From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

To response with Tenderness

During my pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I met a wonderful tour guide. I asked him about the unrest, tension and fighting throughout the Holy Land, especially around the old city. There are four apportioned religious areas in the old city designated to the Jewish, Muslims, Armenians, and the Christians. Each religion claims the importance of this land to their faith. For the Jewish, it is the temple and the Western (Wailing) Wall that is of importance; the Dome of the Rock where Muhammad rose to heaven and the al-Aqsa Mosque is significant to the Islamic faith; the Armenian claim their quarter as part of the Christians quarter, and for we as Christians it is the place where Jesus died and rose. For many observers, these religious faiths lack tolerance and are criticised for their seemingly aggressive behaviour towards one another. It is generally expected that religions share their faith with a spirit of goodwill, respect, dignity, and love which they moralise. Basically, people don’t believe that these religions practice what they preach.

My tour guide’s explanation gave me another insight into the actions of those who claim this territory in the name of their religion. He explained that their unrelenting support and passion about their religion means that they are unwavering in their faith. He likened their beliefs and behaviour to the fanaticism we see for sporting teams or politics. The passion and tensions can run high, but he believed that it is also a positive that people, within reason, believe, stand up for, and are passionate about something as important as faith. Whilst he didn’t condone violence in the name of religion, he did explain that he loves his faith and encouraged each of us to feel the same about our own religion, and to go out beyond and positively share the good news with others.

Maybe a response by all religions to each other should be the theme of Marist Education 2023 - “A Revolution of Love and Tenderness”. Dr Medi Volpe, a moral theologian and ethicist recently spoke on this topic to all Marist educators and associates at the Annual Marial lecture. She spoke of the importance of tenderness and friendship for the world today – “We cannot undervalue these qualities.” She explained that love is tenderness on a mission. Tenderness requires courage to speak about – “Tenderness is not weak but requires fortitude”. It is countercultural in our world today. “Tenderness” is a doing word that instructs us to love each day and care for one another. Medi believed that the only way forward for the world is to move with tenderness.

God of the journey, may we as Marists share our religion passionately and with love, always reflecting and moving in the world with tenderness towards our sister and brother. Amen.

Year 10/11 Subject Selection Evening

The annual Year 10 and 11 Subject Selection Evening (for students currently in Years 9 and 10) will be held on Tuesday 30 May starting in the Champagnat Centre in the following format:

6:00pm for current Year 9 students moving into Year 10, 2024

All parents and students are invited to attend. For Boarding parents, the presentation will be recorded and placed on the parent portal to view. Subject displays will be set up for students and parents to visit after the presentation and ask questions. Students will complete career education sessions in preparation for subject selection in their Year Level meetings within the timetable. The Year 10 online subject selection will open next term as advised.

7:00pm for current Year 10 Students moving into Year 11 2024

Throughout term 2, students completed careers classes during their Workplace Skills lessons. This included career tests, getting to know senior subjects and pre-SET planning work. The subject selection evening is to be held on Tuesday 30th May at 7pm in the Champagnat Centre. All parents and students are invited to attend. For Boarding parents, the presentation will be recorded and placed on the parent portal. Subject displays will be set up for students and parents to visit before or after the presentation. Online subject selections will be open on Thursday, 1st June. Students are to select their Year 11 2024 subjects via the link emailed to them. Online subject selection closes on Monday, 12th June.

My thanks are extended to our Curriculum Leaders and Jen Smeed Deputy Principal – (Teaching and Learning) , Adam Knight, Tara Franklin, Amy Grounds, Alicia Lee, Curriculum Leaders and our Services Team for their organisation and facilitation of these Subject Selection Evenings.

National Reconciliation Week

National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The theme of National Reconciliation Week (Sat 27th May-Sat 3rd June) is ‘Be a voice for Generations.’ The week aims to encourage all Australians to be a voice for reconciliation in tangible ways in our everyday lives - where we live, work and socialise. This is proceeded by National Sorry Day on Friday 26th May where we remember and acknowledge the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities. Marist College Ashgrove will recognise these two events with a college assembly for all students. I thank Dallas Williams our Indigenous Support Officer, Zane Ratcliffe and Rhiannon Fenn for organising this assembly for the boys and to our Dance Troupe of Landon Law-Palm, Keli Law-Palm, Paddy Bassani, Antwone Davidson-Alberts and Reuben Simpson who also performed so well at our Art Show Launch on Sunday Night.

Marist Jazz Night

This Thursday 25th May at 6.30pm, Marist College Ashgrove music students will perform at our annual Jazz Night. This night is a magical evening of jazz with an eclectic program of jazz standards and will include performances by all our Marist College Big Bands, as well as a special guest artist. The night commences at 6.30pm in the Experimental Theatre.

I thank our wonderful music teachers Andrew Butt, Janelle Lee Long, Megan Harmston, Alex Hides, Vanessa Mitchell, and Brodie McAllister who teach and accompany the students.

AIC Cross Country Championships

The AIC Cross Country Championships will be held next Wednesday, 31st May at St Patrick’s College Playing Fields – Curlew Park – Curlew St, Sandgate. Our boys have been preparing well for this event and we look forward to their participation at these Championships. The final lead-up carnival will be on Wednesday 24th May, also at Curlew Park. My thanks are extended to Mitch Reid, Shane Ward and Squad Supervisors who have been preparing the boys. Goodluck, gentlemen.

Creative Industries Week

The Marist College Ashgrove Creative Industries Week will be held from Mon 29th May – Sun 4th June.

Creative Industries week is a week-long event, which sees the Music, Drama, Visual Art and FTV departments join forces to celebrate the Arts at Marist. Students across all year levels, can experience a “taste” of the Arts and participate in the many activities and workshops, enjoying the range of entertainment on offer at first break each day. For Drama, they will be able to learn how professional performers stage realistic fights, engage in modern puppeteering or join in on an improvisation game. For Visual Art, there will be a live paint session by street artist Sarah Sculley in the yard, where the DJ boys will also be playing. Other activities include a screen-printing workshop, where the boys will be able to print a design onto a calico bag, FTV where student films will be shown in the Draney, Music where there will be music producing and songwriting workshops and on Friday the winners of Battle of the Bands will be playing in the Music forecourt.

My thanks are extended to all staff in the Music, Visual Art, Drama and FTV departments (including Tamara Sheedy and Alex Hides) for their preparation and facilitation of these events.

May our loving God with Mary our good mother and St Marcellin Champagnat walk with all members of the Marist College Ashgrove Family.