An alleged assault took place at Marist College Ashgrove, a boys’ Catholic school in Brisbane, where a woman faculty member claimed that she was violently targeted by students throwing food at her.
The incident transpired during the bustling lunch hour of October 27, where the teacher, assigned to playground duty, found herself surrounded by nearly 300 students. It has been reported that the students assembled with the expectation of a brawl between themselves, ultimately switching their attention to the educator.
The spectators, who were within an arm’s length, appear to have further provoked the situation by hurling food at the female teacher. Amid the chaos, the teacher claimed to have felt a sense of entrapment as her pleas to cease their actions fell on deaf ears among the students reveling in the reckless frenzy. These actions were characterized by disorderly running, shrugging each other off, and goading their peers to engage in the fight.
Relief came only when the school bell tolled, marking the end of lunchtime, which witnessed the crowd disperse and the arrival of fellow teachers to extricate her from the turbulent ordeal.
Addressing this horrendous incident, an open letter from the Independent Education Union Queensland and Northern Territory was furnished to Michael Newman, the College Headmaster. The letter explicitly delineated the unwarranted physical and psychological dangers wrought upon the teacher by the students.
The correspondence outlined, “Such incidents pose a grave threat to the well-being of staff members, as they are thrust into a situation of immediate and impending exposure to occupational violence.”
Michael Newman, on the same day, promptly acknowledged the situation and communicated with the parents, revealing an “unfortunate incident” to which the school was paying “serious” attention.
He wrote, “Although several allegations overstate the actual occurrences, each one is being treated with the utmost seriousness, keeping in perspective the safety of the entire staff and our students – our ultimate priority.” Despite further inquiries regarding the discrepancies in the allegations, Mr. Newman refrained from additional comments.
The union’s branch secretary, Terry Burke, reiterated their constant support to the members in Marist College Ashgrove, invoking their concerns to the principal, post the unfortunate incident. At present, no further remarks have been made regarding this development.
