College Alumni

When our Year 12 students leave the College they know that there will always be an opportunity to maintain a connection with the College through the Old Collegians’ Association and continue their friendships through reunions and belonging to groups such as DLSOCAFC (The Old Collegians Football Association) and LYM (Lasallian Youth Ministry). The Football Club has maintained a high profile, this year winning finals in many divisions. Apart from the sporting opportunities the club offers, there is a wonderful social life to be enjoyed. Long-standing friendships, as well as the opportunity to make new ones, provide a great sense of belonging.

Adrian Lane with young Vietnamese students

The Lasallian Youth Ministry is a group for young men (predominantly ex-students) between the ages of 18 and 30 who work with those who are poor and marginalised. Their activities include Camp La Salle, Fish La Salle, Language School (for Vietnamese children), as well as the popular Battle of the Bands conducted between the three Melbourne De La Salle schools. The Old Collegian reunions commenced this year with a morning tea for the Pre-1960 men and their wives. After a wonderful presentation by the College Jazz Band, Br Tim gave an informal address detailing the new building constructions on the Kinnoull Campus. At the conclusion, many of the guests visited Kinnoull where the project manager, John Davies (1960), explained the constructions taking place in more detail. Tours of the Tiverton Campus gave the men an opportunity to see the developments that have taken place on the original school site, particularly the extensive use of information technology in teaching. The 1963, 1973 and 1993 reunions held at the local Malvern Vale Hotel were all very cheerful get-togethers. As one Old Coll, Steve Almanzi (1993) said, ‘There was never a shortage of conversation, discovering what we’d done over the past decade and, reminiscing over the exciting, often hilarious events that shaped our years together both in and out of the classroom.’ The men from 1983 opted to hold a dinner at The Point restaurant in Albert Park in late November to mark their 20 years’ milestone.

Mr Tom Butler, Mr Frank Toohey and Mr Leo Cash at the Pre-1960 Reunion Students celebrating at the ‘Year 12 Revisited’ reunion

The ‘2002 Year 12 Revisited’ barbeque was attended by almost 80% of the graduating class. Many staff members joined them for the reunion and heard about their new challenges now that their school days were behind them. Due to the popularity of these reunions the first ‘5 Years’ Reunion’ will commence next year for which the young men from 1999 will receive an invitation. An important role of the Alumni Office is to assist with special pastoral projects undertaken to benefit specific Old Colls. This year there were several opportunities to help young men who had been struck with personal or family tragedies. In each case a committee was formed to plan a fund-raising function. The College Alumni Office was approached for support with mailing information to the relevant year groups, and happily that ’De La Spirit’ surged through the recipients who gave generously to those in difficulty.

Genie Scott Alumni Officer