De La Salle Christian Brothers -

Latest Happenings In the Diocese:
De La Salle Christian Brothers -
The Fourth in a Series on the Religious in Jamaica
in Celebration of 2015 as the Year of Consecrated Life
The De La Salle Christian Brothers named after their founder, St. John Baptist de la Salle, are a group of lay religious men dedicated exclusively to education. Currently there are 5,000 Brothers serving 1 million students in
1,000 schools in 80 countries around the world.
In the summer of 2015, Brother James Dries, F.S.C arrived in Jamaica to take
over the reins as principal of the St. Vincent Strambi Catholic High School in
Bull Savannah, St. Elizabeth. Three other Brothers also work at the school:
Brother John McDonnell F.S.C., Business Administrator, Brother Anthony
Nguyen, F.S.C., math and religion teacher, and Brother Jerome Cox F.S.C.
They took over from the outgoing team which was the first set of De La Salle
Christian brothers in the Diocese, consisting of Brother Augustine Nicoletti,
F.S.C., principal, Brother James Wallace F.S.C , administrator and Brother
Kent Connolly, teacher.
Brother John McDonnell, F.S.C. and Mrs.
Morgan-Jones, Vice Principal, at work.
Brother James Dries, F.S.C, principal, and science
teacher, addresses students.
Having accepted Bishop Neil Tiedemann C.P’s invitation to serve in Jamaica, the De
La Salle Christian brothers are focused on maintaining a high quality of teaching and
discipline at the school. Brother James Dries, F.S.C. has a long history as an educator,
having worked on Mission in Africa and St. Vincent as well as at home in the U.S.A.
He strives to meet the challenge of motivating the young people to “keep in mind
that they are in God’s presence,” and is focused on imparting a holistic education
with Christian values and to inculcate a culture of self-discipline.
St. Vincent Strambi receives two levels of students - private students who have the
capability to go on to tertiary education, and GNAT students placed in the school by
the government, who enter Grade
9 with low reading and writing proficiency as well as problems with discipline. One of the main challenges for the brothers is motivating some of
these students to envision their future. “Many of these children—if you ask
them what they want to be when they grow up, they have no idea. The
question has never even entered their mind.” laments Brother John McDonnell, F.S.C. Nonetheless, the Brothers continue to encourage them envision
their futures and to do their best to achieve it through the educational opBrother Anthony Nguyen, F.S.C. instructs the portunities at the school.
students at the board.
Currently, students and teachers
are benefitting from efforts at
making technology an integral
Brother Jerome Cox, F.S.C has a discussion with some
students.
part of teacher and student life
with the recent introduction of
some laptops, classroom projectors and a SMART Board. Brother James is focused
on making a seamless introduction to their use in the classroom to enhance the
teaching and learning experience in the school.
www.mandevillediocese.org
Published by the Diocese of Mandeville
Dec 2015