Engagement & Wellbeing Page

New Orange Door Outreach Service in

 Ocean Grove

Families in our community can now access support from The Orange Door locally through a weekly outreach service operating from Boorai Centre in Ocean Grove.

The Orange Door is a free support service for individuals, children and families. While it supports people experiencing family violence, it can also assist with parenting challenges, child and family wellbeing concerns, safety worries, and support for children and young people.

The outreach service operates weekly on Tuesdays from Boorai Centre, offering families a more accessible way to connect with support close to home.  Drop in on Tuesdays to Boorai for further information and support.  See flyer below.

Anxiety in Children - excerpt from BRANCHS Paediatric Newsletter

Everyone experiences anxiety. Anxiety is anticipated fear, a feeling on being in danger, when you’re not (yet) in danger. But sometimes anxiety causes problems. Anxiety is the second most common mental health disorder in children aged 4-17 years of age, behind ADHD.

There are longer term problems associated with anxiety, too. High levels of Anxiety symptoms in children is important to recognise, because it can have long term effects into adulthood. Children with high levels of anxiety will earn 26% less money when they are 50yo compared to children from the general population. It means they may not take up opportunities presented to them because of some anticipated fear.

This fear could be around what others think about them, for example I look after some teenagers who won’t walk down the street alone for fear of being seen by someone they know who will think “what are they doing walking alone, don’t they have any friends?”

Children with anxiety can worry about lots of different things, or one very specific thing. They often feel scared, become upset in certain situations, or think something is far more dangerous than it actually is.

They might feel anxious or upset when:· when separating from their parents such as going to kinder or school (sometimes called separation anxiety)· thinking about things that might happen in the future, or that have happened in the past (sometimes called generalised anxiety).· meeting new people (sometimes called social anxiety),· in certain situations or around objects such as spiders (phobia)

Fortunately, there are a number of things that can help: 

Self-directed Online program for parents and children – eg BRAVE online Therapy 

Therapeutic relationships & work with a psychologist, occupational therapist (ideally with a provider number who can offer a rebate with a mental health care plan), or sometimes a play therapist.

Medication – usually reserved for those who have persistent, impactful symptoms despite trialling either the online program or therapy, or whose symptoms are particularly severe.

Medication usually consists of either sertraline or fluoxetine.

In practice, fluoxetine is more commonly used for primary school age children, and sertraline for teenagers.

When referring patients to BRANCHS for a neurodevelopmental problem, it is important to screen for, and manage any co-existing anxiety. As anxiety is often associated with problems like ADHD or ASD, and the presence of high levels of anxiety can significantly impact on functioning.

There is a RCH clinical practice guideline that details how to recognise and manage anxiety.

https://www.rch.org.au/clinicalguide/guideline_index/Anxiety__identification_and_management/

If you have concerns for your child please make an appointment with Kellie or Mel to discuss what can be done either at school or at home to further support them.

Lunch Clubs at Surfside!

Following student feedback through our Student Voice and Agency team, Lunch Clubs are now running across the week with activities including sport, art, coding, dance, music, games and more.

Lunch Clubs are a great way for students to build friendships, try something new and feel more connected to school. Please encourage your child(ren) to explore the timetable and consider giving a new club a go this term. Most clubs run for approximately 30 minutes.

Last week, we celebrated Education Support Staff (ES) Day, held annually on May 16th. This is a wonderful opportunity to recognise the vital contributions of our administration team, classroom support staff, and our fantastic kitchen garden crew.

At Surfside, we are so lucky to have dedicated staff who consistently go above and beyond to create inclusive, safe learning environments for all students. ES Day provides an opportunity for us to thank them for their commitment, care, and specialised skills.

Below are some appreciations from students across the school. 

Admin:

Ebony: She is very kind and helps us when we're hurt. Max and Ari (Year 5)

Vicki: She’s always willing to help us. Kaia (Year 4)

Kerrie: I like how she loves to chat. Maggie L (Foundation)

Jenny: She always listens to us. Jake (Year 5) 

Gill: She’s kind, and she works really hard to help us feel happy. 

She’s really brave. Lucy W (Year 4)

Kitchen Garden:

Clancey: Clancey has so much knowledge and loves the garden like me. Forrest (Year 4)

Georgie: Georgie is really encouraging and really kind.  Rosie L (Year 4)

Foundation

Emma: She always does cool, she has breaks with me. I like that we go into the back room and we go through our letters. We do cool stuff together, and she helps me write outside if I can’t do it.  Joseph M

She helps me with phonics. She is kind. She helps me.  Archie B

Simmone: She helps me learn and helps me write letters. - Joey T

I like reading with Simone, and I like doing books with her. She is the greatest.  Percy S

Simmone is so nice to me. Emmie 

Simmone is kind and helpful to me. June

Year 1 

Stacey: She is a great helper, it is so fun working with her in the kitchen! Otis

Lesley: I love having Lesley in our class to help us.  Jasper

Raeshelle: She is kind and helps us when we are hurt.  Darcy

Ben: I look forward to seeing Ben every day. He makes school a happier place for me. Val 

Summer: She is friendly and really great at helping us learn. Jack. K

Year 2

Lani: She always helps everyone and works really hard.  Flo

Michal: She is a delightful and kind helper to the whole class. Eddie

Year 3 

Katie: When something is hard, she helps me to understand, and she smiles a lot.  

Patrick M

Rachel: She is always there to help, and it gives me a good feeling that someone is always there. Freya F 

Year 4

Tania: Tania shows kindness to us all and makes everyone feel confident and like they belong. She is great at helping us with our learning. Year 4 students

Year 5

Penny: When we don’t understand something with our learning, she helps us to break it down so we can do our best. Harper J

Kat: Kat is great at helping all of the Year 5s with their learning, and she gives us ideas when we need them. Lenny F  

Tobi: She is always ready to help with any problem and is very supportive of everyone. Marlowe M

Thank you for helping with all our classroom organisation and always bringing the bubbly energy!  Foundation Team 

 Year 6

Mark: We deeply appreciate the encouragement and support you show the students and staff. We are lucky to have you in our team and support our year level.  Jess H

Hollie: Head on behalf of the year 6’s we want to take a moment to say a massive thank you for everything you do. We are so thankful and lucky to have you at this school, we really appreciate your support and help.  Orin 

Sarah: You are amazing, and you help us all so much. We are all so grateful to have you be part of our Year 6 team and say thank you for everything you do to support us with our learning.