Wellbeing Report 

Hi everyone, we have a fantastic Wellbeing Team with me and Sally. Libby is now on leave until the end of the year. If you are looking for any help with any parenting worries or support your family with home or family concerns, please know that Sally is in every Monday and Wednesday, and I am here every day. I am usually on before and after school duty and Mary and I can help with any questions or queries you may have. 

We have noticed an improvement that students are dressing to match the weather.  Older students are now asking if they can borrow a jumper for the day. There has been so much sickness lately, we are so pleased to see the kids are rugged up and warm for the day. 

We all know how difficult it can be to be on top of the washing during the cold weather so please let us know if you are needing more uniform. Through the week, Sally and I make up bags to send home to families. If you are needing to purchase any extra clothing items, please email the welfare team. 

Thank you to the families who have sent in wool, craft items and clothing donations. We accept school uniform donations from families and some uniform is used to change children. Currently, we are in desperate need of spare black tracksuit pants sizes from 5-8, socks and boys’ and girls’ underwear.  All parents need to do is drop the bags off at the office and we will collect them.

Last week, we cleared out the lost property and donated some items to the local opportunity shops. We have a collection of lost children’s glasses, and we would love to return them to their owners.  We will hold onto these items until the end of the term.  If you believe these may belong to your child, please pop into the school office for collection. 

Across the week we have several opportunities for students to feel supported with their friendships whether it’s during break times out in the yard/electives or speaking to our welfare team.  If you have any questions or are looking for tips, please speak to staff. We really hope your children come home from school happy to talk and share their day with you. 

For any enquiries, please email the Wellbeing Team at-

Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au

Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au

Alyssa Ressom- Fundraising for Cancer 

World’s Greatest Shave-Wednesday the 26th of June at 1:30pm

This term, Alyssa Ressom is doing a wonderful job raising awareness and funds to help her Aunty Carly who is undergoing treatment for cancer.  Every day, Alyssa reports to me to tell me the things her family is doing to support this very worth while cause. To date, Alyssa has raised, $1643.00. 

Recently at school assembly, Alyssa spoke to the whole school that she will be participating in the World’s Greatest Shave during the last week of term.  Junior School Council approved that we will have an out of uniform day on Wednesday the 26th of June where everyone will be encouraged to wear pink. 

On the day, at lunchtime in the library, we will be hosting the event for Alyssa to have her hair shaved off and Aunty Carly will be one of the special guests coming along.  Students are most welcome to come along to cheer Alyssa on. This invitation is also extended to our parents and friends who may be interested to attend.  I think it’s going to be a wonderful highlight to finish the term off with a bang.

This week, Alyssa has announced that the Pink Ribbon Foundation will match dollar for dollar for any donations given. If you wish to donate, Emily, Alyssa’s mother has set up a Go Fund Me Page:

https://fundraise.nbcf.org.au/fundraisers/alyssaressom

Community Pantry Accepts Donations

If parents wish to donate any non-perishable items to our pantry, we are really grateful. The Welfare Team prepare hampers for families in need. We kindly ask our school community, if you are in a position to do so, donations can be dropped off at the school office or placed into our Community Pantry.  Items which will help families include:

• Rice & pasta 
• Pasta sauce
• Tomato/BBQ sauce
• 2-minute noodles
• Stock - liquid/cubes
• Tinned vegetables 
• Cake mixes, pancake mix and jelly
• Muesli bars, biscuits and crackers
• Cooking oil
• Tea, coffee and milo
• Shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, liquid soap, tissues and toilet paper
• Laundry liquid, paper towel, cleaning sprays, sponges and wipes
• Dog and cat food including tinned and dry

Playtime-Approaching & Joining In 

Many social situations involve an element of risk. When we interact with others we risk being embarrassed, feeling inadequate and failing.  Shy people will often avoid social settings rather than risk feeling inept. The best way to develop social confidence is by taking those risks and discovering that these/other feelings can’t destroy you.  Mostly social risk-taking leads to success especially when students are taught the skills first. 

 Tips-

• Look for people who seem friendly, who are by themselves or in small groups. Don’t approach large groups, they are usually harder to join in. 
• Stand near them and wait for a good moment to ask, for example a pause in the game or conversation. Don’t barge straight in. Think about something friendly about the game. 
• Smile, look in their eyes and say hello.  Use their name if you know it. Don’t have a sad look on your face or look down at the ground. 
• Ask if you can join in or play. Don’t try to take over the game or conversation.  Take turns talking and listening. It’s okay if they say no.
• Go and ask another person or, ask the yard duty teacher to help you. 

Quote of the week comes from one of our School Ambassadors, Penny.” Try to remember that playtime means fun time. Make sure you remember not to argue and try to use your words. If you’re getting angry, just go for a walk and take a break”.

Health Update

There continues to be reports of a lot of illness in the school. Some students have been really sick, and we are constantly reminding students about sneezing and washing their hands. I encourage parents to check in with their children and talk through any health complaints or worries.

Remember, we do have Maddie, our school nurse working in sick bay and parents can speak to Maddie about any health concerns. I encourage parents to please investigate any potential sickness complaints. Please encourage your child to practise good personal hygiene by washing hands regularly.  It isn’t fun to be sick at school and there are exclusion periods for some health conditions.  Don’t forget to tell us of any phone or emergency contact changes so we can reduce your child’s concern if they need to be picked up.  In case of a toileting accident please supply a change of underwear in your child’s bag.

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:

https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion-table

Head Lice 

This week we’ve had one case of live head lice in the school. Great job parents!  We 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 be issued on COMPASS.  Reminder-any child found with live lice will be excluded from school until they are treated. 

Activities Breaktimes

Free play Lego Club & Finger Knitting Club at lunchtime-Monday & Thursday

Craft Club at lunchtime-Tuesday & Wednesday

This term, our activities at recess and lunchtime have been extremely popular.  For children who can’t go outside for any health reason, we do offer supervision at recess including colouring and doing jigsaws.  As the weather has turned, in craft club we have been learning finger knitting and early crochet skills. The kids are really keen to come along! Also the kids are really enjoying their diamond art projects.   If families have any wool or crochet hooks,  they are no longer using then please donate these items. It will really help our students if they can practice their skills. Also, Lego Club is a great way for the children to hang out and build their favourite projects. 

 Attendance & Absences

We encourage parents and carers to refer to COMPASS for information happening at school. Schools are required to work towards IMPROVING THE ATTENDANCE and PUNCTUALITY RATES of our students. When your child is going to be away parents and carers need 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-It’s Cool to be at School!

This past fortnight we have celebrated 12 out of 15 students who came to school on their special day. When your child comes to school and it’s their birthday, we are bringing the buzz to make their day even more special. When they arrive at school in the mornings, we are presenting them with a lovely birthday sticker badge.  I must say the kids are really loving this!

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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.

Chaplain Chat

Budgeting

The rise in the cost of living can impact more than just the bank account, having trouble making ends meet can also affect a family’s mental health and well-being. Over the next few weeks, I will share some tips that have helped my husband and I to raise a happy, healthy family on a tight budget. We implemented these ideas many years ago and we have since paid off all our debts and haven’t really been impacted by the rise in food costs.

Here are some ideas to help bring the costs down around the home:

Grow food - The idea of growing food may sound difficult but there are simple vegetables and fruits that don’t take much time or need much space to grow in, vegetables such as lettuce and tomatoes can been grown in tight places and they also self-seed so they can rise year after year with little effort required. Plant a lemon tree. Lemons add so much flavour to food, but they cost a fortune to buy, if you don’t have space for a lemon tree ask a neighbour, family member or friend for some from their tree, trust me they have too many. Other citrus trees are easy to maintain and produce year after year.

Use reusable – At the moment reusable is in fashion, so there are plenty of options out there but when things are in fashion they usually cost more. There are ways to avoid the high cost of reusable, making your own, buying second hand, accepting second hand. I used cloth nappies for both my children, and I didn’t use the fancy ones, the old school type worked just fine. Reusable cleaning clothes have also saved me a lot of money over the years.

Sell what you don’t use – If you have something of value that is sitting around the house and hasn’t been used in a while, try selling it. Keeping things that we don’t use not only takes up space, but it needs to be attended too and that can have a negative impact on mental health.

Walk – If you can get to your destination from home or from where you are, walk there. This will not only save you money on fuel and car maintenance, but you will also benefit your wellbeing by being outside longer. 

Try something new – Making your own food, clothes or general household items saves money and extends your learning. Learning is not just for children, adults need to learn new things, it helps with mental health and confidence building. Something my husband encouraged me to do when we started to save was make yoghurt from scratch. I didn’t want to, but after much encouragement and a lot of trial and error I have managed to master the skill of making yoghurt for the family each week. We now save $500 a year, just by making yoghurt at home. 

There are plenty of ideas available out there in internet world. Have a look around for frugal sites to see if there are any ideas that you could incorporate into your daily life. You will be surprised how soon you fit the change into your life, and you begin to save money without even thinking about it.

Breakfast Club Monday & Wednesday 8:15am-8:45am 

If your child is in need of breakfast, please encourage them to stop by to pick up some food so there are no hungry tummies in the classrooms. Breakfast club runs on Monday and Wednesday mornings in the German/Cooking room from 8:15 – 8:45am. Students can enjoy a range of foods, including toast, cereal, canned spaghetti, small UHT milk packs, fruit cups and fresh fruit. We are very thankful to our lovely parents who help out with the preparation of food at breakfast club.

Food Pantry

The food pantry is open on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons between 2:30 and 3:30pm. Please note the pantry will close early on Monday’s. We have a range of foods, including gluten and lactose free items and on Wednesday’s we have fresh carrots and fruit, apples/oranges/pears.

If you are in need of a pantry top up, please stop by and pick something up. We also have food hampers available that parents and carers are free to access from the entry near the pantry. These boxes have a range of food staples and weigh 11.6kg, so please prepare for that if you intend on taking one home.

Chaplaincy

Sally Marshall – Chaplain: is happy to catch up with your child if you feel they need that extra emotional support during school hours. Sally is available on Monday and Wednesday’s and can be contacted via email :

sally.marshall@education.vic.gov.au or by phone call 5964 7258.