St. Kevin's College, Melbourne

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St. Kevin's College
Motto	Omnia Pro Deo 'All for God'
Established	1918
Type	Independent all-male secondary; primary
Chairman	Mr Des Powell
Headmaster	Mr. Stephen Russell
Founder	The Christian Brothers
Chaplain	Fr Brenden Hayes
Students	c.1650
Grades	K–12
Location	Toorak, VIC Australia
Campus	125 acres
Colours	Blue, Gold and Green
School song	The Men from Glendalough
Nickname	SKC, Skevs, Skevies, Kevinians
Website	www.stkevins.vic.edu.au

St. Kevin's College, founded 1918, is a private, Roman Catholic, all-boys primary and secondary school located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is situated in the suburb of Toorak. St. Kevin's was founded by the Christian Brothers. St Kevin's College was member of the Associated Catholic Colleges - Victoria (ACC) and is now a member of the Associated Public Schools of Victoria.

St. Kevin's overlooks Gardiner's Creek, a tributary that runs into the Yarra River, with Scotch College on creek's opposite side.

The current headmaster is Mr. Stephen Russell, former deputy to previous headmaster Brother William Wilding.

[edit] A Brief History

In 1918 the College was situated on Albert Street, East Melbourne, and served as a boys matriculation college. In 1932 the school was moved to the corner of St. Georges and Orrong Roads, Toorak. Property in Heyington was purchased and developed into playing fields. The Heyington Property is now the Senior School Campus, housing years 7 to 8 and years 10 through to year 12, in a vertical house system.

In 1960, the present Senior School was built, notably the Kearney Building, which is visible on the approach from the Glen Waverley railway line. In 1972, the Lansell Road property was opened and the Orrong road property was sold. In 1982 the K.C. Smith building was constructed for the middle school years on the Senior Campus, and in 1990 the Pavilion was opened. Since opening the Pavilion has flooded twice, both in 2005. Ovals 1 and 2 were completely submerged, resembling flooded school foyers in the 1970s.

Oval Number 1, Scoreboard in the background, and the Pavillion to the right.

The Cummins Building was refurbished in 1997 and currently houses the creative arts prescint, which includes arts, drama, music and artistic works. The McCarthy Building was opened in 1997, housing Art Studios, the Campus Library and the Administration Block.

The Lansell Road property is now home to the Glendalough Campus, and in 1999 became a full primary school, housing prep to grade 6 students. Also in 1999, year 9 students moved from the Senior Campus to a dedicated campus named Waterford in Balaclava. Waterford currently resides in the former Vaucluse College FCJ site in Richmond.

In March 2006 an indoor pool, gym and sports facility, the Wilding Centre, was blessed by Cardinal George Pell and opened for the students.

[edit] Houses

The Houses are:

• Kenny (Red)
• Kearney (Blue)
• Cusack (Green)
• Purton (Gold)

They are named after Brothers who taught at the College.

[edit] Motto and Crest

The School's motto is Latin; 'Omnia Pro Deo' meaning 'All for God'.

The current school crest was adopted by Br Kearney in 1933. The school crest bares:

• Celtic Cross, signifying Irish Heritage, in the top left quadrant.
• A single star, representing the Star of Knowledge in the top right quadrant.
• The Southern Cross representing Australia in the bottom left quadrant.
• A book with the Greek Letters Alpha and Omega scribed, symbolising God in the bottom right quadrant.
• Surmounting the shield is another Celtic Cross which represents the faith in God.

The school colours are blue, green, gold.

We are the men from Glendalough, St. Kevin's
Our Alma Mater, Our Dear Old School.
All the games we played and all the friends we've made,
Will prove us loyal and true.

With our Omnia Pro Deo,
Strong in faith and friendship all;
when we find life's struggle hardest,
We will know on Whom to call.

It's the School - Our School.

We are the sons and heirs of saints and scholars,
of those we've trusted, of those we knew;
And we salute their grand old colours:
The Green, the Gold and Blue.

[edit] College War Cry

The College War Cry, as replicated here, is not typically how the students perform the war cry, and the last 6 lines have been altered for many decades, and are subject to dispute. However, this is the official war cry, as in the articles of the school.

Are your ready?
Yes!
Who are we?
S. K. C. Karrity Karrity Karrity Kaaa!
Moonga, Moonga, Ya Ya Ya!
Young, Old, Brave, Bold,
Shield of Green Shield of Gold
Karrity Karrity Tried and True
We are the boys of Green, Gold and Blue
S. T. K. E. V. I. N. S.
Oi!
Two More!
Oi!
One More!
Oi! Oogy, oogy oogy
Oi! Oi! Oi!
Now its Oongar Oo, Oon Gar!
Oo, Oo, Oon, Gar!
Har, Har!

[edit] Academics

[edit] Subjects

Subjects offered in VCE are numerous and include disciplines in:

• Mathematics (Further, Methods, Specialist and University Level)
• Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Psychology, Physical Education and Biology)
• Arts (Visual Communication, Theatre Studies, Design & Technology, Music Performance, Theatre Studies)
• Technology (Information Systems, Information Processing & Management, Information Technology)
• Humanities and Economics (Geography, History: Revolutions, Accounting, Economics, Legal Studies, Business Management)
• Languages (English, Japanese, French, English as a Second Language, Literature)
• Religion (Religion & Society, Text & Traditions)
• VET courses are also offered off campus
• Aviation
• Home Economics (cooking classes) - recently introduced in mid 2006

[edit] Recent VCE results

In 2005 over a third of the graduates scored above 40 out of a possible 50 study score points, some 20% higher than the state average. As a result, St. Kevin's was one of the top six highest performing school in the VCE system. St Kevin's College was the best performing Catholic school, and was the best Independent Boys' School in Victoria. St Kevin's College was also top of the APS schools. 50% of the 2005 students scored an ENTER score of over 90. In 2005, eighteen students scored in the top 1% of the state: the highest number ever, having 15 in 2004 and 10 in 2003.

[edit] Co-Curricular Activities

St. Kevin's College students participate in a range of activities outside the curriculum. These include:

[edit] Christian Living Camp

In Year 11, a 4 day program is conducted with the St. Kevins students and Year 11 girls from either Loreto Mandeville Hall or Korowa Anglican Girls School. This program is designed to further enhance the students understandings about various aspects of life, as well as learning about things from the point of view of students of the opposite sex.

[edit] Drama

Extracurricular drama includes musicals with other schools, including Loreto Mandeville Hall, Korowa, St. Catherine's and Sacre Coeur. VCE Theatre Studies offers involvement in direction, dramaturgy, stage management, set design, costume, lighting, properties, make-up and sound.

[edit] Debating

St. Kevin's participates in the Debating Association of Victoria (DAV) League. In most St. Kevin's reaches the finals series, and most recently in 2003 were DAV Champions.

[edit] Kevinian

The Kevinian, first established in 1935^{[citation needed]}, is a regulated school newspaper relying on student submissions. The Kevinian is often largely comprised of editorial input. Notable features include Teacherisms, Opinion articles and satirical photo captions although censorship is stringent.

[edit] Music

All students from grades Prep to 6 are required to learn a string or wind instrument for at least one year. A full range of brass, percussion and vocal musical genres are available.

The music department holds musical programmes that include performances, camps and tours. St. Kevin's is also the home to the St Patrick's Cathedral Choir. Alternative music concerts and performances include 'Lunchstock' - a gathering of school bands and performers during lunch breaks.

[edit] Outdoor Education and Student Leadership

The OAP (Outdoors Activities Programme) originally replaced a Military Cadets Programme after World War II

The OAP is run on the College's private campsite at Silver Creek, set on 55 acres of the Mount Disappointment State Forest, 70 kilometers north of Melbourne.

Years 3 to 11 are involved in the programmes, including a 9 day trek through the Victorian High Country. Activities that are offered include, rock climbing, surfing, canoeing, rafting, orienteering, bushwalking, cycle touring, cross country skiing and horse back riding.

Leadership roles are offered to Yr 12 Prefects and Officers. Following student and teacher votes, these students attend a a leadership camp at Silver Creek. Each class in the junior levels is assigned a leader who visits on a weekly basis.

[edit] Sport

Summer sports include rowing, cricket, tennis, swimming, table tennis, diving, squash, lawn bowls and volleyball. Winter sports include Australian rules football, rugby, soccer, basketball, field hockey, table tennis and cross country. Athletics and water polo are offered during the spring. All students participate in weekend sport competitions. Training for sport occurs after and before school hours up to 3 times a week for various sports, such as rowing and rugby.

The rugby, basketball and cricket teams have won numerous championships in the Associated Public Schools of Victoria Sporting league as well as on a National Level. The school won premierships in Rugby and Squash in 2005, and Cross Country in 2006. The college's greatest sporting victory since its foundation was winning the APS Athletics Premiership - also in 2006. Having broken Caulfield Grammar's 12 year streak in the process, this feat is seen as even more remarkable in that the school came 11th in 1995 and 1996.

[edit] External links

• St. Kevin's College website
• St. Kevin's College Boat Club website