St Kevin's College News and Reminders Term 1 Week 2

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

This week, we held our annual Dominican Excellence Awards, hosted our Meet the Staff evening, and concluded week 2 with our School Athletics Day.

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.

St Kevin’s College – Single Sign On

As part of increasing the security posture of our school environment, St Kevin’s has recently
rolled out a centralised authentication platform via Microsoft Office 365.

This means a slight change to the way staff and students log in when using school systems such as
email.

When prompted to log into associated systems, there will be an extra step asking for your school
email address and password. These are the same details you use when at school to join the wireless
and log onto our shared computers.

All users are encouraged to self-register for Multi-Factor Authentication (aka.ms/mfasetup). As part of
this change, this additional security measure is enforced for all staff users only.

Attendance Matters

As we venture into Term 1, 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.

SKC Moke Jackets 

The uniform shop is now selling wind and semi-waterproof SKC Moké student jackets.

These lightweight jackets have 90% Duck down lining, so you know they'll be toasty warm.

Available now from the uniform shop for $90.

Comes with its own bag and packs down for minimal space.

SKC Auditorium Hire

🎭 Host Your Event at St Kevin's College Auditorium! 🎶

St. Kevin's College auditorium is available to groups, clubs and individuals by contacting the school office. The auditorium can seat 500 at maximum capacity in rows of 250 connectable seats plus 250 in tiered steps. The connectable seats can be removed so that the floor area can be used for spatial activities.

The stage is 12m across and 4m deep, with wings, curtains and rear access. The renter should provide speakers and instruments if live music is required. Please get in touch with the school to arrange lighting/sound/seating arrangements, or rehearsal(s).

For bigger events; please note this equipment must come with the technician we supply. Note also the Theatre Lighting uses two banks of Flat Par Lighting; 8 with colour plus UV, 6 with electric zoom.

📞 Contact us now for inquiries or to book your event: 03 437 1665 or college@stkevins.school.nz

Temporary Bus Drop-Off and Pick-Up Location

Due to ongoing upgrades to the sewer system outside the stadium's main gate, Taward Street is now a one-way street. 

As a result, all bus drop-offs and pick-ups will be temporarily relocated to Lismore Street for the foreseeable future.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation!

For parts of next week, the intersection on the corner of Taward Street and Sandringham Street will be closed so you will be required to use Stirling Street to access the Taward Street school entrance.

2025 Term Dates and Holidays

• Term 1 Monday 27th January to Friday 11th April
• Term 2 Monday 28th April to Friday 27th June
• Term 3 Monday 14th July to Friday 19th September
• Term 4 Monday 6th October to Friday 5th December

2025 Public Holidays

• Good Friday: Friday, 18th April
• Otago Anniversary Day: Monday, 24th March
  (The hostel will be closed from 5 pm Friday, 21st March until 2 pm, Monday 24th March)
• Easter Monday: Monday, 21st April
• Anzac Day: Friday, 25th April
• King's Birthday: Monday, 2nd June
  (The hostel will be closed from 5 pm Friday, 30th May until 2 pm, Monday 2nd June)
• Matariki: Friday, 20th June
• Labour Day: Monday, 27th October
  (The hostel will be closed from 5 pm Friday, 24th October until 2 pm, Monday 24th October)

Faith Facts

Week 2

The Feast of the Presentation is among the most ancient feasts of the Church.

The celebration of the feast dates from the fourth century in Jerusalem. The Presentation of Jesus at the Temple is an early event in Jesus's life, describing his presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem. 

Every mother and father at that time were required to present their first-born new baby to the Lord 40 days after its birth.  

6th Waitangi Day

Although recognised as a significant day since its signing in 1840, it did not become a national holiday until the 1970s.

The Waitangi Day Act 1960 declared that 6th February would be known as Waitangi Day and would be observed throughout the country 'as a national day of thanksgiving’ in commemoration of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi'.

The call for the 6th February to be a nationwide public holiday continued from the early promises made in 1957. Prime Minister Norman Kirk announced that from 1974, it would be a national holiday.

So we have a Holy Day of sorts to reflect as a country, in thanksgiving, for the founding document of our nationhood.  

Lately at SKC

Prefect Investiture Mass

We concluded our first week of school with a Prefect Investiture Mass. 🎉

It was a particularly proud day for the friends and families of our student leaders for 2025, as the Prefects were presented with their badges during the Investiture Mass in the College Chapel. 🏅

As role models for our school, the Prefects pledged their commitment to the responsibilities they have accepted and promised to continue upholding the college’s Special Character values. 🙌

Congratulations to our student leaders, and a special thank you to our student photographers, Sophia Mawson and Sasha Slee, for capturing images of this memorable occasion. 📸

Head Boy: Louie Hose  
Head Girl: Leilani De La Ford  
Deputy Head Boy: Lisiate Hausia  
Deputy Head Girl: Atlanta McDowell-Williams  
Deputy Head Boy (Special Character): Franz Lauglaug  
Deputy Head Girl (Special Character): Claire-Anne Barrientos  

Hostel Head Boy: Flynn Kilbride  
Hostel Deputy Head Boy: Tadiwanashe Mandiwona  

Student Board Representative: Leilani De La Ford  

Clancy House Captains:  
Benjamin Jonathan, Janelle Casitas, Chris-Anne Barrientos  

Magee House Captains:  
Deakon Larkins, Chloe Southard, Tadiwanashe Mandiwona  

Treacy House Captains:  
Hannah Fowler, Thomas Wollstein, Kezia Pestell  

Whyte House Captains:  
Paddy Spillane, Siara Sam, Carter Lambert  

Wishing everyone the best for 2025! 🎊✨

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Dominican Excellence Awards 2025

On Wednesday, 5th February, 87 endorsements were awarded at our annual Dominican Excellence Awards Ceremony . These students exceeded the requirements to achieve merit or excellence endorsements in NCEA and Cambridge qualifications, and they secured an A award in a Cambridge paper last year .
We also celebrated those who successfully passed their Cambridge examinations during the June series .
Students who received an Excellence endorsement were presented with the prestigious College Academic Blue award .

A special thank you to Mr. Mawson for capturing these moments!

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Hostel Day at the lakes

We had an amazing Waitangi Day at the Lakes with the Hostel crew! 🌊☀️ 
Perfect weather, great company, and unforgettable moments! 🇳🇿💙

School Events

Coming up this term

Sunday 9th - 10th February - Prefect retreat
Friday 21st - 23rd February - Edmund Rice Leadership Weekend
Wednesday 26th - 28th February - 12GEO Trip - Aoraki Mt Cook
Wednesday 26th February - Mural Project Celebration Period 5
Tuesday 4th March - NCEA/Cambridge talk to Yr 11s
Wednesday 5th March - Otago Uni visit
Tuesday 11th March - Year 12 Retreat
Friday 14th March - Health and Safety course
Tuesday 18th March - Year 9 Retreat
Wednesday 19th March - Year 13 Bio trip 
Thursday 20th March - Otago Polytechnic visit
Tuesday 1st April - Year 11 Retreat
Thursday 3rd April - Yr 12/13 Transition Day

Sport Events

Coming up this term

Friday 14th February - Swimming Sports Day
Sunday 16th - 17th February - Roncalli Cricket exchange 
Thursday 20th February - Aoraki Tennis
Friday 28th February - Aoraki Senior Touch
Sunday 2nd -3rd March - Taieri Cricket exchange
Sunday 2nd March - Aoraki Triathlon
Tuesday 4th March - Aoraki Senior Girls Volleyball
Thursday 6th March - Aoraki Senior Boys Volleyball
Friday 7th - 9th March - SISS Rowing
Wednesday 12th March - Aoraki Athletics
Wednesday 12th - 13th March - St Thomas Cricket exchange
Saturday 22nd March - SISS Touch
Saturday 22nd March - SISS Mountain Biking
Monday 24th -30th March - Summer Tournament Week - MAADI Cup
Thursday 27th March - Aoraki Croquet
Thursday 27th March - NZSS Triathlon
Friday 28th March - NZSS Triathlon NZ Mixed Relay
Friday 4th - 6th April - SISS Athletics
Tuesday 8th April - Senior Quads

🏆 Congratulations to Our SKC Rowers! 🏆

A huge well done to our incredible St Kevin's College rowers, who competed last weekend as part of the Oamaru Rowing Club at the 2025 Meridian South Island Rowing Championships!

We are immensely proud of their dedication, teamwork, and outstanding performances on the water.

🌟 Outstanding Results from Last Weekend's South Island Club Rowing Championships:

🥉 Kouper Lynch – Bronze in the Under 17 Boys Single Scull

🥈 Paddy Spillane, Kouper Lynch & Greer Dickson (cox) – Silver in the Men's Club Eight

🥈 Indeg Jones-Hogan – Silver in the Girls Under 16 Coxed Four

🥇 Indeg Jones-Hogan & Pippa McMillan (cox) – Gold in the Women's Intermediate Coxed Four

🥇 Isla Kappely (cox) – Gold in the Men's Novice Coxed Quad Sculls

What a fantastic effort from all our rowers! We are so proud of you and can't wait to see you take on the challenge again this weekend. Go SKC! 🚣‍♂️🔥👏

School TV

Sleep

As the school year is about to begin it is timely to consider our holiday sleeping routine. Young people today have extremely busy schedules, with ever increasing responsibilities at school and at home. Many young people, especially adolescents, are going to bed later and later and are at risk of sleep deprivation. This affects three areas of a young person’s development: psychological, physiological and psychosocial. All three are essential to a person's growth, learning ability and overall well-being. Sleep is vital to a young person's overall development and is as important as diet and exercise.

Sleep also strengthens a young person’s immune system and supports their ability to function properly on a daily basis. Young people who do not get enough sleep show increased levels of aggressive behaviour, are less attentive and are much less active. Trying to catch up on sleep on weekends is not the answer and can still lead to severe sleep deprivation.

In this edition of SchoolTV, families will learn about the importance of sleep and how sleep deprivation can have adverse effects on a young person's health and wellbeing.

If you have any concerns about your young person, please contact the Pastoral Care Team/Dean or our school counsellor for further information or seek medical or professional help.

Here is the link to the Sleep edition of SchoolTV

https://stkevins.nz.schooltv.me/newsletter/sleep

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’.

Community Events/Notices

🛩️ 26 Squadron (Oamaru) Air Training Corps 🛩️

Are you a Year 9 or 10 student interested in Air Cadets? Come along to our first full parade night of the year!

📍 Location: Oamaru Drill Hall, Itchen Street

📅 Date: Tuesday, 11th February 2025

⏰ Time: 6:45 PM – 9:00 PM

🔹 Wear your school uniform

🔹 Bring a change of clothing suitable for PE

Discover new skills, leadership opportunities, and aviation experiences! ✈️

For more information, contact us or visit our Facebook page.

We look forward to seeing you there!

🧶 Calling All Crafty Souls! 🧶

The St Kevin’s College Knitting Circle desperately needs wool, knitting needles, and crochet hooks! If you have any spare needles (sizes 6 to 8), hooks, or wool gathering dust at home, we’d love to use them.

Your donations will help us continue creating warm, handmade items for those in need. 💙

📍 Drop-off Location: St Kevin’s College School Office

Every little bit helps—thank you for your support! 🙌

❄️ Winter Sports Footwear Night ❄️

📅 Wednesday, 26th February

⏰ 4:00 PM – 8:00 PM

📍 223 Thames Street, Oamaru

🔥 Get ready for the new winter sports season with the latest footwear! 🔥

✅ Exclusive in-store specials – one night only!

✅ Exciting giveaways!

✅ Meet the Asics New Zealand rep!

✅ Enter the draw to WIN a pair of Asics shoes! 👟*

(*Conditions apply)

🚀 Beginner & Advanced Coding Lessons for Kids! 🎮💻

Looking to equip your child with essential digital skills?

CodingNZ offers fun and engaging coding lessons for Years 5-10 students!

📌 Weekdays after school

📌 Attend online from home

📌 Learn a valuable skill for the future!

🎉 Sign up for a FREE trial today!

🔗 codingnz.com

Get Waitaki Fit for the Future!

Welcome back to a new school year. Waitaki District Council is warming up to get the District fit for the future this year, and consultation on the Long-Term Plan runs from February 4 through to March 3 this year.

We're putting in the hard yards and want your opinion on the future of water services, selling council-owned property, setting up an economic development agency, and protecting some of our coastal assets.

You can find out more by going to Let's Talk. waitaki.govt.nz. It'll also have information about the online Q&As, Community Q&As, and other consultation events we're running throughout February.

It's time to have your say; make sure you submit the Long-Term Plan this month.

St John Youth in Oamaru

St John Youth focuses on helping people aged 5 to 18 develop their potential through leadership, community engagement, and fostering hauora (a holistic approach to health and well-being).

Meeting Details:

• Location: St John Oamaru, 23 Exe Street, Oamaru.
• Cadets Meeting Time: Mondays from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
• Penguins Meeting Time: Mondays from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

Contact Information:

• Email: youth@stjohn.org.nz
• Phone: 0800 ST JOHN
• Website: youth.stjohn.org.nz

Weston School is looking for Music Tutors! 🎸🥁

We're seeking enthusiastic and experienced music teachers to join our out-of-hours music program in 2025. We're particularly interested in tutors who can teach:

• Drums
• Guitar
• Ukulele

If you're passionate about sharing your musical talents and inspiring young learners, please get in touch with kruddenklau@weston.school.nz for more information.

Papakaio School 2025 Fundraiser

Battle of the Bikers Ride - 15th March 2025 - Willow Park ​

Compete against other schools to take out the title. ​

How to score and represent your high school:

• Lap Crushers: Every lap earns 1 point for your school. ​
• Team Power: Each team entry gets 5 bonus points. ​
• Solo Legends: Individual riders score 10 points for their school. ​
• Chill Points: Every entry on the Easy Rider track earns 1 point. ​

Register online from 1st January 2025 at www.papakaio8hour.nz. ​

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

Edge is Becoming Helix! 🚀

We're thrilled that Edge is evolving into Helix—an upgraded platform for secondary and area schools! 🎓

For now please still use your existing Edge logins

What's new?

✅ Specialised Features: Helix offers enhanced modules and tools tailored to secondary and area schools' unique needs.

✅ Dedicated Teams: Helix and Edge are now separate products, allowing us to focus on delivering the best for each school type.

✅ Continued Development: Helix will grow in ways that support secondary/area schools, while Edge remains the go-to platform for primary and intermediate schools.

What about the mobile app?

📱 The Helix App is coming soon! In the meantime, you can continue using the Edge app to stay connected.

With Helix, you'll still get the same great functionality you love from Edge; it's just upgraded for your needs.

Stay tuned for more updates! 🎉

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 summer! 

Ngā mihi
Shane Rees
Communications and Events