Kardinia International College is a private K–12 school located in Bell Post Hill, Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It is a triple campus college, residing on the site of the former Morongo Girls' College and has two other campuses, one in Lovely Banks, Geelong and another located in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Enrolment across the school is usually around 1800 full time students.
History
Beginnings
Kardinia International College was founded by the late Yoshimaro Katsumata who purchased Morongo's buildings, grounds, facilities and resources in mid-1995. It first opened in 1996 with 31 secondary students and 42 kindergarten children. The International Baccalaureate has been implemented at the primary years level and at the Diploma level.
The word Kardinia is an Aboriginal word which means sunrise or new beginning.
Gotemba Nishi High School, also owned by Katsumata, is a sister school to Kardinia International College.
The construction of a third campus and an Aquatic Centre were announced in 2015 as a part of the 20th anniversary celebrations.
In 2015, it was announced that founding principal, Mr John Goodfellow, would be retiring as principal after 20 years in the job. Mr Goodfellow remained involved with the college as a director and Sum Pun director. Mr David Fitzgerald took up the role of principal at the beginning of 2016 and continued in the role until 2018. On 1 January 2019, Catherine Lockhart became the college's third principal after being appointed from her previous role as Deputy Head at Woodcroft College in South Australia.
Principals
Structure
The college is divided into four distinct sections:
The Early Learning Centre incorporates a three- and four-year-old kindergarten, in addition to a pre-school. The Lower Primary Centre caters for prep, as well as grades one and two. The Upper Primary Centre contains grades three, four, five and six. The Senior School, for years seven to twelve.
Senior School
The Senior School utilises a vertical curriculum for years seven to ten. This system is based upon the individual choices of a student. At the beginning of each semester, students are issued with a unique timetable of seven subjects, based upon their preferences. This allows for students to focus heavily on one particular area, or elect to pursue one or more languages. This system does not allow free rein, however, with a minimum number of subjects which must be undertaken in each learning area.
For years 11 and 12, there are two options to undertake. The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) was first implemented in 2000, and is the main high school certificate for year 11 and 12 students in Victoria. In 2005, Kardinia offered the alternative of the International Baccalaureate Diploma. 33 students completed the International Baccalaureate in 2006. The school also implemented the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program into the junior school. VET (Vocational Education and Training) courses are also available to willing students.
House system
Kardinia International College has four houses to which students are allocated, each having a historical meaning.
Facilities
The Katsumata Centre
In 2010, a gymnasium/weights room/ theatre complex was established and named in honour of the school's founder, the Yoshimaro Katsumata.
The Learning Commons
In 2014, a multi-purpose facility was built on location of the previous library in the centre of the senior school. The new facility consists of two buildings. The first is the Learning Commons which includes a library, IT support, offices, student study, photography rooms including a dark room, and classrooms. The second building consisting of classrooms, study rooms and staff offices.
The Goodfellow Aquatic Centre
As a part of the 20th anniversary celebrations, it was announced that an aquatic centre was to be built along Ballarat Rd. The new building includes two separate swimming pools. The construction of the pool commenced in April 2015 and was completed in July 2016. The centre was officially opened by the founding principal and its namesake, John Goodfellow.
Camps
Kardinia International College offers many camps for most of the senior year levels.
Year 7
Orientation Camp located at Emerald or Gembrook
Year 9
Chiang Mai Experience, Thailand (6 weeks)
Discovery College Exchange Program, Hong Kong
Year 10
Outdoor Education Camp, regional Victoria
Japanese Exchange Program, Gotemba Nishi High School (12 weeks) { {
Art Study Tour, New York City
Year 10 and 11
Japanese Study Tour, Japan (3 weeks)