Boarding News

Dear Boarding Parents,

There were a couple of lovely boarding events last week which highlighted the comradery of the boys and their sense of occasion. Last Tuesday night, the Year 12 boarders hosted a number of key staff members for a special dinner. It was those who’d worked closely with the Year 12 boys over their years at boarding school. This function was the first of a number of key events as the Seniors get close to finishing their time as a Marist boarder. The boys put a lot of time into writing speeches to acknowledge key staff and to express their gratitude. The speeches were also light-hearted and showed the very positive relationships that have been developed between the boys and the staff over the years. It was a really enjoyable occasion appreciated by all present. I’d like to acknowledge Mrs Renae Lewis, Mr Anthony Mathison and our Catering team for all their hard work in planning this special event.

The other boarding function last week was a gathering prior to the Year 11 Social. All the Year 11 boarders and partners met in the rose garden adjacent to the Br Geoffrey building to enjoy some refreshments before catching the bus to the Year 11 Social. A number of the boys’ parents and family members were able to attend to see them all dressed up for this occasion. I am grateful to Sr Bobbi Mee from our Health Centre and Mrs Renae Lewis who went to great lengths to decorate the rose garden which made it a particularly lovely venue and a great place for photos. The Year 11 Social is an annual event on the school calendar and it was lovely to see our Year 11 boarders proudly dressing up and being great hosts for their partners.

I’ve always believed it is very important for boarders to have a way they can provide input into the operations of their boarding school. At Marist, we have a Student Representative Committee made up of two boys from each year level and the role of these boys is to check with their peers about key issues such as facilities, food, recreation and any other things which are part of the boarding experience. The reps on the SRC meet twice each term and we had our first meeting for Term 4 last week. The committee is chaired by Mr Ty Casey and I also attend meetings, along with our Recreation Officer and Director of Catering. This open forum is a practical opportunity for any concerns or suggestions to be raised by the boys on behalf of other boarders. Year level reps are changed each semester to allow more students to represent their peers and I commend the work of this committee in ensuring that the feedback of all boarders can be heard.

Recreation Report - Mr Blair Whitlock

Week 3 saw an exciting addition to our club’s program – the Dog Walking Club! A recent Marist Old Boy, Angus Healy, is often seen around the Flats and Dorrington Park with a pack of energetic dogs in tow. We know many of the boys miss their pets when they are at school, and we’ve been looking at ways to get them involved with a business like Angus’s (Happy Paws). On Thursday we had Year 10 boarders Kalan, Toariki and Tyson out walking with Angus and the boys had a great time. We’re very grateful for Angus letting the boys tag along with his pack walks and look forward to this continuing every Wednesday and Thursday for the rest of the term.

We welcomed a big group of sleepover boys on Friday as they got to experience what a weekend in boarding looks like before joining us in Term 1. The boys had a tonne of energy and were a great addition to the dorms. On Friday evening we headed over to Stuartholme with around 75 boarders for games on the oval and a night swim. It’s such a beautiful location at Stuartholme and the boys always enjoy their visits. The Stuartholme boarders will be coming back to Marist in a couple of Sunday’s time.

On Saturday we had the opportunity to enter a couple of boarding teams into the AIC Touch Footy Carnival. We had combined Year 8/9 and Year 10/11 teams both gave it a red-hot crack in scorching conditions. The boys had a great time out at Runcorn and will certainly be keen to go one step further next year. Meanwhile, the La Valla boys headed over to Aspley Tenpin Bowling for a couple of games. There were all sorts of interesting techniques on display with some boys more reliant on the guardrails than others! It was good fun and got us out of the heat for a couple of hours. Saturday finished off with an afternoon swim and evening games in the gym.

On Sunday we had the Year 7-9 boarders from St Hilda’s School on the Gold Coast visit us at Marist. It was the first time they had come up to Ashgrove for a social and a great opportunity to get to know some boarders outside of the Brisbane schools. A hula hoop icebreaker activity and BBQ lunch led into an hour or so of Slip-n-Slide with a Colour Run incorporated! The boarders (and some staff) had a great time dousing each other in Holi Powder and ripping through the Slip-n-Slide. Another busy weekend in the books!