From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

The Gift of Faith

During my pilgrimage, all participants spent time in reflection at the River Jordan, the site of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist. The place was quite ordinary, yet tranquil and special. It is a place where Jesus started his public life of faith. At the River Jordan, where we retold the story of the baptism of Jesus, we were invited to reflect on the question: Who originally taught you how to pray and develop your faith? Interestingly, I had never reflected on this question before. Yet, in doing so, I realised that it was my mother and father and without them, I would never have developed my own faith. A clear memory of mine is of my mother kneeling down with me by my bed each night to pray and to remind me that God was close by. The prayer I most remember saying with my mum was simply a made-up prayer where we prayed for the poor and hungry, especially children who didn’t have any food or shelter that evening. My father had a great devotion to Mary, and I can recall saying the rosary with him in the car. He always encouraged us to go to mass saying, “It’s only one hour of your week.” Today, my faith is very much a part of who I am, so I am very grateful to my parents. These are wonderful memories and when I look back on my time as a younger person, I am reminded of this gift of faith that they gave to me.

The gift of faith is also present in the story of Marcellin Champagnat. What really inspired the founder of the Marist Brothers was the experience of giving a young teenager in the French countryside the last rights, only to find out that he had never been introduced to God. No one had ever taught or helped to develop his faith. There is a famous and well-known quote from the life of St Marcellin - “I can’t meet a child without telling them how much God loves them.” From this profound experience, St Marcellin started a religious order devoted to educating the young people in southern France to liberate them and teach them about God. Providing the opportunity to develop each boy’s faith, giving them an opportunity to pray and developing their individual spirituality is certainly at the heart of a Marist education.

God of the journey, we thank you for all those people who helped teach us about the faith, and we pray that we will grasp this learning every day of our lives. Amen.

Tower Art Show

The annual Tower Art Show is almost upon us! We look forward to welcoming to the College our guest artists and displaying our student artworks throughout the Tower. This annual Marist College Tower Art Show will be held this Friday 19 - Sunday 21 May. The feature artist this year is Zac Moynihan (Marist Old Boy, 2005). The Opening Night is this Friday night, 19 May and tickets are available to be purchased by clicking this link:

The Tower Art Show 2023 - Opening Night , Fri 19 May 2023, 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm AEST

The Art Show continues throughout the weekend, Saturday 20 May 9:00am – 5:00pm and Sunday 21 May 9:00am– 12:00pm, which coincides with our Walkathon and Battle of the Bands. There will be a café open and live music across the weekend. Do come and join us for this wonderful weekend of friendship, enjoyment and quality art. All proceeds go to the Foundation which supports students to attend Marist, who, due to financial hardship, would not usually have the opportunity to do so. My thanks are extended to our Tower Art Show organisers and sponsors. Thank you, committee members: Clare Mapledoram, Jo Russo, Sam Matthews, Jodie Vickery, Amanda Lane and Katie Falcnik. To our generous sponsors: Olivia Rogers Orthodontics, Tooth Dental Ashgrove, Andrew Keogh Calibre Real Estate, Amcal Pharmacy Murgon, Ruby Red Jewellery, Projana, Luxe Beauty Bardon, The Modern, Niche Reform and Meredith Howse Art. To the 2023 Raffle Supporters: Myrtle, Kate Quinn Artist, The Modern Furniture Store, W Brisbane, Silver Corvidae Jewellery, Ruby Red Jewellery, Creative Framing Solutions, Eckersleys, Allsports, Sam Mathews, Rosalie Gourmet Market, Home Store, Victoria Park, Cr Andrew Wines. Finally, to the Marist College Ashgrove staff for their assistance: Christine Larsen, Tamara Sheedy, Ellen Kassulke, Bethany Halpin, Dr Andrew Butt, Jennifer Mcnamara, Toni Martin and Dominique Hall. Many thanks for all your generous support.

I look forward to seeing you over the weekend.

https://www.marash.qld.edu.au/news-events/events/the-tower-art-show-2023/

College Annual Walkathon

This Sunday, 21 May is the annual College Walkathon. This is a wonderful family-orientated day for the College. The day will consist of the walk through the Enoggera Barracks, followed by the “Battle of the Bands” at the McMahon Oval grandstand and the chance to enjoy lunch/brunch together as a family. This is the major Parents and Friends fundraiser for the year with proceeds going towards improving facilities for the boys. Funds raised at the walkathon in recent years have gone towards – painting the Champagnat Centre and installing fans in the Mezzanine level, purchasing a coffee van for the flats and for special occasions (which will eventually be a source of funds for the P&F) and the construction of the new Music studios which will be opened later in the year at the Assumption Mass. My thanks are extended to the Enoggera Barracks and the following people who have organised and will be facilitating this enjoyable day on Sunday, namely: Lt. Col. John Pollard, Maj. Paula Vetter, Madeleine Tong, Camille Greig, Jane O’Shea, Charles Brauer, Matt Tarlinton, Brendan Jansons, Kevin Carr, Jordan McHugh, Callum Clark, Kieran Day, Kyle Gardner, Kelly Byrnes, Peter Serone, Michael Connolly, Anthony Graham, Deb Maddox, Nathan Ayre, Antonia Svenson, Sophie Tuffley, Denver Jensen, Dylan Gower, Jerry Mutagubya, all staff volunteers and the P&F – Donna Lynn, Kim Rabie, Richelle Power, Jon Pollard, all parent volunteers and our Year 12 Leaders.

Please keep the sponsorship rolling in to support this fundraising effort for the P&F and essentially, for improved facilities for the boys.

To donate, please visit this link.

Marist Reading Night

This Thursday evening, 18 May from 5:30pm-7:30pm our Year 7 and 8 boys, along with a significant male in their lives (father, uncle, grandfather or friend) have been invited to hear from author, Lance Peatey, and spend time reading alongside each other. We have had over 300 tickets sold and we are really looking forward to this reading experience together in the Champagnat Centre. Lance Peatey is the author of A Complete History of the Rugby World Cup, and he is going to share his reading and writing passion with us. The evening will include lucky door prizes, a chance to read together, share some pizza and enjoy a drink. Students are to bring along a book to read. My thanks are extended to Mrs Roxanne Rosenberg - Assistant Head of College Learning and Teaching (Middle Years) for organising this night for the boys.

National Boarding Week

Marist College Ashgrove has been a boarding school since its inception in 1940. We are very proud of our boarding school and acknowledge the important contribution that our boarders and their families add to the very fabric that is Marist. We appreciate you!

This week, Sunday 14 May - Sunday 21 May, we celebrate National Boarding Week 2023. The theme of the week is ‘A Patchwork of Boarding.’ The following special events have been organised for the week:

In keeping with the theme of this year’s National Boarding Week a video featuring our boarders – “A Patchwork of Boarding”.
A breakfast prepared and served by our boarders to thank key staff who help in the boarding program.
An outdoor movie night with other girls’ Brisbane boarding schools hosted by Marist.
A combined Marist/Stuartholme Boarder’s Mass this Sunday at 7pm in the Chapel of Our Lady and St Marcellin Champagnat.

My thanks are extended to all the boarding staff, the school nurses, the laundry staff, the catering staff, and the Boarder Parent Network and our Head of Boarding, Mr Jim Noble, for organising these activities. Happy National Boarding Week.

Year 11 Exam Block

The Year 11 Examination Block has commenced and will conclude on Friday 19 May. To find out details of the schedule, please go to the Parent Portal or Student Portal and click on the Exam and Assessment Schedule and Information tile. Parents have also received this information via email. The Year 11 Exam Block is important for the boys as they progress through the summative assessment period of the new ATAR system. My thanks are extended to all the boys’ teachers, the Academic Care Team and Lisa Gleeson who have organised this assessment block for the boys. Reports for Year 11 will be distributed in Week 7.

Big Band

Best wishes to the Marist College Ashgrove Big Band who have a number of important performances in terms two and three. These performances include:

Tuesday 16 May 9:15pm – Big Band Youth Festival – Brisbane Ethnic and Multicultural Arts Centre
Marist Jazz Night - 25 May 6:30pm in the Experimental Theatre
Jumpers and Jazz Festival performance in Warwick - Sunday 30 July 10:30am – 11:30am.

My thanks are extended to Andrew Butt, Janelle Lee-Long, Alex Hides, Megan Harmston, Brodie McAllister and Vanessa Mitchell for organising and accompanying the boys during these performances.

Year 10 Formal Dancing

The Year 10 Dancing lessons culminate next Tuesday at the Brisbane Town Hall. Throughout the past 3 weeks, the boys have been joined by the girls at Loreto College Coorparoo and Mt St Michael’s Ashgrove to learn the steps of old-time dances. Next Tuesday 23 May, the boys and girls will dress up and step out as they combine all their learnings for a formal dance together. This has been a most enjoyable experience for all the boys and I know they are looking forward to this final formal dance experience. My thanks go to the following staff from Marist who have organized and will be facilitating this evening, namely: Lucy Naughton, Andrew Butt, Anntoinette Restell, Jasmine Wilton, Christine Larsen, Julia Wilken, Mena McLean, Rowan Dekkers, Caroline Smith, Jo Garbellini and Leisa Williams. Enjoy gentlemen.

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