THE PRINCIPAL

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 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 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

mrs anna dickinson

place in Spiritus over the many years to come.

Our strategic plan Inspired Minds - Catalysts for Change 2020-2023 has continued to guide the implementation of a number of strategic initiatives which you will find within this edition of Spirit. Some of these initiatives include our Companions in Learning program with St Aloysius’; our Tax-Deductible Bursary Fund; and our commitment to environmental stewardship, with our students assuming a role for the first time as members of our School Board Environmental Sustainability Subcommittee. These initiatives and many more keep us focused on preparing our students for leadership in a rapidly changing future.

This term we will celebrate two wonderful Mary Ward women who held leadership positions at Loreto Kirribilli in our Senior and Junior Schools in the 1980s. Sr Margaret Honner ibvm and Sr Helen Maguire ibvm joined the Loreto Sisters 60 years ago and inspired the lives of many students and staff both as leaders of our school community and through the vital work they have engaged in since that time, continuing to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

Readers of Spirit will know that each year we focus on a particular Loreto value. This year it is Freedom of Mind and Spirit. I quote from the Loreto Schools of Australia Mission Statement: “The qualities of freedom, justice and sincerity are at the core of Mary Ward’s spirit. Her most profound understanding of freedom was grounded in her sense of personal relationship with God, her belief that each one of us, in our ordinary experiences of life, has access to God’s loving care. This is the truth that sets us free. It is an inner freedom, accepting of self, open to others and trusting in life.”

Our desire each year is to bring this value to life through prayer, word, symbol and action. I sincerely believe that the many events described in this edition of Spirit demonstrate our success in doing so.

Our prayer seems most appropriate as we mourn the passing of Alison and Sr Genevieve and celebrate their contribution to Loreto Kirribilli. Both gave witness to our Freedom prayer throughout their lives.

God bless each member of our community.

pRAyER

God of Freedom, give us the courage and confidence to live referring all to You. May we learn to know ourselves, and be the face of hope for others. May we grow in inner freedom, and share this gift together. May we say yes to the wholeness of life, and choose the good each day. Grounded in our Loreto story and by the faith of Mary Ward, may we act not out of fear but solely from love, responding with justice to her call, to bring the right of freedom to our world. We make this prayer in the name of Jesus who leads us with love and shows us how to be truly free. Amen