Primary School News

Dear Primary Parents

Last week I was fortunate to attend three separate functions here at the college that celebrated the special women in our lives. The Mother and Son Mass on Wednesday evening was a beautiful celebration of the special relationship that exists between a mother and a son. During the mass, Fr Alatini spoke of the need for us all to salute mothers everywhere. He suggested that in saluting our mums, we are showing the well-deserved respect for all the work that our mums have done, and will do, for us. I would like to think that all our Primary boys have made an effort to salute those special women in their lives over the weekend.

On Thursday and Friday mornings, I popped into the Champagnat Centre for our Mother’s Day Breakfasts. The gym had been transformed from a basketball court to a breakfast venue for hundreds of mothers, aunties, grandmothers and students. As I walked around taking photos of the various Primary mother and son groups, the sense of joy in the air was palpable. The boys were eager to serve cups of tea and collect breakfast for our mums and, when it came time for a photo, it didn’t take much prompting to get the smiles beaming from both mother and sons alike. I hope the boys kept up the special treatment as they were encouraged to start the ‘Festival of Mum’ over the weekend!

Mothers are the epitome of love, sacrifice and strength. They selflessly nurture, guide and support us throughout our life journey. Their unconditional love and unwavering dedication shape us into the individuals we become. The bond between a mother and a child is a truly special and irreplaceable one. 

On behalf of the Primary School staff, I would like to thank all parents for continuing to work in partnership with us to ensure your sons have the best possible start to their Marist journey.

Primary Mid-Term Assembly

Congratulations to all students who were recognised today at our Primary Assembly in the Draney Theatre. Our Men of Courage and Love of Work awards are a fitting way to recognise some of our boys for their efforts at school during the semester to date. Naturally, not every boy can get an award at assembly, but I am very aware that there are many more boys trying really hard to do their best each week here in the Primary School. My message to these boys is to keep up the hard work and be proud of the effort that they are putting in. 

Walkathon

There is less than a week to go until our boys pound the pavement for the 2023 College Walkathon. As you are aware, the walkathon is compulsory for all students, and I am delighted that the majority of our Primary boys will be turning up on Sunday and walking with their mates for this major fundraiser. Congratulations and a big thank you to everyone who has made an effort to get some sponsors for this year’s event. There is also the excitement of the Battle of The Bands again this year which promises to unearth some amazing talent from amongst the study body.

Primary Mass

We would like all boys to be at school by 7:45am on Wednesday next week so that we may celebrate Mass as a community in our College Chapel. Our teachers will walk the boys down at 7:50am so that they are all seated and ready to start our celebration at 8:00am. Full Winter uniform and polished black shoes please for this special occasion.

Pastoral Leader Primary School – Mr Anthony Graham 

National Walk Safely to School Day

This coming Friday is National Walk Safely to School Day. This annual event encourages all primary school children to walk and commute safely to school. This event is a great opportunity for schools and families to encourage safe road users’ behaviours, not just one day but every day. 

We are encouraging all boys in the primary school to actively travel to school on Friday. To help assist and offer supervision for those boys that require it, we will be gathering on Flat 10 @ 7:30am and walk along the flats up to school. Boys can walk, run, or ride to school on Friday or any day to help support healthy habits. 

Uniform

I commend the boys on their presentation and the way they are wearing their formal uniform. On Thursday afternoon as the boys were walking out of the primary school, I did not have to talk to any primary school students about their uniform. Their formal hats were on, their blazers for Year 5s were on, and their socks were up, and shirts tucked in. They were certainly setting an example for the other boys in the College! A few gentle reminders about uniform: 

• Formal hats are worn to and from school except on Friday. 
• Blazers for Year 5 are worn to and from school except on Friday. 
• Sports uniform worn on Fridays with white sports socks, not the blue socks. Blue socks can be worn with HPE uniform.

Brisbane Writers Festival

The library staff had the pleasure of taking a group of students to attend Word Play, the educational program which forms a part of the Brisbane Writers Festival. The festival was held at the State Library. The boys had the extraordinary opportunity to dive into literary wonderlands with highly acclaimed writers. Nukunu man Jared Thomas spoke about his inspiration for his writing for young readers. He discussed his experiences dealing with racism and marginalisation as a First Nations Person. The boys gained a most hilarious insight into how Oliver Phommavanh is inspired as an Asian/Australian author. He draws on his experience a teacher and his love of soft toys, sneakers and burgers. The final authors the boys enjoyed were husband and wife team Kate and Jol Temple. This was a highly interactive session with the boys playing private eye and using clues to help crack open a mysterious case. 

The boys enjoyed a couple of short breaks outside in the fresh air with their lunch. They were beautifully behaved and did us proud with both their perfect manners and poignant questions to the authors. 

“All the authors gave amazing advice on what we could do to engage our audience and to hook them into our writing. They also gave us a wonderous insight into what goes on in a writer's head and their day to day lives. This was an amazing experience for all of us and was a rare and special thing to see.”

Matthew Davies 

“My favourite part of the day was when Oliver Phommavanh presented to us because he was an energetic character, and he was very engaging and not afraid to show his true self. Another good part about the day was when we went into, he big auditorium and watched Kate and Jol Temple and the had a book thief mystery, then they showed us their unreleased book and told us how they get their ideas and inspirations.”

Will Hutchinson

Primary Sport - Mr John Lambourne – Head of Sport (Primary)

Achievements

North West District Cross Country

Congratulations to all the boys who represented Marist College at the North West District Cross Country. 

Nick Bray (5G), Matthew Higgins (6B), Abe Patricks (6V), Fred Little (5V), Finn Beaver (5W), Xavier Hill (6G) and Xavier Hunter (6W) qualified to run at Met North Regional Cross Country Tuesday, 23 May.

Marist College finished the carnival in second, a fantastic achievement as the boys compete against schools with both male and female athletes.

Term 2 AIC Sport

AIC Cross Country

AIC Cross Country Meet #2 has been CANCELLED.

Please note

Cross Country Training Wednesday, 17 May

Venue: Hayden Oval

Time: 3:30pm – 4:30pm

AIC Cross Country Meet #3

Wednesday, 24 May – Curlew Park, Shorncliffe

AIC cross country meets are open to all students who wish to qualify for the AIC Cross Country Championships. Meets are run as time trials.

AIC Cross Country Championships – Wednesday, 31 May – Curlew Park, Shorncliffe

Cross Country Training

Due to Wednesday cross country meets, training will now be Monday and Friday mornings only, meet at 6:45am @ MCA pool.

Rugby

Football

College App

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

Sports Photographs

We are always on the lookout for photos and action shots to be used for the Blue & 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.

Pick-up Arrangements - “Plan B”

It is important that you are aware of your son’s pick-up procedure if sports training is cancelled or if you are running late.

As soon as a decision is made to cancel a sporting fixture or training, a message is placed on the College app.

If training is cancelled boys can remain in the primary school or walk to an arranged pick-up-point when the time arrives.

Sport training sessions finish normally finish by 4:45pm. We ask that boys are picked up at this time, or soon after. Any boy who is still at their training venue at 5:00pm will be directed to the Boarding Reception area so that he may be collected from there.

In the case of bus arrivals, boys will be sent to Boarding Reception 15 minutes after the arrival time of the bus.