Tihei Mauriora! Tena Koutou Katoa. Nga mihi nui o tau hou ki te kura o Kawana! Greetings to all for the new school year.

A very hot summer greeting and welcome to all, especially students and families new to Kavanagh College. The year is off to a great start with our traditional Mihi-Whakatau formal welcome on Wednesday. As is appropriate we will be having a full school mass to bless our year on Friday morning - all welcome. Fr Soni Lam is the College Chaplain and celebrant and we also welcome him.

Although the teacher supply issue is very real we are thankful to be fully staffed. Five new teachers join our ranks fully this year:
Ian Adamson-PE; Antonia Mbizvo-Te Reo Maori, RE and English; Kate Gilmore-Science; Sue Roberts-Blythe–Maths and Jane de Graaf-Year 7 teacher and Dean. They are highly qualified and experienced teachers who will make a great impact to our teaching and learning capacity.

Congratulations to all of our students who, overall, once again performed very well in NCEA in 2017. Our Level 1 NCEA pass rate was just under 90%! Excellence endorsements at Level 2 were strong at 28% of passes and Level 3 excellences were up from 15% to 22% which was very pleasing. More results to come when confirmed.

The year ahead looks as busy as ever on all fronts from academic to cultural and sporting. The roll is very positive and it looks like our March 1st roll may be up again on last years. We have had a number of late enrolments with people coming to Dunedin and it’s great to hear they are getting strong recommendations for Kavanagh College in our community.

As is our mission, we will be placing a premium on developing each student under the core values of our special character to ensure everyone has the chance to reach or exceed their potential. This year our annual plan is focussed on high quality teaching and learning. Last year we moved morning tutor time to the start of the day which has worked very well. The link between attendance and success is unquestioned. A successful education is for those who turn up- on time and ready to learn. It is vital students are at school by 8.50 for roll call with their tutor teacher, daily notices and other pastoral needs. Deans and senior managers will be monitoring attendance first thing in the day. We appreciate your full support at home to help continue our effort in this area.

Overall students are well turned out for school this week so let's keep the standard high. Thanks again parents for being onto it. We know it’s not easy meeting all the start of year imperatives. An exciting year awaits and I am optimistic for what is in store this year. Thank you always for your support, trust and encouragement. Go Kav!

Special intention:

Let us remember those who are unwell or who have suffered loss recently. We pray for Lyn Osten and the Harris and Bardwell families. “Spirit of peace and mercy surround those in need with your loving and healing presence. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.”

Tracy O'Brien