Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Thank you to everyone who attended and contributed to last Wednesday's Graduation Mass and Prizgiving ceremonies.  The warmth of reception and friendly family feel of the occasion makes it a pleasure to host.  Congratulations to the prize winners.  Thank you to our many sponsors and thank you to to Ms Walshe, Cathy Keep and their team for ensuring that the evening ran so smoothly.  The evening culminated with the announcement of the premier academic awards.  It was an honour to present Mitchel Lowen and Emma Middlemass with the Dux and Proxime Accessit awards.

The evening also represents the changing of the guard for student leaders.  My heart felt thanks go to this year's senior leaders for the genuine hard work and committment that they have shown in all aspects of their positions.  Welcome to the new team of leaders.  We wish you every blessing in your new roles.

Last Friday evening I joined whanau and friends of Seth Humphries and GypsyMae Harihona-Harrison, to support them as they recieved their Mana Pounamu awards in Dunedin.  The evening was a showcase of young talent and leaderhip for local Maori.

As the year comes to a close for seniors, we ask that you keep them in your prayers as they battle examination nerves.  We also ask that you keep Mrs Burton and her family in your prayers as they mourn the loss of Margaret's mother who passed away on Wednesday.

May God bless you
Paul Olsen, Principal

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Graduation Mass And Senior Prizegiving 2016

What a special night at the College last night as we joined friends and family, and celebrated our Year 13 Graduates and academic excellence at SKC. Congratulations to all of the prizewinners but in particular Emma Middlemass who was named Proxime Accessit to the Dux and to Mitchell Lowen, Dux of the College for 2016.

The Top Six for 2017 were also announced:
Head Boy Adam Sew Hoy
Head Girl Holly Malcolm
Deputy Head Boy Kalas Taukamo
Deputy Head Girl Harriet Hanning
Deputy Head Boy Special Character Alex Gonzales
Deputy Head Girl Special Character Ella Hitchcock

To the newest batch of Old Boys and Old Girls, we wish you every blessing as you leave the Redcastle gates and venture forth to make your place in the world.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE EVENING IN ALL IT'S GLORY - THANK YOU TO MRS BUCKHAM FOR THESE AMAZING PHOTOS

Football Tips

Our football players at the College have been lucky enough to get some expertise training with two overseas professionals from the Southern United Football team who have been in at the College taking some lunchtime sessions.  Students have been joined by players from Weston School who have also been taking part.  The High Performance Programme has benefited from professional input with the players working with students in the programme.

Aoraki Sports Awards 2016

 At the recent Aoraki Secondary School Sports Awards six of our students picked up major awards for their sports. Matt Brien won the Basketball award, Brylee More won the Touch prize, Amber Cunningham took out the Cricket award, Simon Lilicama claimed Rugby, Thomas Pickles picked up Squash and Reuben Mihaere was presented the Male Contribution to Sport award.  Congratulations to all of the winners and of course our finalists!!

Down Hill Success

During the holidays 3 boys from SKC competed in the South Island Secondary Schools and NZ Secondary Schools Mountain Bike race in Dunedin with some great results from 180 riders across 67 secondary schools.

Josh Bryant, raced in the under 15 boys, coming 8th in the Super D for the South Island, with a New Zealand Secondary school placing of 9th. He also came 12th in the DH, for the South Island Secondary Schools and New Zealand.

Tony McCone, raced in the under 16 boys, he raced in the DH and came 13th in the South Island and New Zealand Secondary Schools

Finn Sillibourne, raced in the under 17 boys, he raced in the DH and came 11th for the South Islands and a New Zealand Secondary School 13th placing.

Principal's Comment

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Congratulations to the students and families of all those who recieved awards in last Thursday's Celebration of Culture. It showcased our finest arts and cultural achievements. There is a lot of work that goes into an evening such as this and I would like to acknowledge and thank our Assistant Principal Jo Walshe, Arts Co-odrinator Cathy Keep and the support team of staff and students who brought us an evening of excellence.

This week the Education Review Office sent us the confirmed report which I am tremendously pleased with. The hard work of the BOT and staff over the last five years has been recognised in the granting of a four to five year review, which is the highest endorsement. You can read the report here.

As seniors enter their last formal week of study, I would encourage caregivers to discuss their latest school report with them. It should have been emailed to you recently. This last week is an opportunity to focus them on any issues raised in relation to the upcoming external examinations.

Some parents are telling me that students do not need to gain many credits from the externals to get NCEA. I would suggest that comments from students such as "I do not need to study as I already have enough credits to pass" should be answered with "Gaining the minimum is not helping you to reach your potential". We need to recognise that NCEA sets a low bar for most of our students. An important goal for the majority should be to gain Merit and Excellent endorsements and subject endoresements. Please encourage them to aim high and work hard till the end.

May God bless you
Paul Olsen, Principal

Edmund Rice Service

Throughout the year students have volunteered service in a number of way in our community.  Iona Rest Home has benefited from raised garden beds and their residents have enjoyed the company of visits from students.  This week at assembly we acknowledged this service with the presentation of Edmund Rice Service Awards.  Congratulations to the following students:

Amy Hunter, Ami Wallis, Holly Malcolm, Ella Hitchcock, James Caldwell, Jarred Hardy, Simon Lilicama, Georgia Lightbody, Brittany Weir, Niamh Farrell, Georgia Dyson, Levi Emery, Riley Chandler, Alex Kircher, Iva Jame, Harriet Hanning, Jacqui Malcolm, Ella Sanderson, Emma Fox, Kate Caldwell, Mark Whittet, Billy Cheung, Katelyn Bradfield, Imogen Brew, Imogen Brown, Akira Mishima and Charlotte Page.

Federated Farmers Scholarship

We were joined at assembly this week by Kirsty Stratton, ANZ Agribusiness Relations Manager (North Otago) who presented Emma Middlemass with the Federated Farmers ANZ Scholarship.  Emma plans to study Veterinary Studies at Massey University next year.  Congratulations!

Central Otago Lakes Scholarship

Congratulations to Pierce McLeod and Riley Chandler who have been awarded a Central Otago Lakes Trust Scholarship which will help with their tertiary studies next year.  They were presented with their scholarships at a special awards ceremony.  Well done!

Deputy Principal's Message

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

The College has been a hive of industry this week as we come into the final couple of weeks before the commencement of NCEA examinations.  Students should have settled into their extra study in order to be well prepared and are also reminded about good sleeping and eating habits to ensure they have every success during a time that can be stressful.

There was a great turnout to the NCEA Pathways Planning Evening on Tuesday, such that we relocated to the larger Auditorium.  I hope that parents, caregivers and students found the information helpful in navigating the NCEA waters and that it prompted discussions at home about course selections and career paths.  Our staff, in particular Year Level Deans, Careers and Guidance staff, are always available to field any questions and queries so please contact the office if you would like to speak to someone.

Also on this week was our Celebration of Culture Awards which showcased the depth of The Arts and Culture at St Kevin's.  We have a very proud tradition of Culture at the College and I would like to thank the staff and members of our community who work with and support our students to ensure that this continues.  In particular, I would like to thank Ms Jo Walshe for her work in organising last night's event and the students who performed for us.  I was delighted to present a Cultural Blue to GypsyMae Harihona-Harrison and congratulate all of our award winning thespians, musicians and artists.

May God bless you

Kerry Ryan, Deputy Principal

Celebration of Culture 2016

The College Community was treated to a cultural spectacle last night as the Celebration of Culture hit the Auditorium stage.  The evening kicked off with a vibrant performance by the girls from the Pasifika Group and was followed by a variety of cultural items, including dance, music, speech and a scene from the recently staged The Importance of being Earnest, where Josh Cunningham revived Lady Bracknell to Mark Whittet's John Worthing.  The Cultural Awards were presented before the our Design students presented their amazing garments and a performance from Joel Kunnethedan to close the evening.  Congratulations to all of the award winners and performers, with a special thank you to Ms Walshe for her work to co-ordinate the evening.  

Premier Award Winners:
Contribution to Culture Junior Female (Keep Family Cup) - Bethan Ardouin
Contribution to Culture Junior Male (Musical Theatre Oamaru 60th Jubilee Cup) - Jonte Kydd-Law
Premier Cultural Female (Karen Austin Cup) - GypsyMae Harihona-Harrison
Premier Cultural Male (Jibi Kunnethedam Cup) - Mark Whittet
Cultural Blue for 2016 - GypsyMae Harihona-Harrison

CHECK OUT THE ENTERTAINMENT FROM LAST NIGHT'S EVENT