Boarding News

One thing that remains a constant at Marist College Ashgrove is the significant role and place of the boarding community. Comprised of a special mix of students from overseas and across the country, including a strong contingent of rural and regional families, the boarding community is central to the sense of ‘family’ that Ashgrove is well known for. The humour, generosity of spirit and unique perspective these boys bring to the College is something special.

It is a privilege to witness our boarders grow and mature into ‘Marist Men of Courage’ who understand that respect is earnt, take responsibility for their actions and strive to serve the community above their own interests. As a staff, we recognise that the journey of our young men is different for every individual and, as such, aim to support each one of them along their pathway to adulthood and independence.

Over the course of their involvement at the College the boarders find themselves surrounded by lifelong friends and experiences that will live with them forever. It is with a great sense of fulfilment and happiness to know that our community can help to provide so much for our boys.

It is the boys’ presence that makes what we do here at the College so enriching and worthwhile. We are very fortunate to have a community that radiates pride from both our students, their families and staff. As we move forward, we endeavour to grow stronger and develop further. The relationships that we build between students, staff and parents is critical to everything we do. So please, never underestimate the influence you all have on the College, its reputation and legacy. 

The next steps of this journey continue this week as our hopeful and shortlisted nominees for 2022 boarding captains address the boarding community on their vision for what next year has in store. We also look forward to welcoming our newest Marist boarders as they arrive this Thursday for the beginning of their Marist journey with Year 7 Orientation day on Friday. These are significant milestones in our boarding calendar and are a great representation of the learning and leadership journey our boys experience. 

ABSA Photo Competition

MCA Boarding has entered the ABSA (Australian Boarding School Association) Boarding School Facebook Cover Photo Competition. The competition is simple - the photo with the most likes in two weeks wins, and that photo will be the ABSA FB Cover Photo for 6 months! Please share with family and friends. Jump over to Australian Boarding Schools Association and be sure to give our photo a like or two! We are currently in 

‘likes’ battle with BBC, SPLC and IGS. We would love all the support we can get! Friday is the final day of ‘liking’.

https://www.facebook.com/239321523975/posts/10161091498098976/?d=n

Around the Grounds

La Valla Residence

If you ask a Boarder what they love most about being in the boarding school, the answer will often include 'being with my mates' or 'hanging out with my friends'. This week saw many opportunities for the boys to be together in a range of contexts, from after school clubs, sport, the beach, with students from Clayfield or in the vegetable garden. (The competition in the vegetable garden is getting fierce!) These opportunities provide boys with time away from technology and in the last few weeks we have noticed that the boys are less reliant on their technology to fill their free time and will often choose other activities over their computers. Whilst there is no denying that the boys love 'tech time' and the harshest punishment is a tech ban we can see the young men of La Valla developing a range of interpersonal skills as the year progresses. This was evident over the weekend when two members of the Marist community, who do not usually work with our boys, contacted Mr and Mrs Sedgwick to let them know what a polite, courteous and kind group of boys the La Valla men are. We are so incredibly proud of them and how quickly they are growing up. 

Montagne Residence

Table Tennis has been getting a large workout in recent weeks, so much so that our table has decided that it has had enough. Mr Whitlock has been great in attaining a replacement table for the residence. Tim Tully and Theo Knight have worked at stages over the weekend to put the table together in collaboration with Mr Devoy. Hopefully, this table holds up well and bounces more true in the coming days when fully set up.

Some boys have really been using their study time well in preparation for their upcoming assessment period. There are lots coming up this week including RE and English submission, History and Digital exams as well as preparing for other assignments. Half of the dorm went to the Geography excursion on Friday with the other half attending Monday. This will also form parts for their assessments.

It is positive to see most rooms looking clean this week, including the Common Area and Bathroom. Hopefully, this is maintained till the end of the term as their organisation continues. Sean Green was the envy of some of the dorm this week as his brother bought in KFC… It did smell pretty good!

Hermitage Residence - written by Harry Laing

Last Sunday we went to Mooloolaba for our first rec activity offsite in a number of weeks. It was great that we had warm weather, especially in August. The sunburn was a killer for some boys and it was surprising how brutal the sun was for a winter's day. After a bit of beach volleyball and most boys braving the cooler water, we were on our way back to school to go to our first community gathering in the chapel for mass since, Week 3.  

Study this week has been hectic, with everybody busy with numerous assignments, namely science and HPE, all the boys were really focused on study this week. Indigenous tutors were back this week and to catch up all the indigenous boys tutored four nights this week. Retreat on Thursday was a learning curve for some boys. The Year 9 cohort grew a little bit closer as a result of this experience.  

Personally, the beach was so fun for me. I was playing beach volleyball with Kyran, Matt, Dom Forbes, Harry Doyle and Johnsy and it was an awesome way to spend a Sunday. Namely so, when Johnsy wouldn't stop bragging about his abilities and failing to strike the ball on numerous occasions. Week 7 was a big week of study for me personally, catching up on six assignments and using personal tutoring twice in the last week helped me get back on track.  

The week ended with a number of boys from the dorm taking part in AIC Sport, more specifically rugby league. From all accounts, the boys played well and beat Iona College down at Wynnum with Ryan Johnson starring with a Man of the Match Performance.

Fourviere Residence

Week Seven for the Fourviere Lads saw a continued surge toward the business end of the term, receiving draft feedback and completing assessment tasks have been the order of the day of late, and the boys have had their heads in the books preparing for exam block next week. It was hard work of a different kind for myself and two of the Fourviere lads, Tom Doyle and Hunter Lowis as we were joined by Terence duo Paddy Gavin and Paddy Manning on the Year 11 Sport and Recreation camp, which turned out to be a great success. Despite the extremely chilly overnight temperatures, the days were quite splendid and the boys kept their spirits high to complete the 161km trek along the Brisbane Valley Rail Trail from Yarraman to Wulkuraka. Tom Doyle showed off his skills on the Camp Kitchen grill as we all enjoyed 'Steak night' on the Tuesday evening in the Esk. There were some tired and sore bodies by the end of the week but a great sense of satisfaction for them in having made the journey under their own steam.

For the Year 10's, their retreat day on Friday was a highlight as they got the opportunity to spend some valuable time together as an entire cohort learning about and getting to know one another a little more. From all reports, Alistair Boland stole the show with his outstanding rendition of 'The Gambler'. Well done to Al for having the courage to stand up before all of Year 10 to perform solo!

Not much joy for our rugby league teams again this week, though Frank Baker was victorious on the tennis court.

Finally, we were most grateful for a further easing of the COVID-19 restrictions of previous weeks enabling boys to get off campus for some Ashgrove leave and even a small crew were delighted to be able to head out to dinner to celebrate Atticus Armstrong's 16th birthday with him and his family. 

Br Terence Residence

The formal process for determining College leadership positions for 2022 was in full swing this week. Many of our Year 11 boarders spoke in front of their peers as part of the process for selecting House Captains for next year. During the week, Hayden Lammon and Clancy Clemson spoke to the entire Year 11 boarding cohort about their experiences as boarding captains and answered any questions from the boys about these roles. Following this presentation, the boys were given the opportunity to nominate themselves for these important roles within the boarding community. In the residence, our Year 11 boys have been great at turning their focus to their exam preparation as well as enjoying their downtime. 'Scary movie night' on a Saturday evening continues to provide plenty of discussion amongst the Year 11 boys on the weekends.

For our Year 12s, they commenced their 'mocks' this week which will serve as important preparation for their external exams next term. It has been pleasing to see the boys applying themselves to their studies even though the volume of content to revise can be overwhelming. The reality of how little time they have left is starting to be realised and this has prompted some of the boys to get cracking on their school work! During the week, 2020 Old Boys Francis Sevil and James Clarke spent some time with our Year 12s to explain how they approached their external exam preparation and also to answer any questions and/or concerns that our 2021 seniors have at this important time of the year. Fortunately, the boys received some more good news this week with the return of City Leave which provided a good escape from the grind of study and revision.

Boarding Recreation - Mr Blair Whitlock

Friday saw the first boarder’s arvo tea of the term with Dany and several other Marist parents putting on a great spread. It’s always a great start to the weekend and appreciated by all the boys. Later that night we took a group of 25 boys down to Suncorp to watch the Roosters vs Rabbitohs match. There was plenty of excitement with the Bunnies putting on an attacking clinic in what was a feisty match. A pitch invader and a rowdy bunch of Roosters fans kept the boys entertained throughout!

Round five of the AIC took place on Saturday against Iona College. It was a cracking day with the boys heading all over Brisbane for Basketball, Rugby League & Tennis fixtures. We had a coach load of boarders out at Wynnum to support the 1st XIII League side, which unfortunately went down in the second half to a strong Iona side. There was also a bike ride to the Blue Nurses on Saturday afternoon before taking a group over to Brookside to stock up on supplies. We finished the evening off in the gym with Badminton, Volleyball and a 3 v 3 Basketball competition.

On Sunday morning, the boys involved in the Go-Kart challenge fired up the engines ahead of race day next Friday. A small group of Year 9 and 10 boys have been working on their karts with Mr Devoy since Term 1 and are certainly looking forward to the event next Friday. Later on, we took a small group out to Shorncliffe Pier for a fish. It was a perfect morning which was a good distraction for the lack of bite! In what has become a regular theme on our fishing trips, Marcus Paulsen made it look easy while the rest of us fed schools of fish for a couple of hours. The weekend finished off with a visit from Clayfield College. We played several games of Bullrush and Touch Footy on the oval before heading down to the pool to cool off. It was another hot day and everyone enjoyed a swim before heading up to Sunday Mass.