From the Acting Head of College

Mr Charles Brauer

A Palm Frond in Time

I was greeted by a single palm frond. My mind shifted. My mind moved away from the staff meeting talking points in my hand. My mind moved to the very essence of what our shared purpose should and could be during this Lenten period. We have been called to focus on all that truly matters. Love. The single palm frond was a mile-marker of where we find ourselves, not only chronologically at Palm Sunday and a week before Easter Sunday, but where we find ourselves in the metaphor of Easter.

Our Catholic faith is rich with metaphor, and in turn, rich in infinite wisdom. It doesn’t get much better than the wisdom wrapped up in the story and message of Holy Week - last Sunday's Palm Sunday to this week's Easter Sunday. The Jesus story and accompanying metaphor of being joyously embraced by others, only to be then betrayed by then same community, to then also be denied and banished by the same, is as confronting today as it was confronting for Jesus millennia ago.

How have you been confronted by betrayal, denial and banishment in your life?

Articulating the story, meaning and theology of Holy Week and Easter to young people is challenging, to say the least. We'll do our best before heading off on school holidays at our Holy Thursday Liturgy. This liturgy will provide our Marist Family with this opportunity by centering on the concept of betrayal, denial and the stifling of life. Most importantly we'll consider how when we let go of these negatives, we can grow anew. Grow towards love.

From Easter Sunday, we'll experience 7 weeks of the Easter Season (Yes, 7 weeks, but zero chocolate!). The wisdom of the Easter story give us hope and new life. Be it as offender or as sufferer of betrayal or denial, we are called to live anew. We are called to greater love through our relationships and actions - to make a difference for peace, compassion and justice for others.

Mothers' Retreat

On Sunday 24 March, 18 Marist Mums came together to "Breathe the Spirit of Life" in our second Marist Mother's Retreat. Participants were encouraged to understand the Holy Spirit as God's presence in the world, recognsing its wisdom, healing and beauty. This retreat was facilitated by our very own Br Neville Solomon and offered the opportunity to discover the way the spirit is revealed through relationships. Thank you to our Marist mums and to Br Neville for sharing these gifts.

Learning and Teaching

Our final Term 1 exams for students have occurred in recent days, coupled with many other assessment items being submitted in the past few weeks. Results and feedback on these tasks will be available to students and parents this Thursday. Conversations regarding your sons progress is highly encouraged Parent-Teacher-Student Interview bookings available until tomorrow, for the meetings on Monday 15 April. These meetings are a vital component with ensuring the integrity of our triad partnership - Parent-Teacher-Student. A reminder that this first day of Term 2 will be a Student Free Day, with students strongly encouraged to attend the interviews.

Next week will see the long-awaited French tour to New Caledonia take place. 23 Year 8 and 9 students with staff members Lucia Del Vecchio, Scott Minogue & Julie Ward will spend a week engaging with French culture, language and cuisine! We look forward to enriching our French education program by hosting students and staff from Sainte-Marie, Lyon in April, with possibilities of the experience being reciprocated for our students being explored.

Student Formation - "The Better Relationship Project"

Today, our Year 7 students joined with Year 7 students from Mt St Michael's College in a "The Better Relationship Project" workshop facilitated by Empowerment Education. The workshop's aims were to equip our students with essential skills for fostering healthy relationships. The fundamental elements of friendship, respect, and boundaries, with a specific emphasis on understanding different perspectives were explored. Our students were guided through discussions on very important topics including navigating technology responsibly, handling exposure to unwanted content, and understanding the dynamics of connecting with peers of the opposite gender. Thank you to Josh Kersevani (Pastoral Leader - Middle School) for organising today's workshop and connecting with our neighbouring Mt St Michael's College community through Ms Sian Mason (MSM Dean of Student Wellbeing). It was great to see our students work together on such relevant and important topics.

Co-Curricular

Our Rugby and Football programs commenced in full flurry last weekend with internal and external trials. It was great to see our community gather on the sidelines, under the trees and in the grandstand to support our young men. A healthy competitive spirit was palpable across the day, with many happy faces post-game. These large sport programs will host holiday camps in the second week of the break.

The Year 5 cohort of 2024 will perform their musical production of ‘Joust’ tomorrow night. Our budding performers will create a world where all weapons are replaced by musical instruments! See the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table like you've never seen or heard it before! Complete with jousting knights, delightful damsels, and court jesters, is an event not to be missed. Thank you to our wonderful Music Department for their preparation and facilitation of this event.

The Marist Basketball Carnival is underway at the Gold Coast, with our First V strongly commencing the four day carnival of Marist schools form around Australia. We look forward to the sideline commentary and live updates provided by Basketball Coordinator John Lambourne.

We hosted over 1000 students from boarding schools across south-east Queensland on Sunday at the Boarding Schools Touch Football Tournament. The rain didn't dampen spirits, with our ovals abuzz with young women and men giving their best for their school. A special thank you to Mr Blair Whitlock (Boarding Recreation Officer) for his energy and commitment in leading this great opportunity for many young people.

Farewell and Well Wishes

As is the case at this time of term we bid a fond farewell to some staff. In particular, we took some time together as staff to thank and celebrate long serving staff who have made the decision to take the next step in their life journey. Whilst these staff have recently been on leave, we welcomed back and bid a fond farewell to Megan Wandell, Madonna Spillane and Lucy Hislop and celebrated their dedicated service of 37, 24 and 17 years respectively. Each, in their unique way, have served our College for these extensive periods, offering quality teaching, collegiality and friendship to countless students, staff, parents and community members. Through their diligent, dedicated service and generous sharing of their gifts through their vocations, they have left an indelible mark on our Marist Family.

Additionally, Marist College Ashgrove would like to acknowledge the contribution of Fred van den Brink, who has decided to resign from his position as a teacher at the College. Fred has been a respected secondary teacher at Marist College Ashgrove for over 34 years, first commencing at the College in January 1990. During that time, he has taught Mathematics in Years 7 to 12, and also been involved in co-curricular activities including Volleyball and Football. Fred's notable achievements at Marist College Ashgrove have included:

being the Co-ordinator of Football for the secondary school for 19 years.
being the Co-ordinator of Volleyball in the 1990s for nearly 10 years.
acting as hurdling coach for the athletics squad during the 1990s.
long-standing support of student learning with conducting afternoon mathematics tutorials,
serving at the BBQ for the Homeless to support our Mission and Ministry, and
being an experienced and proficient teacher

Fred has been a valued staff member at Marist College Ashgrove and played an important role in educating our students. We thank him for his contribution during his period of service and wish him well in his future endeavours.

Belatedly, we also congratulate Terry Quain on his recent appointment to a teaching position at Mt St Michael’s College. The College is very grateful for Terry’s service teaching our students. We wish Terry the very best with this new position.

Thank you to staff who have done a great job replacing staff whilst on leave. To Andre Bossel, Susan Nabbs, David Hustwayte and Yorker Williams, thank you for your generous and expert contributions to the learning and teaching programs of the College in Term 1.

We will provide opportunity for our students to farewell all staff at Thursday's Easter Liturgy.

Condolences and Prayers

Our prayers are extended to the family and friends of the Taylor family as the cope with the passing of Old Boy Alan 'Alby' Taylor (1949). Alan was a local Ashgrove resident, spending all his schooling in the Ashgrove and Rosalie area. Alan’s loyal attachment to Marist College Ashgrove was deeply instilled through his school years and beyond. He was the 2018 recipient of the Arthur Apelt Memorial Service Award – awarded to an Old Boy for their valuable lifetime contributions to Marist College Ashgrove and The Old Boys’ Association. In addition to the College and the Old Boys’ Association, Alan gave so much of his time to the St Vincent de Paul Society, the game of rugby, the Church and the community at large. Alan’s funeral will be held on Wednesday 27 March at 1.30pm – St Finbarr’s Catholic Church Ashgrove.

May the perpetual light shine on Alan and may he rest in peace, Amen.

Oscar Romero (Archbishop of San Salvador) committed his life to enacting the call of Easter. He fought tirelessly in his work as a human rights advocate and ally of social justice, particularly for the people of his nation, El Salvador. His final words while presiding over his final mass form a fitting message for us to reflect upon on this Holy Thursday, as we prepare for the joy of Easter.

“Whoever offers their life out of love for Christ, and in service to others, will live like the seed that dies…..

May this immolated body and…..sacrificed for all nourish us so that we may offer our body and blood as Christ did, and thus bring justice and peace to our people. Let us join together, then, in the faith and hope of this intimate moment of prayer.