Boarding News

Dear Boarding Families,

Last Sunday morning, our boarders and staff walked up to Mater Dei parish in West Ashgrove to join in their celebration of Mass. We regularly join in a community Mass which is a different experience for our boys and a reminder that we are part of a much wider community of faith. The boarders were great ambassadors for the College with their excellent behaviour and positive involvement in the service. The Mater Dei parishioners also love the presence of our boys at their Mass and they spoilt the boys with a lovely morning tea. This experience is worthwhile for our boys and something we will continue doing each term.

On Sunday evening, we also gathered for another round of Boarders’ Trivia in the Dining Room. The boys are all made to mix up their tables, so we have older boys sitting together with younger boys to form trivia teams – this works well. It is also an occasion where we acknowledge all the boarders who’ve had a birthday in the first few weeks of the term and the traditional singing and a generous piece of mud cake for all. The Year 12s, and in particular Marley Chan and Lachlan Manning, have done a terrific job of re-introducing this as a regular event for the enjoyment of the boys.

A much-anticipated event is the City vs Country rugby league match which will be played on McMahon Oval after school on Tuesday 13 August. The City team is made up of Year 12 day students and the Country team is made up of Year 12 boarders. This match is in its third year and the rivalry keeps getting stronger. It’s sure to be a great spectacle and we hope many will be able to watch the game given that it is on the afternoon that school breaks up for the Ekka mini break. We hope you can join us for this event.

I know that many boarders are looking forward to the upcoming Ekka break and the opportunity to go on leave with family or friends. If your son is heading away, please ensure you submit a leave request on the REACH system as soon as possible. For those boys staying at school, staff will be on duty, residences will be open and activities available for the boys.

Finally, an important reminder to ensure that all your son’s clothing is properly named so that it is returned to him after going through the school laundry. It is concerning to see the very large amount of un-named clothing which is accumulating. Writing the number with a pen will wash out and then clothes don’t get returned. Please order a supply of sew-on (or iron-on) labels through the College Uniform Shop and ensure every item of your son’s clothing has a name tag on it. Our laundry staff will assist with sewing on labels upon request. Please take this important step to ensure your son’s clothes don’t go missing.

Boarding Recreation

Mr Blair Whitlock - Boarding Recreation Officer

It was a quiet Friday evening to start the weekend with a BBQ dinner and games in the gym while the Year 12 boarders hockey team headed out to Chermside for their match against Padua College. As we continue to learn the rules and nuances of Hockey, the boys energy and enthusiasm can’t be faulted as they hurtle their way around the turf. The team are confident of a first boarders goal when we play Brisbane Grammar next Friday. Thank you to Ms Smeed for sharing her Hockey expertise with the boys in Ms Badini’s absence!

On Saturday morning La Valla, Montagne and Hermitage boarders took part in the Internal Basketball Competition with other day students from Marist. It was a great chance to play some social sport in a fun, relaxed environment. Later that day we loaded the buses and headed out to Iona for the Rugby League 1st XIII crunching game against Padua which saw a brilliant performance result in a 20-14 victory with boarder, Lachy Manning, scoring the final try to ice the match. Back at Marist, the ice baths were out with many boys making the most of these to accelerate their recovery. We reached a new low of 8 degrees in the baths with many boys saying they had their best sleep in months after using these. Saturday finished off with a trip to the Southbank movies with the younger boarders watching Inside Out 2 and the older boys seeing the new Deadpool & Wolverine movie. 

Sunday kicked off with a walk to morning Mass at a local church before heading out to Shorncliffe for a fish. It wasn’t our day but we had beautiful weather and the boys always enjoy heading out to the coast. An hour in the weights room rounded out another busy weekend and somehow we are already heading into Week 4!