Inspirational Speaker Vinh Giang’s Presentation to the whole school on communication skills:

On Monday the 19th of October students from year 7, 8 and 9 watched an inspirational speaker through their laptops named Vinh Giang, his presentation was based on building your self-confidence and how you show yourself to the world while using magic and a wonderful demonstration to highlight his point. He teaches and helps people from any age and has taught over 800,000 and won many magic awards. He was as inspirational as he sounds and his skills when using magic is unbelievable, he really showed me to be myself and gave me more confidence. Thank you Vinh Giang!

Written by Charlie EVANS 9G

On the 19th of October, all students from Year 7 to 9 had the chance to to experience an inspirational speaker, Vinh Giang, talk about some key skills, which can be so important when applying for certain jobs. These skills which Vinh taught us where based around how we communicate, and present ourselves to different audiences. Volume, Pitch, Rate, Body Language, are all examples of the skills which we learnt. Outside of this presenting, Vinh works with other students, who want to improve their communicating skills. So he showed us some examples of their improvement. The message which we got from watching these improvements was: by applying rate, volume, pitch and presentable body language, you can come across a lot more intriguing and ready for the position. What I additionally loved about this experience, was Vinh’s magic. Throughout the hour, he continuously showed us different tricks, which we were able to virtually engage with. Overall, Vinh inspired and encouraged us as students to strive for our goals, and what we want in life.

Written by Olivia DE ZEEUW 9E

Year 7 Wellbeing Day on Tuesday 20th October.

On Tuesday the year 7’s had a wellbeing day. We had two guest speakers talk to us online, and a silent disco. One online presentation was about online crime and how to be as safe as possible online, e.g. safe passwords, where we need to make sure that we have a password that nobody will guess and would make it difficult to hack into. We also learnt to make sure you know who you are talking to online and to always be careful of what we post on social media, including making sure not to share any personal information. The other online presentation was about gaming. We learnt why people enjoy playing games online and the importance of gaming with a purpose. We learnt why it is important to understand who we are playing with and make sure we play with someone who is known to us.

The silent disco was awesome, probably my favourite thing! We were able to request songs that we wanted to listen to and there were three different channels to choose from, all with different songs. I thought this was really cool because if you didn’t like a song then you could just change the channel. It was really fun to dance with everyone! I enjoyed the whole day, and I think It was a great idea to have a wellbeing day so that everyone could socialise with their class mates.

Written by Kiara Mooney 7H

On Tuesday the year sevens had their wellbeing day. It was a great day with many interesting and enjoyable talks and activities from different people. One of the people that came to talk to us was from Optus. He shared us his own experiences with hackers and different problems on the internet and how we could solve them, giving ideas and ways to keep our information safe from hackers and other people online. At the end of the call everyone made up their own passwords and where told how secure they were, after a while all the classes where competing to see who could get the longest lasting password. Another one of the activities we got to do was a silent disco on the oval, where everyone was given a pair of headphones to listen to music on. Everyone had a fun time requesting songs to the d.js and listening to each other’s music. The other talk we had was on video games and how to enjoy them and at the same time make sure where being healthy. He gave us in depth answers to our questions and explained exactly why people get addicted to games. At the end of the day we got to finish it off with a game of sport. I think wellbeing day is a great day to have for the students it allows everyone to take a break from our work and relax I am looking forward for having it again next year. Thank you teachers and wellbeing leaders for organising this.

Year 7 Student

6 Tips to Help Your Children Transition Back To School after Coronavirus Lockdown.

Some parents may be feeling apprehensive about their children returning to the classroom after months and months of learning from home during the coronavirus lockdown. It is yet another big change for both students and parents to adjust to. Here are a few tips to support your children with returning to school during this time.

Listen To Your Children’s Anxiety:

Children are generally optimistic and happy-go-lucky about life but some students are worried because their parents are worried. Often the fear of infection is an adult one and not something that they focus on. If children seem worried, ask them why and assist them to give voice to their concerns

2. Take a Problem Solving Approach:

Ask them to generate ideas on how they can solve their own problems regarding school. For example if they are worried about how they will go with wearing a mask all day, help them to explore some possible ways of managing that worry. They could speak to their GOAL Mentor, who may talk about how to have a mask break. They could also try it for a few days and see how they manage.

3. Build Excitement About School:

Just as you would prepare uniform items and bags etc for going back to school, prepare your children emotionally by creating some excitement about returning to school. After all, going back will mean they get to see their friends, see their teachers and participate in some of their favourite lessons at school. Some students may show separation anxiety but that is to be expected given the amount of time they have spent learning from home. Help your child see that as normal and it may even include some sadness about leaving the safety of home to venture back out into the world, however do not interpret that as something more significant than it is.

4. Empower Them to embrace the ‘New Normal’:

Going back to school will allow for routine and structure that young people need. Inform your children that some things will change at school but it’s all about keeping people safe. Allow them to embrace the new changes rather than focussing on how things used to be.

5. Present a united Front with the School:

Teachers and staff at our school are competent professionals and will always try to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students. Students may not agree with everything their teachers say or ask them to complete. Showing your children that you are on board with the schools approach and working together with their teachers can provide a sense of safety and support that can allow students to focus on their learning.

6. Encourage an Attitude of Gratitude:

If students are finding the changes difficult to manage, encourage them to focus on 3 things in their life that they feel grateful for to counteract the negative self-talk that may be occurring. Help them develop this as a daily habit, perhaps shared around the family dinner table.

Anxiety & Stress Management Workshop for Parents and Young People

This workshop is in partnership with the Bayside Glen Eira Kingston Local Learning and Employment Network (BGKLLEN) and aims to prepare young people with the skills and strategies they need to manage their stress and anxiety.

Sessions will be running throughout November and delivered online via Zoom. Places are limited.

For further information or to book into a workshop, visit https://www.bayside.vic.gov.au/anxiety-and-stress-management-workshops

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