Recently appointed leaders among the Brothers assembled at the Motherhouse in Rome from 28th May to 8th June for a lead-in programme. The LEAD delegation turned out to be the strongest, with Brother Visitor, Armin, and the three Auxiliaries. Participant’s interest never flagged because of the expertise and communication skills of the presenters who covered topics ranging from spirituality, leadership challenges, safeguarding, accompaniment, finance and many more. There was also good time for reflection and prayer. A highlight of the programme was an outing to Assisi on a glorious summer’s day.
(Text: Br. Pat Tierney FSC; Photos: Brs. Armin Luistro FSC & Antonio Cubillas FSC)
The Lasallian Encounter is a vocation programme for catholic students between the ages of 15-19 that is held annually by La Salle Centre, Ipoh. This years' programme with the theme Jesus Our Illuminator, brought together 17 young men and 2 educators from 6 Lasallian schools within Peninsular Malaysia. It was held from the 24th to the 27th of May 2019 and was facilitated by Brs. Allan Buenavista FSC and Chuck Magno FSC, along with Isaac Stephen.
Part of the programme included an exposure to marginalised communities in the surrounding area. The participants had an opportunity to later share their experience and then develop their own plans to reach out to the less fortunate in their respective surroundings.
"There are two ways to spread happiness; either be the light who shines it or be the mirror who reflects.” - Edith Wharton
Live Jesus in our hearts, forever! (Text & Photos: Mr. Isaac Stephen)
SJIIM 2019 IBDP Graduates with Mr Nikodemus Jaya, Ms Desiree Leong, Mr Ian Chai, Mr Dennis Tang, Dato' Richard Ong, Dr Nicola Brown and Ms Maureen (centre)
Excerpts from the Article:
Petaling Jaya, Malaysia (31 May 2019) - St. Joseph’s Institution International School Malaysia (SJIIM) recently held its 2nd IBDP graduation ceremony at its Tropicana PJ Campus auditorium. The ceremony which was attended by scores of graduates, parents, sponsors, teachers and VIP guests was graced this time by 3 unique Guests of Honour namely Mr Ian Chai, Ms Desiree Leong and Mr Nikodemus Jaya who were all founding SJII Singapore Scholars and are currently successful professionals in their respective industries in Singapore.
SJIIM's Nicol Yong receiving the Josephian of the Year Award and Tan Sri (Dr) Tan Chin Tuan Book Prize Award. With her is (left) Mr. Dennis Tang, SJIIM President and (right) Dato' Richard Ong, Council Member of the Tan Sri Tan Foundation
The Guests of Honour congratulated the graduates on completing their IB Diploma with flying colours. In their graduation address, they advised the graduates to be steadfast in their perspectives for whichever career path they take for the future and to suffuse their work with meaning and purpose. One of the Guests of Honour, Ms Desiree Leong who is a Legal Consultant at the Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) agency in Singapore commended SJIIM on the tremendous strides it has taken in producing well rounded graduates in such a short period of time for a young school. SJIIM’s IBDP graduates also had a special opportunity to chat with, Ms Desiree Leong, Mr Ian Chai and Mr Nikodemus Jaya earlier as a tea reception was organised for the three Guests of Honours to meet the graduands before the Graduation Ceremony; during which they shared their respective post IBDP experiences and addressed questions raised by the graduands.
The ceremony concluded with two musical performances by the graduates along with the singing of the school rally at the end. Everyone in attendance were also treated to a graduation dinner after the ceremony to celebrate the graduates’ success. (Text & Photos: Mr. Neoh Soon Ken)
The Lasallian Justice and Peace Commission (LJPC) of the Philippine Sector held its 2019 Annual Assembly last 2-6 June 2019 at De La Salle – John Bosco College in Bislig City. Attended by the heads of the Social Action Offices of La Salle Schools, the Annual Assembly set the issue advocacies for the next school year. The LJPC identified advocacy issues on four themes which include Good Governance, Poverty Alleviation, Youth at Risk and Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM).
Through different activities organized by the Social Action Offices students from La Salle schools are made aware of important governance and development issues. (Text & Photos: Mr. Gladstone Cuarteros)
Br. Armin Luistro FSC gave a speech with the theme “Educational Challenges for the Global Village” to more than 1,000 participants of the OIEC World Congress 2019. This was held at Fordham University in New York City on 7 June 2019.
Excerpts from the Brother Visitor’s Speech:
“Catholic schools would need to undergo some serious soul-searching if we were to respond with fidelity and courage to these contemporary crises in education. On the issue of educational access, if we were to superimpose the map of the location of Catholic schools in the world together with the heat map of the highest incidence of OOSC (out-of-school children), could Catholic schools claim to make any significant impact on the lives of the 263 million who still have no access to basic education? Catholic schools are simply physically distant from those who need them most. On the learning crisis, have we made any serious studies on learning effectiveness in our schools especially with respect to those who belong to the 20% of learners who are lagging behind? Do we have intervention programs for those at risk of dropping out or do we simply send them away to the public schools?
Pope Francis reminds us in Laudato Si (205) that: “Human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising above themselves, choosing again what is good, and making a new start.” Educators are called anew to plant seeds of hope in the hearts of anguished children and hurting adolescents. Believers are invited anew to cast their nets on the other side of the boat despite the empty catch and exhausting night. Disciples are sent anew to Emmaus so they can retell the old narrative and experience once again how their hearts burned when the Lord walked with them.
We asked, “Can we save the world?” Jesus says, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses... to the ends of the earth.” May the Holy Spirit enkindle in us the fire of God’s love. Thank you very much. Happy Pentecost! “
Maymyo, Myanmar - Since the Formation Community in Kalaw was closed down this early year 2019, the Formation in Maymyo becomes a combination of the “Come and See” Program and the Aspirancy Program. Meanwhile, there are six “Come and See” candidates and three Aspirants. Every year, the program lasts for eight months from January to August. The candidates are required to attend the UDE (University of Distance Education) at the end of the program on October and November. Roughly it will take three to four years for the candidates to get a certain college degree. After completing their higher education, they can continue applying for the Postulancy (in the Philippines).
There are four Brothers who are in charge of this program; Br. Hilary FSC (Community Director), Br.Josaphat FSC (Program Director), Br. Philip FSC (Bursar), and Br. Lucas FSC (Staff). (Text & Photos: Br. Josaphat Ai Saw Hung Htoo FSC)
