The Magazine of St Aloysius' College • 'Men for Others' • Issue XLVII ...

Dinner is more than a simple statement of reality, though
this is in itself extraordinary enough. Our approach of
regarding the College Co-curricular Programme as a
whole surely says something about how we see ourselves
as an educational community. We seek to value each and
every activity that the boys undertake, and, in doing so,
value each and every student. Our educational philosophy
looks to the formation of the whole person, and this holistic
approach embraces the physical and the aesthetic, the
creative and the intellectual, and the ability to work with
others in teams, ensembles, units and casts. As a College,
we seek to respect the passion, commitment and skills of all
who participate, endeavour and achieve.
Our commitment to our Co-curricular Programme is
exercised in the context of the identity and values of the
College. As a religious school the formation of the heart
and the spirit shapes our identity. We do not apologise
for giving clear priority to the boys’ academic programme.
We do not offer sporting scholarships. As far as is possible,
we allow students, who have achieved at a certain level
in activities not offered by the school, the freedom and the
support to continue to do so outside of the school. We
seek to maximise the boys’ participation and involvement
across a range of activities, because this accords with our
commitment to forming well-rounded young men: the First XV
forward who plays the violin, the debater who plays Fourth
XI football, the cadet officer who performs on stage.
Part of the purpose of the Dinner was to highlight the
rich and diverse tradition that is the Aloysian co-curricular
programme. In debating, for example, since 1986 Aloysius
has provided three Australian Schoolboy Debaters and
nine NSW State Debaters. Our drama and music tradition
reaches back to the early days of the school. When you
combine these elements in our tradition – speaking and
performing – is it any wonder that the College has such
a rich heritage of actors and performers, musicians and
singers, comedians and reporters, writers and journalists,
and even politicians? Take comedy, for example Ross
Higgins (SAC 1946) of Kingswood Country; international
conductor Sir Charles Mackerras AC CH (SAC 1942);
writer, producer and director, Mel Morrow (SAC 1959);
stand up comedian Anh Do (SAC 1994); Billy Birmingham
(SAC 1970) of The Twelfth Man; Daniel Lapaine (SAC
1988) of Muriel’s Wedding fame and Julian Morrow (SAC
1991) of The Chaser.
Medallists Cecil Healy and Peter ‘Pod’ O’Donnell (SAC
1957) (yachting) only begin to head the list of sportsmen
who have gone on to achieve at the highest levels.
On the night I also acknowledged the tremendous
commitment and contribution of our Director of Co-
Curricula, Mr Paul Rowland (SAC 1974). Paul, himself, is
part of the living tradition that we celebrated at the Dinner.
Back in 1973, as a member of our First XV, Paul scored
one hundred and three points in the five rounds of CAS
competition, surely one of the standout efforts in Aloysius
sporting history.
It is also interesting to note the nature of our sporting
facilities given recent publicity surrounding Government
funding to non-government schools. We have one oval
(11 km away in Willoughby), one indoor basketball court
(which serves also as The Great Hall and examination
centre), and one outside court at the Junior School. In the
summer season we fielded twenty tennis teams, twenty-nine
basketball sides, fifteen cricket teams, three volleyball teams,
six water polo teams, three chess sides and one swimming
team, as well as squads in Tae Kwon Do and fencing in
the Senior School. In the Junior School, we fielded ten
cricket teams, six basketball sides and eight tennis teams.
That same season in CAS competition we were premiers in
tennis, second overall in GPS/CAS water polo (and best
in CAS), third in volleyball, and fourth in cricket, basketball
and chess. The cadets have no training grounds to speak
of, yet the Unit fields two hundred cadets, all volunteers,
and has three full-size working hovercraft (built by the
boys!). The refurbished Miguel Pro Playhouse provides an
intimate space for many fine productions throughout the
year. Music has limited specialised facilities (though they
are on the drawing board); boys can be seen rehearsing
in every nook of the school, with over five hundred learning
musical instruments. A spectacular production of Tommy
this year will stand in the long tradition of College musical
productions,
A proud tradition of involvement and achievement lives
on.
Fr Chris Middleton SJ
Principal
Our Cadets continue to provide a steady stream of
young men who serve and stand in a tradition of so many
Aloysians who have laid down their lives for this land. In
Music the list of musicians might include Martin Cooke
(SAC 1972), leading baritone voice for the Bavarian
State Opera and Paul Dyer (SAC 1972), founder of the
Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. And in sport, the names
of Aussie cricketers Jack Ferris (SAC 1882) and Gordon
Rorke (SAC 1955), Wallabies Paddy Moran, Dan Carroll,
Eddie Mandible and Les Austin (SAC 1952), NSW
Rugby Player James Allen (SAC 1985) and Olympic Gold
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879 aloysiad / page 5