Principal's Report
Dear Parents and Friends,
In our Gospel this Sunday (Luke 12:49-53) we witness a Jesus who is both confronting and challenging; Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. In this we are called to be like Jesus, to stir the pot and make our voices heard. Our young women are confronted daily with images and messages that are a total contradiction to that of Jesus. Social media, billboards, some mainstream commercial media outlets and many other forms of advertising tell our young people that the pursuit for material possession and external beauty is to be revered. In direct opposition to these messages I witness daily the young women of Killester challenge these social norms in the way they interact with each other, their teachers, their parents, our wider society and, as importantly, within themselves. Our challenge to the young women who walk through the gates each day is to ensure that like Jesus, they are encouraged to look for ways to fight and rail against injustice, to see and act so they live the mission of a Kildare Education in their hearts, actions, words and minds.
Congratulations this week go to Bethany Forster from Year 12 who achieved amazing success at the ACT swimming championships last weekend. To be able to compete at such a high level whilst completing Year 12 studies is a significant achievement, a detailed report regarding Bethany's successes can be found further in our newsletter. My thanks to Ms Kath Lawson and the team of Year 12 Homeroom teachers who led our Year 12s through their last Killester personal development day. We are proud to be able to offer our students this opportunity to take time out from their studies and reflect on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, and ways in which they can draw strength from both the College and each other. Our Year 12 students are proving themselves to be a very capable and determined cohort of young women! Our Year 9 students travelled this week to the Shrine and I thank Ms Jackie Dunstan for her work in organising this interesting and relevant day. The feedback from staff at the Shrine was that our students conducted themselves in an exemplary fashion, showing great dignity and respect, whilst this is what we come to expect from the young women of Killester it is, none-the-less, always fabulous to hear such positive feedback. I congratulate Mr Troy Brodie and Ms Samantha Campion, and our Rugby 7s team, who have managed an extraordinary feat in making it through to the State Championships, this achievement is made all the more remarkable by the fact that we have not competed at Ruby at the College prior to this....our students certainly always set out to achieve the remarkable. Our best wishes to Mr Brodie, Ms Campion and the team for the next round of exciting matches. Today saw the culmination of Science Week with a full day visit from Professor Bunsen, there will be greater detail regarding Science in our next newsletter but I would like to thank Ms Ping Lim for her organisation of the week.
The winter days remain with us but the warmth of the students who greet me at the gate in the morning is delightful. There is much chatter amongst the students as they prepare their costumes for our Brigidine Day celebrations next Friday. There is much to celebrate about being a member of the Killester community!
Sally Buick, Principal
Killester College