Principal Message
Firstly I just wanted to thank everyone for their very kind words of support and condolences, the flowers, the kind gestures that have come my way on the passing of my dear Mum, Pat. We were lucky to have her for 90 years and we were able to have a nice family gathering and farewell. The support I have received in this community speaks volumes about where we now are in our lives and we are very grateful.
I’m also conscious of the burden this has placed on the team here at the College and I wish to thank in particular our Leadership Team of Christie Scutti, Christine Savage, Matt Conn, Peter Hunt, Tom Pulver, Ali Sutton and my PA Jo Noble for their calm and assured leadership in my absence. We are very well served by the calibre of this team.
Year 12 are in the final phase of their preparations for the HSC, in the midst of their final weeks of thirteen years of school and all the very normal grief and celebration in equal measure that it brings. We know too, that many students are already facing HSC markers in practical and performing subjects. We hope they ,and their teachers, are amply rewarded for the efforts they have made.
We hope they continue to be safe and sensible about their celebrations and also stay focused on their studies to ensure they are ready to face the challenges of the HSC ahead. We hope and pray they stay close with God and God stays close with them at this time.
In recent times Pope Francis has been speaking with his Cardinals and in Mass with them he had this to say in his Homily:
“the Lord also wants to share this fire with us, so that like him, with meekness, fidelity, closeness and tenderness – this is God’s style: closeness, compassion and tenderness – we can lead many people to savour the presence of Jesus alive in our midst. A presence so evident, albeit in mystery, that there is no need even to ask: “Who are you?”
We are conscious that for Year 12 and their families it is a time of transition and for starting to plan their futures, reflecting on themselves and what they are about, along with what future they would choose to begin building for themselves.
In doing so we offer this prayer to Year 12 at this time:
Blessing for Those Preparing to Graduate….
May God who began this good work in you
carry it through to completion,
enabling you to use your talents to the fullest.
May God give you the grace to make wise choices
and to be faithful to your commitments,
always confident in the support of those who love you.
May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers,
half-truths, and superficial relationships,
so that you will live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger at injustice,
oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you will work for justice, equality, and peace.
May God bless you with tears to shed for those who
suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war,
so that you will reach out your hand
to comfort them and change their pain into joy.
May God bless you with the foolishness to think
that you can make a difference in the world,
so that you will do the things
which others tell you cannot be done.
May your integrity be a gift to the world
and may the Spirit of God be with you always.
Amen.
The richness and diversity of our school life has certainly been evident these past weeks with great success and involvement on the sporting field. One only has to review the posts in Facebook to see the achievement and the joy our students gain from such involvement. It is encouraging to see so many students taking up enrichment opportunities such as the Davinci Decathlon and Tournament of Minds, who both did really well locally and progressed to challenge other schools at State finals. This is no small thing and impresses upon our students yet again that Kildare students can go anywhere and compete with the best and do well.
Year 12 Student Leadership Council 2023. After a process of discernment over a number of weeks involving all students and staff we have selected our Student Leaders from Year 11 2022 for next year. They will commence their work formally in Term 4. We need good Leaders and we certainly have a quality group.
They are:
Girls:
Leonor Ahumada, Abbey Anderson, Charlotte Clark, Rohan Cummins, Lauren Golden, Mia Gwynne, Ruby Holmes, Lara Knox. Ella McCorry, Emma Suckling
Boys:
Jarry Chen, Eze Emebiri, Eamon Kurta, Cooper Manson, Seb McCorry, Hamish McRae, Thomas Stephens, Tyrone Vatubuli
Next week we will be conducting a Leadership Training Camp to prepare them and receive advice to College Leadership about who they believe are best placed to lead the team as College Captains. We will take all that advice into account in our discernment and will announce them in the first week of Term 4. Please keep the team in your prayers as they begin this new phase of their life at the College.
