Community

The De La Salle College Parent Network’s aim is to encourage a sense of community throughout the College by providing regular opportunities for parents to socialise, connect and participate in school life. Through a variety of events and activities, we once again delivered these opportunities.

The First Day Morning Tea was a great opportunity for the College and the Parent Network to welcome new and returning families alike. The Gym was full of excitement and anticipation for the year ahead. The Year 7 Welcome Evening is now a highly anticipated event on the Parent Network Calendar, bringing Year 7 parents together in the first few weeks of the school year. Over 100 people attended this year’s event, creating a fantastic atmosphere at The Peppercorn Café. A few weeks later, the Primary Welcome BBQ saw almost 100 Primary parents, students and teachers enjoy a great evening of games, BBQ food and socialising to start the school year. March marked the final welcome event for 2021, bringing together almost 200 people for the Parent Social Evening. The Gym was transformed into an elegant space, lit with fairy lights and balloons. Parents were treated to canapes and drinks and entertained by musicians James Pavlou (Year 12, 2020) and Kallista Selkirk. Our Term 2 Mother’s Day Breakfast sold out in a record four and a half hours. 500 people celebrated the special relationship between mother and son. This year’s highlight was the ‘My Mum’ reflections delivered by a selection of students about their mothers. There were a few teary eyes around the room. Unfortunately, Term 3’s events were unable to proceed as planned and both the Father’s Day Breakfast and the Trivia Night were cancelled due to Government restrictions. We look forward to bringing these much-anticipated events back in 2022. The Parent Network Committee and Year Level Representatives have continued to regularly meet throughout the year, with meetings moving from the Tiverton Boardroom to Zoom. Our regular contact provided an opportunity for parents across Year Levels to remain connected with each other and the College Executive Team. Thank you to all who helped with the many successful 2021 Parent Network events: the 2021 Parent Network Committee, the Year Level Representatives, all parent volunteers and College staff. Your enthusiasm, energy and hard work has ensured that the Parent Network continues to build a sense of community. Mrs Meagan Selkirk – President, De La Salle College Parent Network

MOTHER’S DAY Breakfast

Alumni – Old Collegians

This year’s series of lockdowns have impacted on the usual schedule of Old Collegian reunions. More than half of the planned reunions could not go ahead because of lockdowns.

Fortunately, for the Classes of 1970 and 1971, 1980 and 1981,1990 and 1991 their reunions went ahead, and Roll Call reported on them in the May and September issues. The Racecourse Hotel hosted all this year’s reunions, except for the 1970 and 1971 reunions, which turned out to be the largest gatherings in recent history and were moved to a bigger venue at the Glasshouse Caulfield. While the pandemic has hit the pause button for many large gatherings over the last 18 months, Old Collegians will no doubt be out in force as soon as life gets back to normal. In the meantime, the College is reaching out to Old Collegians through its social media platforms to update contact details of past students. Good luck to the Class of 2021. We look forward to your involvement in your Old Collegians network and catching up with you through your alumni magazine, Roll Call, or at your reunions. Kerry Martin – Roll Call Editor

Reunions

30 YEARS

REUNIONS

50 YEARS

COLLEGIANSOld

Reconnect with the De La Salle College community and your College cohort by ensuring we have your current contact details. This allows you to receive our Alumni Magazine, Roll Call, and invitations to College reunions.

oldcolls@delasalle.vic.edu.au

delasalle.vic.edu.au/community/old-collegians

(03) 9508 2337

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MOFS

MOTHERS OF FORMER STUDENTS

An invitation to join a community of De La Salle College Mothers of Former Students. Find out more: oldcolls@delasalle.vic.edu.au

(03) 9508 2337

You’re invited to join the Parent Network. 2022 will be a wonderful year of activity and planning and we would love you to take this opportunity to further immerse yourselves in the College community and have some fun! We welcome all levels of contribution, from Committee Member volunteers through to helping on one or more Parent Network events during the year.

Contact: parentnetwork@delasalle.vic.edu.au or Kirsten Eabry on (03) 9508 2337 to find out how you can be involved.

TIVERTON

Refurbishments

Marketing Report

The last 18 months has forced us all to advance our technical skills and knowledge at warp speed and this has led to new frontiers in science and entrepreneurship. It has also been the rebirth of being more flexible and resilient and De La Salle College Marketing, like all schools, has certainly experienced that.

Due to lockdown, many elements of the marketing plan were unable to be implemented, however, it gave us the opportunity to rescope and revise the 2021/2022 plan into a fully multi-channel marketing strategy, that would cope and still reach and engage our market and our community. The main priority was to quickly create an engaging Virtual Tour video that allowed parents to experience the College and meet the staff without having the ability to be onsite. We added a targeted radio campaign across three commercial stations over the last 16 months that also includes audioboom across podcasts and digital radio. Our successful cinema advertising was suspended when cinemas closed, so this year we focused on a range of large-scale outdoor billboards with great feedback. Supersite locations included Bayside and Yarraville and digital signage includes Cheltenham, Armadale and Kew regions. A tagline of “De La Salle College, Be your Best” together with a fresh new campaign featuring current students (and Principal) has broadened the appeal and is also featured across 25m length of signage on the High Street fence, Tiverton. Geo targeted digital solutions include a Google Ads campaign, social media marketing and digital leaderboards and ads across Newscorp and educational magazines and news. The De La Salle College website has been optimised and there are plans for a new website in the next 12 months. We have also digitised our publications into flipbooks including the Parent Information and Uniform Handbooks, Roll Call and the Blue and Gold Yearbook. The Duce was migrated to a new look and new platform at the beginning of this year, so it is now a mobile friendly newsletter. We kept in touch throughout the year, with students, parents and community with regular communications including vlogs, newsletters and social media and our Facebook and Instagram community increased during this time. We hope you enjoy the 2021 Blue and Gold Yearbook – a Yearbook that celebrates the resilience of our students, our staff and our community. Dee Houlihan – Marketing and Communications Manager

Dedication and Memorial Ceremony

Dr Katie Allen MP

After considerable consultation, the College has responded appropriately regarding historical sexual abuse. Working closely with past survivors and IGFF (In Good Faith Foundation), a charity providing advocacy and support for survivors of abuse, the College Board, the Brothers and the De La Salle College Community, past and present, held a Dedication and Memorial Day in March 2021. Two sculptures were commissioned and installed at Tiverton and Kinnoull, accompanied by plaques with appropriate messages. The common theme from survivors was simply “wanting to be heard” and their circumstances formally acknowledged and recognised by the College. The College acknowledges the devastating and lifelong impact of abuse. We commit ourselves to creating a safer environment and culture in the future. Let this never happen again. The De La Salle College Board and The Trustees of the De La Salle Brothers.