Kardinia eNews - Wednesday 01 April 2026

From the Head of Senior School - Kath O'Neill

And just like that, Term 1 is behind us! It has been a full one, in all the best senses of that word. To our students, thank you for contributing, for the moments of kindness, effort and humour that make Senior School what it is.

The end of this term sees us farewell, temporarily, three much-valued colleagues. Ms Kara Statham and Mr Richard Walsh head into a well-earned term of long service leave, and Mrs Margaret Scorgie will be taking the remainder of the year. We wish all three rest, restoration, and whatever it is they’ve been promising themselves time for.

Students return on Tuesday 21 April. We hope the break brings everyone, students, families, and staff alike, a genuine chance to recharge.

See you in Term Two.

From the Head of Junior School - Mario Chrisanthou

Morning Melodies - A Wonderful Celebration of Talent

Our Morning Melodies this week was a wonderful celebration of the musical talents of our students. The audience was treated to a variety of polished and confident performances, showcasing the hard work and dedication of our young musicians. From piano pieces and instrumental performances to vocal items, each student took to the stage with confidence and pride.

It was fantastic to see students supporting one another and celebrating each performance with enthusiasm and respect. Events like Morning Melodies provide a valuable opportunity for children to shine and build confidence. We are incredibly proud of all the students who performed, their courage and commitment were evident.

Thank you to all our Music staff, and especially Adam Burke, who supported the preparation and organisation of this wonderful event, and to the families who joined us to encourage our talented performers.

Learning How We Learn!

This term, our Year 4 learners had a fantastic time exploring how the brain learns best as part of our Who We Are Unit of Inquiry.

Students discovered simple ways to get their brains “learning-ready,” including moving their bodies, eating healthy foods, practising mindfulness and getting enough sleep. Through hands-on activities and reflection, they strengthened their self-management and thinking skills while learning how everyday choices support learning. They also explored persistence and the power of a growth mindset, recognising that challenges help build stronger neural pathways.

Inspired by Dear You, Love From Your Brain by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, students wrote creative and heartfelt letters to their brains, celebrating their learning and setting exciting goals to keep their brains happy, healthy, and ready to learn!

Celebration of Learning - Years 1, 2 and 3

This week we also welcomed families into our classrooms for our Celebration of Learning in Year 1, Year 2 and Year 3. These sessions are always a highlight, providing students with the opportunity to proudly share their work, learning experiences, and classroom environments with their parents and carers.

There is something very special about the excitement children feel when they see their parents and family members walk into their classroom. Smiles quickly appear, confidence grows, and students eagerly take on the role of teacher, explaining their learning and sharing their achievements.

These opportunities strengthen the connection between home and school, while also reinforcing to children how valued their learning is. It was wonderful to see classrooms filled with conversation, pride and joy as students guided their families through their learning journey.

Thank you to all families who attended and supported this week. Your presence makes a significant difference and helps create a strong sense of community within our school.

Reminders -

All students must be in their classrooms between 8:50am and 9.00am so that the roll can be marked.

If your child arrives after 9am, they must sign in at the Junior School Reception. Should the teacher have already marked the roll, your child will need to return to Reception to complete the signin process.

Parents are also required to provide written confirmation (via email) to both the class teacher and Junior School Reception if:

• your child is being collected by a family friend, or

• your child is going home with another student’s family.

Please note the Junior School Reception email address is: receptionjun@kardinia.vic.edu.au

Thank you for your cooperation.

Enrolment Withdrawal

If you are thinking of withdrawing your child, please be aware that the College requires a Term's notice, in writing. This is outlined in our terms and conditions.

Please contact the Marketing and Admissions Department via email: marketing@kardinia.vic.edu.au

30 Year Anniversary Gala Dinner

The College's 30 Year Anniversary milestone offers us a moment not only to reflect on how far we have come since those early days in 1996, but also to honour the enduring spirit of Wisdom, Respect and Friendship that continues to guide our community. Inspired by the remarkable legacy of Mr and Mrs Katsumata — whose vision for peace, harmony and international understanding shaped the very foundations of the College — the Gala Dinner will bring our community together in a spirit of gratitude and celebration. We look forward to sharing this special evening with you as we mark the past, embrace the present, and look ahead to the next chapter in the Kardinia story.

Tickets are priced at $135 per person, and include canapes, dinner and dancing!

Tickets are limited, don't miss out! Purchase tickets here: https://events.humanitix.com/k...

Please contact marketing@kardinia.vic.edu.au with any questions.

Music News

The Senior String Orchestra attended the annual Combined String Afternoon with other schools in Geelong. This year it was hosted by Christian College Geelong and there were 94 string students across Geelong participating.

Students and Music Tutors work shopped three pieces as a large string orchestra and presented these in a performance at the end of the evening to family and friends.

It was a great way to start the year and inspire string students across Geelong.

Mothers' Day Classic

For the past nine years, Kardinia has supported the Mother's Day Classic. An incredible opportunity to support important research for the Ovarian Cancer and National Breast Cancer Research Foundations and the chance for our IB and Duke of Ed students to give back and volunteer their time and skills for a very special community event.

This year, our own Ann-Marie Iversen - Senior School Arts Teacher - is a Community Ambassador, sharing her story and advocating for awareness and conversation around life-changing breast and ovarian cancer research.

In the lead up to Mother's Day, our students are putting together a team and lending a hand in the event organisation. We would love for you to join us, and make this year our biggest year yet - Sunday 10 May, 2026.

To learn more or to register, visit: https://www.mothersdayclassic....

During registration, please remember to join our team: Kardinia International College and contact Rowena Bailey or Ann-Marie Iversen with any questions. Please note this is a community event, not a school event.

Staff and student volunteers are still welcome. Further details and meeting dates will be shared in the Bulletin.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Time and Space Program - Year 7 Students

Kardinia International College is delighted to offer you an opportunity to experience a lifetime memory with your child at the annual ‘Mother and Child’ Evening.
This innovative single evening program is part of some special transition events that we offer our Year 7 students and it is happening here in our community on the evening of Tuesday 5 May.

Register Here

Sport News

GISSA Golf Championships

On Monday, 23 March, four Kardinia students proudly represented the College at the GISSA Golf Championships. To qualify, each player was required to hold a handicap of 18 or below. Our representatives Sophie J (Year 11), Euan S (Year 9), Elliott G (Year 9), and George M (Year 9) met at Lonsdale Links Golf Club for an early morning teeoff in perfect golfing conditions. The course was immaculate, offering stunning views across the bay.

Groups of three or four players headed out at 15minute intervals. It was wonderful to see the level of sportsmanship on display, with players offering encouragement after difficult shots and celebrating each other’s successes throughout the day.

At the conclusion of the event, Sophie J won the women’s division with an impressive score of 88, while Euan S finished inside the top 10 with an excellent round of 79.

Congratulations to all four players on their performances. We extend our thanks to Lonsdale Links Golf Club for hosting the event and to Mr Jarrod Waight for his organisation and support.

Regional Swimming

On Tuesday, March 30, 11 students represented our school at the Regional Swimming Championships held at Kardinia Pool. It was a fantastic day, with all students giving their best effort, supporting one another, and representing the school with pride.

There were several standout performances across the day. Elsie B (Year 5) produced a personal best in her 50m Breaststroke while Alex K (Year 6) delivered a strong swim to finish 4th in the Breaststroke final. Orella L (Year 4) impressed in the 50m Butterfly final, swimming a personal best, while Elise W (Year 6) produced an outstanding performance to claim 3rd place in the 50m Backstroke.

Our 9/10 Girls 50m Freestyle relay team—Orella L (Year 4), Isla P (Year 4), Zoe S (Year 4), and Penny K (Year 3)—swam brilliantly to secure 3rd place in the final.

The 12/13 Girls Freestyle relay team, made up of Emily K (Year 6), Elise W (Year 6), Alex K (Year 6), and Ivy V (Year 6), also produced an excellent performance. They took an early lead before being chased down by a strong field, ultimately finishing 2nd by less than a body length. Impressively, they recorded a time five seconds faster than their winning swim at the district carnival.

The highlight of the day was the 12/13 Girls Medley Relay, swum by the same group of Emily K (Year 6), Elise W (Year 6), Alex K (Year 6), and Ivy V (Year 6). The girls dominated the race from start to finish, steadily increasing their lead with each leg. Their performance was outstanding, touching the wall six seconds faster than their qualifying time. It was a superb team effort and a fitting reward for their hard work, with the team now progressing to the State Championships at MSAC in Week 1 of Term 2.

Overall, it was a terrific day of competition, with all students demonstrating determination, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

Girl's AFL 9s

Our Year 5 and 6 girls participated in the AFL 9s Carnival at South Barwon Reserve recently, with a team of 12 players—11 of whom had never played football before.

We faced some very strong opposition in our first two games, coming up against teams where all players had prior experience. While the results didn’t go our way, the girls showed noticeable improvement across both matches. Early on, we struggled to win loose balls and apply pressure, often allowing the opposition to take possession uncontested. However, as the games progressed, the girls began to tackle more confidently and position themselves alongside opponents during stoppages, leading to significant improvement.

In our third game, we came up against a team with a similar level of experience. The girls capitalised on this opportunity, applying what they had learned to secure our biggest win of the day. This success sparked a boost in confidence that carried into the remaining matches.

Our fourth game was against a strong team, but the girls continued to improve in all areas. In an exciting finish, a goal in the final seconds secured a thrilling four-point victory. The following game was just as competitive, though a late goal to the opposition saw us narrowly defeated by two points.

By the final match, the team’s development was remarkable. Despite facing another quality opponent, the girls competed strongly and were only beaten by a couple of goals.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience for the team. The level of improvement shown throughout the day was outstanding, and it’s hoped that this opportunity inspires more of the girls to continue playing AFL in the future

Little Athletics Victoria State Track and Field Championships

The following students competed at the Little Athletics Victoria State Track and Field Championships on the long weekend in March.

Lily A in Year 6, competed in the U12 girls 1500m. Following a fantastic season of personal bests and breaking records, she placed 9^th with a very impressive time of 5:25:61.

Rocco T, Year 6, competed in 3 events: U12 boys 80m hurdles, triple jump and long jump. Although not his personal best, he placed 13^th in the 80m hurdles with a time of 14:20. He jumped 9.61m in triple jump and finished in 6^th place. He also placed 6^th in long jump with a personal best jump of 4.78m.

Cruz T, Year 8, competed in the U14 boys 200m hurdles, triple jump and high jump. He placed 10^th in both 200m hurdles and triple jump. After almost 2 hours of extremely strong high jump competition, he reached a height of 1.62m and placed an incredible 3^rd in the state, a personal achievement.

These students displayed excellent sportsmanship and should be very proud of their achievements at this level of athletics competition.

National Representation Achievement - State Flag Football

Congratulations to Darcy W (Year 9) who represented Victoria at the National Junior Flag Football Championships in Sydney in March.

Competing in the U15 Division as Quarterback and Receiver, Darcy and his team played an impressive seven gruelling games over two days, finishing third overall and narrowly missing the finals by just two points.

A fantastic achievement at the national level — well done, Darcy!

Farewell to Our Gotemba Nishi High School Exchange Students

This week, we say goodbye to Meisa, Moka, Sui, and Yuriha, our amazing exchange students from Gotemba Nishi High School. During their time at Kardinia College, they have become a valued part of our community, leaving behind countless cherished memories.

From their contributions in the classroom to their participation in cultural exchange activities, these students have enriched our school with their warmth, enthusiasm, and friendship. While it’s never easy to say goodbye, we wish them every success as they return to Japan.

We look forward to maintaining the strong connections we’ve built and to future opportunities for exchange and collaboration.

Safe travels! You will always have a special place in the Kardinia family.

International Council - Presenting our 2026 Leaders!

The International Council is a student-led committee dedicated to promoting international mindedness, fostering connections, and celebrating cultural diversity across our school community.

(Left to right) — Bhrithi K (Year 8), Zoe B (Year 8), Grace L (Year 11), Meher D (Year 8), Lourie H (Year 11), and Swetha R (Year 11).

These students will represent Kardinia throughout 2026, bringing passion, cultural awareness, and leadership to support an inclusive and globally minded environment.

In 2026, the Council will:

• Strengthen connections between local and international students

• Lead cultural events and celebrations

• Champion student voice across the school

• Foster a respectful, inclusive, and globally aware community

Outdoor Education and Experiential Learning News

Experience Week is a cornerstone of our Year 10 program and will take place in Term 4 2026. Experience Week is designed to move learning beyond the classroom and provide students with meaningful, real-world challenges that build independence, resilience, and confidence as they prepare for their senior years.

The KIC Quest Experience has been specifically designed for our school and our students, to be a significant, milestone-type journey for students. Find more information here: KIC Quest Program and the full Experience Week program details here: Year 10 Experience Week Program 2026

Humanities News - Upcoming History Events

Library Services News

Pumpkin Growing Competition – Citizen Science in Action

As part of a citizen science initiative through our Library Services Seed Library, students and staff took part in a pumpkin growing competition using seeds provided by the Library.

Seeds were planted from late October 2025 and nurtured over the summer holidays, with participants monitoring growth and development over time.

We congratulate our three prize winners for their results!

• Harriet A (Year 2)
• Birgitta K (Year 9)
• Lila S (Year 7)

More than 70 students and staff have taken seeds as part of this initiative, with several pumpkins still growing. We look forward to building on this strong level of engagement and hope to run another Pumpkin Growing Competition in 2026–27.

Wellbeing Hub News

Happiness is defined as the balance of positive and negative emotions, combined with overall life satisfaction. Happiness and gratitude have been studied in positive psychology for many years and researchers have found that gratitude is always strongly associated with greater happiness. Although everyone has their own definition of happiness, many of us want to feel more positive emotions than negative ones. However, negative emotions are still important. They have a lot to teach us and alert us when things need to change. Practising gratitude helps people feel more of the positive emotions, enable us to relish good experiences, improve our overall health, deal with adversity and build strong relationships.

Click here to read more.

Missed the SchoolTV webinar, Anxiety and Depression to Foster Resilience? The recording is available until Monday 4 May via the link below or on the Webinar Series tile on our SchoolTV homepage. Don’t forget to download the KEYpoints flyer to support conversations at home.

Understanding Anxiety and Depression to Foster Resilience (Part I).

SchoolTV will be delivering Part 2 of the Webinar Series in Term 2, with further details to be shared early Term 2.

SchoolTV is Multi-Lingual!

And as a reminder, SchoolTV has resources in a number of different languages including Japanese, Chinese, Hindi, French, German and Arabic to name a few.

Just click the drop-down box in the top right-hand corner and select the appropriate language.

Community Engagement and Foundation News

Kardinia Community Foundation Golf Day

In perfect weather conditions and with a full contingent of enthusiastic golfers, the Kardinia Community Foundation Golf Day returned for its second year at the stunning 13th Beach Golf Links. The event, proudly sponsored by McHarry’s Buslines, brought together supporters, partners, and community members for a day of friendly competition and shared purpose.

The atmosphere was upbeat from the first tee-off, with teams enjoying the immaculate course, great company, and the spirit of giving that underpins the Foundation’s work. Thanks to the generosity and participation of everyone involved, the day once again strengthened our ability to support local initiatives and make a meaningful difference across the community.

A special thank you goes to our guest speaker — and proud Kardinia parent — Cameron Ling, who generously shared his time and insights. His contribution added a memorable highlight to the day and was greatly appreciated by all in attendance.

Congratulations to our winners:

1st Place- Peter Lockhart, Catherine Lockhart, Paul Rimmer, Anna Rimmer

2nd Place- Dan Zagame, Matt McDonald, Dan Feery, Andrew Petricola

3rd Place- Matt Baron, Dan King, Peter Iser & Ed Siddall

4th Place- Michael Browne, Kerry Brown, Kirsten McKaige & Katrina Broadhead

Nearest the Pin- 3rd Hole- David Flood

Nearest the Pin- 6th Hole- Darren Sambrooks

Nearest the Pin- 12th Hole- Charlie Celi

Nearest the Pin- 15th Hole- Andrew Petricola

Longest Drive- 10th Hole- Men- Darren Jolly

Longest Drive- 10th Hole- Women- Kirsten McKaige

We extend our sincere thanks to all players, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters who helped make this year’s event such a success. Planning is already underway for next year, and we look forward to seeing even more of our community come together on the green.

In addition to our Major sponsor McHarry’s Buslines, we extend our sincere thanks to all players, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters who helped make this year’s event such a success. A special acknowledgement goes to our prize donors, Dunlop Srixon Cleveland Sports Australia, for their generous support, and to our competition sponsors — Corio Waste Management, Kieser, OTTO, and Plan Group — for their valued contributions throughout the day.

Annual Morongo High Tea Reunion

Former Morongo day students and boarders once again walked the grounds and enjoyed High Tea in Morongo House over the weekend.

Our Prefects warmly hosted the afternoon, welcoming guests, serving food, guiding tours of the campus and sharing stories about the many changes across the site. Their genuine interest and hospitality were appreciated by all, helping create a wonderful connection between past and present.

K-12 Parent Coffee Morning

The next K-12 Parent Coffee morning will be held on Tuesday 21 April, the first day of Term 2, at Centrepoint Café from 9am. All K–12 parents are warmly invited. Whether you’re beginning your journey as a Kardinia parent, nearing the end, or somewhere in between, this is a lovely opportunity to connect with others and ease into the new term over a coffee.

We are also delighted to share that the beautiful picture book Ripples of Kindness will officially launch at this event. This heartfelt text is one we believe belongs in every Kardinia home. Copies will be available for purchase on the day, and all preorders will be ready for collection.

Secure your limited edition copy before they’re gone: https://events.humanitix.com/2026-ripples-of-kindness-the-gift-that-grew

Community AFL Footy Tipping Competition Leaderboard

The Round 3 leaders in the Community AFL Footy Tipping Competition, are:

1. Holly R

1. Peter P

1. Lachlan S

Is an upset brewing in Round 4 to top these three? There are 4 other teams only ONE point behind!

ORDERS OPEN SOON - The 30th Anniversary Bricks - Preserve your family in Kardinia’s History

Orders for the 30th Anniversary Bricks will be open at the beginning of Term 2. Just like the bricks laid back in the first decade of the College, families will have the opportunity to be part of the tradition and legacy of the site, with their name or a hand-drawn image permanently etched in a paving brick.

Fiona Russell - Community Engagement and Foundation Coordinator

From the Archives

Celebrating 30 Years – The Official Opening

‘The official opening of Kardinia International College occurred on the 28th of April 1996. The Honourable Philip Gude M.P., Minister of Education opened the College to the delight of the official guests and the College community. The Principal, Mr John Goodfellow, stated the College was a “school for the world”, and “would be the envy of many”.

The entrance procession saw kindergarten children escorting official guests to their seats on stage. The secondary students performed several musical items of a very high standard. Kardinia International College staff were very pleased that Miss Dulcie Brookshaw, a former Principal of Morongo Girls’ College, attended the opening as an official guest. The Minister for Education, Mr Gude, while opening the College, described it as a ‘pre-loved’ school”. Mr Yoshihisa Katsumata, presented the College with a beautiful painting of Mt Fuji, to commemorate the opening.

Extract from Kardinia International College-The First Ten Years 1996-2005   P. Dowie  

Next edition: Founders’ Day Celebrations

Fiona Russell - College Archivist