Roll Call - September 2007

Asserting Our Values

From the Bridge”

Primary

Ed

Performance

Collegians’

Aldous Huxley (1894—1963), author of Brave New World, once remarked with a typical touch of cynicism, “Techno logical progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards”.

Huxley died before the in vention and widespread use of such items as fax machines, calculators, mobile phones, personal computers, microwave ovens, digital cameras, ipods, email and the internet. What would he think today?

Editorial

Welcome to the September issue of Roll Call. Earlier this year, Br Bill addressed the staff of the College about a “passion for perfecting performance.” He encouraged us to be creative in our approach to teaching. This issue of Roll Call is a showcase of the creative passion of both staff and students. Our cover story on College’s pro duction of The Wiz features the collective creative talents of the College. We also feature the photographic abilities of Year 10 student, Tom Parsons, whose photos of the The Wiz capture the magical atmosphere which filled the National Theatre during its recent season. We talk to two of our Year 12 students whose passion for computer science won them medals at the 2007 Infomatics Olympiad in Croatia. Year 12 student, Paul Culliver, makes his debut as a Roll Call reporter with his interview of a very special Old Collegian, Professor John Le Marshall who has recently returned from his working at NASA. There’s Rock Ed and musical endeavours. Old Collegian Reunions are also an important part of this issue and news of the recently reformed Old Collegians Association. It’s all about the passion.

You can contact Roll Call via the link under Alumni on the College’s web pages.

Kerry Martin Editor

Technology can be used badly, validating Hux ley’s observation — or it can be used well, leav ing the possibility that he is not right. The prob lem is that technology is very seductive. It can save time but we can also use our technological “toys” to waste a lot of time. Further, modern technological tools such as MP3 players and computers can destroy conversation and com munication within households — just as passive television watching can deprive people of ac tive exercise. “We don't talk any more”, is a sad statement to hear.

And where is God in all of this? It is possible, if not all too common, for people to drift away from acknowledging God in their lives, not through any decision, but simply by neglect and distrac tion. In July 1978, the Russian author who had moved to the United States, Alexander Solzhen itsyn, gave the commencement address at Har vard University on the subject of the present condition of the western democracies. Not everyone agreed with him then, nor would they today, but I think his words are worth pondering. His main criticism of the Western World is summed up in these words:

“We have lost the concept of a Supreme Com plete Entity, which used to restrain our passions and our irresponsibility...We have turned our backs upon the Spirit and embraced all that is material with excessive and unwarranted zeal.”

Here we are, forty-four years after Huxley and almost thirty years after Solzhenitsyn, in a soci ety with much increased reliance on technology. In all of the First World countries that were once known as Christian countries, there has been a rise of secularism with diminishing numbers of

people attending the mainstream churches and fewer vocations to the priesthood or religious congregations. The spiritual is increasingly being subjugated to the material and God is rapidly disappearing from people's lives. “I never left the Church”, said one person, “I just drifted away”. Jesuit, Tom O'Donovan, wrote that the removal of God results in two kinds of denial of God that one could call “atheisms”, not in the narrow, technical sense of a formal rejection of God but in the broad sense that God simply plays no part in our lives.

The first type of modern atheism, O'Donovan calls the “Atheism of Distraction”. This describes people who are too busy to have any time for God, people whose way of life affirms that religion might be okay, even good for the kids, but “I don't have any time to worry about things like that”.

The second type, O'Donovan calls the “Atheism of Materialism”. This describes a group of selfsatisfied people who believe they have all they need in the things they possess. When a young Danish woman was asked in a television inter view, whether or not her family went to Church, she replied in words that sum up the Atheism of Materialism: “We don't go to Church. We have everything we want. We don't need God.” In simi lar vein, George Bernard Shaw's character, Major Barbara, proclaims: “I am a millionaire. That is my religion.”

Unless we have learned to foster the love of God, and of the people in our lives, unless we keep our spiritual ideals in sight, we can easily succumb to the Atheism of Distraction — I don't have time for God — or the Atheism of Materialism — I have everything I want, I don't need God.

Solzhenitsyn warned his listeners of the need for spiritual development rather than a culture of self-gratification:

“Fifty years ago it would have seemed almost impossible that an individual could be granted boundless freedom simply for the satisfaction of instincts and whims…..Active and intense com petition permeates all human thought, without opening a way to free spiritual development.”

He further lamented: “In the West one almost never sees voluntary selfrestraint.”

One might well ask how concepts, such as the sanctity of human life and an awareness of the dignity of people, made in God's image and like

ness, have been diluted or drowned in the mod ern flood of hedonism and lack of restraint. There is also a tendency for people to argue that because scientists discover how to do some thing, society should let them do it. Just because scientists discover how to clone a person, for example, it does not follow that it should be per mitted. There must be a meeting of science and genuine ethics. If God is left out of the consider ation of such complex, bioethical problems, the conclusions can be very strange indeed.

We live at a time of remarkable technological advances. The danger, however, is in moving too far from the position advocated by Theodore Roosevelt who said:

“I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life”. If people have become so focussed on ease and self-interest, it is not surprising that God may have become irrelevant to so many. The Solzhen itsyn view of Western democracies is no cause for pessimism, nor a reason to be a modern “Luddite”, but it is a reminder not to be seduced from the central teaching of Christ that we are to love God, our family and our neighbour, to build our lives around care and concern for others rather than personal material gain.

A modern school necessarily embraces technol ogy in delivering the curriculum more efficiently. But it is very important for that technology to be situated in a learning environment where there is great emphasis on setting standards and de veloping values, Christian attitudes and belief in God.

The need for De La Salle to be a beacon Catho lic school, opposing materialism, selfishness and atheism has never been greater. Our task is to produce men of high ideals who will ex press those ideals in the way they act, who will be “men for others”, and act like brothers to all whom they meet along the way. Our social justice programmes and the generous response of students, described so graphically in the May issue of Roll Call, are based on this aspiration.

Material donations to the building of our new chapel will also assist our spiritual focus. The chapel, for present and future generations of De La students, will be a signature statement of our priorities and it will make a public statement of the kind of school we assert De La Salle should always be.

Br Bill

Performing at the 2007 World Olympiad

Two Year 12 De la Salle students have taken out medals at the recent World Infomatics Olympiad held in Zagreb. Jack Murray took out the Silver Medal and Angus McInnes took out the Bronze Medal as part of the four-member team repre senting Australia.

They competed with students from around the world and on the eve of their departure for Eu rope spoke to Roll Call about their journey to the Olympiad.

So what is “Infomatics” you may well wonder? It is all about numbers and essentially is the basis of computer science.

Both Angus and Jack developed a love of num bers at a young age. Their parents and primary school teachers nurtured this interest from the very beginning.

Angus can remember being interested in num bers from a very young age. “I think I’ve always been interested in mathematics. I remember my mum teaching me to add numbers together be fore I started primary school,” he said.

Jack’s interest began in primary school. “I’ve been fascinated by maths for as long as I can remember. My interest in mathematics really soared when I first started using algebra in Grade 3, (although I didn’t know it was called that at the time)” he said. “There were various accelera tion programs in primary school. In Year 5 and 6 I started having a few lessons a week in a class of three, where we learned algebra and geometry for Mathematics.” he said.

In later years, during the boys’ secondary edu cation at De La Salle, this interest was further

developed by teachers. “The teacher who played the most important role was Mr Evans (my Year 8 Homeroom teacher). He got me involved in com petitions that led to what I’m doing now,” Angus said.

Jack and Angus’ interest in computers continues and both include them at the top of their interests outside school. While Jack’s hobbies also include piano and archery, Angus spends most of his time involved in computers in one way or another. The boys aim to pursue Computer Science at uni versity when they finish Year 12.

Given the collective talent of Angus and Jack, we may one day see the likes of another John Dethridge, an Australian who has carved out a reputation as one of Google’s top computer sci entists. Watch this space.

Pictured left to right: The Aus tralian Olym piad Team; Alex Matthews,Chris Chen, Tracey Reid, Australian Ambas sador to Croatia, Jack Murray and Angus McInnes

Angus McGuinness with the team’s Croation guide Vanessa Tipura

Wiz

The National Theatre in St Kilda “rocked” when the De la Salle/Sacrè Couer production of the muchloved story of The Wiz opened last month for four spectacular perform ances before audiences in excess of 2,000.

The Wiz showcased the extraordinary talents of more than 100 students from across years 4–12 at both Colleges.

The Wiz Artistic Direc tor, Bryan Smith, con gratulated the cast and crew of The Wiz for their hard work and dedica tion to the project since rehearsals started in March.

“This is the biggest production we have done to date and The National Theatre provided students with a wonderful oppor tunity to perform before large audiences,” Mr Smith said.

“Our interpretation of this classic tale of adventure, hope, and friendship had a very Melbourne, very funky feel to it. Audiences were thrilled by every aspect of the show, the performances, the singing, the stunning costumes, the choreography and the magic of a live orchestra.

De La boys and Sacré Co eur girls made up a cast of brilliant singers, danc ers and actors playing parts as varied as scooter riding monkeys to punk munchkins.”

Mr Smith said the success The Wiz also rested on the shoulders of the Wiz team comprising parents, staff and students from across both Colleges.

The Wiz Team was the backbone of the show and their efforts are to be congratulated.”

Sarah Louise McLean from Year 8 gave a stellar performance as Dorothy and was well supported by extraordinary performances from her friends, Year 10 students Andrew Lombardo, (Lion) Sam Watkins, (Scarecrow) and Jack Gray (The Wiz) and Year 9 student, Simon Windley (Tin Man).

The De La Salle-Sacre Couer production intro duced a fresh quality and identity that is unique to Australia. “Rather than have students regurgitate a Broadway-style performance with American characters and accents, this production of The brought the story into our own backyards,” Mr Smith said. A Hills hoist, a community garden, an urban rubbish dump, a zoo, and a quirky, corpo rate world provided the context for the unfolding of the story.

A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE

By Marg McPhee

One of the many positive aspects of working as a Theatre Studies teacher is working with stu dents who value the creative process. Every year, I find myself in the fortunate position of having to select a play. This decision is based on the stu dents’ abilities, interests and the play’s potential for students to use stagecraft in imaginative and innovative ways.

This year De La Salle again collaborated with Presentation College, Windsor to present Arthur Miller’s play, A View From The Bridge

One reason A View From The Bridge was selected because the protagonist, Eddie Carbone represents the medieval charac ter, “Everyman,” often found in Morality plays. This character is typical of all of us, in terms of his weak nesses, flaws, contra dictory behaviour and human complexities.

The other reason was that Year 12 students are studying this text as part of their Eng lish studies and what better way to study the text than by seeing it performed by students they know?

Miller maintained that drama has a duty to ad dress the great questions of right and wrong and Greek tragedy and the Bible heavily influenced him. In this play, we witness Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman, transform from a loving, wellrespected and hard working man into one who betrays his principles and orchestrates his own downfall. The character, Alfieri, adopts two roles, that of a lawyer who counsels Eddie and who is representative of a Greek chorus. In the role of chorus, Alfieri laments that he is powerless to stop the inevitable tragedy that will befall Eddie. Miller encourages us, as members of his audi ence to relate Eddie’s actions to our own and in so doing understand what motivates us, not only as individuals but also in the way we connect to each other and our past.

The Theatre Studies class comprises Year 11 and 12 students and they have each been respon sible for planning and developing two areas of stagecraft. One area of stagecraft is direction and this year three of the students undertook this area and each directed a scene from the play. Their understanding and direction of the cast was a pleasure to observe.

I was impressed with the group’s commitment to rehearsals and ongo ing application to various areas of the production. They maintained their enthusiasm, and their understanding of their character’s motivation was nothing short of extraordinary.

Pictured: The cast including Justin Geaney, Xavier O’Shannessy, Tristan Tiso, Max Helsing, Peter Gourgoulis, Rory Murphy, Peter Convery, Paul Be liga, William Luby, Ruth O’Leery and Alicia Barret

On the island

“FANTASIC” was the consensus amongst the Grade 6 boys when asked to describe our recent camp. Phillip Island Adventure Resort presented challenges which our boys embraced with great enthusiasm, and nerves of steel. Activities included the giant swing, twin flying fox, team rescue, raft making and canoeing. We were also extremely fortunate to have the oppor tunity to witness the lunar eclipse in the perfect setting while sipping hot choco late! After two days of non-stop fun, we boarded the ferry at Sorrento to Queen scliff, where the Outdoor Education Team transported us to Jan Juc. After an evening walk and a game of “spotlight” on the beach, the boys were treated to a wonderful meal, homecooked by Ms Manuell and Ms. Webster.

Adrienne Moran

An Open Letter to the Lasallian Community

The De La Salle Brothers, as proprietors of the College, are taking the practical step in each of the Colleges they own in Australia, of extending governance to a Board which will be responsible for guiding the strategic directions of the College in the years ahead. Brother John Pill will be over seeing this process. Below is an open letter to the De La Salle Community detailing the Broth ers future plans for incorporation.

Dear Readers,

As part of our commitment to maintaining the special character of our Lasallian school and welfare network, the De La Salle Brothers have embarked on a process of incorporation of our operations in Australia. BoysTown, which has been running as a successful company for over three years with Br Bill Firman as one of the directors, was our first company. St Michael’s College in Adelaide was incorporated at the beginning of 2007, and plans are underway to

incorporate Oakhill College, Castle Hill in Sydney and St Bede’s College, Mentone at the beginning of 2008.

The Brothers are now beginning the process of incorporation of De La Salle, Malvern and as part of that process is seeking interested individuals to form a board of directors. We are looking for community minded individuals to join the Board. Ideal candidates would possess a commit ment to Catholic education; an understanding of Lasallian tradition and practice, a sense of civic responsibility; a concern for the welfare of young people and professional experience in manage ment, education, law, finance, human services, community or sporting organizations.

For further information please contact me at the Provincial Office in Sydney.

Br John Pill Provincial Office Sydney (02) 9795 6431

On the last day the boys went surfing and en joyed the b.b.q. attended by their parents.

abandof Brothers

Peter Lalor’s words represent the theme and phi losophy of De La Salle’s 2007 Rock Ed entry. The concept of fraternity and kinship underpinned the performance at the Vodafone Arena on 6th August. This year the notion was to highlight the strand of fraternity in Australian history from Indigenous Kinship to the contemporary brotherhood of youth, with homage paid to the defining moments such as colonial occupation the shearer’s strike, Gallipoli and the 1930’s depression.

The Rock Ed dance troupe inspired all with Nicole Muling’s outstanding choreography as they claimed the stage as their own.

The De La crew established a new benchmark in efficiency, Dan Giovannoni brought a fresh directing eloquence to the De La Salle Rock Ed thespian family, and Michelle Hamilton’s lighting illuminated a piece of original moving theatre.

We pay a heartfelt tribute to Kathy Muling, Angela Mottram and Marg Baulch for their loyal and tire

less dedication, especially in ploughing through the post-fire rehabilitation of our costumes. To the Rock Ed Old Collegians who made an idea become a reality I thank Alan, Alex, Aidan, Mezza, Nick, Josh, Jaz and Mac.

AS Roll Call goes to print the De La Salle Rock Ed team will perform at the premier division Grand Fi nal and we humbly, yet passionately present ‘Gotta Ya Back’.

Our inspiration stretches from Balgo in the Kim berleys to the ashes of the once thriving Rock Ed Room, we draw inspiration that is not in the edifice of bricks and mortar that we express on humanity but in the future of our creative students.

Mary Finn

“Under the Southern Cross we pledge to truly stand by one another”

Music in Performance

De La Salle has established a reputation for its music program and so far this year music students have demonstrated their talents in a variety of performance settings including the Annual Music Night, the Music Camp and the first All Strings Concert. Roll Call features some of the highlights of these performances.

From Beethoven to Boccherini

The De La Salle String Program has gone from strength to strength over the last three years, culminating with the very first “All Strings Concert” in June. String players, from Year 6 to Year 10, have shown a true passion for performance, in an intimate classical concert atmosphere. We are extremely proud of the students for their remarkable progress and their commitment to a high standard throughout the performance. The standard was exceptional, considering that most performers are former (or current) De La Salle Primary students, who just three years ago were only learning the basics of playing an instrument. The diversity of repertoire — which ranged from classical, including Beethoven and Mozart, to jazz, including Errol Garner, contributed to a very successful evening. The soloists demonstrated remarkable stage control, supported by the generous contribution of our guest pianist Brigid McInerney.

by Val Railey (pictured below)

Music Road Trip

Recently, the De La Salle Music Department packed their bags, loaded their instruments into a bus and took to the road, destination Jan Juc. The reason — to showcase and further music students’ abilities and performance skills, while providing entertainment for local primary school children, many of whom had not been exposed to live music before.

Local children got to see the remarkable talents of the De La Vocal Ensemble, Sax Trio, String Quartet as well as the Concert and Stage Bands. Many students also performed solo performances on their instruments. During the week, students played five concerts for primary schools in the Jan Juc district, amazing them with a well-re hearsed repertoire, the culmination of many long and strenuous hours of rehearsal. The trip was a huge success.

Tristan Williams Concert Band Captain

Left: Simon Chiodo brings home the Concert Band

Cindy Frost strikes a chord

Our Man in the

Bureau

By Paul Culliver

Dr John Le Marshall graduated from De La Salle College Malvern in the 1960s. Since then he has established a successful career work ing with satellites and weather forecasting, both in Australia with the Bureau of Meteorology as well as in various research centres around the world. In 2006, Dr Le Marshall was awarded ‘NASA’s highest award in recognition of unusually significant scientific contributions toward achievement of the NASA mission’. This was in recognition of his innovative work in the use of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder hyper spectral data in numerical weather prediction models, which resulted in a significant improvement in creating weather models. Put simply, he was able to utilise the data from AIRS instruments in an extremely effective way to improve weather forecasting around the world.

I spoke to Dr Le Marshall and tracked his ca reer path from his early days as a De La boy right through to directorship of the biggest weather forecasting centre in the world.

What is your memory of De La Salle when you first went there?

“It was a fantastic school. I did Latin until Form 5 (Year 11) and Maths, physics, chemistry and English to Form 6. I played football and did gymnastics. They used to teach gymnastics and have the concerts at St Josephs. I also played some tennis. I think it was a good all round

education. Br Denis Crowe (RIP) was my phys ics teacher and he was just fantastic. Br Edward Gehrig taught Mathematics, and Br Stanislaus Carmody taught Chemistry. They all taught us pretty well. I tutored various people in chemistry when I was in Madison, Wisconsin working in the Space Science and Engineering Centre there. That was chiefly because I was taught so well at school.”

How did you find yourself heading towards a career in weather forecasting?

“I already had an interest in science I guess. Ca reer guidance in those days was more rudimen tary than it is now. It was a bit like: “You’re good at maths and science so we think you’ll make a good physicist or chemist, so keep it up”. I think it was good advice. Monash University had just started then so I was the first intake. People came out from the university to ask us all to sign up.”

What did you study at University?

“I thought I’d do a Science Degree in Physics. I always knew I liked Physics. When I got to the end of that, there were a few openings at different universities where I could have done a PhD. But I ended up going back to Monash after look ing at the other places and that’s where I did my PhD.”

You started working at the Bureau of Meteorology soon after that. What was that like?

“The weather bureau was interesting because satellites were just coming of age. It was a

chance to put together clas sical physics and quantum physics because with satel lites you’re dealing with both.

When you join the bureau you had to do a WMO class, which is like doing an MSc in Meteorology at the University of Reading. It’s about the same level. That’s the mini mum qualification you can have to be considered at the Bureau of Meteorology.”

You’re back working with the Bureau now, but you’ve just recently returned from the US. What have you been working as over there?

“I’ve been working in the US for three years running a project called NASA, NOA and Department of Defence Joint Centre for Satellite Data Assimilation.

Satellites data is used for environmental models, weather forecasting models and models that determine climate change. Basically, when the data comes down, we have to manage the way the instruments are used through the calibration and feed it into weather forecasting models and use that to improve the weather analysis and forecast. Satellite data is pretty important in the Southern Hemisphere as it doubles the length of the useable forecast.”

So why is it that your centre is made up of three different US bodies?

“The processing of the data from these advanced satellites is impossible for one organisation. One organisation just isn’t big enough. When you analyse the atmosphere and try to work out the temperature and moisture and surface pressure and wind throughout the various levels of the atmosphere, you have to use data from about forty different satellites, and the data is coming in continuously. It’s probably only the big analy sis centres that can take data from forty satel lites and use that to analyse the surface and the atmosphere and then do the forecast.”

So how does our Bureau manage these days?

“We’ve moved on from the time when we used to plot the observations, draw the charts and manu

ally forecast. It’s now done with supercomputers. The Bureau and the CSIRO are working together now. We’re a smaller weather service but we have a strong tradition in this area. But even we can’t do it by ourselves.”

What about the cost for Australia to use these satellites? Surely the US wants us paying our share if we’re using their data for our weather forecasts?

“Most of the software and the data are free. It costs nothing. The US has been launching satel lites since 1960. The data has always gone to the rest of the world for free. The Europeans this year launched their first operational meteorological satellite. The idea is countries contribute to the satellite system according to their Gross Domes tic Product. In 1960, in the middle of the Cold War, when the Americans launched their satel lites, they still gave the data away to everybody, which probably saved many lives.”

Just finally, for anyone interested in taking a similar carer path to yourself, what advice would you offer?

“In a country like Australia, Remote Sensing has a strong future. If you want to survey Australia for mineral exploration, doing a lot of that from space is the way to do it. I mean, farmers can count their sheep from space these days.”

Professor Le Marshall with Paul Culliver

De La Salle Old Collegians Amateur Football Club

As Roll Call goes to print De La Salle’s Footy Club, like many around the State will be in the grips of final’s fever. Colin Glover outlines the Club’s accomplishments so far.

Seniors: Senior Team, under 1st season and 2 time U19 Premier Division premiership coach David Madigan, finished 6th, just a game & a half outside the 4.

Ben Corin (1996) is provided excellent leader ship in his 3rd season as Club Captain. Michael Duggan (1998) is vice captain and together with Peter Harrison (1999), David Spithill (1999), Ryan Sherman (2002) and Dan Keely (2003) comprise the Senior Leadership group.

Prominent players in 2007 were Dan Keely , Leigh Harrison (1999), Jeff Morel (1995) and Aaron Shields. Ryan Sherman, after a delayed start to the season due to injury has played his usual high-impact running game. The “graduation” of Sam Nethersole (2006) to the Senior team has added quality and depth to the ruck contingent in his 10 games this season.

State Representation: Ben Corin, VAFA Vs VCFL and Sam Nethersole VAFA U19 Vs VCFL in Bal larat, and Dan Keely, VAFA U23 Vs SAFA (pic tured) in Adelaide all did the Club proud both with their selection and performance with Ben Corin being awarded the VCFL nomination as the best VAFA player.

Reserves: Under 3rd year coach Martin Kelliher (1981) finished 4th with 11 wins 7 losses and will play in the 1st Semi Final on September 8th. It is a fine achievement for Marty and his leader ship team of Matty O’Donnell (captain and B&F for the past 2 seasons) and vice-captain Vince “Choppa” Moloney, as this year’s team is mainly composed of players coming up from the U19 ranks. These include Will Fenton, Michael Herkess (2004), Greg Hesse, Tim Kovess (2004), Sam Morwood (2005) and James Pitcher. Thirds/Warriors: After a severely disrupted pre season when ground unavailability made the fielding of the team uncertain, Mark Butler, in his first year of coaching, has achieved in ex cess of expectations. To defeat the Old Xaverians Crocodiles is an achieve ment which has eluded DLS Warriors for a decade.

U19 Blues: Stewart Grey who has sons Nathan and James at the Col lege, has taken on the role vacated by

David Madigan with enthusiasm and aptitude. The Blues lost only one game and finished in first position. The leadership group, comprising Stewie, Locky Bull (2005 captain) and Adam Cox (2005 vice-captain), together with the able as sistance of legendary team manager Paul Lourey, has the whole team ticking over beautifully.

U19 Golds: Rob Smith, in his 6th year as Golds coach, has the team securely placed in second position, with 12 wins from 15 games played. Having already defeated the top side Fitzroy Reds recently, the leadership group comprising Patrick Monaghan (Captain) and Simon Brown (VC), ably assisted by Patrick’s dad Neil as team manager, are valiantly trying “to keep a lid on it”.

U17s: Club legend John Pollard who has a VAFA “A” Grade and 2 MSJFL premierships in his impressive coaching CV has his Division 1 team into the 2007 Grand Final, having won their three finals games in fine fashion to qualify. Of the 30 players who have played with the U17s this season, all except one are at or from the College, with David Hale (team manager) and Damien Hale heavily involved. Anthony Hale is also per forming well with the all-conquering Blues. Team Leadership is in the capable hands of captain Matt Wall and vice captains Damien Hale and Josh Scipione.

For all up-to-date news concerning your Old Col legians Football Club please visit the website www.delafootball.com.au

Colin Glover Secretary

State reps Ben Nethersole, Ben Corin and Dan Keely

Year 12 Revisited

The first reunion of the Class of 2006 was a great success with most guys making the effort to attend and catch up with mates they hadn’t seen for a while, as well as chatting to past teachers. It was interesting to hear some great memo ries of our time together and to see how the teachers were holding up without us. Everyone who attended the evening thought it was great to see old mates and remember the good times. We are now looking forward to doing it again in five years. Sam Williams.

Class of 2002 Reunion

A lot can change in five years and it can be a little unnerving anticipating what to expect when you catch up with old school mates. Will they have changed? Have I changed? These questions may seem unimportant, however they do arise in the leadup to any kind of reunion. While I did contem plate these notions prior to the recent five-year De La Salle reunion, this nervous anticipation was quickly eased as familiar faces were met with a handshake and a grin, schoolyard nicknames instantly remembered, and conversations quickly sparked up. As the class of 2002 filled the room, the now ‘old’ Collegians enjoyed recalling countless amusing moments of school life over a few quiet beers. Although life after College has seen many varied post-school experiences, the constant was the spirit the boys shared amongst each other. This was evident by the happiness of simply being together once again.

One highlight and enjoyable part of the night was the attendance of some of the teachers who taught many of the boys over their school ing journey. The roaring laughter by both parties conveyed the enjoyment of recalling some of the more ‘colourful’ moments of class time! Indeed we were greatly appreciative to those teachers who attended.

Richard O’Brien Class of 2002

Class of 1997 Reunion

What a fantastic night it was at the Malvern Vale back in June. For many of the 70 or so former students in attendance, it was the first time they had seen most of their old classmates since walking through the Kinnoull gates for the last time back in 1997.

A decade away from De La had done little to prevent the rekindling of old friendships and having a laugh about the many good times we all had. All of us were grateful for the opportunity to reminisce and have a good chat.

tude for everything that the school provided him with was expressed with absolute sincerity.

On a serious note we observed a minutes silence in memory of the three former mates who are no longer with us. It was a reminder that things can change pretty quickly.

It was equally enjoyable to catch up with some of the excellent teachers who taught us. The ever-entertaining Jon Hewett performed yet again in the role of official photographer and continued to offer valued insights, and Euan Walmsley’s clever wit hadn’t shown any signs of receding. Matt Breen was as friendly and approachable as ever; our former Headmaster Br Tim made the trip down from Sydney to join us. Peter Riordan and Br Gabriel were also there to lend support.

One former class mate told me of his move to De La from another school as the best thing that had ever happened to him. His fondness and grati

Special thanks go to Trish Woodman for her role in organising the event including securing the venue, tracking down students’ addresses and keeping us well nourished on the night. Thanks also to our former teachers that came along. It was terrific that they made an effort to be in at tendance and also to have a good yarn with them as adults. To all the lads, thanks for a cracker night!

Luke Chamberlain Class of 1997

Wanted

Volunteers to give a couple of hours each week early next year to work with Brother Bill on the De La Salle Centenary Appeal.

Centenary

25th October

Arts Centre

20 Year Reunion

It was an icy cold Friday night as we entered the front doors of the Malvernvale hotel. A quick glance saw a number of families enjoying meals from the bistro and a few elderly gentlemen having a drink by the bar. Did we have the right venue? Surely all four of the guys I had arrived with had not made the same mistake. At that point we were greeted by a young man appearing to be an employee of the pub. Without asking any questions he directed us to the stairwell at the end of the room. There was a board at the bottom of the staircase with the famous De La Salle motto. Yes this was the right place, the venue for the 20 and 21 year school reunions for the classes of 1986 and 1987.

As the night kicked on the stories seemed funnier, the laughter became louder and friendly wrestles erupted like spot fires around the room. A room rich in cultural and economic diversity was united by the time we all spent together in our formative years.

Phil Brasher, school captain 1987, delivered an inspiring speech at the end of the evening thank ing people for their enthusiastic participation. This was followed by a more irreverent address by class comedian Bill Hallistanis who proved he had lost none of his charisma.

As we reached the top of the stairs we were warmly greeted by De La legend Br Mark Mur phy. One could have only wished the rest of us had changed as little as he had over the past 20 years. We were quite early and there was only about 20 people in the room at this stage. We quickly identified a number of familiar faces and joined a group standing by the bar. Over the next hour more and more ‘late thirty something’ guys entered the room, quickly pushing the numbers close to a hundred.

The usual questions were asked when greeting old faces ‘What are you doing now?’ ‘Are you married?’ ‘Do you have any kids?’ These conversations in most cases would transgress to anecdotes and ‘glory stories’ of our time at school. Guys were happy for the truth not to get in the way of a good story. It was fascinating how much better/ funnier/ more daring in our own eyes we all were twenty years ago.

Email addresses were exchanged and pledges were made to catch up more often, only time will tell if this happens but no one would debate there was not a lot of ‘love’ in the room as the evening drew to a close. At 1.00am when the function room was closed there were still many in attend ance, for a brief moment attempting to recapture their youth. In the back of their minds however was the daunting prospect of early wake up calls from young kids eager for dad to play. On this oc

30 Year Reunion

More than 65 Old Collegians from the classes of 1976 and 1977 gathered at Giorgio’s Restau rant recently to celebrate the 30/31 year De La Salle reunion. Br Bill Firman and Trish Woodman welcomed the Old Collegians. The gathering included many old friends including Br Kenneth Ormerod, our Form 3 History teacher, who had come down from Sydney to celebrate with us. That so many fellow past students considered the gathering important enough to attend was a small reflection of the fact that “De La was not such a bad place after all” as one in our midst was heard to utter.

As the night progressed, the anxiety gave way to a more relaxed recollection of our years together in the little patch of Mal vern just down the road from the gather ing. This humble little patch has spread over the years, in much the same way as some of our midriffs. Br Bill, our generous host, detailed further exciting plans for expansion of the school.

We enjoyed seeing photographs of our school days and reminisced about some of those who were unable to attend. Many past acquaintances were re-established and we look forward to keeping in touch.

Neil Pinto

40 Year Reunion

Over 50 Old Boys braved the Melbourne cold to attend the 40 Year Reunion at Giorgio’s in Mal vern. Chris ?????? , now a dentist at Mor well, had managed to track down a number of “lost” souls, so many had not met since 1966/67 and were astounded to be able to still recognise each other sans hair, etc. Unfortunately Br Mark Murphy was the only teacher from that era present. By the end of the night, after drinks, a fine meal, and a presentation by Br Bill on the fu ture plans for the College, most had managed to regale each other with tales of past feats, recent achievements and memories from the 60’s. The night ran well into the small hours and many past friendships were rekindled.

Br Denis Loft.

40 Year Reunion

50 Year Reunion

One hundred and sixty Old Collegians from the 50+ years out group gathered at the Malvern Vale Reception Centre for lunch recently. The se renity of the setting adjacent to the golf course –was contrasted by the noise levels of old mates getting together exchanging yarns and reminisc ing.

We were honoured to be joined by former teach ers - Brother Stanislaus had come down from Sydney (Cronulla) for the occasion, and Brother Christian Moe (Mentone community). Apart from meeting former students, Brother Christian was there promoting the book he has written on the arrival of the De La Salle Brothers in Australia. Brother Bill Firman, welcomed the group and presented a display of photos taken from early Blue and Gold magazines. Many Old Collegians had the pleasure of seeing themselves and their mates back in their College days, so many cheers and humorous comments filled the air.

An enjoyable lunch was provided, with the many groups seated in their year levels. Brother Bill informed the group of plans for the College launching the College Building Appeal. Slides were shown of the aim of the appeal, which was to construct a new building on the corner of Dalny and High streets — the building to include the College’s own Chapel.

With formalities over with, the conversations and

laughter resumed and continued well into the afternoon. A special thanks to Mrs Trish Wood man of the College staff for organising the event. A memorable day was enjoyed by all.

John Meehan Vice President OCA

Where Are They Now?

Queens Birthday Honours 2007.

The College is proud to announce the following list of alumni and staff who were awarded honours in 2007

Michael Walker (1973), father of Kevin Walker (Dux 2006), for his contribution to Fire Services. Michael is the Assistant Chief Fire Officer with the Melbourne Fire Brigade Stephen McIntyre (1958) a reputed pianist for Services to the Arts.

John Liston (1965), for Community service.

Br Quentin O’Halloran FSC, former Provincial Visitor for the Australian District , former Head master of St. Bede’s Mentone and Oakhill College (Sydney) for his services to education.

Reverend Lawrence Cross, a lecturer at ACU, father of Patrick in Year 10.

Br Quentin O’Halloran

Fr. Tom McCarthy PE (1939) recently celebrated his Diamond Jubilee of Ordination to the Priest hood. Fr Tom retired from the Parish of All Hal lows in Balwyn several years ago and lives in retirement at Justin Villa. There are only three priests left from the Ordination Class of 1947. They are Fr. Spillane (Melbourne Archdiocese) and Fr. Paddy Bohan (Ballarat)

Mark Farrell (1993) past winner of the Lasal lian Award and his wife Nadia have recently been blessed with the arrival of their first child Theodore Noah Farrell. Mark has named young Theodore in honour of Old Boy the late Br Theo dore O'Shaugnessy who taught Mark at Malvern and left an indelible imprint on Mark through the quality of his teaching, his holiness of life and his humility.

John Meehan (1949) is a Member of The Com mittee of Convocation of The University of Melbourne and is also a member of the Faculty Board of The University’s Faculty of Economics and Commerce. John recently returned from Europe where he visited the Cathedral in Monaca which has a chapel devoted to St John Baptist De La Salle.

Brs Paul Rogers and Ken Ormerod, who both taught at Malvern in 1970s, have recently cel ebrated their ruby anniversary as DLS Brothers. Their initial appointment as young brothers would have been at Malvern. Br Ken is now Principal at Oakhill College in Sydney having been at St Bedes Mentone as Principal for the past eight

years. Br Paul has been running schools in Ma laysia and Singapore for the last 15 years.

John Heanue (1978) runs his own business and practices as a psychologist. He is married to Heather with two young sons.

Peter Gilfedder, an Old Collegian, (pictured left) is Secretary to the General Council in Rome. He is seen here congratulating the Superior General, Broth er Alvaro, on his re-election as Superior General.

Patrick

Heanue and his wife Julia own and run Poplars Restaurant at Bright in NE Victoria.

Michael Heanue is a senior manager with Bun nings Hardware.

Jim Poussard (1992) is currently working as the Volunteer Program Manager at the Austral ian Centre for the Moving Image in Federation Square. He is married to Susan and they have a two year old daughter, Samantha. Jim and Susan are expecting their second child in November.

Stephen Dempster (1996) after graduating from the University of Melbourne, is now an electrical engineer with GM Holden.

Adrian Wood (1997) completed a Graduate Di ploma in Event Management and has been work ing in the major events industry since 2000. Most recently Adrian has worked on the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games, Doha 2006 Asian Games and is currently working with the Depart ment of Prime Minister and Cabinet APEC 2007 Taskforce.

Bill Avallone (1988) has been teaching at board ing schools since finishing university. Having spent time teaching at St Patrick’s Ballarat, Xavier College Kew and the Rugby School in England, Bill is now living and working in Swit zerland at Le Rosey, an international boarding school. Bill visits home often and divides his time between family, friends and footy.

Father Joachim O’Brien (1931) has just pub lished a small Book “Tongues of Fire”, to assist the lay community with the teachings of St Fran cis of Assisi.

Best wishes to Ian Robinson (1943) who due to health reasons was unable to attend the recent 50 Year Reunion.

De La Salle Old Collegians Committee

The committee of the Old Collegians Committee was reformed at a meeting on the 14th August held at the College. There has been a 10 year gap since an functional committee was in place. It is fitting as the 100 years of the De La Salle Brothers Malvern approaches rapidly that the committee be put back onto a proper footing. A little of the history of the Association and its aims under the revitalized structure is contained herein.

The Old Collegians Association has a long and proud history, initiated originally by young men whose links with the Brothers and the school went back to the very early days of De La Salle School. The role OCA is to:

• Organize an Annual Mass and general reunion

• Advise on OCA matters generally and activate a wider network of Old Collegians

• Assist in the maintenance of the accuracy of the OCA database with “inside” information

• Contribute to each edition of Roll Call

• Facilitate other appropriate activities to en hance the College reputation and the work of the De La Salle Brothers

It is vital that our Alma Mater has a sustainable and active OCA, particularly as Malvern ap proaches its centenary year of 2012. The re-es tablishment of a committee will not only honour those, living and dead, who have sustained the OCA over many decades, it would also honour in a particular way the Brothers, who have animated the College by their service and sacrifice for more than nine decades. In 2007 the tradition continues with De La Salle Malvern striving to educate young men to be “men for others”, urging them to live by high ideals and to “make a difference” in their particular spheres of influence as they move through life.

The Committee for 2007/08 is as follows:

• President: Adrian (Ox) Fisher (1971) – former President of OCA and DLSOCAFC - Business Manager OLSH Bentleigh

• Vice- President: John Meehan (1949) – Retired Finance Director – member of Committee of Convocation at Melbourne Uni representing Commerce faculty.

• Treasurer: Michael Walker (1973) Assistant Chief Fire Officer CBD, Melbourne Fire Brigade

• Hon. Secretary: Michael Bohan (1973) Business Manager, Kerry Pinnacle Bakery Ingredients t/a Sugar and Spice

• General Committee:

• John Campbell (1949) retired public servant

• Paul D’Astoli (1963) retired Catholic Secondary School Principal and Education Consultant

• Damien Cash (1974) Historian and Author

• Ian Cheesewright (1947) Retired Teacher

• Tom McIlroy (2003) University Student

• David Lee (1970) returned recently from USA after 30 years there

• Damien Nolan (1967)

• John Battista (1963) Consulting Surveyor

• Brendan Avallone (1992) Senior Associate Minter Ellison

• John Bolt (1956) – doyen of the DLSOCAFC

Those who have indicated a willingness to join the committee but were unable to attend the meeting were Jack Di Giantomasso (1966) and Pat Danaher (1964)

Sixty So Soon

By Br Bill Firman

Sixty So Soon, reflects on dealing with kids, at titudes to living, understanding of our place in the universe, and looking towards the senior years with confidence.

All proceeds go to assist the work of the Lasallian youth charity, BoysTown, which provides the Kids Helpline service and many other programmes for marginalised young people.

Copies on sale at the Tiverton Office for $20.

Rest In Peace

Rourke

Mooney