Wellbeing & Engagement

Dear Parents/Carers,

Congratulations to Franki in Year 3, who will be Assistant Principal for the Day this term. Franki has some exciting activities planned for all students on the Deck. Did someone say "Crazy Hair Day?"

Stay tuned for a day full of fun and creativity!

Safe, Valued and Respected Survey 

This is a friendly reminder to please complete the survey. So far, we have only received 28 responses, and your feedback is invaluable.

Each term, we invite you to share your thoughts on your family’s experience at Elsternwick Primary School. A key priority in our Strategic Plan is to ensure all members of our community feel safe, valued, and respected. Your feedback helps us understand how we’re doing and guides us in identifying areas for improvement.

We value your input, as it’s essential for creating a positive experience for everyone. Without your insights, we can’t address areas that may need attention, the survey takes around 2 minutes to complete and will remain open until Monday, 18th November. You can access it by clicking here.

Family Life Brief Support Program

Family Life's Brief Support Program is specifically designed to offer short-term assistance to families with children aged 0-18 who are not currently connected with Case Management or Child Protection services.

You can fill out the referral form below for Brief Support: www.familylife.com.au/support/request-for-support-with-family-life. For the Brief Support Program specifically, please ensure that you click on "Parent and Families" for the Services requested, and then under Parent and Families option, choose "Brief Family Support".

Below are some examples of when a referral to Brief Support would be appropriate.

• A family who is having financial difficulty and child is displaying emotional dysregulation
• Parents/Carers seeking an ASD assessment for their child upon recommendation from the school but are struggling to find a service to complete the assessment

Feel free to reach out to the Brief Support team at briefsupport@familylife.com.au and they will happily let you know the most appropriate next steps OR email me, leanne.williams2@education.vic.gov.au

Body Bright Children webinar recording

Thank you to all parents/carers who attended the Body Bright webinar on Tuesday, 29th November. We appreciate your engagement in this important conversation about body positivity and fostering a healthy self-image for our children. We understand that not everyone was able to join us live, so we are pleased to provide a recording of the session here for your convenience.

16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

As we approach the annual 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, we want to remind you of the importance of this global campaign, which runs from November 25th to December 10th. This is a vital opportunity to take a stand against gender-based violence and promote a culture of respect and equality.

Frankston city council has organised two FREE events:

Class Creation for 2025

Just a reminder that final class groupings for 2025 will be announced during our whole school Step Up Day on Tuesday, 17th December. If your child will be absent that day, the admin team will email your child’s class teacher allocation for 2025.

Have a lovely weekend,

Leanne Williams

Acting Assistant Principal 

Wellbeing: Body Bright - Resilient 

Each year level is currently unpacking the six key themes of Butterfly Body Bright. Each theme targets an important factor that contributes to the development of children’s body image. The second theme is resilient to unhelpful media messages. 

The images and messages children are exposed to in the media can influence their thoughts and attitudes, particularly when it comes to body and appearance stereotypes and ideals. Research shows that the more a child is exposed to unhelpful media messages, the more likely they are to judge their own appearance and make negative comparisons.

Butterfly Body Bright empowers students to be resilient to the media by strengthening their media literacy skills. The five core media literacy concepts embedded in the resilient lessons are:

1. Authorship - understanding that media messages are constructed

2. Format - creative techniques are used to attract attention

3. Audience - different people experience the same media messages differently

4. Content - media have a specific point of view they want to convey

5. Purpose - media messages are usually intended for profit, power or entertainment

The early years students build their media literacy through a positive lens of celebrating appearance diversity. The program then develops to building an understanding of how media messages are created and being mindful of how each individual consumes media with a focus on avoiding comparisons. The 5/6 students think critically about advertisements and redesign ads that promote body neutrality and focus on body functionality. 

What can you do at home?

Ensure your child is viewing content that is age appropriate (including social media). Do your best to role model positive and kind language around appearance and body shape/size when viewing media yourself. 

For more information on how to help your child have a positive experience with the media, check out the resilient tip sheet at www.butterflybodybright.org.au/resources