Roll Call - September 2008

Dear Editor,

Congratulations on the excellent edition of Roll Call.

I was amazed to see the development of the Music Department and Performing Arts. In my day (1946) there was only the School Choir, conducted by Br Ignatious. What a wonderful development now within the College!

While at De La, I was in the choir for four years. This led me to the Vincentian Boys’ Choir and then to the Australian Boys’ Choir. As a consequence a career in music beckoned, interspersed with work in Office Administration, in order to pay the bills for a family. Along the way I was lucky to win a Victorian Grant to complete a Music Degree at the Melbourne Con servatorium; a Churchill Fellowship (1973); and an A.M.(1984) for service to the Performing Arts (1984).

A singing career led to conducting musicals, adju dicating, teaching and finally managing an opera company and orchestra (1969/88) and serving on the Australian Opera Board (1970/80) I am now happily retired, but still singing. The De La Salle Choir started it all! I was delighted to see the photo of Brs Jer ome, Peter, Oswald and Stanislas in the latest cen tenary Brochure-they were great teachers and good “blokes”.

Best wishes and God's Blessings to all and especially to you for all your work on Roll Call.

Vincent A. Warrener A.M.,K.H.S. Editor: Kerry Martin Production: Jonathan Hewett

Who Are the De La Salle Brothers?

Not long ago, I received a phone call from one of my nieces who is a teacher in a Catholic school. She said words to the effect that her students were do ing a project on people in the Church and wanted to know the difference between Priests and Brothers. It is a common question. A popu lar misconception is that Brothers are on the way to becoming Priests but aren’t there yet while another wrong idea is that Broth ers and Priests are the same but simply focus on different ministries.

It is true that some Religious Congregations include both Priests and Brothers and some of these Brothers do go on to become priests but for the De la Salle Brothers, and for other Con gregations of Teaching Brothers such as the Christian Brothers and the Marist Brothers, all of our members are Brothers and none are priests.

A priest leads other Christians in the celebration of the sacraments, sometimes described col loquially as presiding at “Hatch’ems, Match’ems and Dispatch’ems”: the priest brings the sacra ment of Baptism to the new-born, the sacrament of Marriage to those who are marrying and the sacrament of Anointing to a person facing death. Throughout life, the priest also provides regularly the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconcilia tion. A Brother is not ordained and does not lead the celebration of sacraments. Teaching Brothers do not focus on sacramental ministry but on an educational ministry. (Of course it is possible to be priest and educator as are, for example, some Jesuits, Salesians and Carmelites.)

John Baptist De La Salle was a priest but he founded our Brothers, more than 300 years ago (circa 1682) in France for the explicit purpose of teaching: the Brothers focus is to teach. We venture wherever the need is greatest to provide education, guidance and inspiration to youth in need. Our commitment is to helping young people, especially the marginalised, regardless of their religion or race. Often our De La Salle mis sion may take us to inhospitable places, where even the local government cannot persuade teachers and administrators to go. We endeavour to live our Catholic faith through the values of love, compassion, justice and belief in the human dignity of each person.

When the Brothers first began, more than 300 years ago, they were mostly teachers based in schools. Today there are over 5,000 Brothers working in 80 countries throughout the world,

in innovative roles that extend way beyond the classroom. In the Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea (ANZPNG) District, the Broth ers’ work stretches from the coast of Papua New Guinea to aboriginal communities in the Kimber ley region of Western Australia.

We like to say that we are ordinary men leading extraordinary lives, not because we have extraor dinary talents but because becoming a Brother gives us an extraordinary opportunity to obtain a solid spiritual grounding for our work and great support in our ministry, especially through com munity life.

The present leader of the Brothers in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea is Brother Ambrose Payne. In the 2005 Queen’s birthday honours, he was awarded the “Order of Australia, Officer in the General Division” for his services in secondary and tertiary education, professional organizations and school Rugby. Brother Am brose was the Principal of the Catholic Teachers’ College in Sydney and then acted as the Chief Executive Officer who brought the Australian Catholic University into existence. He was also Principal of Oakhill College and La Salle Catholic College, Bankstown. For 25 years of his erudite career, he was also the wily coach of the Oakhill College First Fifteen Rugby. He has been reappointed this year for a further four-year term as Provincial and is very concerned to make the Brothers’ life better known.

Since its foundation in 1912, De La Salle College has been conducted by the Brothers. All staff and parents at De La Salle College are invited to share in the Lasallian heritage and mission. The notion of brotherhood (and sisterhood) is funda mental. Brothers and staff are encouraged to see themselves as being “brothers” or “sisters” to the children entrusted to their care. This is the Lasal lian tradition of education, our specific emphasis, to accompany our students, respecting them, with the eyes of faith, as equals in the sight of God, just as precious to Him as we are, just as important as ourselves. Every child is our brother or sister, a fellow child of God, a fellow traveller on life’s journey.

These are our Lasallian ideals, ideals which we sometimes fail to uphold. Such is human weak ness; but our vision of who we are, and what we are striving to be, is of fundamental importance. Whilst the Lasallian tradition is something shared by all staff—and hopefully by many of our stu dents and their families—I thought it may be of interest to introduce in this issue of Roll Call, the Brothers who currently make up the community living at Malvern.

The doyen is Brother Julian Watson, an old boy of St Ignatius’ School Richmond. Julian has taught

in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne and in several New Zealand cities. He was Director/ Principal when the Brothers took over the primary school and opened their first New Zealand com munity at Blenheim and later became Principal of De La Salle College, Mangere East, and Francis Douglas Memorial College in New Plymouth (also in NZ) in the challenging, early years of those schools. Many years of his life have been spent in positions of leadership in places distant from Melbourne but he has always had a special ap preciation of his hometown and of his years as a teacher at De La Salle. Those of us privileged to live with him find him to be an incredible exam ple of caring service, wisdom and solicitude for others and, now, a wonderful example of meet ing the challenge of senior years gratefully and gracefully.

The Director of the Brothers’ Community is Brother Quentin O’Halloran, former Provincial of the Brothers, delegate to several meetings of the General Chapter of the Brothers in Rome, former Principal of Oakhill College and Benilde High School in Sydney and St Bede’s College in Mentone and a dedicated teacher of English and English Literature, not to mention Religious Edu cation. He has served in both day and boarding schools with a love of learning and a gentle but firm approach that students and staff appreciate greatly.

Brother Gabriel O’Shea has been a missionary Brother in Papua New Guinea as well as teach ing in several states of Australia. I recall visiting Gabriel in Tapini, a very isolated Papuan highland village with very basic living conditions for the Brothers. The impact of that small Brothers’ com munity in that very remote place was remarkable indeed. Gabriel is our “keeper of the keys”, and “welcomer of late-comers” among the junior stu dents, a Brother who is most generous with his time in helping others at the numerous functions that are part of our College life.

Brother Denis Loft, an old boy of De La Salle, is now teaching senior Maths at Kinnoull having spent many years in charge of missionary en deavours in PNG where he established a great reputation, not only for his close contact with the people, but in his ability to “wheel and deal” for the benefit of some of the poorest people in PNG. He was the founding Principal of Jubilee High School in Port Moresby. He has also worked extensively with the homeless and marginalised people in Australia. His not-so-secret recreational pursuit is playing “Bridge”. It was his vision and energy that brought into existence and sustains our “Coolies” programme for the exiting Year 12s. The students work to raise funds and then give up their time and talents for six weeks, to

World Youth Day (WYD) is the largest youth event in the world and this year it was held in Sydney from Tuesday 15 to Sunday 20 July. WYD is a week-long series of events attended by the Pope and hundreds of thousands of young people from all over the globe. It has become the largest single mobilisation of young people in the world. WYD08 Sydney events were watched live by an estimated international TV audience of 500 million, with TV and internet audiences combined reaching 1 billion and 2,000 accredited media. Among the 500,000 pilgrims who descended on Sydney from 170 countries were 27 students from De La Salle College, who spent a memorable week with fellow WYD pilgrims. The week culminated on the last day (the actual

Day One

For 27 De La Salle boys, Sunday July 13 started early. It was Day One of an eight-day pilgrimage to World Youth Day in Sydney. As we packed our bags on to the bus and said sleepy good-byes to our parents, we had no idea what was in store for us. We were in for a once- in-a-lifetime trip. The pilgrimage would strengthen the bond between us and develop our faith and understanding of being Catholic. At 7:40 am the buses pulled out of the High Street campus and we were on our way. Behind us were

World Youth Day) with a Final Mass celebrated by the Pope before 500,000 people at Randwick Racecourse. Highlights of the week included 150,000 attending the Opening Mass at Barangaroo and CBD sites and 500,000 at the welcoming of His Holiness on Thursday on the Boat-acade. Jack Peterson, one of the 2008 College Leaders, was one of the De La Salle pilgrims, and he shares his recollections of this unforgettable event with Roll Call readers.

home cooked meals, warm beds, and the unpredictable Melbourne weather. In front of us—a twelve hour bus trip and a week to remember.

Thirteen hours later we pulled into LaSalle Catholic College Bankstown, which would be our home for the week. LaSalle College, run by the De La Salle Brothers, is a multicultural school and some famous faces grace its corridors, including former Prime Minister Paul Keating.

We were greeted by Br Gerry, a face that the boys were glad to see again.

Pilgrims

Day Two

We woke early on Day Two to a cold Sydney morning. After lining up for a shower with the other 800 Lasallian pilgrims who were also calling Bankstown home, we wandered out into the local neighbourhood. It was very different to Malvern—billboards in Arabic, Chinese and Vietnamese and so many different nationalities. Later in the day we went into the city and the boys were surprised to see double-decker trains. We ‘did’ the tourist sites —Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, Circular Quay and Darling Harbour. It was a weird feeling working up a sweat walking around in the middle of winter as we experienced the first of a week of twenty-plus degree days. This

time was also our first experience of the party atmosphere of World Youth Day, Sydney. The coming together of so many different cultures made the atmosphere electric. That evening we had our first Mass with our Lasallian brothers and sisters, as well as a cultural dance experience. Representatives from each country performed their national dance or sung a traditional song. Our first day in Sydney was amazing but it was only a taste of what was to come.

Day Three Day three was the first of the official WYD events. We were going to the opening Mass at Barangaroo, a site on the Sydney Harbour cleared for use by the World Youth Day pilgrims. The Mass, which was

celebrated by Cardinal George Pell, attracted more than 150,000 pilgrims, and was the biggest Mass any of us had ever been to. It was also a surprise to see Dave Collins, an ex-St Bede’s student, hosting the event in front of the huge crowd.

Day Four Day four was our first Catechesis —a chance to talk to visiting Bishops and discuss the teach ings of the Catho lic Church. It was also the day the first of our group fell victim to the “Papal” flu. With a gathering of this many people from every continent, it was inevitable that there would be some exotic “bugs” floating around and many of the crowd succumbed. At one point it was necessary to quarantine sick pilgrims from healthy ones to curb the spread.

For those who weren’t sick, it was another chance to soak up the atmosphere in Sydney that had gone into overdrive. It was here we began to fully understand how big World Youth Day was. Every few meters we were stopped by someone from a new country, asked questions about where we were from and the obligatory photo.

Day Five The highlight of Day Five was the Papal welcoming Mass at Baranga roo. This crowd was the largest crowd for the

week. Official numbers put the crowd at 500,000. Pope Benedict XVI arrived by water which was spectacular to see. This “boat-a-cade” was a twist on the traditional motorcade, with the Pope flanked on both sides by tug boats and police boats. Once on land, the Pope spoke to the crowd, addressing us fluently in multiple languag es. Later he waved to the crowed from the iconic Popemobile as it managed to navigate through the masses who had come out to see His Holi ness.

Day Six Day six was the Stations of the Cross. As we waited for the actors portraying Jesus and the disciples, we decided to bring Aussie rules to the world. Five minutes in, we were playing kick-to-kick with pilgrims from all over the world.

The excitement of the game was nothing com pared to the dramatic impact of the 12 Sta tions depicting Jesus’ last hours on earth. Little did we realize it was being watched by billions of people around the world.

Day Seven In the early afternoon we set off on a four-kilometre pilgrimage to Randwick Racecourse. Nothing could prepare us for what lay ahead. We arrived with sleeping bags and equipment for the sleep-out. More than 250,000 celebrated a candle light vigil with the Pope before trying to settle down on the hard ground for the night. During the night I had a personal epiphany—I learnt that holding a candle close to a scarf doesn’t end well! After the vigil, we mingled with the crowd talking to the pilgrims from all over the world—Brazilians, Italians, Portuguese, Americans and Irish, to name a few. The night was freezing, and the Italians made it hard to sleep as they danced and played their drums all night. That night I learned how to say “cold” in many languages.

The electricity in the air as the Pope arrived the next morning woke our tired limbs and warmed our hearts. This is what the build-up for weeks and months had been about, cel

ebrating Mass with the Pope. It was an amazing feeling express ing our faith with 500,000 pilgrims from around the world crammed into Randwick. The pilgrims hung on every word of the Pope’s mes sage as it was translated into an array of languages. It sent shivers down my spine when a half-million people responded in unison to the renewal of Baptismal vows as we shared communion with His Holiness. It definitely put the normal parish Mass to shame. This Mass was a true example of the Holy Spirit being alive in the youth of the Catholic Church, not only in Australia but around the world. It was amazing how only one Mass could strengthen the faith of such a large group of people. The crowd reached fever pitch as Pope Benedict announced that the loca tion of World Youth Day 2011 would be in Madrid Spain. After the Mass we were lucky enough to be within five meters of the Pope as he went by in his “Pope-mobile.”

Before we left Sydney, discussions were already underway about going to Madrid in 2011. I recom mend it to anyone who gets the chance to go to Madrid or any future World Youth Day. It is an experience of a lifetime, you will never forget. On behalf of the boys, I would like to thank Mr Tom Buick, Br Dennis, Mrs Joan Feguson, Mr Sam McGree, Kate and Tom McIroy, and Mr Patrick Jurd for all their hard work. The effort put into the trip was appreciated by everyone and made the experience what it was – truly memo rable. I will see you all in World Youth Day 2011 Madrid.

Day Eight

On our last day in Sydney we packed our bags and said good bye to Br Gerry, and 12 hours later we were home. Although it was good to see our parents, I was also sad to leave Sydney, World Youth Day and its great atmosphere. World Youth Day Sydney 2008 has left us with memories we will never forget. It was an experience of a lifetime, and the bond the group felt will be everlasting.

Story by Jack Peterson (left) Photographs by Tom Parsons (right)

ILYG ’08

During his arrival at Barangaroo, the special World Youth Day site on Sydney Harbour, Pope Benedict XVI told the thousands of young people gathered to welcome him, “Dear friends, in your homes, schools and universities… remember that you are a new creation! As Christians you stand in this world knowing that God has a human face—Jesus Christ—the “way” who satisfies all human yearning, and the “life” to which we are called to bear witness, walking always in his light.”

Only a week earlier, as De La Salle College hosted the International Lasallian Youth Gather ing (ILYG08), the assembled young Lasallians were living out that very witness. More than 570 young Lasallians came from more than 30 coun tries, joined by 60 Brothers and Postulants, to celebrate the Lasallian identity in preparation for World Youth Day in Sydney. The Lasallian Dis trict of Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea hosted the event, and sponsored many young people from developing countries where the Brothers work, to travel to Australia.

While regional and local gatherings of Young Lasallians take place regularly around the world, the World Youth Day celebrations have allowed for three such international gatherings to take place. ILYG08 was by far the biggest of these events, and will be remembered as a meaning ful and historic event for the Lasallian family and especially the developing international network of young Lasallians.

Perhaps the most memorable elements of the Gathering were the liturgies, where the sense of community was almost palpable. Fr Chris Skinner from New Zealand, acted as the ILYG08 Chap lain and showcased his considerable talents in preaching and music. In addition to his challeng ing and thought-provoking homilies, he sang at each liturgy. The power of music as a devotional prayer was obvious and the participation of the pilgrims in the Masses and prayers was inspi rational, helped by an excellent band and choir composed of students from De La Salle and St Bede’s. Participants reported being overwhelmed by the excitement felt as part of the community gathered in St Joseph’s church. College Leader Mitchell Robertson, who took part in the celebra tions described the opening ceremony as “a celebration with an electric atmosphere from the very beginning”. De La Salle staff and students expressed great pride in the College hosting the event.

The international nature of the group was re flected in the selection of speakers. Melbourne psychologist Dr Michael Carr-Gregg spoke on the challenges faced by young adults, regardless of their home country. Br Thomas Johnson, the Vicar General of the De La Salle Brothers, gave a stirring call to action for Young Lasallians to be true to the spirit of De La Salle. Br Tom is respon

Brother David Hawke (left), General Councillor for the Pacific Asia Region of the De La Salle Brothers, handing a gift to Brother Tom Johnson (right), Vicar General of the Brothers, at the final liturgy of the International Lasallian Youth Gathering.

updated participants on the work of the council. Br Michael Broughton, from Singapore, told the story of the life of the Founder and gave historical perspective to the Lasallian Family. For many Young Lasallians, particularly those from Australia, being in the presence of a young Brother is rare these days. Sharing this experience with those beginning to live their vocation as Brothers was inspiring to our young people.

A highlight for many participants was Archbishop Elias Chacour, the Melkite Archbishop of Galilee, who gave a moving and powerful presentation on justice and peace earning him a standing ovation. The passion and excitement of the young people was intensified by Jesse Manibusan, a musician evangelist from the United States who led four sessions and captivated the young people with his message and enthusiasm for the Gospel. Jesse’s music and humour was a perfect fit for the event with his presentations bringing participants to tears, moved by his passion for our shared faith—these tears invariably followed by tears of laughter. Congratulations and thanks must go to Br Adrian Watson and the ILYG08 Team, whose work over more than a year created an exciting and meaning ful event. In addition to their efforts, the extraordi nary support of many of the College staff and Lead ers who acted as volunteers, assisted with meals, registration and administration showcased De La in a great light.

Mr Tom McIlroy

On Top of the

On May 22nd this year, Mark George reached the summit of Mt Everest, becoming the first De La Salle Old Collegian to stand on the top of the world.

“When we reached the summit of Mt Everest it was about 6:15 in the morning. It was a beautiful clear day and we had about an hour without oxygen on top of the mountain by ourselves—just taking it all in.”

Mark, and another member of the ten-strong Everest expedition, had spent the previous night at the camp below the summit known as South Cole. In sub-freezing conditions at 7950 metres, they waited for the right conditions and time to start the summit attempt. “This altitude is known as the ‘death zone’ where survival without oxygen is hazardous and weather conditions can turn bad in just minutes,” Mark said.

“We started out the final ascent at 4:00 am in

By Kerry Martin

his friend took its toll on Mark and the 2008 expedition gave closure to the tragedy.

“Words don’t do justice to the feelings I experienced on that morning in May when we stood on Everest. Part of me was overcome with happiness and relief but part of me was dealing with the memory of my friend Rob.

“These emotions made it a very spiritual experience. I was suddenly aware of the sheer power of nature and the importance the ones whom we love.”

“Climbing Everest makes you aware of your own mortality, at every moment. You need to be psychologically and physically prepared for death at any time. I have written farewell letters to my family twice in my life, once on the 2005 Everest expedition and again on the 2008 expedition. Losing Rob in 2005 made the danger involved in climbing the world’s highest mountain even more palpable.”

“If I gained anything from the Everest climb, it’s the importance of telling people how much you love them—not just in times of tragedy, but every day.” When Mark came back from Everest in 2005, he had weeks of nightmares mixed with bitter disappointment.

“Second time around I had to overcome these psychological barriers to do it again.”

complete darkness. It took us two hours to climb 350 metres to the top. As the first rays of sun broke over the horizon, we reached the cross which marks the actual summit and we knew we had finally achieved what we set out three years earlier to achieve.”

Earlier in 2005, Mark was part of an Everest expedition, which was aborted 350 metres below the summit when one of the climbers, Rob Milne, a good friend of Mark’s was killed. The death of

Conquering Everest was the final part in a goal Mark set himself in 1990—to climb the world’s seven highest peaks and reach both the North and South Poles. So far he has knocked off all of the seven peaks and in 2004 he reached the North Pole. That leaves the South Pole to conquer which, he admits, is going to take some serious negotiating with his wife, Nicole.

Climbing seven of the world’s highest mountains and making it to both poles is not likely to be on the average person’s “things to do” list. But Mark George doesn’t strike me as the “average” person.

the World

In preparation for Everest, Mark put himself through a gruelling training program, which included a 50 kilometre a day ride, 300 sit-ups and pushups and 4-6 hours exercise wearing a fully laden backpack. “To prepare my body I would load up a backpack with telephone books and climb flights of stairs. The climb puts your body through incredible physical and mental pain and requires real endurance and determination.”

But it’s not only physical and mental fitness. Mark says it’s very important to be aware of one’s body. “The difference between success and failure depends on how well you know your own physical and psychological limitations. The moment you stop being aware of what your body is telling you, is the moment accidents happen.”

While most of us would think that climbing Everest was about taking risks – Mark doesn’t see it that way. “I believe success comes from meticulous planning and preparation, knowing what your body is capable of, and not taking unnecessary risks.”

Despite the obvious calculated risks of tackling a climb like Everest, nothing could have prepared him for a fire which broke out at in a tent at Camp Three on the way up. “I was trying to prize a butane bottle out of the ice when it pierced and caught alight.” Luckily, no-one was hurt, but it showed how easily things can turn bad.

What makes Mark’s Everest climb quite remarkable, is the that he is scared of heights. He managed to overcome this fear with “self-speak”, reciting a mantra to himself: “Focus on where your feet are supposed to be not where they shouldn’t be.”

Despite Mark’s success he doesn’t promote his remarkable achievements. A search for Mark George on Google draws a blank. There is nothing about either of his Everest climbs or about conquering death-defying peaks or successfully making it to the The North Pole. For Mark, just the simple act of doing it is enough.

When he is not climbing mountains and traversing rivers, Mark runs his own financial planning business and lives with his wife and two children in Brighton. When he left school he thought he wanted to be a Physical Education teacher, following in the footsteps of his former teacher, Peter George (no relation). After he finished his VCE at De La Salle in 1983, he completed a teaching degree at Rusden College, but later changed his mind and went back to university to train as a financial planner.

“I had a good time at school, but I didn’t focus very much on my academic studies. I spent a lot of time playing footy and didn’t appreciate the educational opportunities at the time as much as I would now if I did it all over again. When you are at school you don’t appreciate it as much as you do after you have finished. I remember we didn’t have the

supporter. He works closely with the Club and is involved in team motivation. He even has a photo of himself wearing a Richmond Guernsey on the summit of Everest.

“Now we’ve made the top of Everest we just have to make it to the top of the ladder.” he said.

Somehow I think Mark will get to the South Pole before we see a Tiger’s win in the Grand Final.

Raising the bar for Australia

Two De La Salle students will represent Australia at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India next month. Luke-Henriques Gomes and Stephen McConnell will be the only Victorians in the five member male team representing Australia at the Games.

Luke, who is in Year 10, qualified for the 56kg category and was both the Under 16 and Under 18 Champion in the 51kg category at the Junior Nationals in 2007. Luke’s Best Lifts were the 75kg Snatch and the 89kg Clean and Jerk, 164kg in total.

Luke first became involved in weightlifting in Year 8 and now trains with the Hawthorn Club which is based at the Victorian Weightlifting Stadium.

Steven, who is in Year 11, will represent Australia in the 77kg category. He was the Under 16 Champion in the 69kg category and third place-getter in the 69kg category at the Junior Nationals in 2007, as well as taking third place in the Under 20 in the Open Nationals 62kg category. Steve’s Best Lifts were the 95kg Snatch, the 116kg Clean and Jerk, altogether 211kg in total.

After being involved in weightlifting in Year 7, Steve

was encouraged by coach Anthony Dove, who invited him to train with the Hawthorn Club. Steven says he is proud to be representing Australia but knows he will be up against some strong competition.

“I am very excited about representing Australia in India, but it will be a challenge to beat China which is the powerhouse of weightlifting,” Steven said.

For both boys, this will be their first time overseas, so the opportunity to represent Australia on an international level is especially exciting for them.

While weightlifting is not a widely recognised sport in Australia, it does have its advantages according to Steven.

“It’s always a good way of getting people’s attention and mum is never short of someone to help her lift heavy objects around the

We wish the boys the best of luck

Steven McConnell (above) and Luke-Henriques Gomes training at the Victorian Weightlifting Stadium

No.1 for Numbers

Year 12 student, Jack Murray, is the only Australian to take out a Gold Medal at the recent Informatics Olympiad in Cairo.

The Australian team scored its best ever result, recording a clean sweep of medals, exceeding its result in Zagreb in 2007.

Jack earned a Gold Medal, recording the 9th highest score in the international competition. On the basis of a medal table giving three points for Gold, two for Silver and one for Bronze, Australia was placed equal 8th out of almost 90 competing countries. Jack won a Silver medal last year in Zagreb.

The International Olympiad in Informatics is the pinnacle of competition in computer science for high school students around the world. Each country sends a team of four students to participate in ten hours of programming competition.

The team after the Closing Ceremony with their medals, from left Xi Chen, Jack Murray, Harry Slatyer and Jarrah Lacko.

The International Olympiad in Informatics is the second largest of the International Science Olympiads, sanctioned by UNESCO, with the number of participating countries approaching 90.

De La Music Heads for the Hills

It was a chilly and rainy August afternoon when the Music Department packed up their instruments, charts, stands, and pillows to venture up to the foothills of Mt Buller for the 2008 Music Camp. We arrived at Camp Howqua, just outside Mansfield, to settle down for the next few days’ rehearsals for the performance-based program.From the stage at Merrijig Primary, our first performance, we could see (and feel) the snow capped mountains in the distance. Our audiences ranged from 200 students at Mansfield Primary to a tiny 22 at Jamieson Primary. The performances were excellent and the children loved it!

They were treated to fantastic performances by the De La Salle concert and stage bands and the guitar, string and vocal ensembles. During the three-day Camp of

performance and rehearsal, each group improved their sound and technique. Congratulations to all students involved!

Ms Cindy Frost

TheDream

Magic, madness and mayhem is not usually the kind of billing used to describe a Shakespearean production. However, in this year’s production of The Dream, an up-tempo rendition of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, it is particularly apt.

Sacré Coeur drama director, Diane Gavelis, has once again taken an innovative approach, giving this production a contemporary “make-over” to bring it to life for a group of young actors, dancers and puppeteers.

A large sand pit has been created on the stage of The Randall Theatre at St Martin’s Arts Centre in South Yarra. The characters of the Greek court, as well as the spirit creatures of the Midsummer forest, crawl, roll, tumble, fall and trudge

textured work and has been a challenging process for students to experience. Year 12 students Xavier O’Shannessy and Peter Gourgoulis, with Nathan Berenger, do a sterling job playing the two young men competing for the love of both Hermia and Helena. Sebastien Oliver, Eugene Twomey, Joseph Ciliberto. Nick Place, Grant Curnow, Simon Windley and Alessandro

Formica take on roles as puppeteers and characters of the court.

Congratulations to all participants on an excellent contemporary interpretation of a classic piece of theatre.

Mr Bryan Smith

Production Choreographer

New Ad Campaign Touches a Nerve

The De La Salle Brothers have launched a new advertising campaign in Australia and New Zealand in a bid to attract new members.

The advertisements, which depict graphic images of life on the edge, are designed to challenge young men to consider the life of a brother in an age where career and life options are endless.

Br Mark McKeon who is leading the campaign for the brotherhood said the success of the campaign is very much dependant on the level of exposure and understanding of what the De La Salle Brothers life is about. Given the multitude of touch points (advertising, online, broadcast and print) we are hoping members of the ‘De La’ network could assist to advertise the campaign.”

“The campaign stresses a brother’s life is one of challenge and adventure and is suitable for only a handful of “extraordinarily brave, courageous and selfless men”. The ads bear the message: “It’s not for everyone,” Br Mark said.

Today, there are more than 5,000 brothers across the globe actively working in 80 countries in education and welfare.

“With the hope of a new generation of brothers, we’re very excited about a future that will see them maintaining the tradition and identity of the order, while continuing on their vital work.”

Blue and Gold Wins Double Gold

For the first time in the history of the College, the 1st and 2nd XVIII teams won their respective premierships this year.

Both teams went through the home-and-away rounds undefeated and were clear favourites going into their respective Grand Finals at Elsternwick Park. The 2nd XVIII started the day well by comfortably defeating CBC St Kilda. The 2nd XVIII dominated the season from start to finish and were never really threatened throughout the year.

The 1st XVIII game followed the 2nds, and they showed exactly why they were fa vourites. They dominated proceedings from the first bounce and produced their best football of the year. At the end of the day, the De La boys held a 10 goal margin to record a memorable vic tory. Best player on the day, Jack Purton-Smith, finished with three goals and was the dominant

midfielder. He was ably supported by Stephen Muller and Lachlan O’Connell.

Unfortunately, our 1st XVIII were subsequently knocked out of the Herald Sun Shield in the semifinal against Assumption College. We were nar rowly defeated by seven points after holding the lead for the majority of the last quarter. As sumption went on to win the shield by five points.

2008 was our most successful season in College football.

Congratulations to our 1st XVIII and 2nd XVIII players and also to the coaches of the respective teams for a memorable season.

Mr Jon Edgar

Above: 1st XVIII team celebrate their premiership win and, below, the 2nd XVIII display their new ACC pennant.

Year 12 Revisited

I haven’t tried speed dating, but I can imagine it would be much like the experience the Class of 2007 had at our reunion in August. Except, of course, for the fact that Ms Buick, Ms Busk and Mrs Thompson were the only females in the room.

There was so little time to catch up with everyone—the event only lasted two hours, and it didn’t help if you arrived late, like I did. There was time just to give each person a warm handshake and ask them the stock standard questions such as; what are you doing with yourself?, are you at uni?, are you working?, are you enjoying it? before you gave your friend a pat on the arm and moved on to the next person. Still, it was a great chance to catch up with those who came. It was comforting to know that although so much has changed in our lives, so much is still the same when we’re all back together. We’re still the same blokes, we still have the same bonds we shared at school, and I have the feeling that, in that respect, these things will never change.

Mr Matt Windley

5 Year Reunion

For the Class of 2003, the five years since we left De La Salle has been a period of change and adventure. Our recent reunion, held in May at the Racecourse Hotel in Caulfield, was a night of catching up and reconnecting with old friends.

The old adage—that time flies when you’re having fun—never seemed so true, as we talked about our experi ences over five years, including univer sity study, apprenticeships, work and international travel. The 120 young men who gathered for the evening were joined by former principal, Br Tim Peter, former Head of Kinnoull Campus, Br Adrian Watson, and many of our teachers and Brothers from De La days. It was great to see them again and catch up with the latest news from the Col lege.

Apologies for the evening came from as far as Europe, South America and Asia, where members of the Class of 2003 are travelling and working. Those who made it, caught up over a few drinks, swapping up-to-date contact details and mak ing plans to stay in touch in the future. After the official function, a large group headed down the street to continue festivities.

The Class of 2003 offer their sincere thanks to Mrs Trish Woodman and the De La Salle staff who helped prepare the reunion. It was a great night, and one we will remember for years to come.

Mr Tom McIlroy

help poor people in India—along with Denis who chooses to do this rather than sit back and enjoy a holiday. Other De La Salle staff generously join Denis in this ministry to those in need.

Brother Jeff Calligan is an American Brother who has been teacher, High School Principal, Assist ant Provincial and international presenter on the life, work and charism of Saint John Baptist De La Salle. He came to Australia to deliver pro grammes on the Lasallian vision and educational mission, as part of the Lasallian Educational Services team which is located on our Kinoull campus.

Brother Lawrence King came to De La Salle from Sydney this year. He has been a Deputy Principal, Boarding Master, Sportsmaster and dedicated Maths and Religious Education teacher. Now his focus is on giving extra assistance to boys who are finding Maths difficult as well as being a very active photographer and driver for College events.

Also living in the Brothers’ community is Brother Paul Smith, another old boy of this College and the Director of the Lasallian Foundation. For many years, he ran BoysTown in Queensland for boys with little family support or who were in trouble with the police—street kids, drop outs and offenders. An enterprising fundraiser, it was Paul’s initiative to establish Kids Helpline, the national Australian help-line for children, plus Parent Line in Queensland. Paul also established programmes to assist young people in gaol and to help those leaving gaol. His fearless advocacy for disadvantaged young people—and criticism of

the responsible authorities – ruffled a few feath ers but three times he was nominated as Queens lander of the Year. His current task takes him in India, Pakistan and other parts of Asia to assist the work of the Brothers.

The Brothers, in their vow formula, promise to do anything that may be required of them and to go anywhere that they may best assist the mission of the De La Salle Brothers. So it is that having at tended this College as student from 1951 to 1961 and teaching here in 1972 and 1973, I have had the privilege of spending most of my life, except for a period as Provincial, in charge of board ing schools from 1974 until 2002, at St Bede’s Mentone, at BoysTown in Queensland and in New Zealand. Many of us have worked in distant places. A Brother offers his talents to go wherev er he can do the most good and with the psalmist we say, “Behold how good & how pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity”.

The challenge today is to find more, ordinary men who want to use their talents to do something extraordinary as “men for others”. I recommend to those who may wish to know more about the Brothers’ life, to go to the web-site of the Broth ers, www.delasallebrothers.com.

The web-site also invites applications from those willing to provide short-term assistance to the Brothers in Papua New Guinea. In the pithy words of Sir Winston Churchill which I like and often quote:

“You make a living by what you get; but you make life by what you give.”

Br Bill

Old Collegians’ Association Annual Mass 2008

More than 100 Old Collegians’ (pictured right) gathered with the Brothers and staff presently at De La Salle in May for the Association’s Annual Mass and Reunion Dinner, which provided a great opportunity to catch up with friends from the old days.

The theme of the evening was ‘fathers and sons’ and many fathers attended with their boys.

Former students included Br John Mitchell (1953), Tony McIlroy (1969) and son Tom (2003), Alan Badrock (1969) and son Stephen (2005), Leo Bo han (1945) and son, Michael (1973) and grandson Michael (Year 10), Ted Flynn (1933) and son Bernie (1971).

The evening began with Mass at St Joseph’s, cel ebrated by Fr Tony Ireland (1974), Rector of Corpus

Cristi College Seminary who, with the help of the College choir and Year 12 Leaders, made us all feel welcome, as we joined in a sterling rendition of the Hymn to the Founder.

Mass was followed by drinks in the College Per forming Arts Centre and an address by College Principal Br Bill Firman (1961), who spoke about the importance of being a close-knit community.

Also on show during the evening was the oldest OCA banner kept in the College Archives—which dates back to the 1940s.

The OCA committee wishes to thank all involved in making the night a success, particularly Fr Tony Ireland, Tom McIlroy, John Battista, Adrian Fisher, John Meehan, the Year 12 Leaders, Cindy Frost, and the College choir.

Mr David Hunter

10 Year Reunion

The class of 1998 student reunion was held in July and was a unique opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with friends and peers for the first time in 10 years. More than 50 alumni attended the evening sharing stories, reminiscing over a drink or two with staff members who had taught us so many years ago. While the class of 1998 had matured, many of us commented that the staff in attendance did not appear to have changed (thank you Nick). With school far behind us, we were able to converse with members of staff on an equal footing, which created an environment in which both staff and alumni felt at ease.

Former shared anecdotes with their peers, and responses ranged from surprise to genuine pleasure at the success of their contemporaries’ efforts. The 2008 reunion did not end until after midnight, with many alumni promising to keep in touch, and reaffirm their relationships with each other, and the College.

Mr Nick McPhee

Where Are They Now?

Luke Brennan (1998) has been a soccer referee and in 2003 was appointed to the then National Soccer League referees panel.

Bernard Slattery (1953) and wife Pat live in Dandenong, have five children,13 grandchildren, and own WiseOnes education service for gifted children.

Kevin Grace (1987) lives and works in the USA. He left school on a Golf Scholarship to study and play golf at the Louisiana State University in the USA. He now has a Masters Degree in Science and lives in Hammond (between Baton Rouge and New Orleans).

Anthony Grace (1989) owns and runs Melbourne Sports Tours and lives at Mitcham. He is the father of two, a daughter, five, and a son Daniel Patrick, born in March.

Simon Grace (1986) graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon and is a Major with the Australian Army (Infantry) He is based in Mel bourne working in Logistics at Victoria Barracks.

Paul Grace (1993) is teaching at De La Salle. He has recently announced his engagement to Mary anne, who is a doctor at the Epworth Hospital Br Frank (formerly Cormac) Brophy is retired to Scarborough.

Br Calixtus Cusack (Principal of Malvern in 1970) lives at Balgo Hills in WA where he has been based for many years.

Br Colin (formerly Sixtus) Griffin is living at Marrickville in Sydney where he is Director of the Community.

Br Leo (formerly Dominic) Scollen is at Hohola Youth Centre in PNG

Br Bill Good , former Senior Chemistry teacher at Malvern throughout the late 60s and 70s, is now living at Scarborough.

Br Paul Rogers is currently principal of Catholic Junior College. Br Paul, a doyen of senior choirs in his Malvern days and Quartermaster of the Cadet Unit in the early 70s (his campsite at the annual camp was always well equipped!), has had several appointments “offshore” for the last 15 years. He was also Principal of St Michael’s, Henley Beach, SA. Prior to his current appoint ment he was Principal of St Joseph’s, Singapore.

Brendan Hoy (1988) recently celebrated the birth of another daughter, Rose.

Kevin de Vries (1985) is a Pharmacist and lives in Bendigo with his daughter and wife Leslie Fabian.

Graeme Pender (1977) is Religious Education Coordinator at Mazenod College.

Joe Moore (1974) is a senior teacher and long time Volleyball Coach at Mazenod College.

Michael Devola (1970) is the Hon Secretary of the Victorian Banjo Society.

Tony McManus (1974) is the Breakfast Announc er on Radio 6PR Perth.

Old Collegians 2008 Season

As Roll Call goes to print, the DLS Senior team under Coach David Madigan, has successfully fought to avoid relegation and sits guaranteed a berth in the A Grade competition of the VAFA. Having defeated St Bede’s, Mentone and Old Trinity in successive weeks to confirm their posi tion, they have one more game, against bottom team University Blacks to complete the season.

The 2008 season will be characterised as one of missed opportunities. Starting the season with a less than ideal preparation due to home ground unavailability, the team was unfortunate to begin against a newly promoted “B” grade premier St Bede’s Mentone Tigers in the inaugural “Old Col legians Challenge Cup”.

This match saw Club captain Ben Corin play his 200th game for the Old Colls, where he has played all his football from junior days up to the College 1st XV111, and 170 games with the Sen ior team.

Having lost the first encounter, DLS reversed the outcome and was victorious by 12 points against the second-placed St Bede’s last game.

The pleasing aspect to the season has been the development of eight “first-gamers” this season.

Jacob Gotch, Lauchlan Bull, Olmo Salvatore, Luke Semmel and Sam Williams have all been im pressive. Second season youngsters Josh Oak ley, Dan Close, Sam Nethersole and Will Fenton have all progressed and now contribute consist ently.

Captain Ben Corin achieved VAFA Senior team representation again this season, and vice-cap tain David Lowe along with high-flying full forward Matt “Mandy” Moore represented the VAFA in the U23 match where they thrashed South Australia. Matty kicked 5.5 in that game.

The Reserves, again under Marty Kelliher, have had a volatile sea son. At 8 wins from 8 games they are in a contest for the 4th place in the finals.

The Club 18/Warriors, under coach Mark Butler, improved markedly to achieve a 9/6 result, miss ing the finals by just one game.

The U19 Blues, playing in the VAFA Premier Divi sion, are currently 14/2 and will finish either first or second. The Blues expect to play-off for their 4th premiership in five seasons with captain Sam Williams and key players Luke Semmel and Olmo Salvatore to return from Senior games. Josh Har ris, David De Luca, Mark Collins and Ben Molo ney have all had fine seasons.

The Under 19 Golds, again under legendary coach Robin Smith, play in U/19 South 2. The “Golds” will play finals for the 4th successive season, as they are currently two games clear of 5th with one game remaining. Heath Browning, Sam Haslem, Aaron Kneebone and Luke Williams have been outstanding.

Mr Colin Glover

The Club Presentation Luncheon will again be held at Contessa Receptions on Sunday September 28th. All are welcome. For bookings contact Kerry Oakley 0418 388 360 ktoakley@hotmail.com

Old Collegians’ Association Annual General Meeting

7.30 pm, 14th October

Tiverton Campus Boardroom All Welcome

Rest In Peace

Anthony Boffa

Class of 1961

Michael Campbell Class of 1979

Thomas Connors Class of 1952

Kevin Dwyer Class of 1945

Michael Dwyer Class of 1969

Brian Leeman Class of 1948

James McCart Class of 1938

Jordan McMurrick Class of 1998

David Nolan Class of 1934

John Sullivan Class of 1935