End of Year

Hello everyone,

Congratulations to our Year 12 HSC students! Everyone is always interested in the Band 6 results and high ATARS but please remember first all students who worked to their full ability and supported their student colleagues and teachers to also do their best. At the same time we recognise the high achievers and those who appeared on various official lists due to their performances. Due to acceleration opportunities, Year 11 students also completed HSC courses this year, to great effect.   

Students received 34 Band 6 results across a range of subjects with particularly high representations in Music (5) and Studies of Religion I (7). Other Band 6 results were in Business Studies, Design and Technology, Drama, English Standard, English Advanced, Geography, Mathematics General, Mathematics, Physics, Studies of Religion II, Visual Arts and IDT. E4 results were achieved in English Extension 1 (1) and Mathematics Extension 1 (3).

27% of all results were Band 5 or 6.

Congratulations to Coen Brand who came first in the State in Information & Digital Technology. Coen achieved this as a Year 11 student and completes the rest of his HSC in 2017. Here is Coen mentioned in a media release from Catholic Education Commission NSW:

• HSC Merit lists released by the NSW Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards (BOSTES) show students across the full range of NSW Catholic schools – urban and regional, systemic and congregational – ranked highly in a wide variety of subjects this year. “It’s pleasing to see the diversity of Catholic school students represented in such strong results,” Catholic Education Commission NSW (CECNSW) Acting Executive Director, Ian Baker, said today. “The first list released shows Catholic school students came first in 23 HSC subjects in 2016, with schools in Murwillumbah, Wagga Wagga, Tuggerah, Maitland, Stanhope Gardens and Merrylands all represented. “I want to pay special tribute to Coen Brand of Kildare Catholic College in Wagga Wagga, who topped the state in Information & Digital Technology Examination – while still in Year 11 – and also Katie Jones from Mt St Patrick College in Murwillumbah who came first in English Extension 1,” Mr Baker said.

Congratulations to Breisha Conlan and Alex James for making the 2016 All Rounders List. Breisha achieved Band 6 results in Drama, English (Advanced), Geography, Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1 and Studies of Religion 1. Alex James achieved Band 6 results in Mathematics, Mathematics Extension 1, Music 1, Physics, Studies of Religion 1 and Information and Digital Technology.

Thank you everyone for your support of Kildare Catholic College and the wider team of Wagga Wagga Diocesan schools in 2016. We return in 2017 ready to go again, with a focus on continuing to work to improve student learning and well-being. We will have an increased focus on better building individual learning pathways for students. We have employed a full-time literacy specialist to assist students with their writing and teachers with their teaching of literacy. We have employed 3 specialist teachers with the necessary time to support middle-schooling, coaching and use of data to find out and track where students are with their learning.  A team consisting of three maths teachers and a skilled numeracy Learning Support Assistant will develop numeracy plans for students, and groups of students. All students will have 3 coaching sessions a week and the necessary support to construct and maintain a personal learning plan. Please support this work at home by talking about how things are going and encouraging students to make the most of all opportunities.

Several students leave us for employment, city boarding and other moves and I wish them well. Sue Todd is retiring after 30 years service to the Diocese of Wagga Wagga. James Vickers, Bridget McMeekan, Paul Kenny, Sally Jamieson, and Kira Lough finish their excellent work in limited-term contracts and Sarah Kenny and Libby O’Brien complete their outstanding work as Gap-year trainees. Thanks to each of these fine people for their service to our community.

On behalf of all of us at Kildare I wish you a safe and joyous Christmas period. We’ll see you in 2017,