Wellbeing Report
Andre Campbell
Second Hand Uniform Sale Monday 8th August 2:30pm
Thank you to the many families who have donated second hand school uniform. We are pleased to announce that we are having a sale outside the School Hall next Monday at 2:30pm. We currently have a lot of school jumpers and summer dresses in stock and Jeanette and myself can help you out when our Community Pantry is open. Parents and carers can purchase items from $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00. All monies raised are invested back into the school and the welfare programs which support our students. Please keep those clothing donations coming!
Lost Property
We have a large amount of unclaimed school jumpers in lost property. I’ve noticed many items have student’s initials written on them. It does makes it challenging for staff when we are looking or lost jumpers on the behalf of parents. Please check that your child’s clothing is clearly labelled so it can be returned promptly.
Talk to your child to increase their personal organisation of their belongings and the steps needed to ensure successful completion of this. Remember, Jeanette our school chaplain, Lily and myself can help out with spare uniform.
Community Pantry Hall Foyer Open Monday &Tuesday- 2:30pm
We have had a great response to families accessing our community pantry. Lily and Jeanette are now offering more days where our pantry is open. For these extra days, please watch out for the COMPASS notifications. Our regular days Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 2:30pm-3:30pm, parents and carers can come along and meet Jeanette, our chaplain to pick up some food items. We have a variety of breakfast staples including long life milk, cereals, soups, rice dishes and fruit. Food Bank generously supply our Breakfast Club program and they are supplying our community pantry. All families will need to do is bring their own bags. If you know someone going through a rough patch please reach out and let the Wellbeing Team know. There is no charge and we are thrilled that we can extend this support to our Woori community.
There are many organisations across Yarra Ranges offering support and assistance. For people looking for food relief, CIRE at the Yarra Junction hub, have food parcels and they have free bread on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The Yarra Junction hub is open for food relief and they are a Centrelink Access Point. This service can be accessed by appointment where the school Welfare Team can refer families. If you are interested or know of any one you would like to recommend please contact me. During the school holidays, people can enquire directly at CIRE. They are located next to the Yarra Junction Post Office and they are open Monday-Friday: 9am-4pm.
Breakfast Club- Every Monday & Tuesday 8:15am-8:45am
Breakfast Club is up and running every Monday and Tuesday. Please try to drop your child off by 8:30am to avoid disappointment, Breakfast Club must close at 8:45am in order for the classrooms to start.
We have made some changes to help our students and parents remain COVID safe while breakfast is served. We are offering al fresco dining experience where we are serving breakfast in the undercover area next to the German room. The children will eat their breakfast and then they will put their dirty dishes into tubs for washing up. We are offering toast, fruit cups, milk prima packs, hot baked beans and spaghetti.
It has been great seeing children eating toast and drinking milk packs on their way to class.
Food Bank deliveries have been coming more often. We have apples, oranges, pears and carrots in the canteen fridge and the classrooms are encouraged to fill up their bowls as needed. We can cater for food allergies including lactose and gluten free items.
Food Bank Cooking Classes Coming
In 2023, Food Bank will offer an after school cooking class program for families. We are thrilled to be considered this opportunity as the cooking classes will be delivered at 100 schools across Victoria by June 30 2023. The cooking class program aims to support families to learn new skills in cooking, food safety and meal planning, with a focus on the daily consumption of the five food groups recommended for good health. When the program starts, families will be given a hamper to take home ingredients to make the recipes. Next term I will be seeking expressions of interest from our parents as places will be limited. Please speak to Jeanette, Lily or myself for more details.
Uniting School Partnership
On Wednesday the 3rd of August we have organised our first meet and greet with Uniting at 2:50pm. Uniting have organised a take home afternoon tea for every prep which we will be handing out to our Prep families at the end of the day. Over the next couple of months, we are planning after some school activities for the whole family. We are considering a Woori LEGO Masters, Marital Arts Therapy, a reptile program which will run over 3 weeks to cater for junior, middle and senior school. Uniting is also offering individual help for NDIS, linkage to other services, group based and individual support. Please contact the Wellbeing Team for a referral form and we will take you through the steps.
State School Relief
We can help families who are experiencing financial hardship to purchase school uniform. Please see the Wellbeing Team for assistance.
Head Lice
This week, we continue to have low numbers of live head lice cases in the school. We continue to ask parents to work with us to keep our reports low and to continue to treat and monitor your children’s hair. Please notify the office or tell your child’s teacher when you treat your child so lice alert notes can issued on COMPASS. Reminder-any child found with live lice will be excluded from school until they are treated.
Attendance & Absences
Parents and carers need to refer to COMPASS for information happening at school. Schools are required to work towards IMPROVING THE ATTENDANCE and PUNCTUALITY RATES of our students. We encourage all parents to call the office when your child is going to be away and to notify the school through COMPASS. This really helps us as we are able to communicate effectively with all relevant staff early in the school day.
Attendance Data
Over the time a child attends school, having 1 or 2 days absence does not seem like much but it does add up and can impact on missed learning opportunities.
Playgroup at Woori Yallock Community House
For parents interested in joining playgroup, our local Woori Yallock Community House is running a program on Monday mornings from 10am-11:30am. There is an eligibility criteria so parents need to register at Yarra Ranges Supported Playgroups Ph: 1300 368 333
2022 Free Happy Families Membership
Here is a quick tip video from Dr Justin Coulson around dealing with screen time. If you found this tip useful and would like to see more of Justin's parenting tips and strategies, don't forget that our school is subscribed to Dr Justin Coulson's Happy Families School Membership.
The membership offers monthly live webinars and with Justin, quick tip videos, weekly inspirational emails and the video library which is the full back catalogue of all of Justin's parenting webinars from Little People, Big Feelings and Building Resilience to webinars on raising teenage girls and teenage boys and A Parent's Guide to Raising an ADHD Child, and many many more. All of these resources are based on positive psychology methodologies to support children and get them to thrive.
If you are yet to sign up, please do so here.
Bec Filliponi Family Wellness Sessions & Resources
For those of you who know Bec, she is an accredited mental health social worker, consultant, trainer, supervisor and speaker with over 2 decades experience supporting children, adolescents, adults and professionals. Bec specialises in innovative therapies, is EMDR Trained & an accredited animal assisted psychotherapist alongside Tilly the therapy dog.
Bec has a range of books that explore concepts of kindness, resilience, positive identity, connection, self-care, regulating big emotions, self-worth and feeling safe. Although these books are written for 3 - 12 year olds, they acknowledge and explore important ideas that people from all ages can connect with.
Bec is offering Family Wellness Sessions so please speak to me if this interests you and your family. Also, Bec will be running All the Feels Therapeutic Art Program again in the Term 3 school holidays. Please see the flyers attached. All bookings and enquiries are made through website at
: https://beaconis.com.au/shop/
Craft Club at Lunchtimes-German Room
1:40pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday Junior School
1:40pm Tuesday & Thursday Middle/Senior School
Chess Club-Tuesday Lunch Time
On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, students can find us where we will be teaching
pom pom making, plaiting friendship bracelets, weaving cat’s eyes, pipe cleaner craft, finger and French knitting. Our older students come along on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we are working on dream catchers, French knitting and macramé.
Chess Club is also happening every Tuesday at lunch time.
We are still looking for donations of wool and other haberdashery items including ribbon, embellishments, buttons and charms or anything that can add a bit of bling to our projects. All extra pairs of hands are welcome, if you are interested in helping please let me know.
Currently, I am running small groups of LEGO Club and more students are eager to join. LEGO building supports social skills and strengthens friendships skills. In order to offer a lunchtime club we are in need of more LEGO materials. If you know anyone who may be willing to donate LEGO please see me.
Playtime Negotiating
Teaching children the art of negotiating is a valuable skill. They will learn that you are more likely to get what you want and keep friends if the other person gets something in return. Point out they are maintaining good relationships with other children and preventing possible conflict.
- Decide what you want.
- Think about what the other person might want in return.
- Pick a good time to ask.
- Use a friendly voice.
- If the other person won’t agree to what you want, accept that. You won’t always get what you want.
- Keep your side of the bargain.
Ask your child how they have managed challenges this week and discuss the decisions they made-did it help them or hurt them?
Health update
For some people getting over their mild COVID-19 symptoms, they may experience lingering fatigue, breathlessness and generally not feeling 100%. I encourage parents to check in with their children and talk through any health complaints or worries.
Infectious Diseases
To help prevent and control the transmission of infectious diseases in schools, a child must be excluded from school if he or she has any of the following:
- Gastro/Diarrhoea - until there has not been a loose bowel motion or any symptoms for 48 hours
- Chicken Pox - until fully recovered and blisters have dried
- Measles - at least 7 days
- German Measles - until fully recovered and at least 4 days from the onset of rash
- Whooping Cough - four weeks
- Hand, foot and mouth - until all blisters have dried
- Hepatitis - medical certificate needed
- Impetigo “School Sores” - until treatment has commenced and sores are healed
- Ringworm - until treatment has commenced. Medical certificate may be required.
- Mumps - until fully recovered
- Scabies - medical certificate needed
Importantly, children who have been vomiting should not attend school until 48 hours after the vomiting ceases.
While these are some common diseases, please refer to the Better Health School Excursion Table* for a comprehensive list and updated information. Please contact the office if your child contracts any of these. Please refer to the Dept of Health for further information