Thursday, July 31, 2014

Healthy Habits

Effect of Energy Drinks

The uplifting effects of energy drinks are well advertised, but a new report finds consumption among teenagers may be linked with poor mental health and substance use.  Researchers are calling for limits on teen's access to the drinks and reduction in the amount of the caffeine in each can.

"These drinks appeal to young people because of their temporary benefits like increased alertness, improved mood and enhanced mental and physical energy".

Energy drinks have been associated with a number of negative health effects, including cardiovascular symptoms, sleep impairment and nervousness and nausea.  The side effects are caused by the beverages' high concentration of caffeine.

  • Insomnia
  • High blood pressure
  • Irregular heart beats
  • Ulcers
  • Dehydration
  • Frequent urination
  • They become addictive
  • Weight gain
Prolonged use can lead to:

  • Osteoporosis - brittle bone disease
  • Infertility
  • Heart disease
When energy drinks are mixed with alcohol the caffeine in the energy drink prevents you from feeling the effects of how much alcohol you have consumed.  It also increases the toxicity of the alcohol.  This means you don't know how drunk you are getting!!!

Old Boy Visitor

This week we were pleased to welcome a visit from Mr Evan Forde to the College.  Now in Auckland but originally from Winton, Mr Forde  was a boarder at St Kevin's from 1950-1954 and lead Treacy House in his final year.  He was also a member of the 1st XV and 1st XI and a top athlete, particularly in the field of Cross Country events.  Having been met by current day Treacy House Captains, Lucy Tyrrell and Cole Ryan, Mr Forde joined Mr Olsen, Mr Ryan and the hostel students for lunch before speaking to students at assembly and taking a tour of the College with the days student office runner.  It is always a privilege to have Old Boys and Old Girls visit us whenever they are passing through Oamaru.  

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Welcome Obirin


Today we welcomed our visitors from Obirin High School in Machida City, Tokyo, Japan with a powhiri from our Year 11 students.  During their time in Oamaru the Obirin students will stay with local families from the College Community and we express our gratitude to them for opening their homes to our overseas visitors.  They will once again study English language with Mrs Trudy Foster, join their St Kevin's "buddies" in particular classes and enjoy excursions to educational points of interest.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

1st XV Rugby Raffle Result


The winner of the St Kevin's College 1st XV Rugby Raffle (signed Highlander's Jersey) is 
Mrs Linda Lockley.  
Mrs Lockley has been notified.  Thank you for your support.


Monday, July 28, 2014

Equine Studies

The last equine studies group of the day is tasked with bringing everyone home.

Hillary Sheppard Awards 2014


At Mass on Friday a group of students were presented with the College Hillary and Sheppard Awards.  Hillary Awards are presented for application and diligence, Sheppard Awards for progress.  Congratulations to the students who were recognised on Friday.

HILLARY AWARDS: Rebecca Whittet, Connie Metcalf, Tom Sinclair, Harriet Hanning, Emma Fox, Hannah Kennedy, Trent Bell, Jordan Bryant, Justine Middlemass, Steven Lastimosa, Erin Mitchell and Lisa Speden.

SHEPPARD AWARDS: Rhiannon Johnston, Sara Dodd, Amy Hunter, Holly Malcolm, Imogen Brew, Gypsy-Mae Harihona-Harrison, Emma Middlemass, Keith Alcasabas, Brady Kingan, Michaela Mulligan, Caitlin Pope, Tessa Robertson and Emma Cullimore.


Friday, July 25, 2014

Principal's Comments

Kia Ora Kevinian's and supporters of the College

A warm welcome back to Term Three. At assembly I conveyed my heart felt thanks to our students who represented the College with passion and distinction in the Waitaki Interchange on the last day of Term Two. Thank you to staff, coaches, umpires, referees and supporters for making the day possible and productive.

At staff meeting and assembly we welcomed our new Gap students and Miss Chan, replacement Mandarin teacher from The Confucius Institute in China. At the same time we took the opportunity to farewell Miss Emma who has served the College with dedication and commitment. We wish her every blessing in her future studies.

As we settle back into our academic routine, we are preparing to host a number of international groups. Thank you in advance to those families who have been able to take a visitor from Obirin. The students from Japan arrive next week and they are followed a few weeks later by guests from Gong An No.1 School from China. The Gong An students will be integrated into the College Hostel.

On Monday evening the Home and School Committee met to finalise arrangements for their major fundraiser which is the Redcastle Art Auction. This function will be held next Saturday evening (August 2) at the Redcastle. I would encourage you to attend and bring along an art enthusiast so that we have a successful venture. Tickets are available at the school office.

Finally we keep the family of Kevin Skinner in our prayers. Kevin passed away last weekend aged 86. He attended the College in 1943-44 and was one of our most noted All Black Old Boys.

May God Bless you all
Paul Olsen, Principal

Thursday, July 24, 2014

New Zealand Gap Experience

Four new Gap students arrived at the College this week and they were welcomed onto the assembly stage and into the College family by the students leaders.  They took the opportunity to introduce themselves to students and staff.  Pictured left to right are Moritz (Mo), Josephine, Tim and Lea. 

Farewell Miss Emma, Welcome Miss Chan

This week at assembly students had the chance to meet Miss Chan Yun Bing who will be taking over our Mandarin classes from Miss Emma Qui, who returns to China at the end of this week.   Mandarin is taught to all Year 9 students as a taster subject and is given as an option from Year 10 onward.  Our continuing relationship with the Confucius Institute at the University of Canterbury will see Miss Chan establish a Confucius Room at St Kevin's in the coming year.  Miss Emma was presented with a gift from the College at assembly and we wish her safe travels home.

A Rural Cut Above

The country came to town when Mr Taukamo and a couple of woolly friends joined some Year 10 agriculture students for a shearing demonstration.  We are always very grateful to those in our College Community who share their expertise with our students and this "hands on" kind of approach is an invaluable learning experience.

Koodos


Wednesday, July 23, 2014

UE Requirements

New University Entrance Requirements

Students will need to have gained
  • NCEA Level 3 which must include three approved subjects at Level 3 or above, with a minimum of 14 credits in each approved subject.
  • Literacy - 10 credits at Level 2 or above made up of:
    • 5 credits in reading
    • 5 credits in writing
  • Numeracy - 10 credits at Level 1 or above

To view the approved subjects list click on the following link:
university entrance approved subjects


Tuesday, July 22, 2014

One Of The Country's Finest Props

Thank you to the Oamaru Mail for use of this photo

A former SKC 1st XV and All Blacks captain, Kevin Skinner, passed away yesterday morning in Auckland.  Kevin played in the College 1st XV side in 1943 and took on the captain's role in 1944.  He was 21 when he debuted for the All Blacks during a test against South Africa in Cape Town and went on to play 61 matches, including 18 tests, and captained the national side in 6 matches (2 tests) before retiring in 1954.  He came out of retirement briefly for the final 2 tests against the touring Springboks who were dominating the series.  Kevin's return saw a new sense of strength and power in the team and New Zealand took it's first series win over the Springboks.    

Kevin is regarded as one of the country's finest props and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time.  


Otago U19 Basketball

Congratulations to Yr13 student Hamish Robertson and his team mates in the Otago U19 Basketball team, who placed 4th at the national championships which were held in Nelson during the holidays.  Matt Brien  (Yr 11) traveled to Auckland with the U17 team and came away with a fantastic 3rd place after beating Canterbury for the first time.


Teen Ag Experience


The National Teen Ag Competition was held at Lincoln University on Friday 4 July and Ella Sanderson and Holly Malcom (High Country Hillbillies), and Georgia Malcom and Brittany Caldwell (Gumboot Girls) traveled to represent the Aorangi region.  A 60 minutes written quiz at 8am in frosty conditions began the one day event followed by a series of seven modules covering everything from agricultural research through to safety and stock handling.   The final event in the initial stage of the competition was to put their observation abilities to the test by watching a brief powerpoint on how to electrically charge pencils and then seeing how well they had made notes of the instructions by replicating the experiment!   Whilst they were not fortunate enough to get to the race off stage the two teams had a fantastic day and did well to bring girls in farming to the fore.   The Saturday following the competition gave the teams a chance to socialise with all of the other Teen Ag teams and meet the "adult" Young Farmer competitors who were competing during the same weekend.


The SKC Young Farmers Club are looking forward to the challenge of preparing for next year's Teen Ag Competition and students who would like to be involved can speak to one of the High Country Hillbillies or the Gumboot Girls.

Merekite Represents

Merekite in action during the SKC/Waitaki Interschool
Well done to Merekite Wahitapu who was part of the Dunedin Under 17 Representative Team who finished 3rd at the Under 17 National Tournament in Auckland over the holidays.  Merekite was also named in the tournament team for the Under 17 Representative Southern Region Tournament.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Art Auction


Junior South Island Secondary School Netball



During the first week of the holidays our Year Nine team of Piper Beach, Molly Kay, Gemma Dowling, Laura Preston, Rylee Bell, Sophie Brien, Brytnee Firman, Georgia Oakes, Sarah Dodd with coach Tiana Mihaere competed in the Junior South Island Secondary Tournament in Christchurch.  They had 32 teams in their grade and after a slow start they fought back and finished a commendable 18th.  All the girls played extremely well and did themselves and the college proud.  A special thank you to Mrs Kay and Mrs Firman who led the organisation of the trip, as well as to the parents who supported the girls in rain and shine.


Friday, July 4, 2014

SKC Win


Final score for the 1st XV .... 33-12 to SKC!

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinian's and supporters of the College

As term two concludes, the shortest day has passed and a mild winter has tricked some of the cherry trees into blossom in the College grounds, I would like to thank staff and supporters of the College for their contributions. As always, a healthy and vibrant school depends so much on the good will of staff and community. This term is a testament to the co-curricular involvement that foster's our special character.

This term, we have trialed having a full College Mass in one of the non-timetabled Friday slots. This is a tangible connection with our Catholic Special Character and allows all students to participate in the weekly celebration of the Eucharist. We intend to continue the trial into term three and facilitate more active student participation in the ceremony.

Our place as a leading academic College is being cemented with the Cambridge classes now being fully integrated into the Year 10 programme. After the 2013 trials, staff, parent and student feedback is being used to fine tune the delivery of the programme to keep up the academic pressure on our Year 10 students.

On the cultural front, the inter-house drama was an outstanding success. Congratulations to Tracey House for their creative and well choreographed, winning performance. The students enjoyed being able to share the performances as a community and responded enthusiastically as an audience.

The winter terms always have strong sporting participation. It is pleasing to see that we have over 85% of our students involved in sporting activity, which is one of the highest participation rates in the region and nationally. We are also looking forward to our newly appointed sports coordinator, Sandra Kitto, commencing her role next term.

The traditional Waitaki inter-school is the last event in a term packed with learning challenges. The spirit of passionate competition and fair play is always evident in these games and I wish everyone all the best for the day. We value the opportunity to gather as a North Otago community in this spectacular celebration of sport.

I would like to wish everyone a relaxing and safe break after such a rewarding second term. The new term commences on Monday 21st of July.

Ngā mihi nu and may God bless you all.
Paul Olsen, Principal

Can You Help

CAN YOU HELP OUR KAPA HAKA & PASIFIKA GROUP? 
Kia ora, malo lelei, talofa lava, warm greeting to you all. 
Calling all Kapa Haka or Pasifika dance enthusiasts....... 
Our Kapa Haka and Pasifika group have grown since last year and we have a large group of over 25 students in total. We are beginning to practice for the Otago Schools Maori and Pasifika Festival in Dunedin. This is during Term 3 on Thursday the 18th of July. We are aiming to have two seperate performances for the day. However with more students we now have the need for more help with the tutoring of these groups. If you have a knowledge of Kapa Haka especially actions and using taiaha for the boys or if you can help with our Pasifika group please contact us. We can be flexible with practice times and our students would greatly appreciate the help. 

If you are interested please contact me directly as soon as possible on 4345642 or email: splunkett@stkevins.school.nz

MATARIKI CELEBRATIONS 
Our Kapa Haka and Pasifika groups are planning to have a hangi to celebrate Matariki on the first Friday of Term Three (25th July). The hangi will also be a fundraiser for our performance at the Otago Schools Maori and Pasifika Festival later in the term. We would greatly appreciate donations of vegetables (potatoes, kumara, pumpkin etc) and meat to put in our hangi. There will be a box to drop off your veges in the office during the first week back. Prices for each hangi meal will be confirmed next term. Tickets will be available from the office from Monday 21st July (Week 1). Please support our cultural groups and enjoy some kai with us on the 25th of July. 

Nau te rourou, naku te rourou ka ora te iwi.
With your food basket and my food basket, the people will be fed.


Nga mihi nui ki a koutou,
Wishing all our students and whanau a restful holiday.
Sara Plunkett.