Farewell

Doug Esler

Doug has completed 32 years at the chalkface at De La Salle College. He was first employed by Brother James Taylor to lift the academic profile of the school, bringing the status of a Masters of Science completed in Scotland on coastal sand dunes with nine years as lecturer in Geography at Melbourne State College. One of the College’s finest teachers, Doug established sound principles of thinking about Geography in his students, covered a wide array of topics of current interest, and inspired his students to look to the environmental and ecological consequences of coastal management and urban development. Doug’s teaching duties have branched from his devoted classes of keen geographers to Information Technology, and for the past 17 years as Kinnoull Daily Organiser with responsibility for day to day management of the campus. He has handled all requests — particularly the late notices which arrive after 8am, the cardiac arrest time for the Daily Organiser — with the same aplomb, efficiency and graciousness which have characterised his time at the College. Much of the other work of the Daily Organiser goes unseen by staff but Doug brought his outstanding organisational skills and meticulous approach to every duty which he undertook. Rightly, Br Bill Firman recognised his sterling contribution and promoted him to Assistant Head of Campus in 2009. Doug’s erudition, wit and wisdom will be sorely missed by Kinnoull staff as will his flamboyant ties and magnificent photos of exotic places. In former years when staff members were less stressed by bureaucratic red tape, darts became the focal point of battle in the staff room, cementing lasting friendships and animating collegial spirit. Doug was a successful finalist on a number of occasions aided by a languid but effective style. As an intrepid bush walker with international treks to his credit, he was a fixture at earlier annual bush walks for staff at the end of the year, when ‘What Was Said On The Mountain Stayed On The Mountain’. Walking at “Yak” pace and getting to the next peak symbolised Doug’s impressive record as teacher and administrator at the College. A thorough professional in everything he has undertaken, Doug richly deserves an active and enjoyable retirement. We wish him well in all his future endeavours.

Mr Graeme Lawler

Norm Stewart

Norm Stewart joined the teaching staff at De La Salle in 1986 as a very gifted and highly qualified Accounting and Mathematics teacher on the Kinnoull Campus. Norm soon became notable for his quirky, quick wit and humour, his gregarious approach to life and his commitment to the College. On assuming the role of VCE Accounting teacher, Norm developed courses to meet the increasing use of technology in the accounting field and, with his enthusiasm, gentle, encouraging and idiosyncratic ways, inspired his students to strive for excellence in their studies. Generous with his time and always keen to help out, Norm willingly took on the teaching of Information Technology, Business Management and Year 10 Economics, again displaying his ability to develop engaging and challenging courses. For a time Norm held the position of Coordinator of the Business Key Learning Area. Soon after his arrival at De La it became apparent that Norm was a keen (some would say maniacal) golfer and it was no surprise that before long, in 1987 Norm established an informal ACC Golf Competition which included St Bede’s, CBC St Kilda and St Bernard’s. In 1988 this competition was formalized into the Annual ACC Golf Championships for both Seniors and Juniors, initially at East Malvern Golf Club and later at Werribee, Kingswood and Northern Golf Clubs. Norm was the author of the rules for this competition. St Bede’s, located in sand belt country, is a long time special rival of De La Salle and in golf this was no exception. To Norm St Bede’s were our ‘bete-noir’ and to Norm’s chagrin they won the ACC Championship for the first 23 years. But Norm was driven to take them down and, gradually, the results got closer. Then, in 2010, it happened and, with an excited phone call from the 18th green at Kingswood, Norm proudly announced that De La had pipped St Bede’s to win its first ACC Golf Championship. Further successes followed in 2011 and 2013. Along with golf, Norm has volunteered to coach and manage ACC teams in football, tennis, soccer, chess and volleyball at both Senior and Junior levels. He was also happy to drive buses taking ACC teams to distant venues and Geography classes on fieldwork and excursions. Norm has been a valued and much loved member of the De La Salle community for 27 years and we wish him well in his well-earned retirement. Best wishes, Norm.

Mr Doug Esler

De La Salle Parents’ Network

Our Welcome Evening started the year and once again the Beech Family came to the party with their wonderful ‘Smokin Dough’ pizzas. The night was a huge success and we eventually had to start tidying up around the guests and quietly dropping the hint that it was time to go home! We had been discussing for a number of years starting a parent representative program for each class. This has been a long time coming and has met with various problems over the years. It was my main aim that this come to fruition this year and I am proud to say the program is now up and running. Julie Fodera was the main author of the class representative booklet and my thanks go to her. We needed a coordinator to start the program and chase up volunteers and Karen Chant put up her hand for this job, and boy did she run with this. The aim was to fill all class represenatives from Primary to Year 8. This was achieved very quickly and out of seventeen Homerooms, fifteen now have class reps. Karen has stayed in regular contact with the reps and there have been numerous and varied functions held. My thanks to Karen and Julie. We had our midyear function and, after a year off due to the Centenary Celebrations, we held our infamous Trivia Night. What a night of fun, games, trivia and the biggest silent auction we have ever held. $65,000 of products and services were donated. The main driving force behind the silent auction was John Morgan. My thanks to John. We raised over $23,000. With our donation of $30,000 to the school for 2013, we have donated the grand total of $95,000 over the last four years. Brendan Ellis has confirmed that this money will be spent on upgrading and providing new seating and shade on both campuses. It is with great joy (my last child finished and I end 23 years of having a child at school) mixed with regret that I am finishing my time at De La. I have had the opportunity to meet many people and develop lasting friendships. One of these is Trish Woodman, who has guided, cajoled, listened, directed and sometimes politely told me to ‘pull my head in’. My thanks to Trish for her invaluable experience. I would also like to acknowledge Marie Birkensleigh and Ann Lagreca, our outgoing Treasurer and Vice-President, who will both be stepping down after two years in their respective roles. My thanks to this year’s committee and good luck to the 2014 committee.

Mrs Virginia Fairchild