Aloysiad 15-12 2006.indd - St Aloysius

from the junior school
We have come to the
end of yet another
sensational year.
There has been action aplenty
throughout with Term IV living up
to its fast and furious pace. In
what has been the shortest Term
of the year we have had to fit
in several rites of passage for
students moving on to another
phase of their schooling as well those continuing and
starting off in 2007. In the first week of November we
welcomed one hundred and twenty five new students and
their parents for an Orientation Morning in preparation for
2007. For the vast majority of boys and parents, it was
a reassuring few hours on their choice of a new school.
Getting familiar with their new surroundings, meeting their
soon to be new teachers and participating in various
activities gave the boys a taste of what was going to be
an Aloysian way of life.
Grandparents Day 2006 on November 16 was a
memorable day for these special people. Around two
hundred and fifty grandmothers and grandfathers braved
an unusually cold and wet late spring morning to join the
boys in a beautifully celebrated Eucharist. Grandparents
simply lapped up the various tributes boys had put together
for their very special friends. The Mass began with the
Blessing of the new Baptismal Font occupying the pride of
place at the entrance to the Chapel. We were delighted
to welcome Mrs Iris L’Estrange who has donated the
font in fond memory of her late husband Jim L’Estrange
a, highly distinguished Old Boy of the College from the
Class 1937. Despite the inclement weather our guests
were able to thoroughly enjoy a delightful concert and
a sumptuous morning tea presented by the boys and the
P & F respectively. On Tuesday 21 November, the College
community gathered at the Big Top Luna Park for the annual
distribution of prizes and Speech Day. Her Excellency,
Marie Bashir, the Governor of NSW was the guest of
honour at this special celebration honouring the academic
efforts and achievements of our boys in 2006.
On 29 November, the Junior School officially farewelled
our Year 6 students with a Thanksgiving Mass and Dinner
for the parents and sons. It was an important rite of passage
for our Year 6 boys, one of the finest groups ever to have
“graduated” from Junior School into the “big” school in my
long association with the Junior School.
On November 30 we congratulated our athletes and
sportsmen at the Annual Distribution of Sports Prizes.
On a different front but in line with our Junior school way
of life, Term IV saw many efforts by our boys in the service
of Being Men for Others. The Junior School community
was an active participant in the Trivia Night organised to
support the efforts of the Karuna Foundation, an orphanage
project established by an Aloysian family (Joe Kiely SAC
2006). Boys have also established links with Mr John
St Aloysius’ College
A Jesuit School for Boys _ Founded 1879
O’Rielly (SAC 1984), an Old Boy of the College and a
lawyer who has established an orphanage in Tanzania.
In another fundraising effort the boys were able to raise
close to $15,000 for our brother schools in East Timor and
Micronesia. Then there were a number of other outreach
efforts to support Fr Ross Jones SJ and his work with the
Manila Prison Ministry and the Immersion Programme for
our Year 11 boys. I would like to conclude by thanking
the Junior School community for their support in our efforts
on behalf of the boys as I look forward to this association
continuing just as positively for many years to come.
Mr Martin Lobo
Deputy Principal – Junior School
Year 5 Science/HSIE Excursion 2006
On August 10, Year 5 went on an excursion to the
Australian Museum to participate in ‘Science in the
City’ and see Antarctica at the IMAX theatre. The
first thing we saw was a science show with a few other
schools. In the science show they showed us some illusions.
The first illusion was a weight in a shoe box which made
it look like it was hovering on the edge of the table. In the
second illusion the man took a spoon, held it in the middle
and shook it around in a way that made it look like it was
bending. Then they got someone up from another school to
lie on a bed of nails. They also got Paddy Jenkins (Year 5)
to go up as well. They told us that the bed of nails works
because the nails are so close together that your body
weight gets distributed evenly.
Junior School Expo
After that we walked down to the IMAX where we saw
a movie called Antarctica. Before we watched the movie
we had recess at Darling Harbour. In the movie it showed
the animals, the explorers, and the dangers of Antarctica.
The funniest part of the movie was the sound effects that
accompanied the image of the penguins jumping into the
water. It was great to see Antarctica on the big screen. It
made us feel like we were there.
Then we returned to the Australian Museum where we
saw an exhibition about Science. There were lots of stalls
a l o y s i a d / p a g e 8