The Principal mrs anna dickinson This edition of Spirit begins on a very sad note. You may be aware of the recent passing of two much loved members of our Loreto Kirribilli community. Our former Head of Junior School, Ms Alison Brent, entered eternal life on Holy Thursday after fighting a long and brave battle with cancer and is now at peace in God’s loving hands. Alison’s extraordinary love, spirit, deep faith and positive energy impacted the lives of so many, including students, staff, families and broader community members, and we pray for all at this very sad time. We especially pray for Alison’s family. Alison’s amazing strength of character, courage and resilience have been an inspiration to us all. We also grieve the loss of Sr Genevieve Davey ibvm, one of our much-loved Loreto Sisters. Sr Genevieve held a very special place in her heart for Loreto Kirribilli, always keeping teachers and students in her prayers. She was dearly loved by her extended family, the Loreto Sisters, ex-students and staff members. We pray for Alison, Sr Genevieve, and all Loreto women, present and past, who inspire us daily. While difficult in such sad circumstances, I do wish to make comment on our first term for 2022. It began in a rather unusual way with the release of our 2021 HSC results in the Christmas vacation, the release delayed because of the late start to
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the examination period last year. Each year I reflect on why Loreto Kirribilli continues to be so successful in the HSC, and I again concluded that it is our wonderful learning culture, where our students are engaged, supported and challenged, and our exceptional teachers who demonstrate their expertise and passion for teaching and learning each and every day. These contributed to a success which meant that our school was once again the highest-performing Catholic school in NSW, based on the rankings published in The Sydney Morning Herald which placed us 21st in the state overall. Our warmest congratulations are extended to all students, and to their families who supported them. This learning culture is evident in so many ways and extends to the very practical, which saw us return seamlessly to a new school year with important COVID-19 restrictions still in place. We now live in what is often termed ‘the new normal’. A wonderful and caring team of staff have worked tirelessly to ensure that optimal and safe learning conditions exist for both students and staff. With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, we are experiencing the return of opportunities afforded to us prior to the pandemic in 2020. Many of these are detailed in this edition of Spirit. Events and school activities assumed a special significance as we were able to return to face-to-face connection, examples including our
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P&F Cocktail Party, attended by over 700 people, our Father Daughter Mass, with the Centenary Hall filled to capacity, and a range of spirited events such as Senior School Dance Night and the Junior and Senior School Swimming Carnivals. One event which has been most significant has been the naming of our new Innovation Centre. In preparation for the Blessing and Opening, we asked the Class of 2020 a number of years ago to suggest an official name for our new building, taking into account its purpose within the context of our own school. The girls understood that the purpose of this new building is to inspire innovative practices in learning and teaching. When they were brainstorming ideas, the Class of 2020 kept reinforcing that we describe our school as a “school of spirit”. We are a school that is inspired to achieve above and beyond in everything we do - in our faith life, in our extra-curricular life and in our academic pursuits. Therefore, with all of these factors being taken into consideration, we have finally arrived at a name for the building. We are planning to use the Latin word for spirit as our name - ‘SPIRITUS’. Spiritus means ‘the breath of life’ and it is also used to denote the Holy Spirit, Spiritus Sanctus, who inspires us to go out into the world and make a positive difference, the purpose of a Loreto education. We look forward to the wonderful learning which will take
