WBHS Bowled Over

Well done to the SKC Year 9 cricket team who beat Waitaki Boys yesterday in the NZCT 20/20 Knockout comp.  St Kevin's posted 111 with Lachlan Brookes hitting 38 and Isaac Clunie top scoring with 43 not out.  Waitaki Boys were bowled out for 62, with Jacob Fowler having the amazing figures of 6 for 5 off 4 overs, including a hat-trick. Good luck for your next game boys.

Our Town Hits Town

Our Town came to town over the weekend with the Senior Drama NCEA production of 'Our Town'.  Tweaked to add a local flavour with a hint of Steampunk the students treated the audiences to two intimate performances on Friday and Saturday evening.  Ms Walshe directed the production and transformed the Auditorium into a visual symphony with old time images of Oamaru, Steampunk items and creative artworks from local artist Donna Demente.  Our thanks to Donna, Dave Snow and the Steampunk community, the Victorian Wardrobe and of course, the Oamaru Opera House for their ongoing support of the dramatic arts at the College.  And a big congratulations to all of the students on a fantastic performance!

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM CAMERON YEOMAN OF THE PERFORMANCES

A Bit Of Aoraki Tennis

Rebecca Dodd, Megan Dodd, Duran Cooper and Joel Kunnethedan attended the Aoraki Junior Tennis Championships recently in Timaru.  Well done to the team who represented St Kevin's College impeccably and played some great games of tennis.

Celebrating Taranakitanga, Whanaungatanga And Whakapapa

Ethan Gregory-Hunt, Forrest Beer and Taine Lanauze attended the Taranaki Tu Mai held in Manaia over Labour Weekend.  Taranaki Tu Mai is a biennial event where iwi of Taranaki come together to celebrate Taranakitanga, Whanaungatanga and Whakapapa through Sport, Cultural performances and Learning Forums.   Representing Wharekauri-Chatham Islands, they came 1st in the Rugby League Nines and 3rd in the Rugby Sevens competing against 10 other tribes. 

JAG Supporting Fair Trade

The girls from JAG held their final meeting of the year today and took the opportunity to 'sample' some fair trade goodies!  They are on the look out for new members for 2018 - yes that includes the boys!  See Mrs Eatherley or Mrs Buckham if you'd like to be a part of JAG at SKC.

Principal's Message

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Thank you to the staff, students and supporters of the College who helped to make the 90th Anniversary celebrations such tremendous occasion. My special thanks go to event organiser, Cathy Keep and Alumni Co-ordinator Sandra Olsen for their dedication and commitment to ensuring everything went like clockwork.

Pictured on the Redcastle steps are the 1960's group

This week our Year 12 students voted for their student leaders in 2018. This is the first part of a very inclusive process that seeks to gain a wide perspective to help the staff make this important decision. For the first time, students gave their feedback digitally using a computer or a phone app. This was very successful and reduced the processing time dramatically.

Yesterday we welcomed representatives from the Confucius Institute in Bejing. They came to review our Mandarin language programme and it is my pleasure to report that they were very impressed with both our facilities and students. Congratulation to Regina and Leon for the work they are doing with both our students and the community.

This evening, Ms Sara Plunket and I will be attending the annual Mana Pounamu Awards in Dunedin. We will be taking a group of students to support this year's recipients - Tiana Mansfield (Year 11) and Kalas Taukamo (Year 13).

Also on this evening is the first of two performances of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town", presented by our senior drama students under the direction of Ms Jo Walshe. We wish them every success as they are being assessed for NCEA standards.

May God bless you
Paul Olsen, Principal

Confucius Institute Visit

We were pleased to welcome the Confucius delegation from Beijing to the College today.  They were accompanied by Professor Jing of the Confucius Institute at the University of Canterbury. As you will know the Confucius Classroom has become a lovely asset that we share with the local community, with Mandarin evening classes running during the term.

Cambridge Exams

Cambridge examinations are under way!!  Good luck everyone.

Y10 Pathways Night

Thank you to all of the parents, caregivers and students who came along to the NCEA Y10 Pathways Night on Tuesday.  The library was quite full!  If you have any questions please feel free to contact our Deans or Careers and Guidance staff.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE SCHOOL DIRECTORY

Paper Cutting Perfection

Miss Yuan's Y10 Mandarin class tried their hand at Chinese paper cutting this week with some very exciting and creative results!   Great work team!

90th Reunion Games

Not the Olympics, but the 90th Reunion Games - a fun game of netball between a team of Old Girls and current students, followed by a bit of rugby-10's on Murray Field.  A huge thank you to Mel and Craig Smith for coordinating these games and to those who played and umpired.

As a note is was great to have Donna Hurst (nee Mansfield) take the court for the Old Girls as a member of the very first Senior A Netball team!  Also in the team was Kimberly Mavor (nee Rae) whose mother Denece Rae was not only a long standing member of staff at the College, but in particular gave so much to netball at SKC.

CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT AMI WALLIS'S PHOTOS FROM THE MORNING

Senior Longest Drive Comp

Interhouse competition continues in Term 4 with the Senior Longest Drive held last week.  The challenge of a strong breeze didn't faze our competitors as they stared down the distance of the College playing fields.  Result from the day:
Boys
1st Treacy - Brinkley Botting
2nd Magee - Dylan Garaway
3rd Clancy - Korey Patrick
4th Whyte - Eddie Finlayson
Girls
1st Whyte - Amber Cunningham
2nd Treacy - Laura Preston
3rd Magee - Anna Craig
4th Clancy - Tivinia Misiloi

90th Reunion Meet And Greet

The 90th Reunion began with a Meet and Greet in the Dining Room on the Friday evening and it was the perfect opportunity to reconnect and share memories!   Thank you to Y13 student Ami Wallis for capturing the evening from behind the camera.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW IMAGES FROM THE NIGHT - THANKS AMI WALLIS!

90th Reunion

The long weekend saw 350 Old Boys, Old Girls and staff return to Redcastle for the St Kevin's College 90th Reunion.  Beginning with a jovial Meet and Greet on Friday evening, Saturday morning saw the Old Girls v Students netball game at 10.30am and the Old Boys v students rugby-10's kick off on Murray Field at 11.30.  Mr Olsen addressed all of the attendees at the Official Welcome after lunch before our College Prefects proudly showed off the College and all of it's recent (and not so recent) developments over the years, stopping at the Redcastle for decade photos and an afternoon tea hosted by the Home & School.  The formal Dinner and Dance was the main function of the weekend and the Dining Room was full of music till the wee hours.   A Memorial Mass was held on Sunday before the Farewell Lunch, with Br Murray having the honour of planting the Reunion Memorial Tree.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW PHOTOS FROM THE MEMORIAL MASS AND STAY TUNED FOR MORE IN THE COMING DAYS!!!

We share part of Mr Olsen's speech from the Sunday Lunch and again express our sincerest gratitude to everyone who contributed to the organisation and running of all of the weekend's functions.

"It is my final duty of the weekend to thank a number of people who have made the reunion possible.
Firstly Ms Catherine Keep the Reunion Coordinator. Your hours of dedication have truly paid off. We are grateful for the time you have spent on this task. You can finally relax knowing you have done a splendid job.
Secondly Mrs Sandra Olsen, my long suffering wife and Alumni Coordinator. Thank you for managing the enrollments and pulling it all together.
Pozzobons Catering for Friday's nibbles, a superb meal last evening and today’s lovely luncheon.
My loyal and supportive staff, our Student Leaders, College Prefects who acted as tour guides, talented students and passionate Home & School for your generous contribution to the reunion.
All the suppliers, entertainers, helpers and behind the scenes teams that have made this event possible.
To you THANK YOU
Finally I wish to thank you, our guests, for your ongoing support of this fine College. Without your help and support through attendance at these type of events and membership of the College Foundation, the College would be shadow of its former glory." - Paul Olsen

Defibrillator Installed at the Office

This week staff have received training on how to use the newly installed AED (Automatic External Defibrillator) which has been installed outside the school office. The defibrillator is able to be used by anyone in the community. Staff all have the code and there is a telephone number to ring on the cabinet for others to gain access.

Talent ID Training Camp

Some exciting news from Touch NZ over the holidays!   Congratulations to Brylee More for being selected into the Talent ID training camp tournament team!  Well done on this amazing achievement!

Hostel Happenings

At the end of last term a number of girls enjoyed a fun day out in Dunedin. A big thank you to the staff who went with the girls.

This weekend the school is celebrating its 90th year with a reunion. A big thank you to the students for helping us get ready for the celebrations.

The hostel is closed for the weekend and will reopen on Monday after 2pm

The seniors only have two weeks of classes left for the year before tutorials and study leave. The focus must be on academics for this last term as we prepare for the exams.

Hostel High Tea, Graduation Mass and Senior Prize Giving is on Monday 6th November. If you would like to attend the Hostel High Tea please let either Lou or Raelene know. Cost is $15. The High Tea will begin at 5pm.

Trapshooting Nationals

Our trapshooters traveled to Hamilton in the holidays for the Secondary Schools Trapshooting Nationals and North Island Competition, with a successful set of results.   Ellie Monk and Anna Craig were selected for the Ladies Central South Island team and Anna for the South Island team as well.  She also placed first after a shoot off in the Ladies North Island Skeet.   The boys shot extremely well against some very tough competition.  Ryan Kennedy, Brandon Howell and Clark Ewing were selected for the Central South Island DTL team.  Well done everyone!

Principal's Comments

Kia ora Kevinians and Supporters of the College

Congratulations to the Year 11 Arts students on being the first to get their NCEA portfolios away for marking. I enjoyed sharing the development stories that are behind the works. Each is unique and personally meaningful. Thank you to Mrs Plunket for the evening tutorials that have allowed students to complete the work to such a high standard.

This weekend we are celebrating our 90 years of Catholic Education at Redcastle. We will be acknowledging and paying respect to those, who over 90 years ago had the vision and foresight to establish what has become one of the country's premier Catholic co-educational boarding and day Schools. It is an opportunity to remember the good times and growth points that have not only shaped past pupils but added to the richness of the St Kevin’s story.

Over those years, the Christian Brothers, followed by the Dominican Sisters and more latterly lay staff, have lived the College Motto ”Facere et Docere” To do and to teach. I would like to pay tribute to the commitment, dedication and passion that these men and women of principle, have shown, as they modelled Christianity in often very challenging conditions. As a College, we are grateful for their lives of service, for we who follow stand on their shoulders and benefit from their labour.

There are 350 people registered for this weekend’s celebrations, which in itself is a testament to the esteem with which the College is held and the impact it has for “good” in people's lives.  I wish the participants well, as we share stories, enjoy the hospitality and now doubt embellish the many tales waiting to be retold.

May God bless you
Paul Olsen, Principal

Our Town Tickets On Sale

Don't miss this classic play with a distinctly Oamaru flavour!!

Tickets for 'Our Town' the NCEA assessment play are now available from the school office.

The play will be held on the 27th and 28th October and proceeds will go to the Home and School.

Tickets are $10 per adult, $5 for a school aged child. Children under five free.

(Ticket & poster artwork by Jonte Kydd-Law)