The Class of 2007

This is the edited speech given by Ms Sally Buick to her Year 12 class on Valedictory Evening. “Over the past two years we have gathered together on many occasions, our assemblies have been both formal and informal and for some reason this is how it feels tonight; like we are at our final Yr 12 assembly. I have an overwhelming urge to tell Dave, John, Josh, Tyson, Aaron and Ben to move and not sit with each other, I want to ask Woody to come down and read for us one last time the prayer for students. But of course this isn’t our final assembly, it’s your valedictory evening and thus it’s not about giving you information or talking to you about the state of the yard; it’s about recognizing what you, the graduating class of 2007 have left us with. What sets you apart from the other groups of young men who have graduated from De La Salle? In trying to answer this I asked a number of staff what they considered to be the overriding qualities of the valedictorians of 2007? Invariably they responded with platitudes about your capacity for tolerance, the sense that you are one of the most accepting year levels that we have had, your desire to achieve, your preparedness to participate in all aspects of the life of the College, but overwhelmingly what came through in the course of these conversations was the perception that you are leaving us as true Lasallians. There are two events in the school calendar that I think symbolise what sets us apart from the many other Catholic boys schools in Melbourne, what for me defines us as this elusive idea of what it is to be Lasallian; these are Mission Action Day and Founder’s Day. To us your response to these days exemplifies you, the class of 2007. You made an extraordinary contribution to Mission Action Day, raising and banking well over the $10,000 target we set you. On Founder’s Day just about every Year 12 was prepared to lend a hand, from Sam Te and his team of pizza makers, to Dan Ralph and his crew who set up the bands; all of you contributed in some way to the success of one of the most important days in our school calendar — our celebration of our being Lasallian. I would love to stand here and be able to list the contributions made by each individual and recognize what every one of you has done to create such a unique and valuable legacy, but time doesn’t allow this. Needless to say, you have all made a contribution to this, your legacy, the truly Lasallian Valedictorians of 2007. Valedictory evenings are the opportunity for you to be farewelled by the College, and so I speak on behalf of the entire College Community — from the office staff, your Homeroom teachers from Years 7 to 12, your coordinators, the maintenance men, your classroom teachers and all others. From us we say, thank you. Thank you for the contribution you have made, for the wonderful legacy you leave behind, for the way you will take DLS into the wider community. We know that this is just one step in your journey. This is not an end point. Rather, it is a pivotal moment when we recognize the men you have become. We pray that your continued journey will be one of joy and that you carry with you always the knowledge that you are not just well-educated men, you are Lasallian men. I know that you have all paid a great deal of attention in your English classes this year, that you have read each of your texts at least twice, and so I offer you a few final thoughts — I hope that, like Fowler in The Quiet American you recognize that in order to be human you must in fact engage; I urge you to be like Sissy Jupe in Hard Times and enjoy your imagination, find someone with whom you can be wholly known and, if that happens to be your Paula from Lantana, be careful never to end up with them strung up on the line, between your socks and your jocks. The Year 12 Homeroom teachers have worked well beyond the call of duty, and the students and I owe them a debt of gratitude. To Mr Tim Brodrick, Ms Kylie Busk, Mrs Jenny Henderson, Br Denis Loft, Mrs Clare Kennedy-Curtis, Br Quentin O’Halloran, Mr Graeme Lawler, Mr Marty Mahy, Mr Paul Maxted and Mr Henry Wasniewski, my sincere thanks.” Ms Sally Buick Year 12 Coordinator

12 Solomon

Back Row: Jarrod Tuma, Benjamin Forrester, Simon Meade, James O’Connell, Benjamin Griffin, Steven Maraschiello, Matthew Alderuccio, Ashod Kherlopian, Eamonn Crellin Second Row: Kristian Mandaran, David Falduto, Mitchell Liels, Nicholas Lees, William Dillane, Michael Pereira, Tristan Hart Seated: Angelo Soldatos, Jamal Marbani, Anthony De Girolamo, Timothy Slavin, Clement Tiong, Joshua Allen, Parris Stamos Mr Martin Mahy. Back Row: Paul Gould, Tom Curry, James Barnden, Simon Suttie, Jesse Slatter, Tyson Parker, Sean Callery, Zak Gravas Second Row: Joshua Close, Julius Kellar, Shervin Willatgamuwa, James Noble, Mitchell Waters, Steven Bourmas, Arnold Omanyo, Anthony Eid Seated: Liam McGivern, Paul Culliver, Zachary Attard, Richard Lam, Cameron Curtis, James Musster, Marcel Marbani, Minh Gau Br Denis.

Academic Award Winners — Semester 1

Accounting—Matthew Mitchell, Art—Matthew Manning, Biology—Zach Attard, Business Management—Nam Luong, Chemistry—Eamon McGuire, Design & Technology—Michael Kaneloupoulos, Economics—Charles De Fazio, English—Matthew Mitchell, Further Mathematics—Charles De Fazio, History – Revolutions—Gerard Twomey, Industry & Enterprise—Nicholas Bourmas, Information Technology – Applications—Luke Kowalski, Information Technology – Software Development—Nam Luong, Legal Studies —Jake Peterson, Literature—Paul Culliver, LOTE French—Max Taylor, LOTE Indonesian—Nicholas Kyriazis (Yr 11), LOTE Italian—Julian Taranto, Mathematical Methods—James O”Connell, Media— Joseph Billings, Music – Solo Performance—Markos Danoudis, National Politics—Gerard Twomey, Outdoor & Environmental Studies—Matthew Ellis (Yr 11), Philosophy—Joe Billings, Physical Education— Guy Ripepi (Yr 11), Physics—Matthew McCart, Psychology—Julian Trantino, Religion & Society – Unit 2—Nicholas Brammer, Specialist Mathematics—James O”Connell, Studio Arts—Rory Murphy, Texts & Traditions—Redmond Casey, Theatre Studies—Wil Luby, VET Building & Construction —John Newell, VET Electro Technology—Ben Griffin, VET Mutli-Media - Certificate III—Callum Zakharov, Visual Communication & Design—Simon Meade Back Row: Gregory Bartling, Thomas Naughtin, Markos Danoudis, Matthew O’Shea, Jarrod Menke, Shane Every, Edward Murphy, Lewis Mottram, Andrew Guirguis Second Row: Alexander Barker, Gerard Twomey, Matthew Rodgers, Matthew Smith, Matthew Raymond, Luke Fisher, Johnnie Lombardo Seated: Michael Kanellopoulos, Aaron Kneebone, Manuel Garginian, Simon Pintado, Roger Breust, David Dordevic, Thomas Mills Mr Graeme Lawler.