Marist College Ashgrove Newsletter

Deputy News

Mr Bruce McPhee

Another Year Begins at Marist College Ashgrove

As we begin another year together, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome our new families. As I shared with the boys on our first day assembly last week, it is important to acknowledge that we are all now part of the Marist family, regardless of how long each of us has been at the College.  In a nutshell, our message to all the boys is that “no one belongs here more than you”. Hopefully, this message will resound loudly at tomorrow’s assembly where we will formally welcome our new Year 5 and 7 students.

 

I would like to take the opportunity in our first newsletter of the year to ensure we are all on the same page regarding the daily procedures of the College.  I am sure many of you would be keen to know most about matters relating to your sons’ attendance.

 

In future newsletters, we will explore a range of matters relating to College life.  Please don’t hesitate to make contact should you wish for me to include particular information about the College which you think might be useful to other parents and guardians.

Supervision of Students Before School

The College’s formal yard supervision of students commences at 8:15am every school day.

 

Those boys who are attending sports training or other planned activities will be supervised by the adult(s) in charge.  From 7:30am, boys are welcome at either of the libraries or the Centre for Learning Enrichment for tutoring and other assistance.

While there are always adults around the school from 7:00am in a coaching or tutoring capacity, Marist college Ashgrove does not provide formal supervision of students not attending sport training, music rehearsal or tutoring prior to 8:15am.  Parents are responsible for their sons prior to this time.

Day Long Absences

If your son is going to be absent for a day due to illness or any other unexpected reason, please notify the College via:

 

Email: studentabsentees@marash.qld.edu.au

College Absentee Line:  07 3858 4697

 

An SMS alert will be sent to parents/guardians of students recorded as an unexplained absence.

 

Please ensure you contact your son’s Head of House regarding any daily absences you are aware of ahead of time.

Early Departures

Year 5 - 6: If a student needs to leave the school during the day, they must sign out at the Primary School Reception - a parent/guardian is required to accompany.

 

Year 7 - 12: If a student needs to leave the school during the day, he must have a note in his diary from a parent/guardian requesting permission to leave at a certain time. This note is to be signed by their Head of House before school or during morning administration and presented to Student Administration before signing out to leave the College grounds.

 

Day students are not permitted to go home for lunch.

Students Arriving Late

Students must sign in at the Student Administration Offices (Primary Reception: Years 5 to 6 with parent/guardian and Student Administration: Years 7 to 12 with a note in their diary advising of their late arrival) BEFORE going to their scheduled classroom. 

An automated text message will be sent throughout the day to parents/guardians advising of their son’s late arrival to school.

Drop-off and Pick-up

Please remember when dropping off or picking up students that road rules exist for the protection of everyone including your boys. Police and other authorities will be enforcing traffic regulations.

 

Please remind boys that if for any reason, they are not picked up after school, they should go to the Health Centre and wait for a parent to arrive. The staff there are able to look after the boys and make every effort to contact parents.

A Message to Parents About Child Safeguarding

All members of the Marist College Ashgrove community take Child Safeguarding (also known as Child Protection) very seriously.  The College has a Child Protection policy which can be accessed through the Parent Portal and the College website. 

 

Please contact the College’s Student Protection Officers immediately should you be concerned about the behaviour of anyone, which is causing you or your son concern.

 

Our Student Protection Officers are Mr Bruce McPhee (Deputy Head of College), Mr Peter Serone (Head of Students), Mrs Angela Simpson (Head of Learning and Teaching) and Mr Ty Casey (Acting Head of Boarding). Contacts are below.  It is the responsibility of Student Protection Officers to receive reports from students, parents and/or staff of any child protection matters. This includes reports of abuse, or likely abuse, harm or likely harm.

Have Your Family Circumstances Changed?

To ensure we are able to contact parents and guardians quickly and easily in an emergency, please keep your contact details up to date via Parent Lounge.  As part of this process, we ask that you please check you have an Alternate Emergency Contact listed for your family.  This person will be contacted should you be unavailable in case of emergency.

 

Where there has been a family separation and parents now reside at different addresses, please be aware we can effectively manage separate contact details on our system without compromising communication regarding your son. In the case of separated families, it would be ideal to have an Emergency Contact listed for each parent. 

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if you need help navigating any changes (including new family court orders, conditional communication or separate billing) through the Parent Portal. Our Data Management Office, Katherine Hoffmann is available to support you in this area. 

 

Email: hoffmannk@marash.qld.edu.au

Phone:  07 3858 4508