Kurnai News

Dear Parents/Guardians and students,

Re: Regional Schools Update

Dear parents/guardians and students,

The commencement of spring and the sunshine we are currently enjoying have been a pleasant change for us all. Unfortunately, the news on our lockdown is not so positive, with the lockdown and remote learning to continue for now and possibly until the end of this term.

Edit: Return to On-Site schooling with resume Tuesday 10 August 2021.

G’day everyone,

We find ourselves in Lockdown again for 7 days (6 - 12 August 2021) and we will all need to work hard together to continue learning under the current circumstances.

Students are asked to log in to all their classes according to the timetable, as every day and every class’s learning is important. Lockdowns present challenges to us all and hopefully this one will be short and sharp.

Dear Parents/Guardians,
In line with the Premier’s announcement yesterday, we again see our school closed today, Friday 16th July, until next Tuesday 20th July and move to Online Learning.
If students require to collect any resources from school for Online Learning, you may do so today before 3.00 pm. Please ensure that you log in via our QR code on arrival and wear a mask.
As per our previous lockdowns, class check ins and learning tasks will be provided to students via Compass or Teams. Students are encouraged to log in regularly to check for any class messaging.

Dear parents/carers,

I am writing to notify you that Churchill and University Campus will be CLOSED tomorrow (11 June) as a result of this week’s severe weather.

Morwell Campus will be open and running a Care and Supervision Program ONLY for any student across the College who may need it. Children are advised to stay home where possible.

Due to the storms, our school has been left with no power, internet and water damage which has led us to cancel on-site, remote and flexible learning.

Due to the government announced 7-day lock-down for the state of Victoria commencing at 11.59 pm tonight there will be a 5 day College Closure.

Friday 28th May, there will not be any scheduled classes to allow staff to prepare for the return to remote learning. From Monday 31 May until Thursday 3 June inclusive, all students learning will be as outlined in the document available to all parents on Compass. Families who have students on multiple Campuses, please check each campus document.

Kurnai College’s Year 12 Business Management class visited the Yakult Factory in Dandenong this week, as part of their studies for “Operations”. The Japanese-owned company sells Yakult (a fermented milk drink) across forty countries, with the factory in Dandenong making all the Yakult for the Australian and New Zealand market.

Kurnai has changed the way we will be handling second-hand sales, we will no longer be holding an on campus book sales however we have purchased an online membership for all our families to access at Sustainable School Shop.

The Sustainable School Shop encourages re-use and re-cycling through innovation and technology, enabling schools and families to look for a second-hand item first before buying new. Making better use of current resources builds a more sustainable school community and lowers the cost of education.

Kurnai College wishes to congratulate our 2020 DUX, Chloe Palmer.

In a unique year full of uncertainty and challenges, Chloe remained dedicated to her studies to achieve an outstanding result.
We wish Chloe all the best with her future endeavors.

Our Music students have had the opportunity to participate in the ‘Rockfest Music Competition’ this year. The competition is a national event that gives students the opportunity to develop networks with music students from across Australia and is adjudicated by professional musicians and industry leaders who provide feedback to the participants to grow and develop their musical potential.

Dear Kurnai families,

We are delighted to be able to inform you that we will be welcoming all of our students back to school on Monday October 12th. We hope to see each and every student from Year 7 to 12 back in class on that day. In the meantime, students accessing our Care and Supervision Program will be supported as usual.

Please maintain your excellent efforts in remote learning until the 12th and ensure that you are ready to go when face to face schooling resumes. The wellbeing of every student and their ongoing learning will be our highest priority.

Based on advice from the Victorian Chief Health Officer, the Victorian Government announced that from 11.59pm Sunday 2 August, all Victorians over the age of 12 must wear a face covering when they leave their home.

These measures will slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) and help protect the community.

Thank you for your interest in our College.

Due to COVID-19, we are undertaking our primary to secondary school transition differently.  We hope that we are able to answer all your questions on our website in theYear 7 enrollment area http://kurnai.co/yr-7-2021, and look forward to seeing you later in the year.

14 May 2020

Dear parents and carers,

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As advised by the Department of Education, school holidays have been brought forward and will commence tomorrow, Tuesday 24th March.

At this stage, students will resume Term 2 on the Wednesday 15th April.

Students of essential service workers, which may include health, police, corrections and emergency services workers are able to attend a care and supervision program at each Campus for the remainder of this week within school hours.

The Year 8 students from both Churchill and Morwell Campuses recently visited the Tech School, located in Morwell. The students participated in a range of activities which focused on the students creating their own experiment to test a hypothesis on a topic about energy.

Kurnai College, Churchill Campus student, Travis Colson was among one of four Aboriginal Victorians to receive a $5000 scholarship at Parliament House on Thursday 13th February. Presented by Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Gavin Jennings at an awards event at Parliament House, the inaugural Aunty Dot Peters Award supports Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students to complete Years 9 and 10 at a Victorian secondary school.

Recently, 20 students from both the Churchill and Morwell Camp Year 9/10 Outdoor Education classes attended a three day surf camp at Wilsons Promontory. Weather conditions were forecast to be very rainy, windy and cold, however the students were still eager to not let the weather dampen their experience. The surf lessons were pushed forward to earlier in the days to make use of the better weather conditions. Rather than surfing at Wilsons Prom, the group travelled to Waratah Bay for all three surf lessons, as it provided better protection from the prevailing South-Westerly Victorian winds.

42 Year 8 students from Kurnai College, Morwell Campus went to Karoonda Park, during the first week of term 4 for their school camp. On the way there, the students stopped off at Buchan Caves and went through the Royal Cave. The limestone cave consisted of many chambers, filled with calcite rimmed pools and stalactites crystals covering the cave’s roof. Jumping back on the bus the students travelled the last part of the journey before arriving at Karoonda Park. Excitedly the students exited the bus ready and wanting to explore the place they would call home for the next week.

Six Year 9 students from Kurnai College recently travelled to India and immerse in a life-changing-three-week cultural experience. The students, along with 40 other year 9 students from across Victoria, participated in the very first Victorian Young Leaders to India Pilot Program.

Are you interested in embarking on a 3 week life-enhancing school expedition to Borneo, Indonesia, one of the world’s most stunning natural gardens – a unique ecosystem of vibrant jungle and unexplored tropical wilderness, teeming with exotic wildlife?

This opportunity is open to all current year 9, 10, & 11 students to attend in December 2020.

The expedition involves:

Kurnai College commends its music's students’ efforts during their recent musical performances. The students performed brilliantly at Churchill Primary School and Yinnar Primary School, and did a wonderful job showcasing the schools musical program.

Proceeding on in their tour, the Music Students from Kurnai College then visited Churchill North Primary School and Morwell Central Primary School the following day. The students once again put on a magnificent performance showcasing their talents to our feeder schools.

Each year, Kurnai College celebrates NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observation Committee) week. This is an important part of our students’ education and a strong step towards honouring and understanding our First Australians.
Each campus takes it in turns in hosting the main event.

Students at the Churchill Campus were treated to a BBQ on a glorious winter’s day and Violet Juracevich explained to our students the origins and meaning of NAIDOC.

During the second week of the winter school holidays, 16 students from the University Campus enjoyed 6 days of thrilling alpine skiing and snowboarding. The students endured the 5-hour bus drive up the Omeo alpine road to Mt Hotham Alpine resort.

L-R: Emily Brabazon, Bridget Cain, Claire Irving, Dylan Dunstall

Thursday 13th June greeted the brave runners from all across Gippsland who came together at Lardner Park for the Gippsland Region Cross Country. Lardner greeted us with a sunny but cold winter’s day, and the head wind on a long uphill section did the runners no favours.

Kurnai had a small but determined group of runners who had qualified for the event after great results at the Wellington Region event held earlier in the year.

On the 16th March, a group of five Kurnai students left for a six-week trip to China as part of the Young Victorian Leaders to China program. The students spent 2-weeks based at the ‘Beijing Language and Culture University’ where they were immersed into Mandarin classes, toured the local cultural attractions, all while living, studying and eating among Chinese students. The students found the language studies to be quite intense.

Parents & Carers of students planning to do the Debutante Ball in 2019 need to be aware that as the Deb Ball is an external event to the normal school curriculum, conditions are placed on student participation.
One of these conditions is that families with outstanding charges must be brought up to date before their child can begin dance lessons in preparation for the Deb Ball.

A contingent of five Year 9 students from across the College flew out to China recently accompanied by Ross Fitzpatrick. Students will be undertaking a 2-week Language and Cultural Program as part of their six-week study tour. Students will be immersed into Chinese culture and school life through this life-changing opportunity. Combining language and cultural learning with personal development and leadership skills, the program focuses on one of Australia's main trading partners, China.

During January all remaining traces of asbestos were removed from the buildings in F-block and the library. Shortly after, demolition of those buildings began and, as I write, they have completely gone. The surrounding concrete is now being broken up and being sent away for recycling. It has been great to see this demolition crew working carefully to salvage as much building material as possible. With only about a week of demolition to go, in-ground works for the next building will commence.

Kurnai College Hands on Learning students travelled to Melbourne’s Parliament House to join schools from across Victoria for the opening of a special showcase of their ingenious building projects on Tuesday 27 March.

The showcase in Queens Hall featured an impressive park bench and dog kennel built by the Kurnai Hands on Learning (HoL) team.

Kurnai students Jai, Khamis, James and Diamond also joined local MP Harriet Shing on stage to introduce a video about Hands on Learning at Kurnai College.

On March 15, Kurnai Year 11 student, Bridget Cain, attended the Gippsland School Swimming Sports. Bridget claimed success in the woman’s 17 year old 100mt Butterfly, 100mt Backstroke, 50mt Backstroke, 200 Individual medley, and had an outstanding performance in the 50mt Butterfly, where she broke the previous record, by 1.52 seconds. In the 17 to 20 year old woman division Bridget’s performance placed Kurnai College in 4th position. Overall out of 84 competitors, Bridget finished in 2nd place, just 2 points behind the leader.

As always, this year's swimming sports were a huge success. With perfect weather conditions, a free barbeque and freshly cut fruit, we were able to enjoy a fun and relaxing day. Many students participated in the various events on offer ranging from diving to a tyre race. The serious swimmers cemented their position in their chosen event and will go on to represent the college at the next level of interschool sports. Others were happy to cool down in the wading pool, socialise with their friends and enjoy the music provided by our music team.