From The President

Dear De La Salle Family, I recently finished reading Catholic High Schools – Facing New Realities by Father James Heft, a Marianist who is a professor of theology at USC. He paints a very sobering picture of the future of Catholic high schools. Fr. Heft says that American culture, with its emphasis on individualism, consumerism, and materialism, along with the strong impact of the media, influences students and parents who might not see the value of a Catholic high school.

I look at De La Salle and our students and am not pessimistic at all. I believe we are teaching values, morals, and skills which you and I want to see in our society. In October, I watched 780 students raise over $3,000 for a seriously injured Catholic Central student. Each day I experience absolute silence as prayer is read over the P.A. And state-of-the art technology being used throughout the school on projects I can’t comprehend. St. John Baptist de La Salle wrote the following: “Christian schools should in no respect be inferior to other; parents should not have occasion to regret that their children do not find therein all other educational advantages, including morality and religion.” This statement resonates today at De La Salle Collegiate. Much of this issue of the Collegiate highlights The Annual Report - the people who are supporting us are saying “YES” to De La Salle. They see De La Salle as important to our community and our society because of the quality of students we graduate. De La Salle stands for excellence in education. We continually strive to improve and be the best. That is why De La Salle will survive as a Catholic/Lasallian high school. Thank you for your support. I pray that the Lord blesses you during this Christmas season and throughout the New Year.

Sincerely,

Brother Thomas Lackey FSC President