Deputy Head of College News

Dear Parents/Carers, 

I hope you managed some down time over the Easter break and of course a warm welcome to the new school term. It has been my absolute privilege to begin my tenure as the Deputy Head of College over the last few days. Lots of learning and meeting new people for me, which is always exciting. Please find a number of whole school messages below. All the best for the term ahead, Paul 

QTAC Survey

QTAC is currently undertaking an internal review of the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) through a technical working group, with a particular focus on how subjects are scaled.

We invite all parents/carers, students, and teachers to have their say in the survey below. 

Safe Travel and Parking 

With the return of student travel to and from school and the concentration of sport training occurring before and after school, it's imperative each of us meet our responsibilities with respect to safe driving and car parking. Please ensure you follow all signed parking instructions. By way of example, parking over yellow lines along the Glenlyon Road exit to the College causes much congestion and is unsafe for our students, neighbours and other drivers. Each afternoon Frasers Road sees a number of buses, cars and student pedestrians from both Marist and surrounding schools. Your support with driving through this area with an extra level of awareness and care will greatly assist in a safe passage home for all.

We also ask our community to please be mindful when driving through residential streets surrounding our school.  Driving safely in residential areas is essential for the safety of our community, especially for children and families. Our local streets have lower speed limits to protect pedestrians and cyclists. We urge drivers to always observe these limits, stay alert for children crossing the road or playing nearby, and give way to vehicles exiting driveways. Remember, parked cars and greenery can sometimes reduce visibility, so extra caution is needed. By following these simple practices, we can all contribute to making our local streets in Ashgrove safer for everyone.

In further support of safe and active travel arrangements in our local area the Oakleigh State School community has lead the way with advocating for a Frasers Rd Supervised Children's Crossing. Their work has paid dividends. It is kindly requested both pedestrians & motorists be aware of the facility & assist by modelling appropriate behaviour to our children.

Traffic guards will operate the crossing each Qld public school day.

• AM Shift 7.50am – 8.50am

• PM Shift 3.00pm – 3.30pm

   

Winter Uniform Reminder – Term 2

We would like to remind all parents and students that full winter uniform is required throughout Terms 2 and 3. 

Year 5 - 10 students are to wear the long sleeve grey shirt, grey shorts or long grey pants, school tie and blazer. 

Year 11–12 Students are to wear the long sleeve blue shirt, long grey pants, school tie and blazer. 

This uniform should be worn neatly each day, with shirts tucked in and ties correctly fastened. Students must also wear their blazer to and from school each day. Please ensure all uniform items are clearly labelled with your child’s name.

Should you require new uniforms, the uniform shop is open every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:30am to 4:00pm.

Statement of Commitment to Child Safety and Wellbeing 

All children and young people who come to Marist College Ashgrove have a right to feel and be safe. We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of all children and young people. We are committed to providing a child-safe and child-friendly environment, where children and young people are safe and feel safe, and are able to actively participate in decisions that affect their lives.

We have a zero tolerance for child abuse and other harm and are committed to acting in students’ best interests and keeping them safe from harm.

The College regards its child safeguarding responsibilities with the utmost importance and is committed to providing the necessary resources to ensure compliance with all relevant child protection laws and regulations and maintaining a child-safe culture.

College Child Safeguarding Officers

As part of our faith basis, duty of care obligations and legislative requirements, Marist College Ashgrove is committed to providing a safe environment to all students and to uphold their best interests and wellbeing.

With this in mind, the College has ten College Child Safeguarding Officers to whom staff, parents and students can report any instances of considered inappropriate behaviour by staff, parents or other students. Should you or your son want to report any kind of inappropriate behaviour, you may do so either in person or via one of the email addresses below.

• Paul Blinkhoff - Deputy Head of College - blinkhoff@marash.qld.edu.au
• Phill Holding - Assistant Head of College - Students - holdingp@marash.qld.edu.au
• Ieti Fetalaiga - Pastoral Leader – Senior School - fetalaigai@marash.qld.edu.au
• Michael Colquhoun - Pastoral Leader – Middle School - colquhounm@marash.qld.edu.au
• Gareth Kolkenbeck-Ruh - Assistant Head of College - Primary School - kolkenbeckruhg@marash.qld.edu.au
• Jim Noble - Assistant Head of College - Boarding - noblej@marash.qld.edu.au
• Anthony Graham - Pastoral Leader Primary Years - grahama@marash.qld.edu.au
• Genevieve Long - College Psychologist - longg@marash.qld.edu.au
• Brodie Sheehan - College Psychologist - sheehanb@marash.qld.edu.au

• Jorge Ruiz - College Psychologist - ruizj@marash.qld.edu.au

   

If you or your son would like to speak to a counsellor about any kind of concerning behaviour or general personal safety or mental health matters, we also have the Reach Out Portal tile on both the Parent and Student Portals. This will take you to a form you may complete that is received by the College Counsellors who will follow up accordingly.

Supervision of Students Before School

Please note the College’s formal yard supervision of students commences at 8:15am every school day. 

Those boys who are attending sports training or other planned activities will be supervised by the adult(s) in charge. From 7:30am, boys are welcome at either of the libraries or the Centre for Learning Enrichment for tutoring and other assistance. 

While there are always adults around the school from 7:00am in a coaching or tutoring capacity, Marist College Ashgrove does not provide formal supervision of students not attending sport training, music rehearsal or tutoring prior to 8:15am. Parents are responsible for their sons prior to this time. 

Student Absentees – Parent Communication

The College requires all absentees to be communicated via Parent Orbit. This includes all day absences, early departures and late arrivals. Instructions for adding an attendance record are set out below:  

Student Absentees – Late Arrivals 

Students are required to be at school before the first bell rings at 8:30am each morning. Students who arrive late are required to sign in at Student/Primary Admin before going to class. Parents will receive an SMS message if the student presents without an acceptable reason for being late. Note: all morning training sessions finish before 8:00am, giving students ample time to change, eat and arrive at their pastoral group on time.

Students arriving late throughout the day are required to sign in at Student/Primary Admin before going to class.

Student Absentees - Early Departures 

For students in Years 7 to 12 who are departing the College throughout the day, students must sign out at Student Admin before departing. If you would like to collect your son, please meet him at Tower Reception.

For students in Years 5 to 6, parents are required to come to Primary Reception to collect their son.

Have Your Family Circumstances Changed?

To ensure you are receiving communications from the College, please log into Parent Lounge to check and update your Address Details. These details can be found under the Parent Address menu.

As part of this process, we ask that you please check, update or add an Alternate Emergency Contact for your family. This person will be contacted should you be unavailable in case of an emergency.

Where there has been a family separation and parents now reside at different addresses, please be aware we can effectively manage separate contact details on our system without compromising communication regarding your son. In the case of separated families, it would be ideal to have an Emergency Contact listed for each parent.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you need help navigating any changes (including new family court orders or conditional communication) through the Parent Portal. Our Data Management Office, Stuart Booth is available to support you in this area. Email: booths@marash.qld.edu.au or Phone: 07 3858 4508.

Media and Communications Agreement

Please note that as per your signed enrolment agreement, unless communicated in writing to the College, you consent to the use of your son’s image, in photographic and video format, and his name in the publications of College related material. If we do not hear from you, we will assume that your preferences remain unchanged.