Wellbeing Report 

Hi everyone, we have a fantastic Wellbeing Team with Sally, Libby & myself. We can help with any parenting worries or support your family with home or family concerns. The Wellbeing Team are on before and after school duty and we can help with any questions or queries you may have. 

Thank you for being so positive and flexible during drop off and pick up times. Mary and I always enjoy a quick chat in the mornings, and it’s been a fantastic way to get to know you. This term we have experienced many calm starts to our school day and the children quickly settle into their morning routines. We are so proud of your efforts for getting your child to school on time. Since the weather has become colder and the term has dragged on, some children have needed a little more support in the mornings, and we are happy to help. Please speak to staff if you are having any troubles. 

The Wellbeing Team are happy to take donations including arts and craft items, wool, Lego, jigsaw puzzles, board games and books.  We are always looking for things to help support our activity clubs that we run at lunchtimes.  We are desperate to get some Duplo to help some Prep students.  If you have some Duplo that your children no longer use or are having a clean out at home, please keep us in mind. Thank you in advance!

We also accept school uniform donations from families. Some uniform is used to change children. Currently, we are in desperate need of spare black tracksuit pants and shorts in sizes from 5-12, socks and boys’ and girls’ underwear.  All parents need to do is drop the bags off at the office and we will collect them.

We have several unnamed items (not school uniform) filling up in lost property.  We will be clearing it out. Next term we will take these items to a local opportunity shop. Lost property is located near the Prep entry door (opposite the German room). All lost property found across the school makes it way here.  At the moment, there are lunchboxes and small containers, drink bottles, jackets and jumpers.  If your child has lost something, please pop down and take a look. 

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

elizabeth.martin3@education.vic.gov.au

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

Head Lice 

With the school holidays upon us, now is the time to check your child’s hair. This week we’ve had one case of live head lice in the school, and we really appreciate you telling us. To reduce the spread of headlice, we encourage children with long hair to wear it up and also to tell you if they have an itchy head. Thank you parents for working 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

This term, our activities at lunchtime have been extremely popular.  Due to popular demand, Lego Club runs 3 lunchtimes per week. It is a great way for the children to hang out and build their favourite 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. To inspire students, we often play You Tube clips showing kids how small skills can be built on for them to make other craft masterpieces. 

As the weather has turned, in craft club the grade 3-6 students having been making diamond art dog bookmarks. They are so joyous when they finish them as they look fantastic and the students can’t wait to use them when they read. Also, students have continued with colouring in Strength based posters. These have been laminated and they are on display outside the Science room. We’ve had some great conversations, especially as the students have had to dig deep to go on and complete so many tests. If you would like a peak, these posters are displayed in the outside window near the Science room. We hope these posters remind and inspire everyone that we can do hard things and remind ourselves just how capable we are. 

Playtime-Including Others 

Including others in your games and activities makes everyone feel good. It means that you are generous and willing to share your time with others and care about their feelings. If you include others in your games, they are more likely to include you when you are looking for someone to play with or talk to.

Tips

• Don’t think that your game will be wrecked if you invite someone else to join your games sometimes. 

• Remember that if you refuse to let people join your games you hurt their feelings.

• Look around and see if anyone looks as though they would like to be a part of a game. They might show this by asking if they can play or just standing nearby themselves.

• Smile and say something like, “Why don’t you play too?” in a friendly voice.

• Find ways to make the game work to allow another person to play or take turns.

• Don’t ignore people who would like to be included in your game or look lonely.

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!

When your child comes to school and it’s their birthday, we are bringing the buzz to make their day even more special. This past fortnight, we have celebrated 9 out of 9 students who came to school on their special day.  When they arrive at school in the mornings, we are presenting them with a special 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.

Holiday Adventures & Building Resilience for Term 3

Making the Most of the School Holidays

The school holidays are a wonderful opportunity for children to rest, recharge, and spend quality time with family and friends. While it's important to enjoy a break from routine, holidays can also provide valuable opportunities for children to build confidence, independence, and resilience.

Living in the beautiful Yarra Valley gives us access to many fantastic family-friendly experiences right on our doorstep. Here are some ideas for holiday adventures:

🌳 Explore Nature

• Walk the trails at the Yarra Valley Parklands.
• Visit the Redwood Forest in Warburton.
• Explore the Lilydale to Warburton Rail Trail.
• Enjoy a picnic and play at the Yarra Junction or Seville recreation reserves.
• Take a family bushwalk through the Dandenong Ranges.

🦘 Connect with Wildlife

• Visit Healesville Sanctuary.
• Explore local farms and animal experiences throughout the Yarra Valley.
• Go birdwatching or nature spotting at local wetlands and parks.

🚴 Get Active

• Ride bikes along local trails.
• Visit a local playground you've never explored before.
• Go swimming, skating, kicking the footy, shooting hoops, or simply enjoy a family walk.

📚 Keep Curious Minds Growing

• Visit your local library and borrow some holiday reading.
• Try a family board game night.
• Cook a new recipe together.
• Encourage children to write, draw, build, create, and problem-solve through play.

Building Resilience During the Holidays

Resilience is the ability to bounce back when things are challenging. Like any skill, resilience develops through practice and everyday experiences.

The holidays provide many natural opportunities for children to strengthen this important life skill.

Encourage Independence

Allow children to:

• Pack their own bag for outings.

• Help prepare meals.

• Complete age-appropriate household jobs.

• Make simple decisions and solve minor problems.

Let Children Experience Challenges

While it can be tempting to step in and fix problems immediately, children build resilience when they learn to work through difficulties.

Try asking:

• "What could you try next?"

• "What are some possible solutions?"

• "How did you solve a problem like this before?"

Celebrate Effort

Focus on effort rather than outcomes.

Instead of:❌ "You're so smart."

Try:✅ "I noticed how hard you worked on that."✅ "You kept going even when it was tricky."

Maintain Some Routine

Children thrive when they know what to expect. While holidays should be relaxing, maintaining regular sleep routines, mealtimes, and some daily structure can help children feel secure and make the transition back to school easier.

Keep Connections Strong

Resilience grows through positive relationships. Spending time talking, playing, laughing, and connecting with family and friend’s helps children feel supported and confident.

Helping Children Return to School Ready for Term 3

As the holidays come to an end, families can help children prepare for a successful start to Term 3 by:

✔ Returning to school sleep routines a few days before school begins.

✔ Talking positively about school, teachers, classmates, and learning.

✔ Looking through school photos or discussing favourite school memories.

✔ Helping children identify something they are looking forward to next term.

✔ Reminding children that feeling nervous about returning to school is normal and that these feelings usually settle quickly.

Remember...

Children don't need a holiday packed with expensive activities or elaborate plans. Some of the most powerful resilience-building moments come from everyday experiences—trying something new, solving a problem, helping others, spending time outdoors, and learning that it's okay to make mistakes.

We hope all our families enjoy a safe, relaxing, and fun-filled break. We look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed and ready for a fantastic Term 3!

Happy Holidays from Libby Martin and  WYPS Wellbeing Team!

The Wellbeing team are aware that the current cost of living may be impacting our school community. In the coming newsletters I will be sharing information about local food support services that are available in the Upper Yarra area. This week the feature is HICCI. HICCI offer free community meals on Tuesday evenings from 5:30pm to 6:30pm called Dinner @ Darron’s. This is a free two-course dinner held weekly with great company and a healthy meal. Located in the Darron Honey Centre at Healesville Uniting Church, Maroondah Hwy, Healesville. HICCI also provide a Community Grocer which is open everyday from 9am to 2pm, this is located at the HICCI office at 231 Maroondah Hwy, Healesville. The Community Grocer is filled with a large variety of food, simply bring a shopping bag to carry home the supplies. HICCI is well worth contacting if you are finding that you need extra support they have a large range of services that can be accessed and they are happily helping people everyday to work through their tough situations. hicci.org.au

Second hand uniform

Available, contact the Wellbeing team to access second hand uniform.

Breakfast Club

If you would like your child to make use of our yummy breakfast foods, send them to school that bit earlier so they will have time to eat and enjoy their food. We serve toast until the music is playing for the start of the school day. Please remind your child that if they want to have something to eat before school that they need to head straight down to the German Room. While the music for the bell is playing there are only fruit cups and milk drinks available. Breakfast club has been very popular with over 100 students attending. We will be serving warm canned spaghetti at the start of term 3. 

Chaplaincy

During my recent Chaplaincy catch ups I have been encouraging students with a number of things including: friendship skills, resilience building, self esteem by replacing negative self thoughts with positive ones and simply but very importantly getting outside for walks, frisbee throwing and foam plane flying. The students have really appreciated the time I have spent with them and I enjoy planning our sessions with bright, colourful and engaging content. If you feel your child might need that extra emotional support during school hours please contact Sally via email sally.marshall@education.vic.gov.au or by phone call 5964 7258. I’m available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday each week.