From the Principal 

This week is National Reconciliation Week and the theme for 2022 is “Be Brave. Make Change” which is a challenge to all Australians to make the changes needed to make a more just, equitable and reconciled Australia. Our Living Justice Leaders and FIRE Carriers have organised activities in support of National Reconciliation Week and tomorrow we will gather together for a liturgy affirming our commitment as a school community to reconciliation.   

Kilbreda College is located on the traditional lands of the Bunurong (Boon Wurrung) people of the Kulin Nation. They are the Traditional Owners of the land that covers the coast from the Werribee River in the north-west, down to Wilson’s Promontory in the south-east. Our Acknowledgement of Country, with which we commence our gatherings at the College, was written by our FIRE Carriers a few years ago. In addition to acknowledging the Traditional Owners of the land, we also recognise that the land on which our school stands “has always been a place of teaching and learning.”  While the Brigidine Sisters established our school on the site 118 years ago, the Bunurong people had been educating their children on the land for over 40,000 years prior. In our Acknowledgement, we also “make a commitment to work towards reconciliation and justice for all Australians”. Working towards reconciliation and justice is both an individual and collective responsibility. As the theme of National Reconciliation Week encourages, we need to be brave, and we need to actively work towards achieving reconciliation for the benefit of all Australians.  Reconciliation Australia has described a number of actions we can take every day, not simply during Reconciliation Week. To learn about the actions we are encouraged to take please click here.  

In this last fortnight we have seen our students further develop and showcase their knowledge, talents and skills across various fields as highlighted in this newsletter. Our students are enjoying the opportunity to be able to participate in offsite activities once again and interact with each other, other schools and the community. Approximately 90 students participated in our annual Music Camp last week, providing our various ensembles the opportunity to learn and rehearse together.  A key focus of the camp is to prepare for our next soirée where we look forward to hearing the ensembles perform!

Congratulations to our athletics squad and coaches on their outstanding performance at the SCSA Athletics Carnival last Friday.  Both our junior and intermediate teams won their division, while our seniors came third.  These fantastic results led to Kilbreda College being the overall winner!  As the host school, our students and staff facilitated the day, taking responsibility for the organisation and officiating of the events.  They, too, did an outstanding job in making the carnival such a success!

Pentecost

This Sunday, the Church celebrates Pentecost, one of the most important feast days of the year that concludes the Easter season and celebrates the beginning of the Church. In the Christian tradition, Pentecost is the celebration of the person of the Holy Spirit coming upon the Apostles, Mary, and the first followers of Jesus.

It was right after Pentecost that Peter, the leader of the Apostles, inspired by the Holy Spirit, preached his first homily and about 3000 people were baptised.  The Holy Spirit gave the Apostles the courage and wisdom to go out and preach the message of Christ leading to the spread of Christianity. For this reason, Pentecost is considered the birthday of the Church.

Did you know?

• Pentecost was originally a Jewish harvest festival, celebrated fifty days after the Passover. It was one of the great pilgrimage festivals of the Jews, and this is why so many pilgrims were present in Jerusalem on the day when the Spirit was manifested in the lives of the disciples.
• Pentecost always occurs 50 days after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and ten days after his ascension into heaven.
• The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit brings both gifts and fruits to the faithful. 
• Red is the colour that is often associated with the Spirit, and red vestments are worn by the priest on Pentecost Sunday.

A Prayer for Reconciliation 

God of all creation, 

as we journey together in this Great Southern Land, 

we pray for healing, forgiveness and unity,

creating a path of goodwill, with justice and compassion. 

Jesus, through the power of your love, you have given us the courage, wisdom and strength to share our gifts and talents in humility.

In peace and understanding we reconcile with each other.

Creator Spirit, we come together in prayer and thanksgiving for the many blessings we have received. 

Allow your Spirit to wash over us and give us strength to walk together as one. 

This Reconciliation Church prayer was written by a small group of Aboriginal Elder women and Reconciliation Church staff members in 2014. 

We Pray For

We ask for your prayers for members of our community and their families who have recently lost loved ones:

Patricia Kelly

Mother of Clare Kelly (Staff)

Gay Gallacher

Grandmother of Indiana Dickson (Year 8) 

and  Imogen Dickson (Year 7)

Colleen Oglethorpe

Former active member of the 

Parents and Friends Committee

Mother of past pupils, Megan (1973), Kay (1977), Amanda (1979), Meredith (1981), Melinda (1982 and past staff) and Laura (1983).

Grandmother of Prue Sutherland and Ally Van Veenendaal (2010) Great-Grandmother of Holly (2021) and Emily Sutherland (Year 10). Wife of Bruce (President of the Parents and Friends Committee).

We pray that our loving God hold them gently in the palm of His hand.

Nicole Mangelsdorf

Principal