Primary School News

Dear Primary Families,

As we enter the second week of Term 3, we continue to focus on the Marist Characteristic of Love of Work. Last week all boys took the time to set specific academic goals for the term based on their results and feedback provided at the end of Semester 1. I look forward to visiting classrooms this week and hearing from individual students about their learning goals and the plans they have in place to achieve them.

Last week we also reflected on the characteristic of Love of Work in conjunction with Queensland’s historic State of Origin victory on Wednesday night. Specifically, the boys reflected on the attitude that the Queenslanders entered the game with, despite an extremely disruptive preparation that could have easily been filled with excuses. Furthermore, the performances of rookie Tom Dearden, who was not even meant to play, and Ben Hunt, who was almost run out of Brisbane with the fatal grand-final drop, were prime examples of commitment to their work and a true representation of being 100% Queensland, 100% of the time. 

NAIDOC Week

This week we celebrate NAIDOC Week as a College. Let us take a moment together to consider the words of the prayer below, which were prayed with St John Paul II on his visit to Alice Springs in 1986.

Father of all,

You gave us the Dreaming,

You have spoken to us through our beliefs,

You then made your love clear to us in the person of Jesus

We thank you for your care.

You own us, you are our hope.

Make us strong as we face the problems of change.

We ask you to help the people of Australia

to listen to us and respect our culture.

Make the knowledge of you grow strong in all people,

so that you can be at home in us

and we can make a home for everyone in our land.

Amen.

Prepared for Pope John Paul II’s visit to Alice Springs 1986

COVID-19

Last week Mr Newman (Head of College) communicated a COVID-19 update to all MCA families. As outlined, we are taking a number of precautions as a community to ensure that we are staying safe while at school. Yesterday, I let the boys know they are welcome to wear masks while they are at school. 

Staff and students are also reminded that they must wear a mask for 7 days after completing isolation, or if they are a close contact. If your son falls into either of these categories, your support in ensuring he wears a mask while at school is very much appreciated. 

Absences

Thank you to those families who are continuing to use the ParentLounge to enter student absences, late arrivals and early departures. If your son is absent due to COVID-19, please enter their absence for the entirety of their isolation period as this will assist our staff in planning for their return and allocating work as required.

Book Week

I am of the firm belief that a love of reading is one of the greatest gifts we can give any child, particularly boys. I am also passionate about this love being fostered in their foundational years of schooling. Fortunately for us, we have many fantastic resources in our Primary School Library that are purposely curated to engage our boys as active readers.

Next week, we celebrate Book Week in the Primary School. The week will include a number of events to promote literature to our boys, including a visit from rugby league legend-turned-author, Sam Thaiday. As is tradition, the week will finish with our legendary costume parade in the Primary Quadrangle at 8:35am. More information about the week can be found in the Library section below.

Academic Improvement

At last Thursday’s morning assembly, Ms Little acknowledged some Year 6 students who had made significant growth in their academic results from Semester 2, 2021 to Semester 1, 2022. These students are listed in the PLL section below.

Year 5 2024

As communicated in the College Newsletter last week, we hope to commence construction on a new Primary building later this year. The development of this building aims to accommodate a larger intake of Year 5 students in 2024. We are in the unique position to advertise these extra Year 5 places in the coming weeks. If you are aware of any families who fall into this cohort (current Year 3 students), please advise them to apply as a matter of urgency.

MCA Hoodies and Sports Jackets

A reminder that the MCA Hoodies and BLK Sports jackets are not to be worn with the college sport or formal uniforms. They are welcome at morning trainings and at weekend sport. 

Haircuts

Well done to all boys who returned to school last week with an appropriate haircut. Whilst the ‘mullet’ continues to be paraded by their favourite players across the football codes this season, it was pleasing to see that they did not make their way into the College for Term 3. Thank you for your support with this.  

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.

Goondiwindi Rugby Trip

Next Saturday, I will travel with a group of Primary students to participate in a rugby game at Goondiwindi Rugby Club. This is a great opportunity for our boys to experience a rural community that the College has many connections with and allow them to meet some future MCA boarders. Parents of participating students are reminded to complete the permission form via ParentLounge.

Primary Learning Leader – Ms Jen Little

Welcome back to Term 3. I hope you all found some time to rest up over the holiday period. I also hope you took the opportunity at the end of last term to read your son’s Semester One Report and review the individual assessment feedback that was made available both in Student Café and Parent Lounge. 

Last term during our final assembly, I reminded the boys of our core values at Marist College Ashgrove. These values include our commitment to setting our sights on noble goals and our genuine love of work. To that end, we have hit the ground running in the area of learning this term. Over last week and yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak to all students across Years 5 and 6 regarding their efforts last semester and the grades they received on their most recent report card. During this time, students learned how to calculate their GPAs (Grade Point Averages) to track their academic performance and keep themselves in check. 

The boys responded very well to the Academic Care Session and now understand that their GPA is a measure for which they can track their progress using their scores as a baseline. During my time with the students, a range of strategies were suggested to assist in growing their academic potential. One of the strategies discussed was the use of our Morning Study Room from 8:00 – 8:30 every weekday. Currently, this is an under-utilised resource that I strongly encourage our students to take advantage of. Boys were also reminded of the fabulous One Note learning activities that have been made available to them by their classroom teachers. These are useful for our students when it comes to study and revision.

I would like to particularly congratulate those Year 6 students who have demonstrated more than 1 point of growth since their Semester Two Report last year. Please see below for a list of these students and the progress they have made.

QDU Debating Competition

Congratulations to our Year 5 Debating Team who won their second round of the QDU Competition last Thursday night. The boys have 2 more debates left and are undefeated to date. Well done to the following students:

• Callum Nowers
• Jack Donohue
• Oliver Crowley
• Oscar Chapman 
• James Phelan

Thursday evening saw our two Year 6 debating teams competing most admirably against Indooroopilly State School and St John’s Anglican College for Round 2 of the competition. Both teams were successful in beating their opponents arguing the negative position on “That Disney Princesses are bad role models”

We can be proud of each of our boys who performed commendably. The adjudicators were generous with their feedback, both with praise and suggestions for improvements.

The 6.1 team consists of Harry Player, Kayden Kyoung, Nick Steffens and Connor O’Rourke as timekeepers.

The 6.2 team consists of Henry Walker, Lucas Weigl, Kaelan Mulqueen and Ed Hancock as timekeepers.

Congratulations gentlemen!

MCA Book Week Celebrations

Next week beginning 25th July, we will be celebrating Book Week with the boys. It is a wonderful way for us to share our love of literature. Our theme for this year is “Dreaming with eyes wide open”. We are thrilled to announce our author visit for this year is Sam Thaiday. Since his retirement from the Bronco’s Sam has forged a successful media career, is an ambassador for the Starlight Children’s Foundation, is very committed to a wide range of community and charity activities and of course is now a celebrated author! Sam has published two autobiographical books of his career including Rise: The Sam Thaiday Story. This book will be available for the boys to purchase before Sam’s visit so they may have their book signed after Sam’s presentation.  The book is packed with advice for setting and reaching goals, handling setbacks and finding the things that matter to you in life, and is a must-read story for any young league fan, regardless of who they barrack for! We are sure the boys will delight in Sam’s unique and entertaining style of story-telling and be inspired by his story.

 “Where the Wild Things Are” will have a wonderful display of their latest books for sale, including Sam’s book. The boys will have the opportunity to view the books, and compile their wish lists, which they will bring home to discuss the prospect to purchase with you. Our library receives a percentage of the purchases in order to buy new books for our library, which is marvellous. Fiona Stagger, the owner of the book shop, will also be conducting a book chat with some of the boys during lunch break on Wednesday.

The highlight of our week is our annual Bookweek costume parade. Please do not feel it necessary to purchase expensive premade costumes, as we encourage the boys to design and create their own favourite book character. You are most welcome to stay and enjoy the parade which will take place at 8:30am on Friday in the primary quadrangle.

In the library we shall have many theme based activities for the boys to participate in and enjoy. We have been very busy creating lots of lovely things for the boys’ enjoyment. There will be quizzes, puzzles, games and loads of fun. We shall be hosting an up late session in our “Dream Library” for parents on Wednesday to peruse the books and enjoy the ambience. The library shall remain open until 6:00pm.

We are looking very forward to celebrating this wonderful literary festival with your boys with the aim of stimulating and exciting them in the marvellous world of books.

Primary School Sport – Mr John Lambourne

Basketball

Years 5&6 Basketball Training Schedule 2022

Rugby League

Rugby League training;

Tuesday, 3:30 – 4:45pm @ Des Connor Park

Friday, 7:00 – 8:00am @ Hayden Oval 

Tennis

Tennis training;

Year 5: Tuesday, 6:45 – 8:15am and Thursday, 3:30 – 5:00pm

Year 6: Monday, 6:45 – 8:15am and Wednesday, 3:30 – 5:00pm

Track & Field

Monday and Wednesday afternoon track training sessions are open to all boys, boys wanting to qualify for AIC Track & Field Championships and boys attending for fitness training, there is no obligation to attend AIC meets later in Term 3.

Years 5&6 T&F Training Schedule 2022

Sports Photographs

We are always on the lookout for photos and action shots to be used for the Blue and Gold, other College publications, season or end-of-year wrap-ups etc. Please follow this link and add your photos. 

Marist College Ashgrove Primary Sports Photos

College App

Please ensure that you download the College App to your smartphone. This app will be used weekly to inform you of sporting fixtures, cancellations and bus arrival information.