OLD BOYS 

August was a busy month with four senior classes holding their reunions. On the weekend of 1 and 2 August, Old Boys from the Senior Classes of 1996 and 2006 gathered for their  reunions. On 15 August, two groups of Old Boys from the Senior Classes of 1976 and 1986 returned to Saints as part of their class reunions. 

I had the good fortune of showing just over 30 members of the Class of 1996 around the College on the Saturday. For many of the attendees it was the first time they had returned to Saints since graduating. Looking through the display of college archives and copies of the 1996 Tolle Lege sparked many conversations and memories as the group walked around the grounds.  

Mr Jon Sorensen escorted his classmates from the 2006 Senior Class for their 20-year reunion. Following a tour of the College, these Old Boys were joined by their College Principal Br Michael Green, their Senior Head of Year Mr Andrew Dorahy and former teacher Mr Terrence McDonough. I’m not sure what stories were being retold on their tour, but members of the 1996 group could hear this group laughing and cheering from across the College as they made their way around the grounds.

As mentioned above, on 15 August, two groups of Old Boys from the Senior Classes of 1976 and 1986 returned to Saints as part of their class reunions. Congratulations to Mr Lino Santarossa and all those who helped him bring together more than 70 of his classmates, along with their wives and partners, for their 50-year class reunion. As with many reunion tours of the College, for some members of the group it was the first time they had returned since graduating. All attendees were impressed with the facilities enjoyed by our current students. As former students of Br Ambrose, they were particularly impressed with the recently renovated Ambrose Residence.

While most reunion tours run for just over an hour, this group had so many memories and stories to share about their time at Saints that the tour lasted more than two hours. Several members of the group even returned to the archive display after the tour for a second viewing.

As a member of the Class of 1986, catching up with friends with whom I had spent eight years (in Grades 5–12) at Saints, along with several staff members who had been highly influential in our lives, was a personal highlight of 2026.

In the past, exeat weekends were known as free weekends, with many full-time boarders spending the weekend with the families of fellow boarders or day boys. A common thread among both the '76 and '86 reunion groups was the number of former boarders who enquired about their former classmates and families, wishing to thank them for welcoming them into their homes on free weekends.

The sense of family, one of the many things that makes our college a special place, runs deep, even among those who have been away from the school for more than 40 years. 

Despite classmates coming from all over Australia, some for their first class reunion, the way these Old Boys from the Class of 1976 interacted with one another during their tour you would’ve thought they had never left the place.

Current Marcellin College Randwick Principal and former Saints teacher and Dorm Master, Mr Mark Woolford (second from the left), catching up with some of his former boarders and students from 1986.

I thank the various individuals who helped coordinate these class reunions and tours of the College. Managing to contact classmates and, in turn, have them travel from as far away as Bahrain and PNG as well as throughout Australia to return to Saints is no easy task.