Wellbeing 

Hi Families,

This week I wanted to share a little about some of the intervention programs we have running at Ballan Primary School. Intervention means small groups of students receive targeted support when they begin to show signs of difficulty.

MS KELLY’S PROGRAM

Allyson Kelly is a Specialist Literacy and Numeracy Teacher and Learning Difficulties Consultant. We feel incredibly fortunate that Allyson and her family moved to the Ballan area last year, bringing with her a wealth of knowledge and experience from many years working in Melbourne.

This term, Allyson is working with us two days a week, supporting students in Reading, Writing, Spelling and Maths. She also runs a highly successful tutoring business, Climbing the Learning Mountain. Allyson works with us on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and her patience, flexibility and ability to adapt to student needs is exceptional.

climbingthelearningmountain@yahoo.com 

SPEECH & LANGUAGE THERAPY WITH HUGO 

Hugo Farrant began working with us this year on Tuesdays, supporting some of our younger students with their speech and language development. Hugo is already a familiar face at Ballan, as he has worked with a number of students in our Allied Health spaces.

My office is next door to where Hugo runs his sessions, and it is always a joy to hear him engaging with students. Whether he’s following a dancing Prep around the room or focusing on sound development, Hugo brings energy, skill and genuine care to his work. Listening to Hugo and Allyson talk about student learning is both inspiring and, at times, a little intimidating — they are truly outstanding professionals.

KIMOCHIS WITH MISS V

Miss V has been running the Kimochis program for over a year, supporting students to develop strong social and emotional skills. Through engaging lessons and the use of Kimochis characters, students learn to understand and manage their emotions, communicate respectfully, and build positive relationships.

Miss V runs both small group and some 1:1 sessions, supporting students to practise recognising emotions, using kind words, and solving problems calmly. This work is an important part of our whole-school approach to wellbeing, helping to create a safe, inclusive and connected environment for all students.

COOKING AND GARDENING WITH FIONA

Last year we said goodbye to Mary, who led our Grade 3/4 Cooking and Gardening program, and we wondered how we would replace such a valued program. Fortunately, Fiona found us.

Fiona is a former parent, and through conversations about her background as a social worker, we expanded the program to include a second day, with smaller groups of four students. These students, from Grades 1–6, are selected by staff based on their demonstration of our school values.

Every Thursday, the junior building is filled with the wonderful smells of cooking — banana bread, soup, toasties and pasta. With my office nearby, it’s always a joy to hear Fiona working with her groups, chatting and laughing together.

This is just a snapshot of some of the intervention programs at Ballan. We also run MiniLit, MacqLit, 1:1 Sounds-Write groups and additional boost sessions throughout the week — it certainly keeps us busy!

Have a great week and a safe and happy school holidays.

Mrs Róisín Mauriks

Acting Assistant Principal

roisin.mauriks@education.vic.gov.au

Ph: 5368 1072