National Gold

A big thumbs up and congratulations to Brylee More and her Otago U18 Girls Touch team mates following their fantastic win at the 2018 Junior National Tournament which was held in Auckland over the weekend.  The girls were unbeaten in the lead up to the final against Waikato and after a very wet tournament the game was called off when officials decided the grounds were too unsafe for play.  Otago had beaten Waikato in round 7 so both sides were happy with the result which gave Otago the Gold.  

Friday Fun By The Pool - Swimming Sports Part II

Magee are holding the lead!   At the end of a great day of Swimming Sports at the pool Magee House are in front heading into the Championship Swimming on Thursday.  A big congratulations to everyone who took part in what was a most excellent day!!  And thank you to Isaac and Ellie for the rest of the great photos.

CHECK OUT MORE OF THE FUN FROM FRIDAY'S SWIMMING SPORTS

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Last evening it was a pleasure for staff to be able to engage with the caregivers of students new to the College. A packed library was alive with conversation, questions, updates and explanations. Effective caregiver communication is always a challenge in a secondary school environment and I was pleased to see people putting faces to names and getting to know each other as we commence the partnership that is the key to effective education. Thank you to Mr Ryan and our staff for organising this event.

Congratulations also to the Prefects for their contributions to assemblies and House activities this week. The "Three Legged Race" held at lunchtime was a great way to start the House competition and build relationships across the College.

Today the Houses line up to continue the challenge in the Swimming Sports. The weather has held and the pool is a tremendous venue for the competition. We are looking forward to high participation, as well as some records being broken.

Finally, we celebrated mass with Bishop Colin Campbell this morning and kept Sister Madeleine in our prayers as she recovers in Dunedin from her car accident. Sr Madeleine is one of the local Dominicans and was a past teacher and Board of Trustees member. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

May God bless you all
Paul Olsen, Principal

Swimming Sports Make A Splash

A little bit of cloud cover doesn't deter a Kevinian from getting in the pool!  After a quick briefing and roll check it was all on with with core business of the day .... inter-House competition!!!  Well done to all of the students who took part, got in the pool, and earned valuable House points.  The Championship Swimming is scheduled for next Thursday after school so stay tuned for more photos and the announcement of our 2018 Swimming Champions!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW GREAT IMAGES FROM ISAAC STEEL AND ELLIE GRAHAM

Commissioning Mass 2018

The Chapel was awash with House colours this morning as students dressed in red, green, yellow or blue, ready for the annual Swimming Sports.  Bishop Colin joined us to commission our new teachers as part of a special Mass, before the festivities of inter-House competition began.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE REST OF ELLIE'S PHOTOS

Hostel Happenings

It has been a busy start to the year as students have been involved in a number of activities as well as the academic year getting under way.

Waitangi Day
A big thank you to the Year 13 students who organised games for the hostel to play on Waitangi Day as well as accompanying the junior students to the Waitaki Aquatic Centre in the afternoon.

School Pool
This has been very popular, especially during the first week when we had some very high temperatures and a large number of students have enjoyed swims in the pool.

Loch Laird - Otemetata
This Sunday the hostel is off to the Loch to enjoy the day on the water. This trip is always a real highlight of the year and we look forward to a number of our hostel families joining us as well.

Three Legged Inter-House Competition

There was all kinds of crazy happening on the track today as our 2018 inter-House competition kicked off with three legged racing. With ties and shirt tails flying, staff and students were out in support of the 'athletes'. What a great way to make the most of the sunshine.  Thanks to Ellie Graham for capturing all the fun.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT ELLIE GRAHAM'S PHOTOS

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Welcome back to the 2018 College year and the first of my weekly Principal's Comments.

We aim to keep you up to date with the latest news and developments at St Kevin's with short but regular posts both in this blog and on Facebook. We encourage you to like us on Facebook so you are always in the loop. If you have images from sporting teams or cultural activities involving our community, please share them with Cathy Keep so we can all enjoy your shots and celebrate achievements.

As we complete the first week of classes for the 2018 year, in exceptionally warm conditions, I am pleased to report that the College is fully staffed. Our initial roll has slightly increased on last year as we have welcomed 88 year 9 students as well as a number of students at other year levels.

Thank you to our time table team, especially Ryan Gower, for the time and dedication they have put in to getting classes sorted and numbers within the classes balanced.

In our lead up to the College opening, the student prefects gathered for a leadership day. Thank you to Mr Nyika, Mr Ryan and Father Wayne for their support during this induction and development day. I am confident that our student leaders are well prepared to lead the many interhouse challenges as well as being outstanding role models in our community. Thanks to the student leaders who have gone the extra mile this week to support staff and especially the new students, putting your training into action to make the College an inclusive community.

May God bless you all as you enjoy the Waitangi Day holiday.
Paul Olsen, Principal

Investiture Mass Images

Thank you to Mrs Buckham for capturing these wonderful moments from Mass on Friday!

CLICK HERE TO ENJOY ALL OF THE IMAGES FROM THE INVESTITURE MASS ON FRIDAY

Investiture Mass 2018

It was an exceptionally proud day for the friends and families of our student leaders for 2018, as the Top 6 and Prefects were presented with their badges at the Investiture Mass in the College Chapel today.   As role models of our school they pledged their commitment to the responsibilities they have accepted and promised to continue to uphold the Special Character values of the College.

Congratulations to our student leaders and thank you to Mrs Buckham for capturing images of this special occasion.

Head Boy - Joel Pickles
Head Girl - Rebecca Whittet
Deputy Head Boy - Logan Docherty
Deputy Head Girl - Georgia Oakes
Deputy Head Boy Special Character - Eli Winders
Deputy Head Girl Special Character - Molly Kay

Hostel Head Boy - Quinn Hargreaves
Hostel Head Girl - Molly Kay
Hostel Deputy Head Boy - Tama Wooldridge
Hostel Deputy Head Girl - Sarah Dodd

Clancy House Captains
Gemma Dowling, Ramesh Khatri, Shea Direen, Hamish McAtamney

Magee House Captains
Anna Craig, Ben McCarthy, Connie Metcalfe, Jordan Kennedy

Treacy House Captains
Laura Preston, Sarah Dodd, Caitlin Middlemiss, Quinn Hargreaves

Whyte House Captains
Levi Sherman, Georgia Vickers, Piper Beach, Tama Wooldridge

BYOD In Full Swing

Day two of the school year, and after an administrative day yesterday classes were in session today!    For our Year 9 students BYDO was in full swing in the Library this morning as Mr Olsen and Mr Ryan met with each class, helping students get online with their school emails, Google Classroom and Student Portals. 

Towards the end of last year the College formally requested that students have a personal device, other than a cellphone, for online learning at school.  Thank you to all of our parents and caregivers for your support with this request.

Welcome to 2018

The school year is under way and yesterday the College gathered in the Auditorium to welcome our new students and staff to the College Family.   New to staff for 2018, we introduce Mr Carl Herbst who is heading up the English Department and Mr Sam Tatupu who joins the PE Department in the Gym.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE WELCOME POWHIRI FOR 2018