What an exciting day we had yesterday! No doubt you have seen or read of Head Girl, Erika Fairweather, and her selection for the 2021 Olympic Swim Team.

We were thrilled and privileged to share Erika’s special moment and we wish her all the very best for the next few weeks. What has always impressed me most is Erika’s quiet humility and absolute focus and commitment to doing her absolute best. She lives our theme for the year “striving to be the best version of ourselves”. Incidentally, another swim team member, Carina Doyle, was also a student at Kavanagh College – 2 out of a team of 7 is a pretty good outcome for one school!

Yesterday’s assembly was very much a celebration assembly. It was exciting to stand in front of our students and celebrate eleven significant events that Kavanagh College students have achieved highly in during the last three weeks:

• Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Team – National award
• Manaia Barns – 3rd in the Otago Southland Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition
• Young Enterprise Team – successful marketing pitch at Polsen Higgs and they have just received their first sales order from Mitre 10 for their product
• Year 9/10 netball team – 1st in the Mixed Year 9/10 Division at the Otago Secondary Schools' Netball Tournament
• Boys’ badminton team -  4th in the South Island Tournament
• Serenity Hook – Highly Commended in the Otago Chamber Music Competition
• Annabelle Ring – selected for the U19 National Basketball Tournament Team
• Georgia Kennedy – Football – selected for the next stage on her quest to be named in the NZ U17 Womens’ team
• Oliver Lodge – 4th in the Otago Secondary Schools’ Cross Country Champs
• Tobias Devereux – 4th in the Oxford University Computing Challenge
• Our year 7-10s - 2nd in the Junior Quad Sports Tournament

Breadth and depth, and all of this is in addition to the great classroom learning that is happening. There are many people behind this success, and I am very grateful to them for their commitment and generosity.

Next week we will focus on Kavanagh’s Enviroweek. It is a good reminder that we have been asked to be stewards of God’s earth and his gift to us.

Have a warm weekend. God Bless.