By Peter Bugden
THE memory of more than 230 young men kneeling in the courtyard at the front of St Joseph’s Nudgee College and praying the Hail Mary before they are farewelled is one that principal Daryl Hanly will long cherish as he heads into retirement.
It is a sight that will symbolise what has given him the greatest thrill during his 12 years as principal at the prestigious Brisbane boys’ school, and it’s to do with the spirituality of the place.
Daryl, who retires at the end of the year, came to Nudgee in 2002 as a Catholic who had extensive experience in leadership in the government education sector, but who had never worked in a Catholic school.
Taking on the challenge of being Nudgee’s first lay principal after a long line of Christian Brothers, Daryl well knew the importance that faith and spirituality would play in his role.
Making sure that spirituality was at the heart of whatever was achieved at Nudgee while he was leader, was to become the source of his deepest satisfaction.
“When you come to a Catholic school – and this is a Catholic school that has got a range of religions and a range of experiences in terms of Church – then my challenge was to ensure that whatever formation processes we instilled, whatever liturgical experiences we engaged ourselves in, whatever social justice activities we pursued, whatever we embedded in the curriculum – all of those things – whatever our religious education program was like, that they had to very strongly sign that we are a Catholic school, … that we are a Catholic school in the Edmund Rice tradition … and that people of other religions can inform our understanding of our religion through faith-sharing or interfaith dialogue,” he said.
He said the college also “had a mission to evangelise through our own sharing of our own faith (but) it wasn’t about proselytising”.
“And then what I was hoping I would see was that what was called ‘Nudgee spirit’ – which was always lauded because it was what was seen, particularly at rugby – over time was recognised more strongly as Nudgee spirituality, and the spirit was just an outcome of that,” Daryl said.
“And so (that) when we have liturgy, then the singing is great. When we have liturgy, every child goes up to Communion or for a blessing. So there’s a real sense of faith-sharing.
“That, to me, is probably the biggest thrill.”
Watching young people learn gave him great satisfaction but, at Nudgee, “getting the faith formation right” was even more rewarding, Daryl said.
That is why he is so pleased the college no longer has a “muck-up day” for the Year 12 students’ last day, but a more symbolic and meaningful celebration beginning in the chapel with prayer, singing and reflection.
The students move from the chapel to the garden in front of the college where there is the statue of St Patrick – “reminding us of where the (Christian Brothers) came from – a statue of St Joseph and a statue of Mary at the top of the main building”.
“Then a Christian Brother, Br Vic, will come out and he will ask all (the Year 12 students) to kneel and they will say the Hail Mary,” Daryl said.
“What more could you ask for?
“And then they are farewelled as they go down through the corridors of students lined up. There’s more prayer and liturgy, and they go. And we call them ‘signs of faith’.
“That to me is a lot better than throwing eggs and throwing water bombs.”
Daryl always wanted to be a teacher, still describes himself as a teacher and hopes to offer himself as a volunteer in the classroom in his retirement.
The seed of his career was planted when he was learning from the Christian Brothers at St Patrick’s College in Mackay.
“I have very vivid memories of being trained as a teacher in Grade 6 and Grade 7,” he said.
“Within the classroom, when we’d finished our maths cards or our English or the task at hand, then a group of four or five us were then assigned (by the Christian Brothers) to support other kids who were left behind.
“When we weren’t successful in getting those kids to understand then the Christian Brothers, particularly a Christian Brother called Br Greely, he would spend time with what he called the monitors, teaching us how to teach.
“And it just seemed to me to be something that I loved doing and I thought that’s what I would do.
“Not for a moment have I regretted it – not for a moment.
“I believe it’s about vocation.
“There’s a mission about it. And the mission becomes more acute as you come into a faith school or a Catholic school.
“The mission is always there, and I’ve got to say that the mission has developed.
“So, when I began I knew what my mission was. I was the holder of the information; my mission was to teach – to teach them the information.
“Then I realised that, from my Latin root days, that education was about leading out of – ‘ex duco’ – so then I thought, ‘No, it’s about leading out of’.
“But then you get to a stage where you say it’s not about just leading out, it’s about liberating.”
Daryl said his focus had matured since coming to Nudgee, “that this is really about liberating”.
“And it’s about liberating kids to make a difference in the world,” he said.
“It’s about liberating them in terms of their own spirituality.
“It’s about liberating them in terms of their own understanding of who their God is.
“And if they haven’t got a God? – that goodness, which I call God, which is there, which is really important for them.
“And I want to think that the boys who leave here have got the strength and the power and have had experiences that allow them to be resilient and allow them to recognise … to be sensitive to those who are in need; have the resilience to stand up and offer their help; to actually then, when you get knocked back – and often times you will get knocked back aggressively – to have the resilience to take that with good grace and good manners.
“The fourth one is to have the resilience to still offer help; and the fifth thing is to recognise in yourself, when you need help, that it’s okay to ask for help.
“And that fifth one is the critical one for adolescents whether they’re male or female – and also for adults as well.”
Now it’s time for Daryl to be “liberated” to a new phase of life.
“I came here for five years,” he said. “That was the contract, but I liked it so much, and I liked the challenge so much, that I accepted another five years.
“And then was offered another five years.
“I’ve always believed that if you stay in a place too long you suffer from what I call ‘institutional blindness’.
“When you come, you see, but after a while what is there you take for granted and you don’t see it.
“So I decided – I look for milestones – I decided that I’d finish at the end of 2014 because at the time when I made that decision the Government had posited that the Year 7s would commence in 2014 in secondary school.
“That’s why we’ve the Year 7s this year with a half cohort.
“But then they changed it to 2015. That was fine but I’d already decided 2014.
“It is my 50th year as a teacher and I thought that was a milestone worth achieving.
“And it was also my 65th as a student, as a person at school, and I felt that after 65 years at school it was probably time enough to leave.
“And I’m turning 69 next week and so I’m entering my 70th year and I figured that it was time to, really, pass on the baton, basically.”
Daryl said he left “loving the place”.
“I leave with the most amazing memories of the place,” he said.
“And I think that’s the thrill – that I’m not leaving because I’m running away.
“I’m leaving because I’m just continuing my journey, basically. It’s all about journey; it’s all about stages.
“I’ve had a wonderful career.”
