Wellbeing

PBL

At SFS, our PBL (Positive Behaviours for Learning) school wide expectations are:

Respect, 

Responsibility and 

Kindness

This week in PBL we continued to focus on KINDNESS: Be thoughtful of others. This was to lead up to our Multicultural day that we celebrated on Wednesday this week. The children understand that we do not accept racism at SFS as we believe in the dignity of the human person as we are all created in the image of God. We discussed ways to show an interest in other people’s cultural backgrounds and they learnt about the cultural diversity of their classmates.

Here are some of our lucky PBL winners who have been demonstrating our school expected behaviours. 

Transition from Early Learning to Primary School

It has been exciting to see our new Foundation students for 2026 coming to SFS for their Step into Prep party and orientation sessions. The transition from Early Learning Centre or Kindergarten can be a challenging one for our young students. The following fact sheet is taken from the Beyou website, www.beyou.edu.au 

There is some helpful information you may find helpful as you prepare for your children to start Foundation next year. 

The transition from early learning settings to primary school school is a major milestone in a child’s life and strong family-school partnerships help make a smoother transition. The importance of a successful transition A successful transition from early childhood learning settings to school is important for all children and can have long-lasting benefits. Children who experience a positive transition into their new environment are more likely to feel secure at school and can adjust better to the new environment. 

Understanding behaviour :  Common feelings and concerns -

Starting school is a major milestone in a child’s life. Children can experience a variety of feelings during the transition such as: 

• excitement 

• sadness 

• anger 

• anticipation 

• fear or anxiety. 

Understanding children’s behaviour helps educators to respond effectively and foster a supportive environment.

Trusting and supportive relationships 

Strong relationships between children, their families and educators can help child wellbeing. Trusting and supportive relationships are the foundation of successful transitions. They can provide children with a safe and secure base at home, in early learning settings and at school. 

When a child feels emotionally safe, they are more likely to learn and thrive at school – socially and academically. Strong family-school partnerships can help improve children’s transition experiences and support their future academic and social and emotional learning. It’s important for schools to build culturally responsive and positive relationships with families before school starts. Then maintain these connections during and after the transition to school. Strong links between educators in early learning services and primary schools staff also support positive transitions. Good communication between settings can facilitate continuity of care and education, for example, through the development of teaching strategies and curriculum based on the needs and strengths of individual children.Good communication also allows informationsharing about a child’s learning and social needs, which the school can respond to.”

If your child struggles with their transition to school next year, whether it be starting Foundation or moving to a different year level, a different learning space or from Juniors to Seniors, please do reach out for help. You can speak with your child’s Homegroup teacher about your concerns. You can also come in and have a chat with me either face to face, on the phone or email. Part of my role as the Mental Health and Wellbeing leader is to help parents with their child’s mental health or wellbeing concerns and help them with internal and external referral pathways. Come and have a chat about what we can do at school to try and help your child.

Multicultural Celebration Morning

A big thank you to all the parents and family members who joined us at school for our Multicultural morning celebration on Wednesday this week.

It was wonderful to see so many children proudly dressed in traditional clothing or colours to represent their cultural background. A very big thank you to all our wonderful children who performed at the assembly. We got taken on a journey around the world and got to experience guitar performances, beautiful singing and energetic dancing.

We even had some parents proudly joining in and singing the Indian national anthem. 

The SRC leaders did a great job leading our assembly, a special than you to Julian, Tom, Shiv, Dier and Janaki. 

Many thanks to the families who brought delicious food from their culture to share with the other families and staff for morning tea. It was enjoyed by all and lovely to learn about different foods and try something new to eat.

It was amazing to finish with a procession of flags from our cultural backgrounds as we stood together to sing the beautiful and fitting lyrics of the song,

We are one, but we are many, and from all the lands on earth we come.

We share a dream, and sing with one voice, I am, you are, we are Australian!

Parents and families also visited their children in the Learning spaces. The children in Learning Space 1 got to travel around the world to different destinations where they got to experience something from that culture.

The children really enjoyed playing Carrom. Carrom is a popular tabletop game originating from the Indian subcontinent, often called “finger ballads”. It is popular in other countries too including Sri Lanka. Players use a striker to flick discs into pockets at the board's corners, aiming to pocket all of their assigned colored pieces (black or white) and the red "queen" before their opponent. I

Rachel Lenko

Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader

rlenko@sfslynbrook.catholic.edu.au