Trinity Catholic College, Dunedin: Difference between revisions

Kavanagh College Coláiste Caomhánach
Address
340 Rattray Street, Dunedin
Coordinates	45.87413°S 170.496453°E / -45.87413; 170.496453
Information
Type	Secondary (Year 7-13)
Motto	Ipsa Duce (Latin: 'With Her As Our Guide')
Established	1989
Ministry of Education Institution no.	536
Principal	Tracy O'Brien
School roll	918
Socio-economic decile	8
Website	www.kavanagh.school.nz

Kavanagh College (Irish: Coláiste Caomhánach) is a Catholic Secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand.

It has 900 students and was founded in 1989 as a merger between St Pauls High School (formerly named, firstly, Christian Brothers School and then, Christian Brothers High School), Moreau College (a school for girls which was itself an amalgamation of St Dominics College and St Philomena's College) and St Edmunds School (a primary and intermediate school for boys).

The founders of the school were the Dominican Sisters, Sisters of Mercy and the Christian Brothers. Kavanagh College has the longest tradition of consistent Catholic Education for one site, its Rattray St location.

The first Principal was Brother V I Jury, a Christian Brother who left the role in 1991.

Kavanagh College has four main blocks of classrooms: the Mercy Block, the Dominican Block and the Bodkin Block, along with the Science block. Kavanagh is located near the centre of Dunedin and close to many facilities including the Otago Polytechnic which is opposite and the University of Otago.

Origins of Kavanagh College

Kavanagh College has its origins in at least seven different earlier schools. These are: a school operated by lay persons and attached to St Joseph's Church (later St Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin (St Joseph's School); St Dominics College (for girls); St Philomena's College (for girls); Moreau College (for girls); the Christian Brothers School (for boys) and its successors, Christian Brothers High School and St Paul's High School; and St Edmunds School, South Dunedin (a primary and intermediate school for boys).

First school

St Joseph's School (1863)

The Otago settlement was established in 1848 and had an overwhelmingly Presbyterian character. There were very few Catholic there. However, in March 1861 gold was discovered at the Lindis Pass and Gabriel Read made public his successful discovery of gold at Tuapeka in June. The situation dramatically changed. Every steamer reaching Port Chalmers or Bluff was packed with would-be miners, many of whom were Catholics. Accordingly, Bishop Viard (Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Wellington in which Dunedin was located at that time) appointed Father Delphin Moreau SM, who had visited Otago in April 1859, to be its first resident priest. Mass was said in the courthouse until St Joseph's Church was completed in July 1862. In 1864 the Catholic population of Otago was estimated at over 15,000; chapels (many of them rough and ready) sprang up in the diggings and main towns, and schools came into existence. The Dunedin school was opened in 1863. "When the old wooden Provincial Government buildings were replaced by new brick ones, the former were sold. Father Moreau secured some of them for his school. One large room was put on the side of the Rattrey Street gully, below the church. It was divided into two parts - one for the boys and one for the girls. Other parts of the buildings were used as a coach house and stables. In 1864, the boys at the school were taught by Mr Shepherd and the girls were taught by Miss Campion. In 1870 Mr Shepherd still taught the boys and the girls were taught by Miss Conway. "Father Moreau took a great interest in the schools and was constantly among the children in the playground, always wearing his cassock which was green with age; he knew every child and was loved by them all. His hope was to obtain brothers and nuns to staff his schools."

Girls' Schools

St Dominic's College (1871)

On Monday 20 February 1871, the Dominican Sisters who had arrived with the first Catholic Bishop of Dunedin, Patrick Moran on 11 February, took charge of the girl's school. On 27 February a High School, St Dominic's College, for day pupils was opened. This school celebrated its centennial in 1971.

St Philomena's College (1897)

On the morning of Sunday, January 17, 1897, the Sisters of Mercy arrived in Dunedin from Ireland at the invitation of Michael Verdon the second Catholic Bishop of Dunedin. The sisters established themselves in South Dunedin and in April 1897 opened a high school for girls. It was opened " ... with the very small roll of four pupils." This was the beginning of St Philomena's College.

Moreau College (1976)

Early in the 1970s the roll numbers at both at both of Dunedin's Catholic girls' colleges, St Dominic's and St Philomena's, showed a slight reduction. At the same time, the demand for a greater variety of options for girls, particularly in the upper secondary classes, was gradually increasing so that it was becoming more difficult to maintain a full secondary school with a roll of less than 500. "It also had to be taken into account that the buildings at St Dominic's in Rattray Street were deteriorating and the cost of repair or renewal was considerable." The buildings at St Philomena's were newer and in a much better condition. It was therefore decided to merge the two school on the St Philomena's site in 1976. The new college was called Moreau College after the first resident priest of Dunedin.

The first principal of Moreau College was Sr Ambrose, who had the difficult task of co-ordinating the teaching work of not only three orders of religious sisters on her staff [Dominicans, Sisters of Mercy, and Presentation], but also a growing body of lay teachers. Hand in hand with the declining number of vocations to religious life came the associated problem of increasing salary costs for the growing numbers of lay teachers. In 1982 the first lay Principal was appointed, Mr Anthony McDermott, with Mrs Margaret Crombie as Deputy Principal. The number of optional subjects for the girls was greatly increased by the introduction of a modern timetable made possible with the use of computers. In 1986 the college integrated into the New Zealand state system of education, with the NZ government now paying the salaries of the staff, and the appointment of teachers being made on state lines, with allowance made for the provision of a percentage of Catholic teachers to safeguard the Catholic character of the college. The college had a boarding hostel, and achieved excellent results in public examinations.

There was bitter disappointment among many staff and parents when the decision was made to end the tradition of Catholic single-sex education for girls and to combine the Catholic secondary schools into a co-educational college from 1989. There was also great controversy when the three top positions, Principal, Deputy Principal, and Senior Master in the new Kavanagh College, were given to three incumbents from St Paul's High School, with the staff of the girls' college missing out in senior positions.

Boys' Schools

Christian Brothers School/Christian Brothers High School (1876)

On the morning of Sunday, 2 April 1876, four Irish Christian Brothers arrived in Dunedin at the invitation of Bishop Patrick Moran. "They were met by Bishop Moran and a group of Catholics and driven rapidly to Dunedin where, at 11.00am Mass, Brothers Bodkin, Dunne, Healy and McMahon were introduced to the people." A school for boys was built on Rattray Street. In 1915 a new brick building fronting tennyson Street replaced the original school. The title "High School" was formally added to the designation of the school in 1928. Rapidly-rising rolls in the 1950s led to the diocese purchasing properties in both Rattray and Tennyson Streets and converting them to classrooms.

• Christian Brothers Residence was at 295 Rattray Street, and in 2005 converted to a boutique hotel

St Edmund's School (1949)

To help relieve the pressure on the Rattray Street school roll a second school, St Edmund's, had been opened in South Dunedin in 1949. This was a primary school for boys from about 9 years of age to 12 years of age (Standard 3 (Year 5) to Form 2 (Year 8)). The school closed as part of the reorganising of the Catholic schools in Dunedin in 1989(?).

St Paul's High School (1964)

It was clear that the rebuilding of Christian Brothers High School was not sufficient and that a more permanent solution was called for. This occurred in 1964, when a fine new building was erected fronting Rattray St, and Christian Brothers High School became St Pauls High School. Christian Brothers High School/St Paul's High School celebrated its centennial in 1976. The older school building, housing the primary department, became a separate entity and was known as Christian Brothers' Junior School.

further information: Congregation of Christian Brothers in New Zealand

Foundation of Kavanagh College

In 1989 a new Catholic co-educational school, Kavanagh College, began operations on the site of St Pauls' High School, the Christian Brothers Junior School, and the old St Dominic's College, these three sites being adjacent to each other. (?) The college was named after the fourth Catholic Bishop of Dunedin John Patrick Kavanagh (Bishop, 1957–1985). Kavanagh college resulted from the amalgamation of Moreau College for girls and St Paul's High School for boys. The senior classes of St Edmond's School (i.e. years 7 and 8) transferred to the new college. The junior classes (Years 5 and 6) were accommodated in Dunedin Catholic primary schools and St Edmund's closed. (?) The religious orders of Dominican Sisters, Christian Brothers, and the Sisters of Mercy were the teaching foundation of the amalgamation. Brother Vincent Innocent Jury CFC was appointed as the first principal of the new college. He was the last of the 23 Christian Brother Principals to exercise authority in Rattray Street in the 115 years from 1876 to 1991.

Kavanagh College today

Kavanagh college is a large central city co-educational school which serves the entire city of Dunedin. It is an integrated school with a "special character" in terms of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act 1975. This special character is broadly the connection of the school with the Catholic faith. Preference of enrolment is given to students who have established a link with the Catholic Church through baptism or membership of a parish. Preference is decided by the appropriate parish priest in each case. A preference certificate from the student's parish is required for each student with their application for enrolment at the school. Under the Act, the school may enrol "non-preference" students but the enrolment of such students is restricted to 5% of the total roll. The College does not have an enrollment scheme which means that there is no restriction on enrollment because of residence. The main contributing schools to the college are the Catholic parish schools of Dunedin. Enrolments come from both urban schools and rural schools.

Culture at Kavanagh College

The Company

'The Company' is the school's drama group. They work together to put on the end of year Pantomime. They also (every 3 years) travel to Australia to perform.

KTVN

KTVN, or Kavanagh Television Network is a small group of Kavanagh College students that work technically within the school and help with the musicals and other shows. The team is led by Hamish Edh who has been involved with KTVN since his first year at Kavanagh.

Cultural Awards

The Cultural Awards ceremony occurs at Kavanagh College once a year, to celebrate cultural achievements of the students. If a student participates in a cultural activity, for example, a Musical, they are eligible for an award. If they student shows merit or excellence in that area, they get that corresponding award. If a student shows amazing leadership and knowledge in an area, they may be awarded with a 'Cultural Blue' award, which is to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of that student. More information can be found about the Cultural Awards on the Kavanagh Website.

Musicals

Every year, all Kavanagh College students are given the opportunity to participate in the annual Musical. The students can participate in the cast, band, or technical crew. The annual musicals are as follows:

• 2002 - West Side Story
• 2003 - Fame
• 2004 - Godspell
• 2005 - Les Misérables
• 2006 - The Wiz
• 2007 - The Boyfriend
• 2008 - Footloose
• 2009 - Disco Inferno

Notable Alumni

• Nicholas Beard - Otago Cricket Rep
• Andrew Boyens (born 1983) in Dunedin), professional New Zealand footballer, member of the New Zealand national football team, the "All Whites" at the 2010 World Cup
• Hon Mick Connelly (1916–2003), Member of Parliament for Riccarton (1956-1969), Wigram (1969-1978) and Yaldhurst (1978-1984); Minister of Police, and Minister of Customs (both 1972-1975) and, in 1975, Minister of Works and Development and Minister of Statistics.
• Sean Eathorne - Otago Cricket Rep.
• Anthony Harris - Otago Cricket Rep
• Brian MacDonell (born 1935), Member of Parliament for Dunedin Central (1963-1984); Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Trade & Industry and Energy Resources (1973-1975).
• Sir Patrick Jerad O'Dea (1917-2010), senior public servant; New Zealand secretary to Queen Elizabeth II, 1969.
• Ti'i Paulo - 9 Caps Crusaders (rugby) Super 14
• Kevin Lawrence Skinner - All Black.
• Hon Joe Walding (born 1926), Member of Parliament for Palmerston North (1967 to 1975) and (1978 to 1981); Minister of Overseas Trade (1972-1975), Minister for the Environment (1972-1974), Minister of Recreation and Sport (1972-1975).

References/Sources

• A G Butchers, Young New Zealand, Dunedin, Coulls Somerville Wilkie Ltd., Dunedin, 1929.
• J C O'Neill, The History of the Work of the Christian Brothers in New Zealand, Unpublished Dip Ed. thesis, University of Auckland, 1968.
• Sister Mary Augustine McCarthy, O.P., Star in the South: The Centennial History of the New Zealand Dominican Sisters, St Dominic's Priory, Dunedin, 1970.
• 1876-1976: The First 100 Years in New Zealand at Christian Brothers School Dunedin, Christian Brothers School Centennial Committee, Dunedin, 1976.
• Sister M Stephanie, Divide and Share: The Story of Mercy in the South 1897-1997, The Sisters of Mercy, Dunedin 1996.
• Sister M Regis (ed), The Philomenian; Celebrating 100 years, St Philomena's College, Centenary Committee, Dunedin, 1997.
• Graeme Donaldson, To All Parts of the Kingdom: Christian Brothers in New Zealand 1876-2001, Christian Brothers New Zealand Province, Christchurch, 2001, pp. 5 and 6.
• Rick Maxwell, St Peter's College, Auckland, Simerlocy Press, Auckland, 2008.

External links

• Catholic-hierarchy website
• Catholic Diocese of Dunedin
• Catholic Church in New Zealand
• Kavanagh College
• Education Review Office report