House System
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Our House System
The Kearnan College House system serves numerous functions, including being part of our pastoral care approach, assisting students to develop a sense of identity and encouraging team work.
The College has four Houses, each named after a person significant to the history of the school. Each house is assigned a colour and a mascot and strives to represent values closely associated with the qualities of its namesake. Our secondary school homerooms are grouped according to House membership which aids in providing a sense of belonging among students. Primary and secondary students compete in various events throughout the year to earn points for their houses and they are encouraged to clap, cheer and chant for their fellow House members and to show pride in their House membership.
KELLY
DETERMINATION AND EXCELLENCE
Father Stephen Kelly was born in Ireland and moved to Pemberton in 1952 where he established a school for the Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
He spent the majority of his servitude residing and supporting communities in the South West. In 1970, Fr Kelly was appointed Parish Priest of Manjimup.
Fr Kelly represents the virtue of determination through his tenacious dedication towards building the foundations of Kearnan College and supporting the construction of nearby Parish facilities.
Fr Kelly fostered a sterling community spirit that prided itself on excellence. He was able to provide a first-class holistic education that allowed students to attend Kearnan College from Kindergarten to Year 12. Fr Kelly was a visionary who continually strived to ensure that the education and facilities Kearnan College and the Manjimup Parish provided were of the highest calibre.
MACKILLOP
HUMILITY AND RESPECT
Saint Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1842. She was the eldest child of a large family of poor Scottish migrants.
She worked in various roles and finally as a teacher in Victoria. She was invited by Father Julian Woods to establish a school to educate the poor in his parish in South Australia. St Mary and Fr Woods were led by God to respond to the ‘misery and wretchedness’ of the ‘bush children’ and the ‘afflicted poor’.
St Mary MacKillop respected the right of all children to access education. She was a key figure for Catholic Education in regional Australia. We remember her devotion to the vulnerable, the poor, the voiceless as well as for her ground-breaking work as an educator and a founder of Catholic education institutions.
According to St Mary MacKillop, true humility is inspired by charity and thoughtfulness towards others. It is the antidote to both self-importance and self-esteem and requires us to not be concerned solely with ourselves.
MCCORMACK
HONOUR AND FORTITUDE
Sister Irene McCormack grew up on a Wheatbelt farm in Western Australia and belonged to the order begun by Saint Mary MacKillop, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.
She was a much-loved teacher and Principal at Kearnan College and was called by the Holy Spirit in 1987 to serve the poor in Peru. The “Shining Path” guerrillas took Sr Irene’s life in May 1991, along with four significant villagers. She had been feeding the village poor and educating the children in the tiny town of Huahuasi in Peru.
Her virtues reflect honour and fortitude. Honour refers to a true quality of knowing and doing what is morally right and is reflected in Sr Irene’s life and her sacrifices for others. She showed courage in the face of adversity throughout her work in Peru and her final moments.
ROONEY
LOYALTY AND FAITH
Father Patrick Rooney was born in 1935 beneath the Karri canopy of Northcliffe and never lost his love for nature.
Loyal to his fellow man, Fr Rooney decided as a young boarder at Kearnan College that there had to be a better way of living in the world. Dedicated to promoting peace after World War Two, Fr Rooney’s faith journey aided in Catholic churches being built in Esperance and Australia. A steward of the Church, Fr Pat demonstrated his loyalty and faith in providing a strong spiritual education to all children in his community, both Catholic and non-Catholic.
Fr Pat sees us all as custodians of the environment and personally contributed to God’s garden by re-establishing native flora to Church land wherever he journeyed.
