Aloysiad Spring 2006 4-9.indd - St Aloysius
Aloysiad Spring 2006 4-9.indd - St Aloysius
Aloysiad Spring 2006 4-9.indd - St Aloysius
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ALOYSIA D<br />
The Magazine of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College • ‘Men for Others’ • Issue XLIII • <strong>Spring</strong> <strong>2006</strong><br />
Leaping into school life
from the council<br />
The College Council continues to provide a sound forum<br />
to assist Fr Ross Jones SJ and Fr Chris Middleton SJ<br />
in guiding and managing the College and although<br />
the Council does not appear to get involved in the day-to<br />
-day goings on at the College, it is active through its two<br />
standing Committees, the Finance Committee and the<br />
Building Committee, and the Chair’s Forum in particular.<br />
The Council has focussed a large amount of its attention<br />
on the needs of the College in preparing a Master Plan to<br />
guide developments at the College over the next ten or so<br />
years. In doing this it has reviewed the existing needs and<br />
projected these forward to cater for changes to needs and<br />
curriculum across the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools.<br />
The Master Plan is now being developed to a stage<br />
where North Sydney Council approval could be sought for<br />
the plan to be carried out on a staged basis and further<br />
explanation can be given to students, parents, Old Boys<br />
and teachers.<br />
In late April the Provincial, at an Education Ministry<br />
Conference articulated ten action points for consideration<br />
by individual College Councils.<br />
The Action Points are;<br />
We will develop, for Australian Jesuit Education, an<br />
assessment instrument that will enable each Council<br />
to reinforce and measure the Jesuit character of<br />
our schools, and meet the Province’s and our own<br />
expectations.<br />
The Province will clarify its relationships with Ignatian<br />
schools and where desired will reach agreement with<br />
them. These should be developed in order to foster<br />
these mutually beneficial relationships.<br />
We are committed to adult faith formation for mission.<br />
The Loyola Institute has been established precisely<br />
for this purpose. There should be a co-operative<br />
arrangement between Australian Jesuit Education and<br />
the Loyola Institute. In the first instance, our own<br />
students, parents, staff, co-workers and Old Boys<br />
should be invited to this formation.<br />
Each Council should continue with the strategy of<br />
bursaries. Each school should set a target for the<br />
number of bursaries that they will offer. The impact of<br />
bursaries should be the subject of longitudinal studies<br />
in our schools.<br />
Identify institutional projects whereby each school<br />
or several schools together, can reach out and offer<br />
educational opportunities to children who are socially<br />
and economically disadvantaged.<br />
The Provincial will seek the co-operation and advice<br />
of the Chairs of Council in order to develop strategies<br />
of co-operation concerning the better utilisation and realignment<br />
of resources and practice in order to build a<br />
sustainable province wide identity.<br />
Explore and establish a Province Schools Policy Board.<br />
All Ministries in the Province are asked to work<br />
closely with Jesuit Communications in particular for the<br />
distribution of the Province Express and Companions.<br />
The developing of good relations with neighbouring<br />
countries should be a consideration in the planning of<br />
our school’s relationships with educational bodies across<br />
the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania should<br />
be built into the role of the Provincial Delegate.<br />
We will support the Jesuit School in East Timor as a<br />
common project of Jesuit education in Australia.<br />
Our College Council has pledged support to the ideals<br />
set out in the action points and will work towards ensuring<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ positive support to these.<br />
Each year the School Captain and Vice Captains are<br />
invited to meet with the Council and give us their thoughts<br />
and suggestions for the future. This year Andrew Haylen and<br />
Nick Geldens met with us; unfortunately Jack O’Donoghue<br />
could not make it on the night. It is pleasing to hear their<br />
positive contribution and outlook, and all were thanked for<br />
their input and the extra responsibilities they take on. These<br />
young men continue to espouse the values that are integral<br />
to the Aloysian Family life at the College.<br />
Mr Eric Goodwin<br />
Chair of Council<br />
THE ALOYSIAD<br />
Executive Editor: Fr Ross Jones SJ<br />
Editor: Murray Happ (SAC 1985)<br />
Assistant Editor:<br />
Printing:<br />
Circulation: 9,500<br />
E-Mail:<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
Trish Flynn, Helen Chan<br />
The Precision Printers Pty Ltd<br />
murray.happ@staloysius.nsw.edu.au<br />
Senior: 47 Upper Pitt <strong>St</strong>reet, Milsons Point NSW 2061<br />
Telephone: 02 9922 1177, Fax: 02 9929 6414<br />
Junior: 29 Burton <strong>St</strong>reet, Milsons Point NSW 2061<br />
Telephone: 02 9955 9200, Fax: 02 9955 0736<br />
Website: www.staloysius.nsw.edu.au<br />
Cover pic: Patrick Finegan (Year 5)<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2
from the rector<br />
Recently, Fr General convened an international<br />
committee of Jesuits to explore the Society’s response to<br />
globalisation. Yet another “think tank”, you may muse.<br />
But there were some practical suggestions as outcomes.<br />
To adapt our charism to the demands of a globalised and<br />
marginalised world, the Committee suggested, we ought<br />
to be encouraged to examine the following sample checklist<br />
of activities and dispositions which indicate our real<br />
willingness to move into this new world. We should<br />
espouse and cherish differences amongst ourselves as<br />
a privileged means of addressing the divisions in our<br />
marginalised and globalising world;<br />
presume that God’s self-revelation will be disclosed<br />
amidst differences and not just in the resolving of<br />
difference;<br />
adopt one justice issue, inform ourselves, and after<br />
close contact with the marginalised, take some political<br />
action (no matter where we live or what our work);<br />
ask ourselves, when we consume resources, if similar<br />
consumption by all is sustainable. If it is not, ask<br />
ourselves what we will do to make up or put right our<br />
excessive consumption of limited global resources;<br />
be an advocate for at least one culture different from<br />
our own;<br />
acquire an appreciative and advanced knowledge of<br />
at least one religion not our own;<br />
be involved with a community of solidarity i.e. a<br />
community which links the marginalised with the<br />
decision makers through shared relationships with our<br />
school communities; and<br />
occasionally visit a community of insertion<br />
where we can share the life of the<br />
marginalised.<br />
A useful check-list. Here at <strong>St</strong><br />
<strong>Aloysius</strong>’, we have made beginnings<br />
(sometimes small beginnings) on<br />
such a rating. These aspirations<br />
dovetail well with the Provincial’s<br />
goals for the Province schools<br />
launched earlier this year.<br />
Presupposed in the check-list<br />
is a respect for the dignity<br />
of the other person by<br />
virtue of their personhood<br />
(being loved by God)<br />
and their humanity (freely<br />
adopted by God in the<br />
Incarnation). Woven<br />
through is that<br />
Ignatian spirituality<br />
of “finding God in<br />
all things” – even<br />
when one is<br />
engaging the new<br />
and the foreign. It values both experience and the intellect<br />
as means to understanding. It takes up those two landmarks<br />
of contemporary theology, solidarity and a preferential love<br />
of the poor – contemporary expressions, yes, but outcomes<br />
rooted in Gospel values.<br />
Some of John O’Reilly’s Tanzanian “children”<br />
When the Committee encourages an insertion into,<br />
and a sharing the life of, a marginalised community,<br />
they speak of something which is not alien to this school<br />
community. In recent times, members of staff have taken<br />
leave to work with the poor and the dispossessed. As a<br />
result, they come back as richer formators of the boys. Our<br />
Year 12 graduates serving in Micronesia over the past five<br />
years have the same experience. Just recently returned from<br />
teaching in a disadvantaged school in Vanuatu, Jerome<br />
Doraisamy (SAC 2005) has spoken to me of the insights<br />
and deeper understandings gleaned from his experience.<br />
The Year 11 boys who recently “immersed” themselves in<br />
very challenging communities in the Philippines share their<br />
experiences elsewhere in this <strong>Aloysiad</strong>. It is the raison<br />
d’être of the Year 11 community service programme. “Love<br />
is expressed in deeds more than in words,” wrote Ignatius<br />
in his Spiritual Exercises. “Action comes from reflection on<br />
experience”, so says our Ignatian pedagogy. Such is our<br />
motivation.<br />
One Old Aloysian with whom I have been recently in<br />
touch is John O’Reilly (SAC 1984). John left here in 1984<br />
to pursue a career in mercantile law. His great passion<br />
has been to establish an orphanage for children who are<br />
largely the victims of HIV-AIDS. The orphanage is set near<br />
Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Already there are about<br />
seventy children being cared for. Thirty are now enrolled in<br />
the local school. Older boys are learning trades. Thirty-four<br />
acres of land are to be purchased, fenced, irrigated and<br />
farmed. Already John’s and his brothers’ former classmates<br />
have joined in to support the project. We will support it,<br />
too, in ways we can. Readers who wish to learn more,<br />
or to assist may find details at www.committeeassist.org.<br />
“We do not exist for ourselves alone”, was a maxim of the<br />
early Jesuit educators. It remains our belief four hundred and<br />
fifty years later.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3
from the rector cont'd<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>' College, Sevenhill<br />
Speaking of a long history in education, our Jesuit family<br />
is celebrating 150 years of schooling in Australia this year.<br />
The first formal class of boys was admitted to <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
College in Sevenhill in February 1856. After educating some<br />
450 boys over three decades, it closed when the Christian<br />
Brothers opened their College in Adelaide. In the interim,<br />
another <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College was begun in Dunedin, New<br />
Zealand, in 1878. Alas, it was a brief summer of schooling<br />
(if, indeed, there are summers in Dunedin) and it closed its<br />
doors in 1883. But, as we know, the same patronal name<br />
was again invoked in Woolloomooloo – and here we are.<br />
In that century and a half, Jesuits have founded and/or<br />
conducted twenty-five schools throughout Australasia, not<br />
to mention the schools in India in the Hazaribag Mission.<br />
We are presently exploring a partnership in a new school<br />
in Auckland. In recent years, the General of the Society<br />
of Jesus has stated that “education remains the preferential<br />
apostolate of the Society of Jesus”. Why? Because in the<br />
mid-sixteenth century Jesuits recognised that “the education<br />
of youth is the transformation of the world.” And it still is.<br />
Fr Ross Jones SJ<br />
Rector<br />
A model of the planned sculpture in 1:5 scale<br />
The New Opus...<br />
For the last two years, passers-by to the Boys’ Chapel<br />
have invariably stopped at the statue of <strong>St</strong> Ignatius,<br />
where he stands gazing towards the sanctuary. His<br />
quizzically challenging look also engages those who leave<br />
a Chapel mass or liturgy. There are many reactions: Was<br />
he only that tall? Are those really copies of his shoes? Is it<br />
really a death-mask image? The image was a gift to the<br />
College from <strong>St</strong> Ignatius, Riverview, on the occasion of<br />
our 125th anniversary of foundation. Melbourne sculptor<br />
Andrew Patience did so well he has been commissioned<br />
to craft another work depicting <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>. The new opus<br />
is for the entrance foyer in Upper Pitt <strong>St</strong>reet. This month<br />
Andrew visited the College with a maquette, or model,<br />
of the work. It is a powerful piece and will make a bold<br />
statement to all who enter this community about our rich<br />
history and lived-out values. Director of the Foundation and<br />
Development, Murray Happ (SAC 1985), would be glad<br />
to hear from anyone who would like to assist in contributing<br />
to the realisation of this icon with a tax-deductible gift.<br />
The Rector, Fr Ross Jones SJ with the scupltor, Andrew Patience<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4
from the principal<br />
In a recent Gonzagan I raised issues associated with<br />
values in our culture. It seems at times that there is a<br />
growing divide between what our families seek to do<br />
and what our culture facilitates and promotes.<br />
The family, at the most fundamental level, exists to<br />
provide a loving and secure environment for nurturing the<br />
young. It also exists to prepare the young for the world by<br />
imparting knowledge and skills, while also inculcating in<br />
them the necessary values and principles for navigating<br />
life’s journey. In a sense society and culture come into being<br />
primarily to enable and support this task on handing on<br />
life, but increasingly contemporary culture is ignoring this<br />
dimension to its role. In part, the reason for this failure lies<br />
in the fact that an element of culture that traditionally fulfilled<br />
that role, namely religion, is largely absent or diminished<br />
today. Religion has as one of its functions to assist the<br />
family and society in this work of formation. Often it seems<br />
that such a role is now being handed on to schools in the<br />
absence of any alternative. The enterprise of education<br />
has become an important vehicle in both integrating and<br />
enabling the work of family and society. Thus schools have<br />
come to have an importance beyond that of facilitating<br />
learning.<br />
Fr Greg O’Kelly SJ, the Headmaster of Saint Ignatius’<br />
College, Adelaide, provides one appealing way of<br />
viewing education that perhaps meets the growing role of<br />
schools: ‘’I think schooling is a ministry of hope. It’s faith in<br />
the child, that the child is worthwhile; it’s faith in the culture,<br />
that the culture’s worth transmitting, and it’s faith in the future,<br />
that the future is worth preparing people for”.<br />
The young today, have unprecedented access to<br />
television, the internet and music, many from their own<br />
bed-rooms. From the standpoint of Ignatian spirituality it is<br />
important to look to the good in the world around us and<br />
to have a positive appreciation of our culture. Moreover,<br />
as an historian, I believe that very little is really new (a<br />
three thousand year old piece of graffiti on an Egyptian<br />
pyramid bemoans what the younger generation is coming<br />
to!). Having said this, there are trends today that worry me.<br />
The human imagination is a precious but<br />
also somewhat vulnerable thing.<br />
It informs so much of what we<br />
think and do. Of its very nature<br />
the imagination is creative and<br />
open to stimulation. Along with<br />
our capacity to love, to think<br />
and to choose, imagination<br />
distinguishes us as human beings.<br />
And today, that imagination is<br />
being bombarded with<br />
distorted and<br />
d e g r a d i n g<br />
material from<br />
a culture that<br />
is meant to<br />
protect and<br />
nurture.<br />
Big Brother is watched by many of our students, both on<br />
television and over the internet. Anyone who has viewed<br />
the various series has witnessed a growing coarsening of<br />
the content as the boundaries are pushed over successive<br />
series in order to win the ratings. The expulsion of two<br />
members from the set in the most recent series exposes the<br />
seedy side of the environment created by a programme that<br />
feeds essentially on voyeurism and smut, and which needs<br />
controversy to survive. <strong>St</strong>andards of language, expression<br />
and behaviour are almost systematically assailed in order<br />
to sell the show. One could reasonably argue that no one<br />
has to watch the show. Leaving aside the issue of access<br />
to its content by our young, often beyond the eyes of their<br />
parents, the corporate sponsors who pay for the show<br />
involve all of us as a society, and its impact on our cultural<br />
imagination and sensibilities has implication for us all.<br />
Our culture as a whole has responsibilities, in addition to<br />
extending rights to its members, and a key responsibility is<br />
the formation of the young. At times we appear to be failing<br />
in that responsibility.<br />
The Internet is a vital means of information and also<br />
a growing player in shaping the imaginations and minds<br />
of the young. Consequently, it provides new opportunities<br />
for the exploitation of the young. Chat rooms can carry<br />
dangers akin to walking a city street at night. The<br />
imagination is assaulted by pornography that exploits the<br />
ability of the young to access it. Filters are available for<br />
homes, but my understanding is that they are problematical.<br />
More effective filters could also be provided at the source,<br />
by the internet service providers themselves, to reduce child<br />
pornography etc, but these providers appear resistant to<br />
any moves to place limits on the freedom of their medium.<br />
But some of these same providers are willing to accept<br />
political censorship in China in order to access this huge<br />
market, while denying responsibility here for the young.<br />
They too, surely share in the responsibility within a culture<br />
for the formation of the young.<br />
Music also plays a significant role in shaping the<br />
imagination and sensitivities of the young. Certain types of<br />
music, like some forms of rap, glorify violence and betray<br />
a strongly misogynistic streak. A major conference of the<br />
music industry in America is scheduled to examine the<br />
responsibility of the music industry, and in particular the<br />
impact on the African-American community. More widely,<br />
some popular music, and specifically many of the music<br />
videos that sell the music, portray women as objects and<br />
display a tendency to the sexualisation of the young, all<br />
readily accessible on music video programmes in children’s<br />
television hours.<br />
Those who have followed the story of the tragic<br />
death of Diane Brimble on the cruise liner, Pacific <strong>St</strong>ar,<br />
have had uncovered a picture of a society where values<br />
and standards were seemingly systematically set aside.<br />
Reflecting the worst features of an Animal House movie,<br />
this boat involved adults. Then there was the story of the<br />
amputee climber of Mount Everest who left a dying climber<br />
alone as he continued his climb to the top. Or the great<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 5
from the principal cont'd<br />
Zidane, in the last game of his illustrious Football career,<br />
who reacted to an apparent taunt with a clear head butt,<br />
was red-carded, and then receives ‘the golden ball’ award<br />
for player of the tournament. What are our young to make<br />
of the standards of what is acceptable or not?<br />
At times elements of our culture appear to be leading<br />
us down to the path described in Golding’s Lord of the<br />
Flies, an environment in which self-restraint and living to<br />
a moral truth are easily abandoned. Rebecca Weisser in<br />
The Australian (July 8) alluded to Joseph Conrad’s heart of<br />
darkness which can be found today in situations of “human<br />
conduct untrammeled by the fear of legal sanction from<br />
without or moral censure from within.”<br />
It is not that our society is incapable of making stands:<br />
the enforcement of anti-discrimination laws, of sanctions<br />
against drink-driving, and anti-smoking ordinances, all<br />
illustrate the power of legal sanction, together with<br />
education, in improving behaviour in society. The question<br />
is whether we as a society want to give priority to the<br />
young, and to make sacrifices of our own freedoms to<br />
achieve this result.<br />
When the College focuses on the courtesy extended<br />
by our boys to fellow travelers on public transport, or on<br />
the need to show respect for the property of another, or<br />
on the responsibility we all have to minimise litter, we are<br />
not just talking about rules and laws, or about the school’s<br />
image. We are contributing to, or detracting from, the<br />
soul of our society. More importantly, when we extol the<br />
virtue of tolerance of diversity, or encourage generosity in<br />
participation, or emphasise the values of sportsmanship, we<br />
are talking about more than behaviour: we are speaking<br />
about the heart of a culture and the type of world we wish<br />
for ourselves and those who follow us.<br />
The exploration of spirituality through activities such as<br />
the Kairos Retreats, the opening up to others, especially the<br />
poor and those in need, through immersion experiences<br />
and community service, the encouragement of critical<br />
thinking and the articulation of ideas through debate and<br />
argument, the cultivation of the imagination through the arts<br />
and music, the promotion of the self-discipline of the athlete<br />
and the valuing of participation in a team or an ensemble,<br />
all of which are elements in the school’s programmes, and<br />
which are promoted in the pages of the <strong>Aloysiad</strong>, have<br />
a value beyond their particular context – they go to the<br />
essence of formation of the young and to the nature of the<br />
culture and society we seek to create.<br />
Let There be Light!<br />
The College Foundation recently funded the installation<br />
of outdoor lighting on the roof terrace adjacent to the<br />
Juana Mateo Room on Level 4 of the main College<br />
Building. The lights provide subtle light for outdoor functions<br />
on the roof without distracting guests from the marvellous<br />
view.<br />
The Foundation also recently paid for the installation of<br />
a video intercom system linking the Juana Mateo Room and<br />
Kitchen on Level 4 with the Jeffreys <strong>St</strong>reet pedestrian door.<br />
Guests attending events held in the Juana Mateo Room or<br />
the Old Jesuit Dining Room can now enter the College via<br />
the pedestrian doors next to the garages in Jeffreys <strong>St</strong>reet.<br />
The intercom also has a door release mechanism, thus<br />
avoiding the previous requirement to have someone staffing<br />
the door.<br />
It is hoped that the provision of these items will provide<br />
a more pleasant and hassle free environment for members<br />
of the Aloysian Family attending meetings and events at the<br />
College.<br />
Mr Murray Happ (SAC 1985)<br />
Director of Development<br />
Fr Chris Middleton SJ<br />
College Principal<br />
The new lighting on the Chapel Terrace<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 6
from the foundation<br />
<strong>2006</strong> Annual Giving Appeal<br />
– Think Beyond the Square<br />
Thank you to the hundreds of members of the Aloysian<br />
family who have supported the <strong>2006</strong> Annual Giving<br />
Appeal - Think Beyond the Square. Funds raised from<br />
this Appeal will assist the College to implement the Master<br />
Plan currently being finalised by architects and the College<br />
Council.<br />
It is not too late to Think Beyond the Square and make a<br />
gift in support of the Appeal. Please complete the form and<br />
return it to the College Development Office.<br />
All gifts, no matter what size, will be gratefully accepted<br />
and most importantly used to make the College a better<br />
place for current and future generations of Aloysians.<br />
AMDG<br />
Overseas Reunion<br />
Reunions for Old Boys, Parents, Past Parents, Future<br />
Parents, Past Gap <strong>St</strong>udents/Grumitt Scholars and Friends<br />
of the College will be held in the following cities/regions<br />
in late <strong>2006</strong>:<br />
Hong Kong/Asia<br />
San Francisco/West Coast USA<br />
Washington DC<br />
New York<br />
Boston/New England<br />
UK/Europe – London<br />
Saturday 28 October<br />
Sunday 29 October<br />
Wednesday 1 November<br />
Saturday 4 November<br />
Thursday 9 November<br />
Saturday 18 November<br />
Invitations will be posted to every member of the Aloysian Family who<br />
currently receives the <strong>Aloysiad</strong> direct from the College (as opposed to<br />
receiving the <strong>Aloysiad</strong> via a family member in Australia). Invitations<br />
will also be e-mailed to those people we have addresses for.<br />
Anyone who would like to receive information about the Reunions,<br />
or those who would like to nominate someone living in these<br />
regions who would like to attend any of the events, is asked to<br />
contact Murray Happ (SAC 1985) at the College on 9936 5561<br />
or murray.happ@staloysius.nsw.edu.au<br />
I would like to make a gift of:<br />
Yes, I would like to support the <strong>2006</strong> Annual Giving Appeal<br />
$100 $250 $50 $500 $350<br />
$750 $1,000 Other $ ........ to the<br />
Building Fund – for the new Masterplan works<br />
Library Fund – Library materials and new computers<br />
Bursary Fund – Bursaries and Scholarships<br />
Enclosed is a cheque made payable to the<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College Foundation<br />
Please debit my Credit Card<br />
Amex Bankcard MasterCard<br />
Visa<br />
Diners<br />
Name on Card: ......................................................<br />
Signature: ........................................... Expiry: .......<br />
"Think Beyond the Square"<br />
Name: ......................................................................<br />
Address: ....................................................................<br />
Telephone: ............................. h ..............................w<br />
Email: ........................................................................<br />
I am an:<br />
Old Boy of the College - Class of 19/20............<br />
Parent at the College<br />
Past parent of the College<br />
Current or Past <strong>St</strong>aff Member<br />
Friend of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
I wish for my gift to the College to remain anonymous<br />
Please send me some information about leaving the<br />
College a Bequest in my Will<br />
Sons of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ – current and future – will benefit from your support<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College Foundation<br />
47 Upper Pitt <strong>St</strong>reet, Milsons Point NSW 2061 Fax: 02 9929 6414 Email: murray.happ@staloysius.nsw.edu.au<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 7
from the junior school<br />
After a rather short but busy<br />
Term II, the new Term is<br />
well and truly underway<br />
with both staff and students<br />
getting on with the business of<br />
making every opportunity that<br />
comes their way count in the<br />
academic and extra curricular<br />
dimension of life in the Junior<br />
School. On the academic front,<br />
our boys have continued to perform up to our expectations.<br />
It will be a while before we will be notified of our boys’<br />
performance in the Basic Skills testing for students in Years 3<br />
and 5. Results in the University of NSW English, Mathematics,<br />
Science, Writing, Computer Skills and Spelling Competitions<br />
have been quite impressive. In the English competition,<br />
for instance, of the three hundred and fifteen boys that<br />
participated, nine boys were awarded a High Distinction<br />
certificate, sixty-six Distinctions and one hundred and three<br />
Credits. In the Mathematics Competition, our boys were<br />
awarded ten High Distinctions, fifty-five Distinctions and one<br />
hundred and nine Credits. These competitions provide useful<br />
diagnostic information of individual student performance as<br />
well as from a school’s point of view, constructive analysis<br />
and stimulus to review our teaching and learning programmes<br />
in specific areas.<br />
Already we have experienced some fine successes<br />
in areas otherwise untried before. The Junior school was<br />
invited by Channel 7 to participate in a quiz show called It’s<br />
Academic targeted at the Primary school age children. We<br />
were required to select five teams of three students each and<br />
three reserves to compete against similar number teams from<br />
two other schools over a week long period. On 1 August<br />
the boys spent a day recording the week’s programme at the<br />
Channel 7 studios. After a rather shaky start, the boys lost the<br />
early rounds but then came from behind on every occasion<br />
to make it to the semi-final to be filmed in mid-September with<br />
the best aggregate score out of three competing schools. If<br />
our boys win the semi-finals, they are guaranteed a prize<br />
money of $5,000 for their school and, $10,000, should<br />
they manage to win the finals. In addition, the contestants<br />
will win for themselves educational software packages that<br />
would aid their learning in literacy and numeracy. It’s been<br />
an exciting and rewarding experience for our boys so far and<br />
we wish them good luck at the next level of competition.<br />
For the first time ever we entered two teams in the Soccer<br />
NSW Futsal (indoor Soccer) Competition with boys from our<br />
Prep 1sts and 11As making up the numbers. The success<br />
they have achieved thus far is truly unprecedented. While<br />
both teams played valiantly, the Under 12s not only made<br />
all the way to the finals but were successful in winning the<br />
Regional championships. Later they were invited to the <strong>St</strong>ate<br />
Championships where our boys almost took the title except<br />
to be denied with the outcome having to be decided on a<br />
penalty shootout after the extra time impasse. As runners up,<br />
they have been invited to compete at National Individual<br />
Schools Championships to be held during the October<br />
school holidays.<br />
In sporting terms, the winter of <strong>2006</strong> was the wettest by<br />
far in the last ten years with two full rounds of Football and<br />
Rugby competition having to be cancelled and a number of<br />
games in other rounds being washed out. The second half<br />
of the season was quite disjointed with holiday and wet<br />
weather breaks causing a great deal of frustration to teams<br />
and coaches alike. Then again, all Sydney schools would<br />
have experienced a similar frustration. We have had our fair<br />
share of successes and disappointments during the season,<br />
the highlight of which would be the number of football teams<br />
that came close to remaining unbeaten during the season.<br />
Our Prep 2nds managed, however, to remain undefeated<br />
while Prep 1sts and 11 As lost just the one match, that<br />
against <strong>St</strong> Patrick’s College <strong>St</strong>rathfield. Thank you and<br />
congratulations to our boys who always played valiantly<br />
and showed good sportsmanship at all times, win lose or<br />
draw. Our sincere thanks also go to our very loyal band of<br />
parent supporters, especially parent helpers and managers<br />
of teams.<br />
In other sporting news, congratulations go to Robin<br />
Pfister (Year 5) and Max Evans (Year 5), our number one<br />
and two ranked Tennis stars who have gone from strength<br />
to strength. In addition to Robin making CIS and <strong>St</strong>ate<br />
Team, both the boys in various combinations have won a<br />
number of tournaments contested for Primary school aged<br />
children. What’s even more pleasing to note is that both<br />
Robin and Max are still in Year 5. The athletics season has<br />
just commenced with the team having been picked following<br />
our Inter-House Athletics Carnival. While you can read the<br />
details in the Sportsmaster’s section of the <strong>Aloysiad</strong>, I would<br />
like to make a special mention of Olivier Wetzlar (Year 5)<br />
and his achievements in shot put and congratulate him on<br />
breaking the previous College record set by Matthew Purcell<br />
(SAC 1991) in 1985. You will find in this edition, detailed<br />
stories on Futsal and also a report from Mr Hayes that reflects<br />
parents’ perspective on our sporting involvement and the<br />
benefits that sport can deliver to the school community.<br />
Finally, on a note that gives us our character and our<br />
special identity as a Catholic and Jesuit school, this Term is<br />
a special one for the promotion of our Community Outreach<br />
Programmes. At our first assembly for this Term, we launched<br />
our Arrupe Outreach Programme with presentations from a<br />
number of people including Fr Ross Jones SJ, the Rector, Fr<br />
Chris Middleton SJ, the Principal and the viewing of a very,<br />
very special documentary produced by Joe Kiely, a Year 12<br />
student on The Karuna Project that has resulted in the setting<br />
up of an orphanage in Cambodia. The Karuna Project is the<br />
brainchild or more like the response from the heart of Joe<br />
and his family to what they encountered in one of the poorest<br />
villages on the face of this earth. We are inviting all classes,<br />
the boys and the parents to make a small commitment to<br />
alleviating a little of the misery that’s being experienced by<br />
our brothers and sisters near and far and especially put a<br />
smile on the faces of children that have not a great deal<br />
about which to smile.<br />
Mr Martin Lobo<br />
Deputy Principal – Junior School<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 8
Year 6 Canberra Excursion<br />
On 31 May one hundred and twenty-seven Year<br />
6 boys and their teachers excitedly arrived at<br />
Bradfield Park very early to get ready for our threeday<br />
expedition to Canberra.<br />
Matthew Cosgriff and Eliot <strong>St</strong>untz (Year 6) use some of the interactive<br />
exhibitions at Questacon in Canberra<br />
Names on the Roll of Honour at the National War Memorial in Canberra<br />
At approximately 1.00pm we arrived at the National<br />
War Memorial where we visited The Tomb of the Unknown<br />
Soldier, the eternal flame and the exhibitions of the War<br />
Memorial. We then visited the Electoral Education Centre<br />
(EEC) near the Old Parliament House. We learned about the<br />
Australian electoral system and the procedures undertaken<br />
when elections are called. After leaving the EEC, we had<br />
the opportunity to see all the different embassies as we<br />
drove along Embassy Drive.<br />
During our first night in Australia’s Capital Territory we<br />
visited Telstra Tower, on Black Mountain. After watching<br />
Nic Alexandrou (Year 6) dresses as the Clerk of the House of<br />
Representatives at Parliament House<br />
a presentation on the history of Telstra Tower we climbed<br />
the stairs to the highest point in Canberra and enjoyed<br />
the immensely beautiful view. We all headed back to the<br />
comforts and warmth of our hotel.<br />
On our second day we headed to the National Museum<br />
where we saw a remarkable movie of Australia’s past and<br />
saw a lot of Australia’s history. We also enjoyed K-Space,<br />
a programme on a computer, which allows you to create<br />
your own space station or space ship. We later had an<br />
opportunity to see these as a short 3-D movie.<br />
At the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS), we saw the<br />
different training facilities that are offered by the AIS. Our<br />
next stop was the High Court of Australia where tour guides<br />
explained some interesting facts about the process and the<br />
history of the three courts. Next on the itinerary was some<br />
free time at Regatta Point on the banks of Lake Burly Griffin.<br />
Here we had the chance to see a life sized model of the<br />
city and movie on the history of Canberra.<br />
Back at the motel we had another delicious meal before<br />
going to the National Dinosaur Museum of Australia. There<br />
we learned numerous interesting facts about dinosaurs and<br />
saw a variety of life- sized models. It was an interesting<br />
experience filled with facts on the habits and habitats of<br />
the dinosaurs.<br />
Our final day in Canberra involved a visit to Parliament<br />
House. There we had a tour of the Senate and the House<br />
of Representatives. After that we had an educational visit<br />
were we were allocated as members of the government<br />
and opposition and we tried to pass laws. This was really<br />
enjoyable and it was a great honour for us to be able to sit<br />
in the parliamentary chamber.<br />
Our last destination was Questicon, the National<br />
Science Museum. We were given lunch and were allowed<br />
to walk around in small groups. There were some very cool<br />
rides, experiments and exhibits. At 2.00pm we were then<br />
ready to leave Canberra and we started on the long ride<br />
home. We arrived back at the College at 7.00pm and<br />
greeted our parents. We couldn’t wait to tell them of our<br />
adventures in Canberra!<br />
Matthew Sindone and Louis Pointing (Year 6.4)<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 9
from the junior school<br />
Year 6 Art of Speech <strong>2006</strong><br />
Each year our boys compete in a range of Public<br />
Speaking Competitions such as the Year 6 North<br />
Shore Historical Society Art of Speech Competition.<br />
The Junior School Art of Speech finals were held in The<br />
Bellarmino. Our theme this year was based on “People of<br />
Eminence and Greatness in our Society”.<br />
Breznik, Patrick Finnegan, Daniel Verschuer, William Scott<br />
and Max Messenger, and their facilitator is Miss Leighanna<br />
Miles (5.4 Teacher).<br />
In the Maths Engineering Group are Ned Latham, Jean-<br />
Luc Vrisakis, Tim Wheatley, Elliot Miller, Max Sherlock,<br />
Declan Creek and Tim Spooner, and their facilitator is<br />
Mr David Hegarty (5.2 Teacher). The boys selected in<br />
the Social Science Group are Tim Humphreys, Matthew<br />
Jepson, Tim Manion, Billy Hade, Joshua O’Toole, Conor<br />
O’Mara and Harrison Boudakin, and their facilitator is Mr<br />
James Lister (SAC 1997 and 4.1 Teacher).<br />
The students will compete on Sunday 27 August at<br />
the Regional Finals at the University of Western Sydney,<br />
Macarthur Campus. We wish them all the best and hope<br />
they make it to National Finals.<br />
Ms Leighanna Miles<br />
Fr Middleton SJ with some of the Year 6 finalists in the Junior School<br />
Art of Speech Competition.<br />
What is eminence? How is it attained? How is it<br />
received in society? What is the measure of being famous?<br />
What does it mean to be successful? Is achievement the<br />
fulfilment of one’s gifts? How were they men and women<br />
for others? These were all questions the boys had to answer<br />
in their speech.<br />
Thanks to Mr Lobo, Fr Middleton SJ, Jonny Garlington<br />
(Gap <strong>St</strong>udent) and Max Brady (Year 12) who were on our<br />
Panel of Judges. Well done to the following finalists who<br />
were outstanding and congratulations to our overall winner<br />
Anthony Slaven (Year 6) who spoke movingly and whose<br />
speech was based on Sir William Wallace.<br />
Mr Joe El-Khoury<br />
Debating Master<br />
Tournament of the Minds <strong>2006</strong><br />
Tournament of the Minds is once again starting. This is<br />
a competition where the students are asked to present<br />
a solution to a long term problem which they work<br />
on over the six weeks. They are also given a spontaneous<br />
problem on the day which requires them to present a<br />
solution within a few minutes of hearing the problem. In the<br />
Junior School we have three teams participating this year<br />
in the divisions of Language Literature, Maths Engineering,<br />
and Social Science.<br />
Congratulations to the talented group of boys who have<br />
been selected from Years 5 and 6 to participate in the three<br />
teams. The boys who have been selected for Language<br />
Literature are Ben Chapple, Jonathon Parker, Dominik<br />
IGNATIAN VOLUNTEERS AUSTRALIA<br />
Ignatian Volunteers go forth in Sydney<br />
Following its launch in Sydney by the Provincial, Fr Mark Raper<br />
SJ, in May, Ignatian Volunteers Australia has attracted numerous<br />
enquiries from people in Sydney.<br />
Committee member Christina James who, together with<br />
Noelene Chandler and Ailsa Gillett OAM, have been meeting<br />
with those interested, reports over twenty volunteers have<br />
chosen areas for placement. “The response has been surprising”<br />
Christina said. “I do not think any of the Pathfinding Committee<br />
expected such an immediate uptake. The appeal of sharing with<br />
the poor, together with the opportunity of participating in Jesuit<br />
led Ignatian spirituality, have been the two key motivators.”<br />
Placements for volunteers of all ages have been made with<br />
the aged, refugees, homeless, prisoners, Aboriginal children and<br />
in schools. “Although small, our operation is already making a<br />
positive impact on people’s lives”, said Christian and “anyone<br />
interested in seeking more information should simply email me<br />
on kandcjames@bigpond.com. People who are already working<br />
with the poor are welcome to become Ignatian volunteers.”<br />
The first Ignatian gathering for volunteers and for those who<br />
may be interested will be held at the Jesuit Church of <strong>St</strong> Canice’s<br />
28 Roslyn <strong>St</strong> Elizabeth Bay on Tuesday 3, October <strong>2006</strong> from<br />
10.30 am to 2 pm.<br />
Mr Paul Tallentire<br />
Chair<br />
Sydney IVA Pathfinding Committee<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 0
Fr Middleton SJ celebrates Mass on the roof of the College for the Year 6 Leadership Day<br />
Year 6 Leadership Day<br />
On Tuesday 9 May, Year 6 gathered together to<br />
discuss and learn what leadership means in our<br />
life. Our Activities planned on the day revolved<br />
around the themes such as: Acceptance of Others, The<br />
Masks We Wear and Bullying and Leadership Qualities.<br />
The day began with a very special liturgy that was held on<br />
the fourth floor of the College overlooking the harbour and<br />
it was led by Fr Chris Middleton SJ, our Principal.<br />
Afterwards, we went down to The Great Hall to<br />
introduce ourselves to the Catholic Youth Services Team<br />
and to the Year 12 Prefects who were going to lead the<br />
day. The day involved getting to know each other through<br />
games and fun activities. One of our sessions was about<br />
accepting others and we were shown a clip from the movie<br />
Shrek, and what our teachers and the CYS team were<br />
trying to do was to make us understand that accepting<br />
others is important.<br />
We were also shown a small role-play on bullying and<br />
how it can really affect others, which introduced us to our<br />
next topic of wearing masks. The speeches and experiences<br />
that the Year 12 boys shared with us really helped us to see<br />
that we all wear different masks with different people and<br />
that we should just be ourselves and that people will like us<br />
for who we are.<br />
Overall, the day was excellent and a great experience.<br />
It really allowed us to meet new friends and to help us<br />
realise that we are all leaders in the school and that we<br />
must lead by good example.<br />
Sam McGraw and Matt Jepson (Year 6.4)<br />
Year 6 boys under the Harbour Bridge<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 1
junior school sport<br />
Junior School Sport Round Up<br />
In what has been the wettest winter in recent years, winter<br />
sport has been a mixed bag this last Term with some<br />
great results in football, both in our JSHAA Competition<br />
and in our first entry at the NSW Futsal Indoor Soccer<br />
Championships. In cross country we excelled with the largest<br />
number of boys making it to JSHAA level. The success in<br />
football is mirrored by the success in rugby on their latest<br />
trip ‘north of the border’ on the Annual Queensland Rugby<br />
Tour where the Prep 1st XV accompany the 16As and the<br />
First XV. Not only did the boys come away with their first<br />
win but the friendships and bonds that were made between<br />
the boys from all the teams carries on far beyond the end of<br />
the Rugby season. Special mention must also be made of<br />
the parents who week in and week out of the winter season<br />
have contributed in so many ways to make the season<br />
possible. From parent managers to linesmen in rugby and<br />
to so many parents giving their time to assist in carnivals we<br />
are very grateful. Special thanks to Mr John Hayes (father<br />
of Gianluca 4.2) who has managed the 10b football team<br />
this season beyond what was expected of the role.<br />
Grant Jansson (Year 6) leads the pack<br />
out with sixty-seven boys competing in the finals of shot<br />
put in both the junior and senior age groups. These boys<br />
were selected after competing in the heats which were<br />
held during Term I PE classes. With a full programme of<br />
events for most of the participating shot putters, it didn’t stop<br />
Olivier Wetzlar (Year 5) from Campion House recording a<br />
Athletics<br />
Athletics went from strength to strength in a day where we<br />
were extremely fortunate with the weather. The day started<br />
Robert Joannides (Year 5)<br />
massive throw of 11.21metres in the under 10s age group<br />
which is a new College record. Olivier now holds both the<br />
Under 10 and Under 9 College records.<br />
Jerome Abeleda and Ollie Masters (Year 6) with Mr Martin Lobo<br />
and the Junior School Athletics Trophy<br />
Southwell House supporters!<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 2
Well done to all boys on a day where the easy option<br />
would have been not to participate or just to run in events<br />
where they are comfortable. Throughout the day I saw boys<br />
participating in events which are not their forte but did this<br />
to assist the team.<br />
Futsal <strong>St</strong>ate Championships Runners Up<br />
In Term II we entered two teams to compete in the NSW<br />
Regional Futsal Competition held at Dural. Futsal is a<br />
version of Indoor Football (soccer). Participation in this<br />
indoor tournament was a first for the College. Under 12s<br />
were made up of ten players from the Prep 1st XI while the<br />
under 11s came from 11As. We did exceedingly well with<br />
our 12As going all the way to the final and winning the<br />
regional championship.<br />
L to R: Front row - Max Von Deventer, Ollie Masters, Grant Jansson, Chris<br />
Anderson, Mitchell Arnold. Back row - Callum Pendleton (Year 11) coach,<br />
Tom Craven, Scott Munray, Ben Crumpton, Declan McCarthy.<br />
For the ten very excited boys making the <strong>St</strong>ate Finals<br />
after winning the Regional Finals was an achievement in<br />
itself. Heading to Penrith Indoor <strong>St</strong>adium to take on all the<br />
other regional winners for a place to go to Nationals was<br />
a big task but one that the team and their coach Callum<br />
Pendleton (Year 11) were happy to take on. With the<br />
inclusion of Tom Goh (Year 6) and the continued support<br />
from Mrs Jansson (food and beverage coordinator) the<br />
boys played their first three pool games winning two from<br />
three but managed to make the quarter finals. After some<br />
initial nervous play the boys settled down to their regular<br />
game and defeated a very tall Fig Tree Public School by<br />
two goals. In the semi finals, it was all nerves from the<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ supporters as we got up by one goal over<br />
Marsden Road Public School with Grant Jansson (Year 6)<br />
scoring two excellent goals.<br />
With the final about to start there were nerves all round.<br />
Callum Pendleton settled the boys and spoke about the task<br />
ahead and what each boy needed to concentrate on. Our<br />
first goal came late in the second half to give us a lead<br />
of 1-0 but as luck would have it <strong>St</strong> Andrews responded<br />
with a goal with only seconds on the clock remaining.<br />
Into five minutes of overtime and many attempts by both<br />
schools saw a deadlock with the only option being penalty<br />
shootout where despite our best efforts we went down 4-3.<br />
In what was a great experience for the boys and a great<br />
achievement for the school as runners up we now head to<br />
Nationals later in the Term where we can hopefully repeat<br />
our efforts at the <strong>St</strong>ate Finals and move up one ranking to<br />
overall winners.<br />
Mr Trevor Dunne<br />
Sportsmaster<br />
Junior Jesuit and Sacred Heart Schools Winter<br />
Carnival<br />
On 8 June boys from <strong>St</strong> Ignatius’ College Adelaide and<br />
boys from Xavier College Melbourne arrived at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
College and were assigned a buddy for the duration of<br />
the Jesuit and Sacred Heart Junior School Winter Carnival.<br />
The girls from Sacre Coeur Melbourne and the girls from <strong>St</strong><br />
Ignatius’ Adelaide stayed with billets from the School of the<br />
Sacred Heart, Kincoppal-Rose Bay.<br />
After we were assigned our billets we each received a<br />
juice and a muffin. Then we got to spend some time with<br />
our billets and just getting to know each other. My billet’s<br />
name was Jonathon Rossi.<br />
That night it was my friend’s billet’s birthday so to<br />
celebrate we all gathered and went to the Gourmet Pizza<br />
Kitchen. The next day, Jonathan and I arrived at school<br />
and all the billets and their hosts went to the Senior School<br />
to look at the view of the city and Harbour Bridge and to<br />
celebrate a mass together. We then walked across the<br />
Bridge.<br />
Our original plan for the day was to go to Manly on the<br />
ferry and get fish and chips but because of the wet weather<br />
we went to Plan B which was to go to AMF bowling and<br />
play a few games.<br />
The next day we were given a free day with our billet<br />
to spend some quality time with them. I took Jonathan out<br />
to breakfast and then we caught a ferry to Circular Quay<br />
to see the Opera House and to meet up with some of our<br />
friends.<br />
On Sunday 11 June we went to Riverview for the<br />
Jesuit and Sacred Heart Junior School Winter Carnival.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 3
junior school sport<br />
At 9:00am we attended a Mass at the Dalton Chapel.<br />
Following Mass we were scheduled to play football, but<br />
due to wet weather, the match was cancelled so we played<br />
a few games of water polo.<br />
We then played dodge ball, which my team won.<br />
After lunch we competed in a cross-country race and then<br />
watched the movie Chicken Run. Then at 2:30 the carnival<br />
presentations were made and we then farewelled our billets<br />
as they headed home.<br />
On behalf of all the boys I would like to thank Mr Dunne<br />
and Mr Lobo for organising the Annual carnival; it gave all<br />
the students the chance to meet students from other Jesuit<br />
and Sacred Heart Schools and to understand that we are<br />
all members of a very large Jesuit family.<br />
Max Van Deventer (Year 6)<br />
Junior School – 10B Soccer a Parents Perspective<br />
This year the Junior School was able to field three Under<br />
10 football teams, with teams selected over four days of<br />
trials. The 10Bs turned out to be a good mix, with the boys<br />
having a range of experience and lots of enthusiasm.<br />
After a few training sessions with their coach, Mr Henry<br />
Turner (SAC 2005), the boys were ready for their first game<br />
against Sydney Grammar <strong>St</strong> Ives on 6 May. Naturally, there<br />
was no sign of nerves among the players, while we parents<br />
waited anxiously for the kick-off, all hoping that the boys<br />
would do well and have fun. But we needn’t have worried;<br />
the boys played as a team from the start: dribbling, passing<br />
and tackling with confidence. And we didn’t have long to<br />
wait for the first goal, which was greeted with celebrations<br />
from both boys and parents. The match ended with a<br />
comfortable win for <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’, providing a great start to<br />
the season.<br />
Following their victory over Sydney Grammar, the team<br />
set about building on their early success with victories over<br />
Sydney Grammar Edgecliff and Cranbrook School before<br />
suffering a last minute 1-0 loss to <strong>St</strong> Patrick’s College<br />
<strong>St</strong>rathfield. But this only served to spur the boys on to roll out<br />
two more good wins over Knox Grammar and The Scots<br />
College. So, at the half-way mark the boys have played six<br />
games, won five and (just) lost one – a great effort.<br />
In terms of their individual skills, the boys have generally<br />
improved. But the greatest improvement has been in<br />
developing their team play. After six games, they’re getting<br />
a better idea of positional play (the whole team no longer<br />
swarms around the ball) and are starting to develop a sense<br />
for where other players are.<br />
Every boy gets a game each Saturday, with frequent<br />
substitutions so that no one has to sit out a match. At the<br />
start of the season this also gave the boys a chance to<br />
try out different positions and find out where they best fit<br />
into the team. We have a strong attacking line-up with<br />
Sam Adams (Year 4), Alex Giersz (Year 5 – who played<br />
the six games with an arm in plaster!) and Chris Jammal<br />
(Year 4). They are supported by a hardworking midfield<br />
comprising Gianluca Hayes (Year 4), Lorenzo Benitez (Year<br />
4), Dominic Giannini (Year 5), Hugh O’Donnell (Year 4)<br />
and Hugo Vlachos (Year 4), who have been learning how<br />
to cover in defence and to bring the ball forward to feed<br />
their strikers. Equally crucial to the team’s success has been<br />
the defending combination of Ben Fong (Year 5), Michael<br />
Garnon (Year 5) and Joe Kendrick-Smith (Year 4), who,<br />
together with Joshua Heddle (Year 4) in goal, have only<br />
conceded one goal so far.<br />
In closing, I’d like to say that being involved with the<br />
team has been a really rewarding experience. As a new<br />
parent to <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College, it’s allowed me to share<br />
more closely in my son’s school life. It’s also made me<br />
appreciate the effort that is put into the sports activities by<br />
everyone at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College including the staff, the<br />
coaches, the parents and the boys.<br />
Mr John Hayes (Father of Gianluca 4.2)<br />
Team Manager<br />
Cross Country Report<br />
On 17 March (the Feast of <strong>St</strong> Patrick) I participated in<br />
the College Cross Country Carnival. The race involved<br />
a run across the Harbour Bridge and through the Royal<br />
Botanical Gardens finishing near the Sydney Opera House,<br />
all up about three kilometres. The boys who raced were<br />
mainly from Year 5, with a few lads from Year 6 also<br />
participating.<br />
Membars of the Junior School Cross Country Team<br />
The top ten placegetters were selected for the College<br />
team to run at the JSHAA Cross Country Carnival held<br />
at The Kings School on 1 April. There were about one<br />
hundred and fifty boys in my race and I was feeling very<br />
nervous before I was about to run. The course was around<br />
their school and past their farming areas where I saw cows<br />
and sheep. I ended up coming fifth in the race and was<br />
happy with my result.<br />
The first fifteen boys from the JSHAA Cross Country<br />
Championships made up the JSHAA team who ran on 6<br />
June at the Eastern Creek Raceway in the CIS Cross Country<br />
Championships. The day of the race it was pouring with<br />
rain and I for one didn’t want to get out of bed! But when<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 4
we got out to Penrith, it wasn’t raining. My race was one of<br />
the last ones, but I got to watch the older <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ boys<br />
running in their races which was great. Then I prepared for<br />
my big race. My muscles were beginning to tense up and<br />
I was getting very nervous, but as soon as the starter’s gun<br />
went off I ran my heart out and left all those nerves behind<br />
me. The top six runners plus two reserves were selected to<br />
compete at the <strong>St</strong>ate Championships. Sadly I missed on<br />
selection for the <strong>St</strong>ate team by one place.<br />
I very much like Cross Country. The training regime<br />
every morning with its runs across the Harbour Bridge with<br />
the Senior School boys is one of the highlights of this great<br />
sport. It is my ambition to be selected for the <strong>St</strong>ate Team in<br />
2007 and I am already in training to achieve my goal.<br />
Robert Joannides (Year 5)<br />
Queensland Rugby Development Tour Report<br />
On Sunday 9 July nineteen boys from the Prep 1st XV Rugby<br />
Team joined forty boys from the Senior School at Sydney<br />
Airport for the annual rugby pilgrimage to Brisbane.<br />
After a good flight we touched down in Brisbane at<br />
around 8.30am. The boys quickly changed into their<br />
training gear for a session at <strong>St</strong> Laurence’s College and<br />
some expert coaching from the 1st XV. After lunch it was<br />
back to the hotel where the boys had time to explore, swim,<br />
and go to the gym or just rest in their rooms.<br />
Monday dawned and after the boys had prepared<br />
their own breakfast, we were on the train to <strong>St</strong> Patrick’s<br />
Shorncliffe for the first game of the tour.<br />
The team started slowly which allowed <strong>St</strong> Patrick’s to<br />
dominate the first half and score two tries and a goal for a<br />
12-0 lead. In the second half, after some encouraging tips<br />
from the 1st XV, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ started to grow in confidence<br />
and began to run the ball. Jim Morrison (Year 6) had<br />
a great game at scrum half and was supported in the<br />
forwards by Will Hughes (Year 6). Although we lost the<br />
match, it was an encouraging sign.<br />
Wednesday was game day against Anglican Church<br />
Grammar School (Churchie). With a brief warm up with<br />
Mr Dunne and some encouragement from the 1st XV, the<br />
boys ran onto the field determined to score the first try. After<br />
five minutes Harrison Williams (Year 6) scored after some<br />
excellent forward work. The boys celebrated like they just<br />
won the grand final.<br />
Churchie hit straight back with a blindside move from<br />
the scrum and took a 7 – 5 lead. Jim Morrison, full of<br />
confidence from the game against <strong>St</strong> Patrick’s scored a try<br />
under the post, which was converted by Harrison Williams<br />
and the score was 12 – 7 at half time.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ defended well in the second half and every<br />
time Churchie got into our half the boys were able to steal<br />
the ball and defuse the attack. Alex Perkins (Year 6) was full<br />
of running, leaving defenders clutching in his wake and the<br />
forwards all worked well in defence. Churchie were held<br />
try less in the second half and the team won the match.<br />
The Tour proved to be a fantastic experience for all the<br />
boys, something they will look back on with a lot of fond<br />
memories in the years to come. Thank you to all the boys,<br />
who played really well in both games and it was great to<br />
see a number of parents come to Brisbane to support the<br />
team.<br />
Mr Paul Van der Meer<br />
Prep First XV Coach<br />
Junior School Swimming Report<br />
In mid June of this year, two students from the Junior<br />
School, Matthew Jepson (Year 6) and Olivier Wetzlar<br />
(Year 5) represented NSW at the National Swimming<br />
Titles at Homebush.<br />
Olivier competed in two events: his speciality, the 50m<br />
breaststroke in which he came seventh in the final and as<br />
a member of the NSW 200m 10 age medley in which<br />
NSW came fourth. Matthew had an exhausting week in<br />
which he claimed two gold medals, two silver and three<br />
bronze medals. The result, of which he is most proud,<br />
was his win in the 200 IM in which he beat his personal<br />
best time by two seconds. He also achieved gold in the<br />
12years 4 x 50m freestyle relay. NSW has won this 4 x<br />
50m freestyle three years in a row. His silver medals came<br />
in the 12 yr medley relay and the 100m backstroke. His<br />
three bronzes came in the 100m fly, which was a PB, the<br />
all age relay and the 200m freestyle. Congratulations are<br />
extended to both Olivier and Matthew for their dedication<br />
to training and competing at the highest level.<br />
Mrs Caroline Byrne<br />
MIC Junior School Swimming<br />
Visitor to the College<br />
Br Roland Francart SJ teaches geography and religion at<br />
the College of <strong>St</strong>-Michel in Brussels. In addition, he heads a<br />
Jesuit ministry which produces multilingual religious comics!<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 5
from the senior school<br />
Footy Legends<br />
On 9 May, <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College was given the<br />
opportunity to see one of its Old Boys present his<br />
first major film. A group of thirty students mingled<br />
with celebrities and sponsors for the preview screening of<br />
Khoa Do’s (SAC 1996) film, Footy Legends.<br />
Being a first experience on the red carpet for Khoa<br />
Do and his brother Anh (SAC 1994), the nerves weren’t<br />
apparent. Many students got the chance of meeting both<br />
of the brothers as well as ‘The Falcon’ former Rugby League<br />
player, Mario Fenech. The experience also provided a<br />
motivation, that anyone can do anything, if they put the<br />
effort in.<br />
Footy Legends is not a film purely about football. With<br />
the main synopsis based around football, the film shows<br />
an emotional approach to its audience, which wasn’t<br />
expected, especially as the film is billed as a comedy.<br />
Unashamedly, it is a very positive film.<br />
The themes of friendship, family and mateship all meet<br />
through the main central theme of the film, ambition.<br />
Khoa Do, the Director and Writer of Footy Legends, is<br />
a proud and loyal Old Boy of the College. Since leaving<br />
the College in 1996, Khoa Do has proved to be a true<br />
‘man for others’, working extensively with troubled youth in<br />
Western Sydney. In 2005 he was named the Young<br />
Australian of the Year. His talent for writing<br />
and directing is evident in this film. The film<br />
techniques that Khoa has used in Footy<br />
Legends, such as the flash backs and<br />
the camera shots, boost the films plot<br />
to be one that can be very emotional<br />
at times, even for fifteen year old<br />
teenage boys.<br />
Based around Luc Vu’s (Anh Do) relationship with his<br />
eleven year old sister Anne, who he has total care for, due<br />
to his mother’s early death, Luc Vu tackles the obstacle of<br />
being unemployed. Being threatened by welfare agencies<br />
who want to remove Anne from his care, Luc sets upon<br />
a mission of finding a job. Luc comes up with the idea<br />
of entering a football competition to win a ute with his<br />
six mates, which will ultimately keep his family and life<br />
together. Luc is challenged throughout the film of being<br />
a failure, destroying his unorthodox family and his own<br />
disappointment of winning a championship that he has<br />
fought so hard for.<br />
Set in the western suburbs of Sydney, many locations<br />
can be recognised, with the Harbour Bridge set in the<br />
background and the stories of Luc playing football at<br />
“Brady.” The film incorporates a great set of morals and<br />
beliefs that will surely give this film great reviews. Its great<br />
storyline, accompanied with its superb directing and acting,<br />
has all combined to make one legend of a film.<br />
The film stars Claudia Karvan and Peter Phelps as well<br />
as cameos from such former rugby league stars as Brett<br />
Kenny, Brad Clyde, Cliff Lyons and Matthew Johns.<br />
I would encourage everyone to see the film and support<br />
this fine Aloysian.<br />
Footy Legends world premiere was held in Sydney on<br />
25 July, attended by a number of Old Boys and<br />
Classmates of Anh and Khoa. The film opens at<br />
cinemas across Australia in August.<br />
Jake Dimarco (Year 10)<br />
Khoa Do (SAC 1996) relaxing after the launch of his film, Footy Legends<br />
Photo by Robert Pearce, courtesy of The Sydney Morning Herald<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 6
Philippines Immersion Programme<br />
During the three weeks of holidays between Terms II<br />
and III, whilst many boys were relaxing and enjoying<br />
a well-deserved rest, Fr Ross Jones SJ, Mr Joe El-<br />
Khoury and eleven “immersionists” from Year 11 embarked<br />
on an intense journey to the Philippines. Not only was it<br />
an opportunity to experience a culture thoroughly different<br />
to their own, but more importantly it was a chance to<br />
see a different side to the world as they knew it, a world<br />
where many are lucky to find one meal per day, lucky to<br />
have a roof over their heads and a blanket, let alone a<br />
bed. Ultimately, the experience was about finding God<br />
in situations of hardship like these, serving to learn and<br />
learning to serve.<br />
The three weeks were divided into four distinctly<br />
different experiences, the first major one being housebuilding<br />
in Bagong Silang. Part of the Gawad Kalinga<br />
(“giving care”) house-building project, Australia Village had<br />
been home to about three hundred families of squatters.<br />
However as part of GK’s aim to build seven hundred<br />
thousand houses in seven years, many are now living in<br />
such houses. We arrived as complete strangers to help<br />
on three different houses that were at varying stages of<br />
construction. Instantly upon arrival the immense generosity<br />
and hospitality of the people in the community, who had<br />
so little to give, was there for all of us to see. We worked<br />
through hot and humid weather with the locals guiding us<br />
and building with us, and during breaks we would return to<br />
our sleeping/eating area to find a feast by any standards,<br />
freshly cooked and waiting for us. During our time there,<br />
we noticed the tangible impact of our services embodied<br />
in the houses themselves. Although there were numerous<br />
occasions when we could not work, eg when it rained<br />
and when a particular national hero’s boxing match was<br />
on, we managed to contribute a substantial amount to the<br />
houses during the five days we were there. There were no<br />
backhoes or jackhammers, simply the bare minimum – tools<br />
such as spades and picks. However more important than<br />
Tim, Jack and Troy with new-found friends<br />
the houses themselves was the incredible role we enjoyed<br />
in the lives of those from the community, especially the<br />
children. It became daily ritual, after work had finished<br />
for the day, for the eleven of us to walk outside and find<br />
about fifty screaming kids waiting to play and spend time<br />
with us. And yet despite the obviously huge influence we<br />
seemed to have over their lives, the most amazing thing<br />
for all eleven of us was how much the children taught us<br />
about ourselves, more than we could have ever hoped for<br />
or possibly imagined.<br />
White warriors in the Cordilleras<br />
To further our experience, we went to the large city<br />
jail in Muntinlupa, where we spent four days visiting and<br />
getting to know the inmates. On the first two days, we<br />
attended the juvenile prison, housing twenty or so inmates<br />
between the ages of 17 and 22. While playing many<br />
games of chess, basketball and ping-pong, we were<br />
able to develop close relationships with these young men.<br />
However while participating in these fun activities and<br />
developing friendships, we slowly learnt of the sad and<br />
unfortunate existence these boys had experienced before<br />
coming to prison. On the last day in the juvenile prison,<br />
the prisoners shared the stories of their past life. We had<br />
made friendships with these inmates and when told of their<br />
histories, found it hard to believe that these people, our<br />
friends, were murderers, thieves and other such men, who<br />
are so often given such negative connotations that society<br />
forgets they are actual people. People in need of love and<br />
hope. After seeing the remorse these inmates showed,<br />
we learnt how harshly these people have been treated,<br />
often leaving them alienated from society and set aside as<br />
outcasts. By visiting the prison, I think we brought a sense<br />
of hope to the inmates. We showed them that people do<br />
still care, that there is value to their life, and that in a couple<br />
of years, when they are released there is hope for a better<br />
existence.<br />
Overall, the immersion program to the Philippines was<br />
an experience that the boys will not likely forget. Not only<br />
did we learn about the Filipino culture, but most importantly,<br />
we learnt a great deal about ourselves. The friendships,<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 7
from the senior school<br />
generosity and hospitality shown to us was incredible and<br />
really made true one of the tour’s mottos “no one is too poor<br />
they cannot share, no one is too rich they cannot care.”<br />
We learnt to appreciate the fortunate lives we Australians<br />
live, realising the hardships many people must encounter,<br />
day in-day out, particularly in the Philippines. Although our<br />
trip was short, what we have learnt will stay with us for a<br />
long time, changing the way we think, act and what we<br />
say and do.<br />
Learning to serve – serving to learn.<br />
Alex Duncan and Jacques McElhone (Year 11)<br />
JESUIT REFUGEE SERVICE<br />
<strong>2006</strong> MELBOURNE CUP LUNCHEON<br />
Dockside, Darling Harbour<br />
November 7 at 12 noon<br />
Gather friends to enjoy this spectacular day at the races.<br />
Sweeps, prizes, pink champagne, luncheon and racing<br />
fun. Proceeds will support the JRS humanitarian works in<br />
70 countries.<br />
Cost $95 per person<br />
Enquiries/bookings<br />
Roberta Pavey: rpavey@hotkey.net.au<br />
Ailsa Gillett: ailsa.gillett@staloysius.nsw.edu.au<br />
in that long process of Jesuit formation. The setting itself was<br />
significant, because by joining the Prison Ministry with the<br />
Aloysian boys who went on the Programme, the two areas<br />
of ministry and service that Fr Ross has been dedicated to,<br />
came together to celebrate this momentous occasion. Mr<br />
El-Khoury and all the <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ boys would like to offer their<br />
congratulations to Fr Ross, and thank him for sharing such<br />
an important part of his life with them.<br />
Jacques McElhone (Year 11)<br />
Fr Ross Jones SJ takes his final vows in the Prison Chapel<br />
Father Jones SJ Takes Final Vows<br />
The recent Philippines Immersion Programme was a<br />
truly life-changing experience for all who undertook<br />
it. Yet what made it all the more special was the<br />
opportunity to witness Fr Ross Jones SJ take his final vows.<br />
In the middle of the Maximum Security Prison, in a packed<br />
church filled with Priests, Nuns and other members of the<br />
Jesuit Prison Ministry, a beautiful choir and hundreds of<br />
prisoners alike, we joined Fr Ross as he took the final step<br />
The Year 11 boys together with Fr Jones and Mr El-Khoury after the Mass<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 8
National Mooting Winners<br />
On Friday 28 July <strong>2006</strong> the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
Mooting team consisting of James Johnston, Harry<br />
Grace and Edwin Nelson (all Year 12) took to<br />
the air and flew with Mrs O’Shea, their Mentor, to the<br />
Gold Coast for the Finals of the Bond University’s National<br />
Mooting Competition. The team had already qualified by<br />
eliminating Knox Grammar School in the semi-finals on an<br />
employment and vicarious liability issue.<br />
Mooting began in the sixteenth century at the Inns of<br />
Court in London and was the means by which law students<br />
earned the right to eat with barristers. They would be given<br />
a hypothetical ‘case’ and be expected to argue it with<br />
eloquence and insight before their legal ‘masters’ at supper<br />
time – the better their performance the better their meal!<br />
With slightly different motives, our boys excelled throughout<br />
the competition.<br />
The topic for the Final, which was contested between the<br />
top twenty of one hundred and thirty-eight schools, was on<br />
the legal issues of the terms and conditions of employment,<br />
vicarious liability and non delegable duty. This was a case<br />
in Negligence and <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College was acting for<br />
the Defendant, Halfway to Heaven Pty Ltd Nursing Home<br />
which was being sued by the Executor of the Estate of one<br />
Maisy Dotage (a demented elderly client who was under<br />
the care of one of the workers for the nursing home). It was<br />
alleged that our worker, who we had subcontracted after<br />
serial complaints from relatives over the state of cleanliness<br />
of clients, had defrauded Maisy Dotage of the sum of<br />
$450,000 through the unauthorised use of her ATM card<br />
and cheque book account. It was alleged that the Home<br />
owed a duty to protect not only the physical and mental<br />
well being of its clients but a duty for the economic loss so<br />
incurred.<br />
On Saturday 29 July <strong>2006</strong> at Bond University the<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College team competed against All Saints<br />
Grammar School. They proved to be formidable Appellants<br />
and impressed us by their preparation and meticulous eye<br />
for procedural accuracy. Our team performed extremely<br />
well and responded with accuracy and alacrity to the<br />
many and diverse questions fired at them by the Bench.<br />
After this, the team was required to wait till 3.45pm for the<br />
announcement of the two Grand Finalist teams chosen to<br />
argue their case for the Grand Final.<br />
All of the competitors assembled at 3.45pm promptly at<br />
the Bond University Main Hall for the announcement of the<br />
two teams chosen for the Grand Final. We were delighted<br />
to be announced as one of the two Grand Finalists. They<br />
were told to be ready to re present in sixty minutes. The<br />
Appellant Grand Finalists were Somerset House, a school<br />
renowned in Queensland for its overall excellence.<br />
Bond University Library staff were wonderfully supportive<br />
and in lightning fast time organised study rooms and<br />
re photocopied the submissions for the Bench and the<br />
Appellants. After scrutinising the evidence, affirming their<br />
faith, the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College team returned to the Main<br />
Hall to contest the Grand Final before all of the assembled<br />
contestants and mentors.<br />
The Grand Final trial proved to be riveting, spine chilling<br />
and intense. The questions from the Bench were firing<br />
fast and furiously from the Bench and our boys cleverly<br />
and accurately answered all of the questions. They also<br />
learnt to pause and respond with a certain degree of care<br />
and circumspection, showing that they were highly able<br />
to adapt quickly to extremely stressful and intellectually<br />
rigorous conditions. Harry Grace was a superb speaker,<br />
carefully reducing the issues of quite a complex nature to<br />
deceptively simple statements.<br />
Somerset House proved to be past masters at procedural<br />
presentation and presented a convincing argument on why<br />
the Appellate Court erred in its prior judgments.<br />
After the nail biting presentations for the Grand Final<br />
were completed, the Bench retired and deliberated for the<br />
next thirty minutes. After what felt like an eternity the Bench<br />
returned and the Professorial Master of Bond University<br />
Mooting announced the Grand Finalist winners for <strong>2006</strong><br />
as <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College and the best advocate as Harrison<br />
Grace. Then followed the formal presentations of the<br />
medals, shields and the cheque for the College. As in the<br />
tradition of a great moot, the assembled then joined the<br />
masses for a celebratory formal dinner which was greatly<br />
enjoyed by all.<br />
For our boys to have had such a degree of success<br />
in such an intellectually tough and rigorous arena is a<br />
feat of which we can be truly proud, it was a significant<br />
achievement. To all who assisted in training, skill, time and<br />
sheer forbearance, thank you!<br />
Nothing of this scale is ever achieved without the<br />
contributions of the many and in no small part the<br />
contributions of the many assured the boys’ victory. I would<br />
especially like to thank Mr Gaeglar the Team Advisor and<br />
Ms Lane the Team Coach for their generous input of both<br />
time and skill. The complexity of the issues that had to be<br />
argued and the simplicity and clarity with which the boys<br />
presented their case was outstanding and reflective of<br />
excellent preparation.<br />
This year, with one hundred and thirty-eight schools<br />
from around Australia competing, it was clearly evident<br />
that schools are now placing considerable emphasis upon<br />
advocacy and speaking skills generally, all of which have<br />
always been a time honoured tradition and hallmark of an<br />
education at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College.<br />
Ms Carolyn O’Shea<br />
Mooting Master<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 1 9
from the senior school<br />
<strong>St</strong> Vincent de Paul Night Patrol<br />
As part of the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College <strong>St</strong> Vincent de Paul<br />
Society’s work, the boys take part in Buddies Days<br />
and Night Patrols regularly throughout the year.<br />
Groups of boys from the Society volunteer to give up their<br />
free time to take part in, and often organise these activities.<br />
The boys give up their school afternoons, weekends and<br />
holidays to receive only the reward of satisfaction and<br />
accomplishment in knowing that they are helping those less<br />
fortunate than ourselves in the community.<br />
The <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ group takes charge of the Night Patrol<br />
van one Friday every month to go out to Martin Place and<br />
back parts of <strong>St</strong> Mary’s Cathedral to supply food and<br />
drinks to the homeless in these areas. The van leaves from<br />
Chatswood at 7:15pm and arrives back there around<br />
10:00 - 10:30pm depending on how many customers we<br />
have and how much stock we have in the van. The patrol<br />
is undertaken by two members of staff and two or three<br />
boys.<br />
I decided to join the Society after doing my service for<br />
the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award with my local <strong>St</strong> Vincent<br />
de Paul store. After enjoying the work I did there I decided<br />
I would like to stay associated with the Society but be more<br />
involved with the less fortunate side of the community. I have<br />
since been on about five night patrols since I joined the<br />
group halfway through Year 10.<br />
I have not had a similar experience on any of the Night<br />
Patrols I have been on, in the sense that I have met different<br />
people every time (there are the regulars but, on the whole,<br />
the faces change every time), which means different stories<br />
and recounts of many interesting lives and creative tales of<br />
how they would like their lives to be as well as numerous<br />
reasons for why they have ended up on the streets.<br />
I have met people who were my age and people<br />
who should be in a nursing home except they have no<br />
family and no money to look after themselves and so<br />
were forced to live on the streets. I have met people<br />
who were spending their first few nights on the street and<br />
found out about the van through another homeless person<br />
they may have met or by someone who took them under<br />
their wing to learn the ropes of living on the street, and<br />
I have met people who have been living on the streets<br />
for more than twenty years. I have met perfectly sane<br />
and fairly bright people who after loosing their job fell<br />
into depression and by the time they recovered it was to<br />
late and they were forced on the street, and I have met<br />
people who have lost their minds or are handicapped<br />
and have no support.<br />
The one thing that has been the same on every trip I<br />
have been on, even though the faces are always changing,<br />
is the respect between the homeless for each other and<br />
for us (the Night Patrol volunteers). Not once have I had<br />
to face anything but polite and extremely grateful people.<br />
They treat us with respect and gratitude and not one person<br />
I have met has treated me as though I was some private<br />
<strong>St</strong> Vincent de Paul Night Patrol Team<br />
school kid out to do this because I have to or because I feel<br />
bad for them and decided I should do something to help.<br />
If we have to leave earlier than usual they don’t moan and<br />
complain – they just simply say good-bye and understand<br />
we have our reasons.<br />
I have also always been amazed at the kindness and<br />
generosity they show among themselves in that barely<br />
any of them are greedy and the more experienced ones<br />
will always decline the food first until the new arrivals on<br />
the street have eaten, before modestly taking some for<br />
themselves. They never fight amongst themselves over food<br />
or drink and no one ever seems willing to accept the last<br />
biscuit or muesli bar.<br />
I have found my experiences on Night Patrol not to be<br />
life-changing experiences but rather eye-openers to another<br />
world that I would never have noticed or payed attention<br />
to if I had not joined the Society and participated in these<br />
activities. I have been able to hear the tales of once regular<br />
citizens living with family or in a house of their own with a<br />
normal job only through some tragedy or unfortunate event,<br />
had ended up living on the street, some with their escape<br />
plans and some it seems who are just content with spending<br />
their remaining years on the streets. I have experienced<br />
the gratitude of strangers and been respected by people I<br />
have never met. I have seen a world within the one which<br />
I see myself living in, where fully grown men live off coffee,<br />
biscuits and sugar and where one’s most prized possession<br />
is a sleeping bag or thick blanket. I have seen a way of life<br />
where one's nightly activities involve moving from location<br />
to location to meet up with food vans and to find a place<br />
to sleep.<br />
I have truly enjoyed participating in the Patrols and<br />
will continue to, until my time at the College ends and I<br />
encourage anyone who is sixteen or older to come and<br />
experience it for themselves.<br />
Alexander Godbold (Year 11)<br />
Vice President<br />
SAC <strong>St</strong> Vincent de Paul Society<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 0
Accidental Death of an Anarchist<br />
In early February of <strong>2006</strong>, the revolution finally came. A<br />
group of Year 11 students, lead by the ever-innovative<br />
director Mrs Heidi Quinn and maniacal lead actor<br />
Kurt Menzies, began rehearsing for what would become<br />
possibly the greatest Aloysian venture into anarchic political<br />
comedy. The cast was primarily made up of boys who last<br />
saw the stage (Jesus Christ Superstar aside) in the highly<br />
successful 2005 production, The Love of Three Oranges.<br />
They began their work on the genius playwright Dario Fo’s<br />
Accidental Death of an Anarchist. The cast was chosen<br />
on their ability to fit into the over-the-top, cartoon-like<br />
flamboyant characters created by Fo in order to generate<br />
comedy, and eventually raise social awareness.<br />
The story is set in Milan in the late 1960s, following<br />
the bombing of a railway station and the subsequent<br />
interrogation of the innocent suspect – an anarchist. During<br />
the interrogation, the anarchist fell out of the fourth floor<br />
window of the police headquarters – thus ending his life<br />
upon the pavement below. Was it suicide? Was it murder?<br />
Or was it simply accidental? The events of the play itself<br />
occur several weeks later, when a maniac (Kurt Menzies)<br />
is brought into the headquarters for “histrionic mania” and<br />
impersonation. He takes the identity of a high court judge,<br />
and reopens the enquiry of the anarchist case. Characters<br />
and personalities from around the headquarters all soon<br />
get involved in a political satire, dealing with police force<br />
corruption, that sends audiences into hysterics, while also<br />
keeping a somewhat black subtext.<br />
Characters also included the boisterous Superintendent<br />
(Simon Lobascher), fragile Inspector Pissani (Tom Malek), the<br />
ever-elusive constables (Luke Maurel and Henry Newton),<br />
bomb-tech Inspector Giovanni (Michael Larcher), angerprone<br />
Inspector Bertozzo (Oliver Sullivan) and democratic<br />
journalist Martin Feletti (Michael de Waal).<br />
Anarchist ran over two nights, 20 and 21 May, <strong>2006</strong>.<br />
It was overall a huge success for the cast, half of whom<br />
were on stage for at least seventy-five percent of the show.<br />
Thanks most go to Mrs Quinn for being such a wonderful<br />
director yet again, stage crew, costuming, the girls at 3 Arts<br />
Makeup, and of course the “pre-historic genius” himself,<br />
Dario Fo.<br />
students commented on the need for organisation skills to<br />
produce the movie to a final product. Publication via the<br />
web enables students to take pride in their work, as well as<br />
display it to their parents at home or relatives overseas.<br />
Mrs Marie Taylor<br />
Head of Technology<br />
Helicopter<br />
On Thursday 28 April, a new air conditioning unit<br />
was lifted into place on the roof of the Kircher<br />
Library in the Senior School. Rather than block off<br />
Kirribilli Avenue for most of the day and hire a large crane<br />
to lift the unit into place, the College sought the services of<br />
a commercial helicopter to do the job.<br />
The Kawasaki HX117 removed the old unit and lifted<br />
the new system into place without any effort, thus minimising<br />
the disruption to the narrow streets of Kirribilli.<br />
Michael de Waal (Year 11)<br />
Year 8 Technology Project<br />
Year 8 recently completed a technology project that<br />
required them to make a movie that would teach a<br />
young child to learn a basic task. This involved doing<br />
a ‘needs analysis’ for the task, and then using complex<br />
software (Macromedia Flash) to create the animated<br />
resource. Each student assessed the work of some peers,<br />
and wrote a detailed self evaluation. The boys found the<br />
task stimulating, producing movies of a high quality that<br />
are published on a web site via the College Intranet. Many<br />
The helicopter descends into the quadrangle<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 1
from the senior school<br />
'Life for Kids'<br />
‘Life for Kids’ continues with great enthusiasm, goodwill<br />
and heart, thanks to our committed volunteers, supporters<br />
and donors.<br />
Jesse De Lisle (Year 11) enjoying a ride on the flying-fox at Life<br />
Adventure Park<br />
Our weekly Saturday breakfasts bring community to<br />
our Aboriginal kids and families whose lives hold neverending<br />
difficulties and despair. Extended activities in<br />
support of education, drama and art classes, sporting<br />
skills programmes (surfboard riding, football, mountain<br />
bike riding, rockclimbing) and big days out to places<br />
like the Life Adventure Park at Kurrajong, Narrabeen Surf<br />
Club and Macquarie Sporting Skills Day have all brought<br />
opportunities to gain confidence and dignity for our ‘kids’<br />
with the wider community.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ and Riverview boys doing their Faith in<br />
Service programmes in Year 11 with Life for Kids have<br />
created great friendships with our ‘kids’. A number of<br />
the boys in Year 12 and young Old Boys continue to be<br />
involved and we congratulate Shaun Lambert (Year 12)<br />
for his great achievement in attaining his Gold Duke of<br />
Edinburgh Award, his community segment of the Award<br />
being fulfilled with Life for Kids.<br />
The photos with this article highlight the wonderful spirit<br />
brought by boys doing their Faith in Service. Our young<br />
James Zwar (Year 11) assists Jo-Jo to participate in the Macquarie<br />
Bank Sports Day<br />
Aboriginal boy, Jo Jo, has no movement in his legs – he<br />
came along to the Macquarie Bank Sporting Skills Day at <strong>St</strong><br />
Joseph’s College in his wheelchair – thanks to James Zwar<br />
(Year 12), Jo Jo participated in every activity, met with all<br />
the rugby league stars, was given a signed football – and<br />
said he had the best day of his life.<br />
If you’d like to have some involvement in our activities,<br />
please contact me on 9936 5563 (work).<br />
Mrs Ailsa Gillett OAM<br />
Luke Swithenbank (Year 11) shows off his skipping talents at the<br />
regular Saturday Breakfasts in Redfern.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>' and Riverview boys preparing a BBQ breakfast in Redfern<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 2
Inspection Report<br />
Non-Government schools are required to obtain<br />
approval from the Board of <strong>St</strong>udies (BOS) to be<br />
registered as a school and accredited to award<br />
the School Certificate and Higher School Certificate.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ was last inspected for Registration and<br />
Accreditation in 2000. That Registration expired in <strong>2006</strong>.<br />
Thus like one hundred and forty other schools this<br />
year, we had to prepare documentation for the BOS and<br />
undergo a two-day inspection on May 23 and 24. Six<br />
BOS Inspectors came to the College, inspected the site,<br />
reviewed the College’s policies and procedures, examined<br />
teaching programmes and assessment schedules and<br />
surveyed samples of students work from all subjects across<br />
Years 3 - 12.<br />
I am pleased to report that we met all mandatory<br />
requirements and have been granted Certificates of<br />
Registration and Accreditation for a further five years, the<br />
maximum length that is now granted.<br />
In many ways the Inspection process was a valuable<br />
experience for the teaching and learning enterprise at the<br />
College. It gave the impetus to thoroughly review all our<br />
Michael Rogan puts the final touches to the material for the Board<br />
of <strong>St</strong>udies Inspectors.<br />
teaching programmes. Given the significant changes to all<br />
syllabi since 2000 this was a worthwhile exercise.<br />
While the process is designed largely to ensure<br />
compliance with legislation and BOS syllabi thus responding<br />
to “accountability” concerns of the government, there were<br />
numerous wider benefits for the College. These benefits<br />
include:<br />
revision of all teaching programmes;<br />
introduction of common assessment programmes for<br />
Years 7 – 9;<br />
improved processes for teachers (and students) to<br />
review the effectiveness of programmes;<br />
improving the Mandatory Technology programme in<br />
Years 7 and 8;<br />
greater emphasis on quality feedback to students; and<br />
revision, streamline and collation of all College policies<br />
and procedures.<br />
Preparation for Inspection involved a good deal of work<br />
especially by Mrs Caroline Byrne in the Junior School and<br />
Heads of Department in the Senior School. I would like to<br />
thank them for the many hours of work they undertook in<br />
revising teaching programmes, coordinating student work<br />
samples and encouraging their colleagues. They have<br />
played a key role in not only enabling <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ to<br />
comply with mandatory requirements, but to improve the<br />
educational opportunities for all our students.<br />
Mr Neville Williams<br />
Director of Curriculum<br />
Some of the material presented to the Inspectors.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 3
from the senior school<br />
Year 10 Visit to <strong>St</strong> Edmunds School<br />
On Thursday 22 June, a selected group of Year 10<br />
students set off on a train to Wahroonga <strong>St</strong>ation,<br />
to visit <strong>St</strong> Edmunds College, a school for visually<br />
disabled children run by the Christian Bothers. When we<br />
arrived we were greeted by one of the schools employees.<br />
She began with an introduction informing us on what to<br />
expect from children with disabilities. She then gave us the<br />
opportunity to experience what it is like to have a visual<br />
impairment and experience the troubles in society, by<br />
providing us with a blind fold and cane. We then walked<br />
from the railway station to the school. This proved to be a<br />
difficult task, noticing how important sight is, as well as the<br />
need for help from others. Most boys thoroughly enjoyed<br />
this new experience.<br />
Throughout the day we learnt what it was like to have a<br />
disability, with the College placing an emphasis on being<br />
blind. We were shown how to use brail and this showed us<br />
how difficult a simple task like reading can be to a visually<br />
impaired person. We also participated in blind sport in<br />
their gymnasium such as blind cricket and handball. Both of<br />
these activities were much enjoyed by the boys.<br />
We were then given the rare opportunity to get to know<br />
these children through playing well known games like Uno<br />
and Monopoly. This personal one-on-one experience with<br />
the children was a truly powerful and emotional time for us.<br />
The students enjoyed interacting with us greatly, some even<br />
showing off with their special talents.<br />
After this day we reflected on the rare experience we<br />
were allowed to be part of. For many of the boys, this was<br />
a day they will never forget. We began to truly understand<br />
the lives of people, and especially children with these<br />
disabilities. Thank you to Miss Moran for providing this<br />
unique experience.<br />
Peter Bardos and Jake Dimarco (Year 10)<br />
Debating<br />
Congratulations to Harry Grace, Tom Haremza, James<br />
Johnston, Nic Sunderland (all Year 12), Lachlan<br />
Umbers, Jacques McElhone and Matt Martorana<br />
(all Year 11) on perhaps the finest set of debating results<br />
in recent years. In Term II, the First III brought home the Fr<br />
Charles McDonald SJ Cup in our annual ‘friendly’ against<br />
<strong>St</strong> Ignatius’ College, Riverview and the following night won<br />
a place in the ISDA Grandfinal, beating Trinity Grammar<br />
School. In the adjacent room our Senior B team had a<br />
victory over Riverview in the seconds’ section of the ISDA.<br />
The ISDA competition is open to all Independent schools<br />
and so includes CAS and GPS representatives and many<br />
more. To reach the grandfinals is an amazing achievement<br />
and for both our Senior teams to have reached this position<br />
at their respective levels, is a feat of which the College<br />
can be truly proud. The teams’ coaches, Aaron Rathmell<br />
(SAC 2001) and Nik Kirby (SAC 2001) also deserve our<br />
sincerest thanks and congratulations for their significant<br />
contributions.<br />
Debating and Public Speaking at the College are<br />
indeed in a very healthy state. We have regular successes<br />
in both the Senior and Junior School competitions and<br />
more boys than ever are seeking to become involved in<br />
the programme at the College. Testimony to the health of<br />
debating at the College is the selection of Harry Grace<br />
(Year 12) not only as a member of the NSW Schools<br />
Debating Team, but his selection as the Team Captain. The<br />
Team competed in the National Competition in Darwin and<br />
ended the Competition as runners up after going down to<br />
Queensland in the final. An outstanding effort from our <strong>St</strong>ate<br />
Team and some impressive speaking from Harry.<br />
Mr Mark Norton<br />
Debating Master<br />
World Youth Day 2008<br />
The Ignatian World Youth<br />
Day Programme, Magis,<br />
is in its formative stages<br />
with Ed Shuttleworth taking up<br />
the full-time Chief Executive<br />
role in September.<br />
Ed was born and raised<br />
in India but was educated in<br />
England. He is a Chartered<br />
Accountant and came to<br />
Australia ten years ago<br />
with considerable financial<br />
experience having worked in<br />
senior management teams.<br />
Ed Shuttleworth<br />
His role will be to form the Magis programme, which<br />
will bring together young people from around the world at<br />
World Youth Day in Sydney 2008.<br />
World Youth Day will be held over a two week period in<br />
July 2008, but Ed says it’s important to focus their attention<br />
on the long term, not just that two week time frame.<br />
“World Youth Day provides an opportunity to expose a<br />
large number of people to an experience that is an entry<br />
point into a longer journey and not simply another one-off<br />
experience without concrete connections” he says.<br />
Ed will be supported by Jenni Winters who has<br />
recently been appointed Formation Director for the Ignatian<br />
Programme. One of her tasks is to form the experiences<br />
or ‘experiments’ that young people will be involved with<br />
around World Youth Day. She will also assemble a team<br />
of volunteers and group leaders to be involved across the<br />
different states.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 4
The JRS Winter Solstice Ball<br />
There is a great paradox attached to the annual Jesuit<br />
Refugee Service (JRS) Winter Solstice Ball. While it’s<br />
the social event of the year – “the party-to-end-allparties”<br />
(to borrow the words from one of this year’s guests)<br />
– the night focuses on remembering the 30 million refugees<br />
and forcibly displaced people living in tragic poverty.<br />
Lachlan Rose (SAC 1998) and Tara Huier<br />
Andrew Bangura (SAC 1998) and friend at the JRS Ball<br />
But young people – many of whom are Old Boys of <strong>St</strong><br />
<strong>Aloysius</strong>’ – come back year after year not just to see old<br />
friends and hit the dance floor. They return knowing the<br />
answer to human misery is action, not despair. For the three<br />
hundred and seventy people who came to this year’s JRS<br />
Ball, at Darling Harbour on Saturday 1 July, it is not a matter<br />
of whether we want to be involved in the ethical challenges<br />
of global poverty and the plight of refugees. Rather, we<br />
leave with a deep sense of questioning what the depth of<br />
our own contribution will be.<br />
All of us know simply being at the JRS Winter Solstice<br />
Ball is contributing, less through the thousands of dollars<br />
raised, and more through seeing the measure of our worth<br />
in the wider context of international justice and humanity.<br />
Our Master of Ceremonies, renowned comedian Julian<br />
Morrow (SAC 1991), humored us, while reminding us the<br />
night was about pausing to reflect on those whose lives<br />
are a daily struggle at the same time acknowledging the<br />
splendid work of JRS spanning twenty-six years.<br />
The head of the JRS Australia, Fr David Holdcroft SJ,<br />
kept us informed of current projects. All of us were moved<br />
watching snapshots from throughout the world of JRS<br />
Derek Allan (SAC 1998) and Josh Brock (SAC 1998)<br />
volunteers at work, fulfilling a mission to accompany, serve<br />
and defend the rights of refugees and forcibly displaced<br />
people. We took great delight too in seeing the completed<br />
houses in Indonesia’s tsunami-devastated province of Aceh,<br />
built from the money raised from last year’s JRS Ball.<br />
Helping us consciously recognise that each refugee and<br />
asylum seeker is not just a mere statistic – but a fellow human<br />
being – was this year’s Guest of Honour, 2005 Young<br />
Australian of the Year, Khoa Do (SAC 1996). He was just<br />
two years old when he arrived in Australia as a refugee and<br />
Khoa’s closing words touched us all to the core:<br />
“The past few years have taught me that while I’ve had<br />
some difficulties in my life, there are always others who<br />
have had even more difficult lives. And no matter how hard<br />
our lives are, even if we’re broke, unemployed and poor<br />
as anything – life is still wonderful. And one reason it’s wonderful<br />
is because we live in a country that has, at its heart,<br />
incredible generosity and compassion among its people.<br />
I have experienced and have been the recipient of this<br />
generosity and compassion. This has put me in a position<br />
to help out those less fortunate than myself. I believe all of<br />
us here have the opportunity to help out those less fortunate<br />
than us, to give them a chance, and to give them a voice.<br />
I believe that within all of us, is incredible potential, for we<br />
live in a country where anything is possible. If a former<br />
refugee with no shoes can be Young Australian of the Year,<br />
then anything is possible. It’s possible because of the quality<br />
of soul that’s within all of us”<br />
Khoa’s story reminds us that refugees, who may for a<br />
time appear weak, are, in the long term, the strength of<br />
our nation. Moreover, he also forces us to recognise the<br />
overwhelming imperative that all the millions of refugees<br />
and asylum seekers be saved, and be given lives worth<br />
living. The JRS Winter Solstice Ball can hardly be claimed<br />
as a ‘big victory’ in helping alleviate the human misery of<br />
refugees, but we know that simply engaging in the struggle<br />
is itself worth doing. And bringing that struggle to an end<br />
is not impossible. It requires a global revolution in thinking<br />
and practice, particularly in affluent countries like Australia.<br />
The challenge is not an easy one. But those of us attending<br />
the JRS Ball each year know it can be achieved, and know<br />
what a real party that would be!<br />
Daniel <strong>St</strong>reet<br />
JRS Winter Solstice Ball Committee<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 5
from the senior school<br />
A Jesuit Scholastic<br />
Friday, 4 August <strong>2006</strong>,<br />
2.30pm and I have just<br />
returned to my desk this<br />
afternoon having had what<br />
is known at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ as<br />
an ‘extra’ – in other words,<br />
I took a class for a teacher<br />
who was absent for the day<br />
on an in-service programme.<br />
The class was Year 9<br />
Religious Education and the<br />
Tom Reimer SJ<br />
students were investigating<br />
Buddhism and Judaism. I’m<br />
sure that at one time or another over the last six months I<br />
have passed all the members of the class in the corridors<br />
or stairwells, or during play-ground duty or in bus lines.<br />
Some of them I knew already; but in the case of others, I<br />
was putting names to faces for the first time. For the period<br />
immediately after lunch on a Friday afternoon, they worked<br />
quite well. I wandered around the classroom, making sure<br />
that at least some of the set work was being completed,<br />
and this gave me an opportunity to chat for a few minutes<br />
with the students, to hear about their plans for the weekend,<br />
to learn about their sporting teams and other co-curricular<br />
activities and share the occasional joke.<br />
My experience at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ this year has been<br />
overwhelmingly positive, but I think this aspect – the<br />
interaction with students in the classroom and in the other<br />
activities in which they are occupied – has been the most<br />
rewarding. There is something special about the student<br />
body at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ – they are friendly, generous in their<br />
relations, neither too familiar with nor too distant from the<br />
adult members of the Aloysian Family. They are alive to the<br />
many blessings of the world and of the lives we have been<br />
given, while also sensitive to the suffering they see around<br />
them, and sometimes experience.<br />
I am a bit of an oddity for the students, and it is a<br />
favourite (if genuine) classroom diversion for them to quiz<br />
me about how it is possible for me to be a Jesuit while not<br />
being a priest. I joined the Jesuits in 2001, eight years<br />
after leaving school. I am Sydney born and bred. My early<br />
schooling took place first at Mosman Public School and<br />
then at the Marist Primary School beside the Sacred Heart<br />
Church at Mosman.<br />
In 1986 I started at Riverview, a fact I have assiduously<br />
(if unsuccessfully) tried to conceal from my students this<br />
year! There were probably around seven or eight Jesuits on<br />
staff at Riverview during those years, and, like some of my<br />
current <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ students, we were perplexed by those<br />
who were clearly and identifiably Jesuits without being<br />
priests. We soon learned that technically these people<br />
were referred to as Scholastics – Jesuits in training for the<br />
priesthood who spent a number of years working in one<br />
of the Jesuit ministries. Over my time at Riverview we were<br />
blessed by the presence of five or six of these scholastics.<br />
Some left the Society; others are now priests working in a<br />
great variety of ministries. I had inklings of a vocation to<br />
the Society while at school; I vividly remember an address<br />
given by the then headmaster, Fr Greg O’Kelly SJ, to Year<br />
11 students in which he encouraged us not to dismiss<br />
without consideration the possibility of religious life or the<br />
priesthood. But Year 12 has its own dynamic, and the<br />
necessity of getting through the HSC examinations quickly<br />
pushed the idea of a vocation from my head.<br />
I had no real ideas about what I wanted to do after<br />
school, and I nominated law as one of the preferences with<br />
the Universities Admissions Centre without any belief that I<br />
would get sufficient results to be offered a place. (I should<br />
point out here that I was deeply lazy at school until half<br />
way through Year 11.) As luck would have it, I managed to<br />
avoid all the questions in the HSC examinations for which<br />
I had done no preparation, and much to my surprise I was<br />
offered a place at the University of Sydney’s law school as<br />
part of a combined Arts/Law programme.<br />
I never had an ambition to be a lawyer but almost despite<br />
myself I found that I enjoyed the studies, and so I completed<br />
degrees in Law and in Arts (majoring in mediaeval history). I<br />
had some diverse experiences during my time as a solicitor<br />
– I spent eighteen months at a city law firm representing a<br />
fast-food chain in some commercial litigation, and I was<br />
lucky enough to spend a year as the legal researcher for a<br />
Justice of the New South Wales Supreme Court. The judge<br />
for whom I worked heard a number of serious criminal<br />
matters and criminal appeal cases, and all the assumptions<br />
I had made about criminality and the sorts of people who<br />
committed crimes were demolished by that experience. In<br />
so many cases what had started as a simple argument<br />
quickly and unexpectedly got out of hand and led to a<br />
death or a serious injury.<br />
While I was studying and working, the idea of a<br />
vocation continued to lurk at the back of my mind. I was not<br />
a particularly pious or religious person – I went to mass of<br />
a weekend, and when I was based at the Supreme Court<br />
I would occasionally make it to Saint Mary’s Cathedral for<br />
the lunchtime mass, but that was about as good as it got.<br />
I remember thinking that I could quite happily continue to<br />
work as a lawyer in some form and live a very fulfilled<br />
life – but there remained a sense that I was looking for<br />
something more. For a long while it was hard to articulate<br />
what that ‘more’ might be, but I sensed that somehow the<br />
answer lay firstly in a deeper and more intimate experience<br />
of the presence of the Lord in my life. I started going for<br />
lengthy walks during the lunch hour, after work and on<br />
weekends as I tried to think the issue through. And then<br />
one day, as I was walking at lunch time around Bennelong<br />
Point and into the Botanical Gardens, I was overcome with<br />
what I can only describe as a sense of deep peace and<br />
contentment associated with the idea of the religious life.<br />
That night I wrote to a Jesuit priest whom I knew, and soon<br />
I was in contact with the Jesuit vocations promoter.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 6
I met with this Jesuit for the next twelve months, learning<br />
about the Society of Jesus, Ignatian spirituality and the<br />
sort of work in which the members of the Society were<br />
engaged. I felt a resonance with the Society’s insistence<br />
on the promotion of justice as a necessary condition of the<br />
service of faith, and I was very much drawn to the Ignatian<br />
focus on experiencing the reality of Jesus – that is, on the<br />
personal, intimate encounter with the living God.<br />
There were, of course, ups and downs during the course<br />
of that twelve months. Often enough I would wake up of<br />
a morning and ask myself what on earth I thought I was<br />
doing. But towards the end of the year I could honestly<br />
say that I felt deeply drawn to religious life in the Society<br />
of Jesus, and I joined the Society in February of 2001.<br />
The first two years of life within the Society of Jesus is<br />
known as the Noviceship. It is a period firstly of spiritual<br />
formation – of exposure to Ignatian and Jesuit spirituality<br />
and prayer – but it also gives newcomers an opportunity<br />
to see the Society of Jesus up close. About half of the<br />
Noviceship period is spent directly experiencing the<br />
work of the Society. During my time, my fellow novices<br />
and I spent time at a hospice for alcoholic men; we<br />
lived for two months in a remote Aboriginal community<br />
in Western Australia; we worked in Jesuit schools; and<br />
we undertook various forms of pastoral work. At the<br />
end of the two year period (in February of 2003), we<br />
took our first vows of poverty, chastity and obedience,<br />
formally became members of the Society of Jesus and<br />
took on the title of scholastics. We moved to Melbourne<br />
to undertake the first three years of theological and<br />
philosophical studies at the Jesuit Theological College in<br />
Parkville. And now we have been let loose on the world<br />
in our first sustained period of pastoral activity. In a few<br />
years we will return to Melbourne for a second period<br />
of theological studies and then, God willing, we will be<br />
ordained to the Priesthood. It’s easy – already Jesuits, but<br />
not yet priests!<br />
I am immensely grateful for the chance to be at <strong>St</strong><br />
<strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College and to have, once again, the opportunity<br />
to meet and to get to know a wonderful group of people<br />
– students, teachers, staff, coaches, parents, Old Boys and<br />
friends. It is, for me, such a privilege to be able to have the<br />
chance to accompany others on this part of their pilgrimage<br />
to the Father. People often ask me whether life as a religious<br />
is harsh or onerous; and I am delighted to be able to say,<br />
quite honestly, that for me it is a life of enormous privilege.<br />
Every day is an experience of grace and of the presence of<br />
the Lord with us, sharing our joys and our sufferings. There<br />
has, of course, been the usual range of ups and downs<br />
over the six years since I joined the Society. A wise Jesuit<br />
said to me early in the piece that a vocation is something<br />
that one must choose each and every day, and I have<br />
discovered the wisdom of these words. Because there is so<br />
much at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ to be thankful for, it makes that daily<br />
choice somehow easier.<br />
Nick Lavan (Year 10) in ‘pilot mode’ at Bankstown Airport<br />
This is Your Captain!<br />
Nick Lavan (Year 10) is learning to fly and now has<br />
over seventeen hours of flying under his belt. In<br />
the recent school holidays, Nick took his first solo<br />
flight. Nick is using his flying training to meet the skills<br />
development requirements for the Duke of Edinburgh Award<br />
which he is undertaking at the College.<br />
Jonny Garlington, Ollie Pell and Fergus McKeagney the <strong>2006</strong>-2007<br />
Gap <strong>St</strong>udents at the College<br />
New Gap <strong>St</strong>udents<br />
The College warmly welcomes Ollie Pell, Fergus<br />
McKeagney and Jonny Garlington as Gap <strong>St</strong>udents<br />
at the College <strong>2006</strong> - 2007. The lads arrived at the<br />
College in July and will work throughout the College for the<br />
next twelve months. Fergus is from our brother Jesuit School,<br />
Clongowes Wood College in Ireland, Jonny hails from<br />
our brother Jesuit School, <strong>St</strong>onyhurst College in northern<br />
England and Ollie is from Rugby School in the English<br />
Midlands.<br />
Tom Riemer SJ<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 7
drama<br />
This year the Year 11 Drama class performed two full<br />
length plays in the Miguel Pro Playhouse.<br />
dominated the stage when called for with considerable<br />
enthusiasm – a very impressive performance.<br />
Of the ten boys in the cast, five had not done Drama<br />
before and the commitment from most of them made<br />
the production a joy to experience in rehearsals. Jack<br />
Macauley, Antonio Martin, Tom Rolfe and Vincent <strong>St</strong>okes<br />
played a number of various characters that the lads meet<br />
along the way with creative flair and humour. Old hands<br />
Frank Esparagga, Nick O’Sullivan and Rocco Pirrello, who<br />
made considerable impact in Year 8 with their production<br />
of Lockie Leonard; Human Torpedo, filled in admirably<br />
the rest of the zany characters that are encountered along<br />
the way.<br />
Frank Esparagga, Renata Dare (PLC Sydney), Nick de Lorenzo, Toby<br />
Johnstone and Vincent <strong>St</strong>okes (all Year 11)<br />
Passing Places is a contemporary coming-of-age play<br />
written by young Scottish playwright <strong>St</strong>ephen Greenhorn.<br />
Originally written to be a movie script, <strong>St</strong>ephen re-wrote it<br />
as a ‘road movie’ for the stage. It follows the story of two<br />
young men who set out on a journey to avoid loosing their<br />
kneecaps after they cross a local Glasgow gangster. The<br />
two lads leave the working class suburb of Motherwell after<br />
they steal a prized surfboard from the shop where one of<br />
them, Alex, is abused by his boss, the gangster Binks – very<br />
brave move indeed. Alex is accompanied by his best mate,<br />
Brian, a philosophical teen who likes books. They ‘borrow’<br />
Brian’s brother’s old Lada and drive to Thurso, the surfing<br />
capital of Scotland, in search of T.L.C. and someone to buy<br />
the board and free them from their worries.<br />
Nick de Lorenzo and Toby Johnstone played the two<br />
lads with great commitment, truth and audience appeal,<br />
demonstrating their natural flair and command of the stage.<br />
They kept the play moving along with excellent timing<br />
and humour. Morgan Ferrier, a newcomer to Aloys Drama<br />
played the psychopathic Binks with tremendous vitality and<br />
Jack McAuley, Toby Johnstone and Nick de Lorenzo (all Year 11)<br />
Frank Esparagga and Morgan Ferrier (Year 11)<br />
The cast were helped out by two Year 11 Drama<br />
students from PLC Sydney. Renata Dare successfully took<br />
on the very demanding job of playing the third lead<br />
and romantic interest Mirren, while Gabrielle McGrath<br />
made a wonderful contribution to the collection of minor<br />
characters.<br />
The cast did a great job of overcoming the troubles of<br />
learning lines, gathering props, and painting the car bodies<br />
used in the play. A special tribute needs to go to Mr Simon<br />
Turner who created not one, but two great Lada cars for<br />
the set.<br />
This was a brilliant play from <strong>St</strong>ephen Greenhorn and<br />
was expertly directed by Mr Peter Gough, without whom<br />
the production would not have run as smoothly as it did. Ms<br />
Jacqui Field worked with the vocal projection and accents,<br />
Adam Pasfield (Year 10) was a very competent <strong>St</strong>age<br />
Manager and the crew did a great job under pressure with<br />
over thirty scene changes to manage. Passing Places was<br />
a great play to work on and was thoroughly enjoyed by<br />
all the cast.<br />
Rocco Pirrello (Year 11)<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 8
Gerroa Scriptwriters Camp<br />
It is easy to see why the Gerroa Scriptwriters Camp<br />
continues as an integral part of the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ Drama<br />
calendar. The free-flowing style of the camp gives<br />
scriptwriters and film makers alike the ability to plan, write,<br />
workshop and discuss their individual works with one<br />
another. It gives students who attend the opportunity to ‘get<br />
away from it all’ and be able to focus solely on their works.<br />
The location of this camp is the main reason why the camp<br />
works so well. The camp is held at Gerroa, a sleepy<br />
beach town on the South Coast of New South Wales. The<br />
accommodation itself, Jesuit Villa House is a Jesuit owned<br />
property and is literally a two minute walk from Seven Mile<br />
Beach which the house also overlooks.<br />
Tom Rolfe (Year 11), Michael Larcher (Year 11), Luke Maurel (Year<br />
11) and Mr Malcolm Frawley shooting a video<br />
Jack McAuley (Year 11 and Frank Esparraga (Year 11) fine tune their scripts.<br />
The camp is also staffed with Timothy Daly who assists<br />
the scriptwriters and Malcolm Frawley who assists the film<br />
makers. Each is a well known and highly sought after<br />
man in his respective field. Timothy Daly’s play Beach: A<br />
Theatrical Fantasia went to stage at the Parade Theatre on<br />
the 22 June, this year.<br />
Nick O’Sullivan (Year 11), Bill Sunderland (Year 10) and Kurt Menzies<br />
(Year 11) working on scripts.<br />
My time spent at Gerroa developing my play, Old<br />
Friends to the Rescue gave me the insight and Timothy<br />
gave me the direction I needed to be one of the eight<br />
selected plays in this year’s Young Dramatist’s Page to<br />
<strong>St</strong>age Competition. Each selected play is assigned a<br />
professional director to help students touch-up and direct<br />
the play during rehearsal in order to prepare the play<br />
for their performances later in the year. I was assigned<br />
Lisa Peers to direct my production. After all the finalists<br />
had been told their plays had been selected we were all<br />
invited to meet with the other script writers and directors<br />
at North Sydney Council Chambers.<br />
After brief introductions we then got the opportunity to<br />
do a ‘cold reading’ of each of the plays as a group; then<br />
a brief discussion would follow at the end. Overall the<br />
commentary from all the directors was that it needed a few<br />
amendments but nothing too major needed to be done.<br />
The beauty of the way the Page to <strong>St</strong>age Competition<br />
operates is that even if directors have things they would like<br />
to change in your script, the script writer always maintains<br />
the executive decision. However, you obviously cannot be<br />
too precious about your work.<br />
The next step was the casting of my play which was<br />
done by my director, (I could not be present due to the<br />
Cadet Unit Passing out Parade). I am yet to meet the cast<br />
members of my production but my director is very happy with<br />
them and on that note I’d invite all dramatists at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
to audition for roles in next year’s productions. Over the<br />
next few weeks I added these touch ups so my play was<br />
ready to be published by Currency Press by the due date<br />
of 10 July.<br />
The future of my production? I hope to attend rehearsals<br />
and see the final production on 3 and 4 September at the<br />
Ensemble Theatre in Sydney.<br />
Frank Esparraga (Year 11)<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 2 9
senior school sport<br />
Members of the College Snowsports Team at Perisher Valley<br />
Snowsports Camp and Interschool<br />
Championships <strong>2006</strong><br />
During the recent school holidays forty boys from <strong>St</strong><br />
<strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College from Years 5 through to Year 12<br />
attended the annual Snowsports Training Camp<br />
conducted at Perisher Blue from 6 to 9 July.<br />
While snow and weather conditions had an impact on<br />
the quality of training available, the boys, particularly those<br />
involved in race training for the Interschools Championships<br />
conducted the following week, worked hard on honing<br />
their skills in the various disciplines in which they compete.<br />
A great time was enjoyed by all and I would like to<br />
particularly thank the teaching staff that assisted throughout<br />
the camp, Ms Marianne Busuttil from the Junior School, Mr<br />
John Frare and Mr Gary O’Neill from the Senior School.<br />
As far as the racing in the Interschool Championships<br />
which followed the camp, all boys skied extremely well,<br />
especially the boys who were first timers at racing.<br />
The Year 7 boys competed in the Alpine Event in<br />
miserable conditions and the Year 10 boys had the<br />
experience of competing at night in both Alpine and<br />
Snowboarding as races were rescheduled to Front Valley<br />
at Perisher as there was insufficient snow to open the usual<br />
race courses.<br />
Due to lack of snow the cross country races were<br />
cancelled and the Year 12 boys have been invited to<br />
compete at the <strong>St</strong>ate Championships in August. The<br />
Boardercross and Skiercross events for the older boys were<br />
also cancelled with teams able to compete at the <strong>St</strong>ate<br />
Championships. The skiers (Baden Hunt Year 10, Matthew<br />
Cowle Year 10, Ben Sweeney Year 10, James Boyd Year<br />
9 and Chris Hewitt Year 10) and boarders (Nick Cooper<br />
Year 10, Jeremy Gooden Year 10 and Alistair Hunt Year<br />
10) are all planning to compete in these events.<br />
Most importantly the boys and their parents all seemed<br />
to have a good time skiing together and cheering their<br />
fellow Aloysians in their races.<br />
The highlight of the week was the performance of the<br />
Year 10 boys.<br />
Ben Sweeney, Baden Hunt and Matthew Cowle won<br />
their Moguls event with Ben gaining third place individually.<br />
This is a great result as each of the boys had one of their<br />
best performances ever in this event. At this level, they are<br />
competing against boys who are training with the Australian<br />
Development Team (and are based in the snow full time) so<br />
for our boys, who take their other school commitments so<br />
seriously, it is a fantastic performance.<br />
These three then teamed with James Boyd (Year 9) and<br />
came third in the Alpine event. James Boyd was the second<br />
fastest boy in this event (by less than a second over 2 runs). In<br />
addition Baden won the award for the fastest skier who has<br />
not held a racers licence (most of the top skiers at this level<br />
are members of either Thredbo or Perisher Race Clubs and<br />
ski most weekends – James is the only boy in our team who<br />
does this). In addition Baden, Ben and James had competed<br />
in the Redlands Cup and missed third place by 0.7 sec over<br />
the combined time of their six runs down the hill.<br />
Year 10 Boarders<br />
Nick, Jeremy and Alistair were ninth in their first race and<br />
at night.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 0
Year 7 Boys<br />
Daniel Boyd, Daniel Siew, James Kingston and Luke Hewitt<br />
were placed tenth in Alpine with Andrew Mowbray<br />
also skiing. Daniel Boyd was our fastest competitor and<br />
was placed eleventh. In Skiercross Daniel Boyd, Daniel<br />
Siew and James Kingston came eighth. The other team<br />
Andrew Mowbray, Angus Knoblanche and Luke Hewitt<br />
did not complete the course. Daniel Boyd was third<br />
fastest boy in this event and has been invited to the state<br />
championships.<br />
Junior School<br />
Our little ones had a fun time skiing with each other and the<br />
parents and trying the beat the ever increasing lift queues!<br />
In Alpine the Year 5 team of Mason Yates, Zachary<br />
Sweeney, Tim Spooner and Sean Harris came eighth in<br />
the Alpine event. As first time competitors they skied well<br />
and overcame the first time nerves. Max Baume skied as<br />
an individual and came thirty-third. Max, Zachary thirteenth<br />
and Mason Yates fifteenth, are planning next year’s event.<br />
In Skiercross Mason, Zachary and Sean were also<br />
placed eighth. Max was placed twenty-fifth individually.<br />
William Boyd (Year 4) skied by himself in the youngest age<br />
group. His individual results were twenty-sixth in Skiercross<br />
and seventeenth in Alpine.<br />
All in all the team performed remarkably well given the<br />
conditions and limited preparation. Particular thanks go to<br />
the Blue and Gold army of parents on hand to support their<br />
boys and the team in at times miserable conditions.<br />
I have no doubt a parent’s love is truly tested standing at<br />
the bottom of the slopes at night in sub-zero temperatures!<br />
We wish those competing at the <strong>St</strong>ate Championships in<br />
August all the very best. A very special thankyou goes to<br />
Mrs Joanne Pastega and Mrs Dominique Cowle for the<br />
impeccable organisation of the Snowsports Camp, and<br />
their enthusiastic management of the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ Race<br />
Team during the race week. None of this would have been<br />
possible without their help and support.<br />
Mr Michael Rogan<br />
MIC Snowsports<br />
and best senior students from all sports. George is a quiet<br />
achiever always ready to help his fellow students.<br />
George has also equally applied himself to his studies,<br />
where he is achieving great success in all his subjects.<br />
Mr Michael Cronin<br />
PDHPE <strong>St</strong>aff<br />
From the Weights Room<br />
George Bullen (Year 12) - A success story in<br />
Self Motivation and Training<br />
George Bullen (Year 12) commenced working out in<br />
the Weights Room at the beginning of 2004. His<br />
training every morning in the weights room got him<br />
well prepared to play Rugby and was chosen to play in<br />
the First XV in 2005, coming from the 16Bs the previous<br />
year, an enormous achievement. He continued to improve<br />
in playing and skill levels in <strong>2006</strong>, again representing the<br />
College in the First XV.<br />
He continued his rigorous training programme into<br />
<strong>2006</strong> achieving No 1 Ranking out of seventy four boys in<br />
the Cardio Plyometric Fitness Programme against the fittest<br />
George Bullen (Year 12) in action<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 1
jesfest <strong>2006</strong><br />
Mosaic of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>' donated<br />
by The College to the new Chapel<br />
of the Holy Name at <strong>St</strong> Ignatius'<br />
College, Adelaide<br />
Celebrations are<br />
being held across<br />
the world during<br />
<strong>2006</strong> to mark the 500th<br />
anniversary of the birth<br />
of <strong>St</strong> Francis Xavier and<br />
<strong>St</strong> Peter Fabre, (two of<br />
the first companions of <strong>St</strong><br />
Ignatius) and of course the<br />
450th Anniversary of the<br />
death of Ignatius. Early<br />
in 2005 my colleague<br />
the Director of Music<br />
at <strong>St</strong> Ignatius’ College,<br />
Adelaide Mr Ian Gale<br />
suggested that the four<br />
Jesuit Colleges in Australia<br />
might mark this special<br />
year with a convocation of<br />
student musicians. What<br />
more fitting way it was<br />
reasoned for us to signify this anniversary year than to hold<br />
a second Jesfest? (The first Jesfest was held in Adelaide on<br />
the occasion of the Sesquicentenary of the Australian Jesuit<br />
Province). It seemed appropriate that the student musicians<br />
from the four colleges get together on another significant<br />
anniversary for the Jesuits in Australia.<br />
Preparations<br />
During the following months the Directors of Music<br />
from the four Australian Jesuit Colleges Ian Gale (SIC<br />
Athelstone), Greg Carey (Xavier College Melbourne),<br />
Dev Gopalasamy (SIC Riverview) and myself met regularly<br />
(and exchanged an endless stream of emails) in order to<br />
plan for the event.<br />
The statistics were daunting<br />
Four Jesuit Colleges from across Australia and their<br />
respective music staffs to be accommodated<br />
Three hundred young musicians, boys and girls ages<br />
ranging from nine years to eighteen years to be<br />
accommodated with billeting families<br />
Air and land transport for everyone<br />
Two hundred host families at <strong>St</strong> Ignatius’ College<br />
Athelstone and Norwood campuses<br />
A Combined festival Mass with massed choir and brass<br />
to be arranged<br />
Three major concerts featuring all musicians to be<br />
planned<br />
Six hundred hamburgers to be cooked at Sevenhill<br />
Cellars<br />
A Chinese meal for four hundred in Chinatown Adelaide<br />
Twelve hundred other meals to be prepared by<br />
volunteer parents<br />
The Combined Jesuit Schools Choir at Adelaide Town Hall<br />
A combined choir of one hundred and sixty boys and<br />
girls to be constructed ‘remotely’<br />
A Concert band of one hundred and twenty to be<br />
constructed ‘remotely’<br />
Symphony orchestra of one hundred and forty to be<br />
constructed ‘remotely’<br />
Repertoire to be chosen and rehearsed independently<br />
for these combined ensembles<br />
Final dress rehearsals of all large ensembles in<br />
simultaneous venues to be organised on arrival in<br />
Athelstone<br />
All to be put together with minimal rehearsal time<br />
The event was to be hosted once again by the<br />
students, staff and<br />
parents of <strong>St</strong> Ignatius’<br />
College Athelstone in<br />
Adelaide from Thursday<br />
to Sunday 11 – 14<br />
May and despite the<br />
daunting statistics it<br />
proved a great success<br />
at all levels. It is indeed<br />
amazing what people<br />
of like minds and spirit<br />
can achieve.<br />
The two major focal<br />
points of Jesfest <strong>2006</strong><br />
were the Festival Mass<br />
in the recently completed<br />
and very beautiful<br />
chapel at <strong>St</strong> Ignatius’<br />
College Athelstone and<br />
The Combined Jesuit Schools Choir<br />
at Adelaide Town Hall with soloist,<br />
Harrison Collins (Year 7).<br />
the Gala Festival Concert held in the grandeur of the lovely<br />
Adelaide Town Hall on the final evening of the festival.<br />
With such large numbers of students it was decided at the<br />
outset that each college would provide one or two featured<br />
music ensembles which could perform in their own right in<br />
the concert and in addition would contribute to a number<br />
of large combined ensembles.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 2
concert was held in the beautiful <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ Chapel. It<br />
was just one of those events which all who were present<br />
will always remember – the atmospheric chapel, a chilly<br />
evening, falling twilight and stunning performances from our<br />
talented boys and girls from across Australia. Wonderful!<br />
Zipoli Choir perform at Sevenhill<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College was represented by the Zipoli<br />
Choir of thirty five boys from Year 5, 6 and 7 whose<br />
performances proved a highlight of the concert programs<br />
and the equally spectacular rock band Spindrift comprised<br />
of Year 10 students Liam Gibson, Tom Trevaskis, James Flint<br />
and James Daly. A number of other senior musicians (total<br />
of fifty-three students in all) represented the College and<br />
participated with great merit in the combined ensembles of<br />
choir, concert band and symphony orchestra.<br />
The Zipoli Choir perform at the Adelaide Town Hall<br />
The Festival concert held in the Adelaide Town Hall on<br />
Saturday evening was also a most memorable and moving<br />
musical experience for students and audience alike.<br />
Following a late night and then a very early Sunday start<br />
all returned home safely to a welcome Mother’s Day lunch<br />
and afternoon nap! My thanks to our Jesfest participating<br />
students and the staff Mrs Eleanor Koh (Music Administrator),<br />
Mr Peter Kneeshaw AM (Organist and Accompanist), Mr<br />
Philip Chu (Orchestral Manager), Mr Scott Hardgrove (Tour<br />
Manager) and Mrs Narelle Hissey (Zipoli Choir Director)<br />
for their untiring efforts in helping to realise the dream of<br />
Jesfest <strong>2006</strong> and for their many, many lost hours of sleep.<br />
Mr Michael Hissey<br />
Director of Music<br />
Combined Choir in chapel<br />
Following a stunningly beautiful Festival Mass celebrated<br />
by the Headmaster of <strong>St</strong> Ignatius’ College Adelaide, Fr<br />
Greg O’Kelly SJ AM, which tested the acoustics of the new<br />
chapel to their limit; on the late afternoon of Friday May<br />
12 a fleet of coaches descended on the magnificent and<br />
historic Sevenhill winery just outside the town of Clare,<br />
three hours from Adelaide. Set amongst autumnal vineyards<br />
this beautiful chapel (the birthplace of the Australian Jesuit<br />
tradition) proved a perfect environment for a lovely informal<br />
concert. Following a BBQ meal for the multitudes, a twilight<br />
Members of the Jesfest touring party<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 3
SAC-SBS combined concert<br />
The College Choir performing with the SBS Youth Orchestra in The Boys Chapel at the College<br />
A <strong>St</strong>ory of Musical Collaboration and<br />
Two Monumental Musical Works<br />
On Sunday 28th May <strong>2006</strong> the College Music<br />
Department and a large contingent of our community<br />
combined forces with the magnificent SBS Radio<br />
and Television Youth Orchestra to present a public concert<br />
held in the Chapel and Great Hall.<br />
Conducted by Mr Matthew Krel Director of the SBS<br />
Orchestra, the concert featured two vastly contrasting major<br />
works performed in two venues: The glorious Coronation<br />
setting of the Mass by W A Mozart presented in the<br />
College Chapel was followed in the Great Hall by the<br />
monumental Symphony Number 7 Leningrad by Dimitri<br />
Shostakovich.<br />
A total of over two hundred and fifty young musicians<br />
took part in this concert. The College Choir, Chamber<br />
Choir, Zipoli Choir and Junior School Choir all contributed<br />
as well as the <strong>St</strong> Mary’s Cathedral Singers augmented<br />
by a large number of chorister parents and community<br />
supporters. The soloists in the Coronation Mass were Ms<br />
Catherine De Luca of the <strong>St</strong> Mary’s Singers (soprano),<br />
Jonathan Chan (Year 7) (alto), Mr Philip Chu <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
College Orchestral Director (tenor) and Mr Andrew<br />
Quniane <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College Senior Music Teacher and<br />
Year 9 Coordinator (baritone).<br />
The SBS Orchestra for the Leningrad Symphony was<br />
comprised of one hundred and fifteen superb young<br />
players which numbered in its ranks a current student<br />
(trombonist Jesse De Lisle Year 11) and Old Boys, violist<br />
Dominic Meagher (SAC 2003) and violinist Victor Wu<br />
(SAC 2003).<br />
This was indeed an afternoon of memorable music<br />
making by the Aloysian Family and a great experience for<br />
those boys who took part in such a memorable and highly<br />
successful event.<br />
Mr Michael Hissey<br />
Director of Music<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 4
gap student news<br />
Gap <strong>St</strong>udent Reflection<br />
Jerome Doraisamy (SAC 2005) has just returned from the<br />
remote regions of Vanuatu, where he undertook a fivemonth<br />
GAP placement doing volunteer teaching in a high<br />
school. The following is a reflection of his time and feelings<br />
on being home.<br />
Jerome Doraisamy (SAC 2005) with students from the school he<br />
worked at in Vanuatu<br />
Having been in the Third World for five months, I<br />
have found re-adjustment hard, even though people<br />
do not seem to have changed much. For the first<br />
week back, the amount of cars, lights and people was<br />
overwhelming, not to mention the cold. But it has thrown<br />
new light on my thoughts and reflections of Vanuatu, and<br />
how I feel about my life.<br />
Having lived in poverty for so long, I have had to consider<br />
‘what am I myself poor in?’ I am not sure if there is anything<br />
in which I consider, or considered, myself ‘poor’. Perhaps a<br />
different way to look at it is what am I too ‘rich’ in. Here I can<br />
think of a number of things where I am, in a sense, spoiled.<br />
Paama Island, in thirty square kilometers, has a grand total of<br />
four televisions and eleven telephones. My house in Sydney<br />
consists of two TVs and ten home and mobile telephones.<br />
Comparing the two lifestyles, we have (seemingly) too much<br />
material possession. It does not seem like that when we are<br />
here, but reflecting on it when we don’t have it, it certainly<br />
seems that way. So, to answer the question, perhaps we as<br />
a society, not just me, are poor in our knowledge of other<br />
cultures, as those items, which we consider essential, are in<br />
fact just luxury, such as a mobile phone.<br />
This experience has re-shaped my view of the world<br />
insofar as I now have a greater understanding of the third<br />
world. I would not say that I was naïve, but I can now<br />
fully appreciate living conditions of such places, having<br />
lived there myself. I can fully appreciate the difficulties of<br />
such a life, rather than just pass it off every time I see an<br />
advertisement for World Vision. As far as commitments to<br />
the future go, I would like to think that I would be more<br />
conservative with hot water and electricity, but I do not think<br />
that is going to happen. Instead of trying to save what we<br />
have here, I will do the opposite and try to bring a little<br />
bit of our world to them. By this I mean keeping in contact<br />
with the people I care for, providing them with the bare<br />
essentials, such as warm clothes for winter, and education.<br />
The school in which I was placed, over Easter, suspended<br />
all students who had not paid school fees, which consisted<br />
of about sixty percent of the school. Not only did this<br />
meddle with our teaching regimes, but also it eliminated<br />
some of our best students. Michael (the other Gap student<br />
from Britain) and I thought how ridiculous it was to see<br />
bright kids miss out just because their parents cannot afford<br />
to send them to school. Thus, each of us decided to sponsor<br />
one child each, on the basis of their intellect and poverty.<br />
$550 per annum is not a lot for me, but it is definitely going<br />
to help Eva Iman, who tops the Year 7 classes and can now<br />
go to school every day. In that sense this is a new resolve<br />
for me; being able to provide the chance of education,<br />
which perhaps in hindsight, we take for granted.<br />
I am not sure about identifying or naming an experience<br />
of “God’s Spirit” in my life, but some ‘Spirit’ was certainly<br />
alive in the ni-Vanuatu, and in a form that I have never<br />
witnessed in Australia. What I mean by that is life is much<br />
more centered on religion; everyday decisions have more<br />
moral weighting, and the Bible is taken more literally (in<br />
some cases, unbearably literally). However, it can be<br />
argued that God was ‘revealed’ to me in that I was exposed<br />
to a different way in which Christians are supposedly meant<br />
to live. In that thinking, I had a religious experience where<br />
I witnessed a culture so influenced by Bible teachings, so<br />
I was able to get a broader perspective on how religion<br />
affects different people in the world.<br />
When I think back on my time, and what I am missing<br />
most, I think of seemingly trivial things. I remember the smile<br />
of one of my Year 7 girls, I remember sitting on the beach<br />
at night with Michael, I remember listening to the students<br />
singing songs in such beautiful harmony before they go to<br />
bed. Seeing as all of these times involved people, I deduce<br />
that I miss the people included in my experience the most.<br />
That’s not to say that I don’t miss the location. But it is the<br />
people whom I think of first, and it was with them that I was<br />
at my happiest while I was there.<br />
I wanted to do a GAP year that would challenge me.<br />
There are many attractions to a European placement, no<br />
doubt, but I felt that there was a deeper learning to be had<br />
from working in a different culture and with people who<br />
are in some ways marginalised and/or on the edge. The<br />
great thing about my placement is that others got a lot out<br />
of my presence, just as I gained much from being there.<br />
I highly recommend Vanuatu for those who feel up to a<br />
real physical, emotional and psychological challenge. It<br />
involves a lot more than a bamboo hut, rice-based diet<br />
and teaching subjects you learnt two years earlier, but<br />
with the greatest location and people in the world, it’s<br />
well worth it.<br />
Jerome Doraisamy (SAC 2005)<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 5
cadets<br />
The College ANZAC Day service was held in early<br />
Term II on Wednesday 3 May. The Service honoured<br />
the fortieth anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan and<br />
the memory of the only Old Boy to die in the Vietnam War,<br />
Peter Murray (SAC 1965).<br />
The guest speaker at the Service was Jock Murray (SAC<br />
1966 and a Member of the College Council) a retired<br />
Army Officer. Jock also spoke of his grandfather’s service<br />
and the sacrifice that people had made for their nation.<br />
The Catafalque Party in action.<br />
Jock Murray (SAC 1966) speaks at the ANZAC Day Service in<br />
The Boys’ Chapel.<br />
The Catafalque Party form a Guard of Honour in The Boys’ Chapel.<br />
L to R: The College Captain, Andrew Haylen; The Chair of Council,<br />
Eric Goodwin; The Old Boys' President, Scott Tracy (SAC 1982) and the<br />
President of the P & F , Jane Smith lay wreaths in The Boys' Chapel.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 6
from the registrar<br />
All interviews for prospective students and their<br />
parents for entry to the College in 2007 and for<br />
Year 7, 2008 have now been completed and all<br />
places have now been filled with waitlists for all Year levels.<br />
Over one hundred and forty-five interviews took place over<br />
two weeks during Term II. Scholarships and Bursaries have<br />
also been awarded for students entering Year 7 and Year<br />
11 next year.<br />
Sometimes notice of a student withdrawing is received<br />
late in the year and this creates some movement in our<br />
waitlists. If vacancies become available, we may run a<br />
late entrance examination around November for last minute<br />
applications if necessary.<br />
Orientation Day for new Junior School students and<br />
Year 7, 2007 students starting next year will be held on<br />
Wednesday, 8 November from 8.45am till 1.00pm. Early<br />
in Term IV a package will be sent to all parents of new<br />
2007 students with information on uniforms, books, music,<br />
co curricular choices, travel pass applications as well as<br />
lots of other information about the College.<br />
Entrance examinations for students wishing to enter<br />
Years 3, 4, 5 and 8 to 11, 2008 as well as Year 7,<br />
2009, will be held in March next year. In mid February,<br />
these applicants will be notified of the details of entrance<br />
examination days. Open Day will be held in early March<br />
next year, normally on the first Sunday of March, 12noon<br />
to 3pm. The date will be published on our website later in<br />
the year.<br />
If you would like more information on enrolments,<br />
please contact the Registrar on (02) 9936 5535 or<br />
email: registrar@staloysius.nsw.edu.au. Alternatively, this<br />
information can be accessed on the Admissions page of<br />
our website: www.staloysius.nsw.edu.au<br />
Mrs Anne-Maree McCarthy<br />
Registrar<br />
Reflections on Fr Schneider SJ<br />
The photograph of Fr Schneider on the front page of<br />
the Autumn <strong>2006</strong> <strong>Aloysiad</strong> brought back memories of<br />
one day in 1966 or 1967 when that unfortunate Jesuit<br />
educator was tasked with taking a class group of thirteen<br />
and fourteen year-olds (of which I was one) to some sort of<br />
Anzac Day or Armistice Day Commemoration event at the<br />
Shrine of Remembrance in Hyde Park, in Sydney.<br />
Perhaps conveniently, I do not recall everything that<br />
happened that day, but I clearly remember the anguish<br />
reflected in the face of Fr Schneider SJ when he arrived at<br />
Milsons Point <strong>St</strong>ation only to see a substantial part of the<br />
group for which he was responsible, perhaps twenty or<br />
thirty boys, leaving on the train for Wynyard and leaving<br />
the other half or thereabouts at Milsons Point <strong>St</strong>ation.<br />
I now understand that losing half your group of students<br />
is a potential disaster for a teacher on a school excursion<br />
– duty of care and all that. Fr Schneider’s anguished look<br />
indicated a concern that he might never again see the<br />
advance party of students. <strong>St</strong>ill, as best as I can recall, our<br />
group did reunite at Wynyard or Town Hall <strong>St</strong>ation, whence<br />
we proceeded to the Cenotaph.<br />
Armed with ice creams and soft drinks (even though<br />
eating in uniform in those days was a reportable offence)<br />
we descended on the Pool of Remembrance where a<br />
number of us noticed there was a considerable amount of<br />
pocket money (from somebody’s pocket, at least) lying at<br />
the bottom of the pool, apparently unclaimed, and, like<br />
abandoned golf balls in a water hazard, fair pickings.<br />
Some undignified reaching into the pool and poking<br />
at coins then took place as students attempted to secure<br />
windfall funding for a ‘thick-shake’ as an added bonus for<br />
the afternoon’s freedom from the classroom.<br />
Fr Schneider was a very kindly and compassionate man<br />
L to R: Ben McCann, Fr Schneider SJ, Tom <strong>St</strong>ephenson, John Booth and<br />
Joshua Pierre<br />
and although clearly appalled by what he was witnessing,<br />
did not react in anything other than dignified disgust. How<br />
he managed to control himself when all around him was in<br />
chaos I have no idea. Quite frankly, a lesser person would<br />
have justifiably pushed a goodly number of us into the Pool<br />
of Remembrance and held our heads under water until we<br />
were forgotten!<br />
I hope those young blokes in the photo with Fr Schneider<br />
realise what a fine person he is. I think he used to support<br />
Hawthorn in the AFL, so if he is still a supporter, he will need<br />
regular cheering-up.<br />
Please pass on my best wishes and congratulations on<br />
his 60th Anniversary of Ordination to the Priesthood.<br />
Pete Barr (SAC 1970)<br />
Darwin NT<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 7
from the archives<br />
1906: <strong>St</strong>udent group – note the knickerbockers.<br />
One Hundred Years Ago ...<br />
In the early 1900s, Town and Country Journal entertained<br />
readers on a vast number of topics. Their large photographs<br />
were plentiful and are a researcher’s dream in providing<br />
professional illustrations of people and places of the period.<br />
Town and Country’s issue of 17 October 1906 featured<br />
a double-page spread on <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College, with six<br />
regular-sized photographs and one sweeping panoramic<br />
view of the Harbour taken from the College. A fragile copy<br />
is one of the special treasures in the College Archives.<br />
For my final <strong>Aloysiad</strong> contribution before I retire, I<br />
can think of nothing better than a selection of these Town<br />
and Country photographs to illustrate the rich variety of<br />
documents, photographs and memorabilia documenting<br />
the College history, all safely preserved in the Archives for<br />
posterity.<br />
1906: The Jesuit Masters – Back row: Rev W Gwynn SJ,<br />
Rev H Cock SJ, Rev L Murphy SJ, Rev J Pfeifer SJ and Rev T McGrath SJ<br />
Front row: Rev C Nulty SJ, Rev T Fay SJ, Rector and Rev C Delaney SJ<br />
I should like to thank the Old Aloysians and their families<br />
for their generous donations of memorabilia and their willing<br />
assistance in my research projects over the past fourteen years.<br />
Best wishes<br />
Mrs Gerri Nicholas<br />
College Archivist<br />
One could hardly let this final <strong>Aloysiad</strong> contribution<br />
from our Archivist go by without some tribute paid<br />
to Gerri Nicholas.<br />
Gerri’s service at the College for fourteen or so years<br />
has been both generous and professional. In particular,<br />
I have greatly valued and appreciated the help she has<br />
given me personally since I arrived. Whenever I was unsure<br />
of an incident from the past, the contribution made by an<br />
ancient Jesuit or Laymaster, the relationship of this one to<br />
that, then Gerri seemed always to have the answer at once<br />
and at hand.<br />
Gerri Nicholas will be remembered for many things,<br />
but perhaps with most gratitude for writing Men for Others,<br />
the story of those Aloysians who had given their lives<br />
in conflicts from the Boer to the Vietnam Wars. No one<br />
who reads that text or dwells on the photos can remain<br />
untouched. This account picks up the perennial Aloysian<br />
leitmotif of service in the past, and puts it before the present<br />
generation of boys in an inspirational and moving way.It is<br />
a wonderful testament.<br />
Thank you, Gerri, for that gift to us especially, and for<br />
much more. Ad multos annos.<br />
Fr Ross Jones, SJ<br />
Rector<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879<br />
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 8
from the aloysian family<br />
P&F Report<br />
There is no doubt about it, it is difficult to keep up with<br />
the social life of the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College parents as the<br />
school year has continued at a hectic pace with many<br />
events happening either by way of Class Functions and<br />
Class Masses or informal gatherings and social outings.<br />
The SAC Luncheon Club is now up and running, and<br />
happy to have new members. The groups meet on a regular<br />
basis which can either be at a dinner or lunch. The initiative<br />
was well received as it provides an opportunity for parents<br />
to socialise in smaller groups and catch up on news.<br />
In May the P&F hosted the annual Mothers’ Day Lunch.<br />
As usual it was a lovely day and hopefully the mothers<br />
who attended felt a little bit spoilt. Mrs Ailsa Gillett OAM<br />
was our guest speaker and enthralled the guests with her<br />
amazing achievements particularly her involvement with Life<br />
for Kids.<br />
The traditional Mother and Son Mass was also held in<br />
May. It is evident that we have some very talented boys in<br />
the school, with a few beautifully expressing their feelings<br />
for their mothers in speech and song.<br />
The P&F, together with former parent Mrs Anne Scollon,<br />
organised the annual <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College Card Day.<br />
About twenty six groups of women enjoyed a sumptuous<br />
lunch and tackled the task of playing bridge. New card<br />
players are always welcome to attend.<br />
The second P&F Forum was held in June. Mrs Deirdre<br />
Agnew, the College Careers Adviser, was the guest speaker<br />
and her focus was to address and canvas ideas on how<br />
we as parents can maximise our sons’ career opportunities.<br />
The feedback from the parents who attended was extremely<br />
positive and showed that there is a keen interest in such<br />
relevant topics.<br />
The major P&F event for the year will be the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
Five <strong>St</strong>ar Ball, which will be held at the InterContinental on<br />
Saturday 26 August. The P&F have had an overwhelming<br />
response and within one week after the due date the Ball<br />
was a sell-out. We hope everyone attending has a great<br />
night and sorry to those who unfortunately have missed<br />
out.<br />
Finally, a reminder to the Year 12 parents that the P&F<br />
introduced the ‘Graduation Ring” last year. It is available<br />
from the uniform shop and provides a lasting memory of<br />
your son’s years at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College.<br />
Mrs Jane Smith<br />
P&F President<br />
News from POPS<br />
On June 4 we had a very happy gathering for our<br />
winter Mass and BBQ. We were delighted to<br />
have four concelebrants at the Mass – Fathers<br />
Bruce SJ, Middleton SJ, Schneider SJ and Smith SJ. It was a<br />
great reunion and all caught up with lots of news from our<br />
previous Headmasters.<br />
Our next function will be the Christmas Cocktail Party on<br />
Sunday 3 December. We really would love to have some<br />
new young members join us. None of last year’s parents<br />
came in June in spite of many enquiries and expressions of<br />
interest.<br />
For those who haven’t caught up on POPS there is<br />
a form on this page for your information which, if you<br />
complete and mail back, will put you on the mailing list.<br />
We are a (deliberately!) non profit organisation – really<br />
just a group of people who like to get together twice a<br />
year to keep in touch with the activities of the College after<br />
our boys have left. We have members from most classes<br />
until 2001. Maybe the younger parents think we are all<br />
geriatrics – some of us are, or will be soon, but we still<br />
enjoy meeting and hearing school news and seeing old<br />
friends.<br />
Hope to see more of you at the Christmas Cocktail Party.<br />
Invitations will be sent to those on the mailing list closer to<br />
the time. If anyone would like to ring around a particular<br />
class, please let me know - 9144 2587 (home)<br />
Mrs Pat Kennedy<br />
POPS Cordinator<br />
Parents of Past <strong>St</strong>udents<br />
Membership Form<br />
Name: ....................................................................................<br />
Name of sons: ........................................................................<br />
Years attended SAC: ..............................................................<br />
Address: .................................................................................<br />
...............................................................................................<br />
Telephone No: .......................................................................<br />
Fax No: ..................................................................................<br />
Email: ....................................................................................<br />
Please complete and return to:<br />
Mrs Pat Kennedy 47 Upper Pitt <strong>St</strong>reet,<br />
Milsons Point NSW 2061 or fax to 02 9929 6414.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 3 9
from SACOBU<br />
larger number of homeless people. Nugacity are looking<br />
for a few extra people to help run the shelter so if you have<br />
some spare time and would like to help out, please contact<br />
James Woodward at jameswoodward@mail.com<br />
Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.<br />
Laurie Byrne (SAC 1923) turns 100!!!<br />
The College would like to extend our congratulations to<br />
Laurie Byrne (SAC 1923) who celebrated his 100th<br />
Birthday on 6 April this year. Laurie celebrated the<br />
milestone with a party for family and friends at the College<br />
Oval.<br />
Some of the Class of 2005 at the BBQ<br />
2005 Year 12 BBQ<br />
A<br />
BBQ<br />
was held for the 2005 Year 12 students at<br />
the College Oval on Sunday 23 July <strong>2006</strong>. After a<br />
week of rain that saw all Saturday sport cancelled,<br />
we were blessed with a spectacularly sunny day which<br />
made for a very enjoyable afternoon. A game of soccer<br />
or touch football on the very damp College Oval seemed<br />
to heighten the boys’ appetite and thirst. The BBQ is often<br />
the first time the class has an opportunity to get together as<br />
a group since leaving school. As the photo clearly shows,<br />
the boys are not quite as well dressed or groomed as when<br />
they were at school. Special thanks to Kevin Emanuel (SAC<br />
1967) and his band of BBQ helpers for their efforts in<br />
organising the day.<br />
SACOBU Rector’s Fund<br />
It was recently agreed that a new fund be created by<br />
the <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College Old Boys Union to provide<br />
assistance to the families of those students who find it<br />
difficult for their son to participate in a particular College<br />
activity because of their current financial situation. The<br />
SACOBU Rector’s Fund will provide support to any boy<br />
who, in the opinion of the Rector, will benefit from an<br />
activity which he would otherwise not be able to join. The<br />
initiator of the Fund was Michael McCoy (SAC 1963),<br />
who is to be congratulated on his efforts, along with the<br />
Union for their understanding outreach.<br />
Men for Others<br />
The work of a group of SAC 2003 students deserves<br />
a special mention. James Woodward, Tom Borger,<br />
James Harrison and Nicholas Mueller are part of a<br />
group called Nugacity, a team of <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ Old Boys,<br />
running a shelter for the homeless each week at <strong>St</strong> Canice’s<br />
in Kings Cross. The parish priest for <strong>St</strong> Canice’s is Fr <strong>St</strong>eve<br />
Sinn SJ (SAC <strong>St</strong>aff 1979 – 1982). Once renovations are<br />
completed, the shelter will be able to accommodate a<br />
Elizabeth Moorehouse and Laurence Byrne (SAC 1958) accept the<br />
birthday cake on behalf of their father<br />
Members of The Gonzaga Society (Old Boys who left<br />
the College more than forty-nine years ago and their wives<br />
and the widows of Old Boys from the period) planned<br />
to surprise Laurie at their Mass and Lunch on 14 June,<br />
but sadly Laurie was unable to attend due to a fall (I am<br />
pleased to advise that Laurie has fully recovered from the<br />
accident and is back in his own home). Cutting the giant<br />
cake on Laurie’s behalf were his daughter Mrs Elizabeth<br />
Moorehouse and his son, Laurence Byrne (SAC 1958).<br />
Congratulations Laurie, we hope that good health<br />
continues to follow you.<br />
Mr Murray Happ (SAC 1985)<br />
Director of Development<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 0
<strong>2006</strong> Annual Dinner<br />
The <strong>2006</strong> Annual Dinner was held on Friday 23 June<br />
at North Sydney Leagues Club. The Club proved to<br />
be a popular venue with the younger Old Boys as a<br />
significant number of young Old Boys were in attendance.<br />
Our special guests for the evening included Fr Ross Jones SJ,<br />
Rector of the College, Fr Chris Middleton SJ, Principal of the<br />
College and Fr Geoffrey Schneider SJ who is celebrating<br />
his 60th year as a Jesuit Priest.<br />
Bernie Egan, Quentin Evans and Greg Lambert (SAC 1967)<br />
1997), Paul (SAC 1999), John (SAC 2001) and Anthony<br />
(SAC 2005) all attending.<br />
Paul Haylen (SAC 1978), Dom Haylen (SAC 2003), Bernard Haylen<br />
(SAC 1970), Peter Haylen (SAC 1979) and Andrew Haylen (SAC <strong>2006</strong>)<br />
It is often not appreciated by our younger Old Boys that<br />
they will be Old Boys of the College for five to six times<br />
longer than they were students. The Annual Dinner this year<br />
saw Old Boys from the class of 1938 to the class of 2005<br />
attend. Given the significant numbers from the 1950’s,<br />
1960’s and 1970’s that attend the dinner each year, one<br />
can only assume that you never really leave a school like<br />
Aloys.<br />
Bernard Haylen (SAC 1970), Richard Cavanagh (SAC 1976),<br />
Kevin Emanuel (SAC 1967)<br />
Peter Moore (SAC 1975) is to be congratulated for<br />
organising the dinner again this year. It was a great night.<br />
The 2007 Annual Dinner will be held on Friday 22<br />
June, 2007. Put it in your diaries for next year.<br />
Year 12 students Tom Cavanagh, Jimmy Emanuel, Andrew Haylen,<br />
George Bullen, Toby Dibble and Edwin Nelson.<br />
The Dinner proved to be very popular with the Haylen<br />
family. Bernard Haylen (SAC 1970) was joined by his<br />
brothers Paul Haylen (SAC 1978), Peter Haylen (SAC<br />
1979) and his sons, Dom Haylen (SAC 2003) and<br />
Andrew Haylen, Captain of the College for <strong>2006</strong>. The<br />
Donohoe family was also well represented on the night<br />
with Michael (SAC 1967) and his four sons, James (SAC<br />
Julius Daru (SAC 1955), Michael Peters (SAC 1955),<br />
Gordon Rorke (SAC 1955), Peter Ford (SAC 1954)<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 1
from SACOBU<br />
Class of 1986 Twenty Year Reunion<br />
I<br />
have<br />
to say, what a night! A truly magnificent turn-out of<br />
seventy Old Boys from a total class size of one hundred<br />
and twenty. I had initially hoped for forty or fifty to get<br />
together, but preparation and persistence was the key. It<br />
dawned upon me, that little did we know how strong a<br />
bond was formed from such a young age, and how vital<br />
it is to be open minded in such a cynical and material<br />
society.<br />
Michael Ryan, Terry Tang, Justin Harris and Sean Carmody<br />
It really made me proud to see such diverse backgrounds,<br />
skills, knowledge and growth these men have achieved.<br />
Some have changed in physical appearance, but that’s<br />
what a good life can do to some, some have lost hair<br />
(well, quite a few) although what has not changed was<br />
their vibrant personalities that were formulated so long ago.<br />
The comedians are still comedians and the quiet ones were<br />
stronger and more confident than twenty years ago.<br />
There were quite a few celebrities from this Year that<br />
deserve a mention, along with the many that travelled<br />
so far to join us. They were Simon Harrison (Philippines),<br />
Geoff Thompson (Asia Correspondent for ABC Television),<br />
Simon Clarke (Canada), Tristam Smyth (Northern Territory),<br />
Matthew Cusick (Ranger NT), Murray Frangs (WA), Terry<br />
Lerner (Queensland), Cyrus Katrak, Michael Houlihan, and<br />
John Spender (all from Victoria), Simon Jones (Orange),<br />
Paul McDonald and Duncan Hayward (Canberra), Derek<br />
Shying (Katoomba), Michael Ryan (celebrity and personal<br />
trainer to the stars) and Adam Spencer (ABC Radio and TV<br />
presenter).<br />
The evening was conducted at the Commodore Hotel in<br />
North Sydney (owned by an Old Boy, Damian Reed SAC<br />
1989); a small group attended the Rugby at the College<br />
Oval earlier in the day. I can happily describe the Reunion<br />
as a party like no other – a party where you actually<br />
AMDG<br />
Class of 1956 and 1957<br />
– 50 Year Reunion<br />
Michael Delaney (SAC 1957) and Tony Bland (SAC 1957)<br />
propose to organise a 50th Reunion for both 1956 and 1957<br />
leavers on the second weekend in March 2007. The format<br />
presently proposed is a Mass at the College on the Saturday<br />
evening at 6.00 am and a dinner on the fourth floor of the<br />
College with access to the roof terrace overlooking the Harbour<br />
and the Bridge following the Mass.<br />
On the Sunday morning brunch is proposed at the Royal<br />
Sydney Yacht Squadron together with wives and family<br />
members who may care to be present. The brunch is designed<br />
to make the event a matter of some interest to members who<br />
may be bringing their wives for long distances for a weekend<br />
in Sydney.<br />
Matthew Hardyman, Peter Baumgart, Simon Van De Veld,<br />
Simon Clarke and Michael Crowe<br />
Any other suggestions will be readily considered.<br />
Please communicate your interest to Michael Delaney at<br />
mjd@delaneylawyers.com.au or (02) 9230 1500,<br />
or to Tony Bland at tony.bland@optusnet.com.au<br />
or (02) 9955-2940.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 2
Simon Jones, Tristam Smythe and David Velthuysen<br />
knew every single person, but with initial faded memories<br />
pouring back over time with a cheeky grin. There were no<br />
regrets, no grudges and we were born for greater things<br />
– friendship.<br />
I would like to thank everyone for attending the Reunion<br />
and sincerely hope we all remain in touch as we grow<br />
old.<br />
I have made available all the photos taken that night<br />
available at the following website: http://www.flickr.<br />
com/photos/83386113@N00/ Photos can be freely<br />
downloaded from the site.<br />
I look forward to seeing everyone again in five years<br />
time for the Twenty-Five Year Reunion.<br />
James Smyth (SAC 1986)<br />
Reunion Organiser<br />
AMDG<br />
Class of 1976 - Thirty Year Reunion<br />
The Class of 1976 is holding a 30 Year Reunion!<br />
When:<br />
Friday 20 October <strong>2006</strong> commencing 7.00 pm<br />
Where: Sebel, Pier One, Millers Point<br />
Who:<br />
Cost:<br />
All members of the Class of 1976, including those<br />
who left the College prior to Year 12<br />
$50 includes a buffet dinner. A cash bar will<br />
operate throughout the night<br />
We want to make sure we have contacted all the guys many<br />
of whom are now flung far and wide. If you would like to<br />
receive an invitation or know somebody who would, please<br />
drop an email to Simon Rice (SAC 1976) or Bryan Jenkins<br />
(SAC 1976) staloysius1976@hotmail.com<br />
We look forward to a wonderful night and reviving<br />
many old friendships.<br />
Newport Rhode Island to Bermuda<br />
Centenary Year Race<br />
A<br />
series<br />
of circumstances saw Michael Delaney (SAC<br />
1957), Geoff Hill (SAC 1962) and <strong>St</strong>ephen<br />
Wall (SAC 1964) meet on the same boat for the<br />
centenary year race from Newport Rhode Island in the<br />
USA to Bermuda. The Aloysians teamed up with seven other<br />
Australians and four Americans for the 637 nautical mile<br />
race, one of the four major ocean races in the world.<br />
There were two hundred and sixty-seven starters in the<br />
race and the Aloysian flag was held high as their yacht<br />
attained third place in their division. The balance of the<br />
crew were somewhat bemused by the rendering of the<br />
complete version of The Blue and Gold Forever and the<br />
College War Cry, but were suitably impressed.<br />
AMDG<br />
Marriages in The Boys’ Chapel<br />
The College congratulates the following Old Boys<br />
who have been married in The Boys’ Chapel this year.<br />
11 March <strong>2006</strong><br />
Garry Ng (SAC 1997) and Suzanne Carruthers<br />
1 April <strong>2006</strong><br />
Michael Clear (SAC 1992) and Christina Gea<br />
8 April <strong>2006</strong><br />
Robert Kneeshaw (SAC 1994) and Nichola Groves<br />
3 June <strong>2006</strong><br />
Michael Delaney (SAC 1957) and Sharon Forster<br />
17 June <strong>2006</strong><br />
Robert Samuel (SAC 1993) and Catherine Dolle<br />
8 July <strong>2006</strong><br />
Charles McNamara (SAC 1984) and Danielle <strong>St</strong>ramandinoli<br />
24 June <strong>2006</strong><br />
Peter Sumner (SAC 1985) and Donna Durante<br />
15 July <strong>2006</strong><br />
Tim Sill (SAC 1995) and Donna Pollitt<br />
5 August <strong>2006</strong><br />
Richard Fox-Smith (SAC 1988) and Anna Sale<br />
Congratulations to the following children who have<br />
been Baptised in The Boys’ Chapel this year.<br />
26 March<br />
Aston Loic Yuen, son of Jonathan (SAC 1983)<br />
and Colleen Yuen<br />
Kent Anthony Churcher, son of Guy (SAC 1987)<br />
and Mary-Kate Churcher<br />
9 April<br />
Noah John Saunders, son of Chris (SAC 1986)<br />
and Christofili Saunders<br />
Any Old Boy or member of the Aloysian Family wishing to use<br />
The Boys’ Chapel for a wedding, baptism or funeral is asked<br />
to contact the College to make arrangements.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 3
from SACOBU<br />
Old Boys News:<br />
Father Roger McGinley SAC (SAC 1937)<br />
1937celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of his<br />
Priesthood on 20 July. Father McGinley is a Pallottine Priest<br />
based in Melbourne. The Pallottine Fathers and Brothers, or<br />
more formally, The Society of the Catholic Apostolate, identify<br />
themselves with SAC after their name, thus Father McGinley<br />
is Roger McGinley SAC (SAC 1937)! During his career,<br />
Father McGinley has worked with Aboriginals, worked in<br />
missions in India and has been involved in Parish and retreat<br />
work. Until his recent retirement from active ministry, he ran<br />
an ashram in Victoria where people of all faiths could go for<br />
peace and quiet and meditation. The entire Aloysian Family<br />
congratulates Father on his jubilee and prays that he may<br />
continue his priestly work, spreading the news of God.<br />
Barney Mungoven and co-author Greg<br />
1941Dening have written a history of the Parish<br />
of North Sydney. Wallumetta – The Other Side sets out<br />
the establishment of <strong>St</strong> Mary’s Parish 150 years ago. The<br />
book has a number of beautiful historical photographs and<br />
sketches. <strong>St</strong>ories included in the book cover the establishment<br />
of the various parish schools, the involvement of parishioners<br />
and the architecture of the churches in the Parish. Wallumetta<br />
– The Other Side is available from the Parish Office at <strong>St</strong><br />
Mary’s North Sydney.<br />
Jim Reilly (father of James SAC 1991) was<br />
1955awarded an Honour Cap by the Australian<br />
Rugby Union at a gala dinner held at the Hilton Hotel<br />
in Sydney on 28 July to launch the <strong>2006</strong> Bledisloe Cup<br />
Season. The dinner was attended by more than one<br />
thousand people and included current and past greats of<br />
the game from Australia and New Zealand. Jim is a former<br />
international rugby referee, he oversaw the 1972 Brisbane<br />
Test between Australia and France, and has refereed more<br />
than one hundred first grade games and twenty representative<br />
matches during his career. His most embarrassing moment<br />
came when, during a televised match, he ran into the goal<br />
posts and knocked himself out! A resident of Grafton for the<br />
past fourteen years, Jim works as an accountant and remains<br />
a passionate supporter of the ‘game played in heaven’.<br />
Michael Delaney married Sharon Forster on<br />
19573 June <strong>2006</strong> in the College Chapel. The<br />
Sharon and Michael Delaney in <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>' Chapel. Attendants from<br />
left: Best Man, Tristan Delaney (SAC 1990), Jessica Delaney, Skye<br />
Heman and Damian Heman (Michael's Children and son-in-law)<br />
wedding was conducted by Father Tony Smith SJ (SAC <strong>St</strong>aff<br />
1985 – 2003). The College Junior School Zipoli Choir<br />
entertained guests. Tristan Delaney (SAC 1990) was the best<br />
man. Daughters Skye Heman and Jessica were attendants,<br />
together with Michael’s son-in-law Damian Heman. Present<br />
at the nuptial mass and reception were Old Boys; Peter<br />
Delaney (SAC 1955), David Sheil (SAC 1957), John<br />
Buckley (SAC 1956), George Crowley (SAC 1956), John<br />
Bowie AM (SAC 1957), Peter O’Donnell (SAC 1956),<br />
Michael Bartlett (SAC 1957), Tony Bland (SAC 1957),<br />
Greg Schneider (SAC 1957), Col O’Connor (SAC 1962),<br />
Br Bruce Roberston SJ (SAC 1959), <strong>St</strong>ephen Tait (SAC<br />
1979) and Michael Gillis (SAC 1979).<br />
After nearly twenty-six years of serving the<br />
1968finest fish and chips to countless thousands of<br />
students and local residents, Brian Clarke has sold Kirribilli<br />
Seafoods to pursue other interests and to improve his golf<br />
game. Brian’s shop was a favourite haunt of the Year 11 and<br />
12 boys, Jesuits, staff, parents and Old Boys.<br />
<strong>St</strong>eve Wiblin and his partner Jane Willson<br />
1973own Neagles Rock Vineyard in the Clare<br />
Valley of South Australia. <strong>St</strong>eve and Jane have recently<br />
added a range of beer to the line up of beverages they<br />
produce. Neagles Rock Dog House Wheat Beer is a cloudy<br />
style wheat beer with fresh fruity aromas and a slight citrus<br />
edge. <strong>St</strong>ock of the beer, along with their full range of wine,<br />
is available direct from the winery.<br />
Greg Murray is a Professor of Dentistry at<br />
1974Sydney University, where his wife, Tania, is<br />
also a lecturer. Greg and Tania have two children, Kathryn<br />
(aged 10) and John (aged 6). The family recently spent<br />
twelve months sabbatical at the faculty of Dentistry at the<br />
University of Toronto in Canada.<br />
Roger Comfort worked for the mining industry<br />
1981over the last twelve years, and now works for<br />
United Group in their infrastructure division. Roger moved<br />
recently to Hawkesbury Heights with his wife Roslyn and<br />
their five children.<br />
Andrew Leavey recently appeared in the<br />
1985Sydney Moring Herald’s special report into<br />
Corporate Responsibility. Andrew has bee involved in a trial<br />
literacy programme assisting six to eight year olds at Ashcroft<br />
Primary School in Sydney.<br />
Michael Taylor is teaching PDHPE at the College. In 1981<br />
Michael was a member of the College Under 13A Rugby<br />
Team coached by Paul Rowland (SAC 1973 and SAC <strong>St</strong>aff<br />
1976 - Present). As part of his co-curricular duties at the<br />
College, Michael now coaches his old team, the Under<br />
13As. In an interesting twist, Michael now coaches Matthew<br />
Rowland (Year 7), the son of Paul Rowland! Sadly, Michael<br />
has four daughters, so there is little chance of the tradition<br />
continuing.<br />
Andrew ‘Herb’ McDermott is working for ABN AMRO<br />
in Hong Kong. Herb and his family recently returned to<br />
Australia for a three week holiday and he managed to<br />
squeeze a game of golf at the Aloysian Golf Day on 10<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 4
August. Herb reports that the family appreciated the holiday<br />
back home with the wide open spaces, a nice break from<br />
the chaos and crowds of Hong Kong.<br />
John Healey and his partner Liz Winters (Monte Saint<br />
Angelo 1985) would like to announce the birth of their<br />
first child Angus James Healey born Sunday 9 April <strong>2006</strong>.<br />
Angus weighed in at mighty 4.1 kilos and his parents expect<br />
him to join the Wallaby squad by 2024.<br />
Dr Carsten Palme graduated from Medicine<br />
1986at Sydney University 1993. He completed<br />
specialist training as a Head and Neck Surgeon and spent<br />
two years living and working in Toronto, Canada. Married<br />
to Anne Morris, with one child Emilie, Carsten was recently<br />
appointed to Westmead Hospital as a Head and Neck<br />
Surgeon.<br />
Daniel Lapaine recently returned to Australia<br />
1988to present his big-screen writing and directorial<br />
debut, 48 Shades. The movie, an adaptation of the book<br />
48 Shades of Brown by Nick Earls, was one of the feature<br />
films at the Brisbane International Film Festival. Daniel, who<br />
starred in the great Australian movie, Muriel’s Wedding,<br />
describes 48 Shades as a comedy about unrequited love.<br />
Daniel has lived and worked in London since 1999 and<br />
hopes to spend more time both behind and in front of the<br />
camera in the years ahead.<br />
Pierre Huetter and his wife, Meegan Fitzharris,<br />
1988are proud to announce the birth of their son in<br />
April <strong>2006</strong>. Alois Huetter (the German version of <strong>Aloysius</strong>)<br />
was named after Pierre’s father’s favourite uncle.<br />
Andrew Jensen has lived overseas since<br />
19891998, when he first headed to Chicago USA,<br />
working in the conference and events industry. Andrew has<br />
been involved in setting up, developing and running<br />
businesses in North America and Europe, including cities<br />
like Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, London, Berlin<br />
and Prague. This was all with a company called Marcus<br />
Evans. Most recently he was Chief Operating Officer of their<br />
business in Canada. Andrew has just left them to join a new<br />
company, IQPC, as Managing Director for a new venture<br />
to be launched in North America (still in the conferences<br />
and events space) in early September. This will be based<br />
out of Toronto, Canada where Andrew lives with his wife<br />
Sandra and his one year old daughter Miah. Andrew is also<br />
involved in two other companies, one property investment<br />
company, Qadrant Properties in the UK, and another called<br />
Australian Boutique Beverages, a relatively new company<br />
formed initially to represent small brewers across Australia,<br />
soon branching in to other beverages as well, including<br />
wine and spirits, and looking to open their first retail outlet in<br />
Melbourne, The Australian Beer Bar.<br />
Major James Murray returned in July from a year in the USA<br />
as the Australian Army student at the US Army Command<br />
and General <strong>St</strong>aff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.<br />
Whilst there, he and his wife Roxanne were blessed with<br />
the birth of their first child – a little American/Australian son,<br />
Austin. James is now posted as a Senior Instructor at the<br />
Royal Military College, Duntroon in Canberra.<br />
Luke Barnett and his wife Denise are both<br />
1992doctors and have just completed their final<br />
Anaesthetic Specialist exams and are hoping to work for a<br />
year in Hong Kong.<br />
After a couple of years (well, many), Nick<br />
1994Paul received his PhD in Marine Biology from<br />
the University of NSW, Sydney. He is currently enjoying<br />
some tropical marine science activities up on the Great<br />
Barrier Reef, working at James Cook University, Townsville,<br />
where he has a postdoctoral fellowship till 2009.<br />
Greg Hickey is a real estate agent for McGrath Real Estate,<br />
specialising in the Burraneer, Cronulla and Oyster Bay<br />
area.<br />
Father Thomas Brancik has returned to<br />
1995Australia after completing his Doctorate in<br />
Canon Law in Rome. Father Brancik has been appointed<br />
a lecturer in Canon Law and Early Church History at the<br />
Seminary in Wagga Wagga, the Diocese in which he is<br />
incardinated.<br />
Robert Flynn is a Captain in the Australian Army and is<br />
currently serving as an instructor at the Royal Military College<br />
Duntroon in Canberra.<br />
Ken Hall and his wife Zara recently graduated<br />
1996with Masters of Real Estate from the University<br />
of NSW. Ken currently works for The <strong>St</strong>arlight Foundation<br />
based in Sydney.<br />
1997<br />
The Manly Food and Wine Festival can be<br />
quite a haven for those who like a bit of<br />
celebrity spotting, fine food and wine and of course some<br />
great music. This year’s festival was certainly no different.<br />
And so, a lazy afternoon sipping wine by the beach turned<br />
into quite a reunion for a number of members of the Class of<br />
1997. Daniel Dewar was fresh off the plane from his latest<br />
stint in the UK, when Rob O’Brien dusted off some red dirt to<br />
buy a jovial young lady a couple of “wine sponges for the<br />
road” from Dan’s cake stall. Soon after, Matt Godwin (SAC<br />
1998) strolled past with a full glass of Chardonnay and a<br />
very tanned London girl by his side. About six hours later,<br />
after braving icy cold conditions along the beachfront, not<br />
only were the boys still going strong – but they were also<br />
lucky enough to re-unite with a number of other colourful<br />
characters. Joey Moule (SAC 1997) was there, talking about<br />
the highlands of Nepal, while Craig Freeman (SAC 1997)<br />
took pride in drafting a strategy to clean up the pool table<br />
despite the addition of a very tricky water trap. As James<br />
Meagher (SAC 1997) reminisced about bamboozling the<br />
opposition in the successful 15As cricket side, Paul Ortega<br />
(SAC 1997) was only a block away from his new office<br />
at Manly Council, and was contemplating the potential<br />
sociological implications of his future as a pilot. But when<br />
Patrick Barrow (SAC 1997) assessed the foundations and<br />
relaxed over a few quiet “post Poland” local beers, the<br />
illustrious Anthony Handley (SAC 1997) and Mark De Tullio<br />
(SAC 1997) were enjoying a number of local brews as well!<br />
Whilst memories of the evening are a tad foggy, they all<br />
recall that there was a lot of man hugging involved and that<br />
all participants were glad to reunite after almost ten years!<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 5
from SACOBU<br />
Daniel McGirr has recently purchased a<br />
1999chicken shop in Baulkam Hills. Hills Chooks<br />
specialises in all types of poultry and game and caters for all<br />
types of events and parties. Daniel would love to hear from<br />
any members of the Aloysian Family living in the area and<br />
can assure them of the best quality food and service.<br />
Matthew Sherry is the Head Cadet at the Royal Military<br />
College Duntroon and graduated with the Sword of<br />
Honour in mid-June. Matthew was the RSM in the College<br />
Cadet Unit. He was a College Prefect and was involved<br />
in a very broad range of activities during his life at the<br />
College, including sporting, academic and social justice<br />
issues. Since leaving school Matt has also been involved<br />
in refereeing rugby at the College. In his Valete biography<br />
in the 1999 Aloysian he describes his ambition “To<br />
develop an unwavering self-belief so that I may reach the<br />
heights that so many men dream of, yet so few achieve.”<br />
It sounds like Matt is well on his way to achieving that<br />
ambition.<br />
Philip Jensen (brother of Andrew SAC 1989)<br />
2000works for the Hyatt Hotel chain. After working<br />
at the Hyatt Sanctuary Cove in Queensland, he recently<br />
moved to the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne where he is the<br />
Assistant Manager of the hotel’s award winning cocktail bar,<br />
Bar Deco.<br />
Pete Greene is a pilot with Qantas flying 747s internationally<br />
for the airline. Pete has been with Qantas for the past<br />
four years after completing his pilot training through the<br />
Qantas Cadetship Programme based at Parafield Airport in<br />
Adelaide.<br />
Bosco Wu has been offered a place in<br />
2001graduate Medicine following his studies in<br />
Medical Science.<br />
Victor Wu (brother of Bosco SAC 2001)<br />
2003has been awarded two prizes by Sydney<br />
University for coming first in both the School of Electrical and<br />
Information Engineering and the Department of Electrical<br />
Engineering. He received his prizes in May. Victor continues<br />
his involvement with the SBS Youth Orchestra who played<br />
a concert in conjunction with the College Orchestra on 28<br />
May at the College.<br />
Paul O’Byrne and his fiancée, Cheryl Frank were married<br />
on 26 August at <strong>St</strong> Gerard Magella Church, Carlingford.<br />
Cheryl hails from Norwalk, Connecticut, USA. Paul and<br />
Cheryl met when they both were working at our brother<br />
Jesuit School, Xavier High School, on the Island of Chuuk<br />
in Micronesia. Paul spent twelve months on the island as<br />
a Micronesian Scholar and Cheryl was a Jesuit Volunteer,<br />
teaching at the school.<br />
Ashley Fontana is studying Finance at Cornell University in<br />
New York, USA. Ashley is looking forward to attending the<br />
Aloysian Reunion in New York in November <strong>2006</strong>.<br />
James Boyers graduates in September with Bachelor of<br />
Law (Hons) from Bond University. James suspects he is the<br />
first Aloysian to do so and the first graduate as an Aloysian<br />
Participating Schools Scholar.<br />
John McCormack recently travelled to the<br />
2004United <strong>St</strong>ates to compete in the World Scholar<br />
Athlete Games in Rhode Island. The keynote address was<br />
presented by the Former President of the United <strong>St</strong>ates and<br />
Jesuit Alumnus (Georgetown University), Bill Clinton. The<br />
games consist of an academic and sporting programme,<br />
with John playing rugby at the Games.<br />
Two of last year’s HSC class were accepted<br />
2005into the NSW <strong>St</strong>ate Conservatorium of Music.<br />
Earlier this year each of them was awarded a scholarship<br />
for excellence in their respective fields. James Goldrick was<br />
awarded the Board of Governors Scholarship (Musicology)<br />
and Cameron Hissey received the Helen Meyers Scholarship<br />
(Vocal <strong>St</strong>udies).<br />
Past <strong>St</strong>aff News:<br />
Greg Foley (SAC <strong>St</strong>aff 1975 - 1988) lives in Houston, Texas<br />
in the United <strong>St</strong>ates where he works for a company involved<br />
in oil and gas development as an IT professional. Greg is<br />
currently the President of the Australian American Chamber of<br />
Commerce in Houston and is the Immediate Past President of<br />
the national umbrella body ANZACC (Australian and New<br />
Zealand American Chambers of Commerce). Greg sends his<br />
regards to former pupils and invites any Old Boy travelling<br />
through Texas to make contact with him (please contact the<br />
Development Office at the College for contact details). Greg<br />
recently hosted a party to coincide with Australia’s match<br />
versus Brazil in the Soccer World Cup, but he is quick to<br />
add that rugby is still his number one game!<br />
Deceased Old Boys:<br />
Laurence Timmony (SAC 1931) died on 15 August <strong>2006</strong>.<br />
Father of John (SAC 1960), Geoffrey (SAC 1962) and Bill<br />
(SAC 1966) and Grandfather of Scott (SAC 2000).<br />
John Powell (SAC 1935) died on 26 June <strong>2006</strong>. Husband<br />
of Margaret (SAC <strong>St</strong>aff 1970 – 1986) and Father of<br />
Michael (SAC 1971), Mark (SAC 1974), Robert (SAC<br />
1978) and Richard (SAC 1980).<br />
John Irwin (SAC 1945) died on 28 April <strong>2006</strong>, buried<br />
from the College Chapel on Friday 5 May <strong>2006</strong>. John was<br />
a member of a large Aloysian family. He leaves behind<br />
his wife Esma and brothers; Brian (SAC 1946), Jim (SAC<br />
1951), Michael (SAC 1956) and Grandson Craig (SAC<br />
1991)<br />
John Moore (SAC 1945) died on 18 May <strong>2006</strong><br />
Gerard Horton (SAC 1950) died on 19 July <strong>2006</strong> and<br />
was buried from Our Lady <strong>St</strong>ar of the Sea, Kirribilli on 24<br />
July <strong>2006</strong>.<br />
Rodney Arrand (SAC 1954) died on 13 February <strong>2006</strong><br />
John Healy (SAC 1981) was tragically killed in a train<br />
accident in late May.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 6
Obituaries<br />
The College is saddened to hear of the passing of the<br />
following Old Boys of the College. We ask you to remember<br />
them and their families in your prayers.<br />
Wilfred James (Jim) Young (SAC 1928)<br />
Wilfred James Young,<br />
better known to<br />
everyone as Jim, was<br />
born in 1910. Jim and<br />
his family lived in a home<br />
at the rear of the School<br />
of Arts in Mount <strong>St</strong>reet<br />
North Sydney and he<br />
spent his early education<br />
at the Convent School in<br />
Lavender Bay.<br />
Jim commenced his<br />
education at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
College in 1920 and left after the Intermediate Certificate<br />
in 1926. In an interview with the College’s oral historian<br />
in 1991, Jim noted that he had to leave school to earn<br />
some money. His seven years as a student at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’<br />
established Jim’s life long passion for the College and<br />
everything Aloysian. Until his death on 26 June <strong>2006</strong>,<br />
Jim was a regular spectator at the College 1st XV games<br />
at Willoughby and a regular attendee of The Gonzaga<br />
Society events at the College. Jim loved the College and<br />
was a passionate supporter of everything Aloysian and<br />
the Jesuits, men whom he said he owed so much for who<br />
he was.<br />
Testimony to his affection for the College and the Jesuits<br />
was a comment he made in the Oral History interview<br />
in 1991 when he said: “The outstanding part of a Jesuit<br />
education is they teach you a set of principles that you<br />
never forget. Yes, a Jesuit education I think is second to<br />
none.”<br />
It was those guiding principles that made Jim Young the<br />
man he was throughout his life – one of life’s truly great<br />
gentlemen.<br />
Jim’s sporting prowess and love of all sports was founded<br />
at <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’. He was an excellent cricketer, playing in the<br />
College First eleven in 1924 at the age of 14, as well as<br />
the 1925 and 1926 seasons. As an athlete he won all six<br />
Under 16 events at the CAS Carnival in 1925, breaking<br />
four records and equalling two. But his number one passion,<br />
in fact, dare I say his life long obsession was Rugby Union.<br />
Jim played in the College 1st XV in 1925 and 1926 at a<br />
time when football boots cost one pound a pair.<br />
After leaving school Jim worked in the advertising<br />
industry, a job that developed his passion for sales and<br />
his love of interaction with people that continued right to<br />
the end.<br />
In 1927 he signed on with Northern Suburbs Rugby<br />
Club, a team he steadfastly and passionately supported<br />
throughout his life. In 1930 he was selected for the NSW<br />
Team for their tour to Queensland. Unfortunately he was<br />
working for the American advertising company, J Walter<br />
Thompson and his boss, an American, would not release<br />
him from work to travel on the tour. With much regret,<br />
Jim had to decline the opportunity to represent his <strong>St</strong>ate.<br />
He was selected in the 1931 NSW Team that toured<br />
Queensland undefeated.<br />
In 1932 Jim applied for a job as editor of the Rugby<br />
News – his career in advertising and great success in<br />
rugby providing him with suitable qualifications for the role.<br />
Sadly his role with NSW Rugby prevented him from being<br />
selected in the 1933 Wallaby Tour of South Africa. There is<br />
a delicious irony that his employer, the NSW Rugby Union,<br />
banned him from firstly playing the game, but also from<br />
being selected as a Wallaby in the first tour to South Africa<br />
by the national side. But like the ban imposed by J Walter<br />
Thompson Advertising, Jim took the ban on the chin and got<br />
on with life. Winning the 1933 Sydney premiership with<br />
North’s was one of Jim’s great rugby highlights.<br />
In all Jim played for NSW on ten occasions, and of<br />
course until his passing was the oldest former player of both<br />
NSW and North’s Rugby. He was honoured to have been<br />
recognised by both organisations over recent years for his<br />
role as oldest past player.<br />
In 1935 Jim joined the NSW Fire Brigade, mainly so<br />
he could play with their team in a mid-week competition as<br />
well as playing for North’s on the weekends. For sixteen<br />
years Jim played Rugby for North’s on the weekend, Rugby<br />
with the NSW Fire Brigade Team, edited the Rugby News<br />
and was an active Fire fighter – and we think that we are<br />
busy in our modern world!<br />
Jim fought the biggest fire in Australian history in<br />
September 1935 when the Goldsborough Mort Wool<br />
<strong>St</strong>ore in Pyrmont caught fire. The fire burnt for four weeks<br />
and caused an amazing £750,000 worth of damage.<br />
Whilst Rugby, advertising, newspapers and fire fighting<br />
were big interests of Jim’s, it was real estate that was<br />
his great work passion. His first venture in real estate<br />
occurred in 1938 when he purchased a block of land in<br />
Northbridge for £105 with a 5% loan over five years. He<br />
purchased the block from another Old Boy of <strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’,<br />
Sid Raper. During the War, Jim, who worked in a protected<br />
occupation, dabbled in real estate sales – of course whilst<br />
still fighting fires and playing rugby.<br />
In 1951 he took over a real estate office from Sid Raper<br />
in Castlecrag and so started an intimate 40 plus years<br />
association with the people of Castlecrag, Castle Cove,<br />
Middle Cove and Northbridge. Jim Young Real Estate was<br />
established in Castlecrag for over forty years. During this<br />
time he built the Castlecrag shopping centre that still stands<br />
on the corner of Eastern Valley Way and Edinburgh <strong>St</strong>reets.<br />
Jim really opened up the Castlecrag and Middle Cove<br />
areas developing and selling 166 blocks of land in Middle<br />
Cove and a further 87 blocks in Castlecrag.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 7
from SACOBU<br />
Jim’s time as a property developer encouraged him to<br />
run for Willoughby Council. Jim served eleven and a half<br />
years as a Councillor on Willoughby Council and was<br />
active in the local progress association for many years.<br />
Jim adored his family and has been a pillar of support<br />
and love for all their lives. He wife Lois died in 2002 and<br />
he is survived by his daughter Carolyn, son-in-law Tom and<br />
grandson, Cameron.<br />
Rugby player, advertising executive, fire fighter, real<br />
estate agent, property developer, councillor, husband,<br />
father, grandfather and dear friend, Jim was a man who<br />
loved his life to the full and certainly made the most of every<br />
opportunity. Our faith tells us that he is in a better place;<br />
let’s just hope that Jim has a great view of the game, right<br />
on halfway!<br />
Murray Happ (SAC 1985)<br />
Director of Development<br />
Eternal Rest grant to them O Lord<br />
and let perpetual light shine upon them,<br />
may their Souls and all the Souls<br />
of the faithfully departed Old Boys of the College,<br />
through the mercy of God, rest In Peace. Amen.<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>, pray for us!<br />
AMDG<br />
Overseas Reunion<br />
Reunions for Old Boys, Parents, Past Parents, Future<br />
Parents, Past Gap <strong>St</strong>udents/Grumitt Scholars and<br />
Friends of the College will be held in the following<br />
cities/regions in late <strong>2006</strong>:<br />
Hong Kong/Asia<br />
San Francisco/West Coast USA<br />
Washington DC<br />
New York<br />
Boston/New England<br />
UK/Europe – London<br />
Saturday 28 October<br />
Sunday 29 October<br />
Wednesday 1 November<br />
Saturday 4 November<br />
Thursday 9 November<br />
Saturday 18 November<br />
Invitations will be posted to every member of the Aloysian<br />
Family who currently receives the <strong>Aloysiad</strong> direct from the<br />
College (as opposed to receiving the <strong>Aloysiad</strong> via a family<br />
member in Australia). Invitations will also be e-mailed to those<br />
people we have addresses for.<br />
Anyone who would like to receive information about the<br />
Reunions, or those who would like to nominate someone<br />
living in these regions who would like to attend any of<br />
the events, is asked to contact Murray Happ (SAC 1985)<br />
at the College on 9936 5561 or murray.happ@staloysius.<br />
nsw.edu.au<br />
Aloysian Golf Day<br />
The <strong>2006</strong> Aloysian Golf Day was held on Thursday<br />
10 August at Manly Golf Club. Over one hundred<br />
members of the Aloysian Family played on the day,<br />
including four boys from the College who put many an<br />
older golfer to shame!<br />
Congratulations to Greg Lambert (SAC 1967) for his<br />
organisation of the day. The 2007 Aloysian Golf Day will<br />
be held at manly Golf Club in August and will be advertised<br />
in the <strong>Aloysiad</strong> in early 2007.<br />
Daniel Kissane, Andrew 'Herb' McDermott, Andrew Slattery and<br />
Tim Sidgreaves (all SAC 1985) at the Aloysian Golf Day<br />
<strong>St</strong> <strong>Aloysius</strong>’ College<br />
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 a l o y s i a d / p a g e 4 8