From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

The Complete and Full Joy of Christmas

Life is a journey. You become particularly aware of this at certain times in your life. These times can include when you attend a family reunion, funeral or wedding. At these family events, you join together with relatives and past friends who you may not have seen for many years but because they are close family and friends, there is always a warm familiarity and connection. They have lived similar lives, often have similar characteristics and have had similar experiences and memories of life.

As you scan the room at these events and enjoy the familiar faces and connections, the experience and journey of life becomes obvious. You quickly realise that life of the past is very different to life now. The juxtaposition is evident as you compare in your mind the past and the reality of the present. The once bright and youthful faces of friends are now that bit more weathered and tired looking as you all walk towards middle-age and older. Most of you who used to be single and carefree are now committed to marriage and children and the busyness of life. Some share stories of happy and successful lives, while others tell of sad and difficult experiences. You might talk about aging parents or the loss of parents, who, in your memory, are the same age as you are now. There is also the absence of some friends who have sadly passed away, but the next generation of children are running around or growing up too quickly. Some people who always had so much energy and vibrance have now slowed down and others are battling illness. It's the journey and juxtaposition of life.

Annually, we celebrate Christmas - the birth of Emmanuel. Emmanuel in Hebrew means, ‘God is with us”. For every member of our family, friend or supporter that we reacquaint with at these times, God is present to them. Again, the juxtaposition is that for some, God is closely present outwardly and inwardly, whilst for others, they have decided to do life without God even though there is a God that is always waiting lovingly for their return.

At Christmas, the juxtaposition is the birth of the child Jesus and later, his death and resurrection. The joy of Christ's birth is complete when we also recall his death and glorious resurrection. This is the juxtaposition of Christmas that we are promised, to be born into life with Christ and on the last day, born into eternal life with Christ. This Christmas season, may we completely and fully celebrate the birth of Christ and the promise of his eternal reward at the end of time. This juxtaposition is central and the core to our faith as Christians and the energy that inspires our lives moving forward. Life is full of juxtapositions, yet the end, it is the same.

God of the journey, this Christmas season may all members of the Marist College Ashgrove family experience your full life and presence now, through the birth of Emmanuel and right through to the promise of our eternal reward. Amen.

Image thanks to Clare Locke, Campus Minister, Marist College Ashgrove

Cambodia Immersion

The Cambodia immersion experience will be held from Friday 29 November to Monday 9 December 2024. This immersion experience is fundamentally one of being a guest to the students at La Valla School in Cambodia. This school, started by the late Brother Terrence Heinrich, past Headmaster of Marist College Ashgrove, cares for the most vulnerable in the Cambodian education system – students with disabilities. My thanks are extended to Mr James Lymer and Mr Gareth Kolkenbeck-Ruh who will be accompanying the students, along with Ms Anna Nasr (Assistant Head of College – Mission) and her team who have organised this significant immersion experience. Our boys are very much looking forward to being guest and forming new friendships with the students of La Valla and joining with staff in this experience. Enjoy, learn, and do Marist proud, gentlemen.

Primary Graduation

The Year 6 Graduation will occur this Friday 29 November from 11:30 to 2:30pm. This graduation event will commence with a ceremony in the Draney Theatre, followed by speeches, cake and photos at the St Marcellin Centre Primary building with an opportunity to take photos at the tower once official celebrations have concluded. The Year 6 Graduation is an important rite of passage for our students as they depart the primary school and move into secondary education in the future. It is a day of celebration, thanksgiving and acknowledgment of the achievements of the students and all their families. The day prior, Thursday 28 November, is a fun day for the Year 6 students at ‘Wet and Wild’ and the Year 5 students with games at the college. We congratulate our graduating students of Year 6, and their families and teachers.

Final Assessments

Best wishes to all boys from Years 7-11 who conclude their examinations and assessments this Wednesday 27 November. These examinations and assessments make up the major component of each student’s end of year reports. I thank our professional and hardworking staff who have been preparing and will mark all these examinations and assessments ready for report distribution on Friday 6 December. It is a clear expectation that all boys will have completed every assignment and examination prior to departing for the holidays. Good luck gentlemen.

Primary Leaders 2025

Congratulations are extended to our newly appointed primary leaders. After a comprehensive application process and two sets of formal interviews, I am happy to announce the following fine young men as the student leaders of the Marist College Ashgrove Primary in 2025. We look forward to your presentations at the Year 5 and 6 assemblies, leadership undertakings, role modelling and participation on stage with the senior school leaders each Wednesday at the whole of school college assembly. Congratulations are extended to – Will Jackson, Ben Jefferies, George Coulter, Charlie Mackay, and Jovi Zanre (L to R).

Christmas Appeal and Stationery Aid

Families are invited to donate toward the Marist College Ashgrove Christmas appeal closing this Friday, 29 November. To donate, please go to: monitor > student shop > fundraising > Christmas appeal 2024. Through the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal, we hope to provide much needed support via financial and practical assistance to those most in need in our local area.

Families are also invited to donate to Stationery Aid. If you have any spare stationery including – pens, writing books etc, please donate these to the College Mission Office and these will be distributed through Stationery Aid to those young people in Brisbane with educational needs.

Finally, I thank our generous staff who have been collecting toiletries and sanitary products as part of the ‘Share the Dignity’ initiative. This initiative makes a real on-the-ground difference in the lives of women and girls who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness, domestic violence or poverty.

My thanks are extended as always to the very generous Marist College Ashgrove family.

Final Thanksgiving Mass

This Wednesday, 27 November, Marist College Ashgrove will hold its final Thanksgiving Community Mass for the year. This will be held at 8:00am in the Chapel of Our Lady and St Marcellin. Our college chaplain Fr Alatini Kolofo’ou sm will lead us in our prayer of celebration and thanksgiving for the 2024 school year. All members of the Marist College family are welcome to attend.

Boarders’ Christmas Dinner

The boarding students will celebrate Christmas and their successful year at the annual Boarders’ Christmas Dinner. This is always a joyous occasion and an important event to mark the efforts of our staff and students in making Marist College Ashgrove their home away from home. We even look forward to an appearance by Santa! Congratulations to all boarders on the positive, impactful and successful year you have had in 2024. This Christmas dinner will be held in the boarders’ dining room on Tuesday 26 November from 5:15pm. Merry Christmas to you all.

End of the Year Assembly

The end of the year assembly will be held at 2:15pm on Friday 29 November at the McMahon Oval grandstand. We will finish the year with the Christmas liturgy, giving thanks for a successful 2024. This will be followed by an opportunity to farewell some of our teaching staff and particularly our long serving staff members including David Meehan (38 years) – Ridley House, and Tony Byrne (39 years) – Ephrem House. Families are welcome to join us in the grandstand for this final assembly.

50th Anniversary Marist Cricket Carnival

Best wishes to the Marist College Ashgrove 1st XI Cricket Team who will be participating in the Marist Cricket Carnival to be held at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill from Sunday 1 - Friday 6 December. The Marist Cricket Carnival has now been divided into three sections - the top eight boys’ schools which we are a part of and a girls’ competition for the co-educational Marist schools, and a second division Marist Schools’ competition. This is a very significant carnival being the 50th anniversary of the Marist Cricket Carnival, a time honoured and special event on the college calendar annually. We wish our 1st XI the best of luck in this very competitive competition, and we trust that the confraternity, camaraderie and friendships you build with your Marist peers throughout the week, will last a lifetime.

Volleyball Australian Schools Cup

Around 6000 competitors from secondary schools will compete in the 2024 Australian Schools Cup held from 9 – 15 December at the Gold Coast. My thanks are extended to Mr Patrick Denkes who will be accompanying the following students: Owen Dodwell, Will Lukin, Darcy Latimer, Ollie Millard, Micah Netzler, Kalan Schnaubelt, Cade Kelly, Lyndon Maynard, Addison Carroll and Finley Nicholson. We wish our boys the best of luck in this competition.

42 for 42

42 for 42 is a not-for-profit organisation that was founded by ex-army veterans whose aim is to help struggling veterans and their families by building a memorial dedicated to those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. The 42 stands for the 41 veterans who were killed in Afghanistan, with the 42nd representing the veterans we have lost and continue to lose to suicide, and those who have returned with injuries and mental illness. Of these 41 veterans who were killed in Afghanistan, one is Marist College Ashgrove Old Boy Ricky Milosevic (’89), a former boarder from Quilpie. We acknowledge current parent and fellow serving veteran, Sean Mulqueen who involves our boys in this important fundraiser each year.

Over the weekend our Years 9, 10 and 11 boarders participated in the 9th annual 42 Hour Challenge at Suncorp Stadium. The boys were up at 3:00am to attend and support this year’s challenge which helps continue to reach the goal of maintaining The Afghanistan War Memorial Garden.

The challenge takes place on the concourse of Suncorp Stadium. Walkers and teams moved around the stadium concourse with the weight in their packs for 2 hours, in memory of the fallen from Afghanistan, with every hour dedicated to their sacrifice.

My thanks are extended to Mr Jim Noble, Mr Jake Platen and Mr Blair Whitlock for their organisation and facilitation of this worthy event.

End of School Year

All students should ensure they have cleared their lockers and have taken home all their belongings by the end of the school year. The last day of the school year is Friday 29 November which is the date all students should be attending the college unless gaining previous written permission. Years 10 and 11 students are expected to return full time to the College after their exam block for Thursday and Friday 28 – 29 November. Friday, 29 November is a travel day for our boarding students. We look forward to completing the college year fully and successfully.

College Reports

Your son's college report (Years 5-10) will be distributed on Friday 6 December 2024. These reports will contain final grades, position in year groups for each subject, grades for effort and undertakings and a pastoral, instrumental, boarding and VET report comment as applicable. I trust that all parents will take the time to discuss these results, grades and comments with your sons with the view to setting goals into the future to enable him to achieve even better outcomes in 2025. Year 11 students can find their grades and comments for each assessment and examination from the first round of internal summative assessments on the parent portal, as they are completed and become available.

Safe and Prosperous Christmas Holiday and New Year

May I take this opportunity to thank all parents, staff and students for a successful 2024 academic school year. There have been so many highlights and achievements over the year, and I thank all parents for your encouragement, care and support of your sons and commend our dedicated teachers, staff and associates. I wish all those students, families and staff who are leaving us our best wishes and prayers for the future, and we look forward to welcoming new students, families and staff to the College in 2025. Do stay safe and enjoy the Christmas season and New Year with your son and family. God's blessing and peace to you all. We look forward with excitement to 2025.

May our loving God with Mary our good mother and St Marcellin Champagnat walk with all members of the Marist College Ashgrove Family.