From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Mothers Teach us the Gospel’s Single Commandment

We all know how important mothers are. Right from birth, mothers show us how to live and love. In fact, they teach us how to love before anything else. I was watching a new mother recently with her newborn and I particularly noticed how the child always kept the mother in her sight, and longed to be with her for comfort and assurance. We all have memories of our mothers but invariably, what we remember, are the loving actions our mothers gave us. For me, it was my mother cooking my favourite food, kneeling with me and teaching me to pray, endlessly sewing name tags onto my clothes each term when I was going back to boarding school, encouraging me to do well in my learning and exams and giving me advice when I needed it and understanding me. Mothers are undoubtedly the first to love us by deed and action, inevitably teaching us the importance of love.

It is interesting that on the 12th of May, we celebrate Mother's Day and at the same time, we are celebrating the 6th Sunday of Easter where in John's Gospel (15: 9-17) Jesus expresses his love for each one of us. In turn, he expects us to mirror this same love to others - his single commandment being to love one another. In fact, Jesus told his disciples that the more we love the more we will know God – a comforting thought. Thank you to our mothers who have really made this single commandment a reality which we can live each day.

God of the journey, may all members of the Marist College Ashgrove family show gratitude to, and pray for all mothers this coming Mother’s Day, and love one another before all else. Amen.

Mother’s Day Mass

On Wednesday 8 May, we look forward to welcoming all mothers to the annual Mother's Day Mass to be held in the College Chapel to Our Lady and St Marcellin. This Mass which commences at 7:00pm and is always a wonderful highlight of the school year where our mothers join the boys in prayer and thanksgiving. I thank our Head of Mission - Mrs Anna Nasr and her team for organising and Fr Alatini Kolofo’ou for celebrating this Mass. I look forward to joining all mothers and their sons this Wednesday.

Mother’s Day Breakfasts

The annual Mother's Day breakfast will be held this Thursday and Friday the 9th and 10th of May in the Champagnat Centre. These annual breakfasts are an opportunity to thank all mothers for the important and dedicated tasks they undertake each day encouraging, preparing, supporting, and educating their sons. The money raised at our breakfast this year will again go towards Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS). This Marist led organisation is an international agency for the aid and development work of the Marist family in Australia, throughout Asia and the Pacific. AMS works with the people in this region on a combination of long-term and short-term development projects. These projects aim to develop or support locally sustained education opportunities for the young people in these regions. Our boys will be visiting two of these regions, Timor Leste and Cambodia in the June and December holidays, respectively. We look forward to celebrating with and thanking our mothers this Thursday and Friday morning. Happy Mother's Day!

Marist College Ashgrove's Musical

This Thursday, Friday and Saturday, ‘Jersey Boys’ hits our theatre. The boys have been rehearsing diligently with the girls from Stuartholme and Mt St Michael’s College and are ready to dazzle us with their talents. Thursday and Friday performances will be at 6:00pm and the Saturday performance at 2:00pm in the Draney Theatre. I wish to thank the following people who have been highly involved in this musical: Music Director – Michael Keen, Director – Carly Wilson, Producer – Andrew Butt, Backstage, props and costumes Coordinator – Rebecca Taylor, Production Team – Megan Harmston, Samantha Blakeney, Rowan Dekkers, Melanie Stewart, Taylah Ferguson, Alex Hides, props and backstage assistants – Christine Larsen, Stacey Finch, Band Members: Keyboard – Jeremy Vanderbyl, Megan Harmston, Melanie Stewart, Guitar – Matthew Teakle, Tom Horton, Trumpet – George Perrers, Woodwind – Sacha Gibbs-McPhee, Andrew Butt, Bass – Bede Prince, Drums – Rohan Sweeney, Stage Crew - Archie Engstrom, Cyrus Kwok, Tom Duffy, Ted Canning, Jimmy Starrenburg, Breanna Jones, Adelaide Miller, Delphi Winters, Hilary Lye, Technical Team – Technical Manager – Jack Johnson, Stage Manager – Zachary Neville, Assistant Stage Manager - Daniel O’Sullivan, Sound Designer and operator – Steven Thornely, Radio Mic Technician – Denver Jensen, Radio Mic Assistant – Max Macready, AV Operator – Luke Rabie, Lighting Designer – Sebastian Harman, Lighting Operator – Jack Lowe, Front of House Ushers – William Marshall, Thomas Ghidella, Hunter Harvey.

We look forward to presenting our college musical – ‘Jersey Boys.’ Final tickets can be obtained from the link below:

https://events.humanitix.com/jersey-boys-the-musical

Year 12 Reports and Progress

The academic studies of the Year 12 students are at a very important stage of the year having just completed Unit 3 and moving into the final Unit 4. Consequently, Year 12 reports have been distributed by email and can be found on the Parent Lounge. These reports outline your son’s progress at the end of his Unit 3 assessments. I thank the teaching staff who have completed the marking, comments and graphical evidence in support of the comprehensive analysis of your son’s progress to date. These reports will be followed by academic care interviews in Term 2 which all parents are welcome and encouraged to attend. I thank Mrs Jennifer Smeed (Deputy Head of College – Learning and Teaching), Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg (Assistant Head of College – Learning and Teaching) and Mr Adam Knight (Senior School Academic Care), Alicia Lee (PA – Deputy Head of College - Learning and Teaching), Sabastian Di Donato, the Curriculum Team, Middle Curriculum Leaders, with all Year 12 teachers, who have ensured the accuracy and details of these reports positively aid in the academic outcomes for your son.

Year 11 Exam Block

The Year 11 exam block will be held from Monday 13 to Friday 17 May. The purpose of this exam block is to provide the boys with the opportunity to study from home in an environment that best suits their study and learning needs. The boys will travel to and from the college to do their exams during the week. It is expected that the boys, in travelling to and from the college, will do so directly and in full school uniform. Boys will not be allowed to study from home if they have incomplete assessments and assignments - in this case, they will be expected to be at school to complete these tasks first. I wish all boys the best of luck in their upcoming examinations and with their studies.

College Survey

Every three years, as part of our continuous improvement processes, we wish to provide opportunities for all parents, students, and staff to provide us with feedback relating to their views of the college across a wide range of areas. Our last college-wide survey was in 2021. Completion of the survey will enable the College to analyse growth data since the last survey. This research is being conducted by MMG Education, a specialist education consultancy 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 two-week period commencing on Wednesday 15 May 2024. Staff and students will also complete their questionnaires in the coming weeks. On Wednesday 15 May 2024, MMG Education will email you an invitation to participate in the review and provide you with your confidential, secure access to your questionnaire. In conclusion, a summary of the research findings will be provided. This research is important as we continue to listen and provide the best possible outcomes for your sons. All parents will be receiving a letter outlining the process later tomorrow. In anticipation of your involvement in this important opportunity to provide feedback, thank you.

National Boarding Week

National Boarding Week is an opportunity to showcase the diversity and culture within the Marist Boarding School and the activities our boys enjoy on a regular basis. The theme for the 2024 Boarding Week is ‘What Makes Boarding Tick?’ There is a video in production right now, so stay tuned next week to view ‘What Makes Boarding Tick!’

During the week, the Boarding school will offer the following opportunities for our community - Tuesday morning coffee hosted by the Boarders for teachers and staff from the health centre, laundry, kitchen and ground services; on Thursday afternoon, we have a Boarders vs Day students touch football game on the main oval; and on Friday, we will be hosting a parent appreciation event to thank the day student families that support our boys every week with Boarders’ afternoon teas and transport to Saturday sport.

I thank our Head of Boarding, Mr. Jim Noble, our Boarding Leaders: Mr Ty Casey, Mr Shane Ward, Mr David Finch, Mr Pierce Hardy, Mr Jake Platen, and all our Boarding staff for the wonderful job they do in ensuring our boys are well cared for and educated in a positive learning environment. Happy National Boarding Week!

Keep an eye on our Boarding Instagram for all the action! @marist_ashgrove_boarding

Formal Hat Exchange

In Term 2, the boys have had the ‘one-off’ opportunity to exchange their formal hat for a free-of-charge new formal hat at the uniform shop. The reason for the exchange of hat is due to the old hat fading, losing its shape and ripping easily. I thank our new suppliers Noone who have generously agreed to exchange the hats. The boys need to have their name on a Head of House list and then simply go to the uniform shop to exchange their hat. All boys should now be in possession of a good quality formal hat into the future.

Mathematics Olympiad

The Mathematics Olympiad will be held on Wednesday 8 May. Our Year 8 Extension Mathematics classes will be participating in the highly regarded Maths Olympiads as part of their extension class coursework. The Maths Olympiad is an annual contest offered by APSMO (Australasian Problem-Solving Mathematical Olympiads) and is designed specifically for high-achieving students.

The Olympiads are designed to be challenging. The overall aim is primarily to encourage students to develop important mathematical problem-solving skills in an engaging and enjoyable way. Whilst students will be competing against teams from other schools, Marist boys are also being asked to compete against themselves and trying to improve their own problem-solving skills over the course of the year.

The APSMO Maths Olympiads consist of four separate contests held approximately six weeks apart between May and September. These young men have been competing in a “Problem of the Week” each week leading into the competition. Boys will sit their first Maths Olympiad Paper on the morning of Wednesday 8 May, 2024. The college wishes these 61 young Marist men the very best of luck.

My thanks are extended to Mrs Melissa Deacon – Program Leader Academic Equity, who has organised and will facilitate this competition and to Mrs Jess Turschwell – Curriculum Leader Middle School Academic Care, for her supervision.

The Big Science Competition

Marist men who are enrolled in our extension science classes in Years 8 and 9 will be participating in The Big Science Competition on Friday 10 May.

The Big Science Competition is an annual science challenge opportunity. It is offered by Australian Science Innovators and is designed specifically to test students’ science knowledge whilst engaging their higher order critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The competition poses real life and contemporary contexts for students to be challenged by and is intended to be enriching and to extend the minds of young scientists.

We have 120 boys participating in this competition. High achieving students are in the running for selection in the highly regarded Junior Science Olympiad Training Squad and have the opportunity to participate in the Science Olympiad mid-June.

More information will be shared on the outcome of these events in time.

All Abilities Rugby

The ‘All-Abilities Rugby Program’ is an opportunity for our boys to assist, socialise and be guest to people with differing needs in the training and game of rugby union. The aim of the program is to provide positive social interactions for children with different needs as well as building motor strength, coordination, ball handling and language skills in a supportive team environment. It is a lot of fun. The ‘All Abilities’ Rugby Program will be held each Friday from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at the GPS fields. We thank Mr Tom Dangerfield for his organisation and guidance of the boys with this wonderful activity. Enjoy, gentlemen.

Year 10 Vaccinations

The Year 10 Immunisation program will be held on Monday 13 May. This Queensland School's Vaccination Program is a free program for all Queensland adolescents. The Year 10 students will be vaccinated for meningococcal ACWY and meningococcal B. To enrol, parents can still contact Kelly Byrnes at 07 3858 6437. I thank the nursing staff from Ozcare School Immunisation Program, Mrs Kelly Byrnes (PA – Head of Students) and Mr Peter Serone (Assistant Head of College - Students) for organising and facilitating this vaccination program.

Parents and Friends Meeting

The next Parents and Friends meeting will be held on Monday 13 May at 7:00pm in the College Tower Function Room. This is a great opportunity for parents to come together and be positively involved, find out about school happenings and ask questions. I thank our wonderful and dedicated executive of the Parents and Friends, namely: Mrs Donna Lynn (Chair/President), Mrs Paula Vetter (Vice President), Mr Adam Bennett (Vice President), Mrs Jane Wilcox (Secretary) and Mr Stephen Ball (Treasurer). All parents are always welcome to the Parents and Friends meetings.

Our Talented Students

The following students have worked above and beyond and are recognised for their efforts:

One of our talented artists, Francis Schutt (Year 11), received the following three awards for his ceramic artworks in the Aspects Art Show. He is incredibly talented and these awards are well-deserved.

Paris Wilson Young Artist Award (Sponsored by St Hilda’s) – Prize - $300
Technical Award (Sponsored by St Margaret’s) – Prize - $150 - A work which demonstrates proficient use of materials, skills and applications
First Prize –18 years and under 3D work – Prize - $100 (Sponsored by St Peter’s Lutheran College)

Congratulations, Francis!

Ben Mead (Year 11) participated in the Minister for Education’s Ministerial Student Advisory Council meeting in Brisbane on Tuesday 23 April 2024. The students provided feedback on the Away for The Day phone policy and flexible learning, to the Minister. The students workshopped with Department staff, providing feedback on the ways to increase awareness in the Bullying No Way: National Day of Action and, in the areas of cultural and linguistic inclusion.

The Council’s feedback was invaluable and will be considered in the future development of policies on these matters.

Thank you, Ben, for your valuable contribution!

Kenneth Brian, one of our Year 8 students, played the Last Post and Rouse at the Payne Road State School ANZAC Service on 24 April. Kenneth has never been a trumpeter for an ANZAC service but he happily took on the challenge and did a stellar job on the day despite only having four days’ notice to prepare!

Congratulations Kenneth and well done for wearing your uniform with such pride.