Boarding News

One of the most important and valuable lessons we can teach young people is to be a positive contributor in their community. Giving up personal time and doing something for the benefit of others is a message we promote at our school and it is very much in keeping with the Marist value of ‘family spirit’.

A great example of this happened last Saturday when a group of over 50 boarders woke at 3.00am to travel into Suncorp Stadium to be part of an event known as 42 For 42. The boys were inspired to take part after hearing Mr Sean Mulqueen speak about the Afghanistan War Memorial Garden at the end of last week’s Mass. The project to build this garden took many years and it now serves as a perpetual reminder of the sacrifice of so many service men and women who were part of the war against terror in Afghanistan.

This large group of boys walked with the family of Old Boy Ricky Milosevic (class of 1989) between 4.00am – 5.00am in an hour dedicated to Ricky who lost his life while serving his country in Afghanistan. The boys were outstanding in the way they conducted themselves throughout and I am so proud of their involvement in this event.

Next year, we are planning to implement two boarding-specific community service activities. One is the re-introduction of the Term 2 boarding car washes on Saturday mornings to raise funds for a good cause which the boys will nominate. And the other project is being called the ‘Boarder Blitz’ where teams of boarders will visit local residents who are not able to maintain their yard and assist them with this work. It will be great to see the boarders giving of their time and supporting their community next year.

As we near the end of term, I’d like to communicate a few reminders for parents to assist with your planning.

• Boarders must clear their room and cupboards of all belongings before departing for the holidays. We have a small amount of storage available for bulky items belonging to those boys flying home.
• Marist is providing the usual end-of-term bus service to help families. This will be advertised in the Boarding Bugle and I encourage you to book early if you plan for your son to use this service. 
• Friday 25th November is the designated Boarders’ Travel Day and we ask parents of Year 6 – 11 boarders to support by ensuring your son remains at school to finish the year at this time.

I look forward to catching up with many parents and families as we head towards the end of the term. 

Sunday Night Mass

Boarding Recreation - Mr Blair Whitlock

It was a massive weekend on the Rec front that kicked off with a BBQ and Pool Party with the girls from Somerville House. It’s great having the covers off the pool again and we’ve certainly been making the most of it as the weather has been getting warmer!

Saturday morning saw the annual Boarders Street Party take place between the boarding houses and the Tower. This year we had a mechanical bull, gladiator duel, 10m obstacle course, sumo wrestling, putt-putt, pass the footy comp, spikeball, cornhole and snow cones which kept the boys busy for hours. We opened the pool up afterwards to cool off before an evening trip down to Southbank for the few boys that still had some energy left!

Sunday started with the annual Staff vs Students T20 Cricket match on McMahon Oval. Several late scratching’s had the staff in dire straights heading into the game. We managed to scrape 50 runs together against a tidy bowling performance from the Year 11 side. An early Mr Temperly wicket had the staff dreaming of glory however a batting masterclass from Munroe “Bush Tucker” Wood sealed the student's first victory in 7 years. We endeavour to make it their last. 

The weekend finished off with a pool party over at St Margaret’s. The facilities at Margaret’s are fantastic and the boys enjoyed a swim along with several games of dodgeball, volleyball and netball! It’s been a huge weekend and we are well and truly on the home straight with just over two weeks of school to go.