Boarding News

Dear Boarding Families,

Last weekend we hosted the first of our ‘Boarding Sleepovers’ for boys who are confirmed to start as new boarders in 2025. We have two sleepovers planned for this term and then another two during Term 4. This is a simple idea, but a most important step taken by the vast majority of future boarders to get a feel for Marist boarding and importantly to make new friends before they commence. These boys were made to feel very welcome by our current boarders and they were also able to enjoy the usual routine as well as all the wonderful recreation planned for our boarders. It’s great to see the 2025 new boys becoming more confident over the course of the sleepover experience and we look forward to them joining our boarding community next year.

Last Saturday also saw Marist College Ashgrove host a football clinic and BBQ at the Dalby Wheatmen Rugby Union Club which was very well received. This was made possible with the help of Mr Anthony Graham, Mr Chris Daykin, Mr Pat Howard and three of our Year 12 students – Adam Burnell, Jack Shay and Gus Murphy. Junior players from Dalby, Goondiwindi and Toowoomba had a great time after their matches finished trying to conquer our inflatable pass the ball tower, as well as receiving some coaching pointers from our staff and students. We are really enjoying the chance to help out clubs in regional areas and talking with them about Marist College Ashgrove and all the opportunities available at the school.

On Sunday morning, it was lovely for our boarders to be part of a special Marist community Mass celebrating the Fourviere Pledge which was signed on 23 July, 1816. The day after their ordination, a group of young priests travelled to the shrine of Fourviere in Lyon, France. There they promised to establish the Society of Mary. This special occasion led to many visitors coming in for Mass, including a number of the Marist Brothers and a visiting group from Fiji. This was a great experience for our boys. The singing of the Fijian visitors was a particular highlight as well as Br Neville’s reflection about the Gospel reading about the shepherds looking after their flock.

Boarding parents and guardians should have all received the schedule of Term 3 Boarding Clubs and Activities available to the boys. This great lineup is intentionally planned in an attempt to keep our boys engaged, active and busy on weekday afternoons. Please encourage your son to take advantage of these opportunities. 

We are reminding the boys of the importance of good hygiene at the moment. We’ve had a small number of boarders fall ill with flu symptoms in the first two weeks of this term and the aim is to limit the spread and reduce the number of others becoming sick. When you have the chance, please remind your son that prevention through good hygiene is the best way to avoid illness this winter.

Boarding Recreation

Mr Blair Whitlock - Boarding Recreation Officer

On Friday afternoon a group of Year 12 boarders headed out to the State Hockey Centre in Colmslie for their first hockey match as a team. 99% of the boys had never held a hockey stick let alone hit a hockey ball so we were in for some deep-end learning! Cherry on the cake was our first opponents being last year's champions – St Edmunds College! Oblivious to the nuance and technique involved with hockey the boys got stuck in and miraculously took an early lead through an absolute hail mary from our two guest players! A frustrated Eddie’s side went back to basics as we chased them around what seemed a giant turf for the rest of the game. Eventually going down 6-2, our boys massively exceeded their own expectations and learnt plenty of new hockey rules along the way. A special thanks must go to Ms Kathryn Badini who organised all sorts of extra gear and thought of us boarders when an opportunity to enter a second Marist team arose. Roll on Padua next week!

Back at Marist, the first boarders arvo feast of the term was underway as we welcomed a group of future Marist boarders for their sleepover experience in the dorms. A BBQ dinner led into an hour of games in the gym before heading down to Suncorp Stadium to watch the QLD Reds take on Wales. Both teams had several players missing which led to an open attacking game of Rugby which led to a nail-biting finish with our Reds going down 36-35 to a late Wales try. It was the biggest Union crowd at Suncorp in a while and great to see a former Ashgrove boarder, Floyd Aubrey, get a start on the wing!

Many boys had their first matches of the season on Saturday against Villanova College. It was a good day on the whole with our boarders heading out to Tingalpa to watch the 1st XIII Rugby League team pick up a win to start their season. The rest of Saturday was fairly low-key with some Touch Footy on the ovals before relaxing in the dorm with a pizza to round out the night.

Sunday was the highlight of the weekend as we headed toward the Gold Coast for a day at Movieworld. We were first through the door as our boys sprinted to the front of The Joker Rollercoaster and Superman rides. Most of the boys did all the major rides at least once before the lines started to pick up in the afternoon. It was another cracking day of weather which rounded out a fantastic weekend. We rounded the troops up around 2:30pm before heading back to Brisbane and getting ready for week three of term.