Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

It has been an exciting week as we have shared the plans for the St Joseph's relocation with the community and those of you with students at the College will know that work has begun to clear the site and relocate the Property Manager's workshop so that ground works for that work can begin.

At the same time, we have been delving into our school's history in preparation for the 100 year anniversary of our College. This has been an enlightening endeavour and the more I read and explore our school history, the more I see those who have governed the College in the past and indeed those who have governed the whole of Catholic Education in North Otago have always done that in a very responsive and holistic manner.

St Kevin's College is an amalgamation of several schools. Originally it was set up in 1927 with strong backing from Bishop Whyte and the Dunedin Diocese. There was already a boys boarding school for younger students in Oamaru called St Thomas' Academy (pictured). If we think about the transport arrangements which had to be made to get students from farms into the big smoke of Oamaru at that time, we can see why boarding schools were the choice of the day.

Girls were educated at St Thomas' between the time that the younger boys moved to SKC (yes, we did used to have year 7 and 8 students once) and before borders moved out to Teschmakers (formally known as St Patrick’s Dominican Girls School) where they remained from the 1930's through until the merger with SKC in 1983.

The little school we now know as St Joseph's today began life as a few rooms in the Catholic Presbytery and was staffed by Dominican nuns. Later a school was built that was called St Patricks and run by two Chrisitan Brothers who commuted into the school from St Kevin's College. In 1973, this school was closed and the younger students went to the newly established St Joseph's school while the older boys went to the St Kevin's College site where a third school called St Johns was operated at the end of what was then a driveway which stretched out to what is now the main road.

Our latest iteration in placing St Joseph's School on our current site is part of a long standing tradition of doing what is best for our young people at a particular time . Right now, our focus and our reason for relocating the school is very much about making the most of our resources and being able to easily and simply develop our charisms, strengthen our Catholic identity and practically work together. We have a very strong vision for our future and I for one am very excited about playing my part in this next chapter for Catholic Education in North Otago.

Have a great weekend

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

I'm not sure why I'd do this to myself on a Friday but I started to read the ERO report on NCEA Level 1. Unfortunately, there are a wide range of recommendations which indicate that it is not likely to be fully fit for purpose for some time yet. This does not worry us as we have largely switched to Cambridge IGCSE and those areas still working with NCEA Level One have a clear strategy to connect those areas with our vocational training which is working well for those wanting to move into apprenticeships. However, the report does highlight that many parents still feel uncertain about how to navigate NCEA and in our context with Cambridge qualifications as well, it is really important that families and employers understand what we are trying to achieve.

In essence, if you are going to go into a trade, you may take some IGCSE courses at Level One and mix them up with some NCEA courses which are Achievement Standards based and you also might sprinkle in a few Unit Standard courses. These are usually really specific to the job you are wanting to do for example, 'First Aid Certificates', 'Equestrian Standards' or 'Chemical Handling' to name a few.

This 'mix and match' approach means you will not have a whole qualification, but you will have a record of learning in a range of different assessments. When you are in Year 11, doing Level One standards or IGCSE standards, the idea is that you are having a trial run at sitting a high stakes assessment. In the real world, no one would see any kind of Level 1 qualification as an ultimate goal of education. For that you need either AS or A levels in the Cambridge system or NCEA Levels 2 and 3.

Our plan is for the vast majority of students at SKC to be aiming to achieve three AS or A levels by the time they leave school with high enough marks that they satisfy the literacy criteria for the universities OR that they leave school with at least the Level 2 NCEA qualification.

Because we can't always predict how life will turn out, over the next couple of years at least, we are going to aim to sit the AS levels in 2026 for most students in most subjects whilst at the same time students will complete NCEA assessments where it's convenient. This will give our students the best of both worlds.

An example of this might be that I am studying a novel for my AS examination which I am planning on sitting in June 2026. Whilst I am doing that, I write a practice essay under the supervision of my English teacher. That essay can then be marked by my English teacher so that I can have some feedback, but that essay can also make up part of my portfolio for the writing standard in NCEA Level 2.

By employing clever tricks like this we can ensure that whilst doing the work for Cambridge, we can pick up the credits for NCEA which will be especially important for those students who may or may not be planning on staying until the end of Year 13 or going to University. The same applies for the end of year examination round for the externals.

This approach provides a safety net for those who need it but also does require that families monitor their students progress carefully as we are not employing the tactic of throwing millions of standards at a student and hoping some of them stick, this is a much finer process with little margin for error.

As a final comment, I would like to draw your attention to the picture I have included. This year we have spent $16,000 on upgrading our technology area so that those students who are interested in trade training in hospitality have what they need to learn at a commercially viable level. As an ex hotel manager and man with an incredibly rich background in the industry, we are lucky to have Mr Griggs steering this ship. We are hoping eventually to install a cafe on site so harassed parents can grab a caffeine shot on the way to work in the morning.

Have a great Valentine's day!

Jo