Boarding News

Last Saturday, we hosted our third annual Boarding Families Function after a fantastic day of sport. There was a very good turnout at our gathering and this was mixed with a terrific atmosphere after a resounding win by the 1st XV Rugby team on McMahon Oval. The 1st XI Football team also continued their great season with another win. And I heard most of the boarders talking about winning their matches on Saturday. The Boarding Families Function provided a great opportunity for many families to meet and it was wonderful to see parents socialising with parents of their son’s friends. I’m very grateful for the effort so many parents and guardians made to travel to the School for this event. We look forward to making this event bigger and better next year.

On Sunday night, Stuartholme School invited the Marist boarders to join their boarding community for Mass. It was really lovely to share this special occasion with Stuartholme and the boarding students from both schools took the lead with reading and serving. Dinner was also provided so that the boarders from both schools could mix and enjoy each other’s company after Mass. It was a great night and we look forward to inviting the Stuartholme boarders back for a Sunday night Mass at Marist College Ashgrove in Term 3.

This week, Mr Newman and I are attending the Queensland ICPA Conference in Townsville. This annual conference brings together many key parties who advocate for equity in education for children who live in isolated parts of our state. A number of our current, past and future boarding parents are delegates in this association which does such important work. We also have a number of staff representing Marist at the FarmFest field days in Toowoomba this week. It has been great to connect with many Marist families and to support these key events. The majority of our boarders come from regional and remote parts of Australia and the College is always keen to assist those communities any way we can. Please let us know if there is an opportunity for us to help in your town and we can look at this with our future planning. 

I’d like to extend my congratulations to all the boarders on their efforts this term. Many boys have applied themselves fully to their studies and have also accessed the talented tutors we have who work with the boys during evening study time. This will hopefully help them to do as well as they possibly can in the exams which are coming up for most boys at this time. All we ever expect is for the boarders to do their best with school work and that continues to be our guiding principle in working with them. It has also been wonderful to see the vast majority of boys participating in an AIC Sport this term. So much is learnt from playing team sport and there’s no doubt it is good for teenage boys to be active.

I look forward to catching up with many parents as the end of term approaches.

Boarding Recreation Report

Mr Blair Whitlock

The weekend kicked off with a cracking boarders arvo feast before hitting the field for a 7-a-side staff vs students soccer match on Cameron Oval. The staff lined up with an exciting mix of size, skill and experience with Adam Green, Braydon O’Sullivan, Kabel Dawes, Pierce Hardy, Callum Francis, Jack Kelly and Willem Baines dominating from the outset. The game was played in good spirits and with the staff leading 6-3 at full time we foolishly agreed to the classic ‘last goal wins’ rule. Murphy’s law was in play as we managed to concede one of the most ridiculous goals I’ve ever seen as the students wheeled away claiming victory. A rematch is surely in order!

Later that evening a group of the younger boarders headed out to Eat Street for a couple of hours. The boys found all sorts of interesting foods and caught up with a few friends from other schools before heading back to the dorms ahead of Super Saturday. It looked as though rain may affect the Saturday plans but it held off just enough for a special day to take place at the College. There were so many great events taking place and the grounds really felt alive throughout the day. Many staff and families commented that it was the largest crowds they’d seen at sport which was made all the better with the 1st XI Football and 1st XV Rugby teams picking up exciting wins. We look forward to Super Saturday next year!

On Sunday we headed into town for a couple of hours at the Queen Street Mall. It was a smaller group than usual with so many boys heading out on leave but these trips are always a favourite amongst the dorms. It was early afternoon by the time we got back to Marist and the boys enjoyed some downtime before heading over to Stuartholme for a shared Sunday night mass to round out the weekend.