Primary School News

Dear Primary Parents,

Among the various elements that contribute to our vibrant community here in the Primary School, one stands out as an unwavering source of support, love and guidance – our mothers. Our mums are often the silent heroes, whose nurturing presence nurtures the seeds of wisdom and kindness in the hearts of our students. Our mothers’ tireless efforts inspire our students to embrace a life of purpose and meaning, instilling within them the belief that small acts of kindness have the power to transform our world. It is this kindness that we hope to see in action each day here in our Primary school.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, we should take a moment to express our deepest gratitude for their boundless love, unwavering support and endless sacrifices in all areas. Hopefully, our mums are all spoiled a little this Sunday and know how much they are loved and appreciated, simply by how they are treated by our boys, not just this Sunday but at all times. There are three opportunities this week where we can show our appreciation for all the things our mums do for us. The first is the Mother, Son Mass on Wednesday evening and the other opportunities are the Mother’s Day Breakfasts on Thursday and Friday mornings. If boys are attending the Friday breakfast, they may wear their sports uniform to the breakfast so there is no need to attend in Winter uniform for these Primary boys.  

Happy Mother’s Day to all our Primary Mums!

Primary Pastoral Leader – Mr Anthony Graham 

We are now four weeks into Term 2 and our primary boys have done a brilliant job in how smartly they are presenting themselves in their winter uniforms. It’s wonderful to see them taking pride in their appearance and representing our school spirit so well.

Just a friendly reminder to please label all clothing items. Despite our best efforts, we sometimes end up with a large pile of lost property. Labelling clothes can help ensure that misplaced items find their way back to their rightful owners promptly.

Spotlight on Friendship: Launching Friendology!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Friendology curriculum, starting this Tuesday morning with our Year 5 students! Our Year 6 students can look forward to their introduction in Week 6.

Friendology is an innovative program designed to enrich the boy's capacity to build friendships. It speaks directly to kids, using their language to address their unique challenges, and provides a practical, step-by-step method to help solve their own social problems. This empowering approach equips our students with the skills necessary to foster happy, healthy relationships on their own. This week the program focused on self-compassion, teaching students how to squash ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts) and dispelling myths around gender stereotypes and the ‘pressure of perfection.’ 

The program dovetails seamlessly with our "Men of Courage" unit, enhancing our ongoing discussion about relationships and the significant impact of bullying. Together, these programs help build a supportive school environment where every student learns to thrive socially.

Upcoming Camp for Year 5

A reminder to parents of students in 5 Blue, Gold, Red, and White: The camp is scheduled for Week 7, from Monday 27 May to Wednesday 29 May. If you have not yet returned the necessary paperwork, please do so as soon as possible. We are looking forward to an exciting and enriching experience for all the boys!

Public Speaking – Mrs Kylie Tippins

Last Tuesday night, 3 brave Year 5 boys travelled to St Laurence's College to present their first-ever speech. Ben, Hamish and Alex did us proud and confidently spoke in front of students and parents. They informed us about broken bones, little league and well-being. Congratulations to Alex who won speaker of the night.

Round Robin Debating

MCA/SLC/ATC/PC - Mrs Robyn Brown

On Tuesday evening our Round Robin Debating Competition commenced at St Laurence’s. The Year 6 Debating Teams competed brilliantly.

Team 1 

The team consists of Joe Campion, Cormac Gannon, Harry McConnell and Barney Armstrong. They debated the affirmative against Padua with “That homework should be abolished”.  The outcome was very positive for the team with them winning the debate. Their ability to listen intently to the opposition and respond with strong rebuttals was evident and instrumental in their success. Congratulations boys! 

Team 2 

The team consists of Will Minahan, Jono Lutkic, and Lincoln Bartlett. They debated the negative against Padua with “That homework should be abolished”. The boys argued beautifully and were also rewarded for their excellent debating skills by beating their opposition. The arguments for the topic were well-researched and presented. “Speaker of the night” was awarded to Lincoln Bartlett. Well done boys!

Primary School Sport

Mr John Lambourne – Head of Sport (Primary)

Term 2 AIC Sport

Communicating with Coaches

A reminder to all parents that communication with coaches is through Head of Sport - Primary and the year level co-ordinator of the sport, details below.

Head of Sport – Primary – John Lambourne lambournej@marash.qld.edu.au

Football

Year 6 – Matthew Jones jonesm@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 5 – Christopher Sim simc@marash.qld.edu.au

Rugby Union

Year 6 – John Lambourne lambournej@marash.qld.edu.au

Year 5 – Anthony Graham grahama@marash.qld.edu.au

Rugby Union

Results

Training Schedule

Football

Results

Training Schedule

Cross Country

Training – Monday, Wednesday and Friday

Venue: McMahon Oval

Time: Training starts at 7:00am sharp. Students are to arrive at 6:45am and sign into the session with their student ID card.

AIC Cross Country Meet #1

Venue: Sherwood Arboretum – 87 Jolimont St, Sherwood

Time: Year 5 @ 4:10pm; Year 6 @ 4:30pm

A bus will take the runners to the meet, departing at 3:00pm, the bus will return at 6:00pm (approx.). Parents are asked to inform Mr Lambourne if they are collecting their sons from the meet.

Boys are to dress in their MCA training shirt, MCA sports shorts and MCA sport socks, boys are to wear an MCA athletics singlet while competing.

Boys will need to bring:

• Water bottle
• College hat
• Sunscreen
• Afternoon tea

Chess

Chess Coaching – All boys are welcome

Monday – Primary Library – 7:15am – 8:20am

Tuesday – Room 103 – 3:20pm – 4:45pm

Marist Primary AIC Chess team is divided into three separate teams, Junior A, Junior B and Junior C, along with reserves. The competition for places in the Primary Chess teams is quite tough, with almost double the number of boys at chess compared to the number of spots available in the team.

To give as boys as possible the opportunity to compete, the Junior C team will be rotated each week, allowing for all boys that want to compete in AIC Chess an opportunity to represent Marist. The Junior A and Junior B teams will remain for the Top 8 players. It is important to note, however, that reserves are always needed as it is highly likely that there will be at least one player who may have unavailability each week and as a result, reserves are encouraged to always show up in case they are needed.

Marist Primary AIC Chess

Round 3 vs. Iona College @ Iona College

Venue: Iona College, Green Room (next to swimming pool)

Time: 4:00 – 5:30pm

A bus will take the chess players to the competition, departing at 2:50pm, the bus will return at 6:00pm (approx.). Parents are asked to inform a staff member if they are collecting their sons from Iona.

Round 2 vs. Padua College

Seb Kaminski 6R

On Friday, after school hours, we primary boys, along with the rest of the chess cohort, met at the Draney Theatre once again, except this time to face off against Padua.

Feeling hopeful, as we had done well in the previous matches, we sat down, shook our opponent’s hand, and started the battle. After the first match was well underway, we were looking at the board for potential moves. Once that was over and done with, we all ate some food to give us energy for our following game. Most of us played well but were met with defeat. Though we were disappointed, we held our heads high. We are looking forward to next week, when we can try to equalise our results.

Sports Photographs

We are always on the lookout for photos and action shots to be used for the Blue and 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.

College App

Please ensure that you download the College App to your smart phone. This app will be used weekly 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 College 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 5pm 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.