From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Stretch Out and Love

The Sistine Chapel serves as the location for the papal conclaves to choose the next Pope including the recently appointed Pope Leo XIV. The Sistine Chapel was built between 1477 and 1480 by Pope Sixtus IV (whom it is named after) and the magnificent ceiling was painted by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512. The chapel’s decorations illustrate much of the doctrine of the Catholic Church. Central to the ceiling are the nine scenes from the Book of Genesis, most notably the Creation of Adam.

The Creation of Adam painting depicts the relationship between God and us. God fully stretches out his finger to connect with us. He is the source of love and so wishes to be in a relationship with each one of us. Our hope is born out of his unconditional love. On the other hand, Adam’s response is minimal, with a partly raised finger. Adam, barely raising his finger, is not even bothering to touch the love of God. Adam represents the apathy often reflected by each one of us towards our faith.

Br David Hall (fms) Chair of MSA Ltd Board, recently spoke about love as the fundamental innate vocation of every human being. He explained that hope and faith come from our experience of this love. In society, where God is exponentially less required, our spiritual instinct is ignored. We fail to raise our finger towards God with any intent.

Our mission at Marist College Ashgrove clearly states to “make Jesus known and loved.” We continue to educate in this belief of our founder, St Marcellin Champagnat ensuring his dream that God will be at the centre of our institution and behaviour - “I cannot meet a child without telling them how much God loves them.” We believe that hope is in the hearts of our young men at Marist, and our undertaking is to attempt to unlock this hope in their hearts, encouraging them to raise their finger to connect to God’s authentic love.

God of the journey, in the spirit of St Marcellin Champagnat, may we, as members of the Marist family, raise and stretch out, and touch the love of God through our actions and deeds everyday towards our neighbour. Amen.

Year 5-10 Reports

Year 11 and 12 progress reports and conversations have occurred in recent weeks for Semester 1. Years 5-10 reports will be issued on Friday 27 June. I sincerely ask all parents to spend time with their son reviewing all aspects of these reports. It is important for the boys to learn from Semester 1, set new goals for Semester 2 and continue to be on an upward trend with their learning. In anticipation, I thank you parents for your time in these important conversations with your son.

Timor Leste Immersion

Best wishes to the group of senior boys who will be undertaking an immersion in Timor Leste over the first week of the holidays with teachers, Kathryn Badini and Jye Davies. This is a wonderful opportunity for the boys to be guest to those who are less fortunate, especially in the areas of education, opportunity, and wealth. The boys and staff will meet up with the Marist Brothers in Timor Leste where they will be introduced to their various schools, teachers and work with young people and their families. We trust that this experience will leave a lasting impression on the hearts, minds and future actions of these young men of Marist.

Confraternity Shield

Best wishes to our 1st XIII Marist College Ashgrove Rugby League Team who will venture to Rockhampton for the 2025 Confraternity Shield. In what promises to be an enjoyable tournament, we look forward to the confraternity of some 54 boys Catholic and Independent School teams from around Queensland. As the name of the carnival suggests, this experience is an opportunity to meet and form new friendships and bonds with students from all around Queensland. The carnival commences with a mass together for the students and staff of the 54 schools followed by six exciting games of rugby league for each school over the week. The carnival, now in its 45th year, has featured many current and past NRL and Queensland and Australian representatives including – Jonathon Thurston, Matthew Scott, Matthew Bowen, Bob Linder, Xavier Coates, Wendell Sailor, Daly Cherry-Evans, Michael Morgan and Cameron Munster. In 2026, Marist College Ashgrove will be hosting this tournament which we look forward to. My thanks are extended to the coaching team of Dallas Williams, Ryan Apps, Brad Winchester, Mal Grealy and Lachlan Gough. Best wishes, gentlemen. You can enjoy the livestreaming of this tournament on https://www.confraternitycarnival.com.au/live/.

Queensland Debating Union (QDU) Competition - Finals

The QDU Competition has wrapped up after four intense rounds! Over the semester, our students tackled tough topics, sharpening their logic and mastering the art of persuasion. Congratulations to our three teams advancing to the finals next term - Year 7.1 coached by Caroline Smith, 7.2 coached by Lucy Colman and 9.2 coached by Patrick Denkes. These three teams will now embark on the next stage, the finals. Their challenging topics are - That all schools should offer hybrid learning (Year 7) and That we should ban the publication of NAPLAN results (Year 9). My best wishes to our students as they pursue the mastery of the challenging and passionate academic adventure of debating.

National Marist Assembly hosted by Marist College Ashgrove

Marist College Ashgrove will be hosting the fourth National Marist Assembly of the Marist Association of St Marcellin Champagnat. Members of the Marist Association which has been in existence for 10 years, will descend upon Brisbane from all around Australia and Australasia. The assembly will allow participants to discern together how the Holy Spirit is working through them, and into our future together, as they engage in spiritual conversations actively listening and speaking from the heart. The works of Marist around this region are essentially in education with young people, mission and social work. Marist College Ashgrove welcomes all our participants from 27- 29 June where we will use the facilities of the Draney Theatre, boarding facilities, Champagnat Centre, Chapel of Our Lady and St Marcellin Champagnat and the Cyprian Pavillion. Welcome Marist visitors.

Gifted and Talented

Term 2 has been an exciting and enriching period for our Marist High Potential Learners from Years 5–12. Our students represented the College in a range of challenging competitions, including the English Speaking Union Public Speaking Competition, the Senior Ethics Olympiad, and the E-Sports Minecraft Competition. The Marist students demonstrated admirable qualities of resilience, teamwork, and respect.

The Science Extension classes across Year 8 and Year 9 competed in the Science Olympiad; congratulations to the 18 students who placed in the top 10% of Australian participants (Distinction) and the student who was placed in the top 5% of Australian participants (High Distinction).

The term concluded with six teams from Years 5 to 10 taking part in the Da Vinci Decathlon. This academic competition tests students across ten diverse disciplines, including Engineering, Mathematics, Code Breaking, Art and Poetry, Science, English, Ideation, Creative Producers, Cartography, and Legacy. We are proud to congratulate our Year 8 and Year 9 teams, who placed second and third respectively in the Ideation category.

In addition to these competitions, our students have been preparing through weekly lessons and Masterclasses for the upcoming Future Problem Solving Global Issues and Scenario Writing Competitions, which will be held in Term Three. We look forward to seeing their hard work and critical thinking skills in action.

Holiday Sporting Camps

Best wishes to all boys who will be undertaking sporting camps over the June /July holidays in preparation for the term 3 AIC Sporting Competitions of Tennis, Rugby League and Basketball. Our Rugby League players will be preparing via the Confraternity Shield in Rockhampton; Tennis will conduct a camp from Monday 7 July – Wednesday 9 July and Basketball will also hold a camp from Wednesday 9 July - Friday 11 July. Thank you to our Senior coaches: Tennis – Mr Andrew Ward, Rugby League – Mr Dallas Williams and Basketball – Mr James Lymer. Enjoy and prepare well for the Term 3 AIC Competition gentlemen.

School Resumes

I trust that all boys and families have a relaxing and re-energizing mid-year holiday. I hope this time is an enjoyable one for all families and an opportunity to recharge those batteries and overcome any niggling sickness. School will resume on Tuesday 15th July, with Monday 14th July a travel day for the boarding students. Staff will be completing professional development and preparation from Wednesday 25th - Friday 27th June and on Monday 14th July. Have a good break Marist. I look forward to another full and exciting Term 3 together.