Over the past fortnight our community has come together to celebrate the Eucharist, commission Student Leaders, acknowledge academic excellence, explore Performing Arts opportunities and support each other. It is this spirit of togetherness, the commitment to the other, that is one of the defining features of our great school. I would like to thank all parents/carers who have attended these events. We certainly appreciated the opportunity to engage in dialogue with you, as we know that the partnership between home and school is both a significant and valuable one.

Our students have made a positive start to the school year, and we congratulate them on their calm and respectful behaviour. It has been great to see many students taking advantage of the opportunity the College provides to explore passions and interests. From joining the choir, participating in the Kilbreda Dance Company (KDC), trying out for Triathlon and/or other sporting teams, applying to be part of the Student Ambassador program, having the courage to debate, auditioning for the College Production, asking a question in class, or exploring a friendship group, our students have certainly relished the opportunity to consider what might be this year.

Student Leadership

The College has always regarded service and responsibility as integral components of our students’ education. We believe that it is important that every student experiences some form of leadership whilst at the College and is prepared for responsibilities as they emerge in life when they are sought and offered. To this end, leadership skills are nurtured in every student through the Pastoral Care program, co-curricular activities and are formalised through our student leadership model. Our students lead all college assemblies, they drive our community Student Ambassador program, they promote and raise awareness of faith, learning and wellbeing initiatives and respond to the needs of our time by acting for justice. Last week’s ‘Love Kilbreda Day,’ a student-led initiative, highlighted our students’ capacity and drive to be organised, proactive, altruistic, insightful and empathetic, and their willingness to make a tangible difference to the Kilbreda College community.

‘Love Kilbreda Day’ was a day designed by our Community Action Leaders to reinforce the importance of love for self and love for the other. Over the course of the day, students had the opportunity to participate in a range of activities that were designed to promote positive relationships and allow our students to experience positive emotions.

Positive Behaviour for Learning Framework

Our College is always looking at ways to implement student wellbeing initiatives that support our students to feel good and live well and produce optimum student outcomes. 2023 is no exception. In 2023, a key college priority is the development and implementation of a Positive Behaviour for Learning Framework in consultation with staff, students and their families. Positive Behaviour for Learning is an evidence-based, whole-school framework for behaviour support that promotes positive behaviour and helps schools to develop safe and supportive learning environments. For Kilbreda College, a Positive Behaviour for Learning framework will assist us to consolidate current practices that are part of Kilbreda’s whole school approach to wellbeing and engagement, such as Restorative Practices, Positive Education and Respectful Relationships under a single umbrella as well as to assist us to improve social, emotional, behavioural and academic outcomes for our students.

Parents and the wider community play an important role in creating a safe and supportive environment.  As such, we are committed to involving parents and the school community in developing our student code of conduct. This will help us to align the behaviour expectations of Kilbreda to community expectations. This will ensure that everyone has a shared understanding of what is expected.

Later in Term 1, we will send parents an online survey for your input on the core positive behaviour expectations for the College. These expectations will become the foundation of Positive Behaviour for Learning Practices at Kilbreda.

We look forward to catching up with many of you at our upcoming VCE/VCE VM Information Evening, our International Women’s Day Breakfast and/or when you are either dropping off or picking up your child from a rehearsal or sporting pursuit and being that village with you for your child.

Community Action Leaders

We spoke to our Community Action Leaders about their time at the College, what’s important and what Courage means to them. Enjoy getting to know Mia Wilson and Ava Bussutil.

As Community Action Leaders for 2023 we wish to work alongside other leadership groups, while implementing the school motto ‘Strength and Kindliness’, and this year’s theme of Courage to contribute to the school being a safe place to learn and develop, where students are made to feel comfortable within themselves, show self-determination, and use their own strength and courage to achieve personal goals. We wish to make 2023 a year to remember! We aim to increase student involvement within the College and encourage students to embrace their imperfections and failures by using courage to create the opportunities to make mistakes and take calculated risks. This year we have already celebrated ‘LOVE Kilbreda Day’ with the aim to encourage students to spread love and kindliness and what a success it was! We have many more exciting things planned for the rest of this year and we cannot wait for the year ahead!

Both of us share similar passions such as a love of learning and a passion for performing, hence why we are so heavily involved in the College productions, leadership and the school choir. Being involved in co-curricular activities such as these allow us to be in a positive place surrounded by a range of year levels. These allow us to form connections outside of our own cohort and to be leaders in different environments outside of the classroom. Being able to perform on stage, in front of an audience has taught us to build confidence and believe in ourselves which allows us to be leaders of courage.

The most valuable lesson Kilbreda has taught us is to never give up and build confidence by giving things a go. Across our five years at the College both of us have aimed to participate in everything such as applying for leadership positions and getting involved in a range of areas. These opportunities have allowed us to gain courage and establish life-long friendships.

We believe that courage can be defined in a variety of ways and means different things to each individual.

Courage can be physical, through being able to keep persisting and demonstrating resilience in the face of adversity. It can be social, by always striving to be yourself and intellectual, by having the strength to learn and unlearn and have an open mindset. It can be spiritual, by being able to trust the process and live with purpose. Finally, it can be moral, by being able to stick to one’s morals and do the right thing even when it’s uncomfortable by standing up for change in our community or our world and acting when injustices occur.

Stephanie Smyth
Assistant Principal: Wellbeing and Engagement