Principal's Address

Welcome to the first alumni newsletter for 2021, it has been wonderful watching all of the interaction our alumni have had with us via Facebook and Instagram. It is certainly a different world to the old paper newsletters that used to be delivered when I became an alumni of my Brigidine school many years ago.

2021 is proving to be a year of change at Killester as we learn from the many ways we had to operate so differently in 2020. It was an extraordinary year and I have never been so proud as I was of the ways in which our community rose to the challenges of the pandemic and proved themselves to be people of great strength and kindliness. Students, staff and parents navigated the shifting sands in 2020 with grace and dignity. One thing that shone clearly through for me was the overwhelming sense of what it meant to be a member of the Killester community; we lived our core values of courage, compassion, hospitality, wonder, justice and hope. The students of Killester are continuing to live out these values in their daily lives and find themselves in a community where the notions of strength and kindliness are deeply embedded, this takes place over many years and is due in great part to the role played by our generations of alumni. On behalf of our students I thank you for this gift and attest to the fact that what you created, in your time at Killester, lives in the hearts and minds of all who continue their work here. 

We were delighted to welcome so many alumni to present to our Year 10s during their Dare to Dream Week, this week highlights to our students the expansive array of opportunity that awaits them when they leave the gates of the College and to hear so many inspiring stories of success in such a multitude of fields was simply wonderful for our students. The alumni on the day demonstrated to our students that they can be successful in their endeavors through a rich variety of pathways by being resilient and perseverant. The personal stories told by our alumni on the day showcased to our students that women have opportunity and success available to them in all their endeavors. 

Another exciting event that took place earlier this year was the long anticipated opening of the Tullow Building. Inspired by the vision of Leanne Di Stefano, the Tullow Centre has provided us with enormous opportunities to celebrate the rich and diverse talents of our Performing Arts students. It has already been filled with music, song and dance and will continue to be a space for performance in many years to come. Another unique aspect to Tullow is its functionality as it also provided the space for a Covid-safe graduation evening for the students of 2020 and was filled with laughter at the staff Christmas lunch break up. We are indebted to Leanne for her vision with such a beautiful building and invite all alumni to come for a visit to see the ways in which it adds to the texture and vibrancy of our school. 

Hopefully we will soon be able to create opportunities for all alumni to come back for a visit and I very much look forward to meeting with you all at school. I thank Loreto Cannon for her tireless work with the alumni and Kylie Taberner for the vital role she plays in keeping us connected with you all.

In peace,

Sally Buick

Principal

The Graduating Class of 2020...celebrating Covid-style!