Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

It is not the usual thing for me to do in this post to recommend television programmes to the community, but I would like to recommend that any of you who have Netflix take the time to watch the four part British series 'Adolescence'.

This series tackles some very relevant major issues around sexting, the Andrew Tate version of masculinity (if you don't know who he is, you need to know), and how social media use can warp a young person's perception of themselves and the world around them.

It is a harrowing series and definitely not one for young teens but as parents and caregivers, it is a very real insight into the often secretive and dark world our young people engage with through social media.

It deals with murder and sexuality. There is swearing and some pretty confronting language however, it is a reflection of the real issues our young men and women face and the messaging is very clear: learn as much as you can about social media and its capabilities, check on what your students are doing, keep the lines of communication open.

It also calls attention to the struggles young men can have in the world today in terms of understanding what healthy masculine role models look like. In NZ 31.5% of young men live in a home without a father and so there can be an attraction to social media personalities who offer advice and guidance on 'being a man' and that can be an incredibly warped view designed to get clicks and provoke controversy.

In the world of influencers, the more times your name is mentioned the more traffic is driven to your site so it doesn't matter if people love you or hate you, you make money. It's easier to make more money by being controversial, which is where we get the likes of Andrew Tate and his like.

Unfortunately, teenagers don't always have the critical thinking skills to sort the rot from the reality. They are often inexperienced, vulnerable, unsure of themselves and easily influenced. This series explores the worst results of this.

Our aim at St Kevin's is to build confident young men who have respect for women and for themselves. Young men who are proud to be young men, who will be good and loving husbands and kind and patient fathers. We want them to enjoy their physical strength, engage in the traditional masculine activities of hunting, fishing and rugby if they wish to or not if they don't. We want them to be self confident enough to know themselves, love themselves and be respectful and supportive to the people around them.

In a co educational community, we are lucky to be able to allow our young people to develop among members of the opposite sex and learn life lessons from each other. But this does not guarantee that our young people are not harmed by the wider world and its nastiness. We just do the best we can as do our amazing parents, step parents and caregivers.

Thank you for everything you do to support us.

Have a great long weekend

God Bless

Jo

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

I am writing today to ask our school community to please remind your students about their school uniform and the reasons we have for wearing these.

We have had a number of issues with regards to school uniforms lately with students pushing boundaries with regards to earrings and nails as well as socks, shoes and jackets.

As young people, students often consider uniforms to be old fashioned and increasingly today we hear arguments about our quashing individual freedom and expression.

To be clear, as a college we are quashing individual freedom for students by imposing a uniform and we make no apologies for that. We are quashing the opportunities for individuals with a lot of money to make other students feel small, we are quahsing an individuals ability to hurt themselves in our tech areas by insisting they wear leather shoes and we are quashing individuals freedom to express that they are above the law by doing what other people know they are not supposed to do.

A school uniform, for many of our students in their first opportunity to experience having to present a corporate image to the wider public. It is their first experience of having to subjugate their own wishes so that they are able to support the wishes of a community. By wearing their uniform well, they are outwardly saying "I support my community as a member of a wider group".

In today's world which is driven by individual wants and the expectation that anyone can do whatever they want when and wherever they want, wearing a school uniform is a uniquely counter cultural thing. It is done for precisely that reason. Whether a student likes a uniform or doesn't, whether it is in their preferred style or not all goes to teach the important lesson that at times, the needs of the group are more important than the whims of an individual.

We would ask that parents support our teaching this important lesson to the young adults who will one day be needing to put the needs of a family, including you, before their own needs.

Basic things to know about uniform:

• Earrings should be simple and only one pair worn.
• Nails - can be false but need to be natural colours
• Make up may be worn, especially when dealing with acne, but needs to be subtle and natural looking
• Necklaces and taonga need to be tucked in under shirts - this includes crosses and crucifixes or rosaries
• Socks need to be regulation
• Shoes must be black and leather in the traditional school style.
• Jackets can be purchased from the uniform shop and I urge students to buy these before winter as well as scarves and hats. The uniform shop is open on a Thursday at lunchtime.

Families struggling to pay for elements of uniforms need to contact their Dean for support with these items.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation and support.

God Bless

Jo