Deputy Head of College News

“Don’t smile before Easter!” This has been the mantra of educational advice for beginning teachers for quite some time, for obvious reasons - keep the students guessing, control your emotions and keep focused. It’s time we threw this advice to the curb. Restraining oneself as a teacher is contradictory to what we deeply value as a faith and learning community. Honest and mutually respectful relationships are the basis of an enabling education. “Smile more!” is my mantra.

It took me some years as a young adult to truly value the impact a smile can have on another. I have grown to appreciate how a smile can be a warm welcome, a gateway to joy and a reliever of tension or stress. I can’t imagine a school where we constrain these through constraining a smile. A smile shares with others the Love of Work as a teacher, a parent, a peer or a friend. Sharing the joy of our work within schools is essential to the full and proper formation and education of our young people.

The word ‘formation’ can be an odd term for some. Staff of Catholic schools are probably sick of the word! Formation, for me, is distilled down to the simple concept of change with a key purpose in mind. I used the example of ‘the potter’ with my Year 10 RE class as a metaphorical example to explain the idea of formation in the spiritual sense. A potter has a vision in mind. A potter gently and sincerely shapes that which is natural. A potter shapes a form that can have a very practical use. A potter will add unique touches, decorations or inscriptions. A potter may intentionally leave some imperfections alone knowing that the creation is unique. Our staff had the wonderful opportunity to be ‘formed’ in this during our Staff Spirituality Day.

Being consciously and unconsciously formed as a student, an educator or a parent is a true gift of Catholic education. Much time, energy and resources are dedicated to creating time and space for individuals to listen, share with others and be challenged in a purposeful way, to be formed. No doubt other professions have professional learning and further study opportunities. However, I wonder how many of these opportunities could explore the concept of the ‘smile’ in such depth. Although the day off for students may have come with its inconvenience, it provided our staff with the time and space to be formed, shaped with purpose. May we ‘smile’ with purpose.

Year 11 and 12 Blazer Update

We are very pleased to see the strong uptake of the optional yellow braiding for the senior blazers. With Term 2 approaching, the College has provided Year 11 and 12 students a final opportunity to have the yellow braiding added. To take up one of these options please return your sons blazer (used or newly purchased) to the Deputy Head of College Office. The final deadline for the return is 3.00pm Friday 3 March. Please have pockets emptied and all badges removed. Name tags for each blazer will be provided by the College.

Cost:       $60 – for the braid to be added (inclusive of freight)

                 $10 – dry cleaning fee (if not dry cleaned when returned)

Payment: Payment for the braid and dry cleaning is to be made through the Monitor Shop here. 

Collection: The blazers will be returned to the College ready for student collection on the first day of Term 2, Tuesday 18 April. 

Training Shirt Update

Due to high levels of demand, there are currently some sizes of the training tee that are out of stock in the Uniform Shop. The College and Noone have prioritised the approval and manufacture of more training tees and singlets. Training tees and singlets are not compulsory in 2023, however, will be compulsory in 2024. Students may wear the tee or singlet for any sport training. 

App Calendar

A reminder to parents and guardians to please refer to the College App Calendar for the most up-to-date event information. The App Calendar is updated weekly with any changes or additions as they occur. Access is via the Calendar tile on the College App or via the College website via the following link Calendar - Marist College Ashgrove (marash.qld.edu.au).

Student Residential Address and Other Information Collection

2023 Student Residential Address and Other Information The Australian Government Department of Education (the department) would like to notify you that we have requested for your child’s school to provide residential address and other information. 

Under the Australian Education Regulation 2013, the school is required to provide the department with the following information about each student at the school: 

• Names and residential addresses of the student’s parent(s) and/or guardian(s) 
• Student residential address (excluding student names) 
• Whether the student is a primary or secondary student (education level) 
• Whether the student is boarding or a day student (boarding status). 

The school collects the above information by generating a unique and unidentifiable – student reference number (SRN) for each student record. The school only uses the SRN for this collection. It is not allowed to be used for any other purpose. The number only indicates to the department that each record provided is for one student.

More Information