Wellbeing & Inclusion News

Smile Squad is coming to FWPS!

Dear Footscray West PS families,

The Smile Squad team from Cohealth are coming to our school soon. Smile Squad is the Victorian Government free school dental program. This means all students can get a free dental check-up, preventive services, and treatment at school. 

How to access free dental care

We need your consent before we can provide services. Consent is usually provided by a parent or guardian. Sign up to Smile Squad at: https://bit.ly/smilesquadvic OR use the below QR code:

Paper copies of the consent form are available. Please contact the school office if you would like to request one. The electronic consent form can be translated into more than 100 languages, and the paper form is available in 13 languages.

Smile Squad dental packs

All children deserve a healthy smile, and the Smile Squad free school dental program is working hard to help make sure this happens. Your child(ren) will soon receive a free dental pack to bring home. The dental pack contains a toothbrush, full sized toothpaste, and an oral health brochure. Please take the time to read the brochure. It’s full of helpful hints and tips to help your whole family eat well, drink well and clean well – for life.

Smile Squad provides standard strength fluoride toothpaste that is generally used by ages six and over, unless recommended by a dental or trained health professional.

If your child is under six, please talk to a dental or trained health professional to find out if your child might benefit from using this toothpaste. You can also choose to put the toothpaste away until they turn six or give it to someone else in your family to use.

Do I need to attend my child’s appointment? 

No, you do not need to attend your child’s appointment. You can attend if you would like to, and you can take your child to the community dental clinic if you prefer.

The Cohealth Smile Squad look forward to seeing you soon.

Books 'n' Boots Donation Drive

FWPS is once again collaborating with the wonderful, local charity Books 'n' Boots. Last year, our school community donated a record number of quality books to First Nations children in need. This year, the Marrung Student Representative Team are concentrating on the boots part of the charity.

During Term 3, we are looking for donations of footy boots (AFL and soccer), trainers and gumboots. We are accepting boots of any size (infant, child, teenager, adult etc). Please make sure they are clean and in good condition. These boots will be re-homed to First Nations children in need in regional and remote communities across Australia.

The big, yellow Books 'n' Boots donation box can once again be found in the foyer of the school office. Please drop your clean shoe donations directly into the box before the end of the term.

Thank you in advance!

Tess and the Marrung Student Representatives Team

Cyber Safety. Your help is needed!

Please click below for the pdf with links: 

Anxiety in Children

What is generalised anxiety in children?

Generalised anxiety typically starts to show when children reach school age. Younger children usually don’t have generalised anxiety.

Children with generalised anxiety might:

• worry about a lot of things – for example, health, schoolwork, school or sport performance, money, safety or world events
• feel the need to be perfect
• be scared of asking or answering questions in class
• find it hard to perform in tests
• be afraid of new or unfamiliar situations
• seek constant reassurance
• complain about feeling sick when they’re worried.

It’s easy not to notice generalised anxiety in children. Children who have it often work very hard in the classroom and other situations. It can be difficult to know they’re constantly worrying.

But they often ask a lot of questions, over and over, in new situations – for example, ‘What’s going to happen?’ or ‘What if … ?’

There are also some physical signs – daydreaming, stomach aches, headaches, tiredness and inattention. Children might also spend more than an hour getting to sleep at night, because they’re worrying about the events of the next day.

How to support children with anxiety

If your child shows signs of normal childhood anxiety, you can support them in several ways:

• Acknowledge your child’s fear or worry and let them know that most children feel anxious sometimes. You can encourage your child to be kind to themselves when they feel this way.
• Gently encourage your child to do things they’re anxious about, but don’t push them to face situations they don’t want to face.
• Wait until your child actually gets anxious before you step in to help.
• Praise your child for doing something they’re anxious about.
• Avoid criticising your child for being afraid or worried.
• Avoid labelling your child as ‘shy’ or ‘anxious’

If you are concerned about your child's anxiety, please book an appointment with your child's GP or paediatrician.

Taken from Raising Children Network

Community Collective Victoria - Psychologists and Counsellors

Community Collective Self Referral Form: 

VU Psychology Clinic