Kardinia eNews - Wednesday 31 January 2024

From the Principal

Joy, smiles, confusion, laughter, questions, happiness, lost, challenging, fun, discovery, wonder, overwhelmed, friendship, learning, inquiry but mostly Joy.

This is how I would sum up our first day back for 2024. Like the quintessential Aussie pub with no beer, a school just does not feel right without students, so it was wonderful to welcome our new and welcome back our old students to Kardinia for the start of the 2024 year.

At the start of the week, I shared with our staff our whole school areas of focus for the year. The analogy I used was a kitchen with a five burner stove. The kitchen symbolises all the elements of the school - some sit in the pantry and we get them out when we need them, others are in the back of the pantry and we have forgotten they are there but we cannot bear to throw them out, some need to be thrown out and replaced with new fresh ones. Some we keep out on the bench as we use them regularly and then there are the items that are on the hot plate, and they need our greatest attention and focus. The elements we, as a school, have committed to having on the hot plate this year are:

• High Quality Learning and Teaching
• Student and Staff Wellbeing
• The Implementation of School Box as our new School Management System
• Staff Professional Development and Feedback
• Sustainability

All these areas align with our 2022 - 2032 Strategic Plan.

Finally, I spoke to our staff about my favourite TV character Ted Lasso and one of his many wise sayings which is to be Curious not Judgmental. I ask that you consider this concept when asking your child/ren about how their day at school was, or when they have done something that you do not think is right. I also ask that you use it in communicating with our staff.

In my experience, the vast majority, if not all, of the people in our school community are functioning from a place of good intention. If and when we find that matters have not gone as we expected, it would be great if we can come from a place of assuming good intent and being curious as to how a situation has not gone as desired. I would hope if we do this, we will also come from a place of respect and create a level of calm, harmony and safety for the benefit of everyone in our community.

May you all have a great school year and may you find much Joy.

From the Head of Senior School

What a wonderful start to the 2024 school year! After our Induction Day on Tuesday, where we spent more time with our 240 new Year 7s, who were ably assisted by the Peer Support Leaders, we had all 1400 Senior School students back with us today. It was fabulous to see the joy they demonstrated in catching up with friends and staff, the excited news they had to share and the enthusiasm to get to class. I spoke with a number of students today and the overwhelming consensus was that it was a great first day back.

Thank you to students and staff for their patience as we negotiate and refine access around the College while the COLA is being built. I really appreciate the respect with which everyone patiently waited to move around the school and offered ideas to make life easier.

Our 2024 College Prefects spent Tuesday working with yLead on developing their leadership skills and goals for this year. They have some big plans and I look forward to seeing the impact that they have on the entire College.

From the Head of Junior School

Welcome to the 2024 school year

Today was the first day back at school for all but our 3-year-old Kindergarten students. It’s always an exciting time for students as they reunite with their friends and teachers, or for some, have their first day of school at Kardinia. Students settled in well to their new class and had lots of fun exploring their new spaces.

Safer Internet Day – A message from the Head of Innovation and Technology (Mrs Kristiansen)

Next Tuesday 6 February marks the worldwide initiative - Safer Internet Day. Hosted by the eSafety Commissioner in Australia, this year focuses on three simple actions - Connect, Reflect, Protect. With these areas in mind, here are some quick conversations that you could have with your child:

Connect - How do you keep your personal information and passwords private when connecting online?

Reflect - When reading information or articles on the internet, how are you reflecting on whether the source is trustworthy or not?

Protect - Are you protecting others by being an upstander and reporting any incidents to the appropriate person if they occur?

In conjunction with the Common Sense Media ‘Digital Citizenship Curriculum’, Safer Internet Day forms part of the Junior School’s approach to Digital Citizenship. If you would like any further information, please visit the eSafety Commissioner's website - https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/whats-on/safer-internet-day

Performance Choir – A message from the Performing Arts Coordinator (Mrs Essery)
Performance Choir auditions will run MONDAY & FRIDAY next week (Week 2). Come and sing along with us and try out for a spot in the Performance Choir. Auditions will be held next Monday and Friday lunchtime in the JS Music Room. Choir rehearsals are to occur on a Tuesday morning before school from 8:00 am to 8:50 am. During the audition, students will be asked to sing The National Anthem and Happy Birthday. This choir is for students in years 4 to 6. Year 5 students are invited to email me directly if interested in setting up an audition.

Camp Australia Newsletter

Junior School Wellbeing News

A warm Welcome Back to all families in the KIC community! Day one was hugely successful, and it was wonderful to see all the students again and meet new Foundation students.

I wanted to formally introduce Glenn Evans who will be working full time in the role of Head of Student Wellbeing and Learning Diversity and Inclusion.

Hello everyone. I am very excited to be part of the wellbeing team here at Kardinia.  Having spent the last 7 years as a learning group teacher out at Kardinia Grove it was wonderful to see so many excited children coming to school on day one with smiles and enthusiasm.  Day one is an important milestone for our littlest students and the opportunity to build a learning-centred community by getting to know each other. Whilst many skip happily into class, it is completely normal if your child is particularly nervous.  (Remember that first work day!).  Rest assured the college is highly invested in Student Wellbeing and I look forward to working with the students in 2024.

School Reluctance

For some students coming to school can be overwhelming and it can take some time for them to feel confident with the transition from home to school.

Some helpful tips to make school drop-off successful include:

• Ensure you have a routine bedtime that allows your child to get sufficient sleep. It is hard to regulate when your battery is empty.
• Have a healthy breakfast- food is fuel!
• Ensure your morning is calm and relaxed, having a consistent and predictable routine is important and allows children to feel safe. Predicting small triggers or delays is helpful and may mean that some things are completed the night before (ie uniform out on the desk, waking your child at the same time each day with enough time to get ready for school).
• Encouraging a graded approach to the morning if your child becomes distressed: “Let’s focus on breakfast first”, “let’s get your school bag sorted”, and so on.
• When arriving at school: Remain calm, be firm (and kind). Giving clear and consistent messages about school attendance such as ‘It’s time to get up for school’ and ‘I know it is tricky sometimes, but you need to go to school’ ‘School is for you and work is for me, we all have a job to do’
• Getting your child to school regularly and on time will help.
• Keep the goodbyes quick – consider planning your exit strategy. Avoid the ‘ok, one more hug’.
• Consider a special handshake/goodbye ritual.
• Consider the ‘invisible string’ – where you each have a sticker or something else symbolic that connects you and is a nice reminder during the day. This is a wonderful book to read together.
• Reassure your child about their pick-up (whether it is a parent or grandparent, where you will collect them).
• Consider a reward system: a sticker chart/reward chart that usually acknowledges their bravery and school attendance. It doesn’t have to be monetary however it can be helpful to tap into what their ‘currency is’. For example, special time with Mum, watching their favourite TV show.

KIC online, under the well-being tab has access to school TV. School TV has lots of educational videos regarding separation anxiety which might be helpful.

Most importantly let the classroom teacher know that way we can help!

Connection:

Children will be tired after school especially in the first few weeks after the summer holiday break. Research shows the power of connection and relationships in helping to regulate our nervous systems. Often parents will try to connect after school by asking questions about how their child’s day has been. If your child is like many children and offers the answer of ‘I don’t know’ it might help to ask the question differently. I have added below some suggested ways to connect with children after school;

Alicia Bennett, Head of Wellbeing - Junior School

Community Engagement and Foundation News 

Kardinians Celebrate

Congratulations to Alyssa Modica (Class of 2018) and Nicholas Kallipolitis (Class of 2012), on the joyous occasion of their recent marriage. They celebrated with other Kardinian friends and family members including Lachlan Modica, Chantelle Modica, Nathaniel Kallipolitis and Bridget Sweeney.

The Kardinians extend their warmest wishes for a lifetime filled with happiness, to the newlyweds! Congratulations Alyssa and Nicholas!

Where Are They Now

Business partners Jo Smith (Class of 2005) and Aaron Turner have opened a fabulous Thai restaurant 'Songbird' at 2 Ryan Place South, Geelong.

The restaurant "...co-owned by celebrated local chef Aaron Turner, will bring the fresh and punchy flavours of northern Thailand to local diners. Songbird, a northern Thai barbecue restaurant, opened on Friday and is the “reimagining” of acclaimed eatery Igni, which closed last year.

Head chef Nathan Lancaster said Songbird was “very different” to the Thai cuisine Geelong residents were used to...A selection of meats, including pork, chicken and housemate sausage, feature on the menu and all cooked over the fire, similar to Igni."

For more information and to book, head to instagram.com/songbirdthaibbq.

Credits: Grace Patrick & Herald Sun. https://www.heraldsun.com.au/.../a8fb282c60f1763aeebbade4...

Fiona Russell - Community Engagement & Foundation Coordinator 

From the Archives

25 Years Since Kardinia’s First Year 12 Class

Only one year before the new millennium, Kardinia International College's inaugural Year 12 class lined up on the steps of the Graham Corney Building. This year, the Class of 1999 celebrates 25 Years since their graduation! We look forward to celebrating with the 1999 cohort later this year.

Photo Credit: Kardinia Archive Collection.

Fiona Russell - College Archivist