Principal Message
Father of all compassion,
hear our prayer
through Jesus Christ your Son,
in whom the promise of new life
has dawned, and
through the power
of the Holy Spirit,
the Lord the giver of life:
Renew your faithful people;
Renew the face of the earth.
Our Lady of the Southern Cross,
Mary, help of Christians –
Pray for us.
St Mary of the Cross MacKillop –
Pray for us.
'Kildare Team 2020'
Dear Kildare Community,
Prior to the school year commencing, the spirit of the Kildare community was evident when we united in response to the Bushfire crisis. I would like to thank Karen Murray, the staff, students and wider community who contributed to this response. Through Kildare, over 150 people volunteered their time to support the Rural Fire Service and Evacuees in our local region. Thank you also to Keisha Wilson who played an important role in coordinating support for pets and local wildlife impacted by the fires. We would also like to thank all of those in the wider community who responded to requests for donations.
The fires, and continuing natural disasters including floods, reminds us of our responsibility as stewards of the earth. It is our duty to continue to support those affected by these events, as well as to make an effort to promote sustainability and halt climate change. This will be a key focus of our Student Representative Council and student faith formation this year. What can we do to be better stewards of creation?
High Achievers Assembly
On Tuesday last week, we celebrated the High Achiever’s Assembly. Congratulations to all of the award recipients, who are listed on the relevant page in this newsletter issue. 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.
Welcome to Year 7 2020
Our new Year 7 students are settling in well to life at Kildare. On Wednesday 19 February we are inviting all Year 7 students, parents and carers to attend a Parent Welcome Evening. This is a good opportunity for parents to meet key staff members, as well as to learn more about our expectations and framework for learning, teaching and academic care at the College. A sausage sizzle and drinks will be available from 6pm with a short information session commencing at 6.30pm. We will be sending out further details and a form for RSVP later this week.
Year 12 Retreat
The Year 12 Warrambui Retreat is an valuable opportunity for the Year 12 cohort to reflect, challenge their thinking and bond together as a group. Thank you to Christine Savage, Terry Kennedy and Steph Garrod for their organisation and planning for Year 12 retreat, and to the many other staff who also attended and helped to enrich the experience for our students. Please read Christine Savage’s report for more details.
Oars Testing
Students in Year 7 to 10 commenced their annual OARS Tests last Thursday. These tests are online skills tests in reading, numeracy, science, vocabulary and general ability. We use this data as one source to inform our understanding of where students are at with their learning, whether they have experienced a year’s worth of growth in a calendar year, and to identify students requiring learning interventions. Thank you to Michelle Shaw for her organisation.
Upcoming College Events
There are two very important College events over the next two weeks. This Thursday 13 February at 12.30 pm, Father Paddy will be with us to celebrate our Opening Mass as a College community.
Next Thursday 20 February, we are holding our College Swimming Carnival. It is a Twilight Carnival, and as a result there are no classes held on Friday 21 February. A letter has been shared with parents detailing the organisation of the event, and is included in this newsletter.
Thank you to the Kildare staff, parents and students for such a positive start to this school year. Our leadership team and staff are very optimistic about our plans for improvement and are committed to continuing to provide an excellent education to all of our students.
