The College by the Harbour - St Aloysius

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Micronesian Scholars Regular readers of the Aloysiad will be aware that each year the College sends two Year 12 boys on a twelve month GAP year to the United Kingdom as a part of the Grumitt Scholarship. At the Conclusion of his HSC in 2000, John Quilty (SAC 2000) decided that he wanted to do some sort of community activity prior to commencing his university studies. John organized a GAP Year with our brother Jesuit School, Xavier High School in Chuuk, Micronesia. John returned to Australia in late 2001 and was the Guest of Honour at the first Senior School Assembly of 2002. John tells his story and the impact on his life that twelve months in Micronesia has had on him. “In 1999 I suffered a serious accident, which forced me to take a step back, take some time out and ask myself the question, "What I am doing with my life". After some conversations with a Jesuit who had taken the trouble to come and visit me at home during this time, the question I began asking myself was "What more could I be doing?" I knew that all I wanted to do was travel, so the most logical step for me was to find some way of combining these two ideals. After further inquiries around the school it was the then Deputy Headmaster, Mr Martin Scroope, who informed me of the opportunity I was later to take on. "John, do you know where Micronesia is?" he asked me. John Quilty (SAC 2000) Maybe it was because I dropped Geography in Year 9, but I certainly didn’t know where Micronesia was! It was for that reason that I found it most appealing. I commenced working at Xavier High School on the Micronesian Island of Chuuk in January 2001 and now, after twelve months, I cannot begin to count all the reasons why I love it so much living in Chuuk Lagoon (Chuuk is the local and official name of this Micronesian State. The more popular and publicised name is Truk, a German adoption of the name Chuuk). The people, the community, the experiences and friendships they’ve given are what I appreciate most. The lessons I have learned in patience and respect, I believe, are now my greatest assets. The faculty I worked with at Xavier comprises Jesuits from New York, Singapore and Indonesia. There are ten young volunteers from The Philippines, Japan, Micronesia, America and now myself from Australia. The student body is made up of 160 students from all four Micronesian states as well as the Republic of Palau and the Marshall and Caroline Islands. It is an extraordinarily diverse population in which everybody learns from each other about how to reason and compromise with respect for students, staff, cultures and the community alike. At just nineteen years old I’ve been given a lot of responsibilities and learned even more lessons from these. The larger responsibilities I’ve had since arriving has been to coach the Xavier High School athletics squad, teach a senior English skills course and start a tutoring department that assists students with academic contracts and lower grades. Along with winning the islands Inter-School Athletics championship, the most rewarding experience was to organize a Summer School program for fifty Year 6 and 7 students from three local elementary schools, whilst overseeing 7 Xavier students completing 160 hours of community service. I was never especially talented at mathematics during my time at St Aloysius’, however I found myself not only teaching mathematics but also doing so in a language I’d only been learning for six months! Taking students studying Marine Science SCUBA diving in the lagoon through sunken Japanese battleships from the Second World War brings history to life and helping local farmers on their Tarot patches on Community Service Project weekends gives a whole new perspective to geography. Since my time in Chuuk commenced I’ve become excited about spirituality through the example of the students and other volunteers working here. Masses are truly exciting experiences filled with color, creativity and strong voices. As well as living on campus, I also have the opportunity to live with a sponsor family down by the water in the same village (Sapwuk) where Xavier High 26
School is located. It is a chance to get a real taste of what life in Chuuk is really like. True Chuukese hospitality is seen during the tenminute walk to the local fresh water well, where we shower, when it is not unusual to be invited by five different families to join them for dinner. I surely did not know how to spear fish at night, catch mangrove crabs, climb a coconut tree or weave coconut leaves before I arrived. During my time at my sponsors, my brothers have taught me well enough that I was able to eat well and support myself on a 4-day "Survivor" challenge. Myself and two other American volunteers had on an uninhabited outer-reef island this summer. We were kind of sad we were missing "Survivor" because there is no television on island so we decided to make our own fun. Richard Clifton-Smith (SAC 2001) and Bosco Wu (SAC 2001) departing Sydney Airport on their way to Micronesia Whereas, on another night or during the day I can see some of my friends or relatives inebriated by 8:00am because there is so much unemployment that they’ve given up looking for jobs and boredom is killing them. Stoning vehicles and fighting each other is another evening activity that comes from the frustration of sitting idle most of the day as well. Chuuk has a developing nation status and although a stunningly beautiful place there are serious economic, health, educational and infrastructure problems here that can make it a challenging environment to live in. As Xavier High School is a Boarding School, it has extremely high operating costs and school fees are certainly not a reliable source of income for the school either. The staff is totally dedicated and works from 8:00am when morning study begins through until 9:30pm when evening study ends (that’s when planning begins for the next day!). In between we eat together, hangout together, play sports in the afternoon together, listen to problems as well as sharing our own. It’s a truly unique situation and one that is so special it cannot be conveyed in this short article. The work of the Jesuits in Chuuk is truly amazing. They are totally dedicated to the people of Chuuk and Micronesia and particularly the students of Xavier High School. The Jesuits and the School staff have very little in the way of teaching aides to assist their education programme. The School has only a few outdated computers to serve the staff and students and even basic supplies like paper and pens are often in short supply. Many of the basics that most school students in Australia take for granted are seen as luxuries in Chuuk. The twelve months I spent on the island has changed my life. It has enabled me to focus on what I can offer my fellow man and where I can use my talents in this world. I have seen how I can be a ‘Man for Others’ To the people of Chuuk and Xavier High School I say ‘thank you’ for everything you enabled me to become! Kinamwe” John Quilty (SAC 2000) Editors Note: Upon his return to Australia, John enrolled in a Bachelor of Business majoring in Marketing at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. Micronesian Scholar Programme Following the success of John Quilty’s time on Chuuk, the College formally entered into an agreement with the Headmaster of Xavier High School to establish a GAP programme between the two schools. The College Foundation has agreed to fund the programme. The Foundation sees this type of work as a great example of our boys being ‘Men for Others’ and caring for those people who are less fortunate than ourselves. The Foundation would like to thank Mrs Kathy Griffiths (Mother of Matthew in Year 12) and Mr David Thompson (Father of Stuart and Phil in Year 12 and Wil in Year 4) for their assistance in organising the travel arrangements for the programme. Bosco Wu (SAC 2001) and Richard Clifton-Smith (SAC 2001) are the first two boys to take part in this programme. The next edition of the Aloysiad will include a report from Bosco and Richard about their first few months in the school. Anyone interested in making a donation to fund the Micronesian Scholars Programme or making a gift to assist the work of the Society at Xavier High School are asked to contact the Director of Development, Murray Happ (SAC 1985) on 9929 4692. 27
Page 1 and 2: Autumn 2002 ALOYSIAD The Magazine o
Page 3 and 4: St. Aloysius’ College 47 UPPER PI
Page 5 and 6: Ad Majora Society Following the pub
Page 7 and 8: The completed Visual Arts Centre Th
Page 9 and 10: Mr J Edstein Mr & Mrs D Effeney Mr
Page 11 and 12: New Academic Staff For 2002 we welc
Page 13 and 14: Parents & Friends Parents and Frien
Page 15 and 16: Junior School Junior School Wrap Up
Page 17 and 18: CAS Swimming Championships Aloys go
Page 19 and 20: Annual Camp All Staff and Students
Page 21 and 22: Jesuit Cricket Week During the last
Page 23 and 24: The next two days were packed with
Page 25: Before School Activities Swimming:
Page 29 and 30: Senior School Sport Cricket This se
Page 31 and 32: Honour the past … Invest in the f
Page 33 and 34: But their best bat was still there.
Page 35 and 36: March 2001 Sean has been working in

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