Principal's Address

2024 has brought with it a huge amount of activity and engagement in all levels of College life. We have been delighted with the participation of students in a huge array of activities from our traditional Swimming and Athletics Carnivals, to their participation in the Dandenong City run DJ events on a Friday in "the quad".

Term One was busily squashed into a very short seven weeks as we had the ten Year Kildare Ministries Celebration involving staff from all Kildare Ministries Schools and Community Works come together in hubs right across Australia.

The Conference was a highlight of Term One and gave us time to hear from renowned guest speakers such as Professor Ann Pattel-Grey and Gillian Triggs and reflect not only how much has been achieved over the past ten years but excitement for creating our future directions for the ten years to come.

In amongst all of the busyness, storms wrecked havoc in February resulting in us having to go to an unplanned remote learning day due to power outages and tree damage to our grounds that needed attention before students and staff could safely return onsite.

We commenced the refurbishment of our staff area at the end of 2023 and it was with great delight that we welcomed Fr Brian Collins to bless our new spaces in March this year. Staff have been very pleased with the new staff workroom and the new staff social space now enables us to host all staff at once - not something we were able to do in our previous staff room. The new coffee machine has also been a great hit with all staff.

The IT Team have seen a reallocation into a new area they now inhabit just near the library; this allows for much greater interaction between members of the IT Team and staff from other areas around the school. Students are certainly benefiting from easier access to the team...and may be also slightly enticed by the chocolates on offer.

We have been very pleased with the different community engagement events that have taken place thus far this year, we had over 180 people present at our annual International Women's Day Breakfast that we run in collaboration with the Dandenong Council, parents have attended specialist events run at the College by our Vietnamese staff to assist with the complicated task of completing forms for Government Departments, we had huge numbers at our Twilight Open Evening and the 'Catch -Up Reunion Sunday' was a wonderful success. We look forward in the coming months to the Wellsprings High Tea and Multicultural Dinner and hope as many alumni as possible can join us for these fabulous events.

The challenges for young people in schools today are very different to those faced by me when I was at school. The ever-present social media pressure, the complexity of emerging mental health concerns and the fast-paced nature of the world in which we now live, create some of these challenges that the young people at Killester face with great determination and resilience. They remain an exceptional example of the strength and kindliness envisioned by the founding sisters of Killester.

Our students, and our staff, know they are the stewards of a community that embodies faith, promotes inclusion, celebrates diversity, values hope and works toward the flourishing of every community member.

Please come and visit any time to see the changes that have taken place over the years and the ways in which our community continues to celebrate, and be, people of strength and kindliness.

Sally Buick

Principal

Kildaire Ministries Ten Year Conference