Last Friday our Year 10 students went up to Timaru to attend a taster day at the Ara Institute of Canterbury. Ara is the largest vocational training institute in the South Island.
They got to check out a range of learning options including Hairdressing, Health and Fitness, Art and Design, Creative Minds - Early Childcare Education, Sports Performance, Beauty and Digital Technology.
Thank you to Mrs Margaret Burton for organising this great day out for our students, and to the many staff that went and supported our students.
Yesterday 10S students delivered their homemade Advent Calendars to Colleen Myers, the Quality Risk Leader at Waitaki Health. The calendars are destined for any children who are confined to a hospital bed over the lead up to Christmas. Makayla Bean, Colleen Myers, Meg Patterson, Latisha Wilson, Lily Ellington, Isaac Braxton, and Rynea Sheehy are seen here at Oamaru Hospital Reception area showing a selection of calendars.
The calendars are made from flax and recycled cardboard. The flax was carefully cut to the appropriate Karakia;
Hutia te rito o te harakeke Kei whea, te kōmako e kō?
Kī mai ki ahau He aha te mea nui o tēnei ao Māku e kī atu He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
There is a lollie to be revealed each day over the 24 days of Advent thanks to Rainbow Confectionery. Along with the daily lollie the calendars also hold karakia and prayers to help people get through the tough times in hospital.
This is the practical side to the students' study of a unit of work called, Expressions of Catholic Life. Students look at some Catholic traditions, such as Advent and the build-up to the birth of Jesus at Christmas. They also discovered the Catholic tradition of Giving to Others, where they have been able to apply this to a practical local situation.
Going downhill in 2020 has not been an exceptional event, but staff and students at St Kevin’s College have taken it literally. The college in conjunction with Mountain Bike North Otago is creating a downhill mountain bike track that, it is hoped, will form part of the series of tracks available throughout the wider Oamaru area and will extend the opportunities for mountain bike riders already using the track at the Reservoir Road site. Teacher Aidan Haig, himself a keen mountain bike rider and member of MBNO described the project as “an awesome opportunity to utilize the hill area and provide a challenging track for a range of riders”.
The track has been cut using a combination of mechanical power with Graeme McLeod and his digger carving out the wider parts of the track and through time and effort donated by students under the care of supervisor, Jimmy McGeown. Students volunteer their time as part of the school’s service award.
The hillside has, until the last year, been planted out in radiata pine, but after clearing the site, school management felt that the area would have a greater community benefit in being used for sport and being planted out in native trees to support the school’s sustainability goals.
Calls for support in obtaining suitable native plantings have seen generous donations from the North Otago Tree Planting Association and Kerry Robb from K South Commercial Property Services and Oamaru Lawns Plus. While the track will be finished by the end of the year, the school plans to use the hill itself and its native planting as an ongoing tribute to the idea of service to the community. “If it can be a living symbol of community and recognition of service to others, and if it can be enjoyed by the people of North Otago, then we feel we have come to a good place” Principal Mr Paul Olsen stated.
Last week the SADD combined groups of SKC, WGHS and WBHS launched their community promotion of no distractions when driving.
Each school designed a sign and they will be displayed outside of the Oamaru Police station over the next 6 months.
Well done to all schools on this great initiative!
Check out the goods that the Hostel students and supervisors donated to Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child.
Lucy Shea organised to take the donation box to the hostel a week ago and found it full after the weekend. So now, two boxes are making their way to two little girls who would not have things for Christmas otherwise.
Thanks Lucy and Hostel!
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.
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.
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!
