September 2012 Volume Twenty-Two Number 1
Dear Parents and Guardians,
fourth year with your fourth son, you will soon come to
For most of us, summer vacations are quickly becoming
understand how we build impressive interiors as well.
a memory. After all, in the current retail economy, back to school sales follow close upon those discount offers celebrating Independence Day. Still, those vacations hopefully provided us some relaxation, a chance to be with family and friends, a change of scenery and routine. If we’re lucky and know how to look, perhaps they provided some insight as well. I was fortunate to have such an experience in July when I was able to spend my mini-sabbatical between jobs in Australia. Though only a few of us have had the chance to visit, most know the iconic sights of Sydney Harbour from post cards or broadcasts of the annual New Year’s Eve celebrations. Practically everyone can picture mentally the striking façade of the Opera House there, silhouetted against the water and Bennelong Point, the Harbour Bridge in the background. It’s a remarkable building, beautiful in its expressionistic modernity. At least on the outside. Halfway through the 15 year construction process, Jorn Utzon, the visionary Danish architect responsible for the plans was cashiered by a New South Wales Premier with less than cultivated aesthetic sensibilities. Drastic cost-cutting measures were implemented and plans downsized to save money. As a result, the interior of the Opera House is a black box, a cold and sterile place with poor acoustics, the stage and pit alike too small for many possible performances. As cynics Down Under will comment, “It’s true that Australia has a beautiful opera house, but the outside is in Sydney and the inside’s in Melbourne.” There’s the insight. Many public high schools and
A habit of reflection grounded in faith, the insight that service changes not the disadvantaged or the world so much as oneself, the appreciation that these classmates are not rivals or simply colleagues, but brothers for life: such are the interior furnishings being installed in your son’s spirit and character from timid freshman orientation through triumphant graduation. While faculties everywhere are comprised of adults who are academically qualified and instructionally capable, here at La Salle our teachers and staff accept the Mission assigned to them by our Founder, St. John Baptist de La Salle: “According to the grace of Jesus Christ that God has given to them, they are like good master builders, who give all possible care and attention to lay the foundation of religion and Christian piety in the hearts of these children.” May Jesus Christ, the architect sublime who gave us His Spirit to perfect fully his design, bless us all this year as we work together to educate young men who make real the profile of a La Salle graduate outlined by our Foundation Documents – a person whose striking qualities of intellect and accomplishment are apparent to all on the surface, deeper knowledge of whom reveals rich and resonant interior dispositions of faith and compassion, service and justice, integrity and respect. Fraternally,
almost every college preparatory school you could have selected can provide a product that’s impressive on the outside: an academically prepared graduate with a résumé of extracurricular achievements that will be found worthy by competitive colleges. Here at La Salle, whether you are launching your first freshman or in your
Brother James L. Butler, FSC President
La Salle College High School is a community whose students are taught to make use of their freedom and overcome prejudices, ready-made ideas, and social pressures. La Salle boys are encouraged to listen, seek, understand, trust, love, respect, and contemplate – all in an attempt to develop in the image of God.