Principal's Message

The end of the Charlton chapter

Jon Charlton

Well, what a roller coaster it has been over the past 14 years. There have been enough

highs and lows to keep any Principal on his or her toes with, fortunately, the highs far

exceeding the lows.

So much has been achieved since I first began as Principal due to the combined efforts of students, staff, parents, the Board and the Alumni. Collectively, we have transitioned the School from an all-girls school to the dynamic and flourishing independent co-educational school it is today. The addition of boys has only enhanced our vibrant community.

I can remember one of my first Open Mornings in 2008; sitting uncomfortably in front of only

four attendees. It was embarrassing, to say the least. Today, we are having to cap numbers,

with at times over 200 groups registering to attend. As such, we have introduced separate

Group Tours on top of our Open Mornings and personal tours to accommodate the interest –

all this in the midst of a pandemic!

When I reflect on Kilvington’s success, I look to the four pillars of a Kilvington education:

Academic Excellence, Character, Care and Community. Everything we do connects with one or more of these pillars.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

Our VCE and NAPLAN results continue to impress and improve. Almost 40 percent of our

Class of 2020 were in the top 10 percent of the State. This is outstanding, especially given the

extraordinary circumstances and challenges our Year 12 students faced last year. Perhaps

even more notable is the passion for, and resilience of our students, to achieve their own

personal best.

CHARACTER

In 2015, we made the decision to harness a key quality of a Kilvington education – building

character. The School has a history of linking strength of character to wellbeing and

academic success. So we created The Character Initiative; a program that has evolved into a fully-fledged educational framework that is explicitly taught to students from ELC to Year

12 and engages staff and parents. This has been a game changer for Kilvington, and offers the School a key point of difference.

CARE

Unceasingly, the School has worked hard to build on its strong culture of respect and care – respect and care between students, and respect and care between students and staff. 

The strong debate about consent that has broken out in our country this year only fuels our resolve to continue to develop a respectful and caring culture.

Our selection by the Department of Education and Training as a Leading School to help roll

out The Respectful Relationships initiative - a primary prevention program that tackles family

violence; builds and promotes gender equality in relationships; challenges gender stereotypes; and supports students to develop the pro-social behaviours that translate into equitable and courteous relationships – reinforces our strength in this important area.

Our new Mentor Program, which sees one staff member to 10 – 12 students has had a

significant impact on the wellbeing and academic development of our students. 

This is just one element of our new Pastoral Care and Wellbeing Framework.

COMMUNITY

A sense of community is embedded into daily school life at Kilvington. I feel it as I greet

students as they are dropped off by their parents in the morning and picked up in the

afternoon. It is evident in the way parents connect with each other through the multitude of events each year; the numbers prepared to volunteer; and the connections between families and teaching staff. It is certainly a very special and unique community here at Kilvington.

THE KILVINGTON CULTURE

Underpinning our four pillars is Kilvington’s culture. I sincerely believe that culture is the

cornerstone to an organisations’ success. Strategy is important, but without a strong,

supportive culture that lives and breathes your brand values, no amount of strategy will

achieve success.

In my final year at Kilvington, I am proud to have played my part in continuing to develop the

wonderful culture here – a culture that is genuinely respectful, inclusive, authentic, empathic, and one that celebrates personal excellence in its many forms. In fact, it was Kilvington’s culture that drew me back to take on the role of Principal after having taught here years before.

I will watch with great affection the next chapter of Kilvington’s story – for starters, the welcoming of a new Principal and the building of the new STEAM Centre – all supported by this wonderfully connected and giving community. Thank you everyone.