Thank you to our amazing tree planting volunteers!

A big thank you to this amazing group of volunteers who planted 3000 trees as part of our tree planting project!

Thank you to Jimmy McGeown and Cushla Bridges for efforts to get this project happening.

Coaches and Managers Evening

Thank you to those who were able to come along to the coaches and managers evening held on Tuesday night. 

It was great having Kate Finn there to talk to us about how to best engage and motivate our students to participate in sport. 

We wish our teams all the best for their season ahead!

Farewell to Gap Student Michael Mugona

Last week our hostel students performed the school haka as we said goodbye to Michael Mugona, one of our Gap Students. Michael is returning home to Zimbabwe and will then head to the US to study sports medicine next year. 

Thank you Michael for your help in the hostel, and also for your hard work in coaching our boys First XI Football team. 

We wish Michael all the best in his future endeavours.

High Performance Class- NLP Training

Recently our High Performance classes were lucky to have Kate Finn come in and share her expertise. 

Kate is a NLP Practitioner, Timeline Therapy Practitioner, Master Hypnotherapist and has also been a Registered Nurse since 1996.

Neuro-linguistic programming is a method for modelling excellence. Kate covered off many topics with our athletes including cause and effect/self responsibility; language patterns for success; mantras for individual body language; warm up focus; visualisation; grit versus talent; and limiting beliefs in performance. 

Kate’s mission is to help people through NLP learn more about the beauty of the human mind and the power of change that is within all of us. She certainly equipped our students with many strategies for achieving their own best outcomes. 

How great is it to have this level of expertise right here in our own community! Thank you Kate!

Hostel Lake Day

On Waitangi Day the Hostel set off for a trip to the lake!

A big thank you to all of the parents that came and joined us for the day. A special thank you to those who brought their boats and for taking the students for rides. It is much appreciated!

Gateway Programme

Gateway is a school programme for senior students that supports them to undertake learning and assessment in the workplace. It gives students a clear understanding of the knowledge and skills required for future employment.

Students have had some outstanding experiences, thanks to the generosity of local employers and their staff, who give up their time and share their expertise. Some students have secured apprenticeships for next year and others now have a clear idea about the vocational pathway that they wish to follow.

We would like to thank all the Industry Training Organisations for their support and the following organisations for hosting and mentoring our students;

Streeter Concepts Signwriting & Design
Johnson Gluyas
Ireland Engineering Solutions Ltd
Waitaki Refrigeration
Oamaru Kindergarten Association (Glen Warren)
Banks Auto Electrical
North Otago Motor Group
Calect Electrical Ltd
Aotea Electrical
McBrimar Homes
B. Williamson Racing (& J Gibson)
Peter Keown Automotives
Riverstone Kitchen
MV Building
Lance Doran Automotive
Drummond & Etheridge
RES Electrical
Kakanui Carpenters
Iona Home & Hospital
St Joseph’s Primary School
Oamaru Intermediete School
Papakaio School
Primary ITO
BCITO
MITO
Skills Organisation
Service IQ
Competenz
Porse
Fairviews Educational Resources

We also acknowledge the generosity of Repco Oamaru for sponsoring the SKC Vocational Pathways Prize, which was awarded to Year 13 student Callum Bishop. Callum completed a Level 3 Auto-electrical Gateway with Banks Auto. He also did a Level 2 Electrical Gateway in with Laser Electrical in 2018.

Thanks also to the Vocational Pathways staff at St Kevin’s College for all their hard work and encouragement.

Primary ITO Trades Academy School at St Kevin's College

SKC is fortunate to be a Primary ITO Trades Academy school. The Programme of Study aims to ensure that graduates from the two year course (Years 11 and 12) have a combination of practical skills and theoretical knowledge that will enable them to make informed choices about career options in the primary sector.

This funding ensures that all students studying Agriculture and Horticulture can benefit from a range of learning experiences including classroom based unit standards and achievement standards, industry training, farm visits and work based assessments. Health & Safety is also a key focus, as well as literacy and numeracy development.

We wish to say a huge thank you to the many people who supported our students in 2019; Primary ITO staff, AgriLearn tutors and admin, Oamaru Racecourse and Farm Manager, all the farmers and producers we have visited, particularly the Nichols of Kuriheka who have hosted us for many years. Also Hayman's Dairy and David O'Neill Contracting who both took students for work experience.

Student Sport Volunteers Recognised

On Thursday 17th October a group from our fantastic student sport volunteers were acknowledged at a lunch held at Portside restaurant.

Eight students from each high school were invited to the event hosted by Aoraki Secondary School Sport. Adair Craik was the guest speaker and she talked about the importance of volunteers and thanked the students for the great work that they do.

We are lucky to have students that contribute to College sporting life whether it be coaching, managing, covering first aid, scorekeeping, or umpiring.


Our students that were acknowledged were:

Emily McCoy, Lucy Hitchcock, Zach Dickie, Thomas Ballantyne, Annie Metcalfe, Nina Dickie, Jaimee Trainor and Bethany Pope.

A big thank you to you all- sport just can not happen without the help of volunteers and we appreciate the wonderful work you do!

Kidney Kids Can Fundraiser

You may remember us posting a while back about cans being collected by the school Leo club. The money from the sale of the cans goes to help the Kidney Kids Support Group of NZ who support children with kidney disease. These cans were handed over to Trish Hinton from North Otago Lions to go for sale.

The boxes shown represent about 3 weeks of collecting at school and we will continue this as it is a great way to recycle, as well as benefiting others. Thank you to the students who have made the effort to put their cans in the pink bins, keep up the good work!

📷: Sara Plunkett

Farewell to Mr Russell Dixon

At the end of this term we farewell Mr Russell Dixon 😪. With Seniors off with school exams this week, the school performed a haka on Friday to honour and show their respect for a wonderful man who has been such a big part of College life through the years.

Mr Dixon has been associated with St Kevin’s College for 36 years in total. There were five years as a boarder and 31 years as a member of staff, Board of Trustees, and School Counsellor.

During his time at the College he crossed paths with many of the students as he coached rugby; ran the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme; organised most student charity collections locally, led the Spirit of Adventure Trust; helped Otago aspirants gain entry to the Residential Hall of their choice; coached boys and girls Softball; represented the staff on the Board of Trustees; as well as made himself available for every outdoor adventure, field trip, every retreat, and every initiative possible.

We wish Mr Dixon all the best in his future endeavors.

Year 12 Ag Trip

The Year 12 Agriculture class visited a dairy farm and a sheep farm in Glenavy last week, in order to gather information for their NCEA assessments.

We thank Murphy's Dairy farms (Bruce and Rob) and Digger and Lynn McCulloch for giving up part of their busy days to share a wealth of knowlege with us.

Young Farmers Club

St Kevin's College has a Young Farmers Club which has about 20 members that meet every Tuesday lunchtime in the Ag room. It is run by a committee of student leaders, assisted by Mrs Eatherley and Bridget Huddleston of Young Farmers.

The club organises activities such as farm skills, field trips, guest speakers and socials with other schools. Recently Alan Harvey came and spoke to our Young Farmers Club. Alan represented Aorangi at this years Young Farmer of the Year competition.

Alan spoke about what he loves most about his job, namely being the variety, and gave sound advice to the students about doing what they are passionate about, being open to opportunities and always having goals in mind, both short and long term.

Thank you Alan for taking the time out of your busy day to come and see us!

Agrilearn Courses

Recently Year 12 students from St Kevin's and Waitaki Girl's were hard at work completing a Small Engines course with Agrilearn Ltd. St Kevin's College is a Primary Industries Trades Academy school, which offers students a great opportunity to develop skills, explore career pathways and gain qualifications in the Agricultural sector.

We are grateful to the excellent Agrilearn tutors for teaching and encouraging our students. Health and Safety is a vital component of the workplace, so students are getting a headstart by being taught how to operate farm vehicles, handle stock and carry out fencing and trough repairs etc.

Thanks also to Dave Heffernan for kindly allowing us to use the farm facilities and sheep at the Oamaru racecourse for the Agrilearn courses.

Leos Club Fundraise for Kidney Kids Organisation

The SKC Leo's Club in partnership with the Lions club is now collecting aluminium cans for recycling, with proceeds going towards the Kidney Kids organisation.

If you have any aluminium cans lying around home (not tin cans like spaghetti) please help them out by bringing them to school to be placed in the pink bin found in the lower quad.

Thanks to Mrs Hesselin and the Leo's club for starting this initiative for a great cause!

New Basketball Banners in School Gym

Check out the new addition to the school gym! A big thank you to Stephen Robertson and LJ Hooker Oamaru who have proudly sponsored these awesome basketball banners.

Thank you Allan, Stefan and Mr Hitchcock for putting these up this week, they look fab!

High Performance Programme

Did you know we have a High Peformance Sports Programme at St Kevin's College?

It aims to develop our top sports people and equip them with the physical, mental and emotional skills to improve their performance. Accountability, commitment, excellence and integrity are the key focus areas to develop this group of young people as not only athletes, but as people and students.

There is a Junior and Senior Programme and students are able to develop their physical fitness and sport specific skills during class time. As well as this, they cover important topics such as nutrition, injuries, recovery, tactical awareness, sports psychology, goal setting, interpersonal skills and leadership. Sport specific coaches are used to develop each students’ skills, and guest speakers also get to address the students when the opportunity arises.

Recently we were lucky to have Registered Dietitian Lou Fangupo come and talk to us about nutrition and how to fuel our bodies for training, games and recovery. Thank you Lou for sharing your expertise!

If you would like to learn more about the programme please contact our Head of Sport Craig Smith at csmith@stkevins.school.nz

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

This week the telltale signs that we are close to the Waitaki Interschool could be heard during lunch breaks. The traditional Haka and Chants have been dusted off and practised with passion.

I captured this shot of our Head Boy, Seth Humphries, tutoring our year 9 boys in the finer points of the Haka.

Last week we held a farewell for Mrs Anne Flett who is a long term kitchen staff member after 32 years of sterling service. On behalf of the College Board of Trustees, staff and students, I would like to formally thank Anne for her years of diligent service to our College community.

In preparation for my upcoming Ministry of Education sabbatical in term three, I am pleased to announce the following staffing arrangements:

• Mr Ryan will become the Acting Principal
• Ms Walshe, the Acting Deputy Principal
• Senior management will retain their existing job roles with the exception of Mr Ryan who will share his existing work with Mr Herbst who will be "Senior Master" for the term.

Finally, I would like to wish our seniors all the very best for the Ball this Saturday evening. It is a gala occasion, requiring detailed planning and preparation. Thank you in anticipation to Ms Walshe, our Home and School team and the student ball committee for your hard work and attention to detail.

Manaaki te atua ia koutou

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen, Tumuaki

Keep up to date with College news by visiting our News Blog >>

New Turf Opening

On Friday the new Tiger Turf multisport facility was officially blessed by Bishop Colin and opened by Mayor Gary Kircher. This marks the culmination of 4 years of planning and funding by a dedicated team led by our Head of Sport, Mr Craig Smith.

It is a superb facility for the students of our College and is being made available to the wider community for the development of sport in our district. The turf includes a set of specialist cricket nets, a basketball and netball court that meets international court standards and multisport surface marked out as a hockey practice turf and futsal court.

We couldn’t have done it without these key stakeholders and their generous financial contribution- The Board of Trustees, Lotteries Commission, The College Foundation, Otago Community Trust, Oamaru Licensing Trust, Lion Foundation, St Kevin’s College Home and School Association, and the New Zealand Cricket Foundation.

Thank you to everyone who has helped with this project and the opening. A big shout out to our student photographers Anna, Isaac, Jonte and Alex who captured the day.

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Today the new Tiger Turf multisport facility was officially blessed by Bishop Colin and opened by Mayor Gary Kircher. This marks the culmination of 4 years of planning and funding by a dedicated team led by our Head of Sport, Mr Craig Smith. It is a superb facility for the students of our College and is being made available to the wider community for the development of sport in our district. My sincere thanks for everyone who has helped with this project and today's opening.

Congratulations to our Pasifika students who took part in the regional Talent Show last evening, which was hosted at St Kevin's. Michael Misiloi was placed first in the prepared speech and Tupou Fifita came second in the senior age group section. Kaliopeta and Sivaenga Katoa were both awarded University of Otago scholarships. Thank you to Isaac Steel for technical support and Veronica Kauapa for helping to organise the evening and sharing compering duties. Thank you also to Mrs Dooley for your support of our Pasifika students.

It was an honour to be able to welcome back past pupil, Ilaisipa Tahaafe as our guest speaker.

Finally, can you please keep the Barber family in your prayers as they grieve the loss of past pupil, Harrison, in a tragic car accident this week.

Manaaki te atua ia koutou

Ngā mihi nui
Paul Olsen, Tumuaki

Keep up to date with College news by visiting our News Blog >>