Principal's Message

We have some exceptionally talented students at Kavanagh College. The willingness of staff to create flexible programme pathways for individual students is a special feature of our school, and from my knowledge in other schools, something that is not always common.  A number of our students have completed university papers this year, we have had Year 9 students sitting external NCEA papers comfortably, through music and the performing arts.  If a young person at Year 7 is competently able to take on the same role as a Year 13 then they are encouraged to do so. I was particularly impressed last week when I attended part of the technical rehearsal of the Opportunity Class’ Project Presentation Evening and had the pleasure of watching a performance of one of Ernest Hemingway’s short stories that one of our Year 9 students adapted as a play and then chose peers of a similar age to act in it – it was very powerful. I am pretty sure that many of us didn’t even know who Ernest Hemingway was when we were 13 years old! This is an example of some of the work that the Opportunity Class has completed this year – the future is very exciting.

We were thrilled to hear of the successes of three of our students recently who have had National and Australasian academic success. Tobias Devereux has received the ICAS medal for the top mark in New Zealand for the Year 11 ICAS Digital Technologies Assessment. This is a particularly exceptional result for Tobias considering the large number of students that sit this assessment every year.

Congratulations also to Ona Fraser (Year 12) who has been awarded the top mark in the Level 10 APDA Dance Assessments. Well done, Ona, I am sure that many, many years of commitment have contributed to this.

Our other high achiever is Rosa Latton (Year 12), who was recently awarded one of forty scholarships nationally for ‘Powering Up’. This was given by the Royal Society Te Aparāngi, and is for Year 12-13 students who have a passion for science and technology.  The students are selected to work together in teams of five to help solve some of the big science issues. This unique opportunity will see New Zealand’s most promising young students come together to seek answers to some of the big problems supported and guided by mentors.

Next week is a busy one! Thank you to all those involved in the junior pantomime – we are looking forward to seeing the fruit of all this work in the performances next week. We also look forward to wrapping up the year with Mass celebrated together on Wednesday afternoon and our junior prizegiving on Thursday morning. Please feel free to join us for these events – we want to share our celebrations with you.

As we head into the Advent season in preparation for Christmas, it is timely to remember the advent story.

On the first Sunday of Advent, the first purple candle (symbolising hope) on the advent wreath is lit. This candle is typically called the "Prophecy Candle" in remembrance of the prophets, primarily Isaiah, who foretold the birth of Christ.

“We pray that every country determines to take the necessary measures to make the future of the very young, especially those who suffer, a priority.” - Pope Francis

Have a wonderful week.

Kate Nicholson