Boarding News

Dear Boarding Families,

We hosted a sleepover weekend for a large number of our future Year 7 boarders last weekend. These boys enjoyed a full boarding experience for three nights, which included the traditional Thursday night singing practice, war cry practice, supporting our Marist College Ashgrove 1st Rugby League team and all of the recreation organised over the weekend. The recreation included a City sights tour, a bushwalk and attending the Redcliffe Dolphins vs Brisbane Broncos game at Suncorp Stadium. The unseasonably hot weather didn’t slow the boys down; it just led to a change of plans with the pool being opened and the boys enjoying a swim on the last day of winter. Our current boarders did a great job (as they always do) welcoming the sleepover boys and we all look forward to these boys joining us as new Year 7 boarders at the start of next year. 

All boys will be busy this week completing exams and other assessments, with the exception of the Year 9s who are away on camp. Our Senior Academic Supervisor, Mr Monk, has done a wonderful job of targeting subject-specific help sessions for our boarders in the different year groups in the lead-up to their exams. Mr Monk has also put together a list of boarders at risk academically, and this has been communicated confidentially to our Boarding Tutors so that they can seek out these boys and offer them additional help. Each night, the boarders are in supervised study, and this provides both the environment and support to allow each boy to achieve to his best standard. I encourage you to check in with your son about his study for exams and encourage his full engagement in this process.

This Friday night, we have our annual Night on the Green, which is a musical showcase for our Years 11 and 12 boarders along with the Stuartholme Years 11 and 12 boarders. This event will be held outdoors on McMahon Oval with a stage, sound and lighting set to enhance the occasion. I know many of our boys have been preparing acts for quite some time, as have the Stuartholme boarders, so it is sure to be an enjoyable night of socialising and enjoying the musical talents of our boarders.

Then on Sunday evening, we have been invited to Mass and dinner up at Stuartholme School with their boarding community. We have such a good relationship with Stuartholme, and occasions like this and the Night on the Green provide a great opportunity for our boarders to socialise and build strong connections with the girls. It will also be our last Sunday night Mass of the term, so it will be nice to share this occasion with the Stuartholme boarding community.

Boarding Recreation

Mr Blair Whitlock - Boarding Recreation Officer

Week 8 has certainly brought the heat as we’ve been up in the mid-30s for the last few days as winter officially finishes for the year! With the pool covers back off, it’s been a great way to cool off in between activities throughout the weekend. We welcomed a group of 2025 La Valla boarders for their sleepover experience and orientation day on Friday, and it was great to see them getting stuck into everything and adjusting to what boarding life will bring when they return in Term 1 next year. 

Friday was a student-free day for the rest of the boarders, with many of our Indigenous boys heading over to the Sherwood Magpies for the Murri AFL Festival that’s run alongside the Brisbane Lions. It’s always a great day out, and the boys enjoyed the various fitness tests and benchmarking and games that were on offer throughout the morning. Meanwhile, the pool and weights room were open back at Marist, with many of the Year 9 boys heading to the shops for gear ahead of camp next week. 

On Saturday, the sleepover boarders headed out for a Tiki Tour of Brisbane that included a stop at the Mt Coot-tha Lookout, a walk along the Brisbane River, and a ride on the CityCat ferries back to Southbank before heading out to Runcorn to watch our 1st XIII League team put St Laurence’s to the sword in an impressive attacking performance. On Saturday evening, we headed down to a packed Suncorp Stadium to watch the Battle for Brisbane between the Broncos and Dolphins. It was a one-sided affair with the Dolphins running riot in what was many boys' first time attending a live NRL match! 

On Sunday, we headed out for a 5km bushwalk at the Enoggera Reservoir before heading to Marist for a swim to cool off. An hour in the weights room rounded out a busy weekend as we head into Week 9, which sees exams starting for many of our boys.