Wellbeing Report
Andre Campbell
We are thrilled to be in the new building, especially with how fabulous our new office looks. If you don’t know where we are, the Welfare Office is opposite the Principal’s Office which is close to the General Office. We can see through to the library, and we can view outside to the new courtyard.
We have a fantastic Wellbeing Team with me, Lily & Sally. We can help with any parenting worries or support your family with home or family concerns. The Wellbeing Team are on before and after school duty and we can help with any questions or queries you may have. Some students may feel a little nervous walking into school, and we can help settle your child by walking them to their classroom or setting them up with a friend and informing their teacher.
Sadly, at the end of the term, Lily will be leaving. I asked Lily to write a farewell note to you all.
Dear Woori Families,
A cheeky message from your colourful wellbeing wild woman (AKA Lily)!
Next year I have made the tough decision to take on extra work closer to home. This means I will be saying goodbye to the wonderful Woori families I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know.
I will miss my Wednesday morning kiss and drop shenanigans and welcoming the kids into their Wednesday school day.
Thanks,
Lily
For any enquiries, please email the Wellbeing Team at-
Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au
Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au
Update-Building Disruptions
At present, the library is being organised where all the books need to be catalogued and processed for borrowing. We expect that the library will not be operating this term. For the time being, programs are operating in designated areas until the building works are finished. The Before & After School program is operating from the German room. I hope to start Lego Club once the library space is available.
This week, we started our Breakfast Club program which is temporarily set up outside near the students drinking taps. We are offering toast with vegemite, jam, honey or plain, fruit cups and little milk drinks. Breakfast Club is on every Monday and Tuesday morning from 8:15am-8:45am. Please try to drop your child off by 8:30am to avoid disappointment, Breakfast Club must close at 8:45am for the classrooms to start. Sandy and our team of volunteer helpers run the program and we always love extra parents popping in to help. For anyone interested in looking to help, either come along to Breakfast Club please let me know.
The Community Pantry is now up and running. The Community Pantry is in the foyer beside these drinking taps (see photo below). The foyer is where the grade 1/2 classes line up.
The pantry is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday afternoons from 2:30pm-3:30pm. Parents and carers can come along and meet Sally our school chaplain and Sandy, our German Teacher to pick up some food items which is all free. We have a variety of breakfast staples including long life milk, cereals, soups, rice dishes and fruit. Food Bank generously supply our Breakfast Club program and they are supplying our community pantry. All families will need to do is bring their own bags. If you know someone going through a rough patch, please reach out and let the Wellbeing Team know. We have increased our order for food hamper boxes where parents can pick one up from the community pantry. The hampers are available every day of the week and parents and carers can either help themselves or contact the Wellbeing Team. We can bring them up to the kiss and drop for easy collection. There is no charge, and we are thrilled that we can extend this support to our Woori community.
Craft Club at Lunchtimes
If your child is looking to make friends, have some fun and be creative, tell them they can come to Craft Club at lunchtimes. For the time being, Craft Club is running outside the Art room. The students are enjoying making key chains, bracelets, fidgets and necklaces and shortly we will begin our Christmas craft activities.
Jigsaw Donations
We are enjoying our open learning spaces near the specialist classrooms we are limited to one big table in each area. Since we have moved into the new building, children have been enjoying our jigsaw puzzles in our wellbeing office. As we only have a small number of jigsaws puzzles the kids are getting through them quickly. For parents having a clean out at home, I am looking for jigsaw puzzle donations. If you can help, please bring your puzzles to the office. Thank you in advance!
Chaplain Requests
The Department of Education has made some changes to the National Student Wellbeing Program in schools. For parents and carers interested, you need to sign a consent form for the chaplain to see your child. Sally is available on Mondays and Wednesdays. If you are interested in your child to see Sally, please email Sally at-
Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au
Wellbeing Service Support-
Uniting Child & Family Wellbeing Program-Wednesdays
On Wednesdays, we have Callum McNeil from the Family Wellbeing program at Uniting in the school. Callum is happy to talk to parents about any potential concerns or behaviours with their children. Also, Callum can support families with parenting strategies and service referrals including family services and online resources for parents. The referral process is straight forward, and Uniting can engage within a reasonable time.
Please contact the Wellbeing Team for a referral form and we will take you through the steps.
Fruit Available
Fruit is available in the classrooms for students to eat. Every week, Food Bank supply the school with a variety of fresh fruit including apples, oranges, pears and carrots. To keep up with the demand, Sally, our school chaplain organised tubs for all the classrooms which she monitors and refills.
Save the dates- 2024 Prep Transition
Children enrolled for Preps next year are invited to be a part of the transition program.
Wednesday 29th November Prep Transition 9:30am-11am
Step Up Day Tuesday 12th December 9:30-12:30pm. Please bring along playlunch and a hat.
Health Alert-Influenza A
The Influenza virus can affect anyone but is especially serious for babies, young children, pregnant women, people with underlying medical conditions and older people. The flu is caused by the influenza virus. There are many different strains, and they can change every year. There are four types of influenza viruses: A, B, C, and D. Influenza A and B viruses cause seasonal epidemics of disease in people (known as flu season) almost every winter in Australia.
We have been informed of 2 confirmed cases of Influenza A in the school. The Influenza A infection is more serious than the common cold. The people who have been affected will only be returning to school when they are no longer showing any symptoms and they are well.
Signs and symptoms of influenza-
Influenza usually begins with a sudden fever and at least two of the following symptoms:
- aches and pains
- headache
- cough or noisy breathing
- sore throat and runny nose
- low energy
- nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhoea
When to see a doctor-
If you think your child has influenza, you should see a GP who may want to do a test to confirm if your child has influenza.
For more information, you will find all the relevant information you may require in dealing with Influenza. Please refer to-
Victorian Health Department link-
https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion-table
Royal Children’s Hospital link-
https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/influenza_the_flu/
Head Lice
This past fortnight, I’ve had one case of live head lice in the school. We appear to consistently have low reports and it’s great that parents are checking and treating their children. I’d also encourage parents to get into the habit of checking their children’s hair weekly just to be on top of it. For students with long enough hair, please encourage them to tie it up to reduce their risk of picking them up. Please notify the office or tell your child’s teacher when you treat your child so lice alert notes can be issued on COMPASS. Reminder-any child found with live lice will be excluded from school until they are treated.
Labelled Personal Property
Before we moved from the old building, we noticed that there were many unnamed jumpers, hoodies, hats in lost property. Our lost property is now located in the cupboard area outside Prep A and the space we have allocated is limited. If your child loses clothing or lunchboxes these items will find their way to this space. Please make sure your child’s name is clearly labelled and we’ll do our best to return them to the rightful owner. Please pop down to look or if you can’t get to the school, email the Wellbeing Team. After a couple of weeks, the items that cannot be identified will be sold at the next second-hand uniform sale.
Spare Clothes Needed
Every day, we change children who either fall over and get muddy/wet and those who have toilet accidents. The wellbeing team are happy to help, and we know how disruptive it is to a parent/carer’s day to drop everything to come down to the school with a change of clothes. We are running low on boys and girls shorts and socks and we are looking for donations. If you have any spare shorts and underwear ranging from size 5-10 please send a bag along to the office.
General Enquiries for Second Hand Uniform
For parents looking to purchase second hand uniform you can contact the Wellbeing Team any time, Monday through to Friday. We are happy to make up bags (providing we have the stock) if parents cannot get to the school for our sales. Please email at-
Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au or Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au
State School Relief
We can help families who are experiencing financial hardship to purchase school uniform.
Please email at-
Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au or Lily.Dix@education.vic.gov.au
Attendance Data
Over the time a child attends school, having 1- or 2-days absence does not seem like much but it does add up and can impact on missed learning opportunities.
