From the Principal

Clonard College

From the Principal

The Clonard College community acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we educate our students, the Wathaurong people of the Kulin nation. We honour and pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging. We commit ourselves to walk alongside all Aboriginal people in the quest for justice, reconciliation and recognition through the transforming power of education.

The educational experience at Clonard is more than an academic journey. When you walk through our grounds you can feel something that is hard to quantify.

Everybody is a somebody at Clonard.

We provide an education that nurtures young women to embody our College motto of ‘ strength and kindliness’ in their own unique way. It is an education where our students’ strengths are known, cultivated and celebrated through a broad range of opportunities and extracurricular offerings.

We place equal importance on care for students’ wellbeing, their academic learning success and the formation of their faith and spirituality. A Clonard education gives our young women a sense of social justice and a voice to make a difference in the world. We shape young leaders with hope and purpose. At Clonard friendships are formed for life.

In my sixth year at the College, I am grateful for the commitment of our team to treasure our history and yet continually strive to design and deliver an education that is fit for purpose, responsive to the signs of the times and one that our young people deserve to enable them to thrive. Through the commitment to an education inspired by the values of Kildare Ministries we continue to steward the legacy of the Brigidine sisters in the greater Geelong region.

I invite you to ‘come and see’.

Luci Web Crop

Today, Clonard College educates 920 girls through offering an extensive range of excellent academic, cultural and sporting opportunities

Our dedicated staff encourage our students to become creative and confident future leaders, through a tradition of promoting academic success while nurturing a strong sense of social responsibility.

At the heart of our College community is a commitment to nurturing  faith. As a Kildare Education Ministries School in the Brigidine Tradition, we continue the traditions of our founders, the Brigidine Sisters, by responding to the following values:

Wonder – Celebrating all that is good with joy and gratitude

Courage – Speaking and acting with integrity

Hospitality – Welcoming all

Hope – Bringing a sense of purpose

Compassion – Walking with and having empathy for all

Justice – Making the needs of the vulnerable paramount

This year we are exploring the value of Compassion across our curriculum, prayer life, formation opportunities and rituals.

The last two years have been the greatest disruption to the traditional education system in our lifetimes. We are also acutely aware that democracy, globalisation, geopolitics, technology, the world of work, the university experience, our understanding of the environment are all shifting and changing. Education systems all around the world are being called to embrace questions about how we design and think about learning. To do what is right for all young people, especially those we serve here at Clonard we are asking those questions. We see these questions as both a challenge and opportunity. At Clonard want to ensure we continue to be forward thinking to ensure that the learning experiences of our students are about more than getting a ‘score’.

The compass for our considerations is our Learning charter that gives expression to the principles that we are aspiring to bring to life in how we go about learning.

It is an exciting time to be in education.

I trust that you will find this website useful as you endeavour to learn a little more about our College.

Luci Quinn
College Principal