Thank you and farewell to Sally Buick
Killester College was blessed with Sally Buick as its Principal for the past six years, since July 2019. She led this wonderful and complex school community with passion, wisdom and immense commitment.
Propelled by profound and practical faith, Sally is the Gospel incarnate. Her words and actions reflected an unquenchable desire to bring God’s ways to others. In doing so, she exemplified the values and spirit of Kildare Ministries.
Sally genuinely welcomed all to Killester, working diligently to overcome every form of disadvantage. She was determined to give local families access to an excellent holistic
education, including those unable to pay the school’s modest fees. She helped staff build ever-greater awareness of the wide range of cultural and social backgrounds in the community and accordingly how to better support student learning and wellbeing.
When moving through the yard, Sally’s immense care for the community was as clear as her boundless energy. Greetings glowed with genuine warmth and respect. She seemed to know the names and circumstances of every student she passed, with particular interest in the ‘Students With Additional Needs’ (SWANS).
Sally fostered a climate where the girls became increasingly confident in speaking up about safety issues, while respectfully addressing barriers associated with cultural norms. Students came to believe they had a right to be safe and that the school would support them in difficult situations. She empowered young people to find and use their voices - for themselves, for classmates - and for the common good.
Fire is the test of gold; adversity, of strong people. (Seneca)
Sally proved herself to be ‘solid gold’, again and again, through her principalship. Just
months into her principalship, COVID loomed large. This was just one of the many significant challenges met admirably by Sally, always with both strength and kindliness.
The four foundations of Killester’s Learning Framework echo Sally’s philosophy, that education needs to be Just, Purposeful, Informed and Engaging. Under her leadership, Killester was repeatedly recognised for students’ excellent learning growth. Her leadership earned the respect of journalists, who sought her out for comment on educational matters.
Fuelled by deep commitment to improve the lives of students and society generally, Sally consistently converted intentions to actions. For example, she decided to bring the strong social justice message of the 2024 Kildare Ministries Conference to students. One practical step was to immediately write the curriculum of a new elective subject that cultivated student agency to bring about change. Named “Be Like Brigid”, after Sr Brigid Arthur, our exemplary activist and tireless worker for the disadvantaged, Sally taught this unit herself in Semester 1.
With great generosity, Sally also shared the benefit of her vision and efforts with educators in other schools. Just one example among many is the seminar that she organised, attended by 45 people, with attendees from a wide range of schools, to prevent the forced marriage of students.
Thousands of students’ lives have been greatly enriched by Sally’s immense work as an educational leader. On behalf of Killester College and Kildare Ministries, I offer deep thanks to Sally: for being a beacon of Christianity at its best, for preparing students to ‘live life to the full’ (Jn10:10) and providing them with empowering hope.
Sally, may our loving God continue to bless, inspire and sustain you.
Peter Houlahan
KEM Executive Officer