Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 31 August 2022

Home Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 31 August 2022

From the Principal

Last week I was delighted to be in the presence of some revolting children and watching with joy and cheering them on for their revolting antics.

I am, of course, talking about the wonderful students performing in the student led production of Matilda Jr, which was held in the College Hall last week to sell out audiences.

Not only was it fantastic to see live performance back in full swing at Kardinia, but to witness the high calibre of performances directed and produced entirely by Year 12 students with a cast mainly made up of Year 7 and 8 students (also with some superb performances by Senior students) was an absolute treat.

Congratulations to all the students involved both on the stage and behind the scenes and, of course, to the teachers and staff who supported and mentored them so professionally.

From the Head of Senior School

Dear Parents,

Just in case you missed this important information elsewhere, Wednesday 7 September will be a student-free school day for Senior School students. Students in IB Year 2 and all students currently completing a VCE unit 3/4 subject will be on campus to complete the compulsory General Achievement Test (GAT). All Senior School teachers will be conducting parent-teacher interviews throughout the day and evening.

On Tuesday 13 September, Senior School students will be dismissed at 12.50pm to allow for further PTIs to be held during the afternoon and evening.

If you were able to attend a performance of the musical, Matilda, presented by our student led drama group, KICPIC (Kardinia International College, Performance in Community) you will have enjoyed a memorable experience. There were many outstanding performances, a reflection of the talent, time and energy which went into the production. Congratulations to all involved.

Last week our Senior boys’ soccer team made it to the State Finals of their pool. Despite being down by a few key players, they put in a very determined effort to be narrowly defeated in two of their games, before going down in a significant margin to the ultimate winners. Well done to all, including their coach, Mr Steve Siketa. Today our Senior girls team is also playing in their State Finals in Melbourne.

From the Head of Junior School

District Athletics Championships
Congratulations to all 72 students from the Junior School who competed in the District Athletics Championships at John Landy Field last Thursday. This is the first year the event has been held since 2019 and it was wonderful to see our students doing so well. For a full report check out the Junior School KIC Online News page.

Casual Clothes Day Friday
The Planeteers Student Committee are hosting a casual clothes fundraiser this Friday. See details below.

Student Led Conferences
Student Led Conferences (SLCs) will be held on Tuesday 13 September from 1.30pm onwards. All students will be dismissed early on this day, with Kindergarten finishing at 12.45pm and all other students at 12.50pm. Buses will depart at 1.00pm and 1.05pm. After school care is available from 12.45pm with Camp Australia.

For further information about the SLCs, please refer to communication sent by Deputy Head of Junior School and PYP Coordinator, Geoff Geddes.

Student Free Day Next Wednesday
Please be reminded that next Wednesday 7 September is a K-12 Student Free Day. All staff will engage in professional learning on this day.

Last Day of Term 3
The last day of term is Friday 16 September. All students will be dismissed an hour early on this day, with kindergarten students finishing at 2.15pm and FY-Y12 stduents finishing at 2.20pm. The Junior School will also be hosting a family breakfast before school on this day, further details will be shared with families soon.

Here Comes the Sun at Piano Bar

It was standing room only at Piano Bar last night. Here Comes the Sun featured six of the College’s contemporary ensembles, who performed to a packed audience of family and friends.

It was a wonderful experience for the 43 students to perform in a professional context and to have such fabulous support for their hard work. Congratulations to all students involved!

Library News

This week, author Coral Vass joined us via Zoom to share her passion for writing stories and reading. Lower Primary students helped recreate one of her stories, “Two Birds on a Wire” by acting out the parts of a blue bird and a black bird. She also gave us a sneak peek of her new book “Whingeville” which is set to be released on October 1.

Coral shared her writing process with Upper Primary students, focusing on two of her books, “Grandma’s Treasured Shoes” and “Sorry Day.” She gave us an insight into what inspired her to write these stories and the amount of time and research it took to create “Sorry Day,” a story she felt was particularly important to share with tomorrow’s leaders; our children.

Girls-only soccer opportunity

Dear families,

On behalf of Football Star Academy, I would like to invite all Junior School girls to sign up for a free two-week trial of the FSA Soccer program. Football Star Academy is a long-term friend of the college. We currently have over 50 students participating in soccer coaching sessions every Wednesday afternoon.

The head coach Emily has noticed a lack of girls participating in the activity and is hoping that a girls-only group might encourage more girls to sign up. All information can be found on this online expression form.

This after-school activity is supervised by myself and Ms Winter. Students from FY-Y6 are welcome to join. Students make their way to the oval after school finishes and parents can pick their children up at 4:45pm.

Looking forward to seeing you on the pitch.

Geoff Geddes

Japanese Speech Contest

On Sunday 28 August, Imogen Stone, Freddie Tobane, Nathan Lai, Ruhan Cai and Hiro Bigmore took part in Victoria’s biggest Japanese speech contest at the Hawthorn Arts Centre, where they performed set speeches and their own original speeches in Japanese. The competition was very tough, and there were many participants from many Victorian schools.

Our students showed courage and resilience in performing their speeches in front of well over a hundred of their peers, teachers and family members. Their pronunciation was perfect, and the content of their speeches was excellent. They were able to compare their own performance against those of other students, and were able to see the results of their own efforts and those of others. They gained invaluable experience in dealing with stage fright, and saw just how much preparation it takes to overcome it. It was certainly an experience our students will not forget. They made the College proud and deserve unreserved congratulations and commendation. Well done!

Kardinia Judo Club Tournament Results

The Kardinia Judo Club has been quite active with tournaments lately, and I have been so pleased to see more and more of our judoka stepping up and entering tournaments. On Sunday 28 August, seven judo club members travelled to Broadmeadows for the Judo Victoria Winter tournament. Jamie Battle and Noah Harding finished fourth in their divisions, while Marlee Keirl finished second against a tough opponent. Alina Murad won a Bronze medal in her division, while Ellie and Jamie Growden both came home with Silver medals. Dylan Keirl won another Gold medal, so it seems we will need to find him some tougher opponents! All seven judoka showed great courage in stepping on the competition mat and all learned some valuable lessons by doing so. As a bonus, the team met and had photos taken with the victorious Victorian members of the Australian Commonwealth Games Judo Team, of which ten out of eleven members won medals in Birmingham.

We had one other club member last week. Jules Aiberti represented Australia at the World Cadet Championships in Sarajevo, where he beat a Canadian before losing to a Hungarian judoka. It’s not every day that we can report back on our tournament results from World Championships. We are immensely proud of Jules and all that he has achieved, and can’t wait to welcome him home. Of course, if he’s late to training it will be 50 push ups.

The club is now looking forward to our next Belt Grading on Sunday 11 September, followed by our usual delicious BBQ!

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.

Over 30 students from KIC participated in the NCSS Challenge this term. They competed for five weeks by solving interesting and engaging problems. The results are now in with five students achieving perfect scores, four high distinctions, three with distinctions and four with a credit.

Of particular note was Lashen Dharmadasa who achieved a distinction in the Advanced Challenge and the five students who achieved a perfect score in the Intermediate and Beginners Challenges: Oliver Hogan, Lachlan Johnstone, Lillian Henderson, Angus Drever, and Callum McNeill.

International Week – Japan Day

On Thursday 25 August, the Language department and International Council together organised “Japanese day”, which was a part of the International Week celebrations.

Mr. Toshi Sakamoto from Rindo Taiko Melbourne came to run Taiko workshops and lunchtime entertainment. His team, Rindo Taiko, performs pre-game entertainment for the Richmond Tigers. Students enjoyed practising their Taiko skills, as well as learning some Japanese words.

Our ‘ninja-balls’ food stall went well, too. Over 2500 Ninja-balls were made and many KIC staff members helped out in the set up and supervision of the stall. Some of our IB students ran the food stall and did a fabulous job as well! We raised around $850 and it will go to Australian Red Cross.

Alumni News

Over 200 of our members entered the Kardinians 2022 AFL Footy Tipping Competition. Congratulations to our leaderboard winners:

KARDINIANS FOOTY TIPPING WINNERS – 1st – $1,000

B.J. McKenzie (Class of 2015)

KARDINIANS FOOTY TIPPING WINNERS – 2nd – $500

Stella Lockhart (Class of 2021)

KARDINIANS FOOTY TIPPING WINNERS – 3^rd – $500

Harriet Anderson (Class of 2016)

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Three of our alumni recently represented Victoria in the National Country Challenge in Albany WA, where they bought home the bronze medals.

Olivia Jenkins (Class of 2020)
Rhea Sutton (Class of 2019)
Merryn Coffey (Class of 2008)

Olivia and Rhea were both selected in the Australian Country under 21 team to play in Indonesia in January.

Merryn, who has been in this Victorian Country team many times over the past 10 years, was the inaugural winner of the Andrew Maggs MVP award for the player who epitomises teamwork, mateship, inclusiveness and respect.

Congratulations to all of them – we are very proud of you all.

REUNIONS

CLASS OF 2012- TEN years have gone by and we don’t want to lose contact with you.

Your 10 Year Reunion is also just around the corner. As a registered member, you will have access to reunion events as well as a host of other benefits.

Stay connected and join our growing alumni network.

https://kardinians.com/

Come and try Table Tennis!

School TV – Building Belonging Post-Pandemic

When the pandemic interrupted our lives and changed the way we live, this meant that suddenly many of our young people’s main sources of connection with peers and extended family members was removed overnight without warning and remained significantly disrupted over the next two years. Throughout our existence, humans have sought out relationships with others and built communities to belong to. We have a basic emotional and biological need for connection. Belonging is the feeling of security and support that gives us that sense of acceptance and connection to others.

When we don’t feel connected, or have our need for belonging met, this causes a deep-seated distress. Both loneliness and disconnection are negative emotional states that can feel painful and sometimes unbearable. When our basic need for belonging isn’t met, it is impossible for our brain to focus on other things, such as learning. For young people, teenagers in particular, this desire is abundantly strong. Teenagers place a high value on their social ties, acceptance, care and support from others, especially their peers.

Students who have a sense of belonging will experience feelings of security, identity and community, which in turn supports their academic, psychological and social development. When young people come together again after a period of instability, there is a period of adjustment. Whilst the rules of the group may be established, acceptance remains paramount and can therefore mean some behaviours can become far from rational. Their ability to tolerate distress and control impulsive actions is reduced as they haven’t yet got full access to the part of the brain that can help give them perspective and inhibit their impulses. These factors combined, leave them open to being vulnerable, often making choices or becoming involved in situations they might not ordinarily consider.

Click here to watch this episode:

https://kardinia.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-building-belonging-post-pandemic