From the Head of College

Mr Michael Newman

Our inspiration as we journey throughout 2023

I extend a warm welcome to all new boys and families to Marist. I hope you are feeling a sense of belonging and excitement as you commence your journey with us. Welcome back also to our existing boys and families. I hope the Christmas break was a time of renewal and sustenance for the learnings and activities that lie ahead. As we commence the year, let us all place our college, all boys and families, the boarding and day student community, our whole Marist family with their hopes and endeavours in the hands of our loving God, as we journey throughout 2023.

As we conclude our Christmas season, we reflect upon a truly inspirational, worldwide event that provides us with an reflective opportunity to shape all our lives - the birth of Jesus. In navigating our way through the Hebrew meaning of the words synonymous to Christmas, we can find an inner message that may give us a clear focus and direction for our own lives in the year ahead. The word ‘Jesus’ means our saviour and our salvation. In following his message, we are saved and promised a life both within and beyond this world with a God of love. The word ‘Emmanuel’ means God is with us and is a reminder that God has formed us in his goodness and likeness, and we are an image of him. He is with us and in our neighbours whom we greet each day. The title ‘King’ - the title bestowed upon the newborn Jesus - resembles the word “Kingship” which is rooted in the Church’s teaching of incarnation. Jesus is fully God and fully man, yet divine – suffering, dying and rising - promising salvation to each one of us. The word ‘Bethlehem’, the birth-place of Jesus, means the ‘house of bread’ – Jesus, our bread of life, nourishment and source of strength. The shepherds were the first humans to witness Jesus’ humble birth. Jesus in turn, offers a relationship to all of us including those who are marginalised, despised and excluded.

Let us be moved to experience the hope, inspiration, and motivation for life which flows from and through the birth of Jesus, our Saviour.

We ask for God’s blessing in 2023 on the whole Marist College Ashgrove family, as we place all our undertakings in his hands. Amen.

ATAR Results 2022

Congratulations all 2022 Year 12 graduates on achieving Marist’s best overall academic achievements for many years as demonstrated in their ATAR results – especially as indicated in the ATAR above 91.25 or 1-5 OP equivalent. Below is a summary of these results:

17 Students (10%) achieved an ATAR of 98.00 and higher

Douglas Cowlishaw - 99.90, Archibald Forbes - 99.80, Samuel Patterson - 99.30, Zac Apelt - 99.20, Thomas Cusack - 99.10, Mason Houlihan - 99.05, Patrick Gilbert - 98.90, William Johnson - 98.90, Harry Masel - 98.90, Fletcher Artho - 98.85, Michael Nolan - 98.85, Frank Baker - 98.80, Ryese Hart - 98.55, Aidan O’Connell - 98.55, Jack Mestric - 98.20, Dylan Soll - 98.00 and HenryWarren - 98.00.

QCAA Awards 2022

Five students across six subjects achieved the highest marks in Queensland: Fletcher Artho - 100% Literature, Doug Cowlishaw - 100% Literature, Jeremey Vanderbyl - 100% Music Extension (Performance), Archie Forbes - 100% SOR and 99% Economics and Henry Warren - 99% Accounting.

15 students (12 students in 2021) will receive QCAA’s Academic Commendation Award for exiting Year 12 with six As in General Subjects: Zac Apelt, James Atkins, Frank Baker, Douglas Cowlishaw, Jack Cuddihy, James FitzGerald, Archie Forbes, Patrick Gilbert, Mason Houlihan, Liam Lucey, Jack Mestric, Dylan Nona, Aidan O’Connell, Samuel Patterson and Samuel Schmidhauser.

Queensland Certificate of Education

99.7 % QCE attainment rate

VET Results

194 students (80%) of Year 12 cohort left with at least one VET qualification
Year 12 2022 Certificate results (number of students):
- Cert I Construction - 14, Cert I Construction Immersion -14, Cert II Engineering – 17, Cert III CMT – 25, Cert II Hospitality – 11, Cert III Fitness – 23, Cert III Business – 24 and Diploma Business – 27.
20 students transferred from school-based to full time apprenticeships.
50 students (21%) left with more than one VET qualification
VET and WEX areas - Hairdressing, drones, medical, nursing, agriculture, financial planning, project management and one cert IV Ministry

QTAC Entry Success

All 2022 graduates have secured a least one pathway option.
80.8% received their first preference through QTAC.

Scholarships

An excess of $176,000 of scholarships have been awarded to our graduates.

My thanks are extended to our outstanding teachers, Curriculum Middle Leaders and Curriculum Leaderships Team led by Deputy Head of Learning and teaching, Jen Smeed for their professionalism and hard work in coaching, educating and encouraging all boys in this 2022-year group. Well done, Year 12 graduands and best wishes with your chosen careers and further academic study.

Holiday work completed at the College

May I take this opportunity to thank the wonderful school officers and support staff who have been working hard over the holiday period to ensure Marist College Ashgrove is in tip-top shape with the major building projects on track as we commence this new year of learning and teaching. I recognise and am truly grateful for all the school officer and support staff undertakings which I list below:

Uniform Expectations

I continue to thank all parents for the manner in which you present your sons each day. As a College, we believe that the manner in which the boys wear their uniform is an integral part of the holistic education that we aim to achieve at Marist. As a reminder, I place in this newsletter our expectations for 2023 -

All boys are expected to wear their formal hat to and from school, and on formal occasions. Each locker has been fitted with a shelf to care for these hats during the day.
The College blazer is compulsory for Years 5, 11 and 12 students from 2023. Further, in 2024, a new blazer is compulsory for Years 7 and 10 students, and in 2025 Years 9 and 10. Boys are to wear the blazer during winter and on formal occasions when representing the college during terms 1 and 4, as instructed by their teachers. A 20% discount remains on these new blazers as previously explained. Blazers can be purchased and worn prior to these years if you so desire.
Boys’ haircuts are to be off the collar, out of eyes and not past halfway down the ears. No extremes – including mullets, afros or long fringes and nothing shorter than a number 3 is allowed.
Shoes are to be clean, black and lace-up.
Belts are to be the uniform style, not with large or numerous buckle accessories.

1:1 Laptop Rollout

I thank our IT Department for the generous and expert work undertaken during the holidays, preparing all past and new laptops for the boys and staff. These expensive and high-quality devices are provided to all families at no extra cost. Years 5, 6, 7 and 10 are receiving new laptops in 2023. The final distribution of new laptops for all students at the College will occur for Years 7 and 10 boys in 2024.

We trust that these personal laptops will enable more quality learning and teaching to occur for the boys.

Marist Extend

From next Monday we welcome to the College the first 20 students who will be undertaking the Marist Extend Program in Year 7.

Marist Extend is a new program - unique to Marist College Ashgrove - that has been designed for boys in Year 7 who wish to extend themselves further. The program caters to boys who are ambitious and want to dedicate more focus to their academic interests and co-curricular pursuits. Running from 3:00pm to 8:00pm on Monday to Thursday, out of the Marist Boarding House, Marist Extend includes academic support, meals and activities.

With Marist Extend, participating boys will enjoy a richer experience in their schooling journey whilst also achieving a greater connection to his study, his peers and Marist College Ashgrove.

The program encompasses meals with our Boarding students, student choice of co-curricular activities and dedicated academic support to help them gain more traction in their studies.

Marist Extend offers Marist College parents an exclusive service whereby their son can be challenged/mentored for Monday to Thursday after school until 8:00pm. The aim of the program is to help boys to develop good routines, good study habits and a sense of independence, all within the safety of the Marist Boarding House.

When boys are collected at 8:00pm from the college, they will have completed their co-curricular, be showered and clean, have eaten a nutritious meal and have completed their homework – ready to spend further quality time with family.

We wish all boys who will start the program this term our best wishes – for further enquiries to join or for questions, contact: noblej@marash.qld.edu.au.

Years 5-7 Marist Drama 2023

Marist Drama is currently taking enrolments for 2023. Drama is held each term on a Monday afternoon with Year 5 students (3:20pm to 4:20pm), Year 6 (4:30 to 5:30pm) and Tuesday afternoons for Year 7 (3:20pm to 5:30pm). Students in Years 5 and 6 will be taught drama skills such as improvisation, characterisation, play building, movement, storytelling and stagecraft. The lessons are designed to be fun and allow children to gain confidence in public speaking as well as learning to speak and interpret texts expressively. The year culminates in Term 4, with each year group performing a one hour show in the Draney Theatre with all costumes and props provided. The students in Year 7 will explore the medium of camera and will undertake activities in acting in front of the camera as well as writing their own short film. Each term the group will determine a performance/short film which they will work towards and complete at the end of term.

The students will be taught by Louise Marshall an accredited Speech and Drama teacher with qualifications from Trinity College London and The Actors Workshop. Students are welcome to come and try a lesson before committing to the term. Numbers are limited for each class. The cost is $183.70 incl GST per term. To enrol please click the following link

https://forms.gle/Seiv2ZkyC8ztq4h3A or contact Louise Marshall at drama@loulabelleproductions.com.au with any questions or to register your son for 2023. Numbers are limited for each year level – so register quickly.

Year 7 Information Evening

On Tuesday 31st January, Year 7 parents are invited to an Information Evening, to be held in the Draney Theatre, with drinks and refreshments from 5:00pm for a 6:00pm start. During this Information Evening parents will hear presentations from the leaders of the different areas of the college – academic, student care, mission and Religious Education, Sport and Culture. Details, upcoming events and expectations of the Year 7 students will be explained and the means to communicate with teachers and support staff. We trust that you can join us for this important informative evening of everything Year 7. I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday.

2023 Commencement Liturgies

How lucky is Marist to have its own beautiful College Chapel? It is located by design in the centre or heart of the College. Dedicated to Our Lady and St Marcellin Champagnat (French priest and founder of the Marist Brothers), this Chapel is a place of prayer, weddings, funerals, quiet prayer, reflection, liturgy and the weekly Boarder’ mass. To recognise its living significance to the College we commence each year with a liturgy to remind boys that this chapel is open for them to use and in prayer we dedicate our year to our loving God and his good mother. I thank Mrs Anna Nasr (Head of Mission), Fr Alatini Kolofo’ou (College Chaplain) and Mrs Mena McClean (College Chaplain) who prepared and led this liturgy for the boys. All members of the Marist family are welcome to pray and reflect in the Our Lady and St Marcellin Champagnat Chapel whenever you visit the College.

Volunteers Welcome

A great way to support the College and your sons, and to meet other parents is to be a volunteer in the college canteen. You can volunteer from Monday to Friday during school hours or on Saturdays during school sport. The College really relies on the generosity of parents to enable the tuckshops to function for our boys. Details below:

Term 1: https://signup.com/go/jTwOhfC

Term 2: https://signup.com/go/KMBkRXm

Term3: https://signup.com/go/nQvmguf

Term 4: https://signup.com/go/gTXaxUA

Holiday Co-Curricular

The music camp was held last week at Alexander Headlands. 110 students attended with 11 generous teachers. The boys began their new music repertoires, enjoyed each other’s company, various activities and swimming at the beach.

Thank you to Mrs Alison Braidwood, Ms Rhiannon Fenn, Ms Megan Harmston, Mrs Catherine Wasserman, Mr Enrico Le Mura, Ms Janelle Lee Long, Mr Joseph Rabjohns, Mr Owen Tilbury, Ms Melanie Stewart, Mr Tony Vandermeer, Mr Sean Flynn, Mr Alex Hides, Ms Evalyn Legried, Mr Samuel Vincent, Mr Andrew Ball, Mr Jamie Kennedy, Ms Emily Smith, Mr Bede Prince, Mr Malcolm Wood and Mr. Sacha Gibbs-Mcphee for your assistance and team effort in coordinating the MCA Music Camp 2023.

May I take this opportunity to thank our coaches who have undertaken instruction, camps and carnivals in preparation for the Term 1 Sporting AIC fixtures.

In Track & Field news – our U16 team were named the champions at the Athletics Australia National Schools Challenge. Our 1st XI were placed third in the Marist Cricket Carnival and our 1st Volleyball Team was placed 15th in division 1 - Australian Volleyball Schools Cup.

Swimming, AFL, volleyball and Cricket coaching and games were undertaken last week in preparation for the AIC Carnival.

My thanks are extended to the following staff who were involved in these wonderful holiday programs: Mitch Reed, Tom Gibson, Adam Knight, Scarlett Rudder, Matt Beatie, Brett Gillett, Michael Travers, Andrae Mackay, James Boyce, Damian Brumley, Christine Baillie, Cath Geraghty, Derek Lennon and John Lambourne.

Welcome New Teachers

We welcome our new teachers to Marist – some full-time and permanent teachers and others replacing teachers on leave who will be directly involved in teaching your sons in the classroom. I trust that our new teachers enjoy their time at the College and relish the welcoming and supportive community that is Marist College Ashgrove –

Charles Brauer - Deputy Head of College, Anna Nasr – Head of Mission, Michael Abbott - Pastoral Leader – Slattery, Melissa Deacon - PL - Student Academic Equity, David Finch - BL – Hermitage, Robyn Gooley – PL – VET, Anthony Graham - Pastoral Leader Primary School, Philip Holding - Pastoral Leader - Snr School Yr 10-12, Gareth Kolkenbeck-Ruh - Pastoral Leader – Ignatius, Craig Milligan - Pastoral Leader - Middle School Year 7-9, Jessica Turschwell - CL - Middle School Academic Care, Jenna Tagney - CL - HPE, Thomas Dangerfield - Teacher - RE, English (Contract), Therese Eddy - Humanities English Teacher (Contract), Greg Egan – Digital Solutions, Jurgita Felix - Primary Teacher (Contract), Adrian Gray - Teacher - Design Tech (Contract), Samantha Hill - Teacher/Librarian – Primary (Contract), Joanne Howe – Teacher/Librarian, Enrico Le Mura – Teacher – Music, Jake Platen - Boarding Senior Super Academic/Teacher, Daniel Prince – Teacher – Primary, Penny Pritchard-Cahill - Teacher (Contract), Natalie Sones – Teacher (Contract), and Yorker Williams – STIE Teacher – (Contract).

Cyber Safety

With the final letters sent to those members of the Marist family who were directly affected by the College Data Breach in 2022, we have undertaken much work to strengthen our IT capabilities and protection against any further breach. This has included: a complete password reset (staff, students and parents), passwords lengthened to 12-character minimum, multi-factor authentication for all staff, Geo-blocking of overseas IP addresses (overseas parents/students by individual exception), New ForiNet Firewall and FortiGuard system monitoring, TASS migrated to the cloud and Student VPN’s disabled.

Further to this, all College staff will all be undertaking Cyber Safety Training throughout the year. I remind all parents to be aware of scams that are presently circulating in Australia. A couple of tips if you are unsure if an email is safe to open:

Always check the email of the sender...not just who they say they are
Ask "Is this an email/text I might expect"? e.g. There is presently a list of emails circulating which say you have won Coles or Bunnings voucher.

After much hard work from our IT team and external advisors, we are confident that the College is in a strong position moving forward with IT security.

COVID-19 Update

With the decline in COVID-19 cases from the mid-December spike in Queensland, the Chief Health Officer has announced the Amber Alert has now been downgraded to a Green Alert. Essentially this means that if you are sick – stay at home and wear a mask for 7 days after you test positive. Household members are to closely monitor for symptoms. I place the Covid-19 Queensland Health expectations below for your full understanding and consider and please adhere to this advice wisely.

Green

Green (baseline) means there are low rates of community transmission and Queensland is not in a COVID-19 wave.

When the traffic light is green, we recommend you:

stay home if you're sick
keep up to date with your vaccinations
maintain good hygiene
take a rapid antigen test (RAT) if you get COVID-19 symptoms
wear a mask if required by a healthcare provider, venue, or household.

If you get COVID-19:

register your RAT result
stay home until you’re well again
use the healthdirect Australia COVID-19 Symptom and Antiviral Eligibility Checker
wear a mask for 7 days after you test positive
avoid visiting hospitals, aged care, or disability care for 7 days after you test unless you are receiving care
ask household members to closely monitor symptoms.

Please ensure that we all follow these health directions so as to keep each other and all boys safe from any outbreak of sickness in Term 1. With thanks for all your care and concern.

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