Head of Students News

Year 10 and 11 Exam Block School Sign-in Procedure

Year 10 and 11 students attending school for exams next week are required to sign in to the College. There are a number of QR code sign-in stations located in Student Admin, Main Reception and the CLE.  It is important that all students sign in via the QR Codes should an emergency situation arise and accurate rolls can be taken.

Wear it Purple Day

As part of the Year 10 ASH program, students attended a meeting in the Chapel with Dr Danielle Lynch who spoke to the students on the topic of inclusivity. Please see her report below. Many thanks to Genevieve Long, College Psychologist for coordinating this event with Dr Lynch.

Wear It Purple:

Gender, Sexuality, and Catholic Anthropology

Dr Danielle Lynch

It was a privilege to speak to Year 10 in their Ash lesson, to encourage our Marist young people to think critically about their understanding of sexuality and gender in relation to who we are as people formed in the Marist, Catholic, Christian traditions. In my experience, Year 10 are mature enough to engage meaningfully on these issues to explore the impact their understanding of them has on their lives.

For the last 3 years, I have been researching and presenting on gender and sexuality and Catholic theological anthropology – that is, what it means to be human in relation to God. Over the last decade I have encouraged young people to grapple with issues relating to God, faith, spirituality, religion, and, most importantly, how to live their lives well – questions that have driven my own studies. I teach theology at the Australian Catholic University, and, unsurprisingly, the same questions arise. Everyone is trying to work out who they are and how to live life to the full in this world.

“Our task, as people made in the image and likeness of God, is to overcome the persistent temptation not to love and appreciate what God has called good.”

[Pamela R. Lightsey, Our Lives Matter, 81.]

Using music as a tool for reflection on the important Catholic understanding of being created in the image and likeness of God, and of human life as fundamentally good, I explored with students the idea that we are continually learning about who we are as we go through life. Yet, at every moment we are offered opportunities to present ourselves in particular ways. Philosopher Judith Butler, whose work is oft-quoted in gender studies, notes that this is because gender is performative: it is both a social construction and an engagement with that construction which reflects your sense of who you are. For many of us, conforming with the gender and sexual norms of society is not problematic. For others of us, it is incredibly challenging, and we have some control over the extent to which we inhabit, reject or subvert those norms.

I shared with students some challenging Catholic theological anthropology from American Catholic theologian Brianne Jacobs: “If we hope to right sexual violence in our history, if we hope to be in relationship with God today, the powerful at the center must let themselves be interrupted and named by those on the margins. We must not only recognize those who are not men, not heterosexual, not reproductive, or non-gender conforming as human; we must reconfigure what it means to be human based on their humanity.” [“An Alternative to Gender Complementarity: The Body as Existential Category in the Catholic Tradition.” Theological Studies 80, no. 2 (June 2019): 328–45, 345]

It gives me hope that we are able to have conversations with young people about who we are as human beings, created in the image and likeness of God, created by love and for love, and to explore how we integrate the many parts of our identities as embodied, gendered, sexual human beings to live the fullest flourishing human life in love.

Year 9 Camp

Best wishes to students and staff going on camp Week 9 next week. This outdoor education experience provides students with the opportunity to extend and challenge themselves through a variety of activities, learning new skills based around lifelong physical activity whilst working in a team environment. I would like to thank the 20-plus staff who are joining the students in order to make the camp a reality, committing themselves to four days away from family and work waiting for them on arrival back at school.

A reminder to families any students not attending camp are expected to be at school next week Monday – Friday.

TransLink Bus Fare Evasion

Recently, TransLink drivers have pointed out to the staff on bus duty an increasing number of students with bus passes that have not enough funds loaded for the journey or simply no pass with them. A recent conversation with one driver stated that TransLink inspectors had begun doing the rounds of schools in the afternoon, to address the growing problem.

Please be sure your son's bus pass is loaded for the journey required. It is a poor reflection on the College and lowers the positive reputation out in the community of the College, to have so many students not complying with fare payment.

Marist College School TV 

SPECIAL REPORT: Living in Multicultural Environments

Boarding schools are often a melting pot of multiculturalism and ethnic diversity. Therefore, living away from home can present challenges other than just a longing to be back with family and friends. Missing your culture, language and community can also play an intrinsic part.

Students come together to learn and co-habit in surroundings that are sometimes unfamiliar and daunting. Assimilating to boarding school can be a difficult time, especially for students whose home environments may be vastly different to their new surroundings. It can often result in a period of adjustment and transition. Ensuring all students feel connected and have a sense of belonging during this time is crucial to their long-term academic and health outcomes.

Feeling that sense of belonging is a fundamental human need. It is therefore important for children to learn at an early age how to respect and embrace differences between races and cultures, rather than judge them. Parents and caregivers play a vital role in fostering a cultural literacy and awareness providing a deeper understanding of international perspectives and an appreciation for the fact that things are done differently all over the world.

This Special Report emphasises the importance of discussing diversity and multiculturalism to ensure all students feel supported to be their most authentic self and accepting of others. We hope you take a moment to reflect on the information offered, and as always, we welcome your feedback. If this raises any concerns for you, a loved one or the well-being of your child, please seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to your special report:

https://marash.qld.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-living-multicultural-environments