Principal's Message

Last week, members of the senior management team and I attended the Future Schools Expo and Conference in Melbourne. With all of the changes occurring here and overseas (our government has recently announced a full review of education), it was good to go and hear first hand the views of internationally renowned educationalists and be challenged.

Chief among these was Sir Ken Robinson who argued that education as a whole has been one of the slowest areas to adapt and change to meet the complex needs of society in the 21st century. He states that decades of set curriculums and rigorous testing has taken us nowhere and has even been harmful to many. His answer lay in the need to return education to its fundamental forms that best align with human endeavour and aspirations-and that learning should be a joy for all involved, not a soulless, mind-numbing journey to a qualification or predetermined pathway. He believes that natural learning states of human beings are grounded in three "C's" creativity, curiosity, and collaboration. From a Catholic education standpoint, I would add compassion. 

The senior team and I will be sharing our individual and joint takeaways from this conference with staff and the Board of Trustees in due course. I am hoping it will provide a framework to inform our thinking as we develop Kavanagh College's strategic pathway for the next five years. We will, of course, be seeking community feedback and input to this process. My thanks to the Board for allowing us to make this investment and of course being Melbourne the shopping was great and did I mention the food...

Closer to home we are fast ticking down to the end of the term. Well done to those students on the recent Year 10 Leadership Wananga to Deep Cove, Fiordland. A great experience enabled by Matua Tim Lucas and a dedicated group of parents. Thank you for your time and energy in supporting our students. 

On the cultural front students are gearing up for this year's production Beauty and the Beast. It's sure to be another winner! 

Winter sport is also gearing up. Our 1st XV rugby team has been training well and the boys enjoyed a training camp recently which will no doubt build camaraderie. It's great to see our participation rates in sport are going up.  Our end of term assembly will acknowledge a slew of talented students that have excelled in summer sport.

In terms of academic achievement, we are working hard on how we engage students and trying to lift the quality of the learning experience. We are also engaging students by close tracking of performance and academic mentoring. Please contact the Dean or tutor teacher if you have any concerns. 

So far this year we have seen some exceptional leadership from senior students in Special Character areas such as peer support, Relay for Life and the upcoming Caritas Challenge. Year 13's have also launched a "RAK" program where students may be acknowledged for "random acts of kindness." A select few will also get morning tea with the principal each month although I'm probably not allowed the Tim Tams!

Peace this Easter-travel safe.

Love Overcame (by Julie Palmer 2014)

Love overcame
Emerging from a cold tomb
All the truth, majesty, and creativity of a living God
Transforming a broken heart
Making a quiet return, in a still and sorrowful garden
The gravestone rolled away, to release redemptive love
Jesus resurrected and restored
Comforts a weeping woman
Speaks with travelers on a journey
Meets with his faithful friends
And they bow down before Christ alive
And acknowledged that the saviour has arrived
That the word of God has come alive
And that the extraordinary transformation of heaven and earth
Is complete

Tracy O'Brien