Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Yesterday we welcomed our 2020 Year 9 cohort for their orientation day. Getting to know each other, learning to find their way around the campus and getting connected to the school wifi were just some of the tasks that they worked on during a fun-filled day of activities. Thank you to Mr Carter for organising the day. Pictured are one of the groups after a gym activity.

Earlier in the week, Year 9 went to the James Cameron "Challenging the Deep" exhibition at Otago Museum and Year 10 attended the Taster Day at Ara in Timaru. Thank you to Mrs Sutton and Mrs Burton for organising these activities. It was pleasing to hear such positive feedback about our student engagement and their respectful behaviour. They are living the College Values as we come to the end of a busy term.

May God bless you.
Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey- Chinaman's Hut

Recently we had our Bronze Duke of Edinburgh students complete their Adventurous Journey trip at Chinaman's Hut, a backcountry hut located on farmland near Dansey's Pass. Each trip had 8 students and there were two overnight trips- Friday/Saturday and Monday/Tuesday.

Here are some photos of their journey. A big thank to Mr Mat Harris and Mr Sam Tatupu for supporting the students on the trip.

White Ribbon Video Challenge

Last Tuesday, a group of enthusiastic Year 10 video makers took part in the local White Ribbon Video Challenge coordinated by Safer Waitaki. The aim was to make a short video featuring one of the Etu Whanau values. These values link closely to our College FIRE Values.

The following is a link to the student entries:

https://sites.google.com/saferwaitaki.c…/saferwaitaki/videos

Thank you to Mr Carter for the preparation and guidance he has given to our students and his contribution to the wider project.

Confucius Classroom Chinese Dinner.

Last Friday was the Confucius Classroom Chinese dinner.

Confucius Classroom at St Kevin's College invited students from St Joseph's and St Kevin's College because they obtained excellence this year. Mr Paul Olsen made a welcome speech and a meal was enjoyed by all.

Many many thanks to the teachers and Peter Lee the head of Oamaru Chinese Association for their support and efforts in all Chinese Programmes.

Gateway Programme

Gateway is a school programme for senior students that supports them to undertake learning and assessment in the workplace. It gives students a clear understanding of the knowledge and skills required for future employment.

Students have had some outstanding experiences, thanks to the generosity of local employers and their staff, who give up their time and share their expertise. Some students have secured apprenticeships for next year and others now have a clear idea about the vocational pathway that they wish to follow.

We would like to thank all the Industry Training Organisations for their support and the following organisations for hosting and mentoring our students;

Streeter Concepts Signwriting & Design
Johnson Gluyas
Ireland Engineering Solutions Ltd
Waitaki Refrigeration
Oamaru Kindergarten Association (Glen Warren)
Banks Auto Electrical
North Otago Motor Group
Calect Electrical Ltd
Aotea Electrical
McBrimar Homes
B. Williamson Racing (& J Gibson)
Peter Keown Automotives
Riverstone Kitchen
MV Building
Lance Doran Automotive
Drummond & Etheridge
RES Electrical
Kakanui Carpenters
Iona Home & Hospital
St Joseph’s Primary School
Oamaru Intermediete School
Papakaio School
Primary ITO
BCITO
MITO
Skills Organisation
Service IQ
Competenz
Porse
Fairviews Educational Resources

We also acknowledge the generosity of Repco Oamaru for sponsoring the SKC Vocational Pathways Prize, which was awarded to Year 13 student Callum Bishop. Callum completed a Level 3 Auto-electrical Gateway with Banks Auto. He also did a Level 2 Electrical Gateway in with Laser Electrical in 2018.

Thanks also to the Vocational Pathways staff at St Kevin’s College for all their hard work and encouragement.

BYOD Advice

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Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

On Tuesday, a group of enthusiastic year 10 video makers took part in the local White Ribbon Video Challenge coordinated by Safer Waitaki. The aim was to make a short video featuring one of the Etu Whanau values. These values link closely to our College FIRE Values. The following is a link to the student entries. Thank you to Mr Carter for the preparation and guidance he has given to our students and his contribution to the wider project.

Also this week we have had success in Aoraki Tennis Competition, hosted the White Ribbon Riders and have the first group of Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award students heading into Chinaman's Hut as part of their adventurous journey. We look forward to sharing images in later blogs. Thank you to the staff and parents who have contributed to the success of these endeavours.

Interwoven with visits to the James Cameron "Challenging the Deep" exhibition at Otago Museum and a Taster Careers Day at Ara in Timaru, will be the end of year junior assessments. We encourage students and whanau to keep an eye on their emails and the school calendar to ensure they do not miss any key dates, deadlines or opportunities.

May God bless you.
Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen

White Ribbon Ride 2019

Our Junior students welcomed the White Ribbon Ride back to the College today. The ride has an annual stop at St Kevin's College, to share their important message of standing up against and stopping the cycle of domestic violence.

Thank you to all of the local and national riders for speaking with our students and staff today and sharing your powerful message.

Thank you to Rynea Sheehy and Ms. Plunkett for the photos.

St Patrick's Basilica 125th Anniversary

Last Friday 8th November SKC Junior school students bused into the St Patrick's Basilica to join with St Joseph's Primary school in a special Mass to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Basilica's opening.

The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Michael Dooley with Chaplain Fr Wayne Healey. Students from both schools combined to share in the congregational Mass ministry's as well as combining choirs.

For a number of students it was their first visit inside the historic Basilica and a chance to see its impressive Oamaru stone architecture up close.

Transitioning to high School Information Session

St Kevin's College invites you to an information session about what to expect when your student is transitioning to High School.

We will cover general topics such as brain development, social media, bullying and the trends we see in students coming through from Primary School to the College.

We are holding two available session times on Thursday 28th November at 1:30pm and at 5:30pm. The session will take no longer than an hour and tea and coffee will be available afterwards.


These sessions will be conducted by Jo Walshe - Assistant Principal and Head of Pastoral Care, and Mat Harris - School Counsellor.

Please come along and learn what to expect when your student comes to college next year.

Year 10 Camp Photos

Some photos of the adventures from Year 10 camp from last week!

Thank you to everyone that helped out and made the camp such an enjoyable time for our students!

Year 10 Camp Highlights 2019

Highlights from Year 10 Camp!

Thanks Mr Harris for the awesome editing.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gVfJPy9PAy4N8BH9gHViP6L6vwIlCUlj/view?usp=sharing_eip&ts=5dd20169

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Today the second group of Year 10 students returned from our Lake Middleton Camps. The weather was challenging for the team but they made the most of the opportunities. A big thank you to staff and the many helpers for going the extra mile for our students. Thanks also to Mr McCallum for helping with the transport.

The resealing of the Redcastle driveway commenced today. After weeks of preparation, the weather was finally ideal for the asphalt work to be completed. This will form part of the new school carpark adjacent to the refurbished Girls Hostel building which will be ready for next year.

Thank you to MCM contracting for your accommodating approach to this job.

May God bless you.
Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen

White Ribbon Ride 2019

On Saturday, the 18-strong White Ribbon crew will leave Picton on their annual South Island odyssey, travelling down the West Coast to Invercargill and back up the east coast.

Along the way, they'll stop at community and school halls to raise awareness of domestic violence. They will be at St Kevin's College Thursday 21st November at 1.20pm.

For more information, visit https://whiteribbon.org.nz/act/white-ribbon-ride/

Primary ITO Trades Academy School at St Kevin's College

SKC is fortunate to be a Primary ITO Trades Academy school. The Programme of Study aims to ensure that graduates from the two year course (Years 11 and 12) have a combination of practical skills and theoretical knowledge that will enable them to make informed choices about career options in the primary sector.

This funding ensures that all students studying Agriculture and Horticulture can benefit from a range of learning experiences including classroom based unit standards and achievement standards, industry training, farm visits and work based assessments. Health & Safety is also a key focus, as well as literacy and numeracy development.

We wish to say a huge thank you to the many people who supported our students in 2019; Primary ITO staff, AgriLearn tutors and admin, Oamaru Racecourse and Farm Manager, all the farmers and producers we have visited, particularly the Nichols of Kuriheka who have hosted us for many years. Also Hayman's Dairy and David O'Neill Contracting who both took students for work experience.

Year 10 Camp

We are pleased to report the second half of the Year 10 Camp will run as scheduled!

But still please ensure sure you pack adequate wet weather gear. A good raincoat and a decent warm change of clothes.

Here are some photos of the first group who are having a great time!

Thanks to Mr Ryan for the photos.

Gold Duke of Edinburgh for Rata McMullan and Lucy Hellewell!

We have received confirmation from National Office that Rata McMullan and Lucy Hellewell have completed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh, which will be formally presented at a ceremony next year.

Gold is the third and final level of the Award, and takes a minimum of 12 months to complete. There are three specific sections—Service, Skills and Physical Recreation plus an Adventurous Journey and a Residential Project.

The photos below show the girls on their Adventurous Journey's, Rata with the rest of the crew at Lake Ōhau, and Lucy on the way to Macetown from the Branches Station in Queenstown on Tarquin.

Rata also played the Violin for her Skills, Hockey for her Physical Recreation, did tutoring and leadership at school for her Service, and completed Outward Bound as her Residential Project.

Lucy undertook horse care and handling as her Skills, horse riding for her Physical Recreation, led a youth group for her Service, and her Residential Project was a Young Farmers Leadership Camp.

Awesome achievement girls, well done!

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Thank you to Staff, Students, Whanau and our wider community for your attendance and support for the graduating students and prize winners on Monday evening. As a Principal, this is one of the highlights of the role. It is an occasion for celebrating the many student success stories. I am mindful that these impressive results are the product of hard work and dedication from talented staff and I wish to formally thank them for their commitment to student achievement. We now wish the seniors every success in the NCEA external exams that begin today.

On Thursday I had the pleasure of joining our year 10 students as they participated in a Museum outreach programme. They explored historic Maori tools, musical instruments, weaving and traditional techniques, along with replica moa eggs and authentic moa bones. Thank you to Keely and Mrs Hesselin for arranging a very engaging afternoon.

Today the school will head down to the Oamaru Basilica to celebrate a Mass commemorating the 125th anniversary of the opening of the building. We wish the Parish a successful weekend of festivities marking this occasion.

May God bless you.
Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen

Prime Minister’s Vocational Excellence Award

A new award was given out at Prizegiving on Monday night called the Inaugural Prime Minister’s Vocational Excellence Award, won by Henry Guerin.

Henry met the criteria by;

Gaining a Merit endorsement at NCEA Level 2, with a Vocational Award in Primary Industries. He has also passed NCEA Level 3 and won the prize for being first in Materials Technology.

Successfully participating for two years in the SKC Primary Industries Trades Academy. This involved learning practical skills such as farm vehicle driving and safety, fencing, animal handling etc Henry also undertook work experience with a fencing contractor and on a sheep and beef farm.

Completing a Diesel Automotive Level 3 Gateway Programme of study and work experience at Johnson Gluyas, Oamaru. Henry benefited from great mentoring by experienced staff and he demonstrated an excellent work ethic.

Contributing to the wider school by being a member of the First XV Rugby team and attaining an SKC Silver Service Award, as well as meeting other skills and attributes as outlined in an assessment tool.

Henry will enter the Dairy industry after school where he hopes to complete a Dairy industry Apprenticeship.

The Prize also comes with $2000 for the student to use how they wish. It may interest you to know that he has already spent this on a new chainsaw!

Well done Henry!

Year 10 Kayaking Introduction Day

Today was the Year 10 Kayaking introduction day at OIS in preparation for Year 10 Camp next week. Run by Mr Haig, this is an awesome opportunity for the students to learn basic kayaking safety and skills in a safe environment.

Thank you OIS for the use of your pool and Mr Haig for your expertise!