The Kooralbyn International School
Encyclopedia
The Kooralbyn International School (TKIS) is an independent
, co-educational, boarding
and day school
, located in Kooralbyn
, about 64 km south of Brisbane, Queensland
, Australia
.
The original TKIS closed in 2002 due to funding issues. In 2004 TKIS was re-opened with a new Board, Principal (Geoff Mills), new staff and new financial backing, to continue the philosophy and ethos of: 'self belief and a pursuit of excellence' that was created by the school's founders.
Former school principal of the original school Robin Collins and other senior staff members are also responsible for the creation of the Spring Hill based company 'International Education Services' (IES). This company has, since 1998 successfully run the University of Quuensland's Foundation Year program in Spring Hill.
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
, co-educational, boarding
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
and day school
Day school
A day school—as opposed to a boarding school—is an institution where children are given educational instruction during the day and after which children/teens return to their homes...
, located in Kooralbyn
Kooralbyn, Queensland
Kooralbyn lies in the Australia's Gold Coast hinterland, approximately 20 km south-west of Beaudesert, itself some 64 km south of Brisbane in South East Queensland, and 56 km west from Queensland's Gold Coast...
, about 64 km south of Brisbane, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
History
The school was originally founded in 1985, at a site on the banks of Cannon Creek now known as the 'Lower campus'. However in the mid-1990s, it was largely relocated to a nearby hillside after flooding incidents in 1990 http://www.bom.gov.au/hydro/flood/qld/fld_history/brisbane_history.shtml and 1991 caused extensive damage to the school. http://www.tkis.qld.edu.au/ss_about_history.html A wooden pillar from one of the school's original buildings still stands on the grounds, as a monument to these events.The original TKIS closed in 2002 due to funding issues. In 2004 TKIS was re-opened with a new Board, Principal (Geoff Mills), new staff and new financial backing, to continue the philosophy and ethos of: 'self belief and a pursuit of excellence' that was created by the school's founders.
Former school principal of the original school Robin Collins and other senior staff members are also responsible for the creation of the Spring Hill based company 'International Education Services' (IES). This company has, since 1998 successfully run the University of Quuensland's Foundation Year program in Spring Hill.
Notable alumni
- Cathy FreemanCathy FreemanCatherine Astrid Salome "Cathy" Freeman, OAM is former Australian sprinter, who specialised in the 400 metres event. She became the Olympic champion for the women's 400 metres at the 2000 Summer Olympics, at which she lit the Olympic Flame.Freeman was the first ever Aboriginal...
OAMOrder of AustraliaThe Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
- OlympicOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
and Commonwealth GamesCommonwealth GamesThe Commonwealth Games is an international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 and takes place every four years....
gold medallist for athleticsAthletics (track and field)Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...
(Class of 1990) (also attended Fairholme CollegeFairholme CollegeFairholme College is an independent, day and boarding school for girls, located in Toowoomba, one of Australia's largest provincial cities, in South East Queensland, Australia....
) - Rajnesh SinghRajnesh SinghRajnesh Dhirendra Singh is a Fiji-born entrepreneur and engineer of Indian descent. He holds several positions in the regional and international Information and Communications Technology community including the Internet Society and IPv6 Forum, and is an active Internet advocate and speaker on...
- EntrepreneurEntrepreneurAn entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and engineerEngineerAn engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
; Chairman of PICISOCPICISOCThe Pacific Islands Chapter of the Internet Society serves the Internet Society’s purposes by serving the interests of the global Internet community through its presence in the Pacific Islands...
, PresidentPresidentA president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
of IPv6ForumPacificIslands, Director of pacificIT, Chief Operating OfficerChief operating officerA Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...
at PATARA - Scott HocknullScott HocknullScott Hocknull is a vertebrate palaeontologist and Senior Curator in Geology at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane. He was the 2002 recipient of the Young Australian of the Year Award....
- Vertebrate palaeontologist and acting Senior curator in GeologyGeologyGeology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
at the Queensland MuseumQueensland MuseumThe Queensland Museum is the state museum of Queensland. The museum currently operates four separate campuses; at South Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba and Townsville.The museum is funded by the State Government of Queensland.-History:...
; Recipient of the Young Australian of the Year Award 2002; Youngest Australian to hold a museum curatorship; Described and named 10 new species and four new genera http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2002/jan/studentYoungAust.html (Class of 1994) - Evan Paki - Ambassador of Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
(Washington, DC); Recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship (Class of 1992) - Willy Arthur - Rugby UnionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
player for Papua New Guinea (Class of 1992) - Adam Scott - Golfer currently placed 3rd in the world; Winner of multiple PGA championships. Member of the school's Golf Mastery Program. (Class of 1997)
- Dan Teasdale - Founding member of Pandemic StudiosPandemic StudiosPandemic Studios was founded as an independent developer in 1998, it became an Electronic Arts-owned developer from 2007 to 2009, when it was officially closed. It was an Australian and American video game developer with offices in Brisbane, Australia and Los Angeles, California...
Australia; Co-creator of the "Destroy All Humans!Destroy All Humans!Destroy All Humans! is a video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by THQ. It was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2 on June 21, 2005. The game is set in the late 1950s in the U.S. and parodies the lifestyles, pop culture, and politics of this time period...
" franchise; Senior developer on Harmonix'sHarmonix Music SystemsHarmonix Music Systems is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States...
Rock Band (Class of 1997) - Andrew BuckleAndrew BuckleAndrew Nicholas Buckle is an Australian professional golfer.Buckle was born in Brisbane, Queensland. He has a promising amateur career, including two wins in the Boy's 15-17 division at the World Junior Golf Championships and the Australian Amateur.Buckle won the 2002 Queensland Open on his...
- Golfer. Member of the school's Golf Mastery Program. (Class of 1999) - Gurpal Atwal - Entrepreneur - UK Media & Entertainment (Class of 1992)
- Steven BowditchSteven BowditchSteven Bowditch is an Australian professional golfer who currently plays on the Nationwide Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia....
- Golfer. Member of the school's Golf Mastery Program. (Class of 2000) - Jason Day - Golfer. Member of the school's Golf Mastery Program. (Class of 2002)
- Jon Riely - Golfer. Member of the school's Golf Mastery Program. (Class of 1994)
- Gavin Flint - Golfer. Member of the school's Golf Mastery Program. (Class of 1998)
- Kristian Poole - Businessmen. (Class of 1999)
- Cec Condon - Drummer and vocalist of Sydney indie-rock duo, The Mess HallThe Mess HallThe Mess Hall are a two-piece drums and guitar combo based in Sydney, Australia specialising in "raw, edgy bluesy rock." The band consists of Jed Kurzel and Cec Condon ....
(Class of 1999) - Alex Dunlop - Lead guitarist and vocalist for the Granite Lakes (Class of 1999)
- Yuri Johnson - Bass Guitarist for the Granite Lakes (Class of 2001)
- Chris 'duckboi' Boardman - Guitarist and vocalist for Brisbane rock band Fawn (Class of 2000)