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Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 6 April 2022

Home Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 6 April 2022

From the Principal

For my final e-news of Term 1 2022, I want to acknowledge our whole school community, staff, students and parents for a very successful term overall.  This is worth acknowledging because it has still not been a normal start to the year.  

Together, we have managed to have for the first time in two years a whole term of face to face learning. This has taken some time to adjust to. Many of us are or have been feeling drained after the challenges of 2020 and 2021. The relief we hoped to feel in 2022 has also not been absolute, as COVID and its various strains continue to hover around us.  

After so many disruptions over the past two years we have also had to go back to reminding all our students about the basics of what it means to be a student and a learner at our school in a face to face environment. Despite the challenges, I am so impressed with how our school community has responded. Our students are engaged in their classes and as I meet with them on a daily basis, I am heartened by the general positive way they interact with their peers and their teachers, their warmth and friendliness.   

Our teachers continue to work tirelessly to provide a quality education for their students and continue to plan and look for extra learning opportunities to engage our students in their learning.  

Our parents and families continue to show a strong support for our school, our staff and our College values. All of this keeps me very optimistic for the future.  

I hope that everyone can take some time to refresh and recharge over the Easter holiday break and I look forward to more great experiences and opportunities for our students and staff in Term 2. 

From the Head of Junior School

It’s hard to believe that this term is our first uninterrupted term since Term 4 2019. It has been wonderful to have our K-6 students on site for the past ten weeks after several periods of remote learning over the past two years. 

Thank you to all our staff, students and parents for ensuring Term 1 2022 was a great success. Have a safe and happy holiday and I look forward to welcoming students back on Wednesday 26 April. 

Casual Day and Early Dismissal This Friday
Students are being encouraged to wear a touch of blue and yellow this Friday for a gold coin donation. Money raised will go to organisations supporting victims of the Ukraine war as well as those affected by the QLD and NSW floods. Please be reminded that students are dismissed early on Friday for the last day of term. Kindergarten students are dismissed at 2.15pm and FY-Y6 students at 2.20pm. Buses depart at 2.30 and 2.35pm. 

KIC Connect Executive
Thank you to all the Junior School parents who have shown an interest in supporting the KIC Connect group. Yesterday I met with enthusiastic parents who nominated for the KIC Connect Executive. Communication will be sent to all families regarding the KIC Connect Executive before the end of term. 

Morning Melodies
Congratulations to the students and staff involved in last Monday’s Morning Melodies Assembly. It was our first Morning Melodies Assembly for a long time, with parents invited to join our Year 5 students in the audience. All in attendance were treated to a wonderful event showcasing our talented Junior School musicians and their teachers. 

From the PYP Coordinator

Junior School Collaboration with Victoria’s Biggest Battery (VBB)

Over the past 18 months Victoria’s Biggest Battery has been constructed just down the road from our Grove campus. During this time our year 5 students have had the opportunity to learn from engineers and project managers from Neon and Tesla.The video below explains some of the work the students have engaged in. While I’m the teacher face of the video, I would like to acknowledge that I was summarising the observations and work that has been done by our amazing year 5 teachers Kay Arnold, Scott Peel and Glenn Evans.

 

As a follow up to this experience two exciting events happened this week. The first was a visit to site of Victoria’s Biggest Battery. All year 6 students visited the site and were given a special tour. During this time our students asked fantastic questions which really demonstrated their understanding of energy and their commitment to living sustainably.

 

The second exciting event to happen this week was the grand opening of the project, which was held at Mt Duneed Estate. VBB invited the stars of the video clip, August, Emily and Stella to come along and enjoy the evening. VBB also invited our school captains Abi & Husain to speak on behalf of the college. Abi and Husian certainly did the college proud while speaking to the audience that had travelled in from France, Canberra, Sydney, Queensland, South Australia and all across Victoria.  Both students spoke with incredible poise and confidence.

As a Junior School we will continue to develop learning which is relevant, engaging and challenging. Connections to projects such as VBB play an important role in supporting our students to make connections between their learning in the classroom and the amazing things that are happening in our community.

– Geoff Geddes

World’s Greatest Shave

The World’s Greatest Shave is back again this year. We have 5 very brave people signed up to lose all their beautiful hair and raise money for the cause. We are very excited to host the event this year, lunchtime April 7th at Centrepoint café.

ALSO – Come down and get your nails painted pink for Breast Cancer (gold coin) or just watch the show and enjoy some music. There’s still a few days to go if you would like to donate to the fundraiser, anything helps. It is also a casual clothes day, so bring a gold coin donation.

All donations and proceeds will be split between the Leukemia Foundation and Breast cancer to aid research and help those in need. Follow this link to our team page

Sport News

AFL – Congratulations to our Junior School Girls AFL team, who were all smiles this week after they won the North Geelong Division Championships!

Swimming – This week 17 of our Junior School students competed at the Western Metropolitan Regional Swimming Championships. Students were aiming to place first in their events to qualify for the State Finals on April 29 at MSAC. Many students won medals and most swam PB times! The girls medley relay team also qualified for the state finals along with Tom Hussey for the 12-13 year backstroke after winning their events.

Athletics – Congratulations to year 11 student Darcy Giddings, who won a silver medal in the men’s under 18 discus at the 2022 Australian Athletics Championships in Sydney. Darcy’s best throw in the final was 53.62m.  Darcy also competed in the under 18 shot put and came 4th with a distance of 15.96m.

       

IB Laps for Life

Hi Everyone,
With the month of March concluded, it brings an end to our Laps for Life fundraiser. We swam over 80kms throughout four weeks and we have raised $1,174! That is far more than we ever thought we could. We just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated.

These proceeds will go directly to the Reach Out Foundation and will greatly benefit all young people in need. If you want to find out more about them, their great resources and their cause, please visit: https://au.reachout.com/

Thanks so much everyone!!!

Leija, Mia, Steph, and Louis

Co-Curricular News

In Term 1, interested students from Year 4 to Year 12 have gathered each Wednesday after school to learn the ancient art form of Taiko (Japanese) Drumming. Throughout the term students have become more culturally aware through understanding the importance of Taiko Drumming throughout history, where it has played many roles ranging from communication, military action, theatrical accompaniments, religious ceremonies and concert performances. For Kardinia it is also a special way in which we can maintain our connections with Japan and our Founders, Mr and Mrs Katsumata.

Expertly led by Mr Ota, the students quickly learnt that Taiko offers an excellent cardio workout, quickly building their fitness and endurance! Students have learnt though that it takes more than just fitness to be a good drummer. It takes dedication, responsibility, self-management, and collaboration. According to members of the group, Taiko drumming is fun, it teaches you about Japanese culture, it helps you overcome nerves and bash away a bad day, and is a great way to meet new friends.

Students have been courageous and learnt the art of performance, presenting their skills to the community whenever they have the chance. If you are interested in finding out more about Taiko Drumming and joining the fun, please contact Mr Ota.

School TV – Ukraine

 

Despite the peace keeping attempts, the conflict in the Ukraine continues to escalate with many refugees fleeing the country to escape the violent attacks by Russian troops. People around the world are saddened and devastated by the events that are unfolding. Both adults and young people are feeling the stresses of war from afar as they experience fear, frustration and helplessness. 

Many children have questions about what is happening as they have most likely been exposed to upsetting images on the news or social media. There is strong evidence to suggest that having a supportive discussion about a stressful event can actually decrease distress. Therefore it is important for parents and caregivers to combat any misinformation and ensure they provide reliable information from reputable sources. Children need to know that they are taken seriously. So it is recommended that you don’t avoid the difficult questions. Ensure you address their questions honestly, sensitively and in a developmentally appropriate way. 

Worry about the war in Ukraine is not all bad. It can mean that your child has empathy, which can even be productive. However, with less life experience than adults, young people may need help navigating news about the crisis. It is an opportunity for adults to model compassion towards others, regardless of distance or circumstance. Be guided by your child’s curiosity and conscious of not exposing them to the 24 hour news cycle. 

Click here to watch this episode:
https://kardinia.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/special-report-conflict-ukraine-au

Kardinia International College

PO Box 17
Geelong, Victoria 3220

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

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