Our Formation Program inspires, develops and supports our young women throughout their schooling and beyond.
A holistic education at Brigidine College does not happen by chance. The Formation Program at Brigidine provides specific opportunities to enhance the students’ understanding of the world around them and form an identity based on the values of the College that will guide them through life.
Addressing the specific developmental needs of contemporary adolescent young women, the College’s Formation Program is made relevant to each year level. The Formation Program enables students to flourish in a healthy and positive social context that supports their wellbeing.
The Formation Program at Brigidine is inspired by the Kildare Ministries values and Brigidine tradition; it works towards developing a link between academic and pastoral care.
The Formation Program aims to: foster a sense of belonging and connectedness; enhance positive emotions, engagement, relationships and a sense of meaning and accomplishment; recognise that wellbeing is both an outcome and a process; and support the whole child to enhance learning overall.
Across the Formation Program in each year level, there is a focus on four main elements:
- self-awareness
- positive relationships
- growth mindset
- student agency
The Formation Program also includes Solas Bhride (Light of Brigid), an extension experience that may consist of camps, retreats or excursions. The term Solas Bhride is inspired by St Brigid who is regarded as a strong and gentle woman, a powerful leader and a wise spiritual guide. A story is told that an eternal flame was tended by St Brigid and her community of Sisters at her monastery in Kildare in 5th century Ireland. To honour that heritage, the lamp of learning is a symbol used today in the Brigidine tradition. This lamp denotes the illumination that education brings to the hearts and minds of young people. The flame of Brigid, still tended today by the Brigidine Sisters in Kildare, burns as a beacon of hope, justice and peace for our world.
The Formation Program is overseen by the Dean of Student Formation, with each House Leader being responsible for a year level.
In Years 7 to 12 the students experience one Formation Lesson each week.
Perhaps more than anything else, our Formation Program shapes who young women become and what they are capable of in the future.
