Kildare Ministries
From its very beginning, St Joseph’s College has always been a co-educational, Brigidine school, committed to teaching the Catholic tradition, but always open to people of other faiths. It has offered a sound and broad education, consistently seeking out the needs of the students of the time. It has promoted academic excellence while at the same time catering for the cultural needs of students.
In September 2013 Kildare Ministries was established by the Holy See as a Public Juridic Person (PJP) at the request of the Congregation of the Sisters of St Brigid (Brigidine Sisters) to succeed and to carry on the ministries previously conducted by the Brigidine Sisters in Australia. Its civil incorporation is under the Roman Catholic Church Communities Lands Act 1942 (NSW) under the name Trustees of Kildare Ministries (TKM). In March 2014 the Victorian Institute of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Presentation Sisters) was accepted as the second member of TKM. As a PJP, the Trustees of Kildare Ministries is the Catholic Church authority for the ten schools and three community works previously conducted by the Brigidine and Presentation Sisters.
In April 2014, Kildare Education Ministries (KEM), a public company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), was incorporated to govern the Brigidine Colleges in Victoria and South Australia. The Board Directors of KEM are appointed by TKM to govern the Colleges in the areas of education, finance, property and employment responsibilities and to plan for the ongoing development of the Colleges. As such, KEM is the civil authority for each of the seven schools. TKM, has reserve powers in areas such as the ratification of the appointment of a Principal and approval of capital loans.
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Each College conducted by KEM is responsible for the Catholic ethos and mission of the school and for the administration of the temporal goods assigned to it for its work.
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The Stewardship Council of each school has delegated authority from KEM in matters such as policy, strategic planning, annual budget recommendations and community liaison.
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The principal of each school has delegated responsibility from KEM to employ and supervise staff and to lead the College in the areas of faith and mission, stewardship of resource, wellbeing of the community and compliance and risk management.
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As our journey unfolds as a Kildare Ministries school and as our Brigidine tradition becomes one with the traditions of the Presentation Sisters we endeavour to learn more about the role of their founder Nano Nagle, and to engender her values as a woman of great courage and a woman of the Cross.
Stewardship Council
Two of the servants responded wisely, invested the money and made a good profit. The third behaved foolishly, being so anxious about security that he merely kept the original amount safe. On the master’s return he commended the first two and rebuked and punished the third one. The pieces of silver in the story can be interpreted as symbols of the things held dear in an educational community: commitment, care, talents, ministry, and achievements resulting from insight or skill. These gifts are ours in trust, to nurture and develop.
The major focus of the Stewardship Council is maintaining and developing the school as a good place for the education of young people within the traditions of the Catholic Church, the Brigidine story and Kildare Ministries. Schools are places of learning and personal growth. Stewardship Councils have an important role in contributing wisdom that informs the structures and processes of the school to assist in the ongoing development of a strong Catholic learning community. The Council assists in this by helping also to plan for the future by studying trends in education, local demography and emerging needs.
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Stewardship Councils are also called upon to stretch the imagination of the school community and to provide discernment that ensures the school is operating within the agreed framework of its vision, mission and values. In supporting Principals, Leadership Teams and staff to provide visionary leadership for every aspect of the College, Stewardship councils respect the right of Principals and staff to manage the operations of the school.
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Current membership of the Council is as follows:-
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Libby Barnes – Chair
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Anne Marie Cairns – Principal
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Kirk Teasdale, Kaine Aston, Daniel Basham,
Rebecca Caldwell – Community members -
Sr Margaret Fyfe csb – representing the Kildare Education Ministries Board
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Trish Miller – Nominee of the Director of the Catholic Education Office – Diocese of Sandhurst
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Maree McNamara – minute secretary
