From the Principal
Last week we held three very special events at the College.
The first event was the opening of the new Junior School redevelopment. It is quite incredible what has been achieved in 18 months since the first hole was dug for the new build. I encourage our families when you get a chance to look around the two new buildings and surrounds, they are beautiful and wonderful learning spaces. Now we refocus on areas in the Senior School which is also very exciting.
The second important event was our two Founders’ Day Assemblies which were attended by two members of the Katsumata Family, Mr Yoshihisa Katsumata, Chair of the College Board, and son of Mr and Mrs Katsumata and their grandson, Takahiro Katsumata, who is also a member on our College Board.
A most memorable moment in the Assemblies was the singing of the College song in Japanese and English. It was a stunning rendition and was so greatly appreciated by the Katsumatas. They were so grateful that we continue to keep the memory of Mr and Mrs Katsumata as such an important part of our school culture. It was also fantastic to see how much our students appreciated the opportunity to see and meet with both Yoshi and Takahiro. They both felt the warmth and welcome of our students and College community and look forward to returning as soon as possible.
Finally, we also held a small ceremony to show our gratitude to Mr Graham Corney a founding member of our College Board. The main administration building has been named in honour of Mr Corney as a small recognition of our appreciation for all that he has done for our College, quietly and behind the scenes since its inception.
From the Head of Senior School
Hello Everyone,
Below you will see a picture of a new, limited edition KIC scarf, stylishly modelled by two of the College prefects, Elias Walton and Xavier Lee. A limited number of the scarves is available to purchase for $20.
Proceeds from the sale of the scarves will support the women who made them. You can read their story below. The scarves may be purchased from Student Services.
From the Acting Head of Junior School
Dear families,
What an incredible start to the term.
Congratulations to all students for settling into the term so well.
A visit from Mr Takahiro Katsumata
Thank you to the Foundation Year students who gave Mr Takahiro Katsumata a tour of their learning spaces last week. Mr Takahiro Katsumata is the grandson of Mr and Mrs Katsumata who are the Founders of our amazing school. Takahiro is a current board member. He was visiting Australia from Japan to join the opening ceremony of our new building.
Our new Foundation Year Play Space
As part of our new build, the Foundation Year students have received their very own play space. This purpose-built space is for Foundation Year students only. This precious space will support students as they settle into Kardinia for years to come. Pictured below are the students learning about the space and its possibilities.
The Grove Friday Market is up and running for Term 2!
Please pop into the market before school on a Friday morning to get your hands on monsters like this egg! Our entrepreneurial year 5 students will be eager to serve you with their goods.
ANZAC day memorial
Thank you to the school leaders and year 6 students for leading the ANZAC day ceremony last week. It was a very respectful and informative ceremony. Thanks also to all students who listened carefully to the speeches and showed respect at all times.
JS Car Park
Thanks so much for the response to last week’s request to be mindful of the way you park when you park outside the school grounds. I’m sharing these two photos from last week to give you an example of how car park spaces quickly become available after school. I hope you find them helpful.
This photo was taken at 3:19pm. You can see that there are no spaces available. During this time, you can slowly roam the carpark waiting for a spot.
This photo was taken at 3:24pm. You can see that there are several spaces available. Please keep in mind that students are supervised until 3:40pm each day. There is no expectation that parents should be waiting for their children as they exit their classroom door. Making a plan to meet your child at 3:30pm could save yourself quite a bit of time and parking stress.
College Fee Due Date Reminder
We would like to remind you that Term 3 2023 College Fees are due by Friday 5 May 2023. If you are unable to make full payment by the due date, please contact the Finance office to arrange a payment plan.
Current balance can be found in the finance tab in KIC Online. Should you require any further information please contact us.
Mother's Day Classic
At Kardinia we have supported the Mothers’ Day Classic for the last 6 years, encouraging members of our community to sign up and join the fight for zero deaths from breast cancer.
A Kardinia International College team has been set up on the registration page and we encourage you to join the race and come along on the day and join in the festivities. This is not a school event so we ask that parents come with their children and participate too.
You might ask why?
- Breast cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia.
- 1 in 7 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
- Approximately 1 in 600 men will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
- Approximately 57 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer every day.
The Women in Super Mother’s Day Classic is Australia’s largest fun run and walk for breast cancer research.Since the event’s inception in 1998, there have been over 1.5million participants and the Mother’s Day Classic community has donated $41.45 million to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) to fund life-saving breast cancer research.
So come along on May 14 for this very special community event and be part of funding essential research into breast cancer . Details of the event can be found on the registration page at
https://www.mothersdayclassic.com.au/register/mothers-day-classic-geelong/register
Don’t forget to join the team!
National Computer Science School Challenge
The NCSS Challenge teaches students to code in Python 3.6. Python is an easy to learn scripting language used for many different purposes such as web applications and scientific research. Coding is a skill that not only teaches students how to work with computers, but also teaches them how to think about solving problems with systems.
Students who participated in the NCSS Challenge last term competed for five weeks by solving interesting and engaging problems. The results are now in with one student, Mia Sahono, achieving a perfect score in the intermediate competition, and three students achieving distinctions in the beginner’s competition: Amanda Xu, Amelia O'Connell, and Ruby Kroger.
HPA11 National Judo Team Excursion
On Monday 1 May, the two Year 7 HPA11 Defending Fitness classes travelled to the National Performance Centre in Albert Park to experience a training session with the Australian National Judo Team.
As the National Team was busy preparing for the Senior World Championships in Doha next week, the classes did their own training at one end of the dojo (the part usually reserved for the Australian Taekwondo Team), while the National Team worked on their preparations.
The students put in a good session and the National Coach said afterwards that he was impressed with the way they trained. Then the students sat down to watch the last twenty minutes of the National session. During this time several of the students were extracted to do some randori (sparring) with various members of the team, which was a great thrill for everybody!
After the session the students were able to have a sit down for Q&A time which was most enlightening. The students asked excellent questions and got a better understanding of the demands of being an elite athlete, their training regimes, part time jobs and marital status.
Thanks go to Ms Lissie Doyle for giving up her time to come along and support the group and for taking wonderful photos.
Homestay Family for Gotemba Nishi High School Japanese Students Wanted
The College will host a couple of female students coming from our sister school, Gotemba Nishi High School in Japan, in Term 3. They will be studying Year 10 courses at Kardinia.
We are looking for homestay families who are interested in Japanese culture and sharing Australian culture and life. Homestay families are required to provide a safe, secure and caring living environment, three meals a day including lunch pack to school and a bedroom with a desk.
If you require further details of hosting, please e-mail h.suzuki@kardinia.vic.edu
Community Engagement and Foundation News
WHERE ARE THEY NOW- CAMRYN FITZGERALD (SHEEHAN)-CLASS OF 2017
”Camryn Fitzgerald is an indie pop artist based in Ocean Grove, Victoria. With raw and brutally honest songwriting, her music explores the complexities of life and relationships, capturing familiar emotions in guitar-driven tracks. Camryn’s debut single, “Older and Wiser,” showcases her artistry and maturity in songwriting, hinting at the promise of more to come from this emerging artist.”
Camryn’s debut track ‘Older & Wiser’, is a break-up anthem for those haunted by the past. To listen to Camryn’s release, visit her website or Spotify.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW- FINN PEEL -CLASS OF 2018
The Bannockburn Bulls Cricket Club recently announced that, “...Finn Peel has been appointed as Senior Men’s Captain/Coach for Season 23/24. Finn brings loads of enthusiasm, fresh ideas and exciting plans. His inclusive, collaborative, whole-club approach is the perfect fit for BCC, as is Finn’s passion and experience in the education and development of young people.”
CLASS OF 2013 – 10 YEAR REUNION- SAVE THE DATE – Friday 20 October
It’s TEN years and time to ‘Save the Date’ for your Reunion! Class of 2013, please ensure you have registered on The Kardinians platform, and that your email and mobile contact details are up to date:
There are plenty of photos in your albums, so view some while you are logged in.
The photos will certainly bring back memories! The RSVP reunion link will be sent to you in August. We will look forward to seeing you all at the Reunion!
Fiona Russell- Community Engagement and Foundation Coordinator
Year 9 Morrisby Profile Meetings
Year 9 students will begin meeting with a member of the Careers Team this week to discuss the results of the Morrisby Profile which was completed late in Term 1.
All students should by now have completed their profiles. During their meeting students will have the opportunity to ask questions about their profiles, career and subject options, including VET and early VCE subject selections.
Below is a link to a short video that explains all the components of their report for you to view. With your child’s permission, you may wish to work through their reports together after watching the video.
The link is below:
We look forward to meeting with your child during the term.
Library Services News
Older readers (13-18 Years)
High school is hard enough when you're healthy. When you've got some weird, undiagnosable chronic illness, it's a special hell.
Meet Grace Turing.
She loves art, weird trivia, and her little sister, Ivy.
Grace has a secret. One that she's determined to keep at her new school, in a new state, where no one knows her as 'Sick Girl'. This is her chance to make friends and seem normal while her illness is still invisible. But is an invisible illness really invisible? How long can she keep a secret this big? And who else is she hurting by keeping her pain to herself?
Younger Reader (7-12 Years)
When eleven-year-old Matt finds Cliff, a hurt, neglected dog abandoned in the bush, he knows the brave little pup needs saving. He wants to help. But can he? Lately, Matt has had way more bad days than good days. The pieces of his life just don’t seem to fit together any more and he doesn’t understand why. He's finding it impossible to concentrate at school and has lost interest in the activities he used to love. Plus, he’s tired all the time. Matt's too afraid to share what's really going on in his own head with anyone. His friends and family will never understand... maybe it's not only Cliff who needs saving.
Picture Books (0-18 Years)
From best-selling author Alice Pung and renowned illustrator Sher Rill Ng comes an extraordinarily powerful and moving book about how the past can shape the future.
Xiao Xin believes he is a red fire warrior but his family are always telling him to be careful. They believe the world is a dangerous place. Too dangerous for a little boy on his own.
Renowned
storytellers Alice Pung and Sher Rill Ng bring to life a beautiful and tender
story about learning to conquer your own fears - as a child, and as an adult.
School TV
Willingly or not, we have all been exposed to a piece of bad news that has lingered in our thoughts for days afterwards. This seems to be more common in the current environment than ever before. Due to the pandemic, the world we now live in is a very different place, so it is easy to see why we might feel impacted. It can often seem like there are many stressful events occurring simultaneously, and the hyperconnected nature of our environment means we are constantly being reminded of the challenges we face via numerous media and social media channels. Our connectivity to the digital world exposes us to a barrage of messages that can often leave us feeling overwhelmed.
It is therefore important for children and parents alike, to consciously and intentionally learn good wellbeing strategies. Unfortunately, our brains have not evolved fast enough to adapt to the digital landscape we find ourselves in and this often leaves us feeling overwhelmed and can result in increased levels of stress and anxiety. If left untreated or unmanaged, constant stress and anxiety can lead to a number of behavioural issues or health consequences.
The blueprint for parenting, based on our own experiences, is no longer fit for purpose in raising kids as citizens of tomorrow. The combination of constant access to information and having little control over the situations presented, can be stressful and overwhelming. Although we can’t provide our kids with certainty, we can provide them with the skills and strategies to cope to enable them to flourish and thrive, socially, emotionally and academically. It may not necessarily be the information itself that is harmful, but more their inability to process and make sense of it.
Click here to watch this episode: https://kardinia.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-managing-overwhelm
From the Archives
EARLY CROSS COUNTRY
Back in 2005, Morongo was the winner of the Senior School Cross Country. With perfect conditions and from a range of starting points, the House Competition took place along the Barwon River track to finish at the Queens Park Bridge.
The final 2005 results were:
The top 2005 age group winners were:
Kardinia International College- The Bell 2005
The next article features ‘The Beginning of the Chiang Mai Experience’
Fiona Russell- Archivist
Vote for your Favourite Instrument
ABC FM, a radio station some of us may not be so familiar with, is once again hosting its TOP 100 vote in which listeners are asked to cast their vote on their favourite style/vocal music/orchestral music/choral music etc.
Whilst many may not be familiar with this program or this competition, the vote this year is for YOUR FAVOURITE INSTRUMENT which would provide a wonderful opportunity to discuss Music and to have that ‘round-the-table’ debate on which is indeed our favourite instrument. I am sure we all have an opinion on this.
The competition is free to enter and the results are published after the votes have been cast.
Of particular interest to us, is the fact that today we launch our House Music rehearsals AND it is International Jazz Day….
If you are interested in casting YOUR vote, click on the link below.
(For the record, my favourite instrument is the THEREMIN!) What’s yours?
https://www.abc.net.au/classic/classic100
Manfred Pohlenz
