Wellbeing Hub Report

We had had a very busy start to the 2024 school year with a number of sporting events, opening school Mass, meeting buddies for our Year 7 and 11 students and also, very importantly, starting our learning journeys for the year. 

Every Minute Counts!

I’d like to focus this week’s newsletter article on school attendance and the importance of school attendance. I was quite shocked and surprised to see the graphic below last week. It points out the importance of attendance, being on time for school and the implications that just 10 minutes a day or 1 day a week  of non-attendance can have over a young person’s educational journey. 

Some strategies to help your child attend school and to be on time:

• Try to ensure set times for bed and waking each day. Student’s bodies learn to adapt their sleep cycles to regular routines, far easier than times constantly changing. Such patterns can also improve overall sleep. Remember children and adolescents ideally need between 8 to 10 hours sleep each night.
• Organise things the night before. Parents can teach their children organisational techniques that will help them get out of the house faster, such as packing their bags and laying out their clothes the night before school. Giving them a timetable of their day allows them to take check they have all items they require.
• Allow time for the morning to unfold at a calm pace. Ensure your child has time to properly wake before starting the demands of eating breakfast and getting dressed. It is better for a child to wake 15 minutes earlier than to have them experience anxiety or frustration over being rushed to get ready. The mood of the morning sets the tone for the day—we want your mornings to stay in green zone. We acknowledge some days are harder than others, for all of us, but allowing extra time allows for such days to be less stressful.
• Avoid any use of television or technology until your child is organised and ready to leave. It may be worth having a small reward (doing something quiet that they enjoy) if they can organise themselves to be ready ahead of time.

We are always happy to have conversations with families around questions or queries to do with adolescent development and healthy student wellbeing. We can be contacted at Monivae via wellbeinghub@monivae.vic.edu.au or through calling our Wellbeing Hub number directly, 5551 1238. 

Please see a number of opportunities and flyers below for students and families to be involved in.

Have a fabulous few weeks,

Ms Kate Couchman

Director of Wellbeing