Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

As we approach the end of the term I must admit to looking forward to moving past important calendar dates where a potential Covid 19 disruption could throw a spanner in the works. Two major dates coming up for the students are the Ball on the 3rd July and the Waitaki Week sports exchanges held during the last week of school. Based on the positive news we have had out of Wellington so far of no community spread, I believe we should be excited about both of these events going ahead, but I also want to reassure the community that we have alternative plans in place if there were a Covid related lockdown of any sort. That is an important message to reiterate too around the rest of our core business. We are prepared for lockdowns if they are ever deemed necessary and we are confident we have good plans in place for looking after our students.

 

I would like to congratulate the Arts Faculty for a great night last night where students were able to showcase their various talents. Visual Art, Costume Design, Photography, Music, Drama and Dance were all featured and having the various strands collected together into a showcase certainly reinforced the wide variety and depth of talent we have here at the college.

I pray that the weather is kind to those of you planting trees on Service Hill on Sunday morning and encourage anyone who wants to be part of this historical event to bring a shovel and lend a hand. This is our opportunity to truly live our value of respect for our planet.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

 Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

There is has been much going on in the College this week and there will be many coaches and teachers embracing a weekend off after a very busy start to the week with both the Otago Secondary Schools Netball Tournament and the Mercy Cup having been played last weekend through to Tuesday. I would like to thank those community volunteers and staff who drove teams from Dunedin to Christchurch to ensure that we had teams represented across all disciplines. I spoke to our students at assembly this week about taking the time to thank coaches. Otago has one of the highest rates of staff involvement with school sport in the country which means that in many other places, students are simply missing out. Unless we all continue to step up, the options for students around sport will inevitably disappear. It will be hard for us as a society to complain about our students' screen time if we are not offering alternatives, so to those who are, I am eternally grateful.

A big thank you to Jennifer Herbst for running an excellent Scripture Reading competition this week. Proclaiming the word of God is, in my opinion, the second most important thing for a young Catholic to be able to do, behind of course modelling the compassion of Christ. It is wonderful to see how many of our young people are keen to give this a go. 

Finally, best of luck to Mr Carter and the Drama students for their performance on Thursday night. I have reliable information that there will be ice creams for sale from Te Ngakau Nui. See you there!

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

I could not have submitted the blog this week without addressing the fact that this week I have resigned from the College effective from Jan 2022. This has been a tough decision as I truly feel that St Kevin's College is my spiritual home. It is in my teaching DNA having been where I have spent my most formative years as a teacher and senior leader and finally as Principal. My wife and I have lived on site, I have raised my children here and it is no overstatement to say that I love this place. Over my time at the helm, I have been lucky to have formed an excellent team of administrators, leaders, curriculum leaders and staff and together I feel that we have developed not only a high performing school academically, but a school which lives its values of Family, Integrity, Respect and Excellence. I have no qualms about leaving the school in such capable hands and I thank the School Board for not only its support of me in the past, but for its ongoing support as we move into the future.

I am excited about the prospect of being able to develop and support Catholic Education across Otago and Southland in my new position and am thrilled that while my relationship to the College will be different, there will still very much be a link in my new role. I am looking forward to the appointment of our next Principal and ask that the community support them in the way that you have supported me. It is an exciting time for the college community. The Board will be seeking community feedback around the attributes you feel are important in our next school leader and I encourage you to contribute to that process.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Important Update to St Kevin's College Community

 Kia ora Kevinians and supporters of the College

It is with regret that the St Kevin’s College Board announces that Mr Paul Olsen has tendered his resignation as Principal of St Kevin’s College effective from the start of the 2022 year. Mr Olsen began his tenure as Principal at the school in 2010 and has, over the course of the past two years, also worked as Lead Principal for the Whitestone Kāhui Ako - Community of Learning. 

Mr Olsen has had a long association with Catholic education having served as Principal of Verdon College in Invercargill from 2007 - 2010 and having served St Kevin’s College previously as Deputy Principal from 2001 - 2007. He is continuing to support Catholic Education in his new role as Manager of the Catholic Education Office for the Otago Southland Diocese where he will continue to put his many and varied talents to good use across a wide range of areas; including assets and curriculum. 

Throughout his time at St Kevin’s College, Mr Olsen has created an environment which has a strong pastoral focus with an emphasis on the teaching of values and inclusiveness. He guided the College through the changeover of ownership from the Christian Brothers to the Dunedin Diocese whilst keeping the founding vision of Edmund Rice, of education without barriers, as a key focus. Mr Olsen’s desire to articulate his vision for the Special Character of the school saw him lead the development of the FIRE values framework (Family, Integrity, Respect and Excellence) and embed this doctrine as the basis for establishing Restorative Practice at the school which has been in effect for the past six years. 

Mr Olsen’s selfless dedication to community has seen him involved in a variety of areas including being the Chair of the Safer Waitaki Coalition since its inception in 2013. He is also President and Musical Director of the Waitaki District School Pipeband since 2005. Mr Olsen has been involved in a variety of different community projects over the years, the most recent having been the development of a community bike track behind the College.  

Whilst filling the role of Principal of the College with a candidate of 

Mr Olsen’s calibre will not be easy, the lengthy lead in time allowed in this transition period will certainly help in ensuring that the good work Mr Olsen has done in the school will be continued. It is with a great deal of gratitude that the College acknowledges that Mr Olsen will still be involved with the school in his new role. We wish him every success in his future endeavours. 

On behalf of St Kevin’s College Board

Eugen Dupu
Presiding Member

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

This week I spoke in assembly about 'lived values". This is a message I constantly try to drive home with our students and it is incredibly important. In a world where there is increasing commercialization around values it is important that we help our students to understand the difference between buying into the 'floss' of an idea and actually taking a real stand. Today for example, we celebrated 'pink shirt day' which is an anti bullying campaign. While our students had a lot of fun dressing in their pink, I have asked staff to reinforce the meaning behind the exercise, to help focus students be aware of how they treat others and to tie this to our values of Family, Integrity, Respect and Excellence. Without our reinforcing our values and expectations, days like this can become a bandwagon rather than a sincere call for change. If we march against climate change, but do nothing to curb our consumption, we are as the Bible puts it 'only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal' If we talk about wellbeing but don't put the mahi into helping ourselves or others, we are similarly wasting our time.

 

When I see our young people getting behind a cause like pink shirt day and having those sincere discussions about how to make things better, I am heartened and hopeful for our community. Christ's challenge to all of humanity was to 'walk the talk' to bring the kingdom of God to earth. Teaching our students the importance of living our values to the best of their ability is our chance to do just that.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

The arrival of the frosts this week has indicated we are well and truly into the winter sports season and what an exciting start we have had to it! We welcomed Roncalli College to the school on Wednesday and competed against them in all of the traditional sports as well as adding a few new competitions such as Scripture Reading and Debating to the mix. We were very lucky with the weather as the rain the day before softened the fields without causing any major damage and the sun shone on spectators. I was very pleased with the overall sportsmanship displayed by both Colleges and the fact that it was a very even competition meant that all teams enjoyed themselves.

On Tuesday of this week we held the second of the NCEA training days around cultural competencies and how New Zealand is attempting to reflect the diversity in our social landscape in terms of the way in which we assess learning. The staff found the discussion which came out of this day extremely valuable. As part of the discussion we looked at the idea of 'privilege' through the work of Dr Michelle Johansson. This challenged us to think about the lens through which we look at society and our preconceived notions of how assessment should be carried out. This is part of a larger conversation and we enjoyed the chance to explore these ideas.

Best of luck to all of our codes for the weekend.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

We have had a busy start to the term with the Cross Country being run today and of course Student Led Conferences happening this afternoon and this evening. I would like to take the opportunity to remind parents and caregivers that they are welcome to make bookings with staff outside of these formal report evenings at any time, so don't be discouraged if you were not able to get here today.

Today's SLCs focused on goal setting and ensuring that students feel prepared and informed as they settle into the second term which, for those studying for NCEA, is the engine room of the year. My advice to students at this time is to focus on organization and understanding how the school systems work. For those in Year 11 who are approaching NCEA for the first time, it is important for students and caregivers to be familiar with the rules that govern schools around NCEA such as resubmission and deadline requirements to avoid disappointment or issues if things go wrong. If Covid-19 has taught us anything, its that "anything can happen and it usually does"!

I am very proud of the group of students who turned up today to run what has been one of our most challenging Cross Country courses in many years. Not only were they enthusiastic, encouraging of each other and totally committed to it, they all seemed to finish in very strong times indeed. Thank you to Mr Tatupu for his organization of today and to the staff who volunteered to support our students by helping out.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

As it is Easter, the most important time on the calendar in the Christian year, I thought I would reflect on my message from assembly this week about what it means to be in a Catholic school in the 21st Century and the challenge it sets our young people.

The heart of the Jesus message is very simple, "love one another as I have loved you". The story of Christ's death is not just a tragic story about a single man but it reinforces that whole idea. Unlike other Kings and rulers, Christ sets the example of not dominating others but submitting to them, of not controlling others but inviting them to choose wisely, of not wielding power, but offering to suffer alongside us.

Wherever our young people look in the world today, they will see that the only thing that follows a power grab or hate or dominance of one group by another is misery. Christ invites us to do it differently, to act with integrity, to respect others and ourselves.

At this time of year, I invite our students to think about practical ways they can show our values of Family, Integrity, Respect and Excellence to others and to the world around us. That may mean going without something, resisting the easy way to approach something or having to put others before themselves. While this is hard, the rewards are great. The ultimate reward is a world we are blessed to live in. The Kingdom of God on Earth.

Many blessings and safe travels over this Easter period.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,This week we marked a year since we went into Level 4 Lockdown as a nation. This is significant as a national milestone as we are very proud to have been one of the few countries in the world to have avoided the worst of the disaster by going into lockdown quickly and decisively. It is easy to forget that many students around the world have missed the better part of a year's worth of education while we are able to not only enjoy the benefits of the academic side of school, but also the sporting, cultural and spiritual elements it offers as a community, together and without restraint.

 
There have, however, been some changes to the way we approach education in New Zealand since lockdown which are causing issues for students and schools. The NZ Ministry of Education has noticed a significant increase in rates of truancy and unexplained absence of students which is supported in the data nationwide.

This week in assembly I spoke of the need to ensure that you are at school for as much time as possible. The data is extremely clear on this, for every day missed, every period skipped and every late arrival to school, there is a correlation in the number of credits passed and the level of Excellence gained. My message is simple. If you are sick, if you have something happen which is beyond your control, if you have a sound reason for being away from school, no problem, ensure you communicate with your Dean so you are supported and it can be managed.
If you are not at school because your didn't feel like getting up, felt like a duvet day or thought you'd extend your weekend, then those things become habit and that habit costs you in the long run in terms of your results, your relationships with others and ultimately your ability to make choices down the track.

 
Lets ensure we give ourselves the best chance possible to do the best we can.

Have a good weekend,

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

It was with much joy and trepidation that our rowers left today for their Maardi Cup competition, with the ever present memory in the back of their minds of the cancellation of the event in 2020 and a quiet determination to make the most of the opportunity they now have. I was speaking to one of our staff the other day who was commenting on talking to a couple of the girls coming back from training early in the morning last week and she was saying how nice it was to see the girls so positive about their sport despite the early starts and the vigorous training.

 

Tomorrow we are all hoping our cricket team can triumph in the final of the local competition and we are all cheering them on, even the least sporting among us, because sport helps to bond communities. Just as we have seen the jubilation of the America's Cup win this week provide the NZ 'feel good factor', the same rush of endorphins is experienced by every parent ever who has watched a 'rippa rubgy' son or daughter touch down. It's the same high when a team walks off the netball court and can barely speak for the effort they have put in, or when a long jumper completes a personal best leap. There is something about sport which makes us push ourselves to be better than we are and which bonds us together as teams, communities and often too as a nation.

I would like to offer my sincere thanks to those in our community who have stepped up to give our young people the opportunity to participate in sport and find all of this for themselves. The coaches, managers, car poolers, jersey washers, cheerleaders and administrators. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Enjoy your anniversary day weekend!

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Students relaxed today in Mufti as we held the first of our fundraisers for the year, our "Purple Shirt Day" for Relay for Life Cancer Support. In talking to students about this and the upcoming "School Strike for Climate", it is wonderful to see them truly participating in activity that supports good causes and getting to hear their viewpoints. Its easy to dismiss students as naïve because of their age, but without real hope and a positive outlook around what they can do for our world in the future, we would get nowhere. The cornerstone of the Christian Faith is Hope, this is not just for us as individuals but for us as community and society as a whole and nowhere is this better exemplified than in seeing young people turn their values into action.

I was also privileged this week to have been able to spend time with students who were away on camp for Year 11 PE. In a situations such as this, I am able to get a real glimpse into how students face challenges, meet expectations and work as part of a team. I was very impressed with many of the young people who were away with me and in reflecting on the camp, I am more convinced than ever that encouraging students to experience challenges in the great outdoors is a vital step in any adolescent's life. I thank the staff who were on camp with me and those who supported the campers with relief and holding the fort back at school.

Have a good weekend.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Today at school we launched this year's Friday options for Year 12 and 13 students. Covid 19 was a complicating factor as some students were unable to go onto worksites, but overall most students were able to achieve what they wanted out of their Friday time tables. Friday time tables are a chance for students to try courses which don't fit the Monday to Thursday time table, to gain valuable work experience without leaving the safety of the educational environment and in many cases to consolidate or extend learning in areas they study throughout the week. In 2020, we recorded an increase in Excellence results which indicates that this may be because of this extra flexibility and the chance it offers students to reinforce learning.

 

Next week we will be publishing our first round of ATL's for the year. You will notice a difference in these in that they are measuring 'engagement' only rather than the traditional two measurements of 'engagement' and 'achievement'. We have taken the decision to withdraw the 'achievement' measurement as it was only ever designed to reflect the individual achievement of students against their personal goals, but this has led to confusion for parents and caregivers around curriculum levels. ATL's will therefore be used to indicate to you the level of engagement your student has in their classroom activities. Most students will operate at a '3' most of the time, but if students are displaying levels of initiative and independence this will be reflected in '4's and '5's. Levels of engagement signaling that there are issues, are reflected as '2's or '1's.

Please feel free to contact the Deans if you have any issues around understanding the ATL's.

Have a good weekend

May God bless you.

Ngā Mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

This has been another hectic week here at the College with our Celebration of Excellence being held on Tuesday where we celebrated over 100 of our students who had achieved NCEA Merit and Excellence awards in 2020 as well as those junior students who achieved well in their Cambridge Examinations. A notable mention must go to Chloe Wilson who was awarded 'A Star' grades in both Cambridge Mathematics and English. I would extend my sincere thanks to Mr Nick Bristow, Mr Herbst and Mrs Stephanie Leong Son who do such a wonderful job of coaching our Cambridge students.

We have also had a busy week on the sporting front with cricket matches being played on Monday by both girls' and boys' teams, the championship swimming held after school on Tuesday and today we enjoyed our annual Athletics competition where Year 12 student Jed Jabagat set a new high jump record of 1.87 m. I would like to thank Mr Smith and his team for the effort put into setting up these sporting events and especially Mrs Sarah Clapperton for her work around today's competition.

I am sure staff and students alike are looking forward to a restful weekend.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen       

 

Principal's Blog

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Today we were fortunate to strike weather gold for our annual swimming sports which saw lots of good natured competition, plenty of worn out voices and some very tired students by the end of the day! I would like to thank Mr Smith and the team from the PE department for their exceptional organization of the event and the addition of the 'Bombing' competition which introduced many of the older staff (myself among them) to the concept of the 'Manu' and the 'Staple'. The ability to have fun alongside each other helps to bond us as SKC family and we appreciate the opportunities days like this provide.

 

Today was special in another way for us as a family as well as we attended the funeral of long time supporter of the College; Gwen Dodd. Gwen served the College in many capacities including being a leading figure in the establishment and running of the Girls' Hostel as well as serving on many school boards over her years of involvement. Today as we celebrated the life of this truly remarkable lady, I was mindful of the many, many wonderful people who have left their mark on this place and I am deeply appreciative that we are standing on some big shoulders. We send our heartfelt thanks and condolences to Gwen's family at this time.

May God bless you.


Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen       

 

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Our buildings have been pulled down and our teaching staff has had some changes, we have new students starting in our community, not just year 9's but also from other years. We have a new Top 6 and Prefect leadership team and students and staff are operating in unfamiliar rooms, taking unfamiliar routes around the school and reinventing systems to help accommodate the amazing team of builders from Gilchrist Construction who are operating in the middle of it all!

All of this has given me the inspiration to think about the role of change in our community. It seems to me that change is a very necessary element for progress. Every system that exists needs challenging from time to time to check that it is still fit for purpose. Just because we feel comfortable with something, does not mean that we should preserve it against all odds. SKC prides itself on being able to thoughtfully and carefully move towards the future making changes which enable us to continually support students. At times this means challenging our own perceptions or experiences. The world we grew up in in no way reflects the world our students are growing up in, and we need to pivot to those changes with a single exception. That exception is enshrined in our FIRE values which, through all change, we strive to uphold.

 

So as we move forward through a range of changes this year, not in the least the building of our brand new technology block and relocation of learning, teaching and office spaces, our induction of wonderful new staff members and students, lets remember that while things might seem painful or annoying at times as we move through, we are positive it will be worth it when students step through the doors of our biggest building projects in years. Thank you all for your patience and support.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Staff have had the first week back now with students here at school and we have managed to get through a lot in our first few days including course confirmation, timetable alterations, our welcome to new students, sports sign ups, investiture mass and even managed to fit in some lessons!

We started a few days early this year to allow for our Cambridge students to have two days of tutorials so that they knew what to expect from the course before getting started. I thank Mr Herbst and Mr Gower for their organisation in ensuring that our Cambridge students got the year off to a flying start.

This early start also allowed us to have some staff training from the New Zealand School Trustees Association's legal arm around the new Education Act 2020. Staff were ably assisted in their understanding of their rights and responsibilities by lawyer Mr Patrick Ikiua, who was able to unpack what it means to be a school, a partner in Te Triti O Waitangi and a Crown entity. It was good for staff to be able to learn about where the lines of responsibility are drawn around school, home and student and the conversations in law around what these look like. Mr Ikiua talked about the increasing demands being placed on schools as a social influence and the difficulties they can bring.

 

As we head into the shortened second week for students, I would like to take the opportunity to remind parents and caregivers of year 9 and new students to the school of the 'Meet the Staff' evening on Tuesday 9th in the library.

Have a wonderful long weekend.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen     

 

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

The final week of school has gone very smoothly with our having had a successful Year 10 camp at a new location at Totara Peak Station.  This was a challenge for us this year after having lost the use of our traditional spot at Middleton through the Oahu fire, and so we scrambled to find an alternative.  I would like to thank Sonja and Jim Metherell for accommodating us and working with us to ensure that the camp was a success.  The communication, support and facilities were second to none and we look forward to other camps there in the future.  I would like to thank the staff who went on Year 10 camp with the students and in particular Mr Mat Harris who led the organization of the event.  

Back at the school, the year 9's divided their time between regular classes and some fun events such as using the waterslide and a Basketball tournament.  They finished the year very positively showing the maturity and enthusiasm we have come to expect from this group in 2020.

Our Junior Prizegiving today focused on the idea of Hope and the importance of it in making meaning in our lives.  The liturgy reinforced the idea that true Christian Hope is not about magical thinking around hoping to win Lotto or hoping to have things go all our way, but it is in the deeper sense of looking for the positive in all things and in all people.  As we move into more unchartered waters in 2021 both locally and around the world, we are aware that it is in bringing our Hope to all we say and do that brings the light of Christ to those around us. 

In this spirit, I wish you all a Merry, Positive, Hope-filled Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi nui

Paul Olsen        

Principals Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

Today we wrapped up our performance unit and end of year dance unit for year 10.  As usual the school has been in a heightened state of excitement over this which will only grow as next week we look forward to Junior prize giving and Year 10 Camp. 

The theme of the performance unit this year was fittingly 2020.  Students found fun and interesting ways to express what the year had meant to them.  In the case, especially of our Year 9 cohort who had a disrupted transition to secondary school, our students have coped with the changes and challenges of the year extremely well. 

Thanks goes to Mr Smith and the Physical Education department for the excellent work they do in presenting this unit and also to the Year 12 students who give up their time to help coach classes.  

Cricket has been in full force also this week as our students played in a tournament involving four schools.  I would like to again thank Mr Smith for organizing this.  The students enjoyed the experience with some wins and some losses and fortunately the weather played ball (excuse the pun)!

This morning we farewelled our long serving staff member Mr Gary Mccleery.  Gary has been with us for 19 and a half years during which time he has worked on building our computer system and running our library.  This work has increased in size and complexity over the years and we thank him very much for his faithful support of both staff and students at the college. We wish Gary the best in his retirement. 

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui

Paul Olsen       

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,

This week has been extremely busy with students heading off to Aoraki sporting competitions and with Seniors continuing on with their NCEA examinations.  We are also getting ready to start the building project of refurbishing our Food Technology area which, while it will be a short term upheaval, will greatly enhance our capacity to deliver quality teaching and learning in the technology space.  I would like to publicly thank our staff in advance for dealing with the inevitable inconvenience that will come from this project. 

The end of the year is an exciting time for our students and it is an opportunity for many departments to look for learning experiences that are a little less formal than at other times of the year.  It has been wonderful to see students making movies and dances, engaging with Kapa Haka through the performance unit and enjoying art and design projects that are of local curriculum design.  Encouraging our students to participate in areas of the curriculum where they can express through creativity, who they are and what they value in their own lives, is a wonderful thing.

A recent development that has been a great success is the creation of our competitive volleyball teams.  These teams are going from strength to strength in local competitions and have given students another opportunity for  developing their sporting and team building capabilities. I would like to thank Mrs Laraga for the support, mentoring and practical help she has given to these students to establish the teams. 

Have an enjoyable weekend.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui

Paul Olsen       

Principal's Comment

Kia Ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College,
This week has been a funny mixture of goodbyes and welcomes as we celebrated our leavers on Wednesday night and this Friday welcomed our new Year 9s for 2021.

As teachers we are in the position of being able to help students transition through what are often the most important years of their lives in the college environment and at the end of the day its our role to ensure that we have helped parents and caregivers to nurture students through to being the best people they can possibly be. On Wednesday I joined with our community in celebrating that. I am extremely proud of the young people we are sending out into the community and we feel sure that they will contribute to New Zealand economically, socially and spiritually.

Today Mr Harris ran a very successful orientation day for the one hundred Year 8 students coming next year. Our orientation focuses on ensuring that the students understand that this is a place where they can feel safe to be themselves and to make lasting friendships. We focus on having fun, making friends and feeling confident to interact with other students like prefects and existing Year 9s. It is very important to us that students go home over the holidays and have the feeling that St Kevin's is a welcoming place that they want to come back to in the New Year.

Hopefully this lovely sunshine will last through the weekend.

May God bless you.

Ngā mihi Nui
Paul Olsen