It has been an eventful week, and our hearts and prayers go out to those in North Canterbury and Kaikoura, including the numerous families of our own students in those regions.

The community here is helping in a tangible way and this morning a van load of donated provisions were delivered to North Canterbury.  For Christchurch people, the memories of 2010-2011 are still clear and their response to stricken families north of the city is heartfelt.

The Year 9 cohort went to Akaroa yesterday to visit the roots of Catholicism in the South Island. The boys are currently studying the Church in Aotearoa New Zealand so the timing was good. The day began with a Powhiri at Onuku Marae where Mr Liam Foley spoke on behalf of us all. 

The boys also visited the 'Catholic and Dissenters Cemetery' exploring the graves of the early settlers and had an informative presentation from Fr Paul Shanahan SM in St Patrick's Church. The church was built in 1865 and is in need of some extensive repairs so the donations from the boys were well received.

On Wednesday, the decision was made to cancel the upcoming Year 10 camps. The decision to not proceed with the camps was not a snap decision and was based on the welfare of students and staff.

Six different camps were planned, with a large number of students electing to participate in camps that were located in the northern part of the South Island. The groups would have had Personal Locator Beacons in the event of an emergency but very limited or no cell phone coverage.

On Monday and the subsequent days, the degree of damage that occurred on Sunday night became apparent. Police, Civil Defence, Search and Rescue and the military have been mobilised to help people cope with the disaster. The road through Lewis Pass has been reopened but is one lane only in places and extreme care if required. There will be continuing rock falls for the foreseeable future as after-shakes continue with significant shakes expected to be of magnitude 6.

It would be irresponsible for the College to proceed with camps that are North of Christchurch.

After meeting with the students on Wednesday, there were two questions that the students had:

• Is there a contingency? What will we do on these days?
  
• Can the camps that go South continue?
  

At this stage, to run the two camps in the south of the South Island and not provide something for the other students does not seem appropriate. To set up an alternative within a few days will be difficult and whatever the alternative, it will be well short of the camps planned.

Students, parents and staff are disappointed as we knew they would be. The decision can't be based on emotion and needed to be made as soon as possible. The decision was made with the welfare and safety of the students and staff in mind and was endorsed by the Board of Trustees.

Until next time...
Justin Boyle