Merry Christmas Kildare Community,

What a fantastic year it has been at the College! We have been so blessed with the learning progress, student growth and success, and the strengthening of pride in our community.

There was much to celebrate at our End of Year Liturgy and Awards ceremony on Friday last week where we recognised students who had achieved success in academia, creative and performing arts, sport, cultural leadership and community service.

See more on the AP Page, HERE.

We are proud of the growth we have seen in all of our students this year. We celebrate holistic growth and development. Some students may have learned to navigate social situations through developing more emotional intelligence or resilience, while others may have extended themselves by completing Year 10 Maths in Year 7. Our staff work hard to provide personalised support and growth to all our young people. Thank you to all the staff, both teaching and support staff, who have played a role in supporting our students this year. It takes the whole team, working together, to be able to deliver a well-rounded education. I am personally grateful for the great team we have here at Kildare.

I wanted to take this opportunity to formally congratulate our VET Coordinator, Penny Mackay, who recently was awarded the National VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year in Darwin. This was a competitive process through regional, state and then national level. Penny’s achievement is extraordinary and is a testament to her unwavering commitment, enthusiasm and expertise in promoting and delivering VET pathways for our young people in Wagga. We currently offer more VET options that most schools and we are expanding our opportunities each year with Penny as the driving force. We are proud of you Penny!

We have a small number of staff leaving our community. Today, we are farewelling Mr Bryce Thomas and Mrs Jenna Larkin. Bryce has made significant contributions across learning support and teaching English during his time, as well as his powerful leadership of our Boys Cultural Program. Jenna has contributed to the Leadership of English, as well as her expertise shared in her role as a literacy instructional coach. We wish Bryce and Jenna all the best in their new roles.

We are also farewelling Ms Natalie Adams, who is leaving us for a new adventure. It is bittersweet for us because over the past 12 years, Nat has been an outstanding educator who has had a positive impact on many young people. We are also saying goodbye to one of our dependable casual teachers, Mr Doug Black, who has been supporting the continuity of learning for our students for many years.

Therese Young has also made the decision to retire after 15 years of service to Kildare Catholic College as a highly valued member of the Mathematics Department. We wish her all the best in her new adventures in this next chapter of her life.

Maxine Mowett, who has worked tirelessly in school administration across a number of Catholic schools over many years, has also retired at the end of this year. Her wealth of knowledge and skills will be missed by our Leadership Team, however, we are happy for her to now have more time to spend with her grandchildren. We hope to see her back on the occasional casual day and are glad to have her on speed dial.

Mr Stasiu Dorczak has decided to leave his permanent position after decades of dedication to Catholic Education. We are grateful for his contribution to both Trinity and Kildare across a range of roles, including most recently teaching Visual Arts and TAS, as well as being our IEU Representative. We hope he now finds time to enjoy more travel with his partner, but we are looking forward to seeing him around the College on a casual basis.

After a big year, it is important for us all to have a break. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope that you all have a safe and restful holiday period.

We are looking forward to seeing everyone back here in the new year. We are also looking forward to welcoming our new students and staff who will be joining our team in 2026.

SPORT NEWS

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