Principal's Welcome

We are delighted to share with you the Year 12 results for our graduating class of 2019 from the SACE Board of South Australia. This year’s cohort have demonstrated a determined dedication to their learning through perseverance and a strong commitment to achieving success.

The transition into any new school is a time of mixed emotions, not only for students, but also for parents. To help make this transition process as smooth as possible, there are many things we can do to support each other. 

This month the 2019 Year 12 Drama class are recreating their performance of 'Snapshots from Home' as part of the Adelaide Fringe Festival.

This is an exciting opportunity for these Old Scholars to continue their engagement with the performing arts, and be part of the largest open access arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere. The cast have been working hard to recreate the emotion, energy and mood of their performance and would love to share the story and their experience with the Kildare community. Tickets are available through Fringetix or at the door.

https://adelaidefringe.com.au/fringetix/snapshots-from-home-af2020?venue=166%3A11

Shaun Castles
Drama Teacher

Public health officials have updated advice over the weekend regarding Novel Coronavirus.

We would like to underline the importance of following this advice and alert you to the new national information hotline 1800 020 080.

Friday 7 February

Senior Formal

Tuesday 11 February
Academic Awards Assembly

Friday 14 February
Year 7 Point Malcolm Excursion

Tuesday 18 February
Year 7 and new Year 8 families
Connection Evening
6.30pm

Tuesday 18 February
Year 12 Information Evening
7.30pm

Thursday 20 February
Swimming Carnival

Tuesday 25 February
Shrove Tuesday

Wednesday 26 February 
Ash Wednesday

Wednesday 4 March - Friday 6 March
Year 8 Camp

Thursday 5 March - Friday 6 March
Living Justice Student Seminar

Monday 9 March
Adelaide Cup Public Holiday

Thursday 12 March
Sports Day

Join our Community on Facebook for a 'behind the scenes' look at what happens at Kildare, plus information on activities, programs, events, initiatives, successes and more! 

Please visit our website for our updated timetable.

When the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions started to come into place, and online teaching and learning ensued, I dropped into various classes to see how our students were coping with the unprecedented developments. In one of the Year 11 classes, the students enthusiastically explained to me that the new restrictions were not about social distancing, but rather ‘distance socialising'.

This 'distance socialising' remark demonstrated the endearing and resilient nature of our students and also served as a reminder of just how proud we are of each of them. There is no doubt that over the past weeks, all of our students, staff, and families have faced a steep learning curve. Our determination to overcome these challenges together are a true indication of the strong three-way partnerships shared and enjoyed by the staff, students and families here at Kildare College. Despite the incessant changes that often took place at little notice, our students always demonstrated resilience, an openness to embracing new ways, and an exceptional understanding of what we could control and, conversely, what we could not. In many ways, the past weeks have empowered our students to be more independent and to gain confidence. They were able to translate what was an unpredictable situation into one that allowed them to seek and embrace new ways of learning, whilst 'distance socialising'.

Our staff demonstrated how willing and able they were, as evident in their efficient switch to online learning. The professionalism, collaboration and collegiality of the staff highlighted the unfailing dedication and love of each staff member. Furthermore, it was testimony to their shared commitment to ensuring all of our students are learning to the best of their ability.

To our valued families, these past weeks have certainly been different from anything we have experienced before, both as a College community and as a collective world. For those of you who have been supporting your daughter's learning at home, whilst also trying to navigate through the individual implications of this situation with your respective families, we applaud you on the great work that you have done. On behalf of all of us at Kildare College, a big thank you for the harmonious way in which we have all worked together to make the most of an otherwise difficult situation.

We also sincerely understand that there are some families in our school who have faced a lack of employment security, with far-reaching consequences on the family income and lifestyle. Once again, we would like to assure you that if you do find yourself in this situation, please know that your daughter is valued above all else and her enrolment is not in jeopardy. What is most important to us is that your daughter/s education remains steadfast and that, as a community, we remain well-connected by maintaining open lines of communication. Please do not hesitate to contact our Business Manager, Lil Mader, at lmader@kildare.catholic.edu.au or on 8369 9999, if you currently find yourself in this situation. This invitation also applies for the coming weeks and months.

It certainly has been an extraordinary time for many of us. Despite this, the time to slow down has also afforded us the opportunity to reflect on all that is good. Namely, during these last months, a strong sense of solidarity has been felt by us all and this has certainly underlined how very fortunate and grateful we are to be part of the beautiful Kildare College community.

From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you once again for your tremendous support.

Many blessings always,
Tina Neate - Principal

In the coming weeks we will  be playing an Inter-House Netball Tournament. Students are currently in the sign-up stage and are looking forward to the trainings sessions. The friendly games will commence when restrictions are lifted. 

Pack your bags, the time has come,
For learning new things and having fun.
To refill our minds that have gone empty,
With figures, facts and knowledge aplenty.

For those returning and those brand new,
There will always be something new to do.
A job over here, a job over there,
A new friend to make or a book to share.

What did you do?
What did you see?
How are you managing with only a cup of tea?
Did you learn to cook or learn to play?

Lunch and drink,
Neatly packed,
Into the school bag,
On my back.

IT’S TIME TO LEARN!!!

Rose Tharakan 
Year 8
 

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On Monday 25 May at St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Adelaide’s 9th Catholic Archbishop was installed. His name is Archbishop Patrick O’Regan. He comes to us from the Diocese of Sale, Victoria, where he served as Bishop since 2015.

The feast of Pentecost brings to a conclusion the season of Easter.

Jesus came, died and rose; however this was only the beginning.

Traditionally when we think of Pentecost we think of the Holy Spirit descending from heaven and landing on the Apostles. With the help of the Holy Spirit they were then able to go out to the world and teach all people about the message of Jesus and spread the hope of eternal life with God.

This term, my Year 11 Religious Education students have been working on a practical activity which focuses on the current challenges that COVID-19 has presented to our wider community.

When you can’t control what’s happening, challenge yourself to control the way you respond to what’s happening. That’s where the power is!

During times of uncertainty our resilience is tested because we are creatures of habit; we like to be in control, to have a degree of predictability. Although adolescence is often characterised by the pushing of boundaries as young people seek to develop their sense of self, they also seek security and predictability. The current global COVID-19 pandemic has and is testing all of us in different ways, and for teenagers, the effects might sometimes be amplified given where they are in their development.

Core classes 8A and 8C have been working to design, develop and create a cookie that reflects a theme of a party. Students started by sketching and refining their ideas using feedback from peers, before constructing their own cookie cutter using aluminium foil. 

Amongst the social distancing models of education required through COVID-19, Kildare College maintained its strong relationship with local Primary Schools through the STEM Primary Partnership.

Year 4 students from St Monica's Parish School in Walkerville explored the world of Computer Aided Design (CAD) and 3D printing. They designed a bag name tag using the program TinkerCAD and then had their designs 3D printed here at Kildare College. We are all excited to see what the students design next!

Julia Groutsch
Learning Leader

Resource Centre Lessons
The Resource Centre is once again full of life. It is wonderful to have our Year 7 and 8 HUMS classes back in for their regular Resource Centre lessons. This week these classes have been exploring a new data base located on The Resource Centre Portal page which is an online gateway where students can access reliable and safe resources with ease. Book Talks are a key component of these lessons. The purpose of Book Talks is to motivate students to read, discover new titles and showcase different genres. Students are encouraged to participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge and get House points for reading.

Miss Salvo’s Year 7 HUMS class have presented their posters, dances and PowerPoints which explored a range of topics about different Ancient Civilisations.  

This is our fourth year running with our threatened flora project collaboration with the Seed Conservation Centre based at the laboratories in the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. The collaboration is part the Kildare College Enlight Program where eight students from Years 8 to 10 are extended in their Science studies. This unique collaboration not only provides an engaging learning experience and addresses the broader needs of students, but connects the core curriculum with the real world. 

The Year 7 STEM students have been busy designing and creating a map of their 'Dream Theme Park'. After creating their maps, students participated in a gallery walk to share and provide feedback to their peers. A scavenger hunt of their peers' maps concluded the assessment in which they solved questions drawing on the knowledge learnt throughout the unit. 

In recent months many have experienced the difficulties and uncertainty of becoming unemployed, being housebound and deprived of personal contact with friends and loved ones - that was tough!

However, when the Living Justice Group asked the College community to consider the homeless, sleeping rough in the middle of winter, in need of warm clothing and blankets - the Kildare College community really showed their empathy and compassion for others less fortunate.

It’s hard to believe that the term is nearly over. Holidays are only a couple of weeks away. Some of us are finding that we have just settled into a routine and then the holidays will be upon us again. On the other hand, some of us are ready for the holidays to roll round, so we can have a bit of a rest. 

As a College, Kildare is always looking at ways to support the students to improve in their learning. Recently the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results were released. The PISA measures 15 year olds’ Reading, Mathematics, Science knowledge, and skills to meet life challenges. The test not only improves our understanding of learning environments and students’ attitudes to learning but looks at students’ growth mindset. 

With COVID-19 restrictions in place, the ability to visit universities and VET providers and undertake Career Week activities has been put on hold. However, our Year 10s were able to visit a Careers Expo…from the comfort of our Kildare College Resource Centre.

The office will be open during the holidays on:

Tuesday 7 July and Thursday 9 July from 9.00am to 4.00pm

Tuesday 14 July and Thursday 16 July from 9.00am to 4.00pm

The office will re-open for Term 3 on Monday 20 July from 8.15am to 5.30pm

If there is a need to contact the office during other times please phone 8369 9999 and leave a message on the answering maching. Messages will be collected and attended to on a daily basis.

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Girls achieve better results in an all-girls' setting

Over the years in different forums, there have been many debates in regards to what is best - single gender versus coeducational environments. Data from many various sources clearly shows that girls achieve significantly better results in an all-girls' setting.

Recently, the dialogue of how students best learn is once again being discussed in the media. This is a welcome debate as it gives us the opportunity to express why we value and believe in all-girls' education.

At Kildare College, we are a proud girls' school, which truly understands the benefits of providing an education that enhances confidence, resilience and success. Research shows that single-gender girls' schools achieve stronger academic results than any other group in Australia. At Kildare, we are genuinely committed to an all-girls' learning environment where students are encouraged to take intellectual risks and develop skills and knowledge that enhances their self-esteem, which in turn helps them grow into confident young women.

Below are some of the benefits of an all-girls' environment that have been identified by the Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia:

• Girls at single-gender schools enjoy not only equal opportunity but every opportunity.
• All the leadership roles are filled by girls. 
• Girls are more willing to participate in class discussions without being dominated by boys.
• In an all-girls' setting, the pedagogy reflects the science behind how a female brain works and how girls grow and mature.
• Girls report feeling freer to speak and express themselves, which leads to a stronger development of a love of learning. 
• Studies show that in girls' schools, there is a greater sense of connectedness.
• All activities are open to girls where they participate, influence and lead.
• Girls are able and encouraged to explore a career in any area.

For the latest research on the benefits of girls' education visit the Alliance of Girls Schools Australasia  www.agsa.org.au.

Since 1966 when the Brigidine Sisters arrived in Adelaide and laid the first foundations for Kildare, the focus has always been on the academic and wellbeing needs of our girls. The Brigidines are known for their spirit of openness and generosity and these qualities of loyalty and determination, coupled with a sense of adventure, are all part of our Brigidine story at Kildare College. For us today, this means preparing our young women for the 'real world' and equipping them with a genuine enthusiasm towards learning, work and life.

We sincerely thank you for choosing Kildare as we journey together with you and your daughter. It is such a privilege to watch your daughter grow and create her individual pathway in the world.

Thank you for your continuous support.

Many blessings always

Tina Neate
Principal

We are delighted to welcome and introduce the following new staff members to Kildare: 

Aaron Seaman - Maths/IT/RE/PLP Teacher 
Aaron is an experienced teacher who has worked at different schools, including Pedare and Rostrevor Colleges, in a variety of roles. He brings IT knowledge from his most recent roles in software start-up companies to Kildare. 

Georgia Stavropoulos - College Counsellor  
After comprehensive first and second interviews, we have appointed Georgia to the role of College Counsellor. Georgia has completed a Bachelor of Behavioural Science Psychology and Masters of Social Work. Georgia will be working 4 days a week - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and Emma Lewis will continue her role as Counsellor on Tuesdays and Chaplain on Fridays. 

Tess Siviour - Administration Assistant   
Tess has extensive experience in administration and coordinating events. Tess has completed degrees in Marketing and Tourism and Event Management. Tess' role is to support the Directors, House Leaders and Learning Leaders with administration.  

Madeleine Bizios - Classroom Support Assistant 
Madeleine is a Kildare Old Scholar who will be helping students in the classroom for the rest of the year. 

Mikaela Brader and Samara D’Addona - Social Work Placement Students 
Mikaela and Samara will be supporting the students together with the House Leaders, our Social Worker, Mia Davies, and our new Counsellor, Georgia, for the rest of the year. 

Tina Neate
Principal

In collaboration with Green Adelaide, the Year 7 STEM classes are exploring climate change through the Climate Ready Schools Program. This student centred program explores adaptation and mitigation issues involving climate change within the College and local community, with the outcome being to problem solve and develop practical solutions to these issues. 

In order to gain skills in jewellery making and silver smithing, six STEM staff members including myself attended a two day workshop in the school holidays. The workshop, run by Mega O’Rouke (Adelaide College of the Arts), introduced us to the skills used to create silver jewellery, including saw piercing, filing, soldering, polishing, decorative finishes and design principles. 

The Year 10 Art class have had a very creative start to the second semester. They were challenged to create ‘unplanned marks’ using watercolour paint and black pen. Using these marks they used their unique style to bring the whole composition into one original piece of artwork. This task was a great opportunity for the students to demonstrate their very own creative style.

Term 3 has started well for our Middle Years students with many exciting events to look forward too. Co-curricular sport has recommenced and it is wonderful to see that we have many middle years sporting teams competing in netball, soccer and AFL competitions. I had the pleasure of coaching one of our netball teams in Round 1 and it was wonderful to see how well they played as a team and supported each other.  

The Year 8 STEM students have been focusing on the engineering design process using the laser cutting machine. The students brainstormed special people in their lives, and chose one for whom they would create a design, which would be lasered into a serving board for them. 

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves. Our names are Mikaela and Samara, and we are both in our final year of a Bachelor of Social Work at the University of South Australia. We will be at Kildare for the remainder of the year working alongside the Wellbeing Team.

Term 3 sport is up and running with Statewide Sport in full swing. We have three Netball, two Soccer, a Badminton, AFL and Volleyball teams entered in this year's competition.

The Kildare weekly sport teams have finished two rounds of competition to date. We have had some huge wins in the netball and soccer on both Saturdays. We have had some very close games, and all teams played with great enthusiasim. The footy team continue to improve their skills each week and have had a couple of near wins. No matter the results we are happy sport is back for the students enjoy and be active. 

Positive Education

In 1998, the then president of the American Psychological Association, Professor Martin Seligman, published a paper challenging the way his profession view mental illness. Seligman coined the term positive psychology, defining it as the ‘scientific study of optimal human functioning [that] aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive’ .                                                        _{Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000}

The work of Seligman and his colleagues challenged the profession to focus not just on the problems with which clients present, but instead, to harness their strengths and potential.

Positive Education

In 1998, the then president of the American Psychological Association, Professor Martin Seligman, published a paper challenging the way his profession view mental illness. Seligman coined the term positive psychology, defining it as the ‘scientific study of optimal human functioning [that] aims to discover and promote the factors that allow individuals and communities to thrive’ .                                                        _{Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000}

The work of Seligman and his colleagues challenged the profession to focus not just on the problems with which clients present, but instead, to harness their strengths and potential.

Pasta Making

Each week our Year 9 Food Technology students have taken on the challenge of learning a completely new cooking technique. So far, they have mastered rolling sushi, folding dumplings and much more.

We would like to congratulate the students who were recipients of Academic, Endeavour, Maths Pathway and other Significant Achievement Awards at our recent Awards Assembly. While families were unable to join us due to current restrictions, an image of their daughter with her certificate was emailed home last week. Even if your daughter did not receive a certificate, we are very proud of everyone who achieves excellent results across different areas of the College. The all girls’ learning environment at Kildare College, provides students with the opportunity to achieve significantly better results and allows them to do their best and be their best.

There have been many excursions, incursions and other incredible events planned for this term. Even though it has been busy, these activities are usually the most memorable parts of our students’ education. The excitement and enthusiasm with which students engage in these opportunities only adds to their personal development. Students understand the adjustments we have had to make with some events, due to circumstances beyond our control. Please encourage your daughter to get involved with extra-curricular activities too, as the more involved she is, the richer her experiences will be.

We value working in partnership with you on all aspects of your daughter’s educational journey at Kildare. We seek your support in reminding your daughter of our expectations regarding wearing her uniform with pride and putting away her digital device during the day. Feedback has been very positive about the changes to our digital devices guidelines, with a high percentage of families indicating their support of this initiative. We will continue to work together to help your daughter achieve her goals and be the best that she can be.

Michelle Camilleri
Deputy Principal

The Year 7 students were lucky enough to attend an excursion to Monarto Safari Park! The purpose of this day was to enrich their in-class learnings about classification of animals, and place and liveability in STEM, as well as learn real life examples of economics and business for HUMS.

The Year 7 cohort completed another exciting learning week, ‘Jewellery Skills Week’ during which the students used all of their learned skills from STEM to make jewellery for their PBL.

The environmental group has continued to work towards making Kildare College an environmentally conscious campus. 

In recent meetings the Captains and members of the Living Justice group have engaged in discussions around how they could best raise awareness about the issue of increasing domestic violence in society. 

Student Leadership

The College aims to promote leadership in many areas, such as community service, peer mentoring, sport, music and drama. Participation in student leadership is highly encouraged in order to promote student voice and enable participation in decision-making processes. It is the responsibility of all members of the College community to promote, foster and encourage students to take on roles of leadership, responsibility and commitment to their College. A wide variety of leadership portfolios exist across all year levels.

It is hard to believe that Term 3 is nearly over. It has been a term where we have continued to adjust to our 'new normal' where events have been coordinated so that we have been able to enjoy a range of activities and learning opportunities. Our students have continued to demonstrate great strength, resilience and gentleness with all that we do.

Brigidine Day
Last week we celebrated our Brigidine Day together. It was a perfect day where we gathered as a College community for the first time since March. Father Mathew led our Mass sharing the great need to remain hopeful and positive during these times. He emphasised how kindness can be distributed in big and small ways and all acts of kindness can influence our mental wellbeing.

Following our Mass, students and staff were engaged in a range of activities, including House Spirit games and our very own K-Factor. It was an absolute pleasure watching our students entertain the community with their diverse talents. The day was just beautiful and it depicted the wonderful camaraderie and great sense of connectedness that exists in girls' schools and especially at Kildare.

Future Anything Shark Tank
Recently, Dana Wortley MP, Member for Torrens, Jo Coonan, Chair of the Kildare Stewardship Council, Lil Mader, Business Manager and I had the great pleasure and privilege to be involved as panel members of the Future Anything Shark Tank presentations led by our Year 9 students. The panel was extremely impressed with their presentations of a business enterprise to address an important social issue in our society. 

The students' research, thinking and maturity in addressing and presenting each issue was outstanding. What was equally impressive was the very real connection and understanding the students displayed of the Kildare Core Values, and how their enterprise would benefit those in society who are less fortunate or face difficulties.

Each business enterprise had great merit, and all were very worthy contenders. Congratulations to Sydnie Sparrow who received the most votes with her presentation based on, ‘Did I say yes?’ We are all very proud of all the students and thank their STEM teachers for their hard work behind the scenes. We will now move onto the next stage and compete with other schools. We wish Sydnie all the best in the next rounds of the competition.

The above examples demonstrate again, that at Kildare, all girls are able participate, influence and lead freely and enjoy not only equal opportunity but every opportunity.

Thank you for your continuous support.

Many blessings always

Tina Neate
Principal

The end of Term 3 is a busy time for all students. For our Year 12 students, there is the additional pressure of finalising all their assignments for the year. We also look towards celebrating the end of their academic journey and final year at Kildare College, and as such, students take part in a range of activities to mark this occasion.

Junior Red
Due to a late start to the soccer season, there was a reduced number of games; however, that did not reduce the enthusiasm in the number of players who turned out weekly for training, even well before the season started.

Heading into the 2020 season, the Open A Soccer team looked to go one better than last year’s runner-up position. The majority of the squad was retained, along with a couple of new additions to further strengthen the team. 

Premier's Reading Challenge

The Premier's Reading Challenge wrapped up on Friday 4 September. After weeks of reading we had 152 students complete the Challenge for 2020. That is an amazing 1,824 books read by the students!  We are very proud of our students' accomplishments!

Two Year 11 Chemistry classes visited the Adelaide Desalination Plant at Lonsdale. The day began in the reception centre where we met Dan, our guide, who is the SA Water Education Advisor. Dan welcomed the students and explained why the Desalination Plant was built before diving into the world of water security by playing a water management game. We also learnt about reverse osmosis and the economic and environmental impacts of desalination.

The Year 12 Drama class have been working hard on their final production, which culminated in a filmed performance of their final assessment.The entire class is to be commended for their commitment, flexibility, understanding and determination as we have navigated these challenging times. 

We have the absolute pleasure of announcing our College Captains for 2021; Mia Larkin and Laura Lines. Congratulations!

Kildare College Music Department was once again successful in their auditions for a support act in the Catholic Schools Music Festival. 

Students from Years 8 -12 professionally recorded their rendition of 'I Know Where I've Been' for the Festival which will be streamed in Term 4. 

Well done to all involved!

Hannah King and Russell McGlone
Music Teachers

We have begun the process for 2021 class placements. Our goal, when working through the process of class placements is to ensure that your daughter is nurtured and provided with a learning environment to help her flourish and we take every care, thought and effort when creating our class lists. We aim to place your daughter in a class with at least one of her requested friends. There are many factors taken into consideration through this process including, learning needs, behaviour, friendships, social and emotional needs, including consultation with students and staff.

As a part of the Year 10 Essential Maths program this year, students participated in the $20.00 Boss Challenge. 

 At this time of the year, when our Year 12s are preparing for exams and finalising assignments, it is timely to consider the concept of mindset and how it affects our behaviour.

Students have enthusiastically participated in a variety of Statewide Knockout Competitions during this term.

An inspirational day of learning was enjoyed by the Year 9 Art class and the Nunga Group at the Art Gallery of South Australia and Tandanya.

The Defence Industry Pathways Program (DIPP) is a semester length VET course which focuses on advanced manufacturing and design.

We are very proud of the academic achievements of all of our students at Kildare.

On Tuesday evening last week, Dux medals were presented to Year 12 students who achieved the highest A grade in their subjects for their school based assessment. Their names are listed below. 

Accounting  -  Chloe D'Aloisio
Biology  -  Grace Builder
Business Innovation  -  Alicia McMahon
Child Studies  -  Phoebe Walsh
Community Studies  A  -  Adela Tawassoli
Dance  -  Charlotte Lewis (Year 11)
Drama  -  Emily Goode
English  -  Grace Builder
Essential English  -  Emma McCallum
Essential Mathematics  -  Samara Costanzo
Food and Hospitality  -  Olivia Ruggiero
General Mathematics  -   Sofia Ferraretto and Amelia Perilli
Integrated Learning (10 Credit)  -  Yasmine Coad
Integrated Learning (20 Credit)  -  Shiun Ryu
Italian  -  Natasha Phillips
Mathematics Methods  -  Amatullah Mansurwala
Media Studies  -  Abbie Faull
Music - Solo Performance  -  Bethany Poel
Music - Ensemble Performance  -  Amy Somers
Music Explorations  -  Hayley Kinloch
Nutrition  -  Sofia Ferraretto and Charlotte Ricciuto
Physics  -  Amatullah Mansurwala
Psychology  -  Ruby Northway
Research Project B  -  Olivia Ruggiero
Religion (10 Credit)  -  Grace Builder
Religion (20 Credit) -  Amy Somers
Specialist Mathematics  -  Yasmine Coad
Women's Studies  -  Grace Builder

Congratulation to Charlotte Lewis who recieved the Year 12 Dux of Dance as a Year 11 student.

Farewell to our Year 12s

We have had some wonderful celebrations with our Year 12 students over the past week. Starting with our beautiful and reverent Graduation Mass, the family breakfast and then our farewell assembly. 

We were delighted to welcome Musician Erin Foy of the 10/27th Royal South Australian Regiment Band to present the Long Tan and Future Innovators Awards for 2020 at our Farewell Assembly.

We are always thrilled to hear of Vocational Training success stories, whether students are current or past. Aimee Pope was a Year 12 student at Kildare College in 2019 and after completing her Certificate II in Food Processing in Year 11 (2018), began her Certificate III in Baking as part of her Year 12 studies. 

Each year across Australia, the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) brings children and books together celebrating CBCA Book Week. The 2020 theme was Curious Creatures, Wild Minds.

The Year 10s spent a lovely day at Henley Surf Life Saving Club for their Retreat day. It was a great opportunity to get away from school and relax in a different environment while reflecting on the people they have grown to become.

Taleah Parker, one of our Year 11 students, is currently undertaking a traineeship with the Scentre Group, enabling her to complete a Certificate III in Business as part of her senior school studies. 

The last few weeks have been a time of great joy, with Kildare welcoming many new students and their families to the College. At the same time, our Year 12 students have completed their exams and final submission of tasks and will be heading into all that life offers beyond school. While this is often bittersweet, it is part of the seasons of life. We need to be challenged to move from our comfortable place, to continue to grow and be who we are meant to be. Other year levels still have some more work to do before we can let them go. Our Year 11 students have just completed their examination week and our Year 10 students undertake their examinations next week. Students in Years 7-9 still have two weeks to go with Term 4 concluding on Thursday 3 December at 3.20pm.

One of the most rewarding aspects of being part of the Kildare College community is because our Core Values are part of our lived experience. Many families choose our College because we nurture the potential and gifts that every student brings. This year we have had a particular focus on Justice – making the needs of the vulnerable paramount. This doesn’t mean just looking after those who are disadvantaged or who struggle financially, it includes looking after each other and treating each other with respect and kindness. Our students do genuinely care, and show compassion for each other and will speak up when they see unjust actions. Restoring relationships, and being open to our mistakes allows us to be a place to hospitality for all.

There are many activities and events to look forward to during the last couple of weeks of the academic year, so we encourage your daughter to get her tasks completed so she can enjoy this time. Finally, we would like to acknowledge your ongoing support of Kildare and thank you for entrusting your daughter to us.

Michelle Camilleri
Deputy Principal

Our 2021 Transition Program has seen Kildare welcome 161 new students and their families into our College.

The Stage 1 Outdoor Ed class has been out exploring both the Port River area around Port Adelaide and West Lakes. 

Earlier this term 16 students from Years 7, 8 and 9 attended the Tea Tree Gully Council Youth Leadership Conference. Students who attended were chosen as they currently hold leadership positions, or they have demonstrated emerging leadership skills. 

Our student leaders are role models, who support and are a voice for the student body, who uphold and promote the Kildare Ministries' values of Wonder, Justice, Courage, Hospitality, Hope and Compassion.

This term the Year 7 students collaboratively assisted in giving the Wellbeing Wall a colourful makeover!

Dear Families

What a year! We started this year with the focus on our Core Value – Justice: Making the needs of the vulnerable paramount. 2020 has certainly been a year like no other, where we have all been vulnerable, each of us with a different story, yet sharing in the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no doubt that this year has been a steep learning curve for our community. It has been a true demonstration of the strong three-way partnerships between staff, students and families that we enjoy here at Kildare.

There have been so many comments, especially recently of wanting 2020 to be over so that we can reset and start again in 2021; however, before we finish our College year, we would like to acknowledge how incredible your daughters have been. Through all the constant changes that have taken place with such little notice, they have shown resilience, been open to embracing new ways, and had an exceptional understanding of what we could control and what we could not control. They have continuously shown courage, great humour and just got on with it. They were able to translate an unpredictable situation into one that allowed seeking new ways of learning. We are so very proud of them.

We would also like to thank all of you. Kildare is special because of our wonderful and supportive College community. The students and teachers cannot achieve success in isolation, and it is our families and College working together that benefits our students. Thank you for the superb support that you have given us all, especially during this extraordinary year - we sincerely appreciate it.

Also, at this time of the year, we acknowledge and thank the following staff members who will be leaving Kildare. We wish everyone all the very best for the future as they embark on their new adventures.

• Dan Chomos
• Tammie Haythorpe
• Mary Joanni
• Hannah McDonough
• Liam Parker
• Aaron Seaman
• Catherine Smith
• Jasmin Watkins

Next year, we have many plans to continue to improve Kildare. We are currently working with Walter Brooke Architects to develop our Innovation Hub, which we hope to start building in 2021. The Kildare College Innovation Hub will allow our young women to enter a new world which challenges the stereotype of a female learner. A world where, breaking with conventional wisdom is not only encouraged, but it is expected. And a world where immersion in modern technology, gives rise to creative inspiration, unexpected discoveries and just as crucially, an enormous amount of enjoyment. We are very excited to be developing this building for our College community.

Finally, we sincerely thank you so much for your love, patience and support this year.

Wishing you a safe, healthy and Happy Christmas.

Many blessings always,

Tina Neate
Principal

In Terms 3 and 4, the Year 9 Students learnt how to code using Arduino which is an open-source electronics platform that allows you to create almost anything! 

A huge thank you to staff and students for getting behind the drive for the Vinnies Christmas Appeal.

Congratulations – Angelina De Pinto

As a member of Empire Dance Studio, Angelina recently competed in the AASCF National Cheer and Dance Competition. 

Welcome to 2021, with a very warm welcome to our new families in the community. Spending the first few weeks working with both staff and our returning students has reminded me how blessed we are to be in a wonderful community with committed staff and students.

Welcome to the 2021 School Year. We are delighted to be welcoming so many new students and their families into our Kildare College community. We are looking forward to sharing your daughter’s learning journey with you as we work together to support her into becoming a strong, confident and independent young woman ready to take on the challenges of our world.

Kildare College uses the SEQTA Learning Management Software for the online management of lessons, resources and grades which are accessible from any device, anywhere at any time.  We believe this accessibility is an important component of a 21st century learning environment.

Last Friday, 215 students and their guests gathered at Donato Function Centre for the highly-anticipated Senior Years ‘Garden Party’ Formal.

Students in the Senior Years will begin subjects that count towards their SACE completion. The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is a modern, internationally-recognised secondary school qualification designed to equip your daughter with skills, knowledge, and personal capabilities to successfully participate in our fast-paced global society.

At our recent Academic Assembly we welcomed Mr Noel Hender, representative of the Order of Australia Association, SA Branch, who presented Rosabel Muchenje the Student Ctizenship Award. Rosabel exhibited the following attributes to receive this award. 

• Leadership qualities
• Outstanding citizenship displayed by assisting groups in need
• Demonstration of skills in organisation, management and communication

Congratulations Rosabel. We are very proud of you. 

Wellbeing for Learning is a central mandate for Kildare College. Our College staff strive to create a supportive environment to encourage and enable students to meet and overcome challenges, and to reach their goals. Kildare College employs wellbeing professionals; namely, two Counsellors, a Chaplain, and a Social Worker, to pro-actively support the College community. Information about our wellbeing professionals is provided below.

Dear Kildare Families

Welcome to 2021 and to the Year of Wonder. Every year we focus on one of our six core values. The core value for 2021 is Wonder – Celebrating all that is good with joy and gratitude. And don’t we have so much to be grateful for living in Adelaide during a pandemic!

We are super excited for 2021, and we have been busy behind the scenes preparing and creating innovative programs for our students. We have many incredible projects planned, including finalising the plans for our new Innovation Hub, which will provide a space that will continue to inspire students‘ creativity, construction and innovation. More information will be provided in the coming months.

Commencing a new school year always brings many exciting experiences. We are pleased with the way our Year 7 and new Year 8 students are embracing their new routines and are adapting well to the expectations placed upon them. Our existing Year 8 and 9 students have returned to school with great enthusiasm and are already demonstrating a great love of learning, while our senior students are putting into practice the importance of being positive role models in our College community.

2020 Year 12 Results – 100% SACE Completion

We were absolutely delighted with the 2020 Year 12 SACE Results. Our Year 12 students demonstrated commitment, resilience, and a determined attitude achieving success with 100% SACE completion in a year that held so much uncertainty. 22% of students achieved an ATAR of 90 or over with Grace Builder as our DUX with a Univeristy Entrance Score of 99.95. We are so very proud of all our students.

New Staff Members to Kildare College

This year we welcome 657 students across all year levels and 11 new staff members to our College Community.

We welcome Raymond Kropinski to the Leadership Team, who has been appointed as the Director of Teaching and Learning. Ray has been a member of the Kildare community for the past five years and has held many leadership positions in different schools and most recently as the Senior Years Coordinator at Kildare. He also comes with many qualifications and we are very much looking forward to Raymond leading and guiding the College community in the area of teaching and learning.

We are also delighted to welcome the following new positions and staff members:

Senior Years Coordinator

• Emma Ward

House Leaders

• Anne Molinaro – Brigid House Leader
• Taymar Rowe – Kildare House Leader

Education Support Officers 

• Fiona Beauchamp – Administration Assistant
• Rebecca Bell – Finance Manager
• Shane Dix – Maintenance Officer
• Emma Gay – Resource Centre Officer
• ​Julie Morgan – Education Support Officer - Curriculum
• Bianca Parker – Sports Development Officer

Teachers

• Andrew Crosby – Mathematics
• Jon Ovan – Business and Humanities
• Jessica Cocks – Mathematics, Science and STEM

Welcome Back

• Sarah Cornelius – English and Humanities
• Jenny Tripodi – ICT and SEQTA

Facilities Update

We would also like to acknowledge and thank Lil Mader, our Business Manager, Brett Selga and Shane Dix, our Maintenance staff who have worked tirelessly over the holidays managing and improving different areas of the College. Some of the areas include the following:

New Fencing

You may have noticed that we have started to replace the existing fence with a new fence. This has been long overdue, and we are very much looking forward to completing this project over the next few weeks. The fence will improve the overall grounds as well as increase the security of the College.

The Square – Our new transportable

In preparation for our Innovation Hub, a new transportable was delivered during the holidays and placed adjacent to Valiant Road. The transportable, named ‘The Square’ (thinking outside the square) will be our new Drama room whilst building our new facilities.

New Garden and path

The gardeners have truly transformed the area between the Kildare and Chanel buildings. The ‘magical’ path leads to our beautiful Brigidine Centre.

Canteen

Our canteen has been freshly painted and fitted out with new equipment ready for our new provider - Rory’s School Lunches.

Kitchenette in the Resource Centre

At the end of last year, the Year 12 students wrote expressing reasons why they would like a dedicated area where they can study and collaborate. Hence, we have placed a stylish kitchenette in the Resource Centre for our Year 12 students to use.

Woodwork Facilities - Classroom 16

This year we have 18 students in Years 11 and 12 studying woodwork at Kildare. Room 16 has been set up as an interim woodwork room with all new machinery and tools, whilst we build our new Innovation Hub. Paul Beltrame will be leading our students in this very dynamic area.

Science Labs 1 and 3

Our Science Laboratories have also had a facelift in the holidays with the replacement of bench-tops and new student furniture.

We are committed to continually improving all areas of the College to enhance opportunities for our students.

We are very much looking forward to sharing our Year of Wonder with you. A year where we explore, enjoy, experiment and experience all that is on offer.

We thank you again for choosing Kildare. It is an absolute privilege working in partnership with you and your daughter so that together we can continue to provide an exceptional education for your daughter.

Thank you so much for your support.

Tina Neate
Principal

Throughout the past few weeks, Ms Fairweather’s Year 8 Art class have been learning about a drawing technique called continuous line – this technique requires students to draw with one continuous line or stroke using a drawing tool, without lifting it from the page.

Over the past few weeks the Year 7 students have been creating animal collages inspired by the quirky and iconic works of Australian Artist, Pete Cromer.

As part of their entry event to their first PBL unit ‘Lifting our voices’, the Year 9 cohort engaged in a Zoom discussion with Bhavi Devchand, an Australian all-round cricketer and coach.

 Kildare College continues to provide 24 hour insurance cover for Students’ with a Personal Accident & Disability (School Care) Policy with Catholic Church Insurances. If you have a claim or questions about an particular incident and if it might be covered please go to the following link: http://ccinsurance.org.au/Insurance/Pages/Student-care-Information.aspx

SA Ambulance cover is also provided for accidents that may occur during the school day.

There is no charge to families for insurances.

Kildare College uses the SEQTA Learning Management Software for the online management of lessons, resources and grades which are accessible from any device, anywhere at any time. We believe this accessibility is an important component of a 21st century learning environment.

The students in Year 10 English and the Year 12 Drama class attended an excursion to view the production, 'The Boy Who Talked to Dogs'.

The Year 7 HUMs students have begun the year with diversity in their learning. Year 7s have utilised their Education Perfect licenses and have explored the world of remediated tasks which this excellent platform provides. 

Stage 2 Drama is in the full swing of assessment. To commence the year, the students have had the opportunity to engage in a range of workshops conducted by the professional drama practitioners from State Theatre.

Carolina Salvo
Learning Leader

As well as developing face-to-face connections we have also been supporting students with their online connections. The Year 7 students watched a performance by Brainstorm Productions that illustrated some of the impacts young people face when they engage with others online. They also learned how to keep themselves safe and what to do if they do find themselves in trouble online.

Each week brings opportunities that we can celebrate,  and challenges that we may sometimes find difficult to overcome. Helping and supporting students to develop resilience can equip them with the tools to reduce the impact that challenging situations can have.

Kildare College uses the SEQTA Learning Management Software for the online management of lessons, resources and grades which are accessible from any device, anywhere at any time. We believe this accessibility is an important component of a 21st century learning environment.

Kildare College Year 9 STEM Leaders attended St Monica's Parish School to hold an interactive STEM workshop. During this workshop, the STEM Leaders engaged with the Year 4 students who have been learning to program LEGO Robots, which were borrowed from Kildare College.

There are two significant events within our church calendar that bring people together for great celebrations. They are Christmas and Easter. We know they are significant because both are preceded with a significant time of preparation.

The Year 10 Child Studies class, after learning about milestones of children of different ages, planned and created a 'Lunchbox for Learning'. Some members of the Living Justice Group suggested that the Lunchbox for Learning could be made for children in need or in a crisis.

Our first Baking Club for 2021 was a hit! Students made mini strawberry and mint cheesecakes and pumpkin waffles.

Both groups of students were able to learn with a new group of students, make connections and have fun after school while making something delicious. We look forward to hosting many more Baking Club sessions in 2021.

Kara Steward and Alana Durka
Hospitality Teachers

Kildare College athletes took to SA Athletics Stadium to compete in the SA Catholic Secondary School Girls Sports Association (SACSSGSA) competition. The team competed exceptionally well in all their events. Special mention to U/14 athlete Emily Worley who set two new B Grade records in the U/21 1500m Open and U/21 1000m Steeple Open.

Kildare College held their own finishing 3rd overall. Big congratulations to the U/16 superstars who won their division quite convincingly. Well done to all other athletes. 

Bianca Parker
Sports Development Officer

It is exciting to have more volleyball teams representing Kildare than ever before, as well as many students playing basketball. All players worked hard, encouraged each other, always had a smile on their face and represented the College with integrity

Dear Kildare Families

What an incredible 2021 Term 1 with our focus on our Core Value of Wonder - celebrating all that is good with joy and gratitude. This term has certainly been filled with many wonderful experiences and celebrations for our College community. Each day, your daughters lead and teach us in so many different ways. It is an absolute joy to watch them develop new skills and gain confidence with all that they are doing

Agents of Change

Recently I attended the International Women’s Day Breakfast with our Year 12 Student Leaders who represented us among other girls’ schools in Adelaide. We were honoured to hear very powerful presentations from Senator Penny Wong and former Senator, Natasha Stott Despoja. Both women spoke passionately about calling out wrong and disrespectful behaviour. They highlighted that we need to continue to empower women so that they have a voice, feel safe and able to forge their own path without gender barriers.

Also, last week at our assembly, there was a special focus on racism. Our students stood up, educated and shared deeply personal experiences that genuinely affected us all - it demonstrated great courage and bravery. I will never forget this assembly for the way our students spoke and for the way our students listened.

At Kildare, our respectful relationships programs across each level, continuously reinforces the messages of mutual respect, trust, good communication, understanding and honesty. In partnership with you, our families, we encourage you to speak about this with your daughter, supporting her to be upstanding, to use her voice confidently and courageously to speak up and to speak out. These conversations are important – in our College, in our homes and our communities, so that collectively, we can drive great change in our world for young women.

Innovation Hub

We have been busy behind the scenes finalising the plans for the Innovation Hub. We are just waiting for some final approvals before we share the plans with everyone. We are super excited about this project as it will provide your daughter with many further opportunities at Kildare.

Arkaroola

We are also delighted to announce that students in Years 11 and 12 Physics have the opportunity to attend the first ever ‘Astrophysics’ trip to Arkaroola. We would like to especially thank Dr Kristin Weidenbach and Lila Weidenbach (present Kildare family) for extending a welcome for Kildare College to visit Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary (AWS). Also, Doug Sprigg and Vicki-Lee Wilson for their support and hosting Kildare staff at AWS on reconnaissance visits and numerous meetings with staff both at Kildare and at the site to discuss logistics and ensuring the educational activities will be world class and our students will be well accommodated. 

This is an incredible opportunity for our students, as they will be undertaking activities that will allow them to explore the awe and wonder of the universe. They will be staying at the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary which has the lowest light pollution in the world.  https://www.arkaroola.com.au/ 

During the trip, our students will: 

• Use industry-standard telescopes to view the elemental configurations of stars 
• Investige the chemical make-up of minerals using UV spectroscopy 
• Work through their SACE Completion Practical 
• Participate on a ridge-top tour to look at significant geological formations 
• Enjoy the experience of outback Australia in a safe and friendly environment. 

We are also very fortunate to have obtained sponsorship from Heathgate Resources, which means that there will be no cost to students. The dates for the trip are Monday 12 April to Thursday 15 April 2021, the first week of the April school holidays.  

Our Fence

You may have noticed that our fence has come to a standstill as some of the materials are currently unavailable. There was a suggestion from the fence company to improvise with something else to keep the project moving, however, we declined this offer, as we would like everything to match – this means we have to wait for a few more weeks for it to be completed. Thank you for your patience.

Staffing Update

Shane Dix – New Maintenance Manager
Shane Dix has been at Kildare since the start of this year. Last week, Shane moved into the Maintenace Manager's role. Shane comes with extensive experience in the areas of project management within both public and private sectors and financial understanding of budgets, strategic planning and forecasting. Shane is very much looking forward to this role. Congratulations to Shane.

Andrew Heggs – New Maintenance Officer
Andrew Heggs has many years of experience working in Catholic schools and different businesses in the areas of general maintenance and Work, Health and Safety. Andrew is very much looking forward to coming back into a school environment. Welcome and congratulations to Andrew.

Congratulations to Daniel Chetcuti
Congratulations to Daniel and Natasha, who were married recently. May they be blessed with peace, happiness, love and laughter always.

We wish you all a very happy and safe school holidays, and we look forward to welcoming the students back after the term break in their winter uniform.

Thank you so much for your support.

Tina Neate 
Principal

The Nunga Group and Year 9 Art students from 2020, recently completed the totem/pole project they commenced in Term 4 last year. With the help of first nations artist Chris Crebbin the students have produced amazing pieces that will be placed in the Wirra Garden alongside totems/poles from the previous project.

In Week 9, our Years 7 and Year 9 students undertook the NAPLAN Readiness Test. This practice test gave students the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the online platform. NAPLAN will take place in Term 2 on the following dates:

• Tuesday 11 May – Reading Test
• Wednesday 12 May – Writing and Conventions of Language Tests
• Thursday 13 May – Numeracy Test

Students are well into their third or fourth learning cycles of the year and we are seeing some very impressive growth rates. To stay informed about your daughter’s learning, please log into SEQTA, visit the Mathematics Assessment page where your daughter will record her growth, effort and accuracy rates as well as her learning goal for the upcoming cycle.

It has been a busy Term 2 so far in the Resource Centre with lots of reading, borrowing, and fun lunchtime activities.

Our Year 7 and 8 HUMS classes have enjoyed coming to the Resource Centre for weekly lessons where they can borrow new books and work their way to completing their 12 novels for the Premier’s Reading Challenge. It is such a wonderful way for the students to broaden their reading horizons, and improve their literacy and vocabulary skills.

After an early start, and a long day of travel the Year 11 and 12 Physics classes arrived at Arkaroola. The journey was punctuated with stops at Pt Augusta, Hawker and then Copley, where the roads turned to dirt and we navigated our way to our final destination of Arkaroola Village.

This term Ms Fairweather's Stage 2 Art and Design Students and Ms Clarks Stage 1 Design students had the opportunity to visit the SACE Art Show, The Royal Australian Institute of Architects Australia, and Art Gallery of South Australia.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Adolescence is a time of change and can bring with it many challenges for your daughter/s and for you as parents and carers.

We have organised for mother of three, counsellor, author and Director of Positive Minds Australia, Madhavi Nawana Parker, to present a practical session to help you navigate the challenges of the teenage years. A not to be missed opportunity to hear and learn from a highly respected, experienced local practitioner in her field.

Further information and booking details can be found on the College Splash page.

Glenn Clifford
Director of Wellbeing

Our three very enthusiastic Year 9 debaters – Abby Jones, Katya Zirnsak and Kavishi Alles, started off the debating season with a bang. With their oratory skills in full throttle, the negative team debated against Portside Christian School regarding the controversial topic, “That the Prime Minister should make a 'State of the Union' speech.”

Throughout Semester 1, Year 11 students have led the Peer Support program, meeting with groups of Year 7 and 8 students. In their groups the Peer Support Leaders have worked through a range of activities that have supported transition into secondary school and focused on developing resilience.

Staff and students have hit the ground running in Term 2 with a number of activities being undertaken across the year levels and curriculum areas. Year 8 HUMS recently celebrated the end of their Medieval unit with themed day including spit roast, medieval dress up to represent a person of the time and participated in games reflective of the era. Our Year 9 students have started their SASI Talent Search fitness tests with our new timing gates and vertical jump apparatus, making the testing more accurate and our Year 12 English and Drama students have been out to see 'Euphoria' to help with their studies.

Each year the Kildare College community supports Caritas Australia's Project Compassion by raising funds with the help of donations from students, their families and staff. This year we held a Colour Run as a different way to raise money for Caritas. The Living Justice Group felt it was also a great way to come together as a school to celebrate, ‘All that is Good!’

Art Club is in full swing this term!  Mr Chetcuti and Ms Fairweather have supported many of our young creatives during Art Club with personal art and craft projects.

In acknowledgement of Reconciliation Week, Kildare College Nunga students recently participated in activities held at the Holden Hill Community Centre that were hosted by Tea Tree Gully Council.

Risk-Taking Behaviour during Adolescence – Part 1 

During adolescence, the human brain undergoes significant change with developmental processes still occurring until around the age of 26. Add this to all the other changes that happen during adolescence, and it is no wonder that this developmental period is sometimes referred to as a period of “storm and stress”. 

During the last four weeks on Tuesdays after school, Year 7 and 8 students have had the opportunity to explore the game of lacrosse with coaching clinics provided by the East Torrens Lacrosse Club.

One of the best things about Kildare is our students. Occasionally family and friends suggest that it must be hard working with teenage girls and then proceed to list the challenges that teenagers present. They are often surprised by the following responses:

• Young women are life giving
• They have an amazing sense of justice and care deeply for their world and each other
• They are full of hope and generosity
• They know so much about technology and we learn so much from them.
• They embody our motto of ‘Strength and Gentleness’ and enact our core values of, justice, hope, hospitality, compassion, courage and wonder.

It is a privilege to work with our students, your daughters. Families are the most important factor and central to the development of their child and we are grateful you have chosen to work in partnership with Kildare.

The all girls’ environment provides the opportunity to bring out the best in our students.

• Our Year 12 Captains, Mia Larkin and Laura Lines have initiated a service opportunity calling on all Year 12 students to contribute to making soup for the homeless.
•  Our Year 7 students have participated in the Vinnies Sleepout to help them understand the needs of others and appreciate all that they have been given.
• Our Living Justice group recently organised the Colours for Caritas colour run, a community building activity, which was so much fun, with profits going to support Caritas. There was a sense that perhaps the teachers had just as much fun, if not more than students.
• Last week two students had an idea about engaging others with a focus on Hope. All students were encouraged to write messages of hope for themselves and others.
• Our Year 12 leaders are planning a ‘meet and greet’ with our younger students to continue to build connections across the College.
• All these events are created and led by girls for girls.

We often speak to the students being grateful for the privilege they have been given by their families to attend a school where the teachers really care about them and want them to do the best and be the best they can be. Thank you for your support of Kildare College.

Michelle Camilleri
Deputy Principal

Congratulations to Emma Stockman, Phoebe Schmidt and Amy Kosir who represented Kildare in the Adelaide North East SAPSASA Netball Tournament. The team tied in third place after nine games over the three days.

“I really enjoyed playing in the SAPSASA team. I made so many new friends. We all played really well and I had so much fun.”   Emma Stockman

"We played a total of nine games, won six and drew with Onka North. One of the games we lost was a neck to neck game, against the overall winning team by 1 point. It was a great learning experience with amazing coaches that helped us with our netball skills. Our coaches were really supportive and made sure that everyone was happy and having fun. In the end we placed equal third with Torrens River. It was a fabulous experience"       Amy Kosir

Students in Year 8 Food Technology this term have been researching Indigenous ingredients and trialling recipes such as wattleseed and choc chip cookies and well as many types of damper.

Students in Year 8 Food Technology this term have been researching Indigenous ingredients and trialling recipes such as wattleseed and choc chip cookies and well as many types of damper.

Wonder – Celebrating all that is good with joy and gratitude

It is amazing how time seems to be flying by this year and we are already at the end of Term 2. We have had another incredible term in our Year of Wonder where we have truly celebrated, with great joy and gratitude through all of our different activities.

Our students continue to amaze us with their ideas, creativity, energy and dedication to all that is on offer.  Each of your daughters are precious, each with a unique story and an individual dream of what they would like to pursue for the future. We are blessed to be in a community where there is diversity and richness. During their journey at Kildare, we encourage our students to find their personalised pathway - this may be pursuing a university pathway, vocational opportunity or employment. Our role at Kildare is to educate, support and inspire your daughters to develop their passions for the future and we thank you for giving us this privilege.

Semester 2 – Staffing Update

Semester 2 brings new opportunities and subjects for our students. Also, with the start of the new semester, we do have some staffing changes, which are listed below: 

Barbara Madonna 

Barbara Madonna is currently on long service leave but has now made the decision after 43 years of loyal service to Kildare College, to retire. Barbara has been absolutely instrumental to the College and held many, many leadership positions during her time. We are all incredibly grateful for her love of teaching and dedication to Kildare where she has moulded and positively influenced the future of so many students. Many changes have taken place at Kildare over the years, and Barbara has always embraced everything with great positivity and wisdom. Barbara will be greatly missed at Kildare and we sincerely wish her all the very best in her retirement. 

Annette Lamont 

It is with excitement and sadness that we share that Annette Lamont has been offered and accepted a position at St Joseph's School, Murray Bridge as the inaugural Leader of Middle Years, starting at the beginning of Term 3. The school is expanding to Year 9 over the next few years and Annette will be leading the wellbeing and learning during this transition - this is a wonderful opportunity for her.  

Annette has been at Kildare for eight and a half years, and during her time at Kildare, she has held a number of leadership roles, including Science Learning Area Coordinator, House Manager, EALD Cluster Focus Teacher and Director of Learning for 5 years. Annette has been instrumental with many initiatives that have been implemented and developed in regards to teaching and learning, such as the introduction and implementation of PBL pedagogy, Online SEQTA Reporting, and the development of the Middle Years and Senior Years' Visions. Her passion and love of learning have permeated through everything that she has done. Annette will be missed by everyone at Kildare. 

Kim Thomas 

We also share that Kim Thomas has been offered and has accepted a position as House Director - Teaching and Learning at Xavier College, commencing at the start of Semester 2. Over the past six and a half years, Kim has been exceptional in her roles as House Leader, Mathematics Coordinator, Maths Pathway Coordinator and most recently as the Middle Years Coordinator. She has implemented many new initiatives and policies at Kildare and we will miss her immensely as well. 

Sally Morgan, Belinda Thai and Shelley Pergoleto 

We wish Sally, Belinda and Shelley all the best as they prepare for their latest arrivals in the coming weeks. We look forward to sharing their baby news. 

We sincerely wish Barbara, Annette, Kim, Sally, Belinda and Shelley all the best as they all embark on their new adventures.  

Hence, behind the scenes, we have been busy advertising and interviewing and we are delighted to share that the following people have been offered and accepted the positions below: 

Acting Middle Years Coordinator and Acting Transition Coordinator 

Jack Monaghan 

Jack is currently a Learning Leader at Kildare and from Semester 2 will move into the Acting Middle Years Coordinator's role, where he will focus on the wellbeing of our students in Years 7, 8 and 9. 

Kathy Hennig 

Kathy is very much looking forward to her new role as Acting Transition Coordinator where she will be leading the transition for our new students and families, as well as supporting the House Team with the Middle Years’ transitions. 

Acting Learning Leaders 

Carolina Salvo  

Carolina has expressed a wish to end her role as Learning Leader at the end of this semester so that she can focus on her classes until she goes on maternity leave later in the year. We sincerely thank Carolina for her energy, dedication and specific focus on literacy over the past 18 months. 

We are happy to share that the following people have been offered and accepted the positions below: 

Rebecca Sarvas 

Rebecca brings great experience in the areas of curriculum, timetabling, career pathways, VET and wellbeing. We are looking forward to Rebecca joining the Learning Leadership Team. 

Patrick Johnson 

Patrick is passionate about improving student literacy and together with his interest in Gifted Education, we are looking forward to his ideas and energy on the Learning Leadership Team

The Tullow Centre (Innovation Hub)

Next term, we will be sharing our plans and details for our exciting brand new building – The Tullow Centre (Innovation Hub).

We wish you all a very happy and safe school holidays, and we look forward to welcoming the students back after the term break.

Thank you so much for your continued support.

Tina Neate
Principal

Baking Club trialled three recipes found on TikTok! These recipes were cloud bread, moosh-mellow brownies and ricotta and egg yolk pasta.

Well, we didn’t quite make it to Emmaus, but we experienced a nice walk on our way to our venue for the Year 8 Retreat.

Last week was crazy hair round for our Year 9 debating team – Kavishi, Abby and Katya. The team arrived at the venue in high spirits, sporting some absolutely fabulous hairstyles!

“Warming the homeless holistically…….inside and out”

As winter approaches and the weather rapidly gets colder it is time to consider those less fortunate; especially the homeless who find themselves sleeping rough and in need of warm blankets, clothing and a nourishing meal.

The Year 8 Outdoor Education program includes many exciting opportunities, and students enjoyed their recent excursion to enjoy the challenges of indoor rock climbing at Vertical Reality, Holden Hill.

Students learnt how to set up for climbing and how to belay the climber (making sure they keep hold of the climber’s rope at all times), and climb walls of different heights and levels of difficulty.

Darren Rice
Outdoor Education Teacher

Welcome to Term 3 and what a start it has been! It wasn't quite the way we were expecting to start the term. 

Once again, we would like to thank you for your incredible cooperation as we navigated online learning last week. Our students showed us again, how resilient they are with all that is expected of them. We are very proud of them, and we sincerely thank you for your on going guidance and support with your daughter's learning.

On a different note, we are absolutely delighted to announce that our new building project has commenced:

Introducing Our Tullow Centre (Innovation Hub)

Since 1966 when the Brigidine Sisters arrived in Adelaide and laid the first foundations for Kildare, the focus has always been on the academic and wellbeing needs of our students. History has shown us that the first Brigidine Sisters were risk-takers, resilient and demonstrated that by being creative, innovative and brave (and continue to be) anything is possible. In 1807, six women in response to an invitation from Daniel Delany, established the Brigidine Sisters in Tullow, Ireland.

Hence, we are delighted to announce that our innovation hub will be named the Tullow Centre, in honour of these determined and courageous women.

Purpose and Opportunity | Tullow Centre Design

The Tullow Centre will allow our students to enter a new world that challenges the stereotype of a female learner. It will be a space that inspires creativity, construction and innovation.

The Tullow Centre will provide our existing and future students with a point of difference from other schools.

The building will include the following:

• Large construction area to house Woodwork and Metalwork in an all-girls’ environment.
• High-end STEM, Science and Digital Technology rooms
• Media Studio with green screen and soundproof booths
• Auditorium for presentations and break out study spaces
• 3 General Classrooms to cater for expanding student enrolments.
• First Floor Terrace connected to the classrooms
• Conference Room
• The facade itself will encapsulate innovation, which will feature a canopy constructed of glass solar panels linked to a digital information screen within the Lobby space. This will enable students to see energy production in action and experience innovation from the moment they enter the Tullow Centre.

Tullow Centre Architects and Builders | Walter Brooke Architects and        Sarah Constructions

Over the past year, we have been working with Walter Brooke Architects developing this incredible new state of art innovation hub. We are also delighted to announce that Sarah Constructions have been engaged to construct the building.

Walter Brooke and Sarah Constructions also designed and built our award-winning Brigidine Centre.

Schedule | Timeline for the project

The Tullow Centre will be ready for full occupancy in mid-2022.

It is with great anticipation and excitement for our College community, that the Tullow Centre will enhance creative learning in an interactive space, which is truly reflective of society's modern, divergent, flexible and dynamic thinking.

We will keep you posted along the way as we build this incredible new innovation hub for our College community.

Thank you for your support.

Best wishes always

Tina Neate
Principal

Kildare College students Hannah and Celeste competed at the 2021 State Short Course Championships with the Tea Tree Gully Swimming Club. 

Kildare students Annabelle, Dannika and Anna were nominated by their soccer coach to try out for the FSA under 13 State Development Squad Program.

On Sunday 25 July our church celebrated, for the first time, World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly. The date was chosen to coincide with the Feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, the grandparents of Jesus. The theme for the day is, “I am with you always” (Mt28:20).

On Sunday 8 August we celebrate the feast day of St Mary MacKillop, Australia’s only saint.

Born in Melbourne in 1842 from Scottish parents, she is best known for her activities in South Australia. Along with Fr Julian Tenison-Woods, she founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart, a congregation of religious sisters that established schools throughout Australia.

Our Middle Years cohort has enjoyed an interrupted but enriching start to Term 3 through our transition to online learning and the continued exploration of positive education.

We are just over the halfway mark of Term 3 and the hint of spring is in the air. While every term is busy, the last few weeks of Term 3 can seem even busier than usual, as due dates loom and events that were postponed earlier in the term have been rescheduled.

Our Year 12 students officially have six school weeks left of formal lessons, before they begin studying for exams or finish their educational journey. While this is exciting for them, it can be challenging because multiple pieces of work are due and they may feel like they are running out of time. Please do not hesitate to contact your daughter’s subject teachers or Emma Ward, Senior Years Coordinator if you need any support.

Our current Years 10 and 11 students and families have recently participated in the exciting process of choosing 2022 SACE subjects. Our next step is to begin to put the timetable puzzle together for all our students. We hope to be able to inform students about their choices early in Term 4.

Students have participated in a variety of excursions and incursions as part of their academic program and extra-curricular. Middle Years students are underway with Project Based Learning (PBL) and have experienced excursions to the Botanic Gardens, the Museum and the city of Adelaide to gain insight and spark engagement during the provocation phase of their inquiry. Many students have participated in Statewide Knockout sports with our AFL team making it to the grand final. Saturday morning sport has wound up for the term with many students engaged in refining their skills in different sports and enjoying building connections and relationships with their peers. Congratulations to our Open A soccer team who were victors in their grand final appearance.

At Kildare, we encourage our students to get involved in as much as they can, whether it is sport, lunchtime activities or the many clubs that are on offer. Research suggests that those students who are involved in the activities beyond the classroom, will build stronger connections to each other and this will positively impact their wellbeing. It is never too late to join one of our clubs.

Michelle Camilleri
Deputy Principal

Congratulations to our Year 9 debate team for their win against Nazareth Catholic College in their fourth debate for the season.

During the course of Term 3 the Learning Enrichment Team have finalised data for the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD). This data is collected annually by all schools nationally, and includes students who receive reasonable adjustments to ensure equitable outcomes to access education on the same basis as a child without a disability.

Open As Grand Final Winners

Kildare 2 defeated Sacred Heart 1 in the Grand Final of the Open A Soccer Competition.

The team played an amazing game with all players working hard.

After our recent excursion to various landfill and recycle centres with KESAB staff, the Environmental Group and Year 8 students currently studying sustainability, were invited to participate in a bees-wax wraps making session.

Kildare College vs Nurioopta High School 

A beautiful sunny morning and a magnificent Thebarton Oval deck welcomed our Kildare for their big dance; the AFL knockout Grand Final!

Every person has the ability to lead in their own way, however formal leadership positions allow students to develop confidence and leadership skills that can promote positive change in culture and collaboration within the community. Weeks 5 and 6 saw the commencement of the student leadership election process for the 2022 Student Leadership positions.

During adolescence, the human brain undergoes significant change with developmental processes still occurring until around the age of 26. Add this to all the other changes that happen during adolescence, and it is no wonder that this developmental period is sometimes referred to as a period of “storm and stress”. 

Let your Light Shine!

The Year 11 Retreat was a great opportunity for the students to step out of their ordinary routines for the day and experience a day of fun, friendship, and personal and spiritual reflection.

Baking Club have whipped up many recipes for different themes this term. We started with an Asian themed afternoon making Pandan Waffles and Pot Sticker Dumplings, these were a hit with pops of colour and flavour.

With a group of friends just last week and not long into the evening, the conversation turned to issues currently affecting our society and world, and as usual, politics became a focal point. From here, questions were raised about the law, our government’s response to COVID and the plight of the Afghani refugees, and about doing what is just. Philosophically, the question was raised as to why the two cannot be one in the same.

Joslyn and Angelina individually created a short video for the Project Based Learning 'Lifting our Voices' project which aimed to inspire others to consider how we can use our voices to effect change on a human rights violation of their own choice. Angelina focused her project on Disability Rights, whereas Joslyn centred hers around Gender Inequality in Sport. 

The mecca of Netball in SA and home to the Thunderbirds, Netball Stadium SA, was the scene for Monday’s Grand Final tournament for our Year 9 knockout team. Ms Whitton and the students certainly came to play and got off to a flying start, winning both their Round-Robin games with ease and advancing to the semi-final where their first real challenge awaited them. Kildare showed poise and confidence under immense pressure from their Kapunda opponents to win and advance through to the Grand Final. 

The mecca of Netball in SA and home to the Thunderbirds, Netball Stadium SA, was the scene for Monday’s Grand Final tournament for our Year 9 knockout team. Ms Whitton and the students certainly came to play and got off to a flying start, winning both their Round-Robin games with ease and advancing to the semi-final where their first real challenge awaited them. Kildare showed poise and confidence under immense pressure from their Kapunda opponents to win and advance through to the Grand Final. 

Year 10 Art students had the opportunity to experience ‘The Van Gogh Alive’ held in North Adelaide. What an amazing and unique visual experience this was! A plethora of yellow, and beautiful close ups of Vincent Van Gogh’s painting and drawings, enhanced his distinct painting techniques and subject matter.

Year 12 Students, Anusha, Angie and Salma, participated in a National Titration Competition at the UniSA City East Hetzel Laboratory.

A group of 40 Year 10 students were fortunate enough to attend the P.A.R.T.Y Program run by SA Health. The P.A.R.T.Y program is an innovative and interactive program that educates young people on how to Prevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y). Experienced trauma professionals and trauma survivors worked with the Year 10 student to educate and show them the consequences of risk-taking decisions.

It has been great for our Year 9 STEM Leaders to get back to running face to face interactive workshops at partnered Catholic Primary Schools. We were treated to a breakfast to celebrate Women in STEM at St Monica’s Parish School, Walkerville.

The Chai and Chat Team is a group of students from Kildare College who come together from diverse cultural backgrounds, to chat about culture, traditional food, discuss critical issues impacting refugees and share stories in a safe, inclusive and supportive environment.

Developing Healthy Relationships

Over the past week, the Living Justice Group delivered an awareness campaign within the College community about the importance for young people to develop healthy relationships; this was shared with Year 7, 8 and 9 students through informative presentations and activities. Students also learned to recognise possible early warning signs to avoid unhealthy, abusive relationships.

Always be bold enough to use your voice
Brave enough to listen to your heart
And strong enough to love the life you always imagined

It is that time of the year where we begin our ‘End of Year Celebrations’ starting with farewelling our 2021 Year 12 students. It was a very special week, as we celebrated the incredible achievements of our 2021 graduating class.

Over the past 5 years, our Year 12 students have always demonstrated

• Great courage
• Determination
• Persistence
• Bravery
• Whilst always fighting for a great sense of justice.

Through it all, our Year 12 students have taught us about life, standing up for what they believe in and most importantly about unconditional love.

Whilst this time is filled with mixed emotions for our Year 12 students, it is also a time to reflect on how they have enriched our community, and the many choices that they will be presented with, in the future. Our hope is that they leave Kildare as young women of faith and spirituality, young women of service, young women of courage and young women with a love of learning.  Our prayer is that the students continue to evolve, explore what lies outside their comfort zone, and awaken to all the opportunities ahead.

Our 2021 Graduation Mass theme last Tuesday centred on, ‘You are the salt of the earth’ from Matthew’s Gospel. Father Mathew used the acronym GPS in the homily to highlight his message to our young people.

G is for God.

God is at the centre of our lives and each of us have been created uniquely so that we can find our place in the world.

P is for Parents.

Parents and families sacrifice so much for their children so they are able to support and navigate them in the right direction, whilst always listening, supporting and loving them.

S is for Service.

Always think about giving and providing service to those in need.

Father Mathew highlighted that we are all here to support one another and to embed our Kildare Core Values in all that we do, now and into the future. He reinforced the importance of learning to love each other and to let the light shine on all that we do.

We sincerely thank Father Mathew Raj for his inspirational words during the Mass and his commitment to Kildare. After the Mass, we presented the 2021 Academic Dux and Service Awards. The award recipients are named later in the newsletter.

Last Friday, we came together as a College community to celebrate, reflect and embrace life after Kildare. There were many laughs and some tears, sharing the many incredible moments that have shaped this very special 2021 cohort. Throughout their time at Kildare, this cohort has always demonstrated great strength and gentleness.

Their strength has been depicted everyday with their fierce spirit of acting with justice, their courage, bravery and determination with all that they have done.

Their gentleness has always been displayed with the way they held everyone together in faith, hope and love during the good and challenging times.

We also graciously thank all of our families and staff in educating, supporting, mentoring and loving our young people into who they are today. We are very proud of all of the students and please know that they will always be part of the Kildare Community. 

We hope that our students always aim high and dream great things, embracing all that they have experienced at Kildare whilst continuing to evolve. We pray they go with God’s blessing in whatever path they choose to take – the best is yet to come!

Be who you are
Do what you love
And go where you heart leads you.

Best wishes always

Tina Neate
Principal

We congratulated the academic achievements of our 2021 graduating students who were recognised for their effort and achievement  in their school based assessment at our Graduation Assembly. Subject Dux medals were given to the following students.

The Kildare community have always shown great generosity when it comes to donating to those less fortunate; the Living Justice Group are again seeking your help to create the Lunchboxes-for-Learning for children who finds themselves living in crisis shelters when their mums need to leave unhealthy relationships.

The Year 10 cohort attended the RAA ‘Street Smart High’ Road Safety Program hosted at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, learning about road safety education to develop and enhance their positive road safety attitudes and behaviors.

Year 12 student Lila Weidenbach participated in the SA state finals of the Australian Teenage Fashion and Arts Festival.

Last term, Kildare College music students had the incredible opportunity to perform on stage at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, as part of the Catholic Schools Music Festival.

Last term, Kildare College music students had the incredible opportunity to perform on stage at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, as part of the Catholic Schools Music Festival.

Success with early university offers to Year 12 students

Last year, the University of Adelaide offered an entry program based on Year 11 results. This was due to disruptions caused by COVID-19 and the concerns for senior school students and their learning.

Year 9 PBL classes engaged in their first of a series of hands-on workshops with James 'Jimmy' Dodd, a renowned local artist, to grasp the concepts of kinetic art for their upcoming and final project for 2021.

We welcome you all to Term 4 as we hit the ground running with events, excursions and fantastic learning opportunities for our students. We recently farewelled the Year 12 students from their lessons and time at the College to prepare for their final exams and they have entrusted the leadership responsibilities onto our Year 11 students.

The last few weeks have been a time of great joy, with Kildare welcoming many new students and their families to the College. A parent information evening and transition days for our new students have been well attended. At the same time, our Year 12 students have completed their exams and final submission of tasks and will be heading into all that life offers beyond school. While this is often bittersweet, it is part of the seasons of life. We celebrated their final Kildare College event with the Year 12 Graduation Dinner at the National Wine Centre. This was a truly beautiful evening and we wish our Year 12 students all the best.

For our Year 11 students, 2022 is becoming a reality as they begin their Year 12 Orientation at the beginning of Week 7, while our Year 10 students sit their exams and complete their final tasks. Our Middle Years’ students will continue with normal lessons until Lesson 5 on Tuesday Week 8. We encourage them to continue to work hard and remain positive. Students will then participate in a variety of activities and experiences as the academic year comes to a close on Thursday 2 December at 3.20pm.

We have been blessed to view our Year 12 Art, Design and Material Solutions and the Middle Years PBL Exhibitions showcasing the amazing work of our students. Thank you to the many people who have worked behind the scenes to bring these events to fruition. Students have continued experience many excursions and incursions that enrich their learning and provide authentic real world connections to the classroom.

The year of Wonder – celebrating all that is good with joy and gratitude has been a beacon of hope as we have navigated another year of COVID-19, and the young people we are so blessed to work with continue to shine. Thank you for your ongoing support of Kildare and entrusting your daughter to us.

Michelle Camilleri
Deputy Principal

The Year 10 Fashion Design students have been busy creating oversized hoodies.

Year 9 Students participated in a beach clean-up of the coastline, in a bid to find rubbish to repurpose into Kinetic Art pieces for their final Project Based Learning (PBL) unit for 2021.

Dear Families 

You may have seen in the media the recent SA Government Direction concerning COVID-19 vaccinations for staff in schools and Early Childhood Education Care settings. 

Kildare has acted quickly to inform our staff of these new requirements. It has been our previous position that for the safety of students and the community, those who are eligible, ought to be vaccinated where possible.  

"When women flee – they generally don’t stop to make sure they have the children’s lunchboxes.”

After the recent campaign to raise awareness about the importance of developing healthy relationships and the social impacts created by domestic violence, the Living Justice Group followed the campaign by launching a very deserving cause.

The first half of Term 4 is an incredibly busy time for our Senior Years students.

We have some wonderful and joyous celebrations with our Year 12 students, including a Graduation Mass, Farewell Breakfast and Assembly before they prepared for their final exams.

We were very excited to see Pick a Pear on  “The Block” in October. Pick a Pear is a business founded by Artist Jane Harris, a parent in the Kildare College community.

Every item at Pick a Pear is designed and created by Jane, and is either hand drawn or painted, then turned into works of art for your home or greeting cards. The Block contestants Ronnie and Georgia and Mitch and Mark chose the 'Little River Love' and 'Rainbow Warrior' designs for their room challenge. Both designs are available from The Block Shop or directly from the Pick a Pear website - https://www.pickapearcreative.com.au/.

Congratulations Jane, what fabulous recognition for your business.

Did you know that when we regularly act with kindness, our level of happiness is more likely to increase? A recent study by Rowland and Curry (2019) focused on how people felt after observing or performing acts of kindness for seven consecutive days.

Kildare College student Caitlin Anchor has been awarded a Governor of South Australia Commendation – Excellence Award 2021.

Dear Kildare Families

Welcome to 2022 and to the Year of Compassion.

Every year we focus on one of our six core values. The core value for 2022 is Compassion – Walking with and having empathy for all. This is a fitting core value to focus on as we navigate the current circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic together.

Caitlin Anchor, from Kildare College’s Class of 2021, can add another accolade to her list of final-year achievements, receiving the Adelaide University Principals’ Scholarship this week.

In a recent news article published by the Advertiser Newspaper*, which outlined the fees for all Catholic Schools, it showed that Kildare College is the most affordable Catholic School in the city hub.

With only one percent of Australia’s carpentry workforce being female*, the reimagined Material Solutions component of the Stage 2 Design, Digital Technologies and Engineering subject is just another example of how Kildare College is breaking down stereotypes and bringing Future Focussed learning directly to its students.

Within the first few weeks of the 'How to Science' Unit, Year 7 STEM students learnt to light a Bunsen Burner for the first time.

Dear Kildare Families

Welcome to 2022 and the Year of Compassion.

Every year, we focus on one of our six core values. The core value for 2022 is Compassion – Walking with and having empathy for all. This is a fitting core value to focus on, as we continue to navigate the current circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic together.

It was so joyous to see all of our students reunite at the College this week – our Kildare family is now complete!

Commencing a new school year always brings many exciting experiences. We are so pleased with how our Year 7 and new Year 8 students are embracing their new routines and are adapting to the expectations placed upon them. Our existing Year 8 students have returned to school with great enthusiasm and are already demonstrating a love of learning. Our Year 9, 10 and 11 students enthusiastically embraced online learning, showing great spirit under the circumstances and are now reconnecting with their peers and teachers. Our Year 12 students have been outstanding, supporting our Year 7 and 8 students and being positive role models in our College community

We have many activities and events to look forward to, and together we will continue to be creative during these times, so that our College community can enjoy many experiences together.

2021 Year 12 Results – 100% SACE Completion

Once again, we were delighted with the 2021 Year 12 SACE Results. Our Year 12 students demonstrated commitment, resilience, and a determined attitude achieving success with 100% SACE completion. We are so very proud of all our students.

Future Innovation Coaches

This year, we have introduced a new exciting structure to enhance learning and creative thinking for our College community. Part of the new structure includes introducing dynamic Future Innovation Coaches.

We are delighted to introduce our Future Innovation Coaches:

• Julia Groustch
• Rebecca Sarvas
• Nicholas Kellett-Southby

Their role is centred on developing school improvement in teaching and learning and focusing on incorporating contemporary and future-focused skills. The Coaches will play an essential role in innovation in education, the performance culture of the College and using data to inform teaching practices and improve student outcomes.

We look forward to sharing the goals and developments throughout the year.

Tullow Centre Update

The Tullow Centre is progressing well and will be ready for full occupancy in Semester 2, 2022. At this stage, we are still within our budget of $6.4 million, and we are all very excited about the possibilities that this building will bring for our College community.

The Tullow Centre will be a space that will inspire creativity, construction, and innovation and allow your daughter to learn in an innovative, interactive learning environment reflective of society's modern, divergent, flexible, and dynamic thinking.

Once the Tullow Centre is completed, Covid permitting, we will be coordinating tours so that you can see this magnificent building.

Vicky Welgraven

Congratulations to Vicky Welgraven, a proud Adnyamathanha woman from the Northern Flinders Ranges SA and mother of our 2022 College Captain Khyleesha, who was honoured in the 'Australia Day 2022 Honours List' and appointed as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for 'Significant Service to Women through Social Welfare Organisations, and to Indigenous Health'. Her achievements are incredible, and we are honoured to have Vicky involved in the Kildare College community.

Year of Compassion

We are very much looking forward to sharing our Year of Compassion with you. A year where compassion, kindness, empathy and community are at the centre of all we do.

We thank you again for choosing Kildare. It is an absolute privilege working in partnership with you and your daughter, so that together we can continue to provide an exceptional education for your daughter.

Keep safe and take care.

Best wishes

Tina Neate
Principal

Year 7 Art students had the opportunity to have the full observational drawing experience in class last week.

With only one percent of Australia’s carpentry workforce being female*, the reimagined Material Solutions component of the Stage 2 Design, Digital Technologies and Engineering subject is just another example of how Kildare College is breaking down stereotypes and bringing Future Focussed learning directly to its students.

It is evident where Khyleesha, one of Kildare's College Captains for 2022, gets her strong leadership skills and passion for social justice from, and the apple does not fall far from the tree.

Dear Families 

Next week marks Week 5 of Term 1 and we sincerely thank you for your wonderful support. 

The Education Minister, on the advice of the Chief Public Health Officer, has now confirmed that a number of College activities that have been on hold this year, may resume from next week with a further easing of activity restrictions expected to be announced for Week 9 of Term 1.   

Within the first few weeks of the 'How to Science' Unit, Year 7 STEM students learnt to light a Bunsen Burner for the first time.

Over the first five weeks of Year 7, the students have practised their scientific investigation skills, through a series of experiments. Their main investigation involved determining if adding marshmallows to your hot chocolate kept the drink hotter for longer. 

It is with great pleasure that we award Abbigail Schmidt the Order of Australia Association SA Branch, Student Citizenship Award for her community service, and her effort to promote and demonstrate the attributes required to receive one of the awards.

At the recent online Academic Assembly, the College celebrated the efforts and achievements of our Year 7 to 11 students from 2021 Semester 2.

The Academic Achievement Awards acknowledge those students who achieved excellent results in most of their subjects last year.

Our Endeavour Awards acknowledge the students who have been recognised for their consistent effort and positive attitude towards their learning.

In the Middle Years, Maths Pathway awards are given to students who achieved outstanding results in either Growth, Effort or 100% accuracy.

Students were presented their awards by their PC teacher. Click "read more" below to see a full list of the award recipients.

Angelica Paussa
Middle Years Coordinator

Our Year 12 Student Leaders gathered for the annual Adelaide International Women’s Day Breakfast virtually at Kildare College this year.

To celebrate the rich diversity of our College community, the Living Justice | Living Peace Group, and the Chai and Chat team, have created a 'Welcome Wall'.

Each language spoken by the families of the College is represented with a welcoming greeting, ensuring each student knows she has a place at Kildare.

We look forward to the final installation later in the year.  

Emma Lewis and Emma Hughes
Living Justice | Living Peace Group

The season of Lent is once again upon us.

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday and Kildare College began preparations for our Lenten journey by distributing pancakes on Shrove Tuesday 1 March. As Lent is a time for fasting, traditionally, pancakes were made to rid the household of all dairy products before the fast.

Keeping Connected in the Middle Years 

Establishing, nurturing and maintaining healthy connections across and with all members of our College community is very important, particularly to us in the Middle Years, as we welcomed many new families to our Kildare family this year.

Congratulation to our Individual Year Level Champions on their outstanding results from our Sports Day.

Year 7
Georgia Zammit-Hoppo (Chanel)

Year 8
Chelsea Hussel (Chanel)

Year 9
Lauren Poole (Chanel)

Year 10
Holly Kosir (Delany)

Year 11
Tamsyn Nation (Delany)

Year 12
Scarlett Dredge (Nagle)

Overall Sports Day Champion
Georgia Zammit-Hoppo Year 7 (Chanel)

Carmine Caruso
Sports Development Officer

This week we gathered to celebrate and enjoy the Kildare College Sports Day at St Alban’s Reserve at Clearview.  The day was full of friendly rivalry and joy as students gave their all for their House.  

Congratulations to Chanel House who won the Spirit Cup, and Delany House, the overall winners on the day.

Kildare is renowned for being a student-centred College, where the students are consulted in decision making that directly relates to them, including which subjects they might like to study in the future.

Kildare is renowned for being a student-centred College, where the students are consulted in decision making that directly relates to them, including which subjects they might like to study in the future.

The Years11 Art class and Year 12 Art and Design class viewed the 2022 SACE Art Show currently on exhibiton at the Light Square Gallery.

Hurrah! 

The Year 8 Medieval Fair was, once again, a huge success! Our students rose to the occasion and dressed in brilliant costumes to enjoy a variety of activities and celebrations.

Recess and lunch can sometimes be a daunting time for some students who might be unsure of who to sit with or where to go. This year we are introducing our Safe Community Space which is a designated friendly, safe and relaxed space for any student to come and eat lunch together.

World Robotics Day was celebrated at the beginning of April . Students were involved in a Kahoot Quiz during morning PC, as well as a Lego Robot challenge at lunchtime, which was won by two very persistent Year 7 students!

Homework Club has had a long tradition at Kildare College, with many students taking advantage of attending the Resource Centre on any weekday afternoon to get a head start on homework set for the evening. 

All members of the Learning Enrichment team bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and professionalism which enhances inclusion for all students, and supports teachers with classroom pedagogies, curriculum planning and adjustments for individual students.

This newly formulated team comprises of three Key Teachers in Learning Enrichment:

Patrick Johnson 
Learning Enrichment Key Teacher - Gifted and Talented
​Marie Greco
Learning Enrichment key Teacher – Literacy Intervention
Sophie Mullen
Learning Enrichment Key Teacher – English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD).

We welcomed families back to Kildare for our Academic Awards Assembly where we celebrated the achievements of our Class of 2022 and Semester 2 Academic and Endeavour Award recipients in Years 8-11. 

Families are the primary educators of their children and so it was with great enthusiasm that we welcomed the families of our Year 7 and Year 12 students to the Tullow Centre last week. The evenings were marked by a strong, positive sense of community.

On the 17 of March two Year 12 students and two staff members attended a Women in Sport brunch at the National Wine Centre. The event was organised by Adelaide University Sport and hosted by radio presenter Ali Clarke.

Today was the day! Rain or shine, on Friday of Week 2, we, the Kildare Student Leadership Team walked 23km in solidarity with the Childhood Cancer Association. By partaking in this fundraiser, we endeavour to embody the essence of Courage – our Core Value for 2023. By walking in solidarity for those who are the most courageous, we hoped to support families with their ongoing battle.

To celebrate Reconciliation Week, today we had some very special guests visit our College to participate in a Liturgy led by our Nunga Group. This year’s theme for Reconciliation Week is, ‘Be a voice for Generations’. It was important for our aboriginal students to share more of themselves and their culture with the College community to inspire us all to be a voice for generations. 

Talented Year 7 Scholarship student, Alannah, has once again proven her expertise in the world of dance by winning the prestigious Sir Robert Helpmann Award at the esteemed Royal Academy of Dance SA Awards. This incredible achievement marks the second consecutive year she has secured the Eileen Hogarth Award for most potential, a testament to her dedication and artistry.

Kildare College has been on a winning streak in various Statewide Sports over the past few weeks, leaving a trail of triumph in basketball, netball, volleyball, and soccer.

UNDEFEATED! Congratulations to our Middle C Soccer Team who have won all 10 games this season, including the Grand Final! Well done on your determination, teamwork and achieving these incredible results.

Term 1 is a fantastic opportunity for the students to set the tone for the year as well as contribute to our community. 

Our students began their school year with the annual Girls Achieve Day. The purpose of the day is for students to reconnect with existing classmates, form connections with new peers, and develop relationships that will support students throughout the year ahead.

Congratulations to 2019 Kildare College graduate, Aimee Pope!

Aimee incorporated VET into her Stage 1 and 2 studies in 2018 and 2019, completing her Certificate II in Baking in Year 11 and undertaking her first year as a baker's apprentice in Year 12. 

Wellbeing for Learning is at the core of everything we do at Kildare. Our College staff strive to create a supportive environment to encourage and enable students to meet and overcome challenges, and to reach their goals. 

Kildare College is committed to offering an outstanding education for girls. We provide Academic Excellence and Performing Arts Scholarships.

To apply for the 2021 St Brigid Performing Arts Scholarship, visit our website.

College tours are held regularly throughout the term. The next tours are;

• Saturday 15 February, 11.00am
• Saturday 29 February, 11.00am

Reserve your place today.

Have you got some spare room in your shed or man/woman cave?
Is your dining room table just not cutting it anymore?
Do you have a boarding house and you need to keep the students entertained?
Do you teach physics and want to demonstrate air velocity?
Would you like to be the proud owner of an iconic piece of Kildare College furniture?
If you answered ‘YES’ to any of these, you could be the perfect suitor for our near new Air Hockey Table.

The latest edition of the Southern Cross Newspaper is available to read online. 

Southern Cross

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It was great to hear the sound of excited voices and to see the sense of joy on the faces of the students as they returned to school over the past two weeks. Many spoke of how much they had missed being with their friends and teachers in person during these past weeks. Most students have appreciated the dedicated work of their teachers in preparing online lessons and resources, but their preference was clearly for the face-to-face experience of being together in class and at school.

In the coming weeks tryouts for Knockout Sports and nominations for SAPSASA sports will begin.

Students can check SEQTA notices for dates and times.

Catherine Smith
Sports Development Officer

It’s not self-isolation,
It’s self-discovery!
Discovering things
We never knew we needed.
Hopeful families,
Loving friends,
And a belief that was always here.

Discovering happiness again,
Something that was always there.
Discovering a whole new world,
That lives inside our homes.

Throughout the weeks of isolation,
We are still Incredible
Invincible
And Infinite in our Imaginations.
What realm did we create?

We may be apart,
We may be distant,
But we still stand together.
The crisis that affects us,
We will fight from our homes.

We may be in isolation,
but we were never alone.

Lauren Burchard 
Year 12 student

Year 9 Science classes investigated Exothermic Reactions (reactions where heat energy is released) by making “Elephant’s Toothpaste” from hydrogen peroxide and yeast.

The yeast acted as a catalyst by speeding up the rate at which oxygen broke apart from hydrogen peroxide, resulting in lots and lots of foam being produced! 

Belinda Thai 
Science Teacher

Year 7 HUMS have begun their Ancient Worlds and Poetry Units. The students have been busy creating, investigating, analysing and applying their knowledge and understanding of these units into what will be elaborate displays. 

Urgent Reminder

If you have a daughter who is due to commence at Kildare College in Year 7 or 8 next year and you have not submitted an enrolment application form or been contacted for an enrolment interview, please contact Belinda Curtin on 8369 9999.

Places are filling quickly. Once places are filled, families will be placed on a waiting list.

Senior classes have been researching into plant-based food and also food influenced by different cultures. 

The arrival of winter this week brings us to the realisation that time is marching forward. We are already heading toward the half way mark of the year. As restrictions are gradually lifted there is a sense that things are returning to normal and life is getting better. Students have commented that they really miss going out on weekends and playing sport. Hopefully as things improve, students’ out of school activities can resume which will provide some distractions and enjoyment on the weekends.

Occasionally friends ask how we manage working with all our teenage girls. Our response is always the same; while there may be some challenging days, these are outweighed by the joy, zest and energy that young people bring to our world. We are often delightfully surprised by students’ insightful views, their astute perception of what is just, and their tenacity to fight for the vulnerable. This of course is a reflection of our families who work hard to instil this in their daughters.

It is important to remind ourselves that even though our children sometimes don’t quite get things right, we need to reassure them that we will always love them, even when they make mistakes. Please don’t underestimate the influence you have on them. Many of our students talk about how much they love their family and how grateful they are for being able to attend Kildare. We value working in partnership with you.

We have spoken to a number of year level cohorts over the last couple of weeks with Ray Kropinski, our Senior Years Coordinator and Kim Thomas our Middle Years Coordinator about our expectations of our students. The take home message for them was; to treat each other with kindness, and if something hasn’t gone right, to think about how they could make amends. We also talked about the privilege of attending a girls’ school that prides itself on its core values which underpins everything we do, every day. We reminded the students of the amazing advantage they have to be in an environment where they can strive to be the best that they can be, that they need to work together and create a strong bond of sisterhood that encourages and supports each other. We want them to become strong, confident, articulate young women who exhibit our motto of Strength and Gentleness and be proud Kildare girls.

Michelle Camilleri
Deputy Principal

The Year 10 History class have been going back in time and exploring the growth of Pop Culture from the 1950s to present day and significantly the lasting changes these moments have had on our culture.

The theme for this year’s National Reconciliation Week – 'In this Together' reminds us, whether in a crisis or on the journey of Reconciliation, we are all #InThisTogether. This slogan is especialy relevant at this point in time. As a College we are committed to supporting your daughter as she continues to engage in her learning, and work towards achieving her goals. We are 'In this Together'.

‘In this Together’

National Reconciliation week is a time for all of us to learn about our shared cultures, histories and achievements; it is also a time to explore how we can contribute to achieving reconciliation in not only our school community, but wider society in general. 'In this Together' is the Reconciliation Week theme for 2020. These words call on all Australians from all backgrounds to have the 'courage to walk together to foster positive relationships that contribute to a better future for all.

What a term it has been! Term 2 started with great uncertainty in regards to when we could resume face-to-face learning. Since our much anticipated return, we have confidently meandered our way through all the uncertainties that have since arisen with great humour, courage and resilience.

It is so hard to put a value on the preciousness of face-to-face connections. Relationships are at the heart of everything that we do at Kildare, hence, it has been so wonderful watching our College community reconnect with each other over the past weeks. This term, we have had to think outside the square, as many of our usual College activities, assemblies, retreats and excursions were put on hold due to the restrictions. Consequently, to help inspire creativity, continue to build connections, and to simply have some fun, we endeavoured to ensure that our students had as many opportunities as possible to engage with one another and reconnect. This was facilitated in many different means with year level activity sessions being developed and incorporated within the timetable, as well as sports competitions being held during lunch times. A huge thank you to all for creating these enjoyable activities and finding new ways to continue to cultivate relationships within our community.

Despite there being great uncertainty in recent months, there has also been much for us to celebrate. Over the past few weeks, we have been working with our architects to start the ‘dreaming process’ of the next stage of development at Kildare. We are currently investigating opportunities to develop an Innovation Hub in the near future. The premise for this new hub would be to continue to inspire and enable creativity and innovation; provide a revolutionary space and facilities to nurture new ideas, as well as empower core skills such as problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and critical and creative thinking through digital fabrication and woodwork + metalwork facilities. There are certainly exciting times ahead!

Once again, a sincere thank you for your incredible support of all that we do. We are looking forward to returning next term with many of the restrictions lifted so that we are able to resume and embrace the 'new normal'.

Wishing you a very safe and happy mid-year break.

Many blessings always,

Tina Neate
Principal

Students in Year 9 STEM are currently involved in the program 'Future Anything'. This program aims to transform young people’s passion and curiosity into innovative ideas that make their world a better place. 

The Learning Enrichment Team and teachers complete the annual Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) this term. This de-identified data collection provides valuable information that supports teaching, learning and wellbeing of students with a disability that is categorised within the four areas of cognitive, sensory, social emotional and physical.

Students in the Year 7 Art classes have blossomed into true artists. They were challenged to use Art as a form of expression to raise awareness about injured koalas and the loss of their food sources during the Kangaroo Island fires. Their inspiration was an Australian artist Jessie Breakwell, who created a painting of a Koala called “Keith”, which she sold, to raise funds and raise awareness around this issue.

We hope that your daughter has told you about the Activity Sessions we have had running over the second half of the term. The aim of these activities has been to continue building peer relationships in a fun, less formal way. 

Throughout Weeks 7 and 8 Kildare held the first inaugural Interhouse Netball Tournament. Capacity was reached in the Gymnasium on three separate occasions. The tournament was held over two weeks with each House entering a team with a variety of year levels to compete in a Round Robin format.

It was with much excitement and enthusiasm that the gym and Dance studio at Kildare College were transformed into medieval wonderlands. Year 8 students have recently been studying Medieval Europe and learning what it would have been like to live as a person in the medieval era. Some studied lords and ladies, while others focused on the more humble peasant class.

What do we stand for?

Lilla Watson is a Gangulu woman of Dawson River in Queensland. Famously, she said,

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, let us work together”.

This quote is an invitation, not just to help, but to share the same ideal of liberation with her, that we stand as one in the struggles and the suffering that our brothers and sisters have, and so work towards empowerment and transformation.

This, is solidarity.

Solidarity erases borders, it deletes margins, and it is achieved when there is no more us versus them.

Sadly, there are many people in our world who have had their humanness and dignity taken away. Let us be conscious of those who have struggled and those who have died at the hands of injustice. These people were some of the most vulnerable in our society, or, they were treated poorly because of such things as their race, colour, or sexual orientation.

As a Catholic school, we follow the teachings and example of Jesus, who stood in solidarity with the vulnerable and the outcast in his community. Those people who were treated as if they were nothing. Jesus allowed them to feel human and gave them their dignity.

In Thursday’s (June 25) Gospel reading, Jesus praises the ones who listen to his words, and then act on them. To be a good Christian, therefore, is to act as one.

As a community here at Kildare College, we are committed to being a community where all people are valued, and where hope, justice and courage are our hallmarks. For these reasons we celebrate out multicultural existence at Kildare College. Nevertheless, it is important to stop every now and then and to reflect on our own actions and words, as this clearly tells others what we stand for.

Enrico Caprioli

Aprim

What do we stand for?

Lilla Watson is a Gangulu woman of Dawson River in Queensland. Famously, she said,

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, let us work together”.

This quote is an invitation, not just to help, but to share the same ideal of liberation with her, that we stand as one in the struggles and the suffering that our brothers and sisters have, and so work towards empowerment and transformation.

This, is solidarity.

Solidarity erases borders, it deletes margins, and it is achieved when there is no more us versus them.

Sadly, there are many people in our world who have had their humanness and dignity taken away. Let us be conscious of those who have struggled and those who have died at the hands of injustice. These people were some of the most vulnerable in our society, or, they were treated poorly because of such things as their race, colour, or sexual orientation.

As a Catholic school, we follow the teachings and example of Jesus, who stood in solidarity with the vulnerable and the outcast in his community. Those people who were treated as if they were nothing. Jesus allowed them to feel human and gave them their dignity.

In Thursday’s (June 25) Gospel reading, Jesus praises the ones who listen to his words, and then act on them. To be a good Christian, therefore, is to act as one.

As a community here at Kildare College, we are committed to being a community where all people are valued, and where hope, justice and courage are our hallmarks. For these reasons we celebrate out multicultural existence at Kildare College. Nevertheless, it is important to stop every now and then and to reflect on our own actions and words, as this clearly tells others what we stand for.

Enrico Caprioli

Aprim

In our efforts to continually improve facilities for our students, two new bottle filling stations were installed during the holiday break. They allow students to refill their drink bottle hygienically, with refreshingly cold filtered water. The feedback from the students has been very positive, with some students indicating they are drinking lots of water and staying hydrated. 

Learning in Maths Pathway takes many different forms. In a fortnightly learning cycle your daughter will engage in activities such as online modules, rich tasks, mini lessons (small group work), targeted intervention and energisers. Each type of activity builds different mathematical skills and serves different purposes, but together helps students develop a deep understanding of the mathematics they are learning.

Congratulations to Khyleesha Welgraven (Year 10) who was recently awarded a scholarship through Adelaide University (Karnkanthi Indigenous Education Program) to participate in the inaugural SPIRE Youth Leadership Program during the holidays. 

Kildare's Year 8 students have recently been encouraged to learn strategical mathematical thinking through playing games. The students worked in small groups to design board games based on specific mathematical concepts such as percentages, Venn Diagrams, and quadrilaterals. Their task was to produce a creative and engaging game that effectively taught players math concepts.

Lilla Watson is a Gangulu woman of Dawson River in Queensland. Famously, she said,

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, let us work together”.

This quote is an invitation, not just to help, but to share the same ideal of liberation with her, that we stand as one in the struggles and the suffering that our brothers and sisters have, and so work towards empowerment and transformation.

I join with others and welcome you all to the start of Term 3. This term shapes as a busy term for many of the senior students as they begin to conclude their studies with us and we begin to look at 2021. During this term we will start the subject selection process with the current Year 10 and 11 students. Students have received their subject selection form and viewed a presentation regarding the selection of their choice subjects for 2021.

The Year 10 Art class have had a very creative start to the second semester. They were challenged to create ‘unplanned marks’ using watercolour paint and black pen. Using these marks they then used their unique style to bring the whole composition into one original piece of artwork. This task was a great opportunity for the students to demonstrate their very own creative style.

Last week, Ms Pezos and I had the pleasure of watching and supporting our three debating teams in their first round of debates. Congratulations to our Year 8 team on their first ever debate where they represented the college with professionalism and enthusiasm. Excitingly, they won their debate against Glenunga International High School. Well done.

Kildare's Year 8 students have recently been encouraged to learn strategical mathematical thinking through playing games. The students worked in small groups to design board games based on specific mathematical concepts such as percentages, Venn Diagrams, and quadrilaterals. Their task was to produce a creative and engaging game that effectively taught players Math concepts.

Here at Kildare College, immersion into the Italian culture is just as integral to the students' learning as the linguistic exchanges we share in our Italian classes. To continue to foster our students' love for all things Italian – language, culture, traditions and most significantly, food - we gathered our Years 9 and 10 Italian students and embarked on an Italian safari at Mercato. 

Deep Blue: Innovations for the Future of our Oceans

National Science Week 2020 was celebrated at Kildare College with a range of engaging lunchtime and morning activities.

We started the week with an online quiz in morning Pastoral Care in which the whole College participated. Many of the questions focussed on the theme for Science Week for 2020, 'Deep Blue: innovations for the future of our oceans'.

The Year 8 cohort have begun a project in STEM and HUMS on the driving question, “How can we create a sustainable and liveable suburb?”

The students listened to a presentation from urban and regional planners specialising in sustainable and energy efficient housing. The students then went on a tour through Lightsview, Lochiel Park and Dernancourt. 

Equity for all students has been highlighted for a long while now in education, but especially with the inception of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data, which is primarily to acknowledge accountability for students with diverse disabilities and learning needs.

On behalf of Kildare College and the Resource Centre Student Volunteers we have new information regarding Book Week 2020.

The good news is that Book Week 2020 will be going ahead with a very exciting theme - Curious Creatures, Wild Minds. This will take place in Week 2, Term 4. 

Over the last three weeks some of our staff and students have been visiting our partner primary schools to meet with the students who will be transitioning to Kildare in 2021. These visits have provided us with an amazing opportunity to connect with our new students and give them with snapshot of life at Kildare. We were able to answer lots of questions and explain to the students what the upcoming Transition Day is like, what to wear, and what to expect in the first week of the new school year.

Parents: More important than ever – Parent Information Zoom Evenings

Towards the end of last term and the beginning of the new term we hosted two Parent Information Evenings where Joy Anasta, a well-respected psychotherapist, counsellor, mediator and parent coach, spoke to us via Zoom. Joy spoke with us regarding the challenges that we face as parents and provided us with some strategies that can support us during these times.

The Year 12 Food and Hospitality students were given the task of making a meal that would be typically seen on social media. Dishes such as tarts, waffles, cupcakes, panna cotta and mirror dome cakes were made with the emphasis on creative and sophisticated visual appeal.

Kara Steward
Food and Hospitality Teacher

With sport being jammed into Term 3, our sporting teams are going great guns! We have netball and soccer teams eyeing off state titles, and footy teams aiming for some goals by the end of their season.

The debating season has come to a close for another year, but it has certainly been one full of excitement.

Our last rounds for the Year 8 and 9 teams saw the following results:

• Year 8 Debating team - Kildare College lost against Glenunga International High School (but only by a few points)
• Year 9 Debating team - Kildare College won against Adelaide High School

Social and emotional learning has been shown to increase students’ academic performance, improve social interactions, as well as reduce rates of depression and anti-social behaviours.

This term we were fortunate enough to gather the Year 7s and head out for a Retreat Day. The theme of this day was 'Being Connected'.

The Year 11 and 12 Italian class visit il Mercato. Il Mercato is a shop, restaurant, deli and bar. It is a place where you can buy food, wine, liquor, coffee and exquisite Italian food. Jianna is the granddaughter of the owners, she is very enthusiastic and passionate. She spoke to us about the history, the philosophy, the owners and the protected designation of origin (DOP) of Il Mercato.

The Year 7 Food Technology class learnt how to cook 'cafe style' scrambled eggs and thought about food presentation with different colour combinations. 

Kara Steward
Food Technology Teacher

As part of their classes this term, the Year 7 music students have had an introductory course in Violin. 

The Youth Achievement Awards are an opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of young people aged 12-25 in the City of Tea Tree Gully.

Youth Arts and Culture Award
Congratulations to Year 11 student Nina Barnden, for receiving the Youth Arts and Culture Award 2020 by demonstrating her creativity and artistic talent in portraiture and still life art. 

Kildare sport has been exciting this term with netball teams into the Statewide finals, and premierships for Saturday morning sport.

We were blessed with blue skies and a perfect spring day for students to celebrate Brigidine Day. Students enjoyed a variety of activities including connecting with their peers in each House, a beautiful Mass, lots of activities, and a BBQ lunch. Even though food options were limited due to COVID-19 restrictions, there was a sense of community and enjoyment throughout the day.

This term, as a part of our GAP program, the Middle Years students have participated in Wellbeing Walks. 

The PAST is your lesson.
The PRESENT is your gift.
The FUTURE is your motivation.

It is that time of the year where we begin our end of year celebrations. In a year like no other, last week, we farewelled our 2020 Year 12 students. We are so proud of our students who have shown resilience, courage, perseverance and have just got on with life during this pandemic that has seized our world. It was a very special week, as we celebrated the incredible achievements of our 2020 graduating class.

Whilst this time is filled with mixed emotions for our Year 12 students, it is also a time to reflect on how they have enriched our community, and the many choices that they will be presented with in the future. Our hope is that they leave Kildare as young women of faith and spirituality, young women of service, young women of courage and young women with a love of learning.  Our prayer is that the students continue to evolve, explore what lies outside their comfort zone, and awaken to all the opportunities ahead.

Our 2020 Graduation Mass theme last Tuesday centred on, ‘You are the salt of the earth’ from Matthew’s Gospel. Father Mathew highlighted that we are all here to support one another and to embed our Kildare Core Values in all that we do now and into the future. He reinforced the importance of learning to love each other and to let the light shine on all that we do. We sincerely thank Father Mathew Raj for his inspirational words during the Mass and his commitment to Kildare. After the Mass, we presented the 2020 Academic Dux and Service Awards. The award recipients are named later in the newsletter.

Last Friday, we came together as a College community to celebrate, reflect and embrace life after Kildare. There were many laughs and some tears, sharing the many special moments that have shaped this very special 2020 cohort, especially during this remarkable year. Once again, it was a fitting occasion acknowledging all that this cohort has given and contributed to Kildare over the past 5 years.

We also graciously thank all of our families and staff in educating, supporting, mentoring and loving our young people into who they are today. We are very proud of all of the students and please know that they will always be part of the Kildare Community. 

We hope that our students always aim high and dream great things, embracing all that they have experienced at Kildare whilst continuing to evolve. We pray they go with God’s blessing in whatever path they choose to take – the start of a new beginning.

Tina Neate 
Principal

Late last term our Year 8/9 Netball Team walked away from Priceline Stadium as State Champions! 

Even though our Year 7 netballers had little tournament experience, this didn’t stop them from playing well on the day of the event. Kildare was defeated by the eventual winner, however every other match was highly contested with the scoreline reflecting a difference of four or less points.

October 17 saw the 10th Anniversary of the canonisation of Mary MacKillop to St Mary of the Cross MacKillop.

Kildare College STEM Leaders attended St Monica's Parish School to hold an interactive STEM workshop. During this workshop, Year 9 STEM Leaders engaged with the Year 4 students who have been learning to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and TinkerCAD.

Students listed below have received the following College Medals.

The Brigidine Medal is awarded for recognition of generosity and service within the College community. The recipient for The 2020 Brigidine Medal is Olivia Ruggiero. 

The Delany Medal is awarded in recognition of determination and persistence in the approach to learning. The recipient for the 2020 Delany Medal is Eliza-May Durdin. 

The Kildare Medal is awarded in recognition of leadership and commitment to our College community. The recipient for the 2020 Kildare Medal is Amatuallah Mansurwala. 

The Nagle Medal is awarded to the student who displays the courage to act with strength and gentleness. The recipient for the 2020 Nagle Medal is Mijan Bou. 

The Caltex Best All Rounder Award has been presented to Australian Secondary Schools since the 1980s. This award aims to encourage and reward students for commitment and consistent excellence in school and community service activities. It acknowledges a person who participates in a wide range of activities and achieves excellent results. The 2020 Caltex All Rounder award recipient is Hayley Kinloch. 

Every year Kildare Ministries honours the work and achievements of all the members of our community. In recognition of students being a living witness to the Kildare Ministries values, the trustees present an award to those who have made a significant contribution to the community. The 2020 Kildare Ministries award recipient this year was presented to Yasmine Coad. 

Earlier in the year Charlotte Clark and Charlie Price Smith created a poster for the SA Refugee Week poster competition and their design is 1 of 88 poster designs that will be featured in an exhibition at the Kerry Packer Civic Gallery, Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre at UniSA from Monday the 2 November to Wednesday 25 November. 

During the first week back in Term 4 we visited the Adelaide Treeclimb in the city with the Year 10 cohort to help build resilience, teamwork and relationships across all students. 

The Australian Defence Force is encouraging the next generation of innovators, critical thinkers, and problem solvers; bright Australian students who are succeeding in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Congratulations to Year 10 student Khyleesha Welgraven, who graduated last week from the Inspiring Teens Leadership Program. This program involved action-learning leadership skills around social, environmental and economic issues that affect us locally and globally.

Ms Fairweather's Year 9 Design students visited the iconic d'Arenberg Cube in McLaren Vale as part of their learning of Architectural Design. 

The ‘Life in the Uni Lane’ Conference was held earlier this term. This program was designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Years 8 and 9 to come together and experience university courses through exciting and practical workshops.

The Year 7 students from our Textile classes have been involved in creating 'Pocket Hearts' using eco-friendly materials, for the ‘1000 Hearts Kindness Project’.

Year 10 Food and Hospitality have completed a unit on researching how to plate food in a creative and contemporary way. Students chose to make dishes such as Panna Cotta, Waffles and Smoothie Bowls. 

Kara Steward
Food and Hospitality Teacher

The Year 11 Food and Hospitality students have been busy exploring the benefits of a plant-based diet and they had the opportunity to create a plant-based meal of their own. 

To add to the existing totems in the College Wirra Garden, Year 9 Art and Nunga Group students inspired by a visit to Tandanya’s ‘Atnwengenp’ –  Our Place exhibition, have been designing, creating and painting black and white themed poles. 

Statewide Basketball
Since the last newsletter, our Year 8/9 Basketballers won their way through two rounds and made it to the state finals! The players won their first game, and with renewed confidence they headed into their second match positively. Unfortunately, with a late score from the opposition we could not hold on to a win. The Kildare team finished third. Congratulations! We are very proud of your efforts. 

A reminder that in Week 6 the Year 11 students will sit their final exams and the Year 10 students will complete their exams on Monday of Week 7.

A reminder that in Week 6 the Year 11 students will sit their final exams and the Year 10 students will complete their exams on Monday of Week 7.

A nicho box, or simply ‘nicho’, is a three-dimensional or recessed display box, much in the spirit of a shadow box, used as a portable shrine to an important figure or loved one.

2021 Core Classes

Last Tuesday students gathered in their 2021 core classes where they were encouraged to begin making connections with their new peers. We will seek students’ feedback on their return about how this trial worked. We hope that students enjoyed the experience, made new connections and they are looking forward to the year ahead.

Congratulations - Aislin O’Neill

Aislin recently trialled and was successful in being offered a place in Football South Australia’s 2021 Under 15 Girls National Talent Centre program. 

On Tuesday 1 December, Kildare held its first ever Sports Awards with our Year 7-9 students. While we would like to congratulate all 47 award winners, including students from the Senior Years, we would also like to acknowledge all students who participated in sport throughout the year. Your efforts and commitment are truly appreciated. 

Although the Enlight Threatened Flora student group could not visit and work alongside the scientists based at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens last year due to the pandemic, it did not prevent us collaborating with them on saving a threatened local native orchid. We decided to focus our work on one particular species, the veined spider orchid.

At Kildare we strongly believe that every student has the ability to achieve success in Mathematics. In the Middle Years students engage with Maths Pathway, an individualised program that caters to a student’s level of development.

The first Year 8 Art lesson for Core Group 8F provided a unique oppportunity for creativity, as students were tasked with turning music into art. Students created an abstract artwork that utilised the techniques of line and shape to reflect the melodies of the ambient music.

I join with others and welcome you to a new academic year. The beginning of a school year is also a fantastic opportunity for students to set new goals and develop strong habits to set themselves up for a positive year. As students begin and continue their SACE journeys, they are encouraged to develop strategies and habits that they can use to manage the unpredictable weeks and months ahead.

At our Academic Assembly we were delighted to welcome some of last year’s graduates, along with their families, to celebrate their success in the South Australian Certificate of Education.

We are extremely proud of all the students and we congratulate the cohort for 100% SACE completition and their incredible overall results.

Grace Builder - 2020 Kildare College Dux

Grace received the Chanel Medal which is awarded to the student who achieved the highest ATAR score at Kildare College. She achieved an incredible University Entrance Score of 99.95. Grace is undertaking a Bachelor of Medical Radiation Science (Medical Imaging) at UniSA.

Sofia Ferraretto - 2020 Proxime Accessit (runner up)

Sofia achieved a University Entrance Score of 98.15. Sofia has moved interstate to undertake a Certificate IV, Diploma in Dance at Ev & Bow in Sydney. She was accepted into the Bachelor of Health Science/Master of Physio but has deferred this to undertake this wonderful opportunity. 

The following students recieved Merits or A+ results in a range of subjects. Students receiving a merit are placed in the top 1% of the state.

We also congratulate the students who were in the top 20% of the state. We are very proud of your wonderful achievements.

We wish all the 2020 Year 12 students all the best with their chosen career paths.Thank you for everything that you have given to our College and please know you will always have a place in our hearts here at Kildare.

Years 7-11 Awards

During our Academic Assembly we were also able to recognise the achievements of students for their 2020 Semester 2 results. 

Over 200 students received either an Academic, Principal Endeavour or Maths Pathway Award. 

We are very proud of all the efforts from every student and their commitment to their study.

Raymond Kropinski
Director of Teaching and Learning

Congratulations to Year 10 students Natalia Cooper and Tamsyn Nation who have been selected in the 2021 South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy (SAASTA) and the Aboriginal Netball Academy. Both students will attend the Academy every Thursday for the duration of the school year to develop their skills with the help of specialised coaches.

Join us for auditions and your chance to be a part of the 2021 Kildare College Dance Production.

• Monday 15 February 2021
• 3.30pm - 5.00pm
• Brigidine Centre Kildare College

The Gifted and Talented Children’s Association of South Australia will be hosting Saturday club activities from February to March. These activities aim to empower your daughter with skills around emotions and thinking.

This week we gathered to celebrate and enjoy the Kildare College Sports Day at St Alban’s Reserve at Clearview. Often, students’ fondest memories of their life at school are major events like Sports Day. The day was full of friendly rivalry and joy as students gave their all for their House. Congratulations to Nagle for winning the Spirit Cup and to Delany for winning the day overall.

Our 2021 Core Value of Wonder – celebrating all that is good with joy and gratitude was evident by the maximum student participation in athletics, field and novelty events.

We would like to acknowledge the work of the Parents and Friends Committee for organising the BBQ, a coffee van and a mobile Boost Juice Van to keep us well hydrated and fed throughout the day.

We have held many events during the first half of this term, including our Academic Assembly and Opening Mass and Connection Evening. It was beautiful to have our 2020 Year 12 cohort return to the College and congratulate our current students who received Academic and Endeavour Awards. Thank you to the many families who have been able to attend and enjoy these celebrations. We are very fortunate to be able to have visitors back at the College.

As we are just over the half way mark of the term, we now look forward to the Years 7, 8 and 9 face-to-face Learning Reviews, which will take place on the following dates in the Brigidine Centre Gym.

Week 9 Tuesday 23 March  -  11.00am-7.00pm (Student Free Day)
Week 10 Wednesday 31 March  -  3.50pm-7.00pm 
Week 11 Tuesday 6 April  -  3.50pm-6.00pm

Families have received an email inviting them to book online to attend the learning reviews. We would like your daughter to join the conversation with their teacher so that we can continue to work in partnership with your family. Thank you for your ongoing support of Kildare College.

Michelle Camilleri
Deputy Principal

I had the pleasure of attending the Year 8 camp at Victor Harbour. A key element of our Wellbeing for Learning at Kildare, the camp provides an important opportunity for students to build connections, especially with peers whom they might not normally socialise. It is also a time for students to reflect upon their character strengths and how they use them.

The Year 7 Food Technology classes, while learning about oven safety, made lemonade scones as part of a Scone Competition.

Well done to Hridini and Lyla!

Kara Steward
Hospitality and Design Teacher 

To provide an opportunity for students to connect with one another and help develop friendships, the Year 7 students headed off to Pt Malcolm for the day.

As part of their entry event to their first PBL unit ‘Lifting our voices’, the Year 9 cohort engaged in a Zoom discussion with Bhavi Devchand, an Australian all-round cricketer and coach. 

As the first design task in Year 11 Food and Hospitality this semester students were asked to create and make a 'Designer Chocolate' featuring contemporary ingredients and using contemporary cooking techniques. These included students dehydrating fruits, making their own honeycomb and caramel as well as using ingredients such as matcha powder, sea salt flakes and grapefruit.

Kara Steward
Food and Hospitality Teacher

To celebrate and welcome our year of Wonder, the the Year 7 HUMs students have taken the time to reflect and respond to questions which challenged them to consider who shows Wonder?

• How can you show wonder?
• What can you do in everyday life to show wonder?  

We are very proud of the students’ efforts and dilligence in their Wonder shields.

Carolina Salvo
Learning Leader

Students are well into their second and third learning cycles of the year and we are seeing some very impressive growth rates. To ensure that you stay informed about your daughter's learning, we encourage you to log into SEQTA, and visit the mathematics assessment page where your daughter will record her growth, effort and accuracy rates as well as her learning goal for the upcoming cycle.

It has all been happening in the Middle Years this term. The Year 8 students travelled to Victor Harbor for their camps during Weeks 5 and 6. Our focus for the camp is building connections and it is a fantastic way for students to further strengthen existing friendships and to develop new ones with each other.

What a beautiful sun shining day we had for our 2021 Sports Day. The spirit was high all day with smiles, impressive costumes and some tight racing in the relays.

Congratualtions to the many students who broke records on the day.

Year Level Champions
Year 7    Piper Kuzniecow (Nagle)
Year 8   Lauren Poole Chanel)
Yera 9   Joslyn Field (Delany)
Year 10  Lucy Pavia (Kildare)
Year 11  Charlyse Ciccarello (Brigid)  and Mija Stejuik (Nagle)
Yera 12  Charlotte Lewis (Kildare) and Abbigail Schmidt (Brigid)

House Champion  -  Delany

Spirit Cup  -  Nagle

Congratulations to all our participants this year.

A big thank you to our Parents and Friends committee for organising the BBQ, mobile Boost Juice and coffee van for us all to enjoy.

Bianca Parker
Sports Development Officer

In Year 9 Science students are obtaining data on how much energy is transferred from plants to herbivore (caterpillar). From the data, graphs will be generated comparing the mass of plant eaten versus lava mass. Students will then be able to determine the energy loss that occurs between feeding levels in eco systems.

The theme of the Year 7 Retreat held this term was “Being Connected”.

A retreat is always a good opportunity to spend time with friends away from school in a more relaxed and easygoing atmosphere. During the day the students were given the opportunity to reflect on things such as who they are, how they fit in with friends and peers and what God means to them.

Students from Year 9A, 9C and 9E core groups, walked and explored part of the Adelaide street art trail, while also viewing the fit outs of various retail stores along Rundle Mall and the East End.

The Year 7 Fabric Technology class have made essential oil infused Meditation Eye Pillows that can be used hot or cold for meditation, calming or even to help sooth a headache. The students have learnt about new sewing techniques and how to use the sewing machines.

Kara Steward and Alana Durka
Fabric Technology Teachers

In September 2020, the South Australian Sport Institute (SASI) conducted their talent search at a number of high schools. Kildare College students, Lorelai Smith and Madeleine Corner were identified for sprint kayaking. SASI was looking for the best potential talent for sprint kayak with the ultimate goal of finding future Olympic gold medallists.

This year Kildare College introduced a Specialist Soccer program for the Year 9 students. The class consists of 12 students with a range of skills, abilities and experiences.

Harmony Week

Recently, we celebrated Harmony Week, and the National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence. Harmony Week reminds us about the importance of inclusion, of respecting and welcoming all regardless of their race, skin colour, religion, abilities, and sexual orientation. Any form of discrimination emerges from a place of ignorance and fear; consequently, it is vitally important that we educate ourselves, each other and our children about the value of diversity. What we say and do as parents and carers has a significant impact on our children; they are watching and listening.

As part of their World War Two studies, a number of students in Year 10 History class visited the Adelaide Holocaust Museum - Andrew Steiner Exhibition. With the museum only recently opening to schools we were honoured to be the first student group to visit.

Student Leaders Seminar

Kildare College Living Justice and Environmental Leaders were invited to join students from other Kildare Education Ministries schools around Australia for a two-day student seminar.

During the first term of this year, the Learning Enrichment Team have focussed on our students transitioning into the Kildare College and those who are returning to the College as we are aware from experience, knowledge and research in girls’ education that transitional times can be very challenging.

On 26 February Year 10 student Emily Worley competed in the U16 2km Steeplechase event at Athletics SA State Championships. Not only did Emily come 1st with a personal best time, but she also qualified for the National Track and Field Championships. 

Emily is heading to Sydney Olympic Park next week as a member of the SA State Athletics team competing at the National Track and Field Championships in the U16 2km Steeplechase.

Congratulations Emily on this excellent athletic achievement and we wish you all the best next week!

Dear Kildare Families

Welcome to Term 2. The term where we welcome the energy of Autumn into our lives – a time of transformation and reflection. The briliant colours of the leaves remind us of the wonder in our lives. Like the leaves falling away from their branches, with great grace, together we can let go and make way for new blessings.

This term, once again we have many activities and events to look forward to as a College Community.

Arkaroola

During the first week of the holidays, Nick Kellett, Kim Thomas, Anthony Vottari and Tania Pullin led and escorted our Year 11 and 12 Physics students on a trip of a lifetime to Arkaroola. From all reports, everything went extremely well - our students were excellent ambassadors for Kildare and were able to explore the incredible environment and hospitality, whilst completing the Physics experiments carefully prepared by Nick Kellett.

We would like to especially thank Dr Kristin Weidenbach and Lila Weidenbach (present Kildare family) for extending a welcome for Kildare College to visit Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary (AWS). Also, Doug Sprigg and Vicki-Lee Wilson for their support and hosting Kildare staff at AWS on reconnaissance visits to discuss logistics and ensuring the educational activities are world class and our students are well accommodated. 

We thank and congratulate everyone involved in the success of this trip, and for being so willing to go during the holidays.

Holiday Improvements

Over the school holidays, we have been busy again with improving our facilities. These holidays the following occurred:

• Canteen - Tiling on the outside of the canteen. This looks sensational and certainly lifts the profile of the canteen.

• Our Fence - Our new fence is nearly finished with only a few finishing touches to be completed. It truly does look amazing and certainly improves the profile and safety of the College.

• Kildare Building - Where the roller doors are located, carpet and new glass doors have been added to provide another space for the students to sit and keep warm.

• PA System - Our PA security system has been improved so that all messages can be heard effectively throughout the College.

• The Square Garden (transportable) has been completed - seating has been ordered and will arrive later in the term.

• Sick rooms and sick room toilet have been refurbished 

Parent Workshop - Navigating the tricky teen years

Wednesday, 19 May 2021 – 6.30pm

We are delighted to welcome to Kildare, Madhavi Nawana Parker, Director of Positive Minds Australia to lead a workshop on navigating the tricky teen years.

Madhavi Nawana Parker’s focus is on helping to understand why your daughter is more likely to have challenges in the pre-teen and teenage years with family life and friendships.

The workshop will focus on the following topics:

• Strategies parents can employ to help their teenage daughters navigate adolescence in a healthy manner
• Learning to deal with rejection in friendships/relationships
• Ways to develop self-responsibility and resilience
• How to cultivate open communication between daughter and parents/carers, and
• When to seek support from mental health professionals.

Innovation Hub

The Innovation Hub project is moving along smoothly, and the plans have now gone to tender. After the tender period concludes, we will then be able to appoint the successful builder. Once the builder has been appointed, we will have a special launch to share with everyone what we are planning to do.

Learning Reviews

It was wonderful to meet and see so many families attend the Learning Reviews at the end of last term and last week. As always, we sincerely appreciate your attendance and support with your daughter’s learning.

Staffing Update

Upasana (Sana) Thakore - New IT Support Officer – started at the beginning of Term 2

Sana has a Master of Information Technology from the Melbourne Institute of Technology and has had different jobs working in the areas of IT System Analysis, IT System Administrator, and IT Helpdesk Support.

Finally, each day, your daughters continue to show us how creative and dynamic they are with all that they do. It is a privilege to observe them grow and develop new skills, always showing great strength and gentleness.

Thank you so much for your support with all that we do.

Tina Neate
Principal

For a bit of company, fun and friendly competition, Fluor Engineers challenge each other every year in a global, company-wide engineering competition. In 2015, Fluor decided to bring the spirit of their yearly employee competition to students. The Fluor Engineering Challenge is designed and created by real-life engineers to help students experience how engineers design solutions and to show students first-hand how fun engineering can be.

Kildare College is delighted to have three netball representatives chosen in the Adelaide North East SAPSASA Netball team.

• Amy Kosir
• Emma Stockman
• Phoebe Schmidt

We wish the players and their team good luck for their carnival to be held at Priceline Stadium from Monday 31 May – Wednesday 2 June 2021.

We look forward to hearing their results after the carnival.

Biance Parker
Sports Development Officer

Join us for auditions and your chance to be a part of the 2021 Kildare College Dance Production.

• Tuesday 25 May 2021

• 3.30pm - 5.00pm

• Brigidine Centre

Dancers must be available for all weekly training sessions. Trainings commence Tuesday 1 June (Week 6) between 3.10pm - 4.50pm at Kildare College.

​If you require any further information please contact the College.

Ms Nairn and Ms Horne
Dance Teachers

Students from Year 8B and 8D participated in an excursion to the Art Gallery of South Australia. Students viewed the current exhibition of Clarice Beckett an Australian landscape artist, who has a modernist style using tonalism as her technique.

The ownership and daily usage rates of mobile phones by young people is rapidly increasing. Mobile phones are multi-purpose devices and students use them for entertainment, learning and most specifically for connection. Young people spend a significant amount of time using their mobile phones and social media to maintain their social connection and at times, put more effort into their online relationships than their face to face ones. As a result, some students spend significant amounts of time online and find it challenging to make and maintain personal connections with others.

Two Kildare College Year 10 students, Madeleine Corner and Lorelai Smith are competing in the National Sprint Kayaking Championships which are held at West Lakes from the 19 - 23 May 2021.

Kildare Senior Dancers were proud to represent the College at ‘Reconciliation in the North’ with a dance performance titled “New Dawn”. Organised by the City of Tea Tree Gully and the City of Salisbury Councils, this was a wonderful event to lead into National Reconciliation Week. Our performance highlighted the importance of reconciliation, equality and union and allowed our dancers a unique opportunity to showcase their talents.

The reconciliation theme for this year is, ‘More than a word – Reconciliation takes action’.

The Kildare community came together for our Reconciliation Liturgy, an event that holds a special place in our annual College calendar. Opening the liturgy was Alyssa Naseby, who performed a beautiful solo dance piece.

This year for our Inter-House Netball Compeition, we changed the format a little bit. Instead of getting into finals being determined on how many wins, it was based on how many points. Points were allocated by goals scored, sportsmanship, participation and engagement allocated by a panel.

Our reigning premier Year 8/9 Netball team, defeated Golden Grove 46-14, Gleeson 76-13, Heritage 65-15 and are now through to Round 2.

Our very talented Open Netball defeated - Golden Grove 36-18, Gleeson 34-15, Heritage 51-14.

Open AFL with their first Statewide win defeated – Loreto 72-0

Goal Scorers:

• Stephanie Gibson 1
• Charli Hazelhurst  2
• Tamsyn Nation  1
• Isabel Burdett  4
• Sophia Huet-Merryfull  2
• Georgia McCallum  1

Our skilful Open Soccer team was taken out of the competition in straight sets. Kildare were paired up agianst the highly skilled Gleeson and Roma Mitchell. 

The team had both their games back to back which is a credit to their fitness and drive. Some great defending skills were shown, with a few good shots on goal. Well done to Scarlett Currie for being our goal scorer on the back of a solid team effort goal set up.

Bianca Parker
Sports Development Officer

We recently celebrated Library and Information Week in the Resource Centre with tonnes of fun activities. The theme this year was Adventures in Space and Time. The students had a wonderful time with space themed mindfulness colouring in, Constellation Art to make star inspired artwork, and handmade bookmarks using soft pastels. The students created some really magical pieces of art. Soft pastels especially have been a huge favourite, with soft pastel art becoming a regular lunchtime activity.

We recently celebrated Library and Information Week in the Resource Centre with tonnes of fun activities. The theme this year was Adventures in Space and Time. The students had a wonderful time with space themed mindfulness colouring in, Constellation Art to make star inspired artwork, and handmade bookmarks using soft pastels. The students created some really magical pieces of art. Soft pastels especially have been a huge favourite, with soft pastel art becoming a regular lunchtime activity.

Year 10 students had the opportunity to reconnect, build new relationships and develop resilience when they attended the two-day camp at El Shaddai in Wellington. Along with seven staff, the students departed the College with bags packed, eager with excitement to take on the adventures of camp life.

Year 7 students recently participated in a wellbeing day. Students engaged in a variety of activities aimed at building peer connections, resilience and effective problem solving skills. They undertook physical, mental and social challenges designed to develop a growth mindset and to help them become aware of their own thought patterns and how these influence their actions. The day finished with the ‘Great Race’ which saw students competing in small groups to overcome a variety of challenges. The feedback from the students has been extremely positive, with them all enjoying the day.

Congratulations to Anusha, Angie and Salma who recently entered the South Australian Chemistry Titration Competition.The task was to accurately determine the concentration of three different solutions of oxalic acid.

While they did not quite make the state finals, they were commended for their accurate results, with an overall error of only 2.2%.

Sally Morgan
Chemistry Teacher

Congratulations to Anusha, Angie and Salma who recently entered the South Australian Chemistry Titration Competition.The task was to accurately determine the concentration of three different solutions of oxalic acid.

While they did not quite make the state finals, they were commended for their accurate results, with an overall error of only 2.2%.

Sally Morgan
Chemistry Teacher

Is it Wed Widing Hood? No, call me Red Riding Hood!

Our budding Year 9 actors took to the stage recently performing a "mash up" of the iconic Red Riding Hood fairy tale, but with a very big twist! 

We took to the road and performed to Grade 3 and 4 students at St Francis of Assisi Primary and Thorndon Park Primary. 

Using their knowledge of combustion reactions, rate theory, and methods to measure energy changes, our Year 12 Chemistry students designed their own experiments to investigate this question. 

The Parents and Friends’ Committee would like to acknowledge the following businesses for their generous donations to the Kildare College Mother’s Day raffle. Thank you for the vouchers and beautiful prizes to gift to our families.  

• Fellini Café 
• Hair By Katrina  
• Daily Bread – City Cross  
• Paradise Hotel  
• Berry Beret 
• Pop Cotton Tanunda 
• Chicken Chef 
• Highbury Post Office  

We would also like to thank the many families who made donations, which provided the opportunity for 30 prizes to be distributed to the winners.

Your kindness and generosity is greatly appreciated.

Parents and Friends Committee  

The Year 10 and Year 12 students studying Italian this year attended the Italian Immersion Camp. The students immersed themselves in the Italian language and culture and participated in various activities during the three day camp.The theme for the camp was 'Italian migration and their impact on a community in South Australia'.

Year 7 Outdoor Education students completed a nature walk at Hope Valley Reservoir. It is amazing that we have such a quiet, peaceful setting so close to the city - and students saw kangaroos and a joey, as well as all of the birdlife on the Reservoir.

Darren Rice
Outdoor Education Teacher

Ester Beltrame

Ester is teaching Stage 1 and 2 Chemistry and Maths. Ester has degrees in Biochemistry and Chemistry, and she is very much looking forward to the challenge of teaching the senior Chemistry classes.  

Nicole Martin

Nicole is teaching Science, Maths and Research Project. Nicole comes from NSW and has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Queensland majoring in Biology and Geography.

Cristina Maiese

Cristina is teaching Stage 1 Biology, Science and STEM classes. Cristina has recently taught at Nazareth and St Michael's Colleges and has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Physiology from the University of Adelaide.

Katie Gue

Katie is teaching English, HASS and Drama. Katie has recently taught at St Ignatius College and comes with a Master of Teaching from the University of South Australia.

Tina Neate
Principal

It was a pleasure to be able to accompany the Year 10 students on two Career Event days at the end of Term 2.

In Term 2 AusCycling and the South Australian Sports Institute conducted talent identification testing here at Kildare on Watt bikes, which are power based training machines that are unique to individuals' fitness levels.

PRAYER FOR THE FIRST WORLD DAY FOR GRANDPARENTS AND THE ELDERLY

I thank You, Lord,
for the comfort of Your presence:
even in times of loneliness,
You are my hope and my confidence,
You have been my rock and my fortress since my youth!

I thank You for having given me a family
and for having blessed me with a long life.
I thank You for moments of joy and difficulty,
for the dreams that have already come true in my life and for
those that are still ahead of me.
I thank You for this time of renewed fruitfulness to which
You call me.

Increase, O Lord, my faith,
make me a channel of your peace,
teach me to embrace those who suffer more than me,
to never stop dreaming
and to tell of your wonders to new generations.

Protect and guide Pope Francis and the Church,
that the light of the Gospel might reach the ends of the earth.
Send Your Spirit, O Lord, to renew the world,
that the storm of the pandemic might be calmed,
the poor consoled and wars ended.

Sustain me in weakness
and help me to live life to the full
in each moment that You give me,
in the certainty that you are with me every day,
even until the end of the age.

Amen.

Term 3 marks a busy term for Senior Years students; Year 12 students will begin to conclude their studies at Kildare College and Year 10 and 11 students will begin to plan for 2022 and beyond.

Welcome to Term 3. We hope that families made the most of the mid-year break and then navigated the one week of lockdown and online learning. Our students have restarted this week with great enthusiasm and have taken to the wearing of face masks in their stride.

The Year 7s have kicked off their joint STEM/HUMS Project Based Learning in style with an excursion to the Botanic Gardens and South Australian Museum. The students are drawing inspiration from an ancient world studied in HUMS to design and create a piece of jewellery in STEM.

Students in Year 7 and 8 STEM are learning to code using the Computer Science in Schools (CS in Schools) Program. Throughout this program, which has been created and facilitated by industry professionals, students learn the fundamentals of coding using the Python language.

Positive Partnerships is a national project, funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment helping families, children and schools deliver diverse and tailored programs by Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect).They are the largest provider of services for people who have been diagnosed with Autism.

The environmental committee participated in a day out with KESAB, to further develop our knowledge around recycling and more importantly gain ideas about how to improve Kildare’s sustainability and waste management.

Battling through a tough schedule consisting of 5 separate games in one day, Kildare finished the Round Robin tournament with an impressive 3 wins and 2 losses!

Students in the Year 12 Child Studies class have investigated the importance of children developing problem solving skills through play. Play allows children to use their creativity while developing imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive and emotional strength. It also allows children to create and explore a world they can make mistakes in and learn from.

We have a busy calendar of Performing Arts events coming up in the next few weeks and we would love to see our Kildare College community in attendance at the COVID safe events.

Katie Joyce from Cadence Pilates ran a Mat Pilates class with the students in Year 9. The students have been learning about fitness components, training methods and training principles.

Kildare College Dancers Shine in the 2021 Production of ‘80s Mixtape’

Kildare Dancers took to the stage in our 2021 Dance Production of ‘80s Mixtape’ at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Ngunyawayiti Space. The show had many memorable moments, and we were delighted to finally be back in front of a live audience after last year's hiatus.

The Future Anything Shark Tank presentations were held at Kildare College. The panel, consisting of Dana Wortley MP, Member for Torrens, Carly Didcote, Community Capacity Coordinator, City of Tea Tree Gully, and Lil Mader, Business Manager, Kildare College, had the great pleasure and privilege to judge the social enterprises that were created by Year 9 students as part of their Future Anything unit in PBL. 

Last week, we had the absolute pleasure in watching our Year 9 debating team in action for the final time this year at Nazareth Catholic College.

It has been a wonderful and busy term in the Resource Centre with Book Week taking place in Week 6. The theme this year was “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds”. The students had fun taking part in activities each day surrounding the theme. They made Shakespeare inspired masquerade masks, Harry Potter House bookmarks, and Tell Your Story beaded bracelets. Some beautiful pieces were created by the students with a strong focus on literacy.

It has been a wonderful and busy term in the Resource Centre with Book Week taking place in Week 6. The theme this year was “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds”. The students had fun taking part in activities each day surrounding the theme. They made Shakespeare inspired masquerade masks, Harry Potter House bookmarks, and Tell Your Story beaded bracelets. Some beautiful pieces were created by the students with a strong focus on literacy.

What a wonderful Term 3!

It is hard to believe that Term 3 is nearly over. We have had another beautiful term and feel blessed to have been able to celebrate our incredible events, even with all the constant COVID-19 uncertainty. Our students have continued to demonstrate great strength, resilience and gentleness with all that we do, whilst wearing their masks with great dignity.

Brigidine Day

This year our Brigidine Day was once again blessed with perfect weather. It was wonderful to be able to gather as a College community. Father Mathew led our Mass sharing how St Brigid was a wonderful role model for us all, always depicting strength, courage, and bravery. He emphasised how kindness can be distributed in big and small ways and all acts of kindness can influence our mental wellbeing, which coincided with R U OK Day.

Following our Mass, students and staff were engaged in a range of activities, including House Spirit games and our very own K-Factor. It was an absolute pleasure watching our students and staff entertain the community with their diverse talents. The day was just glorious and it depicted the wonderful comradery and great sense of connectedness that exists in girls' schools and especially at Kildare. 

Tullow Centre

If you have been at Kildare recently, you would have seen that the Drama Centre has been demolished and we are now preparing the foundations for our new building – Tullow Centre. It has been fascinating to watch what is happening with the students. There is a vantage point near the Art rooms that is providing an excellent view of the progress that is occurring each day.

Performances

Mixtape 80s Dance Night

Our incredible student dancers performed at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute. The dancers and routines were sensational - full of vibrancy, colour and superb choreography.

Congratulations to all and many special thanks to Sue Nairn, Julia Horne and all who have supported them.

Live at Kildare – A Tribute to the 70s – Music

With the current restrictions still in place, our Live at the Gov was transferred to Live at Kildare and we were treated to phenomenal music performances. The diversity, musical talent and music choices were once again wonderful to listen to and enjoy Every song brought back lots of incredible memories! Congratulations to all and many special thanks to Russell McGlone, Hannah King, Andrew Crosby and all who have supported them.

Year 11 and 12 Drama Production – I’m not Henry Lawson’s Mother

Our Year 11 and 12 Drama students' portrayal of - I’m not Henry Lawson’s Mother - was mesmerizing, intriguing and beautifully performed. It truly was another fabulous production to watch. Thank you to Carolina Salvo, Shaun Castles, Rebecca Sarvas and all who supported them.

It is so wonderful to be able to have the performances, especially during these strange times. I am a very proud Principal, and our students are simply amazing.

Staff Updates

Sarah Cornelius

Sarah has been offered and accepted a position at Compass Catholic College, Davoren Park, starting in Term 4. We will miss Sarah immensely at Kildare. Sarah has been at Kildare since 2009 and during her time here, she has led and influenced many projects and held a number of leadership positions including Wellbeing Coordinator for various year levels, Acting Faith Formation Coordinator and Leader of Learning.  Compass is incredibly fortunate to have Sarah as one of its foundational staff members. We wish Sarah all the best.

Carolina Salvo

We also farewell Carolina Salvo as she goes on maternity leave. We sincerely thank Carolina for her energy and dedication that she has provided over the past 18 months. We wish Carolina and her partner, Tate, all the best preparing for the birth of their first child.

We welcome Amber Dias and Chelsey Webb as Term 4 replacement teachers. Amber has a double degree of Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide with subject specialisations in English and Geography. Chelsey also has a double degree of Bachelor of Teaching/Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide with subject specialisations in English and Psychology.

Finally, we are all blessed to work with such an incredible College community, who always have the students at the heart of everything that we do - thank you.

Best wishes always

Tina Neate
Principal

The Women in STEM Breakfast, attended by selected Years 7-11 students was held by Catholic Education South Australia and sponsored by Optus, at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Year 9 students have had the opportunity to participate in self defence training over the last three weeks of term. This opportunity was a student led initiative from 2020 and it was fantastic to see it come to fruition.

Over the last few weeks, Kildare has hosted the SAPSASA Year 6/7 AFL North-East team trials coached by one of our Physical Education teachers, Miss McAteer. 

The wonderful Year 11 and 12 Drama class have spent the past 12 weeks rehearsing in preparation for the live performance of  'I’m not Henry Lawson’s Mother'.

Kildare College Music Department took us back to the 70s with a nostalgic peformace of hit songs by Queen, AC/DC, The Jackson 5 and many more.

The true beauty and wonder of nature is perfectly summed up in some of South Australia’s native orchids.

In Kildare College’s native garden, the Wirra, we have some stunning ones in flower currently, like the donkey orchid seen in the photograph. This photograph was taken last week from the Wirra.

Kildare students, Khyleesha Welgraven, Tamsyn Nation, Chelsea Cooper and Paige Emmerson attended the annual Marni Wingku workshop run by the Wirltu Yarlu Aboriginal Education Unit at Adelaide University.

We had pleasure in announcing the recipients for our College medals at our Graduation Assembly.

The Long Tan Awards

• Year 10 recipient Jessica Cosmai
• Year 12 recipient Sophia Keys

The Long Tan Awards are sponsored annually by the Australian Defence Force. Initially introduced to acknowledge the bravery of soldiers who served in Vietnam; they particularly recognise the courage and leadership shown by those who fought in times of great adversity during the Battle of Long Tan. Today these awards are given to recognise students who show inspiring leadership and teamwork skills when working with others. Both recipients today have made outstanding contributions to both Kildare College and wider community through their commitment and support in raising awareness about issues in society.

Future Innovators Awards

• Year 10 Santina Punturiero
• Year 12 Aleisha Yates

The Australian Defence Force is encouraging the next generation of innovators, critical thinkers, and problem solvers; bright Australian students who are succeeding in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Achievement in STEM opens a range of exciting opportunities; students could find themselves working with innovative technologies and helping shape our nation’s future. Students are awarded on their ability to demonstrate innovation and motivation in learning in the fields of STEM while highlighting the value the Navy, Army and Air Force place on STEM skills and STEM career opportunities within Defence. Being recognised as an ADF Future Innovator shows that students have what it takes to make a big difference. 

Thank you to Captain Ryan for presenting these awards at our Graduation Assembly.

Julia Groutsch
Learning Leader

During October eleven Year 7  students from Kildare College had the opportunity to represent the Adelaide North-East district in the Year 6/7 SAPSASA Girls AFL competition under coach Miss McAteer. The team played three games each day under a hot sun at Barratt Reserve, West Beach.

Kildare teacher Mr Andrew Crosby has umpiried SANFL matches and has recently been awarded the Golden Whistle, acknowledging him as the best umpire in the amateur league. 

The Tullow Centre will be a space that inspires creativity, construction and innovation and gives students the opportunity to learn in an innovative, interactive learning environment reflective of society's modern, divergent, flexible, and dynamic thinking.

From dressing up to parading around the Brigidine Centre, the students had a wonderful time celebrating National Book Month with a Book Week Parade. The theme for this year’s parade was “Old Worlds, New Worlds, Other Worlds”. It was amazing to see the huge variety of costumes of everyone’s favourite book characters. A huge congratulations to the best-dressed students this year, and to all students for their efforts and creativity:

Year 9 STEM Leaders facilitated an interactive design thinking workshop with Year 5 students from Saint David's at Kildare College this term.

National Semi-Finals

As part of the Future Anything unit for PBL, every Year 9 student had the opportunity to enter National Finals and compete for the chance to win $10,000 worth of prizes to help kickstart their social enterprise.

National Semi-Finals

As part of the Future Anything unit for PBL, every Year 9 student had the opportunity to enter National Finals and compete for the chance to win $10,000 worth of prizes to help kickstart their social enterprise.

It has been a busy term in the Resource Centre celebrating the end of National Book Month with a “Recreate Your Favourite Book Cover” competition.

Year 7 students have been designing and creating pencil cases using a variety of decorative stitches and buttons.

Year 7 Students were visited by an Educator from SA Water, to follow the story of a drop of water's journey to their tap through an interactive presentation.

What an enjoyable, and competitive, night! Thank you to the Parents and Friends Committee for hosting the recent Quiz Night. It was a great success and enjoyed by all who attended.

It was a tightly held contest throughout the evening, with 3 tables vying for the top spot. 

Even the last place wooden spoons were a hit!

Parents and Friends Committee

“It was great to meet other Indigenous people and listen to their stories…….”

Nunga Group students joined other students from various Catholic Schools to explore what it means to be thriving people and leaders in our schools and the wider community.

Having worked with Wendy a representative from KESAB last term, the Environmental Group were keen to put their new-found knowledge and skills around sustainability to good use.

Our Middle Years community continued to grow in Term 4 as we welcomed our 2022 Year 7 and 8 students to the College for their Transition Days and their parents to our Parent Information evening.

The Grand Final for the Year 8/9 Knockout Basketball team took place at the Wayville Sports Centre. Six of the best Year 8/9 School Girls’ Basketball teams in the state battled it out to crown one overall champion. Each team played a total of five round-robin games, and based on their results, would determine which playoff final they would make it through to.

We are absolutely delighted to share with you the Year 12 results for our graduating class of 2021 from the SACE Board of South Australia. This year’s cohort has demonstrated a determined dedication to their learning through resilience, courage and a strong commitment to achieving success.

Dear Kildare Families

Thank you so much for your support and understanding as we continue to prepare for the start of our College year.

Below is some information that has recently been provided by SA Health and Catholic Education South Australia (CESA) on how to manage cases of COVID-19 in Catholic Education South Australia schools, preschools and early childhood education and care (ECEC) centres from 31 January 2022. 

It is evident where Khyleesha, one of Kildare's College Captains for 2022, gets her strong leadership skills and passion for social justice from, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Communication

It is completely normal for families to feel heightened during these times of uncertainty. Your family may have dealt with testing times before, but this is likely to be a new experience completely. 

I join with others and welcome you to a new academic year. The beginning of a school year is also a fantastic opportunity for students to set new goals and develop strong habits to set themselves up for a positive year.

Communication

It is completely normal for families to feel heightened during these times of uncertainty. Your family may have dealt with testing times before, but this is likely to be a new experience completely. 

This year, we welcome 670 students (the biggest student cohort in Kildare’s history) across all year levels. We also welcome many new staff members to our College community due to the increased student numbers, our extensive curriculum offerings and replacing staff who are currently on leave.

We are delighted to introduce and welcome our new staff members.

Tina Neate
Principal

The first unit of work our Year 10 Science classes are exploring this year is looking at Genetics and what makes us who we are.

Caitlin Anchor, from Kildare College’s Class of 2021, can add another accolade to her list of final-year achievements, receiving the Adelaide University Principals’ Scholarship.

In a recent news article published by the Advertiser Newspaper*, which outlined the fees for all Catholic Schools, it showed that Kildare College is the most affordable Catholic School in the city hub.

Shche ne vmerla Ukraina is the title of the National anthem of Ukraine and translates into English as Ukraine Has Not Yet Perished. The anthem consists of one verse and one chorus, and although not as long as other anthems, each word carefully selected showcases the heart of the Ukrainian people. Amongst other things it is an anthem of hope and in our current times hope is desperately needed

Pi Day is celebrated around the world by many students, teachers, museums, scientists and planetariums. It is celebrated every year on March 14  since the number Pi contains the digits 3.14159, and so on.

Recently, we hosted a revised online Academic Assembly. We were delighted to celebrate the achievements of all of our students, including the outstanding results of our 2021 Year 12 graduates. 

We are extremely proud of all the students and we congratulate the cohort for 100% SACE completition and their incredible overall results.

Caitlin Anchor - 2021 Kildare College Dux

Caitlin received the Chanel Medal which is awarded to the student who achieved the highest ATAR score at Kildare College. She achieved an incredible University Entrance Score of 99.85. Caitlin is undertaking a Bachelor of Science, Advanced with Honours at Adelaide University. Science (Medical Imaging) at UniSA.

Angie Lim - 2021 Proxime Accessit 

We acknowledeged the 2021 Proxime Accessit of Kildare College Angie Lim with a University Entrance Score of 98.30. Angie will be undertaking a Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science.

We also acknowledged those students who received merits or A grades in their subjects, placing the students in the top 1% of the state. This is a fantastic achievement.

We would like to highlight the students who achieved and A+ in the different subject areas.An A+ signifies an exceptional achievement by the student.

We also would like to acknowledge and congratulate our 2021 graduates who achieved ATAR scores in the 80s and 90s. In order to receive a score in the 90s, this means that students achieved mostly As in all of their subjects. Click "Read More" below to see the full list of recipients.

We wish all the 2021 Year 12 students all the best with their chosen career paths and we thank them for everything they have given to our College. They will always have a place in our hearts here at Kildare. 

Raymond Kropinski
Director of Teaching and Learning

Kildare College would like to recognise and congratulate Sophia Keys as the worthy recipient of the inaugural Muriel Matters Award. Sophia has been an integral member of the Living Justice Group since Year 9. 

Congratulations to Year 7 student, Ayla, who was named as a winner in the 2021 Arch D Radio and Podcasting Awards. Ayla, with two fellow students, created the podcast on “Valuing Relationships” in her final year at St Gabriel's, with this particular episode focussing on a birthday party. Congratulations Ayla and the team.

Tina Neate
Principal

Our Year 7 students have been developing fundamental kitchen skills including hygiene, utensil use and preparation. The fruit cups were a success, and the students were proud of their final products

Sleep helps us to fuel, rest and repair our brains and bodies. Teenagers need more sleep as they are continue to grow at a fast rate. Most teenagers are getting  between 6-7 hours of sleep per night, while research continues to show that  the recommendation is between 8 – 10 hours each day for individuals to be at their best.

There is every chance your Middle Years daughter has become caught in a vicious time loop in recent weeks: tasks that were handed out a month ago (but started a week ago) resulting in a sudden compression of all their waking moments into an anxious frenzy whereby there are never enough minutes in the day for them to get everything done. Yes, it’s okay – you can take a big sigh of relief – it’s not just you or your daughter feeling this way.  

What a beautiful sunny day we had for our 2022 Sports Day. All students participated in an array of events that catered for all abilities. 

In a year of great transformation and growth, Kildare College welcoming the largest cohort of students to the College in its history, and launched a new organisational structure centred on future innovation, appointing three staff members to the positions of Future Innovation Coach. 

For Year 10 student Paige, attending Kildare College was never in the picture for her future, nor did she know that it was even an option!

As we finish the term we come to the significant events of Holy week. These events, culminating with the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus, are at the centre of our Christian faith.

Before his capture, on the Thursday night, Jesus had a last meal with his Disciples. During the course of the evening he washed their feet. The washing of feet before a meal was a common practice in first century Palestine. People wore sandals in desert conditions and so feet would get dirty. When they sat to eat, they usually sat on the floor and shared a meal from a common bowl. Feet, therefore, needed to be washed as they were in very close proximity to hands and food. Nevertheless, feet were more than just washed. As walking was the principal mode of transport and sandals were not the most comfortable, it was common to have sore and aching feet.

Design and Technology Week included celebrating World Home Economics Day while also getting students involved in a range of activities each day.