From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Hidden Marist Treasure

On Friday, we celebrated the feast of St Marcellin Champagnat, the French priest who founded the Marist Brothers, on whose shoulders we stand today. Marist College Ashgrove was established by the Marist Brothers in 1940. Since then, it has flourished and grown to be an outstanding educator of boys in Brisbane. We are forever grateful to the Marist Brothers for their foresight, hard work and dedication, and for the history and reputation they have forged for us to ride on their coattails today. To think they purchased this amazing 42-hectare property in 1940 and grew facilities upon it. Today this College educates boys from Ashgrove and the surrounding suburbs of Brisbane, and provides boarding for the country boys of Queensland, Northern NSW and even internationally.

At the Champagnat Mass, we were honoured to have the presence of four Marist Brothers – Br Jeffrey Barrington, Br Ralph Arnell, Br Peter Stewart and Old Boy, Br Rodger Burke. Along with their contribution to this great College, we particularly thank the Brothers for sharing and enriching us with the Marist charism. The Marist charism infiltrates all aspects of Marist College Ashgrove life and forms the basis upon which we aim to form the young men in our care. This aim is reflected in the key outcome of our College Strategic Plan, “A student’s knowledge and understanding of the Marist and Catholic traditions is nurtured and deepened.”

At the College liturgy, the boys participated with gusto, singing loudly, raising their voices to fill the Champagnat Centre - a true Marist tradition. After Communion, a video was played whereby members of the Marist College Ashgrove family shared their reflections on what it really means to be Marist. Thank you to the participants who shared their understanding of the Marist way. Their reflections were thoughtful and heartfelt - making Jesus known and loved through good deeds and actions, being really present to others and making those we meet feel loved and recognised, contributing positively to society by working hard and building community, possessing a simple faith and being prayerful, emulating Mary by having a strong mind yet a gentle heart, and always striving for excellence but acting with humility.

The Marist charism is unique and special to Marist education. With Mary, the mother of God as guide and role model, this charism or spirit, as described by one voice in the video, has a sense of ‘softness’. It encourages the boys to view the Gospels through the eyes of a woman. It enables our boys to respond in their lives with a gentle heart, a sense of empathy and consideration of others and yet with a sense of strength, as Mary did in her life. I would see Marist education as always attempting to educate and form young men who are well-balanced, ‘new-aged’ men, and never has this been more important than it is now, as we set about to try and educate boys and bring about change to gender inequality, toxic masculinity and misogynistic attitudes towards women.

The Marist charism is truly a hidden treasure and we are fortunate to have it as a framework and the cornerstone of everything we do at Marist College Ashgrove.

God of love, may our young men and every member of the Marist College family, embrace the challenge to live, breathe and be more Marist every day. Amen.

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

Academic Studies

As we enter Week 8 of Term 2, we are commencing a very important time in the boys’ studies. The following few weeks see assignments being re-drafted and submitted as well as examination preparation and writing, especially for the boys in Years 5 -10. Your son’s reports will be made up of all results thus far and their final marks from semester one. A Semester 1 Progress Report will be distributed at the end of Semester 1. As always, updated grades and comments can be accessed via the Parent Portal. This will be followed by parent-son-teacher interviews in October.

I wish all boys the best of luck with their all-important end of Semester 1 studies.

Academic Tutoring

At this important academic time, I remind all parents that your son can access constant, expert and free tutoring each morning at the College. Every morning in room 405 at 7:30am, general tutoring is available. In room 402, from 7:30am mathematics tutoring is available. In the Primary, tutoring for all subjects is available in the library from 8:00am. I encourage all boys to access this tutoring assistance program with their studies, leading up to their all-important assessment and examination period of semester one. Make sure you take advantage of this opportunity.

Champagnat Trust Sports Lunch

The annual Champagnat Trust Sports Lunch will be held this Friday 11 June at the Great Hall, Brisbane Exhibition and Convention Centre, from 12:00pm (Doors open at 11:00am). This lunch is a fundraiser aimed at providing disadvantaged families with the opportunity to access a Marist education. Since its inception 17 years ago, this Trust has raised more than $2.2 million, providing over 80 boys the wonderful opportunity and privilege to reach their potential through a Marist education. Old Boys and past parents of the College are so grateful for the opportunity that they and their sons were presented with and therefore, wish to provide this experience to others. With John Eales and Matthew Hayden as the patrons, this fundraiser is always well patronised. This year’s edition will be hosted by Test Cricketer Greg Richie with special guests including marathon runner Robert de Castella, Australian touring car champion Dick Johnson, AFL great Robert “Dipper” DiPierdomenico and Australian Cricketer Carl Rackemann. I thank the event organisers, namely: Erin Menyweather, Kath Brassington, Tony Byrne, Brett Gillett, Sandra Poon, Rebecca Pini and Bethany Halpin who have so generously ensured this event is again a very special occasion. My thanks are also extended to our generous Marist Foundation members who continue to ensure the credibility and viability of this program for the boys, namely: Langton Clarke, Brother Jeffrey Barrington, Rebecca Pini, Tim Galligan, Sandra Poon and Tim Heenan.

This fundraising lunch would not be possible without the generosity and kindness of our incredible sponsors, supporters and valued community members. We are honoured to receive your support. I list our sponsors at the end of my writing.

Final tickets can be purchased until midnight tonight (Tuesday 8 June) - https://events.humanitix.com/2021-champagnat-trust-sports-lunch

I look forward to seeing you all on Friday to support this great Marist event which is dedicated to such a great cause.

AIC Cross Country Champions 2021

Congratulations to the Marist College Ashgrove senior cross-country team who were victors on Wednesday at the AIC Championships. This win makes it five in a row! A wonderful achievement, indeed. Our Under 12, 13, 14 and Opens finished in first place.

Well done to our Primary team who were third overall.

My special thanks and congratulations are extended to cross-country coordinator - Brendan Furdek, Head Coach -Shane Ward and all our cross-country coaches/ supervisors in Corey Lucas, Brendan Saunders, Tyler Newell, James Clarke, Harry Lyons, Jordy Chugg, Liam Bacon, Ben Roden-Cohen, Jakub Funk, Harry Hunter and Calum Mackay. Well done, Marist College Ashgrove!

Jack L’Enfant, Baxter White, Fergal Apps

Old Boys Reunion Day

This Saturday at our final home football and rugby union game the College will be hosting our annual Old Boys Day. On this day, where we have a full round of fixtures against St Patrick’s College, Shorncliffe, our various Old Boy reunions take place. We welcome back to the College our old boys and trust that their reunions with school mates of the past are enjoyable and reinvigorating. I take this opportunity to thank our Old Boys Committee for their hard work ensuring this day and other functions provided for the old boys of Marist College Ashgrove and Marist Rosalie are well advertised, patronised and successful. I thank the Old Boys Committee members Steve McAuliffe (President), Anthony Collins (Treasurer) and Dom Melrose (Vice President).

Welcome back to the College, Old Boys.

School Officer and Service Day

This Wednesday 9 June, Marist College Ashgrove celebrates our wonderful school officers and services staff. Our College is a large day and boarding enterprise with much activity 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our school officers and service staff play a vital role in ensuring our College is functioning on time and efficiently. On Wednesday, we acknowledge their wonderful work and say a sincere, thank you. Their contribution to the education of your son at Marist College Ashgrove is to be highly commended.

QLD Representative

Well done to Sam Robertson (Year 7) for being selected to play in the Queensland Baseball team. We wish Sam the best of luck at this week’s National Titles. Sam joins a number of boys who are representing Queensland in their selected sport.

ASHCAM Art Competition Winners

Congratulations to the following boys who either won or were runners-up in the 2021 ASHCAM Competition. The quality and volume of entries were outstanding. Congratulations to the following boys on their photography entries - Primary Years: Julian Cassar – Winner and Aidan Marshall – Runner Up; Middle Years: Roman Ah Loy – Winner and Henry Knight – Runner Up; and Senior Years - Darcy Knight – Winner and Louie Watt – Runner Up. My special thanks are extended to our guest judge, Joachim Froese and to our sponsors, Eckersley’s and Ted’s Cameras. Thank you to the leadership of Christine Larsen, Curriculum Leader Visual Art for organising this opportunity for the boys.

Champagnat Trust Sports Lunch Sponsors

Thank you to all the sponsors of the Champagnat Trust Sports Lunch.

Major Sponsors - Oatley Fine Wine Merchants and Stone & Wood

Platinum Sponsors – BDO, Austcover, Lead Institute, Hogarth Law, Sourced Solutions, Qube Logistics, Alinta, Wil Valor and McKims Jewellery Design

Auction Sponsors - Brisbane Broncos, GPS Rugby Union, The Wine Tradition, d’Arenberg, Walter’s Steakhouse, Ordanga Construction Services and Casella Family Brands