Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

I'm not sure why I'd do this to myself on a Friday but I started to read the ERO report on NCEA Level 1. Unfortunately, there are a wide range of recommendations which indicate that it is not likely to be fully fit for purpose for some time yet. This does not worry us as we have largely switched to Cambridge IGCSE and those areas still working with NCEA Level One have a clear strategy to connect those areas with our vocational training which is working well for those wanting to move into apprenticeships. However, the report does highlight that many parents still feel uncertain about how to navigate NCEA and in our context with Cambridge qualifications as well, it is really important that families and employers understand what we are trying to achieve.

In essence, if you are going to go into a trade, you may take some IGCSE courses at Level One and mix them up with some NCEA courses which are Achievement Standards based and you also might sprinkle in a few Unit Standard courses. These are usually really specific to the job you are wanting to do for example, 'First Aid Certificates', 'Equestrian Standards' or 'Chemical Handling' to name a few.

This 'mix and match' approach means you will not have a whole qualification, but you will have a record of learning in a range of different assessments. When you are in Year 11, doing Level One standards or IGCSE standards, the idea is that you are having a trial run at sitting a high stakes assessment. In the real world, no one would see any kind of Level 1 qualification as an ultimate goal of education. For that you need either AS or A levels in the Cambridge system or NCEA Levels 2 and 3.

Our plan is for the vast majority of students at SKC to be aiming to achieve three AS or A levels by the time they leave school with high enough marks that they satisfy the literacy criteria for the universities OR that they leave school with at least the Level 2 NCEA qualification.

Because we can't always predict how life will turn out, over the next couple of years at least, we are going to aim to sit the AS levels in 2026 for most students in most subjects whilst at the same time students will complete NCEA assessments where it's convenient. This will give our students the best of both worlds.

An example of this might be that I am studying a novel for my AS examination which I am planning on sitting in June 2026. Whilst I am doing that, I write a practice essay under the supervision of my English teacher. That essay can then be marked by my English teacher so that I can have some feedback, but that essay can also make up part of my portfolio for the writing standard in NCEA Level 2.

By employing clever tricks like this we can ensure that whilst doing the work for Cambridge, we can pick up the credits for NCEA which will be especially important for those students who may or may not be planning on staying until the end of Year 13 or going to University. The same applies for the end of year examination round for the externals.

This approach provides a safety net for those who need it but also does require that families monitor their students progress carefully as we are not employing the tactic of throwing millions of standards at a student and hoping some of them stick, this is a much finer process with little margin for error.

As a final comment, I would like to draw your attention to the picture I have included. This year we have spent $16,000 on upgrading our technology area so that those students who are interested in trade training in hospitality have what they need to learn at a commercially viable level. As an ex hotel manager and man with an incredibly rich background in the industry, we are lucky to have Mr Griggs steering this ship. We are hoping eventually to install a cafe on site so harassed parents can grab a caffeine shot on the way to work in the morning.

Have a great Valentine's day!

Jo

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

It has been with great excitement and some trepidation, at least on behalf, no doubt, of our new Year 9 students, that the year has begun here at SKC.

I thought I would take a few moments to share the wisdom that over thirty years in the secondary system and being a parent has taught me about these initial weeks at school.

For our junior students, the first year is about finding their feet in the school community. This year is divided into sixes: the first six weeks and the first six months. 

In the first six weeks your young person is dealing primarily with the social settings they are finding themselves in.  Whose class are they in?  Do they like their teachers?  Where will they sit?  How will they respond to the undoubtedly harder demands of learning in a high school environment?

Over this period of time, the common challenges that arise are anxiety about classes, especially if they have been moved away from friends, anxiety about the change in approach to work, changing classrooms, and the level of organisation required. Often, very often, in fact, your young person will find that the friendship groups which they clung tightly to in primary school will shift.

Please be aware that if your child has been placed into a class away from traditional friendships, this has been done with a great deal of thought and consultation with their feeder school.  Our aim is for all of our students to do as well as they can academically and socially.  Sometimes initially painful decisions have to be made for the long term good.

Moving into a larger pool of potential friends means that for many students, their close friendship bonds are challenged.  This is especially visible in female friendships.  Where boys just tend to collect other boys and the crowd becomes larger, girls, in turn, seem to transfer their affections to others either wholly or selectively at different times. For example, they may have one friendship set they sit with in class, but that may not be the friendship set they wish to have lunch with. 

This can be very painful and needs to be approached with care.  Your child may appear moody and or tearful as a result, but be assured it is all very normal.  Deans, our counsellor Esther and teachers are all here to listen to both the student and you, as whanau, so please reach out if you need support.

Social media can contribute greatly to the misery students may feel at this time.  We strongly suggest that students do not engage with social media until at least year 11.  Our aim is to empower your student to be their authentic selves and contribute meaningfully to this community in the way that works for them.

The second six is the first six months.  During this period students will establish the pattern which will set the scene for their academic approach to what the College has to offer.  It is very important that, as a family, you are able to support your students with systems that will put them at the best possible advantage to achieve their potential. 

Suggestions I would make to support families with this are as follows:

1. Establish routines around sleep.  Bedtimes need to be firm, and sleep needs to be supported as the physical and mental changes your child is moving through are immense in the next few years (as great a change as when they moved from baby to toddler). Ensure phones, games and computers are switched off once the student has gone to bed.   This not only promotes sleep but also helps with exposure to negative online experiences and mental health.

2. Create time and space for homework.  This needs to be somewhere where other children and distractions are kept away.  In large families, this can be more difficult, but younger children need to know that their College student sibling needs time out from them at a certain time each day.  At SKC, we have provided set study times for senior students, but juniors must complete homework on their own time. Students are encouraged to use the library at lunchtime if it is too difficult to find a quiet space at home.

3. Get your student to school on time and ready to learn, with lunch and equipment, before the first bell. If families are having issues with any of these, please contact the APs, James Devereaux or Carl Herbst. We are here to help.

4. Have your student read for a minimum of 15 minutes a day.  This not only supports their literacy but also their mathematics and every other academic discipline.  There is a temptation these days to try to look for all kinds of methods to shortcut the reading process but unfortunately, the fact remains that the discipline and practice of regular reading is still a great predictor of achievement.  Families can do much to model and support this, and it is never too early to start with younger siblings.  15 Minutes of reading in bed in a quiet space promotes literacy, good sleep and good mental health and gives young people (and parents) a chance to disengage from the worries of the day.

It is at times like this, when I am writing to families at the beginning of their child's educational journey with us, that I wish I was better at platitudes, but the reality is that being a young teenager is hard, and the world our young people are living in is often uncertain and scary.  Coming to secondary school is a huge step, and often, how well a student is able to handle that sets the course of their life.  There will be (and are) challenges, but we cannot grow resilience without conflict, and, at the end of it all, no diamond emerges without harsh polishing.  SKC will be here to help your young person.  We ask that you trust us to do the very best we can for your student.  To share some early wisdom from the great philosopher Mick Jagger,  your young people may not' always get what they want, but they will get what they need'.

God Bless, and good luck to our new families.

Welcome!

Jo Walshe

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

I would like to start this post by congratulating all of the students who passed their NCEA and Cambridge examinations.  Overall we were pleased with the results but exceptionally pleased with our Cambridge results as we were attempting Cambridge for the first time across an entire Year 11 cohort.  Our English Department returned a 90% pass rate for the language paper and a 100% pass rate for the literature paper which was exceptionally good.  Overall, we were very pleased with the pass rates and very pleased with the number of students who achieved excellence awards through gaining A's, A*'s and B's.   Our focus for this year is around embedding the AS qualification for years 12 and 13 and in supporting St Josephs to introduce its Cambridge courses.  NCEA L2 will be available to students as part of our duel assessment strategy. 

We are also hoping once again to have several international students in the College.  This is an incredibly valuable experience not only for our international students but also for our kiwi students to have contact with young people from the other side of the world.  Our role as educators is not just to enable our young people to appreciate and care about New Zealand but to also see themselves as capable of competing, contributing and connecting on the world stage.  As always, we need kind, caring homestay families who would like to offer an international student the chance to become a member of their family.  If you are interested in hosting an international student, please contact June Campbell at jcampbell@stkevins.school.nz

Enjoy the last few days of the holidays.

See you all next week.

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Yesterday I officially added the first new meetings for the year into my calendar and turned the 6:30am alarm back up on my phone, going through the rituals, as we do, for the beginning of a new year. I have included one of Lorena's amazing shots of the College today as it is a symbol of new beginnings taken, as it is, at dawn. For those of us living in North Otago over this Christmas period, it might also serve as a reminder that the sun actually does shine sometimes!

Our students may be getting a little anxious this week as we wait for examination results. The results for NCEA are available on Wednesday 15th via the NCEA portal. Cambridge results will be available on Friday morning as, although Cambridge releases on the 16th, Cambridge results are released based on Greenwich Mean Time (see quote below) so will not be available until the 17th NZ Time. Students have been given instructions for accessing the portals.

We will release results for Cambridge IGCSE and Cambridge O Level on 16 January 2025 at 06.00 UTC/GMT. Schools can issue these results to candidates immediately.

We wish everyone the best of luck! I would also like to remind students and families that IGCSE is a new initiative for us and as such there is plenty of flexibility around how students may wish to approach the 2025 year.  The key to creating a suitable course for your student in 2025 is to ensure that you contact the Deans early to discuss any changes you may feel you need to make from that which you planned during course counselling in 2024. 

Our new strategic plan has been released for the 2025 - 2027 year. It will be attached to our website shortly along with the annual plan. Our foci for the next three years are to continue to improve our pastoral systems responses, to focus on citizenship, to develop targeted transition courses for our senior students and to further develop our Cambridge offerings to AS and A levels.  

Thank you to those of you who fed into the planning.  From feedback from families and local community and business leaders, the focus on ensuring that our students see themselves as part of our wider community with the responsibilities that go along with that was a very strong focus and one that fits with our Catholic special character very well. 

Thank you in advance to you, our SKC family for the support you will give us over the course of this year.  We are very lucky to have such a supportive and hard working parent community.

Have a great week.

God Bless

Jo 

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

I have not written a blog for some time, but feel it is a good idea to take five minutes to touch base before our final teaching week of the year next week.

Firstly, I would like to thank families for their support over the year and especially with regards to the recent examination round. For the first time in many years we had an almost 100% attendance rate for our RE examination which was so heartening. We were also very thankful for those families who were able to get students to the holiday tutorials, they certainly helped our young people to feel more confident in approaching the Cambridge examinations.

Results are due out on the 15th Jan 2025, Cambridge results will be due out on the 16th Jan 2025 (these are marked offshore). Scholarship results are usually released mid February.

I would also like to thank families for responding to the various surveys and questionnaires we have put out over the course of the year. All of the data received has gone towards building a picture to inform our strategic planning. Our next strategic plan will take us through to 2027, which is the end of our centenary year.

Speaking of which, the lovely Kara has put together a fantastic plan for celebrating our 100 years. It is very important that we are aware that this is not only a celebration of St Kevin's but also of Teschemakers and St Thomas' schools which were absorbed into SKC in the 1980's. We are very keen to hear from anyone who is interested in helping us with the planning for the centennial events, especially any women who hold the girl's story so that we can be guided on how to best include that history.

Next week will be 'activities week' for our year nine students which is a mixture of class time and fun activities. The year ten cohort will be on camp. I would like to thank all of the staff involved in organizing both sets of activities. We have a set of staff who do go the extra mile to ensure that the school year finishes on a high. Thank you to all of the staff in advance for your hard work.

Junior prizegiving will be held at 11am on the 13th December. Please ensure that students attend in their 'number one' uniform. Boys may wear shorts, but we would like the prize winners in their ties and white shirts please. Students are free to go home after prizegiving.

Thank you to Ira Mitchell, our artist in residence for this beautiful shot of the Castle.

Have a happy weekend.

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Commnent

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Just a quick blog post to welcome our new Top 6 for 2025 and offer a few reminders. As is tradition, the 'old hands' took the newbies out to dinner today to share some of the secrets and tricks of the trade for surviving their year as school leaders. Working alongside teachers as prefects is a whole new world for school student leaders. They become part of the staff when they are in prefect positions and we have high expectations that they will perform responsibly in that role.

Just a quick reminder that the ceremony that inducts our new Top 6 takes place at our Senior Prizegiving this week at 6:30 on Thursday night. There is an expectation that families will attend both Mass and prize giving as our Catholic identity is our first and foremost reason for existing as a College. When Year 9's enter the College they do so by being welcomed to the chapel. It is fitting then that we farewell our students from it.

I look forward to seeing you at the prizegiving and wish all our graduates the very best of luck in their future endeavors.

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Next week will be the final week at school for our senior students. This is a bittersweet time for many as they want to leave us, but they do not always feel they are quite yet ready. An important message we want to send to all of our graduates is that on the first day they attended the College they were welcomed as new Kevinians, and they will always be part of our history.

Over the past few days Kara Cox , Paul Olsen and myself have been in Auckland and Wellington visiting with Alumni from the College. The purpose of these visits is to keep them connected with our College community. These events remind us of the wide range of opportunities there are in the world for motivated, community oriented people who have made the most of their opportunities whilst at the College.

My plea to our graduating students every year is the same. Please finish in a way that adds to your mana and makes you feel good about ending your time with us. Please keep in contact and, where you can, engage with the College. Please remember that you have written your name in the history of our school and it is now part of your history.

I wish all our graduates the best for the coming final week and remind all families that our prizegiving is the week after on the 31st October starting with Mass at 6:30pm.

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Spring has sprung here at the College and the blossoms are out. This always feels like a major turning point in the year as we climb out of winter coughs and colds and into the warmer weather. After the stress of examinations last week hopefully students are able to appreciate time to enjoy the sun.

There are a few things that I need to draw families' attention to as we head towards the real examination period. Firstly, Level 1 Cambridge Mathematics is on at 9am on the first Monday back. Because this examination is sat on the same day all over the world, there is no chance to delay this or reschedule. If your student is taking this examination please consider this in your holiday planning.

Secondly, we will be sending a 'fridge schedule' of examinations in the next couple of weeks. Please keep an eye on this as students who are late to examinations start at a real disadvantage. Also please discuss any clashes with your son or daughter to ensure that the school knows about them in advance as we have to make careful arrangements to maintain authenticity.

Last but by no means least. Our Singing festival will be held next week. This is a real opportunity for our students to support one another and their Houses. There is an expectation that students will attend and do their best not only in House competition but also in support of solo singers. Year 12 students looking for leadership positions in 2025 should take this opportunity to step up to set and example for their Houses.

Have a great weekend

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Next Friday, our senior students will be beginning their exam leave. This will last from the 23rd to the 30th August and will be followed on the following Monday by Teacher's Only day.

This timing seems very odd, so I am taking this opportunity to explain it to you. Firstly, our teachers only day is a mandated TOD. We usually choose to take this on the Monday of Tournament Week as that is usually a disrupted week anyway.

With regards to the timing of examinations, by adding the IGCSE in Year 11 we are now bound to the same timelines as the rest of the countries in the world who undertake Cambridge examinations. The Year 11 Mathematics examination will be held on the first day of Term 4, as it is on the same date all over the world. As we are also offering NCEA examinations in selected subjects, we are combining both sets of exams in our upcoming derived grade examinations. In order to have enough time and space to create derived grade examinations for both systems, we have had to take the Friday of next week as well as the following normal Term 3 examination week. By pushing these forward, we are ensuring that we are allowing a greater period for revision and study leading up to exams than usual. We believe that this added to the purposeful use of the study periods we have provided all year for students will enable them to meet their potential in either system and across all year levels.

This week we received the results from the Cambridge English Literature course which we embarked on last year as a trial run. The results were excellent. Of the small group who sat (18 students) 16 of them achieved a B or above (a D is a pass in Cambridge) with 3 of them achieving A Star results which ranks them as the best in the world at their level.

Earlier in the week the SLT put together a pack for Year 11 students with the examination time table, a letter from myself and a wall planner study guide to help support students to create a study plan.

If your Year 12 or 13 student would like a copy of this planner, please ask them to pick one up from the office.

I would like to thank Lorena Marshall for this beautiful shot. You will see more of her amazing work in our school magazine. There are still a number of these that have not been collected from last year, so if you have paid for one as a family, please ensure it is picked up from the office.

Have a lovely weekend

God Bless

Jo

 

Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Welcome to Term three! Term three is a time of consolidation and consultation as students and their families look forward to completing the year's assessment tasks and planning for the year ahead.

Mr Herbst has been doing a lot of work to ensure that the nuts and bolts of Cambridge are in place and our PN staff Mrs De Souza and Mrs O' Neill are doing the same for our NCEA entries.

It has been great to see the parents and caregivers who were able to attend our student led conferences tonight. It is always worthwhile for our young people to be able to talk about how they feel they are getting on with their studies and their school environment with our staff and supported by whānau.

I would like to invite any families who were not able to make it, who have concerns about their students to feel free to reach out to their child's teachers at any time. Whilst we set this time aside as a matter of course, we are happy to hear from families whenever the need arises.

The third term goes by very quickly and with the addition of the Cambridge examination period this year, we are facing a shorter than normal term four for senior students before they are into examination mode. If you have any concerns around Cambridge or NCEA, or if you feel your student is not where they need to be, please check with us sooner rather than later.

Those enrolled in Level 1 NCEA courses need to be aware that because of the changes made to NCEA, external examinations are making up a large component of the course and must be attended. Over the next few weeks we will be looking at how we award excellence in the Year 11 cohort given the mixture of NCEA and Cambridge that most students are doing and the emphasis on external examinations and assessments in NCEA. At this stage we are thinking there will be a minimal number of A or B grades needed, Excellence endorsements in NCEA and in addition, how students achieved in RE will also likely be a factor as that is the one subject all students take. We will clarify this in the coming days but at this stage that is the most likely scenario.

Have a great weekend everyone.

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Firstly, I wish to congratulate the Religious Education department on the beautiful Matariki liturgy we had today to celebrate this special time of year. It was a very moving acknowledgement of God's creation of the world and our place as travelers to this country in it. Congratulations to Mr Devereaux on organising a great trip for Year 11 Geography last week.

There are several things that families need to be aware of as we navigate the next few school days.  

School reports will be published in the next few school days.  Please ensure that you check these, and if you have questions or concerns, feel free to contact your class teachers.  You will have basic levels reporting on Reading, Writing and Mathematics.  This should give families a quick reference with regards to how well your student is performing compared to their cohort expectations.  These numbers in writing have been taken from across the curriculum areas so are a fair result of their writing overall not just in English classes. 

With the wet weather we are seeing at the moment, it is very important that students stay off the grass.  This is for two reasons, firstly they drag wet grass into our carpets which then need to be cleaned and secondly when their leather shoes constantly get wet and dry out after contact with the acid in the grass, they start to crack which is an expense for families. On the day of the Waitaki matches, if students are watching the rugby or football games on wet turf, I am happy for them to wear gumboots or waterproof boots. 

The wet weather is also bringing out all of the variety of colors of jackets.  Can I please remind families that we have two styles of wet weather jackets available for purchase at the Uniform shop and that the other option is a plain black or navy jacket.  Camouflage jackets, swandries and bright colours are not part of the uniform.  

Lastly (this is a big information dump and I do appreciate that), can we please have a real push by families to remind our young people and ourselves of the importance of good sportsmanship both on the field and on the sidelines.  It is always very disappointing when we have to deal with discipline issues with regards to this and it is my hope that TEAM SKC will conduct itself well in the upcoming events.  I know I sound like I'm betraying my NZ citizenship when I say this, but it is just a game….  Refs will get it wrong, people will make mistakes.  Let's make sure our kids aim for a bigger picture than just what happens on a field for an hour in aiming to be decent citizens and team players. 

Have a wonderful long weekend, rain too is a blessing…

God Bless

Jo 

Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

As we come to nearing the end of the term we are very conscious that there is a lot going on at the College for families and staff alike.  We are at the time of the year where we are faced with the shortest day, the weather is getting cold and the inevitable cold and flu season is upon us which means that we end up demanding the most of people when they are least equipped often to give it.  

Which means, when people do go out of their way to make sure events run smoothly it's very important that they are thanked so here we go!  Firstly, a huge thank you to Mrs Jennifer Gower who has balanced being away from school following an accident with coaching our ‘Big Sing’ choir.  This is the first time in many years we have entered the competition and we won a prize for ’ best newcomers’.  Thank you also to pianist Peter McMullen for all of his support. 

Thank you to the amazing team who ran a very successful Ball on Saturday night.  Mrs Mellor and her team, spearheaded by Summer Moriarty and Kristiana Whiston did a fantastic job in the planning and decorating.  Thank you as always to Sam Growcott and the Te Ngakau Nui team who put up and broke down the Ball.  Thank you to the Hostel for accommodating the event and thank you to the SLT team and teachers who supported the event on the night without whom we could not run a successful ball.  Thanks to Mr Dupu for sorting out the auditorium lighting and for those who also helped out at the Ball Parade. Last but not least, thank you to the families who have supported nervous young people through the ball season.  It can be a challenge financially and emotionally which it is important to recognise. 

Thank you to those families who had input on our sexuality education survey.  This is run every second year and we appreciate the time and effort that goes into this feedback which helps to shape how we deliver this very important topic in our college. 

Finally, I do need to signal that with an increasing number of staff members testing positive for Covid 19 as well as the flu that has hit, there is a possibility that during exam week, next week, we may need to roster a cohort home.  As you will be aware, we are very tight for relief teachers in North Otago and with a number of those available also being reader  - writers for exams, we are very tight indeed on staffing.  We will do our best to avoid this.

Have a wonderful week.

God Bless

Jo