Kia ora tātou

We come to the end of another term – it is hard to believe we are half way through the year! Thank you for your understanding as events and student learning have had to be altered due to the current situation again this term. I know we have all become much more adaptable during the last couple of years.

During the holidays we have various groups of students continuing to represent Kavanagh College. Our college choir is performing at First Church on Friday and Saturday night as part of the Midwinter Carnival; our junior netball team heads to Christchurch to compete in the SISS Year 9 & 10 Netball Tournament; and we have five students who are flying to warmer climes in the form of a Leadership Camp in Fiji. We wish these students all the best and thank them for continuing to represent us so well in Dunedin and beyond.

Some weeks give me moments to savour and this has been one of them. I have been visiting our Catholic schools to deliver our college prospectus and talk with year 6 students about Kavanagh College. I always take a few students with me because they know what is important to their peers and they can answer questions in a way that makes more sense than the adults giving all the answers! What has really impressed me is the pride and joy that I hear in our young Kavanagh students when they talk about what they enjoy about school and how it all works at our place. I also received a couple of emails this week from people who have noticed the great things our students do unprompted. One was from a mother whose son became lost in Meridian Mall last Friday after school. Two of our Year 9 girls came across this young boy and looked after him carefully until they found his mother. Thank you Georgia and Talia for living our college values. We were also thrilled with the parent gift of a large pot of soup and tray of warm buttered toast that arrived in the staffroom on Monday as thanks to our teachers who have continued to work hard to provide learning through all sorts of forums while they have been sick themselves. I feel privileged to work within such a caring community.

Enjoy the next two weeks with your young people at home, and let’s keep giving thanks for what is really important in life.

See you at the end of July.