Listen intently and with your heart

Just this week, we heard of the important meeting between Brittany Higgins and our two major leaders of federal politics, the Hon Anthony Albanese MP and the Hon Scott Morrison MP. The key to these important meetings was to listen. To listen intently and with a heart. To listen, so as to respond appropriately to the structure of the political environment following her claims of being raped in Parliament House. After listening to Brittany, the Opposition Leader spoke of a very impressive woman and the Prime Minister acknowledged that the system had let her down and, there is a serious need for reform.

On the weekend, I enjoyed the opportunity of reading through much of the documentation and files of the College and I explored its artefacts, history and memorabilia. Amongst other interesting things, I found a favourite religious picture, which was beautifully framed, and I took the liberty of hanging this in my office. This print is of the Lord calling Samuel in the night (Samuel 3:9) with his hand behind his ear, illustrating, listening. Listening is such an important skill. It is truly a gift to another. It is also fundamentally essential in our quest to discover a sense of the spiritual. To listen intently and to listen with your heart is quintessential.

Sunday’s Gospel (John 15:1-17), describes Jesus telling us that he is the vine and we are the branches. To bear fruit, we must be one with him, remaining with him, as the branches. Jesus encourages us to listen to him and respond by following him. Listening to his word in the scriptures, listening to his presence in the people, events and environment in which we live and listening to him in prayer and contemplation. Listening requires attention and a heart. It takes time, effort and consciousness to achieve. Through listening, we will more closely mirror and live in God’s image and likeness; a fulfilling, loving and satisfying proposition.

God of the journey, may all members of the Marist Family listen intently to you with their heart and so, strikingly encounter you love. Amen.

David Cameron

It is with great sadness that I inform the Marist Ashgrove community of the death of long-serving staff member Mr David Cameron, this morning. David arrived at the College in 1983 joining his twin brother Derek Cameron. During his time at the College David was a teacher, a coach of cricket, rugby and cross country, a librarian, an archivist and a historian. This afternoon after school, College staff gathered in the chapel to pray and recall the many happy and proud memories they had of David. I humbly share a few of these staff memories with you:

David would generously pick up the newspapers every day and distribute them to the staff room, the services department and the library. David recently undertook a fishing trip with his brother Derek where he spoke of his great love of the College and his enjoyment of being the Archivist. Recently in my role as Head of College, David took me for a tour of the Archives and proudly showed off the memorabilia and his organised filing system, where he was very grateful for the new air conditioning units installed. David recently packaged and organised the transportation of a number of stationery resources to be distributed to poor schools in Papua New Guinea. David was a keen gardener and often brought to school his produce and generously distributed it to the staff. David completed the Kokoda trail with his brother Derek and one of his two sons, Greg. David was close to the Marist Brothers Community at the College. Staff spoke glowingly of enjoying David's historical presentations of the College. David was dry and laconic and shared quips each day like - 'there’s no place I’d rather be', 'every day above the ground is a good day' and 'Derek is my better half'. Old Boys speak very fondly of David for his coaching expertise and encouragement. David was the editor of the recently written “Passing the Baton”, a history of Marist Ashgrove Athletics and John O’Hare was the author. John says that David just loved MCA and this came through strongly in the book. Further, he was an extremely humble athletics coach, having many boys who broke records.

On behalf of the Marist College Ashgrove Family, we remember and pray for Anne, David’s wife and his two sons Greg and Geoffrey. May our loving God warmly embrace David and welcome him into his promised eternal reward. Please join in praying for the repose of the soul of our colleague, David.

Happy Mother’s Day

May I take this opportunity to acknowledge all mothers this Sunday, Mother’s Day. Marist College recognises the wonderful women in the life of each boy who support, care and encourage them every single day. Your advice, generosity and guidance are admired. May God’s blessing be showered on each of our Mothers on this special day.

To recognise your goodness and for each boy to acknowledge you, we have planned three breakfasts to be held from 7:15am-8:30am this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in the Champagnat Centre. The morning will include a tasty breakfast, prayer and an address by Rebecca Bromhead, CEO of Australian Marist Solidarity (AMS).

I thank the many staff, kitchen, mission team and parents, who are planning and will contribute to making these breakfasts a special time for all sons and their mums.

“Respectful Relationships” seminar and lessons

This Wednesday 5 May, all Year 10 boys will listen to a presentation on Respectful Relationships facilitated by YourChoicez. This seminar will cover the topics of: healthy and unhealthy relationships, how to connect in a meaningful way with family and friends, online choices and their impact, consent and what it means, decision-making around sexual activity and being empowered to make the right decisions for you despite pressure from peers, and pornography and its effect on relationships. The teachers involved in the Ash Program and the College Counsellors will be accompanying the boys during this seminar. Our follow-up Ash lessons in class-time, will then go into exploring these topics in more detail. For more information, view https://yourchoicez.com.au/. On the conclusion of this seminar and the associated follow-up lessons in the Ash program, it is hoped that all Marist boys will consider all available information, regarding healthy relationships, as they make informed and conscious decisions, and form healthy relationships with others. Respectful relationships are built when students have the opportunity to explore their Christian ethics and values, challenge gender stereotypes, learn appropriate relationship skills and explore the processes around making good decisions. I thank Mr Peter Serone, Head of Students, who has organised this seminar for the boys. Listen intently and learn, gentlemen.

NAPLAN

Marist College wishes all Year 5, 7 and 9 boys the best of luck for the Literacy and Numeracy tests which commence next Tuesday 11 May. These tests will be completed online and we look forward to good results from our boys. I thank our expert teachers who have been preparing the boys for these tests. Best wishes, gentlemen.

Careers Expo

Senior students are welcome to attend the Careers Expo from 3:10pm-5:30pm, next Tuesday 11 May. The Careers Expo will be held in the CLE Outdoor Classroom area. It provides the opportunity for the boys to link with tertiary, apprenticeship and work pathway providers, enabling them to gain current information on which to make sound career decisions. The boys will have the opportunity to ask people who have the necessary knowledge on careers, investigate multiple pathways and kick start their career decision-making. Some of the organisations that will be present include: University of Queensland, Australian Catholic University, Griffith University, Sunshine Coast University, Bond University, QUT, TAFE Queensland, Study and Play in USA, Queensland Police, Australian Defence Force Recruiting, Queensland Ambulance Service, Blue Dog Training and many of the university colleges. Girls from Mount St Michael’s, All Hallows, St Rita's and Stuartholme are also invited. All parents are welcome to attend with your son. My thanks are extended to Tara Franklin, Kelly Byrnes and Peter Gaiter for organising this excellent opportunity for the boys.

Big Band

Congratulations to the Marist College Big Band 1 who will be performing at the Brisbane Youth Jazz Festival this Thursday 6 May at 6:00pm at the BEMAC (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre), Kangaroo Point (underneath the Story Bridge). This is an invitation event featuring only the best groups from Southern Queensland. Other notable performances will be undertaken by the: University of Queensland Big Band, Anglican Church Grammar School Big Band, Queensland Youth Orchestra Big Band and the Brisbane Regional Youth Jazz Ensemble. I thank Dr Andrew Butt, Janelle Lee Long and Enrico Le Mura who have prepared and will accompany the boys for this performance. Good luck on what promises to be a wonderful opportunity.

Primary Debating and Public Speaking

Best wishes to our Years 5 and 6 boys who will be participating in Public Speaking and Debating against St Laurence’s College, this Tuesday 4 May. This competition is facilitated for three rounds and provides an excellent opportunity for our Year 5 (Public Speaking) and Year 6 (Debating) boys to develop these life-long communication skills as they compete against students from Ambrose Treacy College, Padua College and St Laurence’s College. The first round will be held at St Laurence’s College, South Brisbane at 6:30pm. Many thanks to their dedicated coaches, Mrs Robyn Brown and Mrs Rachelle Garton for preparing and accompanying the boys.

The Des Connor Oval (‘Flats’)

Marist College is blessed to have seven fully-functioning ovals on the school site. Not to mention, the many tennis, cricket, swimming, basketball and gym facilities that are also available on College grounds. These are wonderful facilities and allow our boys to move quickly from their studies to sport each morning and afternoon. Further, they enable all parents to do one simple drop-off and pick-up each day. Thank you to the Marist Brothers for having the foresight to purchase this large expanse of land for the College and to the many parents and friends of the College who have laboured to make these ovals and amenities enjoyable to all who use them today.

The Des Connor Ovals (‘The Flats’) provide an excellent playing surface for the boys. In the past two years, the College has greatly improved the drainage and surfaces of these ovals at a significant expense (to the College). These beautiful ovals and surrounds also double for the wider Ashgrove community to use at their leisure. The College feels proud to enable this partnership with the local community to take place. Marist College will continue to maintain these ovals including an upgrade of signage and fencing that will occur in future weeks. However, I do wish to remind all community members who use these ovals, that they do so at their own risk and the College asks, that as a courtesy and requirement, any businesses who do use these ovals, to please contact the College prior, so as to check insurance and organise any other arrangements. It is not appropriate for outside businesses to profit from the free use of any Marist College ovals, including the Des Connor Ovals. We trust that the Des Connor Ovals will always be an opportunity for Marist College to maintain close links with the local community but at the same time, we must also ensure the safety of the ovals and that the use of these ovals remain beneficial to our College and primarily, our students.

Green Ash

Well done to our Green Ash boys who explore and practically improve the environmental footprint of the College each year. This group meets on Tuesday and Thursday mornings during Terms 2 and 3 where it has done a wonderful job regenerating a section of the creek bank near the pool. The green Ash boys have a membership to a wonderful organisation called Save Our Waterways Now (SOWN) and source their plants from them. The plants are then paid for by the Old Boys Association. Most meetings involve the boys helping to rid the bank of invasive plant species and in their place, we plant native species. Well done, gentlemen on your wonderful work. I thank our generous teachers, Anne Quill and Catherine Kidd for leading and encouraging the boys.

Congratulations- Environmental Leaders

Congratulations go to Archie Ryan (Year 10), Archie Bathe (Year 10) and Eamonn Frawley (Year 10) for being selected into the Lord Mayor’s Young Environmental Leadership Network (LMYELN) program. Throughout 2021, these representatives will attend five Council-facilitated meetings. At these meetings, the students will gain knowledge, confidence and leadership skills that will equip them to develop and lead a project at Marist College Ashgrove, with the support of their student environment group peers and support teachers, Elizabeth Kenny and Anne Quill. Well done, gentlemen.

Coming Events

Tuesday 4 May

Year 5 and 6 - Public Speaking and Debating against St Laurence’s College - 6:30pm
Old Boys’ Association Meeting - (Tower Function Room)

Wednesday 5 May

Mass in Chapel
Year 10 ‘Respectful Relationships’ Presentation
Mother and Son Breakfast - All Year Levels – 7:00am - 8:15am - Champagnat Centre

Thursday 6 May

Principal and Boarding visits Rockhampton Beef Week
Mother and Son Breakfast Years 5 to 8 – 7:00 am - 8:15 am - Champagnat Centre
Big Band 1 performs at the Brisbane Youth Jazz Festival (Brisbane Multicultural Arts Centre) - 6:00pm

Friday 7 May

Mother and Son Breakfast Years 9 to 12 – 7:00 am - 8:15 am - Champagnat Centre
Round 2 Chess v SEC (H)

Saturday 8 May

Boarder Free Weekend
Round 2 AIC Rugby/Football v SEC (H)
Boarders’ Mass - 5:30pm (Chapel)

Sunday 9 May

Mother's Day

Tuesday 11 May

Online NAPLAN Testing - starts
Careers Expo
Year 10 Dancing

Wednesday 12 May

Mass in Chapel
College Assembly

Thursday 13 May

MATES Free Dress Day

Friday 14 May

Online NAPLAN Testing - concludes
Head of College - College Tours
Round 3 Chess v Villanova College (A)

Saturday 15 May

Round 3 AIC Rugby/Football v Villanova College (A)

Sunday 16 May

Year 8, 10 and 11 Boarders’ Mass - 5:30pm (Chapel)
Year 7, 9 and 12 Boarders’ Mass - 6:20pm (Chapel)

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