From the Principal

This week I witnessed hospitality and hope in action.  

The College welcomed Year 2 students from Holy Spirit Primary school to undertake a Reconciliation Week walk led by two of our Tjatjarrang students, Aaliyah and Talarah. Both of these First Nations students embodied our College motto of ‘Strength and Kindliness’ as they spoke about their culture with pride and invited these young students gently into a conversation about reconciliation. The visit concluded with each of our little visitors adding to our sea of hands encircling our Brigidine flame as a show of our support for Reconciliation Week. 

This was just one of the many activities that have taken place this week. The National Reconciliation Week (NRW) 2025 theme, Bridging Now to Next, reflects the ongoing connection between past, present and future. This was what we saw embodied in the experience shared above. This week we were called to step forward together, to look ahead and continue the push forward as past lessons guide us. 

The 2023-2024 Australian Catholic Bishops statement Listen Learn Love: A new engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples invited us into dialogue and conversation with First Nations peoples. If we believe that Christ is to be found in the other, then in the love we offer to our First Nations brothers and sisters we offer to Christ. The Bishops remind us that ‘this love is characterised by a commitment to encounter and dialogue, reciprocity, mutual accompaniment and a desire to put the other at the centre of our attention’. 

This is at the heart of our theme for 2025 Hospitality: Open, Encounter, Transform.  

The week has provided us with opportunities to be opened and transformed as we prayed, heard language, reflected, and listened to stories during our Reconciliation Week assembly where we welcomed back alumnae Jiealla Gutti -Gulpin who shared how she had felt supported in practising and embracing her culture during her time at Clonard. 

We also shared in raising our voices in support of reconciliation with a rendition of the official song for Reconciliation Week ‘Solid Rock’, written by Shane Howard. We had the privilege of Marcia Howard our Music Leader, Shane’s sister and member of Goanna who originally performed Solid Rock, singing with our students and staff.    

In more good news we were able to share with our Year 10 students that our immersion to Ltyentye Apurte (Santa Teresa) will be taking place in Term 3 after initially receiving news that immersions had been postponed for the 2025 year. We were delighted to learn that we will be able to continue our friendship that spans almost 20 years and has contributed to the spirit of reconciliation in ways hard to quantify. An Information Night will be held next Thursday for interested Year 10 students and families.

As I walked past our Brigidine flame today and saw the sea of hands with prayers and reflections on Reconciliation Week it reinforces and reminds me that a Kildare Ministries education is one where our young people, learn with wonder, live with compassion and lead with courage and this week we saw all of these attributes in action.