Wellbeing Zone

Enter the Wellbeing Zone

Welcome to the Wellbeing Zone. When you enter the zone, you will find a wealth of information about all the things happening in the Wellbeing space at Sunshine Heights PS as well as strategies, articles, book recommendations and events that will help build our dream and culture of Wellbeing throughout our school community, inside and outside of school, so that we can sail together through a universe of possibilities with all the emotional and social skills we need to thrive. 

Art Therapy Sessions for Children

One of our former incredible Art Therapy students from La Trobe University, Kanling, has graduated from her studies and is now a practising art therapist. For anyone who had the privilege of working with Kanling, she was compassionate, driven and highly in tune, and supported so many of our students in her placement at our school. 

She is running an 8-week program starting Monday 22 July, running every Monday from 5:00pm to 6:00pm at Hillside Community Centre. 

Have you noticed your child struggling with any of the following? 

• Emotional regulation 
• Maintaining focus  
• Social interactions  
• Low self-esteem 
• Too much screen-time  

If the answer is yes to any of the above, this eight-week art therapy program may be beneficial.  

Through the power of creating art and engagement with art materials, your child may experience improved emotional regulation, self-esteem, motor skills and foster social connection with others.  

Different from a regular art class, Art Therapy is child-led and focuses on empowering children to express their emotions through an alternative outlet. This small group program is facilitated by a qualified Art Therapist, offering a range of materials and art themes. The Art Therapist will adapt the activities and materials based on participants’ therapeutic needs and material preferences whilst remaining attuned to their emotional state. 

Suitable for children aged 7–10 years. BYO art smock.The cost of the 8-week program is $72 and bookings can be made by visiting this link: https://meltonlearning.com.au/events/art-therapy-for-children-term-3-2024/

Prep School Nurse Program - Health Questionnaire

A reminder to our Prep families that our School Nurse Program will start this term. 

You can access and complete this questionnaire on a mobile phone, computer or tablet.

If you have not yet completed the questionnaire and would like to do so, please use the link below to access the questionnaire: https://students.educationapps.vic.gov.au/sehq/s

If you have started an online questionnaire but have not yet submitted it, please log in, complete the questionnaire, and submit it. 

If you require a paper copy of the questionnaire, please see Francine. 

Participation in the program is not mandatory and parent/carer consent is required for the Primary School Nurse to see your child. If you do not wish to participate, you are encouraged to register and select ‘No I do not consent’ in the online questionnaire so that your response is recorded. If you prefer, an identical paper version of the questionnaire is available from your child’s school. 

Please only complete one questionnaire per child.

If you have any questions or concerns about this service, you can contact the Primary School Nurse, Melissa Nesbitt via phone on 9194-6378 or email at Melissa.Nesbitt@education.vic.gov.au.

If you have already completed the School Entrant Health Questionnaire, thank you.

Good Shepherd - Tuning into Teens Program 

Good Shepherd will be running Tuning in Teens starting Thursday 8th August 2024 and running until Thursday 12th September 2024, at the Brimbank Aquatic and Wellness Centre.

Please find attached our flyer along with an information sheet around what the program entails.

Parents/Carers can register using the QR code on the flyer or contacting the Good Shepherd office directly, on 8312 8800, and speaking to Lynda or Rachel. 

A light morning tea will be provided. 

E-Safety Feedback Workshop for Parents of Children Aged 11-17 years old 

Co-designer, Kate Goodwin, is working with the E-Safety Commission to review the usability of their website, and is seeking parents of children aged 11-17 years old to join a one and a half hour paid workshop on Saturday 10th August to provide feedback on how different people experience and use the website. 

 Workshops will involve a mix of individual on-screen, recorded activities, and focus group-style discussion. A trauma-informed approach will be used to guide these workshops. 

Participants will be given the chance to meet facilitator(s) ahead of the session, see the topic guide in advance, and be kept informed on reporting. It is important that candidates understand this and are comfortable to be contacted by facilitator(s) for these purposes.

Participants will be required to bring their own laptop and/or mobile devices, with Lookback and their camera and microphone installed/tested in advance (you will be helped with this). No other preparation is required in advance (and is actively discouraged). 

With participant consent, sessions will be audio and video recorded; they may also potentially be observed remotely by eSafety team members. 

Incentives inc. small allowance for travel, and pre-session setup with the facilitator(s): 

• $140pp (one parent only per session), paid in the form of a gift card on the day 

The workshop will be held on Saturday 10 August from 3.30-5pm in the Melbourne CBD (address tbc). 

Participants need to arrive 10-15 minutes early to sign in and settle in. 

They are specifically seeking parents of young people aged 11-17.  Their child may have experienced online abuse or traumatic experiences, or they may be concerned about it and want to ensure it doesn't happen to their teen or adult child. They may also wary of their own online safety and want to know what to do. 

They welcome diverse participation, incl. First Nations and/or LGBTIQ+- identifying folk and are also seeking representation of people who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, for example where English is not the main language at home (see next page for example languages). They also welcome people who are comfortable with conversational English, but might not be as comfortable reading and writing English

If you are interested to take part, please contact Kate Goodwin, UX Lead, Ellis Jones Email: kate@ellisjones.com.au Mobile: 0424 365 024

Mackillop Family Services On-Demand Webinar: Overcoming Separation Anxiety

Last term, we were due to have Mackillop Family Services run an onsite workshop to support parents in making school drop offs easier. Unfortunately, due to small numbers, Mackillop had to postpone the delivery of the onsite workshop. 

However, Mackillop Family Services, have put together this great on-demand, one-hour video called Overcoming Separation Anxiety. The video is suitable for parents/carers of children six months to 10 years over. This video will support parents who are struggling with day care drop off or finding mornings to be filled with tears and long goodbyes to head off to school. This webinar help explore the anticipated stage of separation anxiety and helpful things you can do to better prepare your little one for times away from you.

The video can be accessed here.

Mackillop Family Services offer a range of supportive videos for parents, which can be accessed here. 

CONNECT: Understanding & Managing School Can't FREE online workshop 

School can’t, often known as school refusal, is a challenge many families face. We use the term school can't as we understand the emotional, mental and physical distress that children and young people experience when they struggle to attend school and that it’s not a deliberate choice. 

In this free online session, psychologist Dr Renee Cachia joins CONNECT to equip parents and carers with strategies and guidance. 

What to expect 

• Learn about the underlying factors and triggers that cause school attendance difficulties
• How to build positive actions and support networks for the entire family
• Insights and resources from Dr Renee
• Plus have your questions answered in live Q&A

The online workshop will happen on Zoom on Thursday 25th July between 11AM-12PM. 

If you can't make it, you can also sign up to receive the recorded session to watch on demand. 

You can register for the workshop here. 

Parent Diversity Ambassadors Program 

Our Diversity Ambassador Program is kicking off this term and we are SUPER excited about. The program will kick off with parents engaging in Co-Design training with Emma Blomkamp and Lina Patel, who will help parents develop the skills they need to engage with diverse communities to empower different voices and bring our diverse community together. 

Our first session will be a meet and greet on 1st August. 

It is not too late to express your interest and participate. If you have a passion for working with and empowering community and being an ambassador for diversity, we would still love to hear from you. 

If you are interested, please email at Francine.Sculli@education.vic.gov.au by Wednesday 24th July 2024. 

Happy Space Allied Health Speech Pathology Program

Our partnership with Happy Space Allied Health has been so amazing and having Liv onsite to support our students (and staff) has been so insightful and useful. 

Liv works at our school every Thursday and is now at capacity with the number of students she can see. But... in exciting news... she is keen to increase her days to 2 days every week, so if your child has NDIS and you are looking for a speech pathologist to support them with their communication and social goals and would love your child to attend onsite speech pathology sessions, please reach out to me to let me know what support your child needs and I can connect you with Liv! 

Need to reach me? 

To discuss anything Wellbeing related, feel free to contact Francine via email or the school phone number!