Boarding News

As Term 2 draws to a close I would like to share with you an exert from an article I recently read that highlights the benefits of a Catholic education:

Students and their families have consistently highlighted the following strengths that inform their decisions to choose a Catholic education for their child. 

1. Learning for the future

Catholic Schools have developed a strong reputation for academic excellence, embracing the latest in learning and teaching practice. Students across Australia are reaping the benefits of this rigorous approach founded on educational research.

Teachers in Catholic Schools are passionate about their work and champion lifelong learning. Quality teaching is the heart of great Schooling: that’s why Catholic Schools invest in building the capabilities of teachers and School leaders. 

2. Faith in action

A community desire for education based on the Christian faith and strong values leads many families to choose a Catholic education when considering enrolment options.

The Catholic perspective is foundational to day-to-day School life and culture. Students learn about the Catholic faith through religious education. With strong connections with local parishes, students have the opportunity to participate in the life of the Church and receive the sacraments. The ability to put faith into action is highly valued by students, parents and educators alike.

A strong focus on social justice is a key characteristic in every Catholic School. Many School communities are actively supporting Caritas Australia, Catholic Mission and the St Vincent de Paul Society through Mini Vinnies. These activities build a lifelong sense of social responsibility and engagement to support those in need in our communities and globally.

3. Leading for success

Catholic Schools’ focus on making a contribution to society grows strong leaders, with graduates well-represented in Australian public life. A focus on 21st century skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and communication prepares students to lead both at School and beyond.

Schools offer a wide range of leadership opportunities from School-based leadership roles through Student Representative Councils and School Captaincy to participation in the World Youth Day, the Australian Catholic Youth Festival, youth groups, debating competitions, the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Awards, Voice of Youth public speaking competitions, mock trial, interfaith dialogue and much more.

4. Connecting people with passions

A personalised approach to learning means that Catholic School students have a vast array of opportunities to pursue their passions. Students in Catholic High Schools are enjoying access to a wide range of study pathways including vocational education, trade training centres and university courses.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses provide students with valuable and relevant work-related learning, enhancing their employability no matter what career or profession they’re aiming for. VET courses are popular as they offer a hands-on approach to learning and give students higher qualifications that are recognised beyond School. The Trade Training in Schools program offers Years 11 and 12 students the opportunity to attain their HSC while undertaking industry training, gaining workplace experience and achieving outcomes towards a trade qualification.

Catholic Schools excel in a range of sports for all students. Schools are engaged in inter-diocesan sporting competitions that build skills and promote an active lifestyle. In fact, a number of Schools have established a reputation for strength in particular sports.

Catholic Schools offer in-School chances to build skills in the creative and performing arts abound, and many are part of regional or diocesan creative and performing arts opportunities. With so much on offer it’s no wonder Catholic Schools are experiencing unprecedented enrolment demand. In some high-demand areas it’s wise to get in early as places fill fast.

The article certainly provides a great insight as to why so many families select MCA as the day/boarding school for their son. It reaffirms the key Marist virtues of; Presence, Simplicity, Love of Work, In the Way of Mary and Family Spirit. For being Marist, is to act with courage, integrity and respect. 

Around the Grounds

La Valla Residence

This was a week of celebrations with more birthday cakes and a State of Origin Party. The dorm was split 60/40 in favour of the Reds. Unfortunately, Mr Sedgwick had access to blue window chalk and made it very clear which team he supported. The boys were lucky enough to have balloons, bandanas and half-time snacks for the party. Mrs Sedgwick was also lucky enough to spend her birthday on shift at the Origin party! The result saw some very quiet Queenslanders following the game. The boy's behaviour was exemplary and they moved quickly to Lights Out despite the sugar rush and excitement. This was the last hurrah before diving headfirst into the academic pressures of the last few weeks.

The vast majority of boys experienced an increase in their workloads, most boys utilised study well with many accessing the plethora of support available to them in both the day and boarding school this week. Ms Earley’s weekly planners have been put to good use with all boys plotting their assessment dates and personal schedules to maximize their time on tasks. It has been fantastic to see a number of boys undertaking independent study to further reduce their study pressures.

We rounded the week off with some excellent performances in the final round of the AIC competition for chess, football and rugby. We are very lucky to have such a supportive residence will all boys out and about cheering and supporting their mates. It was also fantastic to see a number of our boys acting as Ball Boys for the 1st XV Rugby team.

Finally, we welcomed a new member to the La Valla family. Brendan (Year7) joins us and is extremely excited to participate and experience all that boarding has to offer. We are confident that he has a great group of boys around him that are giving him loads of tips to help make life in boarding easier. He is also joined at the College by his older brother Beau (Year 10).

Montagne Residence

The past week has seen the stress levels rise within the residence as assessments reach their peak. A few boys have been extremely well-organised, planning their time well in advance and completing assessments days in advance. Others have been frantically trying to complete their videos and scripts at the 11th hour. Hopefully, we make it through the upcoming week with a minimum of fuss! 

The weekends recreational activities saw bubble soccer, dodgeball, basketball and badminton on the agenda alongside AIC Rugby. Lots of study sessions around these times too. Talking about sport, how good was State of Origin last Wednesday? The dorm and I have made a bet on the result of the series – if Qld win the series, I’ll have to personally make every boys bed for two weeks including laundry day, however, if NSW win, the dorm has to wash all supervisors cars twice next term – come on NSW!

Hermitage Residence

Another busy few days in the dorm with the Hermitage boys experiencing the ‘Calm before the Storm’ with assessment this week. With up to nine pieces of assessment due in Week 9, most of the boys worked hard on finishing any assignments so they can focus on the exams that follow next week – this is a great strategy to manage the dreaded study stress that comes with this time of term.

The State of Origin ensured there was a real excitement to the week… until the match started and NSW proving their dominance in a very one-sided match. The boys were very ‘Blue’ with the result!! This week also saw the final week of training and games for Term 2 sport, with the Rugby and Football season coming to a close. Well done to all of the boys who involved themselves with co-curricular this season:

Rugby – Ryan Johnson, Zek Anderson, Lachy Manning, Dan Goddard, Jimmy Davies, Oliver Boland, Oscar McVey, Landon Law-Palm, Tyrell Wolmby, Hugo Tully, Braith Crossingham, Dom Forbes, Harry Laing, Marcus Paulsen, Kyran Bryant

Football – Marley Chan-aldo, Cyrus Kwok-owski, Harry Laing-bappe, Dom Forbessi, Kyran Bryant-adonna, Braith Beck-ing-ham, Tyrell Wolmb-eymar’

As you can see many of the boys doubled up with sports – with many of the 9E rugby players contributing to the 9E football team when they had a Friday afternoon match or a bye. Well done to all boys, but in particular the boys who took part in both sports to show true Marist community in representing the College.

The week rounded up with Zorb Soccer on Hayden Oval on Friday afternoon, which saw the boys having a ball 😊! Thanks to Blair for arranging this fun opportunity for the boys.

Fourviere Residence

We are fast approaching the pointy end of the semester and the boys have kept themselves particularly busy this week.

We kicked the week off with a delightful ‘tea-n-bickies’ party on the upper deck of the residence in celebration of Connor Lyons’ birthday. The first ever State of Origin played in Townsville also caught our attention this week and Zeke Esler has not taken off his NSW Blues jumper since! A few of the Year 10 lads were fortunate enough to go on another excursion to Urban Climb at West End for some more indoor rock climbing, while Matthew Hayden and John Eales hosted several lads at the Champagnat breakfast on Friday morning.

The final round of the Term 2 winter sports schedule concluded in style with some wonderful matches across the board for all. And the Year 11 lads rounded out the week with a morning BBQ breakfast where Jimmy Boland and James O’Connor took control of the grill to serve up a delightful breakfast for all. James’ self-proclaimed title of ‘best egg chef in South East Queensland’ carrying some credibility with those who got to sample his expertise first hand.

Br Terence Residence

This week saw the boys participate in the last round of AIC Football, Rugby and Chess for 2021. The very high participation rate amongst the residence saw most of our boys represent the College on Saturday with a number of our Year 12 boarders receiving the opportunity for, potentially, one last run on their chosen sport’s main oval. This past Saturday also saw the Hive at its loudest with Clancy Clemson, Hugh Ford and James Thompson rallying support for our 1st XV. A special mention must be made of James Thompson who took it upon himself this week to construct a much needed new banner frame in preparation for Saturday – well done, James! In the classroom, many of our Year 12 boys handed in their final assessment tasks before beginning their preparations for the external exams at the end of the year, and a number of our Year 11 boys have changed subjects after Unit 1 and have begun the process of catching up on the work that will enable them to experience success in their new subjects.

On Wednesday morning, a large number of boys responded to the special invitation to boarding students to attend College Mass before school. It was pleasing to see a large number of our Year 11 and 12 boarders impeccably dressed and in attendance. Away from the College, Joe Macqueen enjoyed success at the Caboolture rodeo and Jackson Munn represented Metropolitan North in the State Championships for Touch Football, while Dwayne Ludwick spent a couple of days out on work experience to commence his plumbing career. As we approach the end of a busy term, I know that many of the boys are looking forward to the upcoming holidays.

On Sunday, Darcy Knight and James Thompson built some Adirondack chairs for the Year 12 top verandah, they did a good job and Clancy gave them the nod of approval!

Boarding Recreation - Mr Blair Whitlock

Straight after school on Friday, we headed down to Hayden Oval for another round of Bubble Soccer. It was very popular in Term 1and the boys had been asking to do it ever since. In short, it was 90 minutes of big hits as the laws of physics were well and truly on display. The bigger lads had a field day sending many of their mates flying through the air! We played various games including bull rush and 5 v 5 soccer. Even Mr Morgan’s Bulldog, George, got amongst the action with a mid-game pitch invasion at one stage! After dinner, we headed up to the gym for some dodgeball, basketball and badminton before settling in for the night.

Saturday saw the final round of the AIC competition against St Pats College. It was nice to finish the season with home games which meant many boys got to have a sleep in before their games. Other results had given the Football 1st XI the opportunity to clinch the title with a win against St Pats. It was great to see so many of the boarders down on Cameron Oval supporting the Footballers as they ground out a 4 – 1 win. It set the scene perfectly as we headed up to McMahon Oval for the 1st XV’s final match. It was an aggressive game with a vocal section of St Pats students matching our Hive throughout. We eventually ran out convincing winners as the boys finished the season in 2nd place.

On Saturday night we headed up to Boondall for our traditional end of term Ice Skating! There were six other schools present as the boys caught up with all sorts of friends, sisters, cousins and other connections! There were many interesting skating techniques and several impressive falls throughout the session, thankfully none of them from our boys who spent plenty of time hugging the walls! While the boys were skating I also managed to plan the majority of our Term 3 socials with the other schools so it was a productive evening!

There are plenty of assignments and exams coming up in week nine so we decided to get some extra study going on Sunday. Several boys headed out to the Blue Nurses on our freshly serviced Mountain Bikes before heading back along the creek to Marist. Between study sessions, we also got a few rounds of Mega Tiggy in with the young lads to blow off some steam. The day passed very quickly and finished up with Mass and Sunday dinner. It’s been a huge term and the boys are certainly looking forward to the holidays now.