We enter the last week of Lent, and also the business end of the term on a number of fronts.

Next week is week 9 of the school year and in 3 weeks time seniors will have completed one third of their NCEA learning for the year. Just after Easter the first of what we call our student record sheets will be sent home via the Kamar portal. The students in year 9 and 10 will also receive the monthly academic record sheets. This will be the first opportunity for the boys and you parents to guage progress over all the subjects, whether it be toward NCEA for the seniors or common assessment tasks for the juniors. It will also provide good data for future conferencing opportunities at the end of the term and the beginning of next term.

Summer sport programmes are nearly finished and our waterpolo team this week won the South Island championship and progress onto the nationals in Wellington in the first term holidays. Our rowers also have had a good week and today and tomorrow compete in a number of finals. 22 of our athletes compete in the South Islands this weekend in Timaru after a most successful weekend at the Canterbury championships last weekend.

Last weekend the annual upper South Island Polyfest was held. A large contingent of our boys performed to a very high standard in their 15 minute presentation that we also shared at assembly yesterday.

Of special note is the selection of Andres Hernandez who is leaving this weekend for Paris to compete in the World Schools Cross Country championships.

So there is plenty happening. Our focus in the next week as a Catholic school is Holy Week. You will notice on campus that we have erected stations of the cross, which the boys have been looking at in their RE classes as one of the focuses for Lent. 

Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as Way of Sorrows or Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imitations of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem which is believed to be the actual path Jesus walked to Mount Calvary. The object of the stations is to help us to make a spiritual pilgrimage through contemplation of the Passion of Christ. It has become one of the most popular devotions in Lent.

Next Tuesday night at 6pm there will be stations of the cross starting at the chapel – this will be open to all students, staff, parents or Old boys who wish to participate.

Until next time

Justin Boyle