Kardinia eNews - Wednesday 18 September 2024

From the Head of Senior School - Kath O'Neill

It’s hard to believe that we’ve come to the end of another term. Thank you to Fiona Watson, Agnes Tymms, Sam Massey and Jamie Saunders, all of whom are finishing contracts in the Senior School this term. We’re very grateful for your work and support. I hope that everyone has a wonderful break over the next two weeks.

We’ve had a huge number of different events in the Senior School over the past few weeks.

We started the ‘beginning of the end’ for our Year 12 students, with the ‘Final Countdown’ Adam Dickinson sharing some strategies for managing the exam period with students and their families on September 5. Year 12 students have since been engaged in mock exams, which are an important milestone for their exam preparation. We’ve been very impressed by the students’ approach to these mock exams and their focus on their studies.

The Year 11 Spring Formal was a huge success, and, importantly, one that was entirely student driven. The organising committee did an excellent job, from proposing and planning the event, all the way through to its completion. I’d particularly like to mention Emily Canepa, who really was the driving force in the event. Thank you also to staff members Rachel Fitzgerald, Fiona Russell, Rachel Hunt, Nick Kerber and Renee Archer for all the efforts in supporting our students.

Congratulations to Year 11 students Gabe, Callum, Leila and Toby for their efforts in putting on a Trivia Night raising funds for UNICEF. It was a great evening and importantly, raised funds for an important cause.

Thank you to all our staff for their work on Parent Teacher Interviews over the past week. We really value the time to connect with our families and discuss students’ learning and goals but I also know that these interviews create very long days for our staff and I am grateful to them.

Thursday is a casual clothes day in the Senior School, with Earthcore raising funds for Recycle4Change. Please remember to bring a gold coin donation.

Thursday night also sees our annual ‘Hello Spring’ Evening at Piano Bar. While this event is sold out, it is sure to be a wonderful evening of outstanding performances.

On Friday, we have our 2025 Prefect Elections, where students will hear from the short-listed applicants for College Captain and House Captain, before casting their votes. The voting process, along with an application and interview, all form part of the determination of our 2025 College Prefects. We look forward to sharing the appointments with you in Term 4.

Friday also sees the finals of House Debating. The heats of this competition have run throughout the term, with Junior (Year 7-9) and Senior (Year 10-12) divisions. Good luck to all of the students involved in the finals.

Finally, the annual College Art Show is scheduled for early next term, running in the Hall from Monday 14 – Thursday 17 October. Opening Night, where awards are presented, is at 7pm on Monday 14 October.

From the Acting Head of Junior School - Geoff Geddes

Dear families,

Relevant, significant, and authentic experiences are the core of a PYP experience. For these experiences to flourish, we need authentic audiences, and we need to build strong relationships with our community. This week I would like to highlight some of the wonderful examples of our community coming together.

Student Led Conferences (SLCs)

Thanks so much to all families for participating in the SLCs, students gain so much from this authentic experience. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to reflect on their learning and celebrate their successes with the people that they care about the most.

PYP Exhibition - The Festival of Hope

Another example of our community coming together was Monday night's PYP Exhibition Launch. Congratulations to our Year 6 students and staff for such a wonderful event. Throughout the evening students shared all the incredible things they have done in our local community. Our students have certainly had a positive impact on our world and learned a lot along the way.

Please take a moment to view this very short video for a snapshot into the festival of hope- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UU2a0nOSiow

Peer to Peer sharing

As part of the festival of hope, our students shared with all students across the JS. This was a wonderful chance for other students to question our year 6 students about their processes and the content they learned. Students across the JS were certainly inspired by what they had seen and heard.

Team Colours BBQ this Friday

We look forward to seeing you all at this community building event.

If you haven’t already registered to volunteer, here is the link: RSVP and volunteer link.

Connections with universities.

In the JS we host several student teachers each year. Jen Perrett was recently invited to the graduation ceremony of some students she worked with. Here is an article that Jen would like to share about her experience.

Recently I had the privilege of attending the Community Graduation for the National Indigenous Knowledges Education Research and Innovation Institute at Deakin University. (NIKERI Institute). After a beautiful Welcome to Country ceremony by Melinda Kennedy. Wadawurrung Traditional Owner, we listened to Lyndon Morgan play the digeridoo.

We celebrated the achievements of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students graduating from nursing, teaching, social work and law. Each successful candidate shared heartwarming stories about their own personal triumph and how significant their achievements were to family and community.

NIKERI Institute resides at the Waurn Ponds Campus and offers accessible and flexible courses for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Students from all around Australia attend the University and learn both on campus and remotely, allowing them to maintain important connections to Country and family. This year marked the graduation of 1,100 students since 1996. The Deakin Lecturers not only teach the important aspects of their degree, they also assist students to identify how their learning will connect with the unique beliefs and customs of their community and country.

Over the past 4 years, I have been lucky enough to work with Dr Rosie Scott and the NIKERI students. Through modelling and demonstrations, I provide an opportunity to observe teaching strategies within my classroom setting. My students thoroughly enjoy having extra adults in the room to assist them with their reading, writing, phonics, and maths.

The graduation may be the end of the NIKERI student’s journey at Deakin for now, they have bright futures ahead of them, being an important part of the change within their communities as they inspire members of their community to reach for their dreams.

Have a wonderful holiday and please enjoy the precious time with your amazing children.

Enrolment Withdrawal

If you are thinking of withdrawing your child, as per the College's terms and conditions a terms notice is required. Please contact the Marketing and Admissions Department via email: marketing@kardinia.vic.edu.au to lodge the request in writing.

School Photos 2024

Our annual school photos have been taken and are now ready to order.

Arthur Reed Photos uses an online ordering system where you can view your photos prior to ordering.

Prior to photo day all families received an email which included a 2024 code required to access this year’s images (please check your inbox for an email from Lucie in Marketing & Admissions on Monday 22 July). You will require this 2024 code to register online and view your photos.

If you have already registered, you will receive an email or SMS from Arthur Reed Photos with a link to view your photos.

If you have not yet registered, please go to order.arphotos.com.au and enter your code to complete your order.

If you have misplaced your registration code, please contact the Arthur Reed Photos customer service team directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Please note that you will need to register online with your 2024 photo code to gain access to this year’s images.

All photo packages will be sent directly to your nominated address, so please ensure that you enter the correct details and nominated shipping address upon checkout.

If you require any assistance ordering your photos, please contact Arthur Reed Photos directly on 5243 4390 (option 1) or email customerservice@arphotos.com.au

Art Show 2024 - Save the Date

You are warmly invited to attend the Senior School 2024 Art Show! Monday 14 – Thursday 17 October in the College Hall.

Join us for Opening Night to appreciate and celebrate the creations of our students across visual arts, media, photography, animation, visual communication design and design technology. There will be beautiful music, drinks, and food.

Doors open at 7:00pm with the awards commencing at 7:30pm

We hope to see you there!

(This art poster was designed by Hannah R (Year 10), featured artwork by Bella C (Year 2 IB), sponsored by McGrath Real Estate Geelong)

Outdoor Education

Music News

Two year 12 students had their last violin lesson together last week, after starting together with Ms Worrell in Foundation Year! While not always on the same schedule, the two students kept up with their practice throughout their time at Kardinia - this isn't common, especially continuing with the same teacher! Congratulations Meya, Saffron and Ms Worrell, what a lovely milestone to reach!

Angus and Jelke (Year 11, VCE Music) were both finalists in the Musical Society of Geelong Annual Scholarship awards. The Scholarship is open to all Geelong High School students to further their musical studies. Entrants were required to be AMEB Grade 6 standard or above, and both boys progressed through the auditions to be one of 11 selected for the Finals performance held at Belmont High School on Sunday 15 September. Congratulations to both students!

Cocurricular News

Hockey Success

The 2024 winter hockey season finished very well for Kardinia. We entered two under 8 teams, an under 10 team, an under 12 team, an under 14 team and two under 17 teams. The under 10 team finished on top of the ladder and were minor premiers; the under 14 team made the grand final but unfortunately lost their only game for the season on this day and finished runners up; and the under 17 Blue team made the Grand Final and beat Torquay 2-0 to be the premiers. Well done to all players! Thank you to the coaches and the parent team managers for a very successful season. We are now preparing for summer hockey.

Kardinia Judo Club Grading

On Saturday 14 September the Judo Club held its Term 3 Grading, when our judoka demonstrated techniques required for their next belt. Our members were tested on the throws, hold downs and breakfalls required to achieve their next belt and all members acquitted themselves very well. Congratulations go the following members on being successfully promoted to their next belt:

Yellow-White belt: Zara S. Yellow-White-Black Tip: Ollie W, Sean B, Gabby S. Yellow: Thomas W, Livana D, Divraj D, Orella L, Ronnie S, Seb K, Mabel C, Seb S, Hannah W. Yellow-Black: Eli G, Alex T. Yellow-Orange-Black: Addie C, Darren C, Frankie P. Orange: Orlando S, Will C, Quinn O. Orange-Black: Luke B. Orange-Green: Frankie J. Orange-Green-Black: Pearl R. Blue-Brown: Ollie G.

The club also held it’s second Saturday Taikai, friendly tournaments designed to enable our club members to get used to competition without having to travel to Melbourne. In the Lightweight Division Ollie W and Mabel C finished equal third, with Addi C second and Orella L winning first place. In the Heavy Division Eli G and Will C finished equal third, with Darren C second and Frankie J taking first place.

Congratulations to all of our participants on Saturday. My thanks go to our wonderful crew of coaches led by Mizuho Sonoda, who have done a terrific job running the club this term.

Social Justice Committee

Oliver Production Fundraising

Following the student led production, Oliver, we are happy to announce that the donations raised over the two performances on Friday 30 and Saturday 31 August will be offered to the Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre in Geelong West.*

The reason I wanted the funds to go this charity is because, towards the end of the show, Nancy, the female lead, is violently murdered by her boyfriend, Bill Sykes. Because the show depicts domestic violence, I felt this would be a good opportunity to raise awareness about this issue and offer support to those impacted. Especially, given that our Prime Minister has recently declared domestic violence to be a national crisis in Australia, and this year alone, 34 women were killed by the start of May, which is a huge increase since last year.

The unusually large sum donated by the audiences who attended this production of Oliver indicates that the broader Kardinia International community is also on board with attending to this issue and caring for those currently being affected.

*The Sexual Assault and Family Violence Centre, is located at 59-63 Spring Street, Geelong West and offers a range of supports including crisis care, case management, counselling and other services to support people experiencing sexual assault and family violence.

Rose H

Careers News

Important information for year 12 students & families relating to course applications is contained within the Week 10 edition of Careers Communication.
Please ensure that if your child is applying for University in 2025 that they have completed applications and paid admission fees prior to closing dates.

School TV - Year 12 Exam Stress

Supporting your teenager through their final school exams can be extremely daunting for parents. However, maintaining a calm household will ensure your child has the best chance of success.

To perform at their best, students will need regular and adequate sleep, a healthy diet, daily exercise and regular reassurance from parents that their success in life does not depend on their final mark. Many students will experience high levels of anxiety and depression during this time, so it is important that their mental health is looked after as well as their physical health.

Students should do plenty of practice exams, focussing on questions they don’t understand and always getting feedback from teachers. Parents should try not worry if they feel their child isn’t studying enough. Sometimes students need to experience the consequences of their choices as they do not have the maturity to associate effort with outcome. Getting a bad mark will not be the end of the world, but more of an inconvenience.

Click here to watch this episode: https://kardinia.vic.schooltv.me/wellbeing_news/year-12-exam-stress-special-report

Community

Head along to see Year 7 student Daniel in 'My Son Pinocchio' this school holidays! The producers have passed along a 10% discount offer for family and friends in the KIC community. Use the code 'puppet' when booking tickets at The Round!