Principal's Message

I imagine there are very mixed feelings within our community currently as we await further news of how our lives are going to be affected by this possible second wave of Covid-19. As a school, we are guided by the Ministries of Education and Health, and we will continue to communicate with you as the need arises. It is an important time to check in on your children in terms of how they are feeling about school. For example, many will be wondering and worrying about whether upcoming events will continue; others who are already anxious about NCEA progress may be further worried about another impact on their success this year. We want to help with these worries, so please let your child’s Dean know if you or your child need some extra support or reassurance.

Similarly, preparing for the worst and hoping for the best, means that now is a good time to check that your child’s device is working well, and that they are organised for remote learning should that be needed. After the experience of lockdown last time and knowing how our remote learning processes were managed, if your child does not have access to a device that will make their learning achievable and successful at home please tell us because there may be ways we can help with this. If we know about barriers, we can work with you to put plans in place to overcome them.

You will recall in last week's newsletter we asked you to 'Save a Date' for a Parent Evening and Year 7 and 8 Social next Thursday (August 20). At this stage it is our intention to continue with these events however we will wait until Monday before confirming the go ahead and the timeframe. We will cover the college's sexuality programme from years 7 to 13 - this is a presentation from our Religious Studies' leaders that we commend to you. Following that, we will take the opportunity to share with you some plans around curriculum delivery and pastoral care that we have for next year as they pertain to this year's Year 7 and 8 children. Again, I encourage you, as our partners in your children’s learning, to take the opportunity to attend. Please look forward to further communication from the College on Monday.

We are immensely disappointed that Kavanagh Day cannot go ahead this year due to health restrictions. Usually on Kavanagh Day, we also come together for Mass to commemorate the Feast of the Assumption, which this year falls on Saturday (15th August). I do hope that we all find the opportunity to pray and reflect in some way over the next few days, remembering that our faith as a comfort and strength is an important part of our lives as Christian people.

Ngā manaakitanga

Theme for 2020: ‘Ahakoa he iti he pounamu’

(Do the little things well)