St Kevin's College News and Reminders Term 2 Week 5
Kia ora whānau and friends of St Kevin's College,
This week is actually midway through Term 2, and it's a short one at that. Teachers Only Day is followed by the King's Birthday long weekend. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we had the Numeracy, Writing, and Reading Common Assessment Activities. On Wednesday, the Year 9 students and Peer Support Leaders had a refresher on how to tie a tie and tried out some well-known and uncommon tie knots! There is limited sport on this weekend, good luck to those who are playing.
School Notices
- This is a friendly reminder that parents and caregivers must let the office know beforehand if students have appointments during the day: 03 437 1665 or 021 437 176.
- All students in Years 9-12 are not permitted to leave the school grounds during intervals and lunch breaks.
All Year 9-11 students must get caregiver consent to sign out during school hours. Caregivers can email or call the office to provide consent and reason for the absence. Students cannot sign out until the caregiver is reached.
Attendance Matters
As we venture into Term 2, it is an excellent time to check in on your school attendance.
Every day matters!
SKC uniform shop
SKC desperately needs donations of any and all second-hand clothing for the SKC uniform shop. We especially need pants, shorts, white and blue shirts, and socks. Depending on their condition, we are able to buy back kilts, blazers, jumpers, soft shell jackets, and new PE tops.
Drop off at the shop on Thursdays (1-2 p.m) or the main school office.
For all inquiries, call Jane at 0211996525.
Sibling Enrolment at St Kevin's College
Dear families, please ensure that enrolments for siblings of students already attending St. Kevin's College are submitted prior to the enrolment cut-off date.
Having a sibling at the college does not guarantee automatic entry. Please ensure that application forms are completed and sent to the school office in a timely manner to avoid disappointment.
Domestic applications for 2025 day students close on Friday, 5th July, 2024. Families will be notified of the outcome of their applications during Term 3, 2024.
Late enrolments will be placed on a waiting list, and contact will be made if space is available.
Ngā mihi
The Senior Leadership Team
St Kevin's College
NCEA study tips from students
Here are some handy NCEA study tips from students for students; please share them with your student/s to help them prepare.
Meet students, hear their study advice and learn about the tools they use for success in NCEA exams.
Ngā mihi
Past few weeks at SKC
Year 8 Rural Schools camp visit - 24th May
Last week, the Year 8 Rural Schools camp was held at Camp Iona. We took some of our students down to play games and talk about St Kevin's College and what it is like to attend our fantastic school.
Thank you to Orlando Narruhn, Warren Pardede, Bridie McGeown, Lachie McEwan, Cheska Tion, and Tahlia Sanford for representing the school and sharing their thoughts with the students.
Aoraki Chess Champs - 26th May
On Sunday the inaugural Aoraki Schools Chess Championships took place. 33 students from 8 schools competed. It was a close battle, with seven players scoring 5 points or more out of 7.
Congratulations to Benjamin Jonathan and Sunny Tian, who finished second and third place in the Year 11 to 13 competition.
A big thank you must be extended to Thomas Koentges and Derek van Basten for their invaluable help in making the competition possible.
Special thanks also to Greg Familton of WBHS for organizing the event!
Peer Support / Tie Knots - 29th May
As we reach the middle of Term 2, we've noticed that some students may need a refresher on tying their ties.
Our Year 9 students and Peer Support Leader tried out some well-known and uncommon tie knots!
School Events
Coming up this term
Tuesday 7th June - Loves Me Not programme- Year 12
Tuesday 11th - 13th June - Year 11 Geography trip
Saturday June 15th - SKC Formal
Monday 24th June - Thursday 27th June - Cambridge Practice Assessment Week
Term 2 Holiday Dates
Monday 3rd June - King's Birthday. The Hostel will be closed.
Friday 28th June - Matariki
Sports
Coming up this term
Saturday 1st June - Smallbore Postal Shoot
Wednesday 5th June - Junior Quads/Aoraki Squash
Sunday 9th -10th June - Otago Secondary Schools Netball
Tuesday 11th June - Mercy Cup
Thursday 13th June - Aoraki Open Basketball
Tuesday 18th June - Aoraki Junior Boys Basketball
Wednesday 19th June - Aoraki Junior Girls Basketball
Sunday 23rd June - Aoraki Netball
Monday 1st -5th July - Waitaki Week
The Past few weeks in Sports
Roncalli College Exchange - 22nd May
Our Annual Sports Exchange with Roncalli College College was held on Wednesday, 22nd May, on home soil.
SKC were the overall winners with 9 wins to 5. A fantastic result!
Thanks to student photographers Sasha Slee and Ianna Marie Abuyabor for taking fantastic photos and to Dave Naldrett for not only umpiring and refereeing but also being excellent behind the camera.
Art and Cultural Events
Coming up this term
Monday 10th June - Big Sing
Thursday June 20th - Scripture Reading
Play It Strange Songwriting Competitions
Play It Strange is well into the year's national secondary school songwriting competitions, but there is still time to enter!
Peace Song Competition – closes 30th June.
The theme of peace and non-violence may be interpreted broadly from inner personal peace, peace in the home and among families, to peace between people worldwide.
All winners will have their songs recorded in a professional recording studio and released as Spotify albums.
The first prize will be a 1:1 mentor session with our guest judge, Jordan Luck and a $500 Rockshop gift card.
Year 9 – 13 Songwriting Competition – closes 31st July
All winners will have their songs recorded in a professional recording studio and then released onto Spotify albums.
First prize winners will receive a 1:1 mentor session with our guest judge, Ladi6, a $1000 Rockshop gift card, and a $10,000 recording and PR music package thanks to NZ on Air.
Te Reo Māori Award
Any song entered in any competition will also be eligible for our Te Reo Māori Award, formally known as the Junior Maioha Award. All winners will have their songs recorded in a professional recording studio, and the first prize will win a 1:1 mentor session with our soon-to-be-announced guest judge!
All competition winners will also be flown to Auckland to perform at our Annual Awards at the end of the year.
The recording and performance quality of the entry are not taken into account during the judging process.
Entrants need to upload their original song and lyric sheet into our online portal.
Enter now: https://www.playitstrange.org.nz/competitions
Guidelines for Attitude to Learning
General philosophy.
The purpose of ATL feedback is so that parents and students can have real time information about how students are engaging in each subject.
The overarching objective should be to have ‘no surprises’ for caregivers.
ATL numbers should cover how students are working generally in relation to:
How they are developing the habits of an independent life long learner.
This means:
Teachers will be providing opportunities within classes for independent, differentiated learning opportunities.
ATLs will be used with the Junior reports. This will require additional weight to be given to ATL, meaning that periodically, a curriculum statement will be added to the ATL report. At the end of Term 1, the focus will be on setting goals and identifying learning challenges for the students so that we head things off before they become a problem.
Comments.
These should be specific and address immediate concerns or celebrate recent, specific achievements.
These should provide caregivers the opportunity to be able to participate in supporting their student.
These should be brief and accurate.
Only be provided for immediate and relevant issues.
What ATL’s are NOT.
They are not a method for punishing a student.
They are not a forum for diagnosing medical or learning issues e.g. suggesting a student is dyslexic
They are not a place for long term guidance such as large general statements about learning.
They are not a report which you must feel compelled to write every fortnight.
They are not a replacement for Dean involvement, discussions with HoF’s, phone calls to parents etc.
They are not a ‘restorative chat’.
School TV
Raising Girls & Young Women
Raising girls and young women in today’s modern world can be a difficult path for families to navigate. These days, girls are transitioning to puberty a lot earlier than they used to and the physical, psychological and emotional changes they experience are challenging. As a result, by mid-adolescence, girls are twice as likely to develop mood disorders more so than boys.
Some families may feel uncertain about how best to support their daughter through the ups and downs of adolescence and how to keep the lines of communication open. With the rise of social media and technology, mental health difficulties in girls are increasing as often they are faced with online images that make it difficult to see themselves as acceptable. Ensuring a daughter’s opinions are heard and her views listened to, will go a long way towards making her feel loved and supported as she tries to establish her own identity.
In this edition of SchoolTV, families will attain a clearer picture of what girls are wanting from the adults in their world and how best to support them through adolescence.
We hope you take time to reflect on the information offered in this edition of SchoolTV and we always welcome your feedback. If you have any concerns about your young person please contact the Pastoral Care Team for further information or seek medical or professional help.
Here is the link to the Raising Girls edition of SchoolTV
https://stkevins.nz.schooltv.me/newsletter/raising-girls
Community Events/Notices
Winterfest 2024 - 15th - 18th JULY
WINTERFEST 2024 is HERE!
We have some cool stuff planned!
Not only are we going to Cardrona, an internationally renowned ski field with various jumps, but we also have options for activities in Queenstown (gondola, luge & aquatic centre). Plus, we have a live band and guest speakers from all over the USA who will be with us for the four days. Bring the gear listed below, some good mood, and let's have some fun! To top it up, games, laughter, dance, music, movie night, fun speakers & staying up late (don't show parents this bit) are a few of last year's highlights that will carry on. You might have heard a rumour about a tradition of jumping into the freezing lake on the last day morning-not wrong ;-)
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
News to Share?
We love celebrating our students' success. Photos are always a bonus; please email these as Facebook Messenger compresses the quality!
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