Issue 1 Term 1 2021

Welcome to 2021, with a very warm welcome to our new families in the community. Spending the first few weeks working with both staff and our returning students has reminded me how blessed we are to be in a wonderful community with committed staff and students.

Middle and Senior Year Values

In our first week back the staff have been very busy preparing programs for our students focused around our Middle Years values of Challenge, Inspire, Act and our Senior Years values of Seek, Shape, Serve.

It is with these values that our staff continue to provide the foundation on which we base all our teaching and learning. Our focus on pastoral care is explicit, implicit and embedded in all learning experiences as we strive to develop our young women into leaders who act justly and lead change in our community.

PAT Testing

Over the next few weeks students from Years 7 to 10 will be sitting the PAT (Progressive Achievement Testing) tests. The PAT tests in reading comprehension, mathematics and STEM contexts are completed each year at this time. The students’ are well prepared for these tests as they reflect the learning that happens in class all year. Student’s results are used to determine areas of improvement needed for the rest of the school year and they help us to determine intervention support for students requiring more support either to reach benchmarks or to be extended in their learning. Our students work hard all year and it is always pleasing to map their growth through this form of testing.

Raymond Kropinski
Director of Teaching and Learning

I join with others and welcome you to a new academic year. The beginning of a school year is also a fantastic opportunity for students to set new goals and develop strong habits to set themselves up for a positive year. As students begin and continue their SACE journeys, they are encouraged to develop strategies and habits that they can use to manage the unpredictable weeks and months ahead.

It is essential that students look after themselves, and reduce tension from stress, school and work pressure. Students are encouraged to find an active outlet that can support relaxation and connection to others. The beginning of each year is busy, with many school-wide events providing opportunities for senior students to connect with and build relationships with those who are new to our community. There are many opportunities for students to become involved within our community and in activities at Kildare; with students moving closer to the end of their schooling journey I encourage them to be involved in as many year level, house or team activities as they are able.

It is a pleasure to welcome the Year 10 students into the Senior Years, and along with our Year 11 and 12s, all Senior School students were presented with a lamp of learning badge which signifies the commitment to leadership in our community. It has been wonderful to see all Senior School students wearing their badge with pride as they continue to demonstrate the core values of our community.

Students in the Senior Years will begin subjects that count towards their South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) completion. The SACE is a modern, internationally-recognised secondary school qualification designed to equip students with skills, knowledge, and personal capabilities to successfully participate in our fast-paced global society.

To complete the qualification, students will need to attain 200 credits from a selection of Stage 1 and Stage 2 subjects. A 10-credit subject is usually one semester of study, and a 20-credit subject is usually over two semesters.

The SACE caters for practical and theory, hands-on and action-based learning both in and outside school. Your daughter is encouraged to choose subjects that she enjoys, suits her learning style and will open doors to a range of careers within her area of interest.

Your daughter will have the opportunity to explore her interests, strengths, subject choices, and style of learning during the Personal Learning Plan at the beginning of her SACE journey, which is studied in Year 10 at Kildare.

Vocational Education and Training (VET) options are available at both Stage 1 and Stage 2 and include a wide range of industry areas, including construction, automotive, electro-technology, hospitality, community services, health and information technology.

Should you require more information regarding the SACE, please contact me at the College.

We wish the best of luck to all Senior students.

Emma Ward
Senior Years Coordinator

Welcome to the 2021 School Year. We are delighted to be welcoming so many new students and their families into our Kildare College community. We are looking forward to sharing your daughter’s learning journey with you as we work together to support her into becoming a strong, confident and independent young woman ready to take on the challenges of our world.

The new school year is an emotional time for all students. They feel excitement about meeting new people, reconnecting with friends and engaging in new learning experiences. While we have had an enjoyable and busy start to our school year there are times when students may feel nervous, apprehensive and unsure. These feelings are probably felt more readily by our new students. It is important to remember that these feelings are normal and to be expected.

To help make this transition process as smooth as possible, there are many things we can do to work in partnership with each other.

These can include:

• Setting up good routines from the start of the year is important.
• Arranging a specific spot at home to complete homework.
• Chatting with your daughter about her day, listen and encourage her to think positively about her experiences.
• Reassuring her that it is normal to feel nervous about making new friends and encourage her to be open to this and approach each new encounter with kindness.
• Making connections with your daughter’s pastoral care teacher and other families is also important. Our Connection Evening on Tuesday 16 February is a great way to take the next step in building connections within our community.

Another opportunity for parents to connect with each other will be provided through our Middle Years Coffee Morning on Friday 19 February at Café Va Bene. More information will be forwarded to you soon.

If you would like more information about supporting your daughter through her transition into secondary school, please feel free to contact her Pastoral Care teacher, House Leader or me. You can also find some excellent resources on the Australian Parenting Website, specific information on transitioning into high school can be found at
https://raisingchildren.net.au/pre-teens/school-education/school-choosing-starting-moving/starting-secondary-school.

Kim Thomas
Middle Years Coordinator

Wellbeing for Learning is a central mandate for Kildare College. Our College staff strive to create a supportive environment to encourage and enable students to meet and overcome challenges, and to reach their goals. Kildare College employs wellbeing professionals; namely, two Counsellors, a Chaplain, and a Social Worker, to pro-actively support the College community. Information about our wellbeing professionals is provided below.

Georgia Stavropoulos - College Counsellor
Hello, my name is Georgia and I have been a part of the Kildare College community since June of 2020. My credentials from Flinders University include degrees in Behavioural Science (Psychology), and Public Sector Management, and a Master of Social Work. I have worked in the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) and Child Protection settings where I have further developed my knowledge and skills to best support children and young people. I am passionate about building strong relationships, particularly supporting the growth and development of young women. High school encompasses six years of learning, growth, new experiences, hardships, successes and challenges and it is my role at Kildare to support students through all areas. As the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child”, much like the support and resources provided by the Kildare community. I look forward to working with you in 2021!

Mia Davies - College Social Worker
Hi, my name is Mia and I am the College Social Worker. I studied a double degree of Social Work and International Relations at UniSA and have had extensive experience working in various educational settings, which is where my passion for working in schools began. Having worked in multiple educational settings previously, I truly believe Kildare College stands out when fostering wellbeing for learning and I am very passionate about helping to empower students to make positive decisions in their lives so they can learn and grow to the best of their ability. My area of support at the College includes assessing and responding to community needs such as parenting and family support, working with external service providers, case management, program development and group work. I look forward to seeing what this year will bring!

Emma Lewis - College Chaplain/College Counsellor
Hi, my name is Emma and I am the College Counsellor and Chaplain. My passion for working with young people came from my voluntary work in Ethiopia, initiating and facilitating education and development projects. During one of my trips to Ethiopia, I could see the need for education and wellbeing to be a priority for girls in a rural village. This led to my work with unaccompanied minors, asylum seekers and refugees. I then went on to study Counselling and have been privileged to have been working with students at Kildare College for over three years. Part of my role as the Chaplain is my involvement in the Justice Group at Kildare College, which gives students with a strong sense of social justice, the platform to raise awareness of important social issues and make a difference in their community and globally, while giving them leadership opportunities.

With the uncertainties of 2020, I am constantly inspired by students’ resilience in the face of adversity and I look forward to working with you and your daughters in 2021.

If your daughter or family is experiencing significant distress or difficulty, please do not hesitate to contact the College. We will work collaboratively with you and College staff to optimise your daughter’s learning and opportunities for success. Wishing you all a rewarding and healthy 2021!  

Mr Glenn Clifford
Director of Wellbeing

At Kildare we strongly believe that every student has the ability to achieve success in Mathematics. In the Middle Years students engage with Maths Pathway, an individualised program that caters to a student’s level of development.

This means that students who are high achievers in Mathematics can be extended and accelerated, while others who may find Mathematics challenging will have the opportunity to practise skills to mastery. This means that every student can experience success in Mathematics.

Each of our classes have started the school year with a ‘Week of Inspirational Maths’. These lessons engage students in a variety of rich tasks that enable them to inquire, problem solve, investigate patterns and further develop a growth mindset. A growth mindset is vital in Mathematics as it enables students to work hard and to persevere when challenged. From here, new students will undertake diagnostic activities to ascertain the mathematical skills that they have already mastered and their own unique learning plan will be developed. Existing students will be able to continue their existing individualised programs.

Within the Maths Pathway program we encourage students to problem solve and seek help from many different sources when they are challenged by maths. The teacher plays a very important role in the classroom, not only to explicitly teach content, but also to build students’ independence by guiding them through a variety of steps which also include:

• Looking at worked solutions and then working backwards to understand the problem
• Watching a worked example in a video
• Learning from peers, which is beneficial, not only for the student receiving the support, but also for the student providing it.
• The teacher provides a supportive, guiding role and explicitly teaches new concepts throughout the process.

When working with your daughter on Mathematics at home, we ask that you encourage her to remain positive, even when challenged, as it is when students are facing challenges and developing strategies to overcome the challenge, that significant learning occurs.

Later this term we will provide you with more detailed information regarding Maths Pathway and our approach to learning Mathematics in the Middle Years. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact your daughter’s teacher or myself for a chat.

Kim Thomas
Middle Years Coordinator

Although the Enlight Threatened Flora student group could not visit and work alongside the scientists based at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens last year due to the pandemic, it did not prevent us collaborating with them on saving a threatened local native orchid. We decided to focus our work on one particular species, the veined spider orchid.

All laboratory work was conducted at Kildare, using our specialised equipment to propagate the orchids. We were able to collaborate with the scientists via zoom meetings, emails and numerous phone calls. The College is fortunate to have equipment such as a laminar flow cabinet, a tissue culture room and a germination chamber to carry out the intensive and specialised work required in germinating and propagating most terrestrial orchids.

We were highly successful in extracting, isolating and culturing the specific mycorrhizal fungus that the seed of the plant requires to germinate. We were then successful in growing the plants first on agar plates and then in flasks - all under sterile conditions. In the photographs you can see a member of the Enlight Threatened Flora Group, Abigael, holding and viewing flasks containing seedlings of the threatened orchid, the veined spider orchid, in the College's plant tissue growth room.

Paul Beltrame
Learning Leader

Last Friday, 215 students and their guests gathered at Donato Function Centre for the highly-anticipated Senior Years ‘Garden Party’ Formal.

The evening provided an opportunity for students to momentarily divert attention away from upcoming assessments and stresses associated with Years 11 and 12. It also allowed students a moment to reconnect with each other, further developing friendships and connections within the Senior Years, highlighting how grateful we are to be part of such an amazing community at Kildare College and how the memories we make now will last forever!

The work of the Formal Committee, who began planning and working collaboratively in 2020 with staff, to plan the event down to the finest details did not go unnoticed on the night. Thank you to the students involved in the Formal Committee who worked together to make the Formal a success.  

Emma Ward
Senior Years Coordinator

The first Year 8 Art lesson for Core Group 8F provided a unique oppportunity for creativity, as students were tasked with turning music into art. Students created an abstract artwork that utilised the techniques of line and shape to reflect the melodies of the ambient music.

Many students found the drawing exercise fun and liberating and commented that they felt like a child again. The drawing exercise was intended as a warm up exercise for students to then select their favourite abstract artwork, and refine it by adding various Zentangle Patterns in the blank spaces of their work. 

Amy Fairweather
Art Teacher

Congratulations to Year 10 students Natalia Cooper and Tamsyn Nation who have been selected in the 2021 South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy (SAASTA) and the Aboriginal Netball Academy. Both students will attend the Academy every Thursday for the duration of the school year to develop their skills with the help of specialised coaches.

At the Academy they will participate in match play against other clubs and the students will have the opportunity to complete a Beginner’s Umpire Workshop and gain their Foundation Coaching Accreditation.

SAASTA places a strong emphasis on achieving educational success within each specialist program. Through the Academy they will be completing a Certificate II in Indigenous Leadership which will go towards their Stage 1 SACE.

Gabbi Rigney
Indigenous Support

The Gifted and Talented Children’s Association of South Australia will be hosting Saturday club activities from February to March. These activities aim to empower your daughter with skills around emotions and thinking. There is an Intermediate group (8-12 years) and a Senior group (12-17 years)

“We can't all be good at everything. This is partly the logic behind having a team in the first place, so each role can be filled with the person best suited for that role and together, every job and every strength is covered.” Simon Sinek 

This block of sessions looks to expand your child’s logical thinking and team skills through a series of interactive problem solving games. This is meant to be fun and sociable for the participants. The intermediate and seniors will both be playing these adventures but in separate groups thus gaining learning outcomes better attuned to their needs. The organisation is promoting dressing for the theme. This program will be delivered by the SA Philosophy in Education Association’s experienced GTCASA presenters and Circle of Inquiry facilitators. 

The logic presenters are both experienced teachers with primary and secondary experience and active in the gifted and talented community. 

• Session 1 (13 February 2021): A Puzzling Scavenger Hunt
• Session 2 (27 February 2021): Avalon: The Secret Identity Game (Camelot)
• Session 3 (13 March 2021): Harry Potter Escape Room (Harry Potter)
• Session 4 (27 March 2021): Way out West Murder Mystery (Wild West) 

Further information can be located at the following website:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/gtcasa-saturday-club-term-1-2021-tickets-139401879775?aff=ebdssbeac&keep_tld=1 

Patrick Johnson
Kildare College Gifted and Talented and Differentiation Key Teacher.