Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 7 September 2022

Home Kardinia eNews – Wednesday 7 September 2022

From the Principal

This week is National Child Protection Week running from 4-10 September. The theme for this year is Every Child in Every Community Needs a Fair Go.

Below is some information from NAPCAN, the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect. It was co-founded by Rosemary Sinclair AO and Christine Stewart OAM in 1987, because they saw that the abuse and neglect of children was a taboo topic in Australian society in the 1980s. They were determined to change this and create safer communities for children. They set about to achieve this vision with the assistance of a passionate team of volunteers and a range of influential and committed partners.

National Child Protection Week is all about the ways that we can all work together to build communities that support children and families.

Children are safest when they are listened to, respected and believed.

All adults can play a part by ‘tuning in’ to children in everyday situations about small worries; then they are much more likely to feel comfortable telling us if something big is wrong.

Talking with children about safety:

Support children to identify trusted adults (both within the family and outside) they can talk to if they are worried, upset, or do not feel safe. Make sure these adults know they are on your child’s list.
Remind children that they can talk to you or a trusted adult about anything, no matter how big or small their worry might be.
Talk to children about how they know when they feel safe or unsafe. Help them to listen to their early warning signs (how their body feels), and to trust their feelings and instincts.
Use everyday activities as opportunities for conversations (e.g. preparing meals and snacks, going for walks, playing, shopping). If children are used to having lots of communication, it can make it easier to talk when big or tricky issues come up.

Be open to talking about all kinds of feelings, including anger, joy, frustration, fear and anxiety. This helps children to develop a ‘feelings vocabulary’.

National Child Protection Week is a great time to start conversations with children and families about feeling safe.

Kardinia International College is committed to providing a safe environment for all our students. For more information on our Child Safe Policies, please see our College Website.

From the Head of Junior School

Junior School Family Breakfast
This week all K-6 families were sent an invitation to a Junior School family breakfast to be held on the last day of term. Please check your emails for further information. If you would like to join us, please RSVP using the link in the email sent earlier this week by 5pm this Friday. Thank you to the KIC Connect Committee for supporting this event.

Morning Melodies Assembly
Congratulations to all the performers who entertained the audience at Monday’s Morning Melodies Assembly. We were all treated to a wonderful array of talent ranging from the violin, piano and flute to choral performances and duets. Thank you to all the teachers who helped put on such a great show.

R U OK? Day
Tomorrow is R U OK? Day, a National Day of Action to remind Australians that every day is the day to ask, ‘Are you OK?’
In the Junior School a range of activities are planned, including collaborative colouring and positive affirmations, the launch of a friendship bench, live music and conversation bingo.

Student Led Conferences
Student Led Conferences (SLCs) will be held next Tuesday 13 September from 1.30pm onwards for all K4-Y6 students. 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. K3 students will attend their SLCs on Thursday 15 September.

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

Half Cut Friday
Well done to the Planeteers Student Committee for organising last Friday’s ‘half-cut’ fundraiser. The day was a great success with the proceeds going towards the Daintree Forest.

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 students finishing at 2.20pm. Don’t forget the Junior School will also be hosting a family breakfast before school on this day and we’d love to see you there.

The Big Freeze is coming to Kardinia!

It may be the start of Spring, but September 16 is forecasted to be one of the most freezing days of the year! For the Big Freeze, we will see some of our own KIC staff members take the plunge to raise funds for Motor Neurone Disease (MND) research, in an attempt to find a cure to this devastating disease.

We are now accepting donations to individual teachers and the ‘Kardinians’ group as a whole! To donate, click on the link below: https://hub.fightmnd.org.au/diy-big-freeze-8/kardinians-2

We hope to raise as much as we can in support of FightMND research as they work towards a cure. Please help us by being a part of the 2022 Kardinia Dunk Tank!

Withdrawal from the College

If you are planning on withdrawing your child from the College, one full term’s notice in writing is required, or one term’s fee in lieu of such notice is payable. For example, notice given in Week 2 of Term 4 will require fees to be paid up to and including Week 2 of Term 1 the following year. Please email marketing@kardinia.vic.edu.au with any questions or if you are planning to withdraw your child from the College at the end of the year. Thank you.

From the Careers Team

Reminders for Year 12 students from the KIC Careers Team

Year 12 students are reminded that several important deadlines are approaching.

VTAC Applications

VTAC timely course applications close on 29 September 2022 at 5pm. Students can create an application and apply for courses at: https://www.vtac.edu.au/

Students are strongly encouraged to submit a course application prior to the end of Term 3 so they can get help from the Careers Team. Bookings for individual consultations can be made via our online booking system. The link can be found on the Careers homepage on KIC Online.

Students must also be aware that some courses cannot be applied for after 29 September, and if these courses are removed from a student’s preference list, they cannot be re-added. For a list of courses with an early closing date, please visit: https://www.vtac.edu.au/early-close

SEAS

SEAS applications and supporting documentation close on 7 October 2022 at 5pm. Students are however encouraged to submit their SEAS application and documentation prior to Friday, 16 September as this guarantees them a review by the VTAC SEAS team and will ensure that they have enough time to re- submit any documentation prior to the official closing date. For more information about SEAS applications and documentation, please visit: https://www.vtac.edu.au/access/seas.html

Early Entry programs

Most Early Entry programs for Victorian- based universities close between 16- 23 September 2022. Each program varies in terms of application criteria, documentation requirements, and due date so students must check each institution’s website for further information. Students must also remember that some programs require documentation such as recommendations and references from school staff, so it is essential that in these situations students apply prior to the beginning of week nine (12 September) to ensure that any requests can be completed prior to the end of the term.

R U OK? Day

Tomorrow, Thursday 8 September, is R U OK? Day, and whilst this is the ‘official’ day, it’s really important we treat every day as R U OK? Day.

A conversation can literally change a life.
There will be lots happening around the College tomorrow;

Live music at Centrepoint at lunchtime
Yellow themed food available at Centrepoint 
Some helpful tips on “How to ask a school mate R U Ok?” in Tutor Groups tomorrow morning.

We all have good days and bad days and asking a friend how they’re going could be the first step in getting them the help they need. It can be tricky to know how to ask a friend how they are so we’ll be sharing information on how to do this.

https://www.ruok.org.au/

Other useful contacts:

Kids Helpline – 1800 55 1800
24/7 private and confidential phone and online counselling service for young people aged 5-25.

Headspace – headspace.org.au
Support and information for young people 12-25 for mental health and what’s going on in their life.

ReachOut.com – au.reachout.com
Help with tough times for 14-25 year olds and their parents.

BIOTech Futures Challenge

Written by Ezann Tan

On August 29, Zoe and I headed up to Sydney to represent Victoria and present for the Sydney BIOTech Futures Challenge. We heard from 25 groups of students who presented their projects and got to see everyone’s posters. Additionally, we also got to hear from various other guest speakers such as Professor Hala Zreiqat, one of the founders for this competition. Unfortunately we didn’t take out the winning prize however, we were again chosen for the “People’s Choice Award”. It was an extremely fun and rewarding experience and we hope others from Kardinia may be interested to join next year.

PYP Exhibition

Year 6 Student Report

Hello everyone,

My name is Mili Lorefice, I am a year 6 student who recently interviewed a co-founder of a humanitarian organisation supporting Ukrainians impacted by the war. This year is a big year for us year 6’s because we are working on a huge project called, Exhibition! Put simply, we all chose a cause we are passionate and care about, and now we are to make a change and take some action! My topic is human rights.

Ken Brady, an amazing person who is very brave, left the safety of his family and country and went to an environment where there is ongoing war… When I asked, “What drew you there, isn’t that such a dangerous idea?” He replied, “Knowing that there are not so many people able to go I thought why don’t I help directly, given that I can.” Yes, donating is a very helpful solution, and especially in these dangerous circumstances, you may be in a position where you cannot help other than financially and that is still significant.

Ken is helping the Ukrainian people by organising and delivering supplies, as well as providing support in person when possible. He is a part of the Renegade Relief Runners (3xR) which is a small team who provides assistance and has a direct impact on people in need. Everyone has different personalities and skills that I believe makes the team perfect.

I was interested in ways communities and schools could help. I knew that money was a solution, but what are other items that could be useful? So, I asked Ken this question, “How can my school or bigger communities support your efforts?” He answered me with a whole list and explained, money is always great, but it is even better if people raise awareness or send over fuel, food or medicine. Their team has to pay a lot of money for fuel because they travel around to different towns and bring the fuel with them because they are unlikely to come across a gas station.

Below is a link to donate to the Renegade Relief Runners. It would be amazing if you could donate. YOU could help bring happiness to people in the Ukrainian community.

Here is the link – http://spot.fund/45Yvae

Co-Curricular News

Last weekend saw five of our Junior School Taiko Club students, Lucy, Elliotte, Alina, Emma and Fynn, travel to Melbourne to perform at the Melbourne Taiko Festival! The festival invited twelve groups to perform on the day. Our students performed very well in front of the large audience in the theatre at South Oakleigh College.

Thank you to the students and parents that travelled all the way from Geelong to South Oakleigh. The festival organiser, Rindo Taiko Melbourne, will be visiting our Junior School again in Term 4 to do some performances! If you are interested in joining the KIC Taiko Club, please contact Mr. Ota at y.ota@kardinia.vic.edu.au

Earthcore

Hello KIC community!

As you hopefully know, there was a bake sale and casual clothes day last Friday to raise money to support the buy-back of land in the Daintree Rainforest, saving it from development and giving it back to its’ traditional owners. The day ended up being super successful and we thank everyone who helped out and participated in any way!

We made an amazing profit of $1180.80 from the bake sale and…
Including the fundraising efforts from the Junior school and Highview as well, we were able to raise an incredible $3441.25 in total!
That’s roughly 1375 square meters of Daintree Rainforest saved!
Not to mention the awareness that we were able to bring to the issue of deforestation.

To find out more about the cause, please visit https://go.halfcut.org .
Thanks again to everyone involved,
Earthcore🌱😊

From the Archives

The current College Hall was opened on 11 July 1959. It was dedicated to Miss Gertrude Pratt, the first principal of the Presbyterian Ladies’ College.

While an entry foyer was later added, the interior space retains its wooden roof, stage area and the wall of windows along the eastern side. Audience members now enjoy a tiered, collapsible structure, creating an nonrestrictive view of the stage. In addition, the modern seating structure provides the college with a more flexible space.

The College Hall foyer was recently refurbished and provides a bright, welcoming space to gather, before and after events.
Fiona Russell – Archivist

Alumni News

In addition to our Kardinia International College social media sites, The Kardinians also host official Facebook and Instagram platforms, aimed primarily at our alumni network, but open to anyone with an interest in the College.

Alumni are encouraged to join our growing alumni network on: https://kardinians.com/

Your registration as an alumnus of Kardinia International College, enables you to stay connected with your peers and gives you access to alumni news, events, photo boards and other member benefits.

It would be appreciated if you could take a few minutes to register your details.

Fiona Russell – Alumni Relations Manager

School TV – Youth Anxiety

Anxiety disorders can start early in childhood or adolescence. It may only have a moderate impact on a child’s ability to function in daily life and can therefore often remain undetected. If a child finds it extremely difficult to control their anxiety, then you should seek help or medical assistance.

Click here to watch this episode:
https://kardinia.vic.schooltv.me/newsletter/youth-anxiety