Sad news this week of the passing old boy Ross Thacker after a battle with illness. Ross was a student at FDMC in the mid 1990's and will always be remembered for his outgoing nature and positive attitude. Old Boys are asked to remember Ross, his brother Joeli and wll his friends and family in their thoughts and prayers. 

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon him.
May he rest in peace.

Amen.

Last day of Term 3 today and it has been a big one. Pictured above are our Colours recipients for service, culture and sport who received their awards in a full school assembly. Top right hand corner of the photo is old boy Paddy Gower who was able to take time out from his busy TV reporting schedule to give the keynote address. He did very well and seemed to have a great time touring the campus and reliving old times. 

Also at College today is newly ordained old boy Father Patrick Bradford who is saying mass for students in the College Chapel as this post is being written - pictures at a later date. As always it is great to welcome back old boys who are able to share their life experiences and lessons learned.

Yesterday's post on MAD Day got us thinking about past charitable collections and we were able to find this photo in the archives. There are many students from the 80's and early 90's who will recall having the day off for the Four Leaf Clover Appeal for MS. It was a good cause that also managed to raise a lot of money for the College over the years. It is interesting to note that back then the money counting was all about $2 and $1 notes, now most of the cash arrives in the form of $10 and $20 and there is a lot less coins to count.

The sponsored walk last Friday as part of annual Mission Action Day was a great success. We currently hold around $25000 and hope to get close to our $30000 target as the final pledges are collected. Mr Costello and his team did a great job of organising everything and Y13 student Alton Gondipon was able to raise that many donations from business sponsors that every student and staff member got a spot prize to go along with the traditional sausage at the end of the walk. The great cause was matched by the magnificent spirit shown on the day.

This year's house haka competition would have to go down as the best yet. All four houses gave a stirring rendition of the College haka with La Salle being declared the overall winner. This means the overall house of the year award is very close and will be determined by the final MAD Day money count.

Great photo of old boy Gerard Kalin and his wife Phillipa trying the royal seats out for size at Wembly. With the tournament now fully under way we would like to publish more photos of old boys showing their true colours - email us if you have that great pic.

Everest the movie is about to hit the picture theatres and looks to be a great movie. For members of the FDMC community it is important to realise that the story is part of our story. Old Boy Andrew Harris was one of those lost in the tragic events of 1996 and by all accounts he brought a exhibited a spirit of bravery that we can all be proud of. The following quote from someone who was in the climbing party at the time sums up Andrew the man.

We came across this photo while searching for Head Boy picks for our occasional "where are they now" series. Front and centre is 1992 Head Boy Michael Hargreaves but who can name his five companions?

Saturday saw the ordination of old boy Patrick Bradford (extreme right) in Melbourne. It has been a while since an old boy has joined the priesthood and is cause for real celebration. Father Patrick will be in town next week and he will be saying a Mass for students in the College Chapel at 1.30 on Friday the 25th. Now there is a homily we are looking forward to.

You can read the Catholic News article on the ordination here.

Good luck to the All Blacks on their quest and of course special good wishes to our two old boys Conrad and Beaudy. While we know they will be there we have been speculating on how many old boys are going to be able to watch them live. Leave a comment if you are going to be in the stands giving it your all.