From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

To Make a Positive Difference

Forming young men who go out and make a positive difference to our world is a quintessential aim of Marist College Ashgrove. Central to a Marist education, is for young men to witness those Christian Marist qualities of modesty, humility, simplicity, care, compassion, generosity of heart, being truly present to others, always being ready to roll up one's sleeves for the good of others and possessing an innate sense of the spiritual through the eyes and heart of Mary.

On our social media platforms, we proudly share the stories of our Old Boys as role models for the boys. Here is one such admirable story. Interestingly, both Marist College, Ashgrove and St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill (our brother Marist College in Sydney) proudly claim Old Boys associated with two of the most successful and world-renowned educators of young children –– "Bluey" and "The Wiggles". Both these TV shows reflect worthy values and wholesome ideals. From time to time, you hear about the little extras these Old Boys do to make a difference to the world. Last week, the staff at Royal Melbourne Hospital's specialist adult intensive care unit approached The Wiggles to aid a COVID-19 patient, Sarah Kelly. Sarah is 22 and has down syndrome. Although she is young, Sarah was not as resilient to the virus as some other young people, so she was extremely ill and very anxious. On request from her nurse, The Wiggles completed a video with Dorothy the Dinosaur to illustrate in a fun and light-hearted way, how to wear a pulse oximeter or in Wiggles speak – "The red glowing thing" on your finger to monitor vital signs. They then demonstrated how to wear a high-flow nasal cannula to undertake deep breaths, cough and clear the chest. Having watched her favourite TV characters demonstrate how to use these life-saving devices, Sarah overcame her anxiety and trepidation of these life-saving treatments. She then more readily accepted the encouragement and instruction of medical staff and by August 13, Sarah had recovered so well that she was able to leave ICU.

As educators, there is nothing more satisfying than to know that you have been a part of an education system that has formed future graduands who are quite simply, good Christian people, who go out into the world and make a difference. Fundamentally, such outstanding qualities are naturally developed through the example of their parents and family but together in partnership, Marist College Ashgrove attempts to 'rubber-stamp' and re-emphasise the good values you teach your son at home. Through our Student Welfare Program (ASH), Religious Education classes, retreats, camps, subtle messages at assemblies, guest speaker presentations and the witness of staff, we encourage the young men in our care to be better people for all humanity.

God of the journey, may all the young men of Ashgrove embrace your Marist qualities throughout their lives, making a positive difference to our world. Amen.

COVID-19 Restrictions Eased

I summarise the latest updated easing of restrictions for the Marist College Community:

Parents/visitors are allowed back on the school site – adhering to mask-wearing regulations
Boarding students do not need masks in their residences. They must adhere to the 1.5-metre rule or wear masks outside their residence
Masks are to be worn by students and teachers in classrooms, for the next week
Indoors and outdoors, the 1.5-metre rule exists or wear a mask
Assemblies and large gatherings are allowed – masks to be worn where 1.5-metre rule cannot be adhered to safely
External Year 12 exams will commence one day early - transferring Friday 29 October (now a public holiday) exams (Economics and music) to this first day – Friday 22 October.
External providers are allowed on campus – adhering to mask-wearing regulations
Borders closed to NSW

My sincere thanks are extended to all boys, staff and the wider Marist College family for your flexibility and efforts as we have addressed the COVID-19 delta outbreaks.

Additional Year 7 Class for 2022

Due to high interest and demand, I am pleased to announce an additional class of boys in Year 7 in 2022. We are excited that the College has the resources and capacity to make this happen. We are happy to be offering the opportunity for 25 extra boys and their families to join the Marist family. The process will involve us waiting until the end of Term 3 (three weeks) for any additional enrolments before we shortlist these new applicants and our current waiting list. Interviews will commence shortly after. I encourage families who know of boys who have shown interest in a position at the College, to submit an application within the next three weeks. I expect these positions will be decided early in Term 4. For more information on the application and process to follow, contact Alice Wilson, College Registrar: enrol@marash.qld.edu.au

Outstanding Academic Achievements – Maths for Young Australians and EVATT: Model UN Competition

The Maths for Young Australians Program is a high-level Australia-wide mathematics competition that challenges students to solve different complex problem sets. Secondary students attempt six problems, each problem having several parts which may take some time to solve. Students individually write up their own solutions for each problem.

Congratulations to the following students who received high distinctions in the Maths for Young Australians Program in 2021:

Oliver Gordon – Year 10
Roman Ah Loy – Year 10
Harrison Dyer – Year 9
Ashley Kani – Year 9

In achieving a High Distinction, our boys have ranked in the top percentile of performers across Australia. Well done gentleman.

EVATT Queensland is the state's round of the EVATT Trophy – Australia's largest, oldest, and most prestigious debating and diplomacy competition, with over 2000 students competing from every State and Territory in Australia. Participation in this competition places Queensland students from Years 9-12 in the shoes of UN Security Council representatives. This is an opportunity for students to garner a deeper understanding of global issues, and train themselves in the skills they need for active citizenship. Success in the Queensland round can lead to a spot on the Queensland delegation to the EVATT National Finals.

Congratulations are extended to Joseph Lewis – Year 10 and Jaspar Driml - Year 11

who have progressed to State Finalists in the EVATT – Model UN Competition.

Thank you to the Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator, Ms Majella Stevens, who has directed and provided these boys with these wonderful opportunities.

Harrison Dyer, Ashley Kani, Roman Ah Loy, Oliver Gordon with Michael Newman (Head of College) in a socially distanced photo.

Joseph Lewis, Jaspar Driml with Michael Newman (Head of College) in a socially distanced photo.

Retreats for Year 9 and 10

Best wishes to our Year 9 boys who will be undertaking their annual retreat this Thursday 26 August, and Year 10 boys this Friday 27 August with Mr Michael Fitzpatrick. Michael is a most talented retreat director with many years of experience presenting religion, spirituality and life's journey to Queensland students in a most engaging and relevant manner. The Year 9 retreat will focus on the present spirit of the boys as a cohort and the qualities they admire in others. The Year 10 retreat focuses on what hinders the boys from living their life to the fullest and offers each boy reflection time on the personal changes they would like to make within themselves. I wish all boys a wonderful reflective retreat and I thank our Head of Mission, Mr Luke McMahon for organising these retreats for the boys. Enjoy, gentlemen.

OPTIMUS Breakfast

This Wednesday 25 August the College will be celebrating the outstanding efforts of our Year 12 Gold Optimus award winners for Unit 3. We hope to recognise other year groups next year, post COVID-19 restrictions. Congratulations:

Jacob Anderson, Nate Armitage, Jaxon Barwell, Max Bonasia, Jamie Bowden, Lachlan Britcliffe, William Curr, Matthew Duff, Sam Garbellini, Finn Hooper, Will Jennings, Sam Keogan, Oliver King, Jacob Kumaru, Nathan McKarzel, Julian Murphy, Finbar O'Donnell , Connor Petterson, Josh Pignolet, Alex Pitman, Leon Simonetti, Hugh Torpie, Oliver Vandenberg, William Waters, Sam Watts

To address the boys and present them with their much-deserved certificates and badges, we welcome to the College, Professor Ian Frazer. Professor Frazer is an immunologist who is renowned for co-developing and patenting (with Jian Zhou) the basic technology behind the HPV vaccine against cervical cancer at The University of Queensland. We are very honoured to have Professor Ian Frazer's presence and very much look forward to his address. I thank our Head of Senior School Curriculum, Ms Jennifer Smeed for organising this breakfast and presentation for the boys. Well done gentlemen on your academic progress to date.

Year 12 Trial Examinations

Best wishes to our Year 12 boys who will be undertaking their trial ATAR external examinations, starting Friday 27 August and concluding Friday 3 September. These trials are vital in the overall preparation of the boys as they now progress towards their important external examinations. The weighting for the external examinations is 50% for mathematics and science subjects and 25% for all other subjects. These examinations, and the formative feedback to follow, will provide the boys with their focus for learning and revision in the remaining weeks ahead. The ATAR external examinations commence on Friday 22 October (Term 4, Week 3, Friday). I wish all boys the best of luck with their future studies and preparation.

Year 10 Immunisations

The second round of the Year 10 immunisations will be undertaken on Tuesday 31 August. These immunisations are for Meningococcal. I thank Peter Serone and Kelly Byrnes for organising this immunisation opportunity. The School Immunisation Program is facilitated by Oz Care who administers the vaccine to the boys.

Australian Representative

Jackson Grounds and Michael Newman (Head of College)

Congratulations to Jackson Grounds who continues to excel in baseball. From a previous newsletter, earlier in the year, Jackson was selected for the Queensland Baseball team. Further to this, he has now recently been selected in the U18 Australian Baseball World Cup Team. This team is hoping to gain a berth in the 2022 World Championships. Good luck, Jackson.

Marist College Ashgrove 2021 Parent Survey

As a new Head of College, I have attempted in 2021 to listen carefully to feedback from all members of the Marist family in relation to the College. With continuous improvement as our goal, I wish to provide opportunities for current parents (Years 5 to 12) to provide us with feedback relating to their views of the College across a wide range of areas.

This feedback questionnaire is being conducted by MMG Education, a specialist education consultancy company that works with schools in the areas of school strategic reviews and stakeholder satisfaction. MMG's client schools include many schools across Australia.

Parents will be invited to complete questionnaires over a 2-week period commencing on Friday 27 August 2021.

On Friday 27 August 2021, MMG Education will email you an invitation to participate in the review and provide you with your confidential, secure access to your questionnaire.

To ensure confidentiality and to encourage frank and full expression of views:

All responses will be de-identified
The data will be reported back in aggregated form only
All data collected by MMG Education will remain under its control and archived according to research protocols. The College will not be able to access it

At the conclusion of the research period, MMG Education will provide me with a report. I will then provide opportunities for members of the College community to receive feedback from the research.

If you have any questions regarding the project, please contact Bethany Halpin, Community Engagement Officer at halpinb@marash.qld.edu.au. I look forward to the valuable contribution you will be making to this important project by completing your questionnaire. This review will allow me, as the new Head of College, to listen and respond to the feedback of all parents and/or carers.

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