On Tuesday this week, we celebrated the High Achiever’s Assembly. Congratulations to all of the award recipients, who are listed below. Their achievements are founded on hard work, commitment and resilience. Students who excel have the resilience to keep going when the going gets tough. They spend hours studying, summarising and practising questions. They work well in teams and they are committed to seeking and applying feedback to improve their results. We are very proud of their efforts.

Congratulations to the following students who received awards at our High Achievers’ Assembly last Tuesday:

Distinguished Achievers (Band 6 results)

Matthew Anderson	Drama
Chloe Boyd	Community and Family Studies
	English Standard
	Society and Culture
Jacinta Byrne	Drama
Jacinta Byrne	Music 1
Patrick Campbell	Geography
Lily Clark	Visual Arts
Mason Crain	Mathematics Extension 2
Laura Crawford	Studies of Religion I
Zoe Crawford	Studies of Religion I
Michael Curtis	Mathematics Advanced
Ekene Emebiri	English Standard
Sally Foster	Drama
	English Standard
	Visual Arts
Priddycia Jusu	Studies of Religion I
Maggie Lawrence	Music 1
Zoe Leary	Mathematics Standard 1 Examination
Zoe Leary	Society and Culture
Eleanor Mason	Visual Arts
Eleanor Mason	Eleanor’s HSC Major Work was selected for Art Express
Lauren McAlister	Mathematics Extension 2
Alex Newman	Studies of Religion I
Emily Nightingale	Drama
Catherine O'Brien	Studies of Religion I
William O'Connor	Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
Jorja Ward-Parslow	Personal Development, Health and Physical Education
Luke Wen	Mathematics Extension 2

ATARs over 90

Chloe Boyd

Sally Foster

Lauren McAlister

William O'Connor

Georgie Stephens

Jorja Ward-Parslow

Learning Growth Maximising Performance (Learning Growth based on DeCourcy statistical analysis)

Claire Allen

Matthew Anderson

Adam Anwar

Matthew Barton

Stephanie Doyle

Sally Foster

Lucy Hanlon

Fergus Howard

Lachlan Narouz

William O'Connor

Jorja Ward-Parslow

Luke Wen

Dux of the Class of 2021

The prestigious award of Dux for the Class of 2021 was awarded to Lauren McAlister who achieved an ATAR of 96.25. Lauren plans to take a gap year before studying Medical Science at the Australian National University in 2023. We wish Lauren all the best with this endeavour.

We were very impressed with the maturity and wisdom imparted in Lauren’s speech upon receiving the award of Dux and have included a copy of it below.

Lauren McAlister’s Dux Speech

Good morning staff and students of Kildare, and those who may be watching from the livestream at home. I am not a fan of writing speeches, but if I learnt one thing during my time in high school English, it was to include a quote. So today I’ll share with you my favourite quote. But it’s not from Nelson Mandella or Serena Williams. It’s from my dad.

It’s……….

“Balance is everything”. It’s a simple word but a complex idea. The idea of having two of something but not too much of one or the other. The idea that, if you were to have too much of something, it wouldn't be ideal. I’d thought of this concept before, eating a balanced diet, balancing commitments, living a balanced lifestyle. But it wasn’t until I was in the midst of the HSC that I understood the true vitality of it. I began to become buried in the pressure I had placed on myself to do well, to live up to the expectations everyone around me had set in place, whether they meant to or not. My balance scale had begun to tip.

It’s all too easy to become wrapped up in the significance of Year 12, to be overwhelmed by the many forks in the roadmap of our futures lying so close ahead. But stay focused. Your final results in the HSC are only partially determined by your exams. It’s what you do all year that makes all the difference. Pace yourself. Stay consistent. Listen to your teachers - they know what they are talking about. Seek feedback and more importantly - act on it.

Today, I am honoured to be standing here as not only the Dux of Kildare, but simply as someone who completed the HSC during the year of 2021. For my cohort, the last two years have consisted of snap lockdowns, ever changing restrictions and countless zoom calls. Despite this though, I feel this brought the class of 2021 closer together. It was knowing that we were all in the same boat that helped us understand and cherish the time we had left together. I cannot stress to you enough the importance of staying strong and resilient as a cohort to achieve your absolute best. Just don’t print another 5000 business cards and leave them everywhere, that was our thing.

It goes without saying the unwavering support of those around me is what helped me in my efforts and successes during my time at Kildare.

Thank you to my friends, who stuck with me even when I was grumpy and stressed, and made me laugh when I most needed it during the last 6 years. The memories I have made with you are ones I will remember and cherish for the rest of my life.

Thank you to my family, who held me up when I fell apart, and made sure, I knew, that they loved and supported me regardless of what I did or didn’t achieve.

Thank you to all of those who taught me during my time at Kildare. Your dedication and commitment is something that I aspire to have as I pursue my future career.

Thank you Mrs McCartan for helping me fulfil not only my goals as an English student, but as a Leader of Gandhi.

Thank you Mrs Savage for your amazing baking skills and dedicated approach to religion.

Thank you Mr Taylor and Mrs Rainbird for inspiring me with your incredible passion and love for maths. The effort and work you put into each and every class, never went unnoticed.

Even though he may not be here or be able to listen today, but thank you Robbo for your wit and positivity whenever you taught physics. I am also forever grateful for your authenticity whenever you asked “how are you going”, knowing that it was all too easy to lose that balance.

And thank you Mrs Gaiter. Our Chemistry class will always have a special place in my heart. The laughs and memories we have made together will never be forgotten. Your incredible ability to teach and stay fun is a godsend, and is what majorly inspired and helped me balance the HSC with the rest of my life.

Being the Dux of Kildare does not mean at all that I didn’t struggle last year. In fact, it was one of the most stressful years of my life. But I attribute my final results to my ability to stay consistent and learn from my failures. Trust me, you will come across times where you feel you’ve hit a wall. But what you can’t do is give up. I may stand here on a stage today but no one here saw me become a hermit in my home office, spending hours studying, shutting the world out. It’s the effort and struggle you put in behind closed doors that matters.

But make the most of Year 12. Go to parties. Make memories. It is so important to balance this with study. I was able to. One minute you’ll be listening to me giving this speech and the next you’re graduating. The flow of time moves too fast, so make the most of every day.

As I conclude my speech I want to remind you all to live a balanced life of study and living. And embrace your failures, because these are what contribute most to your successes.

Thank you.

Lauren McAlister

Christie Scutti | Assistant Principal

Year 10 PDHPE Gymnastics

Finding the Balance!