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Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 16 February 2022

Home Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 16 February 2022

From the Principal

Last week I had the privilege of Chairing a Council of International Schools (CIS) accreditation visit to the International School of Singapore (ISS). Unfortunately, due to COVID, the visit was conducted virtually but a team of 12 educators still descended upon ISS to look at all aspects of the school in relation to the CIS standards.  

It is a fascinating exercise to have the opportunity to investigate the in-depth workings of another school, look at evidence, interview staff, students, parents and visit classes. It is also fantastic professional development because whenever I do these visits, I always find new ideas that I can implement in my own school.  

Shortly, we will commence the process for our own CIS accreditation visit at Kardinia. This is an eighteen-month journey which starts with a community survey, followed by committees delving into each domain within the school and formulating actions for school improvement and finally the team visit for final accreditation.  

A survey will be sent out to our school community in March as part of this process and I encourage all of you to take the opportunity to share with us your experience of our school by completing the survey. There will be more news about this in the coming weeks. Feedback from our community is very important to us as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.  For this reason, we will also continue with our annual LEAD survey later in the year as this provides us with longitudinal data. 

From the Head of Senior School

Dear Parents & Students,

Yesterday, Senior School students and staff enjoyed a very successful House Swimming Carnival at the Kardinia Aquatic Centre in South Geelong.

Thomson House was victorious, but all students who attended are to be congratulated for their participation. This was the first of seven days which are important in preserving and enhancing our sense of community.

Attendance on these days is a condition of each student’s continuing enrolment. Later this term there are two further days in which student attendance is anticipated: Founders’ Day on 2 March and House Athletics on 23 March.

Details of the Founders’ Day celebrations will be forwarded separately.

For some time there appears to have been a degree of uncertainty about when the College Sport uniform may be worn. This has partly arisen from changes made in response to COVID restrictions.

From today the following expectations apply:

Students wear their sport uniform to / from school in the following instances:

  • They have a sport afternoon. This is Tuesday for years nine and ten and Wednesday for years seven and eight;
  • On the days when the College Aths, Swimming and Cross-Country events are held;
  • When students have a phys ed double class in periods one and two they may wear their sport uniform to school, but they must change into their full school uniform at recess;
  • When students have a phys ed double class in periods five and six, they must wear their full school uniform to school and change into their sport uniform at lunchtime.  They may, however, wear their sport uniform home.

These concessions do not apply to any other classes, and they do not apply to Phys Ed single classes or to Phys Ed double classes held in periods three/four, when students can change at recess and lunchtime.

Regards,

Geoff Woolard

Head of Senior School

From the Head of Junior School

Information Evening
Last Thursday our FY-Y4 and Y6 Learning Group teaches hosted an Information Evening online. Thank you to all the families who Zoomed in for their children’s sessions. Videos from school leaders, Single Subject teachers and our Learning Diversity and Inclusion team can be found in the Junior School News section of KIC Online. Kindergarten and Year 5 evenings have been postponed until later in the year when we can invite parents onsite.

Tom and Jerry At the Grove
On a recent trip to the Grove campus, it was great to see students taking care of our newest residents, Tom and Jerry the alpacas. Tom and Jerry need regular walking on the lead as part of their training. As you can see from the photo below there has been no shortage of volunteers to help at lunchtime.

 

New Lower Primary Building 
Work on the new lower primary building continues to progress at a rapid rate. The steel structure is almost complete, and the building is really taking shape.  

From the Head of Student Wellbeing JS

One of the things I think our KIC teachers do well is embed so many Wellbeing practices into the daily routines of our learning groups. Seeing students happy and flourishing around the school each day is testament to this.  

This year, each year level also has a year-long Unit of Inquiry focusing on Wellbeing. This allows our students to make fantastic connections between themselves, their relationships, their learning and their Wellbeing. The units will also incorporate our initiatives such as Circle Time, Respectful Relationships, Restorative Practice and Body Bright and give our students opportunities to develop life-long skills. I’m looking forward to being able to share some of these inquiries throughout the year.   

I’m often asked by parents what other Wellbeing support is offered to JS students. Once restrictions ease, I hope to be able to offer a parent workshop to explain our processes, however, we also have some information on KIC Online that outlines what Wellbeing looks like in the JS. This can be found by going to the Junior School Information link and then scrolling down to Student Wellbeing under the FY-Y6 Specific Information. If you are unsure, your learning group teacher will be able to help. 

KICOnline News Feeds

The Senior School is committed to ensuring that students and parents are always informed about the learning that is happening in classes, even when a student cannot come to school.  

Teachers will update the KICOnline News Feeds at least weekly to advise students and parents of the learning that is happening in the forthcoming week. When a student cannot make it to class, they can login to KICOnline and know the work, reading and/or learning activities that were covered in their absence. This allows students to follow up on learning that has been missed. 

Parents can access all News Feeds using their login credentials. 

Students and parents should always look to the KICOnline News Feeds in the first instance. Please only email teachers directly when you require specific clarification on the learning that has been set in News Feeds. 

Year 8 and 9 Future Directions Information Evening

On Tuesday, 8 March 2022, the College will hold an online information night for the parents of Year 8 and 9 students. Information will be presented on the important matters listed below: 

  • Careers – future options and how parents can be positively involved;  
  • The Victorian Certificate of Education (“VCE”), Vocational Education and Training (“VET”) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (“IB Diploma”); 
  • Accelerating to a VCE subject in Year 10. 

The College offers the opportunity to attend this event to the parents of Year 9 students so that they can assist their children to make better and more informed subject choices for their Year 10 program. Parents of Year 8 students may also wish to be more informed about these important matters and they too are encouraged to attend. Attendance this year will eliminate the need to attend when a child is in Year 9. 

The information evening will be held online via Zoom and will begin at 7:30pm sharp. 

If you wish to participate, please register your interest via the link below. You will receive a link to the Zoom meeting within the 24 hours prior to the session starting. 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2022futuredurections. 

A further information night is held in Term 3 each year for the parents of Year 10 students. Attendance at this night is essential for parents to be fully informed and better able to participate in the process of making final program and subject choices about Year 11 and 12 courses. Please look out for information about this session in the year that your child is completing Year 10. 

OSHC News

Click on the PDF link below to access the Camp Australia OSHC newsletter.

OSHC Newsletter

‘It’s Time We Talked’ Presentation

For more information about this presentation, click on the PDF here: It’s Time We Talked – Blurb and Parent Information

To register for this presentation, click here. The presentation will be taking place on March 7th, at 7pm.

Tuning into Teens Seminar

To register for this seminar, click here.

School TV – Surviving Final Year

Every year, the media exposes us to the hype and pressure relating to the final year of secondary school. However, putting things into perspective for students and parents alike, can help prevent everyone getting overwhelmed. Although this final year is important, it will not be the most important year of your child’s life. It is crucial for parents to reinforce the mantra of ‘you are more than your ATAR’. 

A student’s performance in final year is only a point in time measured by their ability to sit an exam. If the desired ATAR or NCEA score is not achieved at the end of the day, there are other options available to your child. It will not define their happiness. There will be many other pathways available to them to help them reach their goals. 

Click here to watch this episode:
https://kardinia.vic.schooltv.me/newsletter/surviving-year-12

 

Kardinia International College

PO Box 17
Geelong, Victoria 3220

+61 3 5278 9999
kardinia@kardinia.vic.edu.au

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