Primary School News

A Term of Reflection, Growth and Change

Welcome back to Term 3 in the Primary School. I hope your break was filled with warmth, rest, joy, and quality time together with family and friends. As we gather once again as a community, it’s wonderful to see the smiling faces, hear the excited voices and feel the renewed energy that the boys bring to a fresh term.

This term marks an important time for growth, both academically and personally. With Semester 1 behind us, we step forward with reflection, resilience, and a readiness to build on the learning we’ve already achieved. As Marists, we are called to approach each day with simplicity, modesty and humility and a commitment to one another - values we hope to continue to see flourish across our classrooms and playground areas in our Primary spaces.

Term 3 is traditionally a busy one, and I hope that all boys have found time to reflect on Semester 1 and have come back with renewed goals for the weeks that lie ahead of them. Our teachers are eager to start the boys on the road to success from today onwards. There are many opportunities for the boys to show their best efforts and participate in, throughout the term. One of these is our annual Walkathon which is being held on Sunday 10 August and all boys are asked to attend this important community event.

As mentioned in a previous newsletter, we also encourage parents and carers to continue partnering with us in the education of our boys. It’s through these connections that our young learners feel truly supported—both at home and in school—and know they are part of a caring community that believes in them and their potential to do amazing things.

It is with great joy that we welcome back Mrs Erin Kennedy to join us here in Primary reception. Erin has been on maternity leave during Semester 1 and will return to work on Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays to join Lauren Beck who will work on Mondays and Tuesdays in our Primary Office.  

I look forward to embracing all that Week 1 has to offer for our students, staff and parents here in the Primary School.

Primary Pastoral Leader – Anthony Graham 

Welcome Back to Term 3

We’re pleased to welcome all students and families back for what promises to be a purposeful and engaging Term 3 in the Primary School. It has been a smooth start, and it’s been pleasing to see the boys return with a strong sense of pride in their appearance and conduct.

Uniform Standards and Yard Hat Maintenance

The standard of uniform and grooming has been very strong overall. Most boys have returned with excellent haircuts and correct uniform. A small number have received reminders to ensure they are meeting College expectations. One item we will be monitoring more closely this term is the condition of yard hats, with some showing signs of fraying around the edges. Boys will be encouraged to take responsibility for the care of their hats - including learning to sew small repairs where necessary.

Lost Property and Responsibility

A reminder to please ensure that all items brought to school are clearly labelled with your son’s name. We’ve spoken to the boys about the importance of returning any misplaced items - particularly sports bags or uniform pieces - to their rightful place if they realise they’ve accidentally picked something up. Leaving items where they don’t belong significantly contributes to the volume of unclaimed lost property. Encouraging this small but important responsibility will go a long way in improving our processes.

Phone Use, Smartwatches, and Communication

During Tuesday morning’s assembly, we outlined an updated process regarding student phone use. Moving forward, if a student wishes to use the College phone, they will require a note in their diary from their teacher. This ensures phone use is purposeful and necessary, rather than for minor requests such as asking what’s for dinner. We see this as an opportunity to help build both resilience and accountability in our boys.

As a reminder, students are not permitted to use personal mobile phones or smartwatches during the school day to contact home. In accordance with our Primary Behaviour Matrix, any student found doing so will have their device confiscated and returned at the end of the day. If there is an urgent need to contact home, boys will always be supported to do so through the correct channels.

Looking Ahead

We are looking forward to a positive and rewarding term filled with opportunities for learning, creativity, and growth. Thank you for your continued support in reinforcing the expectations and values we hold in the Primary School.

Primary Learning Leader – Jen Little

Welcome back from what I hope has been a restful holiday for all. The holiday period was an opportunity for students to reflect on their efforts throughout Semester 1 and determine whether their effort fell above or below the bar. By now, you would have all had the opportunity to read your child’s report card. This is a snapshot of how students have performed across every subject undertaken. Hopefully, you will have discussed goals for improvement over this semester. 

Over the course of the next fortnight, I will be going into all classrooms to work with students on formalising these goals for this semester. We will create their own Academic Profiles and calculate their GPA (Grade Point Average). As I often say to students though, ‘a goal without a plan is merely a dream.’ Goals require hard work and vision. They are not something that can be achieved by chance. The illustration of the Iceberg Illusion to the right is a great visual that captures what needs to happen below the surface for a goal to reach reality. Student GPA’s are their own personal warning sign about their learning. Whilst this is an excellent message for students, it is not the only message of the Titanic disaster. 

The great irony of Titanic was that it was supposed to be the ‘unsinkable’ ship that failed on its maiden voyage. The Ocean Liner is an early example of preoccupation with perfectionism. Indeed, the whole intent of Titanic was to epitomise the most perfect model of a luxury passenger liner that was possible by the standards of 1912. Tragically, the belief in its perfection and invincibility would create a false sense of security which led to its fatal demise. There were two particular individuals who contributed to this significantly. One was the chairman and managing director of the White Star Line, Joseph Bruce Ismay. The other was the ship’s captain and British Naval Officer, Edward Smith. There were 3 main problems:

1. They prioritised early completion and speed above doing the job as it needed to be done.
2. They deprioritised important information and failed to react to the feedback received from multiple ships who’d warned of the need for caution.
3. They arrogantly assumed it was perfect and were incapable of admitting vulnerability. This led the ship to be under-prepared, carrying only 20 lifeboats which could only hold a third of the ship’s capacity.

In many ways the story of the Titanic is relevant to the boys in terms of their own learning journey. At times, speed and completion take priority over care and quality. At times, boys are reluctant to listen to and apply feedback, sometimes assuming they know better. 

As we commence a new term, I am looking forward to working with them on building better foundations to set them up for success. 

To this end, I would like to take this time to remind you of the many additional opportunities and resources that are being made available to the boys at Marist that remain under-utilised at the College:

• Supervised Morning Study – offered each morning to the boys from 8:00am to 8:30am.
• A multitude of One Note Resources made available to the students by their classroom teachers. These include videos and revision activities.
• Library Guides that offer the students additional reading on each of their core subject areas. 
• After school study and homework in the Senior Library on Mondays to Thursdays.

This term, I would like to challenge the Primary students to listen to their own warning signs and encourage them not to become complacent in their own learning. Feedback from their teachers is vital; what is more vital though, is that they take this feedback on board and use every resource available to maximise their learning. I look forward to working with your sons throughout the term. 

Year 6 Study Skills Presentation

Please note that the Year 6 Study Skills Presentation will commence at 6:30pm in the Cyprian Pavilion on the 29th of July. This evening is at full capacity and cannot accept any additional attendees beyond those who have already RSVP’d. Thank you in advance for your overwhelming support of this initiative.

Primary Sport - Mr John Lambourne

Achievements

Congratulations to Hamish McMahon (6G) and Anderson Wild (5G) who represented Brisbane Metro in the annual Timberjacks baseball tournament in Lismore over the holidays. The boys’ U12 team winning the tournament. There were 12 teams from Brisbane, Ipswich, Gold Coast and northern NSW that competed in the tournament.

Term 3 AIC Sport

The Term 3 sports on offer are Basketball, Rugby League and Tennis.

Please note that numbers are limited in each of these sports and that boys are only able to participate in one Term 3 AIC team sport.

Trial details will be published on the Parent Orbit App.

Boys may also choose to participate in track & field; boys of all abilities are welcome to attend track training sessions.

Basketball – Maximum 40 boys / grade

Uniform: Marist Basketball singlet, Marist Sport shorts & blue Marist Sport socks

Fixtures Friday evening. Training twice / week.

Tennis – Maximum 8 boys / grade

Uniform: Marist Tennis polo, Marist Tennis shorts & white Marist Sport socks

Fixtures Saturday morning – please be aware that there may be Friday evening fixtures in 2025. Training twice / week.

Rugby League – Maximum 30 boys Year 5 and 34 boys Year 6

Uniform: Marist rugby league jersey, Marist rugby shorts & Marist team sport socks

Fixtures Saturday morning. Training twice / week.

AIC Track & Field

There are 4 AIC T&F meets scheduled at the end of Term 3.

These meets are conducted as time trials for boys wishing to qualify for AIC Championships.

• Thursday, August 28
• Wednesday, September 3
• Thursday, September 11
• Wednesday, September 17

AIC Championships – Thursday, 9 & Friday, 10 October – QSAC.

Uniform: Marist Athletics singlet, Marist Sport shorts and white Marist Sport socks

Track and Field training begins in Term 3, T&F training is twice a week.

Boys wishing to be considered for AIC selection should also be aware that there will be training and meets conducted over the Term 3 holidays.

Sports Training and Clashes

With a myriad of opportunities on offer for the students, clashes are unavoidable but never a problem if communicated.

Families are reminded that cocurricular activities should not impede on any student’s academic performance.

If sports training clashes with music or morning tutoring it is asked that boys alternate from week to week.

Sports Photographs

We are always on the look-out for photos and action shots to be used for the Blue & Gold, other College publications, season or end-of-year wrap-ups etc. Please follow this link and add your photos.

Marist College Ashgrove Primary Sports Photos

Parent Orbit App

Please ensure that you download the Parent Orbit app to your smart phone. This app will be used to inform you of sporting fixtures, cancellations and bus arrival information.

Late Pick Up After Sports Training

“PLAN B”

It is important that both parent and student are aware of the pick-up procedure if afternoon sports training is cancelled or if parents are running late for pick-up. As soon as a decision is made to cancel a sporting fixture or training, a message is placed on the Parent Orbit app. If training is cancelled, boys can remain in the primary school or walk to an arranged pick-up point when the time arrives.

Afternoon sports training sessions are scheduled to finish by 4:45pm. We ask that boys are picked up at this time. Any boy who is still at their training venue at 5:00pm will be directed to the After Hours Boarding Reception area / College Health Centre so that he may be collected from there. After Hours Boarding Reception can be contacted on 07 3858 4619.

In the case of bus arrivals from external sporting venues, boys will be sent to After Hours Boarding Reception 15 minutes after the bus arrives back at the College. Parents are asked to collect their sons from this location.