Wisterian October 2012

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The Wisterian October 2012 Vol. LXXIX No. 2 Athletes Helping Athletes Mr. Fyke Takes the Lead in Robert V. Stratton ‘13

An admirable quality that students at La Salle have shown is not only leadership, but leadership in a direction that promotes and coincides with this school’s mission statement of service and giving to the less fortunate. Last year, Shane Kensil, a member of the Class of 2012, provided an inspiring example of this by starting a club and service organization through La Salle that is part of the Athletes Helping Athletes organization, which provides handicapped children with the chance to participate in sporting events that La Salle has set up and many of which it has hosted. Shane’s successor is current senior Anthony Sticco, who also currently runs the Acceptance for All Club, which gives people the opportunity to learn about kids with disabilities and coordinates activities through which its members learn to become advocates for their group’s mission while acting in service as well. Last year La Salle’s Athletes Helping Athletes organization was able to host several games, including for many students from Our Lady of Confidence elementary school for disabled children, along with several volunteer coaches and managers from La Salle. This non-profit organization functions mainly by holding La Salle Responds fundraisers to pay for the shirts and medals that

each child receives, and it hinges on the altruistic contributions of its student and faculty members. During the Homecoming football game of this school year, two kids from Our Lady of Confidence met players on the field, participated in cheers, and helped in the coin toss. Anthony hopes to continue with the club’s involvement in basketball games as it did last year and more football games this year, and the club is already planning its next football game event when La Salle plays Roman Cath-

olic High School on October 19. For anyone interested in joining, the club moderator Mr. Cirelli and club president Anthony Sticco can provide more information. Evidently, the students involved in these clubs have already incorporated another aspect of their school – athletics – in their mission to bring the fun and excitement of such social interactions to those who might otherwise not have the opportunity to experience them in the fullest.

Photo by Evan Walsh ‘13

Anthony Sticco ‘13 leading cheers at a La Salle football game.

Pep Rally Starts Magazine Drive

New Character Development Program

Nicholas Camusi ‘16 Integrity. Honesty. Respect. Love. All words that come to mind when one thinks of a Lasallian gentleman. Recently, the staff of La Salle has been doing more and more to help mold the boys who enter the school into men who will be sent on to do God’s work. This effort to become men, this change in physical, emotional, and social understanding, is the La Salle “Character Program.” This program has always been applied at La Salle, though in a less structured manner. Now, however, La Salle has a new, well thought-out program, a formal “Character Program,” implementing everything from guest speakers to lessons and activities for the students at each grade level. In discussing the program, Mr. James Fyke, Dean of Students and developer of the program, cites a Belcroft article from two years ago that states, “La Salle plays an integral part in the moral and ethical development of its students through a variety of approaches. The most powerful is modeling on a consistent basis by the adults in the community.” Mr. Fyke points out that he saw an absence of organization, a need to expand and formalize character development. “I’ve seen guys get into a lot of trouble...because of the absence of a foundation of respect, courage, and character,” Mr. Fyke says. “I think that if you have this

foundation earlier in life, you will be happier and more successful later in life. We do not tell students how to think. We provide them with an opportunity to think about the kind of man they want to be and help and guide [them] on that journey” by engaging them in conversations about morals, ethics, and principles. Because of this absence of foundation, these teenage boys would have no idea what it truly means to be a man. By implementing this foundation early, La Salle hopes to develop its students into men of character who will make a real difference in the world. As Mr. Fyke says, “It is not easy to be a good man. . .and it is not supposed to be (easy). At La Salle we support students as they try to meet that challenge.” La Salle is initiating this program early on, in the first few weeks of school. There are plans for different sessions for each grade level. Also, several different proposals for guest speakers are circulating, including Ryan Manion from the Travis Manion Foundation in November, and Joe Ehrmann, the central figure in the novel Season of Life, a book that both the sophomores and freshmen have read. This new “Character Program” is already helping to shape the young Lasallians into men of the future, men of intellect, courage, love, and respect. These men are being sent forth to do God’s will, in the name of Saint John Baptist de La Salle.

10 National Merit Semifinalists

Photo byBr. James Rieck Jared Herrmann ‘13 and Dave Losier ‘13 flank the Explorer at the pep rally on September 18.

Inside this month’s issue of The Wisterian P.2--Hall of Athletics/New Teacher Profile P.3--Model UN Club/Brent Celek P.4--College Interviews/Frosh retreat/Awards Assembly P. 5-- La Salle, Mount, and GMA Play Previews P. 6-- Golden Age of TV/Made in America P. 7--Cross Country/Soccer/Golf P. 8--Homecoming/Football The Wisterian

Photo by Mr. Chris Carabello ‘82

La Salle’s president, Br. James Butler (left) and principal, Mr. Mike O’Toole ‘68 stand in Whalen Couryard with the ten members of the Class of 2013 who were recently named National Merit Semifinalists.

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