What's On - 14 February 2024

Ash Wednesday liturgies took place at the College this morning as we begin the Christian season of Lent, a time for both personal and communal spiritual renewal. In the 40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, we will journey with Jesus toward the cross and his death that ultimately brings us Resurrection Life.

This season will be marked by prayers, fasting and almsgiving through our support of Caritas, with a focus on integral ecology and supporting our neighbours in Asia and Pacific. Our solidarity education will focus on discovering how Caritas provides practical and sustainable support in education, health and community development. There will also be fundraising activities to help encourage students to make a donation to support these important initiatives. Click here to discover more.

Nathan Ahearne
Assistant Head of School - Mission and Identity

We are pleased to announce Genevieve Jacobs AM will host An Evening of Dialogue with Fr Timothy Radcliffe OP on Wednesday 13 March 2024 from 7.00 - 8.30pm at Marist College Canberra. 

Click here to register and find more information about this significant event. Places are limited, so please book early and share with family and friends!

The annual Marist Junior School Swimming Carnival will be held at the Queanbeyan Swimming and Leisure Centre on Monday 19 February 2024 (Week 3). The boys will be transported to and from the Centre by bus, leaving Marist at 8.50am and returning before 3:00pm. On the day boys are encouraged to swim in the events that they are capable of completing competently. More information on the carnival will be sent home in the coming days.

The Junior School Athletics Carnival is on Wednesday 6 March (Week 5). Junior School boys have started the semester's Physical Education with Athletics events in preparation for the Athletics Carnival in Week 5. The boys will learn and develop their skills in field events including shotput, discus and long jump, and 100m and 800m time trials. Due to the school's size, results from these Physical Education lessons will help select finalists for the Athletics Carnival.

Will your son trial for ACT representative teams this year?
Parents must monitor the School Sport ACT website for upcoming trials in a variety of sports. Not all of these dates come through Marist and so parents are urged to regularly check the website to avoid missing key events. Please note, not all sports are covered by SSACT. Certain sports e.g. Rugby Union, will use various methods, including social media, to promote trial dates.

A reminder to all Junior School families that if your son is making a Catholic Sacrament this year, that they are required to be enrolled in your Parish to receive the Sacrament. Whilst we as a school prepare the boys for their Sacraments, the actual Sacraments are received in your Parish.

Parish of the Transfiguration: North Woden - Sacramental Program

First Reconciliation Sacramental Program for prior students of Saints Peter and Paul School, Garran, or Holy Trinity School, Curtin, or residents of Curtin, Lyons, Phillip, Garran, Hughes and O’Malley.

For more information please contact the Parish office by email or by calling 6281 3999.

Mary Help of Christians 2024 Sacramental Program 

Enrolments for the combined First Reconciliation and First Holy Communion program are now closed, however if your child has completed their First Reconciliation, is in Year 4 or above and would like to make their sacrament of First Holy Communion this year, please enrol now. You can visit the Sacraments tab on the MHOC website for further details about the program and how to enrol. The First Holy Communion program will commence on Wednesday 13 March.

Corpus Christi Parish - Sacramental Program

Enrolment for the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Eucharist, and Confirmation at Corpus Christi Parish are now open. Parents can register their children using the Corpus Christi Parish Qkr! App. Enrolments will close on Friday 12 April. For more information, please click here or visit their website.

St Christopher's Cathedral School of Religion- Sacramental Program

Confirmation Classes start on the Tuesday 2 April, 6.00pm-7:30pm in St Peter Chanel's Parish Room, Yarralumla. Confirmation will take place on Saturday 18 May 2024 at the 5.00pm Vigil. First Holy Communion will start on 9 May for 2 June and First Reconciliation starts on 4 June for 3 July. Please contact the Parish office or website to enrol or for more information.

ACT School Health have scheduled the Year 7 immunisations for Monday 26 and Tuesday 27 February.

We will call the boys with their House, alphabetically, to come down to the Senior Staff Room. If for any reason your son must leave early (for an excursion or an appointment) he can come down to the venue earlier or on the alternate day. 

If your son misses the immunisations due to absence, you will receive a letter from ACT Health with details of how your son can receive the immunisation at your GP of choice.

If you need further information about the immunisation program or need another consent card, please click here.

NAPLAN testing will occur in our school between 13 and 25 March 2024 for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9.

Online NAPLAN tests provide more precise results and are engaging for students. The tests are tailored (or adaptive), which means that each test presents questions that may be more or less difficult depending on a student’s responses. This helps students remain engaged with the assessment.

Tailored testing allows a wider range of student abilities to be assessed and measures student achievement more precisely. A student’s overall NAPLAN result is based on both the number and complexity of questions they answer correctly. Your child should not be concerned if they find questions challenging; they may be taking a more complex test pathway.

NAPLAN provides valuable information to schools and parents about literacy and numeracy achievement. It supports school improvement processes by enabling teachers to monitor student progress over time and to identify areas of strength and development.

All eligible students are encouraged and supported to participate in NAPLAN testing. Visit www.nap.edu.au to see interactive versions of the test and for more information.

On Thursday 22 February, there will be an information session on the Duke of Edinburgh program for interested boys and their families.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award encourages people aged 14 to 24 to set goals, develop skills and their physical fitness, volunteer in their community, and complete adventurous journeys.

Boys who are involved in a number of co-curricular activities or are looking for a challenge are strongly encouraged to attend, as the Award is a great opportunity to be recognised for their efforts and is highly respected by employers and universities.

The presentation for families will be from 5:30pm to 6:30pm in the Theatrette. The presentation will be by Curtis Hibberson from Duke of Edinburgh International.

Curtis will talk about the Award and answer any questions boys and their families might have.

Families can also learn about this year’s upcoming Adventurous Journeys, the details of which are:

Bronze Adventurous Journey
Friday 12 April - Monday 16 April 2024 (starting on the last day of Term 1)
$649 per student
Three days hiking the Light to Light walk in Ben Boyd National Park, NSW

Silver Adventurous Journey
Saturday 29 June - Tuesday 2 July 2024 (starting on the first day of the Term 2 holiday)
$651 per student
Four days snowshoeing in Koziciusko National Park, NSW

Boys must be either in Year 9 or 14 years and older to participate in the Award.

Please RSVP to the event by email. 

Please join us on Thursday 15 February from 5.00 -7.00pm for a Marist House Picnic to celebrate the Commencement of the 2024 school year! This event is open to all Marist families. Come and enjoy the evening with your family and meet your son's House for a picnic.

Date: Thursday 15 February 
Time: 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Oval 1 - Marist College Canberra

The picnic will be held on Oval 1 with each family meeting at their designated House Marquee. We are looking forward to the opportunity for our Marist families to meet, catch up and spend time within their Marist House. It would be appreciated if you could indicate your attendance here.

The College has revised its response to COVID-19 to reflect the latest healthcare and ACT Government advice. Please note that:

• The College no longer requires a COVID notification if your son tests positive or is a household contact
• If your son is feeling unwell he should stay home and not attend the College. Inform the College of his absence via normal channels as outlined here
• The College’s Learning Management System, Canvas, is available for classwork and resources, if your son is well enough to access these.

Please note that staff and students are also not permitted to attend camps, tours or activities involving an overnight stay if they test positive 24 hours prior to departure.

To prevent the spread of COVID-19 students, staff and visitors are asked to:

• Stay up to date with vaccinations
• Proactively manage their healthcare needs with their GP
• Stay home if unwell and get tested for COVID-19
• Practice good personal hygiene
• Physically distance 1.5 metres
• Wear a mask in indoor public spaces.

Kathy Mumberson
Governance, Risk and Compliance Manager

BREAKING NEWS!
THIS WEEKEND’S REGATTA - DAYS OF EVENTS HAVE BEEN SWAPPED.

Following feedback from the school programs regarding the order of Head of the Lake and Junior Championships, Rowing ACT has made the decision to swap the days of the two events to alleviate concerns around days of racing and finish times. Therefore:

• ACT Junior Championships will take place on Saturday 17 of February
• ACT Head of the Lake will take place on Sunday 18 of February

We appreciate your continued support and look forward to seeing you all compete this weekend. Those who have entered crews already will not need to re-enter, though as always it is recommended that you double check your entries. Again, congratulations on the efforts over the weekend and best wishes for the ACT Championships and Head of The Lake this weekend.

Peter Milligan
Rowing Coordinator

Kellie Levy
Assistant Coordinator

Marist Rowers Charlie Carter (Year 12), Austin Bennie (Year 12), Sam Martin (Year 12), Harrison Braithwaite (Year 11), Garvan Hayes (Year 11), Riley Dale (Year 11), Riley Elliott (Year 11), Hamish Ridd (Year 11), Mitchell Wadie (Year 10), Blake Augur (Year 10), Roland Carter (Year 10) and Coxwain’s Theo Campton (Year 8) and Patrick Weber (Year 8) competed in the NSW Championships held at the Olympic rowing course in Penrith over the weekend.

The program was a demanding combination of Heats, Semi-Finals and Finals over the 2000m Olympic course. Racing was held over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Garvan Hayes placed a highly commendable third in the Championship Mens Under 21 Lightweight Single event on Saturday.

Garvan Hayes, Charlie Carter, Austin Bennie, Harrison Braithwaite and Coxswain, Theo Campton, won Silver in the Championship Schoolboy Coxed Quad Scull – a terrific result.

On Sunday many of our crews and individuals moved from the heats to semi-final level and then in the Finals. Garvan and Charlie were first in their Championship Schoolboy Single Scull heats and Austin third in his Heat. Charlie went on to the Final and placed a commendable seventh. Blake Augur and Mitchell Wadie competed strongly in in their heats of the Championship Mens Under 16 Single Scull heats and semi-final. Sam Martin, Hamish Ridd, Riley Elliot and Riley Dale contested the Championship Schoolboy Double Scull event – the two Riley’s placing seventh in the Final.

The performance of the day for MCCRC was Harrison Braithwaite’s dominance in the heat and semi-final then a fantastic Gold medal winning row in the Championship Mens Under 17 Single Scull with a time of 7:32.67. NSW Champion!

A big thank you to the Coaching staff for the preparation of our rowers and the transporting of equipment and to Collette Hayes for the wonderful photography.

Peter Milligan
Rowing Coordinator

Kellie Levy
Assistant Coordinator

Congratulations to Owen Nihill (Year 12) who was selected to represent the ACT in the U20s National Basketball Championships. Owen demonstrated his skills during the tournament held over the summer holidays. Well done, Owen!

Marist Winter Sporting Clubs will have online registration processes opening during February, so please check the club websites prior to registration for more information. Parents need to ensure that their child/children are registered by the closing date of the registration period to ensure participation in that sport.

Please use the College Sports email for any clarification regarding the Colleges Sporting Clubs or College Sport.

You can find links to relevant club websites here. 

When considering registering there are a couple of points which all students need to be aware of:

1. Students currently representing the College in cricket or rowing: you must continue to honour that training and playing commitment even if there may be an overlap with the pre-season training of your chosen winter sport. Your first priority is to your summer team. In doing this you will not be disadvantaged in your winter sport selections.
2. When choosing a winter sport remember that you are expected to attend all training sessions and all games during the season, in doing so you are supporting your coach and your team mates.
3. College Sporting teams play in an age based competition. All boys are registered to play in their appropriate age level. The College endeavours to ensure that we maximise the participation levels during competition which may require the movement of students up an age group. The College and the clubs work together to ensure if there is a need for to this happen, it is managed appropriately.

PREMIER LEAGUE (FOOTBALL) EXEMPTION FORMS

Students who are considering playing for a local Premier League Football Club need to complete the Exemption form which is found on the Marist Football Club website. 

Paul Mead
Head of Sport

Registration for Marist AFL has now opened. 

MAFC are introducing an Emerging Stars team, ages 17 – 18. The games will be played on a Sunday. We would love to have Seniors involved.

Preseason training is open to any prospective player - come and kick the footy and have a try.

Save the Date: Cricket Presentation Night - Monday 25 March, 6.00pm.