Wellbeing Report 

The Wellbeing Team is available before and after school and we are always happy to help with any questions or concerns you may have. Whether you have parenting worries, need some guidance, or would like support with home or family concerns, please know that we are here to help.

In the mornings, getting to school on time is essential. This helps set your child up for the day awell as helping them be ready to start learning with their grade.   For families having difficult mornings,  contributing to their child’s attendance, please speak to your child’s teacher and/or the Wellbeing Team.  We are on duty in the kiss and drop at school drop off time as well as after school.  We are here to help you and your child, and we know many local services, and we have capacity to link you in if this is something you are looking for.   

Last term, many parents and carers were terrific at informing us when their child was away from school. We regularly look at our attendance data and one thing we notice clearly is that regular attendance matters. Students miss out on all the big things including class discussions and all the interaction that happen in the classroom. Being away from school a lot can be lonely.  When students are away frequently, their academic growth is significantly reduced. It impacts students building on prior learning, practising skills as well as stay connected to the curriculum sequence.

The wellbeing team is excited to be rolling out the Friendology program this term.  The Friendology program is a fun and engaging curriculum that helps children build strong, healthy friendships by teaching them skills including managing conflict, setting boundaries and recognising the difference between healthly and unhealthy friendships. 

The 4 Friendship Facts are:

• No friendship is perfect.

• All friendships are different.

• Trust and respect are the most important qualities of a friendship.

• Friendships change and that’s okay.

We aim to train students to look at these visual reminders of our Friendology learnings when they move through the main building and also at recess and lunchtimes.  We have a “Woori Kids are Friendship Ninjas!” display in the corridor near the library and the Friendology playground board is located near the hall. 

The Wellbeing Team are happy to take donations including arts and craft items, wool, Lego, jigsaw puzzles, board games and books.  We are always looking for things to help support our activity clubs that we run at lunchtimes.  Thank you in advance!

We also accept school uniform donations from families. All parents need to do is drop the bags off at the office and we will collect them.

Lost property is located near the Prep entry door (opposite the German room). All lost property found across the school makes it way here. If your child has lost something, please pop down and take a look. 

Across the week we have several opportunities for students to feel supported with their friendships whether it’s during break times out in the yard/electives or speaking to our welfare team.  If you have any questions or are looking for tips, please speak to staff. We really hope your children come home from school happy to talk and share their day with you. 

For any enquiries, please email the Wellbeing Team at-

Amy.Cleary@education.vic.gov.au

Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au

libby.martin@education.vic.gov.au

Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au

How Much Sleep Do Children Need? 

Babies: at least 15 hours sleep and up to 20 when they are very young.

Toddlers & pre-schoolers (1 - 5): about 12 to 14 hours sleep.

Primary School: about 10 to 12 hours sleep.

High School: at least 8 hours but up to 10 hours sleep

As adults, we know how we are affected when we are when we are over tired.   While our body clocks adjust to day light savings, we understand it can be hard to get going in the mornings. For children struggling to get to sleep, there are some great apps which can help support your bedtime routines.  Also, be active during the day and spend time outdoors can help improve sleep quality. Here are some tips to help your child sleep well,

• Keep a regular bedtime routine-for example, dinner, brush teeth and then read a book before bed.

• Use calming activities to wind down which could be turning down lighting, listening to calming sounds (including audio stories and music) or using a weighted blanket.

• Turn off screens/technology at least one hour before bedtime.

Magpie Nesting Season 

It’s coming up to that time of the year where magpies are nesting their young. For students either walking or riding their bikes and scooters to school I’d like to encourage parents to talk about magpies swooping with your children about any personal worries and support them with solutions in case any are fearful. In previous years, I have heard some epic tales of bravery where children have avoided being hit and they have lived to tell the tale! 

Make friends with all of the local Magpies so they dont see you as a threat.  They have the ability to recognise & remember people.

Community Gift Giving Tree Donations 

It’s term 4 again and we are preparing for our community Christmas Gift Giving tree appeal. For anyone wishing to donate a gift or a food hamper item, the tree will be set up in November. The Gift Giving Tree is an opportunity for families to be generous to local families who struggle to find the money to buy gifts for their children at Christmas. We will let you know when the tree is ready but if you are keen to be involved early, feel free to pop a gift into the wellbeing office. If you would like any further information, please speak to Sally, our school chaplain. 

World Kindness Day Friday 13th November 

Each Year, schools around Australia celebrate World Kindness Day. In 1998, the day was established by the World Kindness Movement, and it is internationally recognised as a day to focus on the positive power and common thread of kindness.  Throughout term 4, we will encourage children to spread kindness, while also learning about the impact being kind will have on their own physical and mental health. 

Attendance Data-It’s Cool to be at School!

This past fortnight we have celebrated 5 out of 8 students who came to school on their special day. When your child comes to school and it’s their birthday, we are bringing the buzz to make their day even more special.  When they arrive at school in the mornings, we are presenting them with a special birthday sticker badge.  I must say the kids are really loving this!  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.

Head Lice 

This fortnight, we have had only 2 reports of live head lice in the school. We ask parents to work with us to keep our reports low and to continue to treat and monitor your children’s hair. 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. 

Activities at Lunchtimes

Recess and Lunchtime Activities

Lunchtime activities and clubs continue to be a big hit with the students.  We are pleased to offer a range of supervised activities where students can socialise, be creative and develop new skills. Students have loved completing puzzles together, helping their friends and creating some wonderful things.

Wool Craft continues to be a favourite, with students making snowflakes, turtles, pom poms and cat’s eyes, while also developing some early crochet skills.

At Craft Club, students have been enjoying making diamond art stickers and bookmarks, showing plenty of creativity and attention to detail. 

Lego Club is always popular, with children working cooperatively and sharing ideas as they bring their designs to life.

Clubs are open to all studentsIt is wonderful to see our students making new friends, supporting one another and enjoying these opportunities to learn, create and have fun together.

Donations Welcome

If families have any wool or crochet hooks that they are no longer using, we would greatly appreciate donations. These resources provide our students with opportunities to practise their skills, explore their creativity and develop confidence.

To inspire our students, we often use short YouTube clips that demonstrate how simple skills can be developed and combined to create wonderful craft projects. It is fantastic to see students watching, learning, practising new techniques, and then proudly creating something of their own.

The Ups and Downs of Life

During the holidays I went camping with my family in Eildon. We had a rainy day so we went for a drive and ended up at Snobs Creek Falls. We followed the boardwalk and we were treated to a fantastic view of the fast flowing falls. At one point my 11 year old daughter asked if she could take my phone so she could take some pictures. I found her taking photos of the water in the creek. She took photos of the water moving slowly and parts where the water flowed past the rocks, she also took photos of the water moving fast. I asked her what she thought when she took these photos. She said that it kind of feels like life, there are fast parts, slow parts and rocky parts.

I absolutely agree with her. A number of years ago my mother–in-law had painted a picture of this same concept when we were going through a very difficult time as a family. The rocky parts represent the difficult times in life and the fast times can also be a challenge but a good thing to remember during the challenging times is that the slower and smoother times will come.

Next time you find yourself near a river or creek take a moment to breath and watch the water flow. Watch how it finds it’s way around the challenges. Sometimes it travels a different path to what we expected but the movement always brings the water to the calm places again.

Kids Helpline in craft club

This term during craft club our focus colouring in pages are the Mood Critters from Kids Helpline. Each critter has a different emotion that it is expressing on the page. Kids Helpline uses the critters to promote the fact that they can be contacted at any time no matter how kids are feeling. Our posters are on display on the window at craft club table. Here they can be seen by all students who can become familiar with the Kids Helpline logo and perhaps encouraged to call or check out the Kids Helpline website when they feel the need to talk to someone. The Kids Helpline website is full of information for children or all ages and for parents as well. Make sure to drop by the website if you need that little bit of advice while parenting and if your child comes to you with a question you feel out of your depth to answer you can call Kids Helpline together on 1800 55 1800.

Lost Property

Always name every item that comes to school including toys. Children often leave things behind and if unnamed we can’t return their property. The cupboard will be cleared from now on to make sure it is empty by the end of the year. All unnamed and unclaimed items will be donated to charities.

Breakfast Club

If you would like your child to make use of our yummy breakfast foods, send them to school that bit earlier so they will have time to eat and enjoy their food. We serve toast until the music is playing for the start of the school day. Please remind your child that if they want to have something to eat before school that they need to head straight down to the German Room. While the music for the bell is playing there are only fruit cups and milk drinks available. Breakfast club has been very popular with over 100 students attending. Recently we had freshly baked banana bread kindly provided by a school parent, the kids love these extra treats and we will always welcome any special food that parents would like to donate to add to our breakfast options.

Chaplaincy

During my recent Chaplaincy catch ups I have been encouraging students with a number of things including: friendship skills, resilience building, self esteem by replacing negative self thoughts with positive ones and simply but very importantly getting outside for walks, frisbee throwing and foam plane flying. The students have really appreciated the time I have spent with them and I enjoy planning our sessions with bright, colourful and engaging content. If you feel your child might need that extra emotional support during school hours please contact Sally via email 

sally.marshall@education.vic.gov.au or by phone call 5964 7258. I’m available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday each week.