Dear Parents and Carers,

This is my final newsletter for term 1, as next week is the final week for this term. It has been a busy term one filled with fun, learning and generally a settled environment. This term finishes on Thursday 2nd April at 2.10 pm, with the start of term 2 on Monday 20th April. We look forward to seeing everyone on that day, after a restful break.

Canteen Farewell: Jan, who has been working with us for a number of years, is finishing up as the canteen manger at the end of this term. Thursday will be her last day. We will greatly miss her dedication to our school and wish her all the best as she journeys into a new future. Please drop by and say thank you to her some time next week before she finishes.

Emergency Evacuation Drill: We will be conducting our next emergency evacuation drill next week, which will be coming inside from break, due to a potential threatening situation. These events can be a little confusing or even distressing for some students, however they are important to practice so we know what to do in the case of a real event.

Sausage Sizzle Thank-You in Advance : A huge thank you to the admin team and Mr Alec who will be leading a large contingent of parents and carers to cook and distribute sausages for our much-loved Sausage Sizzle, which we hold each term. The children thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to purchase these, and it is a fantastic fundraiser for the school.

Advice to Parents: Victorian Parents Council produce a range of resources that support parents to understand the behaviour of children. Please click on the link to find out about the difference between tantrums and meltdowns. TANTRUMS AND MELTDOWN: A BAD BEHAVIOUR OR A CRY FOR UNDERSTANDING - Victorian Parents Council

Vaping: Please find a link that provides information and resources to support parents and carers around vaping. Whenever we become aware of a child who is suspected of vaping, or we have been told by another child they have seen a child vape, we will always contact the child’s family, so they can have a follow-up conversation at home. I hope this resource will help. We have not had any issues this term but it is What can I do as a parent or carer? | Quit Vaping Facts

Head Lice: Head lice are common in all school. They do not transmit infectious diseases and are transmitted by having head-to-head contact with someone who has head lice. Head lice are common in school-aged children and are the most adaptable of creatures. They have survived living solely on humans for 10,000 years! To limit the transmission of Head Lice it is important that parents and carers regularly check their child’s hair and inform the school if you find any. When head lice or eggs are found, it is IMPORTANT that your child’s hair is treated with safe products. Children can return to school once treatment has begun.

It takes a commitment from all to ensure we overcome this ongoing problem. Many families do the right thing and treat their children thoroughly when they have been identified as having lice, however, this will not stop the problem unless everyone is committed to ensuring they treat their children effectively. A trick I used when my daughter was young was to smother cheap conditioner onto her dry hair and combing through with a special nit comb, as she was watching her favourite video. The conditioner helped the comb move through the hair effortlessly and seemed to stun the lice, that then got caught between the prongs of the comb. This turned out to be an effective way for us to manage lice and nits when we repeated this on a weekly basis over a few weeks.

For advice on finding, treating and preventing head lice please visit:

https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/head-lice-nits.

High Levels of Learning for All

Michelle Costa

Principal