Boarding News

Dear Boarding Families,

The academic calendar rolls on with our Year 11s having finished Unit 1 recently, our younger boys approaching their end of term exams and the Year 12s working through their final unit before they start preparations for the external exams. The boarders are lucky to have multiple tutors available to them each night when they have set study time and it is important they ask for help as they need it. Please contact your son’s Boarding Leader if you are concerned that your son needs additional help and we will organise this with the assistance of Mr Stephen Monk, our Senior Supervisor (Academic).

One of the main ways that boarding schools have changed over the years is that boarders are now able to take leave more frequently than was the case in the past. At Marist College Ashgrove we have leave procedures in place to allow boys to spend time away from school with family or friends. This ensures that boarding is flexible and complements important time spent with others outside of school. I’d like to take this opportunity to remind boarding parents of some key points regarding leave:

• All requests for a boarder to go out on leave must be communicated at least 24 hours beforehand. For weekend leave, all leave requests need to be submitted on our Reach portal by Thursday night.
• A boarder is only able to go out on leave once he has completed all College sporting commitments. It is not appropriate to let your team down by not turning up for a Saturday game, unless special arrangements have been made with the coach.
• New hosts (other than parents) need to be added to our Reach portal before a boarder can go on leave with them. Parents can add new hosts within Reach, but if you require assistance please contact Boarding Reception.
• Boarders must sign out with the staff member on duty before departing and sign back in with the staff member on duty as soon as they return.
• All boarders are expected to be back from weekend leave before Sunday evening Mass which commences at 6:00pm each week.
• Any queries or concerns related to leave should be directed to your son’s Boarding Leader in the first instance

In the upcoming school holidays, my wife and I are looking forward to seeing a number of our boarding families as we complete a road trip in the Burnett region and up through Central Queensland. We will be visiting Murgon, Gayndah, Theodore, Moura, Springsure, Emerald, Alpha and Rockhampton on a trip where we are planning some home visits to see the properties where the boys live and also hosting some functions to meet up with past, present and future Marist boarding families. One of the things I love the most about boarding at Marist College Ashgrove is that all the boys come from such varied backgrounds. It’s a real privilege to be able to learn where they come from and what they love to do at home. We feel lucky to have this opportunity and look forward to seeing many Marist boarding families on our journey.

Boarders’ Photography Competition 2025

The Boarders’ Photography competition has a place on the calendar in term 2 each year and as always there is fierce competition in each  section.

Congratulations to all boarders who entered and we would like to acknowledge the following winners –

Senior:

1. Jim Bradford – Winner
2. Matt Lyons – 1st Runner up
3. Theo Knight – 2nd Runner up 

Middle:

1. Tom Cook – Winner
2. Caleb  Kofe – 1st Runner up
3. Cooper Hayes – 2nd Runner up

Junior:

1. Olivier Grammare - Winner

The competition will return in 2026 and we also have ASHCam which will be launched in Week 2 of Term 3, open to all in the College Community. Further details will be shared at the start of next Semester.

Boarding Recreation

Mr Blair Whitlock

It was a busy weekend of recreation that started with a trip up to Stuartholme for the annual Dolly’s Dream Netball fundraiser. The boys always look forward to this event and the Year 12s did some last minute study to learn the rules before jumping on the court! We emptied house and took all the boarders along and the boys did a great job cheering the Year 12s along against a loud Stuartholme support crew! All in all it was a great evening where the boys got to catch up with some old friends and raise money for a brilliant cause in the process. 

On Saturday we headed out to Tingalpa for AIC Round 6 against Villanova College. Conditions were perfect as the boys headed out for their second to last fixtures of the Football and Rugby seasons. The day was capped with a 1-1 draw for the 1st XI Football and a dominant performance by the 1st XV which sees both teams playing for a premiership in Round 7 against Padua next week. Saturday finished off with a trip to Suncorp for 20 boys to watch the Broncos demolish the Titans in a 44-14 victory. 

On Sunday we headed out to Shorncliffe for the first fishing trip of the term. It was another cracking day and the pier was buzzing with activity! There had been reports of good fishing from Shorncliffe in recent weeks which had the boys excited for a big day on the tools. While the big Mackerel evaded us, we did snag a couple Whiting and baby Bream as proof that we did actually go fishing. An hour in the weights room rounded off a quiet Sunday that led into evening Mass.