our senior teams and coaches to celebrate a successful Term 1 sporting season, in this the 25th Anniversary of the AIC Competition. Congratulations to the Marist College 1st XI Cricket team and 1st XVIII AFL team who were premiers and co-premiers for 2023. Well done also to the Marist Swimming team who were close runners-up and the 1st VI Volleyball team who were placed third.

A dinner will be held to recognise all these teams on Wednesday 29 March at the Queensland Cricketers Club. Our special guest for the evening is Andrew Grant who is a Marist Old Boy, Australian Volleyball player and twice Olympian. My thanks are extended to our senior team coaches - Mr Michael Abbott, Mr Tom Gibson – 1st XI Cricket, Ms Scarlett Rudder, Mr Adam Knight – 1st VI Volleyball, Mr Matt Beattie, Mr Brett Gillett, Mr Andrae Mackay – 1st XVIII AFL, Mr James Boyce, Mr Damien Bromley - Swimming team and to our generous and organised sports team of Mr Derek Lennon (Head of Sport), Mr John Lambourne (Primary Head of Sport), Mr Corey Lucas, Mr Mitch Reid and Mr Adam Earnshaw. Congratulations on your success and particularly the way you have conducted yourselves this term, gentlemen.

Vaping Education

A State Government Parliamentary Inquiry will investigate the availability and prevalence of vaping devices – particularly among younger Queenslanders – and the health risks associated with e-cigarettes. Ultimately, the Inquiry will aim to allow Queenslanders to be better armed and educated with information about any potential dangers associated with vaping so we can see continued declines in smoking rates.

At Marist College Ashgrove we are taking a number of educational measures to educate our boys on vaping – these are as follows: we have signed on with Paul Dillon, Drug and Research Training Australia who includes vaping as part of his presentation to Years 10–12 students and a parent presentation, House Meetings, College and Year Assembly presentations on vaping education, Year 8 ASH program where lessons on the dangers of vaping and related concerns are discussed and Junior HPE lessons as outlined in the new Australian Curriculum, Version 9.

We look forward to working with the Queensland State Government, other jurisdictions, and secondary schools to implement further vaping educational resources and lessons to our boys.

Marist Debating

In 2023, the Marist Debating Program has registered a record number of Year 7 and Year 8 debating teams with the Queensland Debating Union. The Round 1 results reflect the exceptional commitment of coaches and teams to thoroughly prepare for the topic. Marist 7.2; 7.3 and 8.1 and 8.2 were awarded convincing wins and very positive feedback by the adjudicators. The Year 12.1 team also had a convincing win in their first-round debate against St James College. Moving forward, all coaches have been committed to engaging the boys in robust intellectual conversations with the aim of improving debaters’ ability to rebut their teams’ cases on the night.

My thanks are extended to all our debating coaches, namely: Stewart Moore, Maddie Spann, Lena Crowley, Jo Howe, Patrick Denkes, James Walton, Charlie Taylor, Kathryn Badini, and Ben Hunter.

We look forward to further growth and success in debating throughout 2023 – good luck gentlemen.

Easter Holidays and Term 2

I trust that all boys and families have a relaxing and holy Easter. I trust that the break is a chance to recharge batteries and enjoy time with family and friends.

Term 2 commences on Tuesday 18 April.

A reminder that all boys are to be dressed in full, well-fitted and cared-for winter uniforms to commence the term. Years 5, 11 and 12 will be in the College blazers. All boys are reminded to wear their formal hats to and from school.

A reminder also that the first annual parent-teacher interviews for 2023 will be held on Monday 17 April from 11:00am-5:00pm (face to face – Years 5 - 6 classrooms and Years 7-12 Champagnat Centre) and online from 3:40pm-8:00pm on Thursday 27 April.

See you all for a busy and exciting Term 2 upon return.

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