CLASS ACT: St. Laurence's College teachers Chris Oakes and Andrew Kendall.
Posted on 08/21/2011 5:23:55 PM PDT by naturalman1975
CLASS ACT: St. Laurence's College teachers Chris Oakes and Andrew Kendall.
WHEN teachers at Brisbane's St Laurence's College say the children are their top priority, they mean it.
Five teachers from the Catholic boys school will today be honoured for fending off a group of armed thugs who terrorised and stabbed students during a violent playground invasion three years ago.
Andrew Kendall, Chris Oakes, Anthony Samois, Michael Sharkey and Edward Wallace have been awarded bravery citations in the Governor-General's Australian Bravery Decorations.
They confronted and then chased two groups of youths who had invaded the school on July 28, 2008.
Mr Oakes yesterday recalled the moment he placed himself between one of the students and a youth armed with a meat cleaver.
"I pulled our boy out of the way so it was just me and him," he said.
"Then he backed down and they took off."
Mr Oakes conceded it could have been far worse.
"I knew there was very real imminent danger, but it's all about protecting the kids."
He said receiving a bravery citation was bitter-sweet.
"It's very humbling to be honoured, but there was a huge cost to the students, to the youths who were responsible, so we would have preferred that it had never happened."
Mr Kendall, a teacher at St Laurence's for 15 years, said it happened so quickly that instinct took over.
"You just react," he said.
Four of the teachers were former St Laurence's students.
(Excerpt) Read more at couriermail.com.au ...
Citation
On the afternoon of 28 July 2008, teachers from the St Laurence’s College assisted students threatened by a group of armed youths in Brisbane, Queensland.
During the lunch break, two groups of armed youths entered the St Laurence’s College school grounds. A group of four youths, armed with a meat cleaver and a metal pole approached students on the playground. As teachers verbally challenged the youths, one of the youths quickly pulled out the meat cleaver, swung it wildly and hit a student in the face. The students began to run away, however the attacker was able to stab another student in the back. Two teachers chased the attackers through the school and off the school grounds, while another teacher stayed to protect the students. A second group of armed youths who also made their way through the school grounds were challenged by two other teachers. The second group fled, with the teachers in pursuit. This enabled them to direct police to the youth’s location.
For their actions, the recipients are recognised by the award of the Group Bravery Citation.
Once again we’re separated by a common language. LOL
I thought they sawed someones arms off.
It’s a strict school with traditional discipline... but not quite that strict :).
You’re not alone.
HA! I thought the exact same thing! :)
They Sawed off the invaders? We just use guns here in America but that’s barbaric (s/)
"It's very humbling to be honoured, but there was a huge cost to the students, to the youths who were responsible, so we would have preferred that it had never happened."Not so much responsible as guilty. The perps should have been beated with steel pipes.
Never take a saw to a steel pipe fight.
I refuse to see what the sexual orientation of these ‘teachers’ has to do with any of this.
Does anyone know specifically who the yoots were that attacked the school?
Nor do I. Why bring it up?
After seeing your comment, I went back and re-read the excerpt, then the article, then the entire thread, and I am whooly perplexed by your enigmatic statmement about the sexual orientation of the teachers.
In other words; Where on G_d’s green earth did that come from?
Yes - they were all later arrested and faced the courts, and the two oldest (both over 18) got three years each, while the 17 year old boy who actually used the meat cleaver got nine years. Five younger boys (about 13 and 14 year olds) escaped custody and were put into various programs.
It was a random gang attack by a group of thugs on boys at a private school. The one who was jailed claimed at his trial that it was a revenge attack because one of the private school boys had supposedly raped the sister of one of the attackers but no evidence of this was presented beyond his claims.
Well I guess that’s better that sawing off school invaders arms.
Do we know anything about the...ahem...”religious” background of the youths who attacks the school boys?
Lebanese Muslims by any chance?
A saw would take arms off a lot cleaner than a 12 gauge.
Me too.
We know three of their names - the three who were jailed.
The one who actually used the cleaver (and who is currently serving nine years) is named Zinajdo Hasanovic. He was described at trial as a Bosnian refugee, so could easily be Muslim.
The other two (sentenced to three years each and now released on parole) are Kael Leahy - who, by all accounts was a devout Christian of Australian Aboriginal background, and Matt Maguire - no information about his religion, but it’s not a name that leaps out as Muslim.
“In other words; Where on G_d’s green earth did that come from?”
The picture gave it away...
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