“All In”

National Reconciliation Week theme, 2026

We find ourselves this week in one of the most richly layered stretches of the school year, a week in which National Reconciliation Week, with its stirring 2026 theme of ‘All In’, flows directly from the grace of Laudato Si’ Week, as though our school calendar itself is inviting us to see that the care of our common home and the work of reconciliation are not separate concerns but two expressions of the one great call: to love well, to listen deeply and to act justly.

National Reconciliation Week runs from 27 May to 3 June each year, and the 2026 theme ‘All In’, is both a description and a challenge. It reminds us that reconciliation is not a spectator sport, not something that happens around us while we watch from a comfortable distance. It calls each of us,  our students, our staff, our families, our whole Kilbreda community, to show up fully, to lean in and to take our share of the responsibility for the healing and truth-telling that our nation still so urgently needs.

In the Brigidine tradition, we speak often of the values of Justice, Compassion and Solidarity. Values that are not merely decorative but are meant to be worn into the world, pressed into the shape of everyday choices and courageous acts. Reconciliation Week is one of those moments in our year when we are asked, as a community, whether we really mean it.

Laudato Si’ Week – Thank You

As this community newsletter goes to you, Laudato Si’ Week has drawn to a close, and what a week it was. From the Canteen initiatives to the bucket-of-rubbish challenge, the ‘nude food’ campaign, and the spirit of genuine ecological reflection woven through our Homerooms and classrooms, our community rose beautifully to the invitation of Pope Francis’ great encyclical on care for our common home.

These were not simply environmental gestures. They were acts of justice, lived expressions of our Brigidine conviction that, as St Brigid herself proclaimed, ‘Christ dwells in every creature,’ and that the care of creation is inseparable from the care of one another, and of the most vulnerable among us.

A very special word of gratitude to Aiden Scott and Sarah Avitabile, whose extraordinary generosity, creativity and pastoral energy made this week not just an event on the calendar but a genuine moment of formation for our community. The students in your care have walked the talk beautifully, and we are deeply grateful.

Our warmest thanks also to our Student Environmental Action Leaders, who led with infectious enthusiasm and quiet Brigidine courage. You are, truly, light-bearers for the world you will inherit.

First Nations Immersion

Earlier this term, two students, Taylah D and Vida Y (both Year 11)represented our College at the  Kildare Ministries First Nations Wathaurong Immersion at Araluen, three days on Country, in the company of Aunties and Elders and young people from Kildare Ministries schools across Australia. It is not a small thing to sit with story, to listen on Country, to allow yourself to be changed by what you hear and see and feel.

Our sincerest gratitude to these students but also Vince Camera and Carmel Fraser, who accompanied our students with such care, generosity and pastoral presence.

Student Reflection

During the Kildare Ministries First Nations Immersion, we had the privilege of learning more deeply about First Nations culture, history, spirituality and connection to Country. The experience allowed us to reflect on the significance of land, sky, water, animals and nature, and how these are not separate from identity, but deeply connected to culture, belonging and spirit.

One of the most meaningful parts of the immersion was gaining a greater understanding of what an Acknowledgement of Country truly symbolises. It is more than a formal statement at the beginning of an event; it is an act of respect, remembrance and recognition. It acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land and reminds us that Country holds stories, ancestors, knowledge and ongoing connection.

Throughout the immersion, we were encouraged to listen, reflect and approach learning with humility. Gathering around a campfire each evening we shared our stories and listened to Aboriginal elders and messages from future generations. We came away with a stronger appreciation of the importance of truth-telling, reconciliation and respect for First Nations peoples. It reminded us that reconciliation is not just about words, but about how we choose to listen, learn and act in our everyday lives.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to take part in this experience, and we hope to bring what we learnt back into our school community with respect, awareness and a deeper commitment to understanding First Nations perspectives.

Vida Y and Taylah D

Year 11

National Reconciliation Week – ‘All In’

National Reconciliation Week 2026 is well underway as this newsletter reaches you, and we are marking it as a community with prayer, reflection and visible signs of solidarity across the College. We will gather as a whole school community during Homeroom for a liturgy, a simple but significant act of pausing, of honouring, of saying: we are here, we are listening, and we are ‘all in.’

Our Living Justice Leaders have worked with great dedication to prepare activities for the community throughout the week, prayer, craft and visible expressions of solidarity that we hope will be felt in every corner of the College. Their leadership in this space has been a beautiful example of young women of faith and hope, putting Brigidine values into action.

The 2026 theme, ‘All In’, also coincides with a significant milestone: Reconciliation Australia marks its 25th anniversary this year. 25 years of work, and yet the invitation remains as urgent as ever, because reconciliation will not happen by itself, and it will not happen without all of us. It requires something of each of us, personally and collectively, and as a Brigidine community committed to justice, we are honoured to take our place in that great work.

A Prayer for Reconciliation Week

Loving God,

we gather this week as a community

that longs to be ‘all in’ –

all in for truth,

all in for listening,

all in for the long and patient work of healing.

Open our hearts to the stories of those

who have carried more than their share of sorrow,

and help us to carry it with them now,

as an act of justice, and of love.

May we be a community that keeps its word –

that walks the talk of reconciliation

not just in this week, but in every week,

in every choice, and in every welcome.

In the spirit of St Brigid,

may we tend the flame of justice and compassion,

and make room at the table

for all who have been excluded for too long.

Amen.

With gratitude for all that you are and all that you bring to this remarkable community.

In Strength and Kindness,

John Riddle

Director of Catholic Identity and Mission