Primary School News

Dear Primary Families,

By the time you read this newsletter, we will have already had our first, full day here together in the Primary School for 2023. It has been such a huge relief to start the year off in our usual fashion after our delayed start in 2022. I trust the holidays were a chance to relax with family and allow yourselves some time to rest, without the rigours of school schedules that add to the busyness of your homes. There has been so much positive energy around our Primary School during our first few days together. The boys seem very happy to be back in a routine and to catch up with friends they may not have seen during the holiday break.

Staffing News

I would like to welcome our dedicated teachers back to our Primary School and wish them every success for the year ahead. This year, we welcome four new staff members to our Marist family here in the Primary School. Mr Anthony Graham will undertake the Primary Pastoral Leader role and teach Year 5 Health and PE. Mr Daniel Prince will teach our Year 5Blue class this year and Ms Georgie Felix will teach our 5Red class. We also have Ms Sam Hill taking over the Teacher Librarian duties for Term 1 while Ms Round is on leave. We wish all our new staff a happy and successful 2023 in our Primary community. 

Communication

Please ensure that you read the College newsletter each week to keep up to date with everything that is happening in the college. If you are yet to download the college app, please make this a priority as a lot of important information will be shared using this app. There will be times when emails are sent out to parents for various events. Please check that these are not going to your junk mail folder.

New Student Orientation Day

On Monday, we welcomed our new Year 5 and 6 students to the College. It was so pleasing to see the boys mixing with each other and making new friends right from their very first day as Marist boys! I trust that Monday was the first day of many that your son enjoys during his time here at the college. Thanks to all the parents who attended the morning and assisted the boys throughout the day.

Names on Belongings

I would like to once again, request that your son’s name is clearly marked on any item that he brings onto college grounds.  This includes clothing, sporting equipment, lunch boxes, stationery etc. Having names marked on all items assists us greatly when trying to return lost property quickly. There was a new, black, short-sleeved speedo rashie left at the pool after Monday’s Orientation Day swim. If your son owns this swim shirt, please send him to the Primary Office.

Pick-Up Arrangements

Please ensure that your son is aware of the arrangements for pick up in the afternoons. All this week, Primary staff will walk groups of boys to the College bus stops and Moola Road pick-up zone so that they become familiar with how to get to these places to help make heading home as smooth as possible.

Primary Students Late Arrival/Early Departure

If your son is arriving late to school, it will be necessary for an adult to walk him to the Primary Office and sign him in. Similarly, if your son needs to leave early, an adult will need to present themselves to the Primary Office to sign him out and walk with him. Prior to any late arrival or early departure, parents must notify the College in writing via the Parent Portal using the College App or Parent Lounge.

Your assistance with this important child safety procedure is greatly appreciated.

Parent Information Evenings

A reminder that all parents are encouraged to attend our Year 5 and Year 6 Information Evenings being held next Wednesday, starting at 6:00pm. These will take place in your son’s Primary classroom and will provide an opportunity for you to meet your son’s teacher and find out more information specific to his class. Following the Year 5 meetings, there will be a parent social, hosted by the P&F and starting at 7:00pm in the Science Centre foyer. This is a fantastic opportunity for our Year 5 parent cohort to get to know some other parents and celebrate the completion of one full week together here in the Primary School.

Date Claimers for Primary Parents

January 26           Australia Day Public Holiday

January 28           Year 5 and 6 Sports Trials

February 1           Year 5 and Year 6 Parent Information Evenings 

February 3           College Inaugural Mass 

February 4           AIC Sports Round 1 Matches

February 10        Year 5 Parent Function

Anthony Graham – Pastoral Leader Primary School 

A big Marist welcome to all our new and returning families in the primary school. My name is Anthony Graham, and I am the new Pastoral Leader for the Primary School. What a great privilege it is to be playing a small part in the development of your child as he journeys through Marist College Ashgrove. Every child at Marist College Ashgrove matters and he is encouraged to be unique and share his God-given talents. Your child is encouraged to be authentic to WHO he is, and not the people around him. 

Belonging and self-worth are two fundamental principles that as a primary school community we strive to embed throughout all aspects of the College. Your child belongs to the Marist family and as parents you also belong to this community as well. As a community, we want to ensure that you and your child belongs and feel a sense of self-worth. At Marist College Ashgrove there are cultural, academic, spiritual, and sporting opportunities for your son to participate in to help build a sense of belonging and self-worth at the college. He plays a big role in making this a reality. At the end of the day, HIS choices will decide his pathways at MCA. IF he buys into what we are offering and constantly promoting, I am sure he will have a great year and great future here.

This week I will be speaking to the boys about a couple of things: 

1. Involvement – signing up for everything that Marist has to offer. Whether it be cultural, musical, sporting, curriculum. The more you put into a school, the more you get out of your experience. 
2. Introducing Men of Courage program with the boys and a new initiative starting this year which is a Wellbeing – Gratitude program called GEM @ MARIST. Both programs are intertwined and focus on topics such as resilience, bullying, teamwork, friendship, and cyber safety – these are some of the essential non-academic topics. In conjunction with staff teachers, I will be orchestrating these programs throughout the year. 
3. Outlining the expectations. These expectations may be very different to last year in 2022. Of course, being a new environment, we ensure we give time for students to adjust to these new expectations. 

“You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” Brene Brown. Your child will be challenged. Your child will grow and they may make mistakes along the way but that is OK – they are human. What matters is how we respond and support them in those moments. Our job is to provide the tools and education, so they have every opportunity to be the best version of themself and reach their potential. We have a fantastic role model in Marcellin Champagnat who devoted his life to show courage and provide hope for his followers. As a College – just like Marcellin did - our job is to teach, lead, serve, love and to provide hope for your son in his schooling journey.

Jen Little - Primary Learning Leader

Welcome back to the new school year. The start of a new year is usually a time of great excitement because it brings with it new possibilities and opportunities. As the boys commence their learning journeys in 2023, they will be asked to reflect upon their progress from last year and set new goals to move their learning forward. This will commence for our Year 6 students in the first couple of weeks as their class teachers and myself assist them with this goal setting process. I take this time to acknowledge those Primary students from last year who made significant progress from their First Semester’s learning to their final report card results for 2022.  The students below managed to increase their GPA by 1 point or more and they are to be commended for their efforts. 

Current Year 7 Students

Current Year 6 Students

For our Year 5 students, this will be a time to make a completely new start in what will essentially be a different setting for them. Term 1 will no doubt be a period of adjustment as they learn to make new friends and settle into new structures and systems. Whilst students will learn a range of subjects throughout the year, first semester for Year 5 will prioritise Literacy and Numeracy in the timetable. 

For further specific information about your son’s learning, please take note of our Parent Information Evenings facilitated by classroom teachers on Wednesday, 1st of February.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me via Primary Reception or at the following email address: littlej@marash.qld.edu.au.

Primary Sport

Mr John Lambourne – Head of Sport (Primary)

Welcome to Marist College Ashgrove Primary Sport 2023. Sport is an important part of life at Marist College, not just for the boys but for families and staff as well. Please use the College Newsletter and the College APP as the most reliable sources of information and any updates regarding Sport. 

For further information please do not hesitate to contact me;

John Lambourne

primarysports@marash.qld.edu.au

Marist College Sporting Expectations

At Marist we often talk about being 100% Marist 100% of the time. This means that we represent our school with pride, no matter the situation. The boys are constantly reminded of the importance of representing our college with pride on the sporting field. Win, lose or draw they should do it well. In the competitive environment of schoolboy sport this can sometimes be challenging. However, at Marist we are known by the very high standard of which we hold ourselves to. The three violets of humility, simplicity and modesty provide us with a constant reminder of the people we should be. The image below, developed by the AIC schools, also provides a reminder of the expectations for all parents and spectators. 

Term 1 – Week 1 Trial Schedule

Cricket

AFL

Term 1 AIC Sport

Cricket

There is a cricket team for every boy at Marist College, no matter his ability, skill level or experience. Boys wishing to represent MCA in AIC Cricket will require a college cricket shirt, college cricket pants and the college wide brim blue hat. Boys will need to provide their own protector for training and matches. 

TRAINING

Two training sessions per week – 7:00am to 8:00am – nets session and 3:30pm to 4:45pm fielding / skills session (Des Connor Park).

Training days will be confirmed by the team coach. Boys are encouraged to wear their MCA Sport shirt to training and must have a protector and water bottle at all sessions. 

FIXTURES

A & B Teams - Saturday mornings 8:00am to 11:45am, 25/25 overs.

C & Coloured Teams - 20/20 matches Saturday mornings 7:30am to 10:00am or 10:00am to 12:30pm.

Times may vary due to the availability of fields.

AFL

AFL is a selective sport with only 45 boys in each year level being selected to play in an A, B or C team. Boys wishing to represent MCA in AIC AFL will require a College AFL jersey, and shorts. Boys will need a mouthguard and boots for training and matches.

TRAINING

Two training sessions per week Team / Skills Session - 7:00am to 8:00am.

Training sessions will be confirmed by the team coach. All boys are to wear appropriate training clothes (jersey and boots), wear a mouth guard and must have a water bottle.

FIXTURES

Saturday mornings 7:30am to 12:00pm. Game times may vary week-to-week

If you have not already registered your son for a Term 1 AIC sport but would like him to participate, please e-mail Mr Lambourne at primarysports@marash.qld.edu.au with your son’s name, the sport they are interested in playing and their playing experience.

SWIMMING

MCA Primary Swim Squad training sessions continue Monday and Wednesday afternoons throughout Term 1, 3:30 – 4:30pm. These sessions are open to all boys; boys attending for fitness training and boys wishing to qualify for the AIC Swimming Team. There is no obligation to attend AIC meets in Term 1 2022. 

Boys attending these sessions will need to bring the following equipment.

• Goggles
• Kickboard
• Short Flippers 
• Mesh Bag

For further details please contact: swim@marash.qld.edu.au

AIC Swim Meet #1

Friday 27 January – Marist College

AIC Swim meets are open to all students who wish to qualify for the AIC Swimming Championships, to be held, Week 8. AIC Swim meets are run as time trials / selection meets. If needed, a bus will be provided to and from swim meets each week. Boys are requested to use the bus sign-on sheet located outside the Primary Sports office if they wish to catch the bus. The bus will depart from the College Bus stop @ 2:00pm and return @ 5:30pm (approx.), return details will be posted on the College APP. If your son catches the bus and you collect him, it is very important to ensure you inform a staff member. 

AIC Championships, Tuesday, 14 March

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

College App

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