Wellbeing and Inclusion 

Dear Karoo Community, 

Welcome to Term 2! 

I hope that you all have had a wonderful holiday and are looking forward to an exciting Term ahead.

Respectful Relationships and KPS Case Study Invitation

Respectful Relationships (RR) approach focuses on building and promoting gender equity in relationships, and the challenging of gender stereotypes.  This is in response to supporting family violence prevention. The Respectful Relationships (RR) approach is based on clear evidence that challenging gender stereotypes and promoting gender equality helps to address gender-based violence.  At Karoo PS, we focus on creating a culture of respect, building students’ personal resilience and supporting gender equality.

The RR approach is organised into 6 different areas.  Each area contributes to building a culture of respect.

Our school has been invited to take part in a Respectful Relationships (RR) case study, on Thursday the 2nd of May.  The invitation was extended to Karoo PS in recognition of the excellent work we do every day in this area.  On Thursday, a Respectful Relationships (RR) facilitator will attend the school and meet with students, staff and parents and discuss the key elements of RR and how these are demonstrated in our school.  

When the facilitator works with our students, they will work in two focus groups, one group with students from Foundation to Year 3 and the other group will be with students from Year 4 to Year 6.  In the groups, the facilitator will support students to discuss how people show care for others, feelings and emotions, gender stereotypes and how can you find help if you need.

When the facilitator works with our parent focus group, they will discuss what the parents have heard about the RR initiative in our school and what they think the purpose of RR is. They will also support our parents to discuss if they have observed changes in their child's social and emotional learning and understanding of gender equality.  

As a school, we look forward to the feedback from the focus groups, so that we can review what is working well and areas that we can continue to improve in further.

It is always important to remember that in our lives, we often have situations that arise in which we may need further support. In these situations, it is important to remember that reaching out for support when you need it, is a sign of strength.  If you or someone that you know may be feeling like they need to talk to someone further, our school can provide you with connections to key organisations.  One key organisation that we often refer to is called 'The Orange Door.'  The purpose of 'The Orange Door' organisation is to listen to you and help connect you to the supports that you may need.  You can visit them face to face, call over the phone or email.

For further information please use the link below to 'The Orange Doors' website or come speak to myself or your child's teacher.

Orange Door Website:  https://www.orangedoor.vic.gov.au/

Young Leaders Program 2025

A group of our year 5 students attended a Young Leaders Program in week 1 of this term. The Young Leaders Program offers students a unique opportunity to use their voices in shaping safer, more equitable, and inclusive environments within their school community.  The participants engage in a series of workshops designed to enhance their understanding and confidence in addressing gender inequality and disrespectful behaviours.  Our group of year 5 students will identify a key area to improve within our school context to implement a positive change.  I look forward to continuing to share their impact journey and how it shapes actions within our school.

Wellbeing Liaison - Paula

It gives me great pleasure to welcome and introduce to you our Wellbeing Liaison, Paula Pearce.  Paula will be joining our school community once a fortnight on Wednesdays.  She brings her wealth of counselling experience with primary aged students to our team and has worked with our Educational Support staff previously to train them to facilitate our Wellbeing Groups. The main focus of Paula's role will be to work with our Teaching and Educational Support staff to further expand the work they do everyday to support our students and their wellbeing.

A message from Paula: 

I'm delighted to join the team at Karoo as your Wellbeing Liaison. I have a background in

 Counselling with a focus on primary school aged children.  This is an extremely rewarding role for me as I love to help children and their families navigate the ups and downs of life. I have also written a wellbeing program that focuses on mental health.  The very talented and committed staff at Karoo have been rolling this out over the past year and I'm looking forward to collaborating with staff, students and parents to compliment the wonderful work that is already happening. When I'm not working I enjoy spending time with my family, bike riding, cooking, entertaining and travelling.

We are all very excited to have Paula as part of the school community. 

Enjoy your week and look forward to seeing you around our wonderful school!

Kind Regards, 

Courtney Hoffmann