From the Principal

Dear Killester Families, 

The Gospel reading for the Opening School Mass was the “Good Samaritan.” Beaten badly on the road to Jericho, a Jewish man is ignored by fellow Jewss, a Priest and a Levite who take a wide berth to avoid him. A Samaritan then “went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, “Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.” 

This extravagant generosity shown by the Samaritan to his traditional enemy was a new spin on the question, “who is my neighbour?” Jesus stove to overcome all boundaries of race, culture and gender and this reading is the foundational piece of scripture for our theme, Compassion : Moving to Action

Week four of term one is about to come to a close and it is so wonderful to be back at school and see the yards, classrooms and corridors busy. We had a wonderful swimming sports run smoothly and now the Opening School Mass. It has been such a promising start and we hope and pray that it continues.

Our COVID daily numbers have been quite steadily coming down each week. We thank you for your vigilance by doing the Rapid Antigen tests. As you know, from midnight this Friday masks do not need to be worn by secondary school students. If students feel more comfortable continuing this practice then they are absolutely welcome to do so.  

In the next few weeks we will have the year seven camp and the year eleven and twelve retreats. We are monitoring the protocols from the relevant authorities and will make every effort to ensure the smooth operation and safety of all.

For the safety of students we would like to notify the community of a couple of crucial points. I am sure you believe that students are safe once they are dropped off at school each morning. In light of this we want to reinforce the importance that:

• Students are not permitted to arrive at school in the morning and then leave the school grounds. Once you are on the school grounds, you MUST remain at school.
• By the beginning of Homeroom (8:40am), students are expected to present for Homeroom without any food (particularly McDonald's) or drink. Should a student choose to ignore this expectation, the food and/or drink will be confiscated.

We thank you in anticipation for your support on this matter.

Thursday morning saw an alumni breakfast at the town hall catered for by our Year 8 students. Thanks to Loreto Cannon who organized this with Jacqui Dunstan, and Mark Pudney who organized the hosting and hospitality aspects. There were so many familiar faces with backgrounds now in nursing, teaching, psychology, an artist, entrepreneurs and learning support teachers and teachers. It was wonderful to hear of their fond memories and there is such a rich diversity of experiences that we can tap into in future. 

We look forward with hope to the weeks ahead. In the meantime have a safe weekend coming with family and loved ones.

Yours Faithfully

Peter O’Neill

Acting Principal