Student Leadership Retreat

On 5-7 December we had the great pleasure of holding our inaugural Student Leadership Retreat at Presentation Family Centre. Two 2019 Year 12 leaders from 11 schools gathered to explore leadership through the Kildare Ministries lens with a particular focus on the 2019 value of Hospitality and the soon-to-be-released Kildare Ministries Living Justice Charter. Staff guided the students with thoughtful, reflective material and their contribution provided the students with much to ponder: Anthony Cormick (Kilbreda) on the Boon Wurrung connection to land, Sr Chanel Sugden csb on the historical forming of Kildare Ministries, Bedelia Melville (Brigidine Randwick) on prayerful meditation and Stephanie Smyth (Kilbreda) and Adam Prime (St Joseph’s) on leadership. Enormous thanks to all of these staff who put much time and effort in during a very busy period. We are also very grateful to the support of Kilbreda College for hosting the welcome lunch and to Sr Joan Power, Ishti Griffiths and the staff at Presentation Family Centre for their hospitality, as well as Teresa Lincoln (Kilbreda) for all the support during planning stages.

During the Retreat we were blessed with a visit from some special guests, as the Trustees journeyed down the highway to visit us all. The students were delighted to meet them and share our evening meal. This visit coincided with 4 other special guests; Luana Doko (Killester) with 3 student leaders from 2018: Karina Diaz, Isabella Jenkins, Tasneem Usman. These recently graduated leaders delighted us all with their insights into the experience of senior student leadership and the 2019 leaders were sorry to see them leave.

It is this extraordinary group of students however, who deserve the most heartfelt thanks for their openness to the program and one another. Their joy in the shared experience and their willingness to learn and embrace all challenges filled us all with much hope and excitement for 2019. To you all, we wish you every joy and success as you and your peers embark on the exciting year to come. In the meantime, enjoy a well-earned holiday!