All members of the Kildare Community May 1, St Joseph the Worker The first day of May is traditionally devoted to workers in Australia and internationally. It is the day the Church observes the feast of St Joseph the Worker as a way of honouring the intrinsic dignity of those who work and the importance of work in the lives of individuals, families and the entire community. While most Australians enjoy a decent standard of living, many are still disempowered, vulnerable to exploitation and struggling to support dependants on the country’s lowest wages. These are often the working poor: people who struggle to make ends meet even though they are employed. Each year, the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council publishes a Pastoral Letter for the Feast of St Joseph the Worker. In his pastoral letter last year Bishop Saunders, Bishop of Broome wrote: The political will is needed to address the loss of employment, skills, wealth and the most valuable asset, young people, from already vulnerable communities. Councils should not be in the position of having to outsource work to overseas call centres in order to balance the budget and remain solvent. There should not be the need to import building contractors on salaries of $450,000 per annum because of skills shortages. Young people should not be forced to leave their communities because there are no jobs. People in the cities and regional centres of Australia see it as their right to have reliable supplies of water, power and community services. How can we possibly say that those in more remote communities do not have the same rights? Looking at the actual need of remote communities, it becomes clear that there is a multitude of employment opportunities and there are people currently on welfare support who could be employed to fill them. What is lacking is the funding and infrastructure required to establish and maintain the basic services we expect as a right o citizenship. Most Rev. Christopher Saunders, DD, Bishop of Broome, Chairman ACSJC 2013 Enrolments Applications for enrolment in 2013 close soon. If you are aware of family and/or friends who hope to attend Kildare next year could you remind them about this closing date. Information about the College and application for enrolment forms are available at the College office. Tax deductible donations I would like to remind you all that donations to the Kildare Catholic College Building Fund are tax deductible. As you know we are about to embark on a large building program which includes a desperately needed new hall for the College. As we get closer to the end of the financial year some of you may wish to consider a donation towards the hall. Any contribution would be very much appreciated. Year 12 Parent/Teacher/Student Interviews These interviews will be held on Tuesday, May 15 between 4pm and 7pm. As usual bookings are to be made online and instructions are in the newsletter. ANZAC Day Each year students from Kildare Catholic College are involved in ANZAC Day ceremonies around our region. I have received very complimentary remarks from members of the public in various towns as well as here in Wagga congratulating our students for their respectful participation. Particularly I would like to congratulate and thank our College Captains Andrew Heffernan and Cariad Wallace. Quite early in the morning we attended the ceremony at the War Cemetery. Andrew and Cariad delivered the address on this occasion to a large crowd. They are to be applauded for the time and effort put into research and preparation for this speech. It was very good indeed and much appreciated by those attending. I was very proud of these Kildare representatives. Catholic Schools Extravaganza On the evenings of May 29 and 30 there will be the Catholic Schools Extravaganza. This is a celebration encompassing most Catholic Schools from the Wagga Deanery. It will include items from both primary and secondary schools. Kildare is part of this night of entertainment which will be held in the Mater Dei Catholic primary School Hall commencing at 7.00 pm. Tickets are available at the office at a cost of $6.00 for an individual ticket or a family ticket for $15.00 (2 adults and 2 children). Kind regards, Patricia Burgess Principal