From the Acting Principal

Last Wednesday the College held our 2019 Valedictory Mass and Dinner — a very special day for our Year 12 students and their families. 

The Mass, celebrated by Fr John Sherman, OMI was held at St Patrick’s Cathedral, with the Valedictory dinner held later that evening at the Sofitel.

In reflecting on the evening it is to clear to me the importance of family, friends and school life in the formation of our young men. When a student joins De La Salle, it is not just he that becomes part of the traditions and history of our College, but his parents and family. This is at the core of what De La Salle College is about. We are a community. A community that celebrates together and struggles together. A community that embraces the Lasallian principles “together and by association”. 

As our Year 12 students, their parents, College staff and special guests gathered “together and by association” as one, we were able to farewell and congratulate the graduating Class of 2019. Farewells are often tinged with sadness, but also with the excitement of moving on to something new and different. This was very much the case again this year. Another group of exceptional young men are leaving the College. For many, it will be the last time they put on their blue and gold blazer. They depart sharing a place in the rich history of this great College. They leave as young men well prepared to face the challenges of their final exams and ready to make a difference to our world through their future endeavours. Vale the Class of 2019.

The House Sporting Carnivals are highlights of the year and much-anticipated events for students and staff. Unfortunately, due to localised, erratic and dangerous weather conditions that developed during the Swimming Carnival on Friday 25 October, we took the decision to abandon the Carnival at 10:40 am. 

We have had a good run over recent years with the weather at our Carnivals and we were certainly unlucky this year. Despite our hope that the weather would blow over, the decision to abandon the event prematurely was based on safety concerns, balancing our own risk assessment, the Carnegie Pool safety requirements and the impact of the rain earlier in the morning on students and staff. 

It was particularly disappointing for Peter Larsen and Geordie Nagle who had spent many hours preparing for the Carnival along with the College staff and Student Leaders. Thank you to parents for understanding with this and our apology for any disruption this may have caused for you on the day.

World Teachers’ Day occurred on 25 October. This day celebrates and acknowledges the work of all teachers not just on one day of the year but every day. We are blessed to have an outstanding group of teachers working at De La Salle. Their skill, patience, generosity and commitment to our young people is greatly appreciated by all in our community.

Finally, the College will stop at 11:00 am on November 11 to mark Remembrance Day. During this significant and solemn event, we pause to honour and remember those men and women who have served our country in the Armed Services.

Mr Tom Ryan
Acting Principal

Back to The Duce Issue 2019 15 - 31 October 2019