Wellbeing and Inclusion

Mrs Courtney Hoffmann - Assistant Principal

Dear Karoo Community,

What an exciting and busy term we have had! When there are many events happening, it is important to take time to reflect on all that has been achieved, as well as take time for yourself to ensure you have the energy to support those around you. A great day to remind us to check in with ourselves and those around us is R U OK? Day.

R U OK? Day

The key messages of R U OK? Day are to promote social connectedness and positive help seeking that can assist people in crisis and to recognise that this is a whole community responsibility.

R U OK? Day aims to inspire and empower everyone to meaningfully connect with the people around them and start a conversation with those in their community who may be having challenges. You don't need to be an expert to reach out - just a good friend and a great listener. You can use these four steps and have a conversation that could change a life:

Ask R U OK?
Listen
Encourage action
Check in

At Karoo PS, on Thursday 14th September, we acknowledged R U OK? Day by checking in with those around us and enjoying some upbeat tunes in the court yard mixed by our Wellbeing Student Leadership Team. Lots of students showed off their dance moves, while enjoying the music, sunshine and the Year 6 Economics Expo!

Our Karoo PS students also checked in with our Karoo PS Staff to ask R U OK? by baking nachos and putting together a special lunch for our teachers to say thank you for all the amazing work that they have done this Term to make Karoo PS, such a wonderful place to be!

For more information on R U OK? Day, please use this link: https://www.ruok.org.au or QR code below.

Welcome to our new Wellbeing Officer

It gives me great please to welcome and introduce you all to our new Wellbeing Officer at Karoo PS. Doug McDonald, or Mr Mac, has joined the Karoo PS community and is looking forward to applying his knowledge and skills to support our students, staff and community.

Doug grew up in regional Victoria on a dairy farm near Tatura, Shepparton, entered youth work immediately after school, and worked with community Youth Clubs and Schools for many years. As a young adult he worked with disadvantaged youth and homelessness in several services, including Monash City Council, Springvale Secondary College and residential care for YFC Southern Youth Services and Church clubs. Doug enjoys creative arts, keeping fit and nature, rides and relaxing with family and friends. He has also travelled to India, China and other parts of the world.

Later Doug was recruited to lead and establish a youth club with a Church in Clayton and completed his bachelor's studies while running a leadership training program. Throughout his studies, and recently, Doug has worked in disability care with EACH in the outer eastern region of Melbourne as a support worker. That study included the completion of a Master of Arts, learning culture and leadership, comparative religions, globalisation and diaspora research. As a result, he is well equipped to assist youth and children from diverse cultural communities and looks forward to meeting you all and supporting our Karoo community.

Learning through Experience

It is a privilege to be able to attend a camp each year from Year 3 to Year 6. In the past 2 weeks our Year 3 and Year 4 students have attended their annual camps. And what a BLAST they had!

Year 3 Camp

Our Year 3 students were lucky to attend their camp at Arrabri Lodge, situated up in the hills of Warburton. The weather was on the wet and chilly side but that didn't stop the fun and adventures from happening. The students, teachers and parent helpers worked together to challenge themselves on the low ropes course, the flying fox and the giant swing. They also learnt new skills such as archery, damper making, rock climbing, some new dance moves and came face to face with a whole range of reptiles! In the evenings the students shone at the 'Karoo's Got Talent' showcase and enjoyed popcorn and movie night.

The camp was the first time away from home for many and all did a fantastic job! What an adventure and amazing memories! A huge thank you to the Year 3 teachers Ms McCandlish, Miss Dobson, Miss Beagley, and Mrs Vitas, the Karoo ES staff - Mrs Legg, Mr McFarlin, Mrs Young, Mrs Whitehouse and our amazing parent helpers, Lauren Allan, Harry Kasapoglou, Alison Thomason, Shelley Watson and Robert Nassar for making such a great experience a reality!

Year 4 Camp

Our Year 4 students enjoyed an unforgettable camp at The Ranch, down on the beautiful Mornington Peninsula. With the sun shining, the Year 4's challenged themselves out on the giant swing, rock climbing, archery, horse riding and many more fun activities! In the evenings they put their heads and teamwork to the test at the Trivia Night and showed off their dance moves (as did our parent helpers!) at the disco. The students also shared their talents at the 'Karoo's Got Talent' Showcase and enjoyed a movie night. Wow! What a sensational camp!

A huge thank you goes to our Year 4 teachers Mrs Grimes, Mrs Murray, Miss Markovic, the Karoo ES staff Mrs Legg, Mr McFarlin, Mr Lai, Mrs McDonald, Mrs Marasco, Ms Tanzimat and our awesome parent helpers Stephen Varney, Mike Tuni, David McCallum, Marina Kyriacou and Gretta Jealous for making the camp a fantastic experience for our students!