Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

It is that time of year again when our graduating students begin to look over the horizons of the walls of St Kevin's College and contemplate the prospect of the big wide world. For many this is a bittersweet time and it can be quite emotional. There is the inevitable pull of wanting to fly the nest and embrace all that life has to offer them, then there is the equally understandable fear of leaving those places which feel safe and known.

On the weekend of the ball, we had the pleasure of hosting past pupils from 1960 as they gathered at the school for their reunion. As is usual with these groups, there was much laughter and reminiscing and catching up with old friends but what stood out to me was how much the College meant and continues to mean in the lives of past pupils.

Twice this week I have had visitors to the school comment on the 'feel' of the college and I suppose it is this that draws people back. There is something about our secondary school years that is deeply personal to us in that these are the years that really shape us from children to adults. They are years of trial and error, of drawing closer to some things and breaking away from others, of experiment and experience, first heart breaks and joys. As we get ready to say farewell to another group of wonderful young people, I hope they remember their time here fondly and that one day they too will come back to visit bringing their families and their new histories with them.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen     

Boys vs Girls Hockey Game

Another co-ed sports match up today with the boys vs girls hockey game!

What a great way to finish the hockey season. Some of them have been playing hockey together for the last 10 years, so a memorable way for the hockey leavers to finish up. 

A big thanks to Rhyan Griffiths for umpiring today.

Senior A Netball vs First XV Rugby Netball Game

It was the annual netball match between the boys First XV rugby team and the girls Senior A netball team at lunchtime today.

Well done to the girls who took it out 27-21! 

Thank you to Tahlia Sherwin and Michael Misiloi for umpiring and keeping this very competitive game under good control!

Neill Ridley- Past Pupil

A write up about past pupil Neill Ridley, a well-known person in the horse racing fraternity. Neill, 67, who had cancer, died peacefully at his home last Friday, 13 days after he had his last two starters from his Riccarton stable.

Neill’s funeral was held at Sockburn Church in Christchurch last Friday, at which a large number of people were present, including a significant number of ex-students of St Kevin’s College.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Neill’s family and friends at this time.

CLICK HERE to read more. 

St Kevin's College Community Meals

Our $5 community meals will be available today at 2pm from the Dining Room. This is a first in first served basis.

They will be available again two weeks from today.

NZ Secondary Schools Touch Referee Selection

A big congratulations to Year 10 student Jessica Crossley who has been selected to referee at December’s New Zealand Secondary Schools tournament in Rotorua. Quinn Burge who is in Year 8 at OIS and is attending SKC next year has also been selected.

The SKC Senior Mixed Touch Team will be competing at the tournament.

Jess and Quinn will be doing some fundraising so keep your eyes open for that - head down to Mitre10 Mega on 7th November and grab a sausage sizzle from them!

Well done to both of you!

Year 11 Geography

The Year 11 Geographers spent some time last Thursday afternoon undertaking urban research at Oamaru's North End shopping centre and Victorian Precinct, followed by some geographic sketching and a pleasant, sunny lunch break up at Lookout Point. 

As they were running a few minutes early heading back to SKC, bus driver and tour guide Mike swung by the Phoenix Mill Waterwheel and shared some stories of its restoration, which everyone found very interesting. 

The class would like to thank Mike, as well as teachers Mrs Buckham and Mr Hitchcock, TA Karen, and senior student geographer Abigail Jenkinson for helping out with the successful and enjoyable field trip.

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

This week has been a very eventful one for senior students with having had the school ball last Saturday night and today having Student Led Conferences.  The ball was a great success even though it was a little different this year with no outside partners.  Staff who attended reported that they felt the students really enjoyed being together as a cohort and that there was a great atmosphere.  I would like to thank the Home and School for organizing the ball and Laney and her staff in the kitchen for providing a lovely meal.  Mat from Nightlife DJ's did his usual very professional job of the music and Mr Hitchcock, I am reliably informed, cut quite a dashing figure on the dance floor!

For many of our students, Saturday was also a significant day as they voted for the first time.  It was wonderful to see students dressed in their ball finery, stopping to ensure they participated in our democracy.  I was working at a voting site on the day and I was immensely proud to see such a significant number of young people voting.  I feel that our country is in good hands if our youth remain as engaged in the elections as I witnessed last weekend. 

Like everything though the euphoria of a great event cannot last forever, and today it was all about helping senior students to focus on what they have to do to get over the final hurdles of end of year examinations. Student Led Conferences are a chance for students and their caregivers to have a final check in to ensure that everyone understands what needs to be done in terms of study and finishing assessments as the end of term approaches. Thank you to parents and caregivers for taking the time to attend these. 

Enjoy the long weekend.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui

Paul Olsen       

 

Andrew Sinclair- Regional Darts Tournament Win

Congratulations to Andrew Sinclair and his darts partner Mr Ron Van Der Hilst for taking out the Waimate Open Memorial Pairs tournament last weekend. 

This was Andrew's first regional dart tournament win and involved Andrew and Ron having to play over 50 legs of darts over a four hour period!

Well done!

SKC Old Boys 1960's Reunion

Recently the SKC Old Boys of the early 60’s caught up for a reunion in Christchurch. 

The 1960s at the College was a decade of construction and development. In 1960 the new classrooms were opened. In 1962 the new chapel and school hall were blessed and in 1968 the new dining room became a reality. During the course of the 60s the enrolments at SKC were the highest in the history of the college. During the years 1961-1966 nearly 600 third form pupils commenced their secondary education at the college.

On October 14th 72 of these Old Boys and their partners travelled to Christchurch from as far as Auckland and Invercargill. They enjoyed a get together at Riccarton Racecourse Bowling Club followed by a dinner at the Racecourse Hotel. Colin Mansbridge, an Old Boy of the late 70’s and now CEO of the Crusaders franchise was the guest speaker for the evening. During the weekend there were also extra optional activities of golf, a city walk and the Art Gallery. 

Friendships were renewed, stories were related, lies were told and food and beverage was consumed and enjoyed. They enjoyed the time to reflect, to reminisce, relax and above all to enjoy life.

A big thank you to organisers Trevor Thornton, Alec Neill, Kevin Inder and Tony Croft, and also to Pam Wilkins who did well to capture this big group photo.

Gold Duke of Edinburgh- Lucy Hellewell

Congratulations to Lucy Hellewell (Year 13 2019) for receiving The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award - Gold Certificate at a ceremony in Christchurch on the 11th of October. 

Her Excellency The Right Honourable Dame Patsy Reddy GNZM, QSO Governor-General of New Zealand attended the ceremony to congratulate and meet the awardees and the Gold award was presented to Lucy by Peter Hillary (Son of Sir Edmund Hillary).

A big thank you to Mat Harris for all the support he provides to our Duke of Edinburgh students.

Student Led Conferences Term 4 2020

A reminder that bookings are open for Caregivers of Year 11, 12, 13 students for Student Led Conferences. 

Please find below the link to the interview site.

https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/book/step1?z=1QnWon

Interviews will be held on the afternoon Friday 23rd October.

Students have been receiving examination results and are working on their Slide show presentations.

SKC Formal 2020

On Saturday night our Year 12 and 13 students finally got to celebrate their 'Santorini Nights' Formal. 

A big thank you to our Ball Committee, Home & School Committee, the Steel family for their technical support and design, Laney and the kitchen and wait staff, and of course the one and only Ms Walshe for all your hard work in making such a fantastic night for everyone.  

Thank you to Mat Harris and Sarah Clapperton for taking these photos. 

Check out the SKC Facebook Page for the whole album. 

 

Pink Shirt Day 2020

On Friday 16th October SKC held a mufti day, where everyone was encouraged to wear as much pink as possible to support Pink Shirt Day. Even the Castle was lit up pink the night before to support the event!

We raised over $300 for the Mental Health Foundation! 

Let’s keep up the effort, be upstanders, and help stop bullying! 

A big thanks to our guidance counsellor Mr Mat Harris for coordinating the day.

Principals Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

We have had a great start back to school this week amidst what can only be described as very changeable weather, hot one moment and freezing the next. Summer uniform is now required at school and Mr Ryan this week took pains at assembly to remind students to remove excess jewellery, cut and tie back hair, and ensure thy are wearing the regulation uniform. Parental and caregiver support in this is always appreciated.

This week the highlight for the senior students is the Ball. This year's theme is 'Santorini Nights' and the students are busy today dressing the auditorium and the dining room for the occasion. I have been extremely impressed this year with the attitude of our students to dealing with the delays and restrictions which have affected the ball due to Covid-19. Their attitude, leadership and grace under pressure has been exceptional.

Finally a big 'thank you' to Mat Harris our guidance counsellor for his work today in organizing our 'pink shirt' day against bullying. The story behind this is that a student in Canada turned up for school one day wearing a pink shirt and was bullied by some nasty students. So the next day the rest of his class all turned up wearing pink shirts in support of him. This story is a lesson in integrity and fits well with our school values. I hope the students have an enjoyable day and take this lesson into their hearts.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen

National ShakeOut 2020

During whanau time today, there were three bells to signal a pretend earthquake so staff and students could practice what to do in a earthquake for the New Zealand national ShakeOut. 

Year 13 student Thomas Ballantyne was caught off guard, but he knew what to do!

Thank you to all staff and students for taking part!

NCEA Pathway Information Evening

Parents/Caregivers of Year 10 students are invited to attend an NCEA Pathway information evening next Thursday 22 October at 7pm. 

The evening will cover the nuts and bolts of NCEA, wellbeing, stress and NCEA, and various faculty information.

BOT Parent Elections

REMINDER: 

Nominations are open for the election of three (3) parent representatives to the board of trustees.

All eligible voters will receive a nomination form and a notice calling for nominations – you can use this form to nominate yourself or someone in your community.

If you need more nomination forms, contact the school office.

Nominations close at noon on Sunday 1st November 2020. You may provide a signed candidate statement and photograph with your nomination.

The voting roll is held at the school and can be viewed during normal school hours.

As nominations are received, there will be a list of candidates’ names kept at the school up until election day, which you can view.

Voting closes at 4pm on Friday 4th December 2020.

Signed

Dee Hayes

Returning Officer

Zaria Kira- Otago Maori U17 Kohini Girls Rugby Team

Not just a legend on the netball court, but also on the rugby field...

A big congratulations to Zaria Kira who was selected in the Otago Maori U17 Kohini Girls Rugby Team that played at the Te Waipounamu Maori Rugby Festival in the weekend. 

The tournament is held annually, and this year was played at Linfield Park in Otautahi, Christchurch. The team won both their games against Canterbury and Southland, and Zaria was also named as player of the festival for the U17 Kohine grade!

Well done Zaria!

Gold and Sliver Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journey

Gold and Sliver Duke of Edinburgh students recently completed a 3 night adventurous journey at the start of the holidays. 

The weather forced a change in plans from tramping in the Ōhau area to basing themselves locally and tramping in the Herbert Forest, Trotters Gorge and Windsor areas. They completed approximately 30km of journeying and learnt how to make safe decisions by embracing some challenging weather conditions with lots of wind, rain and snow. The students had to fully prepare for the tramp themselves, cook, and spend some nights out in tents. 

Thanks to Mr Farrell and Mr Harris for supervising the tramp! 

We currently have over 60 students participating in the Duke of Edinburgh programme, and are looking forward to getting out for some more tramping over the next few months!