Principal's  Message

 

La Salle Technical College - Hohola

St Bede’s College is part of the Lasallian district incorporating Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan. The region is broad reaching, one with very diverse needs, programs and people. This is one of the strengths of our College. We are a local school catering for the families in our area and yet we belong to that district which itself is placed within the International family of Lasallians.

One of the ways our College can be of service is to support particular communities in our region. All of the Lasallian schools support one or more communities; we call this twinning.

Our “twin” school is La Salle Technical College Hohola, Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. We are pleased to be able to use funds raised in our Mission Action Day walkathon to support this school which caters for those who have little and seek an equal education to their Australian counterparts. In addition to such support for Hohola, we also support Thailand and India Outreach programs.

Our Class of 1999

This enthusiastic group of men recently re-gathered at their alma mater for their 20 year reunion. They were a noticeably vibrant and connected group who willingly shared stories (and past glories) with their former classmates. Many offered to remain more closely associated with the College by being a part of the Business directory and offering their expertise with future career expos. We thank them for their generosity in this regard.

Luurnpa Catholic School | Nintirrikuwala Tjitjukurlu

We are delighted to be hosting this school who come from Balgo Hills, in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Most of the Balgo community speaks Kukatja, which is one of the Western Desert languages. It is the main means of everyday communication. Some of the many languages spoken at Wirrimanu are: Kukatja, Walmajarri, Jaru, Pintipi, Warlpiri and Kriol. Most of the adults are trilingual.

Our guests will be visiting the showcase attractions of Melbourne as well as seeing both sea and snow for the first time. Discussions will take place about a return visit to their community by

St Bede’s in 2020.

State Football Champions

Our First XVIII team became State Champions upon defeating St Patrick’s Ballarat in the Herald Sun Shield Final. Having won the right to represent the ACC competition after winning that Championship, we then went on to win both the semi-final and final of the Shield. This is a tremendous achievement for our young men and their coaching staff. Whilst I am extremely proud of this achievement, I was more proud of the demeanour of the team after they won the game. There was no sense of showmanship or grandstanding; simply pure joy and respect for the opposition. This goes to the centre of the quality of young men we have at our College.

“To view a short DVD presentation of this outstanding effort see below.

School Productions

Our students have been involved in two concurrent productions. A number of our boys are about to be involved on and off-stage with Kilbreda’s performance of Mary Poppins. We wish them well.  A significant number of other performers completed their season on Saturday evening in Mentone Girls’ Grammar School show, The Drowsy Chaperone.

It is good to see our young men putting themselves forward in such numbers to work with a team for a worthwhile and quality result.

Time and Space

This Year 7 program for students and their mothers, or female mentors, was a wonderful success. We had a Sports Centre full of families who all came to further strengthen their bonds and to listen to the voice of other families and older students in the whole area of successful transition to secondary school. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

Year 10

Our students in this year level are experiencing a varied and interesting time over their four week specialist program. During this time our young travel to the Grampians for a week, undertake work experience in another week, and then as well as both those activities participate in a full retreat and undertake driver education.

All of this is happening as they prepare for senior studies as they choose their pathways for Years 11 and 12.

It is good to see the boys challenged and engaged. We have had tremendous feedback from this group with their work experience and we congratulate them all on their demeanour, manners and enthusiasm.

Tercentenary Celebration for Parents

This promises to be a wonderful evening. Details, including ticketing advice, are given in the latter section of this newsletter and our website. I look forward to meeting as many parents and guardians as possible on the night.

Enrolments

Per Vias Rectas

John Finn

Principal