Oremus let us pray - St Aloysius

opportunity to face the reality with creativity, to understand
experience and go to the deeper parts of life. “That is how
transformation occurs.”
Fr Nicolás’ view of faith is inclusive and welcoming. At one point he
suggested that it is better to be an agnostic who is still searching than
a Christian who has stopped searching. He asked us to consider how
we can be “real bridges between the young and the Church”. He
spoke of his relationship with Pope Benedict XVI and of how the
Pope appreciates the spiritual depth and intellectual rigour of the
Jesuits, especially their mission “to go to the frontiers.” Fr Nicolás
challenged us to find these frontiers. During question time Chris
Chan (SAC 2009) asked Fr General how can you dedicate yourself to
a life of service, amidst your professional career? In Fr Nicolas’
response he commented that rather than commit yourself to a service
that you undertake only once a week or once a month, try to find a
way in your workplace or your profession where you can make an
ongoing commitment to helping the disadvantaged, the marginalised
– those most in need. Of course there can be a tension between a
genuine presence with people and the challenge to go to the frontiers.
Jesuits and their companions, who include so many of you, often
have to live that tension. However Fr General also reminded us not
to get so busy that we lose our sense of purpose or presence. It is a
good thought as we begin a new year.
Peter Hosking SJ
THE PRINCIPAL
A very warm welcome to all in the school community as we
commence the 2012 school year, in this the 133rd year of the College!
We welcome especially our new boys and their families to the College
community. We also welcome our new members of staff: Eliza
Collins (Junior School), Suzana Juric (Science), Deanne Kyriacos
(English) and Elizabeth Sheehy (English). David Comito (PDHPE)
will join us at the end of February. A young Polish Jesuit scholastic,
Kamil Mrówka SJ, has joined us for his Regency and will be working
in campus ministry.
As reported in my January letter to the parent body, we were
delighted with the HSC results for the Class of 2011. The Class
included a record seventeen boys on the Premier’s All-rounder list.
There were 287 merits (individual subject results over 90).With
regard to the ATAR mark, nine boys received an ATAR over 99.
The median ATAR was just over 90. Five students featured in the
Top Achievers list.
The 2011 cohort’s results were impressive in all respects. The median
mark is important because it records the success of the cohort as a
whole and that it is not only the boys at the very top who have
achieved so well. We were also delighted with associated results in the
creative arts, combining both strong academic performance and
standout expressions in the various disciplines acknowledged with
their nomination and inclusion for State exhibition.
At our first College assembly, we
acknowledged our four Top Achievers, the
seventeen boys on the Premier’s All
Rounders’ list and our top students in terms
of the ATAR rank. Luke McAlpin was
acknowledged as the College Dux. In
acknowledging the academic efforts in such a
way at the beginning of the year, as we do at
the Annual Prize Giving in Term 4, we are
not only marking individual achievements
but also giving appropriate recognition to the
core work of students and staff alike. In
recognising individual academic excellence by members of the Class
of 2011, we celebrate the gifts of these young men, just as we
celebrate on many occasions the gifts of our sportsmen, musicians,
actors and the like. And just as those performing at high standards in
sport or on stage are able to make best use of their gifts through
training or rehearsing, so too these young men have worked hard
over a number of years to achieve such fine results. We hope, too,
that their effort and achievement will serve to encourage and inspire
those who follow in their footsteps.
At the same time it is always important to remind ourselves that
academic results are only part of the picture, even as far as the
academic picture. Students who achieve to their potential deserve our
praise no matter what the rank. Learning to learn, the desire to
understand, the experience of cooperative learning, a love of learning
itself, are all deeper elements of the education we seek to give. Other
elements of school life were also recognised at the Assembly – it is
never just about academics. Achievements in the co-curricular area
over the holidays are acknowledged. The SRC representatives for the
coming year received their badges – these boys play a role of service
and leadership that help shape the school. The School Captain, Tom
Morgan, also addressed the assembly.
In all that we do, generosity in involvement is undoubtedly a mark of
the Aloysian as further evidenced by the many comings and goings of
staff and students over the holiday period. The benefits, I believe, go
beyond the particular activities into shaping and moulding an ethos
here at St Aloysius’ that celebrates participation and the generous use
of one’s gifts in building community.
The holiday period, as usual, saw much school activity. Thirty-seven of
our Seniors participated in our twenty-eighth Kairos retreat in Bowral,
with the student leaders being Matthew Jepson (Rector), Patrick
Furlong Alexanderson, Cameron Gray, Paddy Morgan, Mitchell
Arnold and Matthew Cosgriff . Two groups of Year 11 boys went on
the Philippines Immersion experience, where they lived and worked
with the homeless, the prisoner and the indigenous tribal peoples. The
impact of such experiences can be seen in two groups of the Class of
2011 who undertook immersion experiences in Vietnam in December
and January. Nine will work for 6 months or a year in remote villages,
teaching English, and two other young Old Boys will be working in the
Jesuit school in Micronesia for a GAP year.
A group of our students also undertook the biannual French tour
accompanied by Ms Robinson and Mr Caillard. This tour, along with
the similar Japanese tour, is an integral part of the Language
programme at the College. Later this term a group of French
students will be with us.
In December, the College Water Polo squad competed in the Trans-
Tasman Schoolboys Cup in Melbourne, an invitational event for the
best school teams in both countries. The team of Andre Anderson,
Marcus Anderson, Matthew Jepson, Jordi Nikopoulos, Antony
Peronace, James Reid, Jackson Scott, Paul Sindone, Eliot
Stuntz, Rhys Thompson, Harrison Williams (C), Max Whelan-
Young and Ciaran Wolohan defeated the much-fancied Newington
9-8 in the tensest of encounters to reach the final for the fourth year
running, against Melbourne High. Aloysius’ went down 8-14 to this
traditional powerhouse of the game. Congratulations must go to
young Old Boy coaches, Michael De Gail and Mark Sindone, and
Mrs Margaret Loomes, Mr Geoff Schneider and a group of boys who
have performed so well at the highest level.
In Tennis, Aloysius’ ran out comfortable winners in the Jesuit
Schools Tennis carnival, hosted by Riverview. The team consisted of
Harry Kelleher, Matt Rowland, Ben Lalic, Jack Evans, Nick
Mytkowski, Scott Murray, Patrick Furlong Alexanderson, Liam
Roberts and Zachary Mytkowski. This was the fourth consecutive
title for Aloys, a first in this competition. Harry Kelleher, Ben Lalic
and Matt Rowland were named in the Australian Jesuit Schools’
team, while Zachary Mytkowski was acknowledged with an Ignatian
spirit award.
St Aloysius’ hosted the Jesuit Schools’ Cricket carnival. Our First XI,
under Grant Jansson, took out the carnival for the first time,
undefeated in the rounds against Riverview, Xavier and Saint
Ignatius’ Adelaide, and convincingly defeating Xavier in the final.
Opener, Luke Vevers, had a real purple patch (more an ermine
patch really) with three centuries (114, 136 and 143 not out in the
final) in an extremely dominant performance, and was named Player
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