From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

The Marist Gifts We Live

Last weekend, I travelled with the Assistant Head of College Boarding - Mr Jim Noble, to meet with our present parents, Old Boys and prospective boys from Papua New Guinea. Marist College Ashgrove boasts a wonderful relationship with Papua New Guinea students and families over many decades. At present, three old boys are representatives in parliament and many others in leadership roles throughout the country. In conversations with parents and Old Boys, conversations typically were directed to the pride they had at being associated, educated and developed in the qualities and gifts of a Marist man. They spoke proudly of enabling these characteristics to be part of who they are and how they act, to develop these Marist qualities of doing good quietly like Mary, working hard and living with the spirit of humility, simplicity and modesty.

One of the parents from PNG who is also an Old Boy told me, “Our boys don’t realise the gifts you develop as a Marist man, but they will come to discover this value when they are older.”

Sunday’s Gospel reading Wisdom 6:12-16 reminds us of the importance of gaining “wisdom” or “insight”. Pope Francis talks about the importance of gaining wisdom so that each individual can develop and nurture their own sense of the spiritual and in turn, live life with Christian values as the focus.

“If we listen to the Holy Spirit, He will teach us this way of wisdom, and will give us the wisdom to see through God’s eyes, to hear with God’s ears, to love with the heart of God, to judge with God’s judgement. We must always walk in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, always trying to live in an irrepressible way.”

And so it is, the values and ethos that is instilled in each Marist graduate stay with you for life, becoming part of who you are, how you behave and how you interact as Christians to your fellow neighbours.

Loving God, may each young man and all members of the Marist College family, gain wisdom and insight to best live and nurture the Marist gifts. Amen

As We Approach the End of the Year

Term 4 concludes for Boarding students on Wednesday 22nd November at 3:00pm. Day students conclude the term on Thursday 23rd November at 3:00pm. Boarding students have a travel day on Thursday 23 November. It is an expectation that all boys attend classes until this date and time. A lengthy and much deserved Christmas holiday period will follow subsequently.

The boys will complete their final assessments and examinations for the year between Tuesday 14th and Tuesday 21st November. The Year 11 boys are undertaking their first important summative piece of assessment contributing towards their ATAR grade in 2024. Reports for all students at the College, except Year 12, will be available on the parent portal on Friday 1st December. The next few weeks are an important time of teaching and learning for the boys as they round off their studies, revision and learning for the year. We trust that all boys will be completing their work fully and to a high standard up to and including the last day of term.

Year 5 and 6 Marist Drama Concerts

Congratulations to our Year 5 and 6 Drama students who performed at their respective end of year concerts in Lessons 1 and 2 on Monday for their peers, and Monday evening for parents. Each group performed a one hour show in the Draney Theatre, where they displayed the skills acquired over the course of the year such as improvisation, characterisation, play building, movement, storytelling and stagecraft. Year 5 performed a selection of poems and the play ‘True Detective: The case of the Fairytale Capers.’ With performances starring dragons, killer bees, talking cows and bikie nuns. Year 6 presented a gala variety of performances with a selection of poems, skits and freeze frames which entertained the audience. There were colourful characters brought to life by the boys including an epic game of Rugby with a surprising guest, Freddie Locke, the boy who swears, a sinister trip to the zoo as well as a special guest appearance by none other than the caped crusader, Batman.

My thanks to Mrs Louise Marshall - Drama Instructor and Dr Andrew Butt – Program Leader the Arts for teaching, organising and preparing these wonderful opportunities for the boys.

Year 12 Graduation Ceremonies

All Year 12 boys are to be congratulated for their contribution to the College and achievements as they leave the gates of Marist for the final time. We look forward to acknowledging our Year 12 graduates this Thursday and Friday 16th and 17th November. Marist College Ashgrove will recognise each of our young men in the following respective graduation ceremonies:

Year 12 Boarding Family Dinner, Champagnat Centre – 6.00pm Thursday 16th November

Graduation Mass, Champagnat Centre – 9.00am Friday 17th November

Graduation Guard of Honour – 11.15am Friday 17th November (all welcome)

Graduation Ceremony, McMahon Oval – 12 noon Friday 17th November (all welcome)

Graduation Dinner, Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre – 6.00pm Friday 17th November

My thanks are extended to the following staff who have organised and will facilitate these important graduation events, namely: Mrs Ellen Kassulke, Mr Charles Brauer, Mrs Anna Nasr, Mr Peter Serone, Mrs Jenna Harding, Mrs Kelly Byrnes, Dr Andrew Butt and the Music Department, Mr Jack Johnson and the Tech Crew, and Mr Matt Tarlinton and our wonderful Services Team.

We wish all our Year 12 graduates every blessing and a wonderful life ahead. We trust they will make a positive difference to our world, post Marist College Ashgrove, as “good Christians and good citizens”. You will be greatly missed here at Marist! May our loving God walk always with each of our young men into the future.

Social Justice Initiatives

The social justice initiatives are well and truly alive and flourishing post-Covid. I list some of our exciting initiatives below:

The Stationery Aid MATES ministry continues on Friday mornings in the Mission office for the remainder of term 4 (for Years 5-9). All are asked to donate your quality second-hand stationery and give it an incredibly valued second life—don’t bin it at home! Donations can be placed in the Stationery Aid bin located outside the Studies office. For more information visit the Stationery Aid website: https://stationeryaid.org/

Game Changers continues to provide a comprehensive Catholic youth ministry program for the boys at Marist, from Years 7-12. The boys are invited to undertake various studies and activities across the six-year levels of their schooling. These are grounded in the stories of Jesus, Mary, and Marcellin.

The All Abilities Cricket Program began on Friday 3rd November. This program supports children with disability to develop cricket skills and have fun. Our committed Year 11 volunteers showed their support through some challenging weather events last week! An enjoyable experience is being had by all.

Marist College Ashgrove is supporting Treadlightly, a national recycling initiative that takes unwanted sport and active lifestyle footwear and responsibly recycles it to give it new life. Do you have shoes which look ready for the bin? Don’t throw them out! Drop them off at the Mission Office instead. For more information on this great initiative, visit: Tread Lightly – Together we can step into a better future (asga.com.au).

For all these social justice activities and others, I thank Mrs Anna Nasr – Assistant Head of College, Mission, Mrs Bec Wong, Mr Mikael Pitot, Mrs Clare Locke and Mrs Jenna Harding for their organisation and facilitation of these initiatives. Contact them for more details on how to be involved.

Visiting General Councillors

Marist College Ashgrove welcomed Marist Brothers - Ben Consigli and Josep Maria Soteras last Thursday. Both Brothers are General Councillors in Rome. Brother Ben is from the United States of America, and Brother Josep is from Spain. Both Brothers, with the Superior General of the Marist Brothers, Brother Ernesto Sanchez from Mexico, view and manage affairs and undertakings of the Marist Brothers worldwide.

Brothers Ben and Josep met with the College Leadership Team for lunch where we discussed our Strategic Plan and directions for Marist College Ashgrove into this exciting future. Then both Brothers joined me for a tour of the College facilities and meetings with staff. Finally, the Brothers gathered with our future leaders of the College - our Year 12 and Year 6 leaders for 2024. The Brothers really enjoyed the company of the boys, listening to their stories about Marist, and their hopes and dreams.