Wellbeing News
Brooke Davis - Student Wellbeing Leader
Better Buddies Day - Friendship and Belonging
On Monday 2 March we held our first Better Buddies Day for 2026. Our focus was on friendship and belonging, as our vision states, we are an inclusive Catholic school community. Throughout the day, students explored how feeling valued and accepted allows them to grow in both confidence and kindness. By celebrating our unique differences and supporting one another, we reinforced our commitment to a school environment where everyone truly belongs. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to build positive relationships across all year levels, ensuring that every individual felt welcome, safe, and deeply connected to our school community.
We look forward to our Term 2 Better Buddies Day, Monday 1 June.
Ride2School Day - Friday 20 March
Volunteers needed!
On Friday 20 March, we will be taking part in Ride to School Day. We hope that by participating in this initiative it will:
Promote Healthy Lifestyles – integrates physical activity, helping students and adults to incorporate walking and biking into a daily routine and all year round.
Strengthen the Community – neighbours and families have an opportunity to interact with each other while walking and biking on their way to school and bringing together a sense of community.
Raise Environmental Awareness – walking and biking to school results in fewer vehicles on the streets therefore reducing air pollution and traffic congestion.
Promote Walking and Biking Safely – children develop and learn life skills from adults accompanying them along walks preparing them for road safety and personal awareness skills.
Increase School Spirit – children and adults alike have the opportunity to come together and celebrate the event while taking pride in what they are doing.
As a BeYou School we are asking for your support in a gold coin donation on the day to Beyond Blue. Beyond Blue provides information and support to help everyone in Australia achieve their best possible mental health.
Parents will be supervising the Ride 2 School groups. All of the riding school groups will leave their pick up points at 8.10am sharp and are estimated to arrive at school at approximately 8.30am. All four routes will have a parent/teacher in attendance, wearing a high visibility vest to help the students crossroads and maintain safety during the walk. If you miss the group, feel free to catch up with us; however do not leave any students unattended at any pick up point.
The bikes or scooters will be kept in the school hall for the day. Our teachers will be waiting at the hall for the students who rode, walked or scootered to school.
Please keep in mind that the roads leading to our school are very busy. All parents whose children are riding, scootering or walking to school are encouraged to join the riding school buses to ensure the safety of all students. If you are riding or scooting please ensure that you wear a helmet.
Riding School Group Routes and Pick- Up Points:
| Walk # | Pick up Point | Route |
| 1) | De Winton Park, Corner of Cape Street and St James Rd Rosanna – wait on the oval near the corner St James Rd. | South bound on Cape Street |
| 2) | Albert Jones Reserve, Mount and Durham Streets Eaglemont – wait on the reserve near the corner of Mount and Durham Streets | Mount Street and onto Yarra Street |
| 3) | Banyule Cricket Club, Beverley Road - Beverley Road- corner of Louise Street and Beverly Road | South West on Beverly Road, then West on Burgundy Street |
| 4) | Warringal Cemetery, Corner Powlett and Darebin Streets – wait on the grass on the South East corner of Powlett Street. | Eastbound on Darebin Street, then South bound on Cape Street |
We do require parent volunteers for this event and if you can be a parent supervisor on the walk, please contact Brooke Davis bdavis@sjheidelberg.catholic.edu.au by Monday 16 March with the Ride2School Route you will supervise. It is essential that you have a current Working with Children Check that has been verified at the school office.
Good luck and enjoy the day everyone, as we work together as a community, to promote healthy lifestyles.
Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL)
Establishing strong routines at the start of the term is like laying the foundation for a house; it ensures everything else stands firm. This term, our classrooms and corridors have been a hive of activity as we "set the stage" for a successful year. Students have been busy practicing the daily expectations, including from line-up, toilet, sunsmart, assembly, Mass and bell routines, that make our school run smoothly and turn high expectations into second nature.
A major focus of our Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) has been the commitment to "letting teachers teach and learners learn." By following our new classroom rhythms, students are ensuring that every lesson is a space for discovery and growth. We are also emphasizing the importance of the "Personal Bubble." By learning to keep our hands, feet, and objects to ourselves, we are showing respect for each student’s space and safety.
You can see our social stories (a short, personalized learning tool, usually written or visual, that describes a specific social situation, skill, or concept in a clear and reassuring way) here, which are taught and reviewed in classrooms.
We highly encourage you to discuss and review the PBL learning that has been taking place in our school so far this term. PBL is successful when all stakeholders reinforce the expectations, teachers, leaders, office staff and families.
When our students understand these routines, they feel confident, secure, and ready to achieve. We are incredibly proud of the way our learners have stepped up to show these PBL values across the school!
Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships (RRRR)
St John's Primary School is a proud Respectful Relationships school.
Respectful relationships education is part of the Victorian Curriculum and delivered by all Victorian government schools. It supports students to develop the knowledge, attitudes and skills needed for respectful relationships, and helps to build respect and equality across the entire school community.
Research tells us that providing respectful relationships education at school can lead to positive impacts on students’ academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviour and relationships.
Our school uses the Department of Education’s evidence-based teaching and learning resources to teach our students about Respectful Relationships from Foundation to Grade 6.
The Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships resources have 8 topics that teach students about emotional literacy, personal and cultural strengths, resilience, problem-solving, stress-management, help-seeking, gender norms and stereotypes and positive gender relations.
Classes beginning RRRR we are working on Topic 1 which helps students to learn about Emotional Literacy. You can view a sample activity from this topic below.
If you have any questions about Respectful Relationships education, you can contact Alison Dean or Brooke Davis and visit the Victorian Government’s Respectful Relationships page: https://www.vic.gov.au/respectful-relationships