Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and supporters of the College

Today we celebrated the Feast Day of St Dominic at our Friday Mass. Thank you to local Dominican Sister, Mary Horn, who challenged us to to reflect on our College charism in a contemporary setting. This decade the Dominicans have been celebrating milestones on their way to the 800 anniversary of the Order's formation in 2016. The motto of the Dominicans is Veritas (Truth). The quest for truth is central to a Dominican education and deeply underpins our FIRE Values. Examples include: Integrity - being true to our mission and Excellence - the pursuit of truth in all we do. We thank our local Sisters for their presence, guidance and hard work in our local community.

Following Mass, Year 12 and 13 students attended the Mayoral commemoration ceremony for the centenary of the Battle of Chunuk Bair. This poignant service was very fittingly held in the Hall of Memories at Waitaki Boys' High School. Our students joined locals in the firing party, pipe band and our head students were flag bearers. Mayor Kircher and guest speakers highlighted the tremendous loss of life to the Otago Mounted Rifles in the fateful battle and the impact that this had on the North Otago community. I wish to extend my thanks to the organisers for arranging such a moving tribute to those who died. May we keep alive the memories of those who were killed in at Gallipoli in this tragic battle. I finish with the fourth stanza from Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them. 

May God bless you all
Paul Olsen, Principal

St Dominic's Feast Day

Today students and staff gathered in the Chapel to celebrate St Dominic's Feast Day with a Mass.  We were delighted to have the local Dominican Sisters join us and it was fitting to have Sister Mary Horn speak about our College charism in a modern world.

Bishop's Shield 2015

GOOD LUCK to our 2015 Bishop's Shield team!  They left this morning bound for Invercargill as Verdon College play host to teams from Kavanagh College, St Peter's College (Gore) and ourselves in a weekend long competition of of speech, drama, debating and scripture reading.

Aoraki Boys Badminton

Congratulations to Matthew Cullimore, Karan Ratgali, Max Stewart and Thomas Pickles who took second place at the Aoraki Boys Badminton Tournament which was held in Timaru on Wednesday.  In true Kevinian spirit they were also award the Fair Play Award.  Well done boys!

Aoraki Maths Competition

Three teams travelled up to compete in the Aoraki Maths Competition in Timaru last night.  All of the teams did well, but a special congratulations to the SKC Y10 A team (Quinn Hargreaves, Levi Sherman, David Xie and Rebecca Whittet) who came second, leading the competition until the last nail biting minute!  Well done!

Urgent Reminders

The closing deadline for applications for Financial Assistance for NCEA fees is fast approaching.  Applications must be received at the school office by WEDNESDAY 12 AUGUST at the latest.  If you are the person paying the fee you can apply if:

1. You are on a benefit (Work and Income or Studylink)
2. You have a community services card or you family income is such that you would qualify to receive one.
3. You have two or more children sitting NCEA and the total amount you would have to pay is more than the $200 max amount

(please note that you can't put in an application for Financial Assistance if you are an international student)

For more information about Financial Assistance please follow this link - http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/qualifications/ncea/entry-into-ncea/fees-for-ncea/financial-assistance/

You can download the form here  - http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/assets/qualifications-and-standards/qualifications/ncea/Application-For-Financial-Assistance.pdf

If you have any questions please contact Mrs Potter - but sooner rather than later and leaving it to the last minute :)

The standard NCEA fee of $76.70 is due to be paid by MONDAY 31 AUGUST.  This can be paid by cash/eftpos at the school office, or to the school via internet banking (using the student name and NCEA Fee as a reference). 

Please note that the NCEA fee will not be sent home as an invoice and can't be charge to your school account.  The New Zealand Qualifications Authority charge a penalty for overdue fees.  

If you have any concerns then please get in touch with Mrs Potter :)

Phortse School Mission

As part of the fundraising efforts for the Phortse school and village in Nepal Peter Hillary and Jason Laing were guest speakers at a charity event in Cromwell recently.  Each spoke of their experiences in Nepal during and immediately following the devastating earthquakes earlier in the year and over $12000 was raised from ticket sales and auctions throughout the evening.  

This of course is part of the mission that Y13 student Georgia Haggerty has been a part of, with their trip to the Solo Khumbu region on track for next month.  They have already arranged the delivery of shelter tents and tarpaulins, along with cash to support the rebuild effort of the school, as well as providing school resources and village support.

The team is very appreciative of all of the relief efforts and financial support for the Phortse school and village, knowing it would not be possible with the involvement of the wider communities each team member belongs to - including Georgia's St Kevin's community.  

CLICK HERE to view their Facebook page.

Outstanding Winter Sports Subs

There are still a number of sports subs that remain outstanding.  If you are unsure as to whether you have paid your winter sports sub please check with Sandra at the school office.

Outstanding amounts will need to be paid as soon as possible, and prior to Winter Tournament Week and Sports Photos.

Thank you in advance.

U17 Development Basketball

Good luck to Y12 student Matt Brien who has been invited to attend an U17 South Island wide development camp in Christchurch this weekend.  Two other camps will be held in the North Island (also this weekend) and from the three, a twelve man NZ U17 squad will be chosen for a developmental tour of Australia in January.  With only four players from Otago attending Matt is very excited about the opportunity.  All the best Matt!

TeenAg Naitonal Finals

The 2015 TeenAg National Finals were held in Taupo at the beginning of July and the Gumboot Girls (Brittany Caldwell and Georgia Malcolm) and the High Country Hillbillies (Ella Sanderson and Holly Malcolm) represented the Aorangi region as the only all girl teams out of the 21 national finalists.  The Gumboot girls won the speech section and were placed 5th Overall in the whole competition.  The younger High County Hillbillies placed 9th and either of the teams were first place getters in the Working Dog, Fertiliser and Stock Judging sections of the practical modules.  Congratulations girls on and outstanding effort!

Brittany, Georgia, Ella and Holly would like to sincerely thank the sponsors who supported their representation of the Aorangi region in Taupo:
PGG Wrighton, Parkside Quarries, Dean and Associates, McKenzie and Co Accountants, Night and Day, Ray White Realestate, Plunket Electrical, Rural Transport, Oamaru Honda, G&J Fencing, Bennet Transport and Whitestone Livestock.

Seesaw Basketball Battle

On the Basketball court an epic see saw battle raged between the Boys TopV and their foes from Waitaki. With the scoreline constantly changing throughout the game there were many heart stopping moments, but relief when the final buzzer went with the score 52-50 to SKC. Mr Hitchcock and the team pass on their thanks to all of the parents who traveled to support them, to Coach Ollie and of course LJ Hooker who make it all possible. Not to be forgotten, congratulations to the Girls TopV who also had a win, against Roncalli College in Timaru.

The U18 Boys Football team took the win over top seeded Timaru Boys High School Hawks 5-3 which has them positioned first equal in the league. The U16 team were not as fortunate against Waitaki Boys. The girls had two solid wins - SKC Red taking on Waimate High School for a 4-1 win, and SKC Blue (depleted with illness) won over Waitaki Girls Black 3-0 with only 8 players.

The 1st XV traveled to Mosgiel to take on Taieri College and were convincing with a 51-17 win. The U16 boys were unable to mirror that with a loss to Roncalli College, while the U14 Red won against Waimate and U14 Blue lost against Timaru Boys.

Y10 Hockey

The PE department have thrown a competitive edge into the Y10 sports education unit by arranging a student run hockey tournament.  10K began their unit today and they will play amongst themselves with the winning team playing against the other Y10 classes.  Each student has a role within the team .... manager, fitness trainer, coach, first aid etc.  The unit runs for the next two weeks and we look forward to a Y10 hockey showdown!