Dear SMPPS families

It has been a whirlwind of a term and year – it is hard to believe I have zoomed past my 1 year anniversary at SMPPS just like that. It has been so wonderful getting to know all the students and families and the wonderful community here. I am raring to go for next year and we are particularly looking forward to the growing Wellbeing and Inclusion team at SMPPS. As Nicole communicated in the last newsletter, we will have the addition of Sam Smrekar-Thompson who will be bringing a wealth of expertise, and also the return of Bec Drew our psychologist for one day a week in Term 1 and two days after that. Next year we are excited to continue the beautiful team approach we have been able to have with many families to support wellbeing and engagement and we are hoping to also have some school-based workshops for families to learn more about how to support their child/ren at home and strengthen the home-school partnership.

This year we rolled out a new re-engagement framework and the staff have really taken this on board and had great success with approaching classroom engagement and wellbeing from a supportive and proactive lens. Here are some lovely photos from around

our school to show how our Re-engagement Process, Wellbeing and Respectful

Relationships has been implemented.

We also trialled some great community connections this year, including family workshops, so a big thank you to all who engaged with these, as well as the City of Port Phillip (CoPP) whose support was essential. We are continuing to grow our work with the CoPP to build stronger team approaches to wellbeing outcomes across our school. There are plans afoot for Port Phillip youth workers to run recess activities in Semester 1 next year which will be a wonderful boost to our break time offerings.

The School Council Wellbeing Subcommittee have been such an important part of the connection between school and families, so a big shout out to all those who have been a part of this! We were so proud of the pilot Art Immersion (Art Therapy) program that resulted in a beautiful installation in the Drill Hall Sensory Room during the Art Show. A massive thank you to Katrina Walker and Leila Greenfield for finding and applying for the grant with me and a big nod to the Palais Theatre Community Fund whose very generous donation enabled this to go ahead. Please enjoy photos from the space, including some ‘Boxes of Safety’ and mindful drawings.

A little parting holiday gift – we have noticed an increased number of children experiencing anxiety since the pandemic, it may or may not be directly related, however, it is often very difficult for families to support their young people through their worries. I have found this great resource developed by The University of Queensland called The Brave Program that is a self-paced set of activities for children to engage in independently or with an adult at home – there are 3 age groups catering from aged 3 - 17. Please feel free to try it out this summer and I welcome your feedback in the new year!

Lastly, for families who would like to access some free summer activities or who might need a little extra help in the holidays, the City of Port Phillip have some excellent facilities and services – please check them out!

Wishing you all a happy, safe summer and a happy new year!

Trish Wan

Assistant Principal

THE SIGNAL

Newsletter 05 | 11 December 2023

Issue 20 · 15 Dec 2023

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