Wellbeing News
Buddies in Action – Learning, Leading, and Having Fun!
One of the most special traditions at SKiPPS is our Buddies Program, where our Year 5 students take on the role of mentors and friends for our Foundation students, helping them settle into school life with confidence. Throughout the year, these buddy pairs form strong, positive relationships, with our older students demonstrating leadership, responsibility, and care.
This week, our buddies teamed up for some fun and active learning, as the Year 5s helped their Foundation friends get ready for our upcoming Athletics Day on Friday, 4th April. From perfecting their egg-and-spoon technique to mastering the sack race, hurdles, and other exciting events, our younger students got a fantastic introduction to the big day—guided by their ever-encouraging Year 5 mentors.
Check out the wonderful photos of our buddies in action! More details about Athletics Day will be shared soon, including a volunteer roster to help us run the event smoothly. Stay tuned!
Play Leaders - Bringing Energy to the Playground!
Our Year 5 Play Leaders have been running their program for several weeks now, bringing an infectious energy and enthusiasm to the playground. In their meetings, they have contributed creative ideas, worked together to solve problems, and engaged in continuous reflection to improve their sessions.
This term, we will continue offering two Play Leader sessions per week on the oval:
📅 Tuesday Pranzo – Years 1 & 2
📅 Thursday Pranzo – Years 3 & 4
As our leaders grow in confidence, we look forward to expanding the program to include Foundation and Year 5/6 students.
“From the first week the way we taught the younger grades to listen has improved quite a bit. We have figured out ways to get them to listen. Apparently ‘SpongeBob Square Pants’ and ‘Hands on top, that means stop’ are better than a squeezy whistle!”
(Chihiro 5A)
We look forward to sharing more of our Play Leaders reports with you in the coming weeks.
Celebrating Harmony Week at SKiPPS!
We are incredibly excited to celebrate Harmony Week at SKiPPS next week (March 17th–21st)!
This week is an opportunity to embrace and celebrate cultural diversity while fostering a sense of belonging for all members of our community. Students and families have received an outline of the wonderful activities planned, and we can’t wait to come together as a school to enjoy them!
📅 Key Dates for Your Diaries:
📍 Thursday, March 20th
🟠 2:30 – 3:30 PM – Open Afternoon
🟠 3:30 – 5:30 PM – Multicultural Picnic & Musical Performances
📍 Friday, March 21st
🟠 7:45 – 8:45 AM – Coffee Cart & Pastries + Roaming Performers
🟠 9:00 – 9:40 AM – Harmony Day Assembly & Cultural Dress Day
📖 Home Learning: ‘The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name’
Families will have seen the Home Learning task based on The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to engage in one of the suggested activities as a family.
As part of our Harmony Week celebrations, we invite families to share stories about their family names—whether they hold deep cultural significance, reflect family traditions, or were chosen simply for their beauty and meaning.
These stories will be shared within our classes and showcased during the Open Afternoon on Thursday.
We look forward to celebrating this special week together!
Mel Borella
Learning Specialist - Student Wellbeing