Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

This week for Aotearoa New Zealand has been all about celebrating our first Matariki holiday. Like all changes in the way we do things, this has generated a lot of national discussion which can only be good for us. The fact many of us were able to sleep in on a cold frosty Friday was also welcomed!

It has also been a great opportunity for us to 'look up' and appreciate the stunning beauty of the winter night sky. On Thursday afternoon school finished an hour early so that we could undertake some PLD around our Catholic character. This year the staff have been looking at the Jesus of history and what political and social forces shaped his message. We looked at the birth story and among the symbols discussed was the star, said to have rested above his place of birth. This is a tradition applied to many leaders throughout history. That the Matariki cluster is so important as a symbol of new life is not surprising given that we see the same symbols in important religious moments including our own. The fantastic beauty and infinite possibilities that space and all of the magic it brings us; challenges us to understand our place in the universe and in time. It is both beautiful and frightening.

There are many apps available that your students can download and use with their phone cameras to help to understand what stars and planets they are looking at, for example 'Star Walk' and 'Sky Map'. This is a great time of year to try them out.

I would like to thank Brother Frank Perkins for joining us for the session and wish you all a great long weekend.

God Bless

Jo Walshe

Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Today we have been very sad to learn of the passing of Mr Terry O'Neill. Terry was a long time staff member of the College and was heavily involved in sport, in particular rugby which continued to be a passion for him right up until the end of his life. Terry was a sports commentator with regular spots both on the radio and in print and was always found in the commentary box at the annual Waitaki V SKC Fixture. He was awarded the Queens Service medal in 2020 for his service to sports journalism and was recently inducted into the North Otago Sports Hall of Fame.

Terry was a committed Catholic and was one of the few staff to have worked at the College with both religious and lay management. I myself worked with Terry in my early teaching years at the College and have clear memories of his 'guarding the gate' checking for students who might have tried to sneak to town at lunch time!

Our thoughts and prayers are with Terry's family and friends at this time.

Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, 

and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen. 

Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Today was a special day for the support staff of the College as they celebrated 'support staff week' with lunch at the Castle. What was fairly typical about this was that they didn't even realize it was support staff week till halfway through, basically because they were too busy! When we think of a school it is easy to think of teachers and students but no school would exisit without the army of other people who ensure we are warm, dry, financially solvent, fed and safe. Our support staff are amazing and I would like to take this opportunity to thank them very much for everything they do.

Our junior students traveled to Dunedin to the quad tournament yesterday and had some outstanding results. Mr Devereaux and Mrs Clapperton both reported that our students showed excellent sportsmanship and played well. Congratulations to all of the teams who took part.

I have posted an invitation to our Māori families to come to our Hui on the 28th of June. If you would like to attend that function please e-mail the office or myself as we will need numbers for catering.

And finally ...(Mr Herbst may tell me off for beginning that sentence with a conjunction) I have invited expressions of interest to any Alumni who would like to be involved in our Centennial projects of our Stables upgrade, our Castle upgrade or running the centenary itself to please get in contact with me at principal@stkevins.school.nz We are keen to get people on board with different skills and ideas as we lead into this very important moment in our history. If that sounds like something you would be interested in helping with - please get in touch.

Have a great weekend.

God Bless

Jo Walshe

Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

This week, I thought I would write from the point of view of a mother of a Year 11 student at the College. Those of us who have students facing NCEA for the first time this year will most likely be familiar with the stress that this brings.  For many of our children, Year 11 is also a time when they are starting to hold down jobs, beginning to socialize and also participate in sport and service.  It is also a time when we expect our students to become more independent....

I spoke to our staff this week about 'executive functioning'.  These are the everyday skills we use to organize ourselves.  If you have noticed that your teen does things in a funny order or things that are completely illogical like leaving doors open on freezing cold days, it is most likely that those areas of the brain that help them to be organized are 'closed for repair' at this time.  For our Year 11 students, not only is this happening but its also hard on the heels of over two years where no one has been able to really get into the routines that help with organization because of Covid related disruption. 

All of our young people at the College are truly amazing.  When we consider what they have been dealing with and are still dealing with in this crazy world at the moment, we need to really acknowledge the challenges they face and support them as much as we can to navigate these.  If we have to remind them to put their socks on before their shoes now and then, so be it. 

Have a wonderful long weekend.

God Bless

Jo Walshe