St Kevin's College News and Reminders Term 4 Week 8

Kia ora whānau and friends of St Kevin's College,

Exams are finished for 2023, well done to all students. The weeks are much quieter as we wrap up 2023, Wednesday we had our 2024 Year 9s in for a Transition day! Next week is the Junior Cricket tournament, best of luck to those involved. Only 2 weeks of school left for 2023!

This Week at SKC

We had a fantastic day with our 2024 Year 9s on Wednesday.

We wish them and their families a refreshing and Blessed Christmas!

See you in 2024!

Student Achievement - Alex Bishop

Congratulations Alex Bishop, Y12 has been awarded the 2023 SOREC, (Southland and Otago Regional Engineering Collective), Academy Student of the Year. 

This year Alex completed his Vocational Pathways work experience with Anvil Engineering, which included designing and making a toolbox for himself helping Ross and the team in the workshop and off-site. Alex also gained 39 credits in his trade-related work experience.

A special thanks to Ross and Ailsa at Anvil Engineering for their mentoring and support of Alex and SKC Vocational Pathways department.

School Notices

• ATLs are available to view through the Edge app.
  
  
• This is a friendly reminder that if students have appointments during the day parents and caregivers must let the office know beforehand. 03 437 1665 or 021 437 176.
  
  
• Also, students in Years 9-12 are not permitted to leave the school grounds during intervals and lunch breaks.
  
  
• All students have been invoiced for this year's school magazine/yearbook. If you do not require this, please contact the school office to have the charge removed from your account.
  We will advise when these are ready to be collected.

School Board Elections 2023

School Board Elections 2023

Parent Elections Results Declaration

Parent representative votes:             

Whanau Reading Initiative

Do you want to have an opportunity to win $ 1,000.00 for your family or $500 for your students by the end of the year?

Hopefully, that got your attention! 

Over the past year, we have been thinking about the problem of how to support families to develop their student's reading abilities. For most families with students of secondary school age, reading is something that is done by the student independently and it can be a struggle to get them to engage. 

We invite families who would like to participate in this programme to collect a copy of the booklet from the office. There are 20 activities in the booklet which range from ice breaker conversation starters to how to analyse text. 

The activities are designed to be able to be used with any reading material your student is interested in. 

Once you have worked through the activities, please date and sign the back page so your students can register for their reading badge at the office and go into the draw for themselves and their families at the end of the year. 

This is a first attempt. 

All feedback is welcome!

Food Tech dept needs your help

Our Food Tech dept is on the lookout for any clean takeaway containers you don't need for us to use for practical purposes, if you would like to donate these, please drop them off at the school office.

Parish Picnic - Sunday 10th December

Bring a picnic and have lunch together on the lawn.

Games provided for younger children by our 2024 prefects. 

When: Sunday 10th December
Time: 11:00 am - 1:30 pm
Where: Redcastle Lawn, St Kevin's College

School Events

Coming up this term

Monday 11th December - Thursday 14th December - Yr 10 Camp

Friday 15th December 11am - Junior Prizegiving 

Friday 15th December - Junior reports sent

Sports

Sporting Events

South Island Secondary Schools Junior Volleyball Champs - 21st to 23rd Nov

Our Junior Girls and Boys teams performed well at the South Island Secondary Schools Junior Volleyball Champs held at the Edgar Centre, Dunedin last week.

There were 3 Divisions for the Junior Girls and our SKC Junior Girls were competing in Division 1. They won 2 games and lost 1 on the first day. From Day 1 results, our girls got into the Top 8. One more win in the next 2 days and they secured 7th place in the South Island!

The Junior Boys were placed in Division 2. They won 2 games and lost 1 on the 1st day and got into the Top 16, eventually finishing 9th.

Thanks to each family of our boys and girls for the pre-cooked dinner, baking, bread, fruits, and other tasty treats. 

Junior Girls - Curtney Esdrelon (Team Captain), Ferj Gonzales, Toe Halalele, Besse Heyes, Hunter McLay, Ivy-Belle Mestrom, Patricia Morondoz, Stephanie Morondoz, Kacymea Tahitu'a, and Charlotte Thornley 

Junior Boys - Todd Growcott (Team Captain), John Bray Abalos, Cielo Bartolome, Vincent Caballero, Elias Fraser, Matthew Herbst, King Melebio, and Lance Serilo. 

Coaches: Alistair Hose and Hunter Growcott. 
Teacher in charge: Socorro Laraga 

Sport events still to come this term

Monday 4th December - Friday 8th December: SKC Junior Cricket tournament

Future Blacksticks Coaching Road Show 2024

The Future Black Sticks based out of Dunedin are touring the lower South Island coaching hockey to the young players in the region. The money they raise will help them pay for their hockey endeavours for 2024. We have a good number of FBS who have come through the regional associations. There were 24 athletes selected into the FBS/ JBS program. The Coaching Roadshow is an awesome opportunity for these young athletes to give back and inspire young hockey players in this part of New Zealand and show that players from the south can be recognised and rewarded for all the hard work they put in.

Register here  https://forms.gle/khpp3tKgxub5dFoAA or scan the QR code

The roadshow will start in Cromwell on Monday the 22nd of January and end in Oamaru on Friday the 26th January.

Cromwell - Monday 22nd January

Invercargill - Tuesday 23rd January

Gore - Wednesday 24th January

Dunedin - Thursday 25th January

Oamaru - Friday 26th January

There will be 3 sessions a day for the five days. Each session will be 2 hours long and will begin at 10.00 am with the U13 age group (Yr5-Yr8) and end at 5.30 pm with the U18 age group

U13 Age Group 10.00 am - 12noon

U15 Age Group 1.00 pm - 3.00pm

U18 Age Group 3.30 pm - 5.30pm

The players will run skills sessions to help players refine skills they already have and show new skills/techniques the players may not have seen before. There will be game elements to these sessions - as fun and enjoyment are key elements to a quality hockey session.

Otago Hockey staff - Hymie Gill and Jolene Casey will be supporting these coaching sessions. We will also offer coaching development which will be advertised soon.

The cost for the 2-hour coaching session is $60 per child. Please make payment to Otago Hockey Association. Bank details 03-0905-0460917-10, Reference Child's name

Stationery 2024

It's the festive season again, and we’ve teamed up with OfficeMax to make your back to school shop super easy. And if you order in December, you’ll go in the draw to WIN 1 of 5 $1000 cash prizes*

Stationery lists are available now!

Just head to https://www.myschool.co.nz/stkevins 

Simply add your details, check that you want everything on the list, then click and confirm — and OfficeMax will get your delivery underway with free delivery on orders over $70. You can pay by internet banking, credit card or debit card. Laybuy* is also available, so you can pay in 6 weekly, interest-free payments and still get your order right away.  Plus you’ll be helping our school earn school rewards* that we use to purchase much needed extra resources for our school.

We encourage you to order early to ensure your child has all their stationery requirements ready to go in plenty of time for the start of Term 1. 

So go ahead and beat the back to school rush, order today and give them the best start possible.

*Terms and Conditions apply, see myschool.co.nz for details.
*Exclusions apply, see myschool.co.nz/delivery for details.

School TV

Managing Screen Time

There has been a noticeable shift in the amount of time people spend on screen-based devices. Families and whānau may be transitioning back to pre-COVID routines but many are still struggling to re-establish the boundaries and rules around screen use. Some continue to deal with digital conflict and tech tantrums on a daily basis. The latest research found that 77% of teenagers spend more than five hours on screens per day, but it is important to note that not all screen time is considered equal.

People at home play a crucial role in modelling a positive and healthy approach to using screens and assisting children to navigate the content they watch. It is better to model and mentor screen use, rather than monitor it. Young people tend to do more of what they see us do and less of what we tell them to do. However, it is still important to outline the risks and highlight the benefits of screen use to ensure you keep a balanced attitude. Encourage discussions around the issues that people experience in monitoring their screen time and be honest about your own difficulties.

Families and whānau need to remain firm in their approach to managing screen time. Excessive screen time can be detrimental to a young person's overall wellbeing. Ensuring the correct privacy settings are in place is vital to prevent young people from being inadvertently exposed to inappropriate content or online predators. Families and whānau need to be mindful of the potential impact screen time can have on a young person's social, emotional, educational, behavioural, and even physical domains.

This edition of SchoolTV will be provided with a range of guidelines and strategies to help manage screen time at home.

Here is the link to the Managing Screen Time edition of SchoolTV

https://stkevins.nz.schooltv.me/newsletter/managing-screen-time

Extra Curricular

Christmas Tree Decoration Making

Free event for youth (ages 13 and up).

Come along to make polymer clay Christmas tree decorations.

Great for gifts. Bring your friends.

Thursday 7th December 4 pm - 7 pm (drop in workshop)

Former Blind Foundation Hall

6 Steward Street (Entrance on carpark side)

Contact Annie at: akelly@waitaki.govt.nz to register your interest.

Learners Licence Driving Lessons

Y-Drive offers learner licence driving lessons for high schoolers at a discounted rate. These will be starting week 1 of term 4.

Learner Licence classes usually are $50/per hour per lesson, however, they are offering the following:
$150 per student for a Learners Licence course (5 lessons at $30 per hour)
or $250/ 1 hour session with 10 students ($25 per student a lesson)

If you are interested in this or have any questions, please contact:
Lativia (Via) Kaufana
Driving Instructor & Educator
M: 027 227 0335
E: lativia@ymcasc.org.nz

Fundraising Events

Hungry Horse Cafe - Te Tgakau Nui (SKC Home and School) Fundraiser

Hungry Horse - a cafe run at the Oamaru Race Course

We need helpers for the Hungry Horse on the following dates:

Wednesday 13th December 12 pm- 7:30 pm

Wednesday 24th January 10:30 am -6 pm

Sunday 4th February 10 am -6 pm

Wednesday 6th March 12 pm -7:30 pm

Sunday 24th March 10 am -6 pm.

Students are welcome to help for Service Hours.

If you can provide support please let Sam Growcott know -0212931158 or email tengakaunui@stkevins.school.nz.

Request to hold a Fundraising Event

If you wish to hold a fundraising event for school sports or recreational activities please follow the appropriate channels by completing this form. 

Community Events/Notices

Christmas Charity Concert

Saturday 9th December 2023, 1.30 pm, Basilica, Reed St, Oamaru

Variety Cultural Concert with Afternoon Tea

Entry: Christmas Gift, Monetary donation or non-perishable Grocery item

Proceeds to Combined Churches Xmas Parcels

Foster Care with CCS Disability Action

If you’re interested in welcoming a child into your family, either on a short or long term basis, give us a call to find out more about shared care or foster care with CCS Disability Action.

Contact them today on 0800 227 900

https://www.ccsdisabilityaction.org.nz/become-a-foster-carerhttps://www.ccsdisabilityaction.org.nz/become-a-foster-carer

10 week circuit challenge at the Rec Centre

Train with like-minded people, strength & cardio workouts with a focus on safe and effective technique and targeted to individual needs, all levels. Mon / Wed / Fri 9 am, casuals welcome, you can join at any time, creche available.

Check out the Rec Centre website or call Di 021 08150688 for more info
http://www.sporty.co.nz/waitakicrc

Musac Edge portal and app guide

We have an updated guide on how to use the Edge caregiver portal/app that allows you to view school information about your child(ren), and to pay school bills online if your school supports this. The portal & app gives you quick and easy access to the information for the children in your care and can receive announcements and notifications from the school. Please view the guide here

Got any News to Share?

We love celebrating our students' success. Photos are always a bonus! Please let me know via email any relevant news we could share - srees@stkevins.school.nz

You can follow St Kevin's College on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube

Have a great weekend! 

Ngā mihi
Shane Rees
Communications and Events