Is There a Secret Recipe for Academic Success?

Schools are always busy places with many activities happening in classrooms and through co-curricular activities. At the College, we provide an abundance of opportunities for our students to participate in, including opportunities for them to showcase their talents, compete against themselves and others, learn new skills and acquire deeper knowledge. In the first few weeks of this term, our students have been involved in so much!

Over the coming weeks, students will have the opportunity to:

• Represent the College at a Model United Nations Conference (Years 9 and 10)
• Strengthen relationships with their peers through the Year 8 Camp
• Participate in the House Fun Run and/or represent the College with distinction in athletics, cross country or hockey
• Enhance their musical gifts and talents on Music Camp and showcase them at the Music Gala Evening
• Develop an understanding of different world religions through the Building Bridges program (Year 11)
• Debate, dance, sing, design and create in a range of forums!

Fredricks and Eccles (2006) found that ‘participation in co-curricular activities can be linked to positive academic outcomes, including improved grades, test scores, more school engagement, and increased educational aspirations.’  Additional to these benefits are learned skills such as teamwork, leadership, positive attitudes of wanting to attend school and a sense of belonging when at school.  We would strongly encourage parents/carers to have a conversation with your child about their involvement in school life.

Strength and Kindliness

Our college motto, Fortiter et Suaviter, has been a defining feature of life at the College across Term 2. As the term has been unfolding, I have noticed the genuine care and connection that our students feel towards each other and their school. Time and time again they express deep gratitude for the opportunity to participate in and to contribute to school life and for the quality learning experiences they are provided with. Recently, I was speaking to some Year 7 students about the Peer Support program and some of the key messages their Year 10 and Year 11 Student Leaders have shared with them. 

They identified the following key messages:

• Be true to yourself
• Be respectful of others
• Be kind
• Aim high – go for your dreams
• Be the best that you can be
• Be responsible
• Your voice matters

In this way, the Peer Support program serves as a real witnessing of the Kilbreda College tradition coming to life as our Year 10 and Year 11 students reminds our Year 7 students that they are an important part of our College community, that they too can move through their secondary schooling, making a difference in their own lives and in the lives of so many others.

Everyone’s experience at our College is different. Every one of our 912 students has their own story and every story is of deep value and meaning, contributing in a formative way to the adult that one becomes.  The secondary schooling years are a time for dreams but also a time for action. Educating students to be respectful, fearless and courageous in the decisions they make and the steps they take, is fundamental in empowering today’s youth. However, change and progress do not happen overnight – it takes time, patience and courage. Quite often, young people are in such a hurry to get to their destination that they lose sight of the beauty of this experience. Yet, ironically the very experience they are bemoaning may become a sweet memory and a lesson to be remembered, at some point in the future.

Whether it be changing one’s study habits, changing one’s attitude to learning, changing one’s writing style or even changing direction in life, it requires deep thought, time, conscious commitment, inner strength and strength derived from the knowledge that we are not alone but supported along the way. 

It is wonderful here at Kilbreda that a strong partnership exists between our school and parents fostering a supportive environment and a school culture that enables our students to flourish in all facets of their life.

Parent Webinars

Managing Career Uncertainty and Anxiety:  The Power of Career Conversations

Career uncertainty has been defined as the inability, as a teenager, to articulate a career ambition or occupational expectation for adult life. As transitions from school to further education, training or work have become more unpredictable, and employment markets more competitive and fluid, career uncertainty in young people, both in Australia and internationally, is increasingly common.

In this webinar, Dr Jo Gleeson (Monash University), lead author of the forthcoming myfuture Insights Paper ‘Managing career uncertainty and anxiety: the power of career conversations’, will talk about the findings of her research in this area, and share a questionnaire that can help you to facilitate career conversations with your child.

This free webinar will take place on Wednesday 7 June from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. 

Online Relationships and Consent: Sending Nudes and Sexting

This 30-minute webinar facilitated by the eSafety Commission is designed for parents and carers of young people in secondary school.  It will address:

• The impact of sharing nude images without consent
• Practical suggestions for starting the chat about respectful relationships, consent, and pressure to send nudes.
• Where to get support for a young person who has experienced abuse.

This webinar will take place on:

• 25 May from 12.30pm to 1.00pm
• 14 June from 7.30pm to 8.00pm

Stephanie Smyth
Assistant Principal: Wellbeing and Engagement