Dear parents and guardians – this week we will introduce our community to the 2022 College Leaders and look forward with excitement to the new year when they will work together to lead our student body.

We have asked the 2022 student leaders to exemplify our Catholic leadership model.  

A leader at La Salle College is a person of action, influence and integrity who leads with courage and compassion towards a harmonious community, where all students are encouraged, nurtured and seeking excellence.  

As a leader like Jesus and St John Baptist de la Salle one must model:  

• Service and loyalty to the college community and its mission  
• Courage, integrity and adaptability  
• Collaborative authentic relationships marked by compassion and hope  
• Search for truth, justice and mercy 
• Vision with clear consideration of the impact on others and a sense of sacred 
• Commitment to action and excellence through service, persistence and respect. 

This model provides direction for a way of living that allows each member of the community to work together in a culture of service to help others to be the very best they can be.

We can look at the five most significant ideas in the model by using a word cloud. These are clearly – community, compassion, integrity, excellence and action.  

 

Leaders of community think about their impact on others and work to ensure this impact is always positive. Leaders of compassion put empathy into action. They work to understand what it is like to “walk in another’s shoes” to actively listen and to give others the benefit of the doubt.  

Leaders of integrity always do the right thing whether it is noticed or not. They are always looking for ways to be accountable and responsible for their actions and its impact. Leaders of excellence are actively searching for ways to continually improve. This is not being the best or being perfect, it is having a mindset of always growing and improving. It is working slowly and surely to be better and do better tomorrow than today.  

Leaders of action see a problem or issue or concern and take action, they embody the words of one of our House Patrons – St Mary of the Cross MacKillop; when she said “Never see a need without doing something about it”. These are leaders who show us the way to a better community.  

For every member of our community my leadership advice – act with a mindset of service.

It is through action that leaders are made. It is through your actions that you demonstrate to others that you have the integrity and compassion to keep all members of the community together and on their search for excellence. Your actions give others permission to follow suit. Your actions create a culture of service. People are not born as leaders. Leadership develops one act of service at a time. 

Congratulations to our 2022 College Leaders who have taken on board our culture of service and we acknowledge and thank our 2021 Leaders who have been humble and successful servant leaders this year.

Our Year 12 leaders have lived out the servant leadership across the year. Our Year 12 students are the natural leaders of our College and as they enter this time of transition to life beyond La Salle College, I thank them for all that they have contributed to the College over the last six years.  I know that there will be a variety of emotions from great excitement to start the next part of their journey, to trepidation about what the future may bring.  Over their last few weeks we can show our gratitude by our actions, contact a year 12 student and say good luck, give them the reassurance that we are with them in spirit, do what we do best – pray for them. Every bit of support helps and when we act together as one we lift everyone to greater rewards.  

To the Year 12’s I wish you all the very best for your upcoming exams and applications for Apprenticeships, Work, University and TAFE. If your schooling journey was a marathon – you are in the last 300 meters and coming up to the final straight.

Keep going and know that the prayers and support of the La Salle community will be with you always.  

May the love and peace of Christ be with you 

Ms Giovanna Fiume | College Principal