Senior Rock Eisteddfod

Student Representative Council

2004 will go down in history as the year when De La Salle embarked upon a new era. This is largely due to redevelopment, and keeping pace with the changing face of the world we live in. The obvious change in the dynamics of De La Salle this year has been the shift of the Year 10 group, ‘across the road’ to Kinnoull, which now hosts students from Year 10-12. Conversely, the move of the Year 10s ‘across the road’ has meant great change at Tiverton, for the students of Year 4–9, from the social structure of the playground at recess and lunch, to the leadership group of the campus. Many would say that those most affected by the change has been the group of Year 9s. Not only do the have to share their breaks with boys up to 6 years younger (rekindling memories of primary school days), but they have had tremendous amount of responsibility thrust upon them. I don’t think there would be one member of the staff or student body who wouldn’t applaud this group of Year 9 boys. I congratulate each and every one of them. Each has shown an ability to be looked upon as role-models, in the classroom and the yard, and set a great example for those in junior year levels. This point was highlighted when over 70 Year 9 boys volunteered to give up their own time to interact with Year 7s in the ‘Peer Support Program’ this Year, held in Term 3. The SRC this Year has, in most parts, been a great success. It is fair to say that meetings may not have been as colourful as have been the norm, but this is due largely to the fact that many of the SRC leaders in the Year 9 group this year were new to the job, and may not have had the confidence to speak their minds in meetings. I for one thought I struggled at times to keep the younger ones enthused about being part of the SRC group, luckily my side kick Tom Curry never failed to grab a few laughs and therefore attention, and for that I am extremely grateful. SRC leaders of the future will learn from this and take over as leaders of the campus in tremendous fashion. The SRC this year was proud to introduce new sport shorts, which are now longer, and may make people feel more confident to wear them to school. We also brought in De La key chains similar in design to those we see teachers wearing around the yard. We mustered up support to gain our best ever collection of funds, for Mission Action Day, and also cans and food for — Sacred Heart Mission at our Social Justice mass. The highlight in my eyes was the FSC week in Term 3, organized by all of the Year 9 SRC members and many Year 8s, culminating in that fantastic ‘Teachers vs Students’ basketball match in the gym which resulted in a thrilling draw. Never will I forget over 600 staff and students packed into the gym to cheer on the players. What a noise! What a day! The Year 9 SRC were also successful in bringing back the Social after a couple of years absence. In all it has been a great year on the Tiverton Campus, I’d like to thank Mr Riordan for his ability to run the SRC body itself, and also all the co-ordinators who helped out with various items during the year. Also to all the SRC members, thank you, especially to the Year 9 members, who in my opinion, made the staff realize that 14–15 year old guys are more than capable of being the leaders of a campus. And lastly thank you to the Vice Captain Tom ‘Cuzz’ Curry, without whom the SRC would have been in shambles, especially throughout the 2nd half of the year when you took on a greater amount of work than normal! Have a good break and good luck to the SRC leaders of next year.

Matt Windley Tiverton Campus Captain 2004

The annual Year 12 Legal Studies and Political Canberra Studies Canberra Study Tour in March, was again a great success and enjoyed by all. The itinerary was packed with visits to key institutions and places of interest that enhanced the students’ knowledge and understanding of how our legal and political systems operate, and more importantly, their role within them. A small sample follows. A visit to Old Parliament House set the scene and gave us an insight into the historical development of our Federal Parliament. Sitting in the chambers of both the House of Reps and the Senate, we were entertained by snippets of key events that have shaped our history. The contrast with the ‘new’ Parliament House on Capital Hill prompted many discussions about security, expense and just how many kilometres of corridors were there anyway. A highlight for many was our private meeting with Mr Peter Costello, Member for Higgins. Visiting the High Court of Australia, we began to understand its significance as the most important Australian legal institution. This was it, the pinnacle of our judicial system! Our tour of the Australian Institute of Sport was a chance to pore over the sporting memorabilia and pit ourselves against the achievements of Australia’s elite athletes. The result? They towered over us and were somewhat quicker, faster and stronger! Ms Sandra Venneri