Deputy Head of College News

What a lovely bunch…

'What a lovely bunch…….there they are, all standing in a row. Tall ones, shorter ones, dressed in green and red….. And so the weekly song of celebration of my primary school went. Thirty-odd years later it is still resonating, both in tune and in spirit. That spirit being the genuine, humble and proud acknowledgement of effort and achievement of young people.

Teaching is unique in many ways, particularly the idea of 'never leaving school'. A teacher brings to the classroom their own experience of education, together with their acquired and always developing expertise. As the educational needs of young people evolve with educational practices, the human element remains largely constant. That is, the needs and wants of young people to be nurtured, supported and encouraged remain constant critical elements of education. A Marist education purposefully provides time and space for these elements, which we can never take for granted. One such occasion is tomorrow's College Assembly.

At our College Assembly tomorrow, we will celebrate 307 individual students across Years 5-8 and Year 11 and their academic efforts and achievements in Semester 1. In doing so, we will emphasise the gifts, talents, tenacity, courage and persistence. All human qualities. All affirming the dignity and worth of each individual.

Congratulations to all 307 Academic Award recipients. There they will be. All standing proudly in a row, deservedly so.

Walkathon

Whilst athletes and armchair athletes bid a close to the Paris Olympic Games, we'll be celebrating our Walkathon!

Scheduled for Sunday 11 August, the Walkathon is only 12 sleeps away! All funds raised from this year’s Walkathon will go towards new student changerooms for the highly used Cameron Oval. To date, we have received nearly $5000 in generous sponsorship of our students. What a terrific start!

Students are encouraged to collect sponsorship to walk on the day through a cashless donation system where parents, family and friends can donate online. All students will have access to donation cards, displaying the donation link and QR code to share with family and friends.

Prizes will be awarded for students who raise the following:

• For every $100 raised: Students will receive a sports ball (basketball, football or rugby ball).
• For every $200 raised: Further incentives to be confirmed.
• Pizza Party: For the Pastoral Group and Primary Class that raises the most funds raised.
• Best Dress Fancy Dress: On the day of the Walkathon the best dressed Primary and Secondary student in fancy dress will receive a $50 tuckshop voucher.
• For every $50 raised: Students will go into a raffle for lunch with Primary Admin. (Primary Students) 
• $30 raised: Students will receive a Marist College Stress Ball (Primary Students Only).
• For every $50 raised: Students will go into a raffle for lunch with Primary Admin. (Primary Students)

Marist Family Support

A message of thanks and call for assistance

The Marist Family Support Sub-Committee would like to say a big thank you for the support we received after our last call out. Your donations have made such a difference to members in our community in need.

As it stands, we have had a number of Marist families requiring support so far this year and our funds balance has decreased below the desired level to allow us to help in the case of an urgent request. Hence we are putting a call out for further donations. If you are able to help we would greatly appreciate it.

To ensure probity, the funds are donated via a Monitor link - HERE and held by the school. If anyone is having trouble accessing through the link, this is a permanent listing in the Monitor system (via the Parent Portal) in both the student and supporter shops under "fundraising".....parents can simply go to the tuckshop monitor link as usual and find it in the online purchases.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us in the past and we thank you for your future donations.

Safe and Considerate Parking

We need to ensure we all are considerate and careful when parking on and around College grounds. In particular, and in the absence of line marking, in the pool car park where individuals need to ensure suitable space is provided to exit and enter cars.

Unfortunately, we are currently looking into a matter whereby a staff member’s car (brand new too!) was damaged without being reported.

To reiterate, access across the Glenlyon Bridge is only available to staff and patrons of our swimming club. Similarly, the nearby drop-off bay is for swimming club patrons only. Parking in the swimming pool carpark (from the east end of the pool to the bridge) is for staff and swimming pool patrons. Parking alongside and behind the pool is for staff only.

These arrangements are to mitigate on-site traffic to promote the safety of students staff and community members. Your attention, cooperation and support of these arrangements is greatly appreciated.

Right to Disconnect Protocols

As part of our commitment to promoting the well-being of our Marist Family, the College is undertaking a review of communication practices for renewal of communication practices which is hoped to be implemented in the coming months.

The College understands the importance of maintaining a healthy balance between work and personal life for all members of our Marist Family, especially in today's digitally connected world. Additionally, new right to disconnect legislation provides an important framework for ensuring that all members of our community can disconnect from work-related communications outside of designated working hours.

A new Communications Policy and Communication Guidelines and Right to Disconnect Protocols are being developed by the College to emphasise the importance of respecting individuals' right to disconnect and encouraging asynchronous communication whenever possible. The College believes that by fostering a culture that respects and supports respectful and productive communication and the right to disconnect, we can create a healthier and more productive community where staff members feel valued, and families feel supported.

The College looks forward to working with all members of our Marist Family on this important undertaking and to sharing more information in the coming months.

AIC Sport Code of Conduct

Fundamental to the AIC, is our belief in inclusion and fellowship and the role we each play in fostering this. As a parent, spectator or official, we need to ensure we are welcoming to all involved and treat them with the greatest levels of respect, protecting the rights, dignity and worth of every person regardless of diversity.  The AIC provides a Code of Conduct for parents/guardians, spectators, coaches and officials which can be found here.

The AIC supports all efforts to remove poor behaviour from sporting events. In the event that a parent or spectator feels the need to notify the AIC of inappropriate behaviour, they should firstly notify the venue official/College representative at the venue. Following this, any complaint should be then directed to their son's coach, College Head of Sport or the appropriate member of the College Leadership Team.

Tuckshop Volunteers

Many of our parents are keen to help in some way to contribute to the Marist community that we are so well known for. Two ways to do this are through volunteering in the College Tuckshop during the day, or through the Sports Canteens on the weekend.

If you would like to volunteer in the Tuckshop during the day, please click on the relevant link below. Our Tuckshop convenor Josie Loucas will take your details and be only too happy to welcome you into the Tuckshop volunteer family. If you are too nervous to volunteer on your own, there is always the possibility of signing up with a friend. Just let Josie know if you want to be there at the same time as a buddy and I know she will help you out. We have parents who leave at the end of their son’s schooling journey commenting on how much they loved their regular (weekly, fortnightly or even term-by-term) Tuckshop catch-up with friends over the years.

Term 3  https://signup.com/go/vobwCPd

Term 4  https://signup.com/go/MEMAsHC

For Sports Canteen volunteers, please keep an eye out on the App for calls to sign up. Remember – if you feel more comfortable with a friend, please rope them in and take them along. The more the merrier!