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