Assistant Principal Message
What a warm and generous welcome I have received from the Kildare Community. I am honoured to have been appointed to the role of Interim Assistant Principal for the remainder of the year, and I am passionate about serving this community. I share in the philosophy of every student being able to enjoy excellence in Catholic Education, leading them to the fullness of life. I am dedicated to this work and thoroughly enjoying the challenges of learning the operational mechanics of a spirited, diverse and inclusive Catholic Learning Community.
During the first few weeks of Term 3, I have already gained a wonderful insight into the Kildare way of being and learning together. I attended the HSC Art Exhibition and marvelled at the talent, passion and creativity of these Year 12 students. I have been out and about around the school speaking with students and teachers about learning, major projects and student subject selections taking place. I attended an ALPHA Youth Formation session recently, and was delighted to hear students speaking about their commitment to faith in practical and contemporary ways. Equally, the Student Wellbeing Team were alive with possibility and driven to promote student-centred projects across the College.
Trial HSC Exams are well underway as we move towards the end of Week 3, and students and staff are enjoying sunnier days and slightly warmer mornings. Next week in Coaching, we will feature a focus on ‘Bullying - No Way’ a National week of action, promoting bullying prevention in Australian schools. Our Academic Care and Wellbeing Coordinators have been working with students to devise some activities which feature the theme ‘Be Bold. Be Kind. Speak Up; an important message worth sharing in this digitally connected age.
As the Assistant Principal of Kildare, I am deeply committed to ensuring our school is a place where every student feels supported, engaged, and empowered to reach their full potential. A cornerstone of this commitment is our Positive Behaviours for Learning (PBL) framework, a school-wide approach designed to cultivate a positive and productive climate for learning and growing.
The foundation of our PBL framework is the belief that by explicitly teaching social skills and desired behaviours, we can create an environment that not only improves academic achievement and attendance but also reduces behavioural referrals. This framework is not an isolated program; it is a philosophy that permeates every aspect of our school life. At the heart of this philosophy is our Student Expected Behaviour Matrix, which is displayed throughout the College, and is visible in each of our learning spaces. This matrix is more than just a chart; it is our blueprint for success, establishing a common language and setting universal goals for student behaviour and engagement.
The Student Expected Behaviour Matrix is a powerful tool because it is built upon the very values that define our Kildare Catholic College Community: Faith, Learning, Care, and Justice. These values are not just words; they are the beliefs that unite us and guide our decisions. They lay the foundation for our community expectations and desired social behaviours, and they serve as our shared language for teaching, promoting, and affirming positive conduct.
As your Assistant Principal, my role is to actively support and affirm this framework. I am committed to reflecting these behaviours, celebrating student successes, and working collaboratively with all our partners: students, parents/carers and staff to ensure we live these values daily. Our collective engagement is what makes this framework so effective. When we all agree on and actively model these elements, we create a truly unified and supportive school environment where every student can flourish.
Amelia Bright | Assistant Principal