Hi everyone, welcome back to Term 1! For families new to the school, we have a fantastic Wellbeing Team with myself, Libby and Sally. Sally Marshall is our school chaplain, and she is happy to catch up with your child if you feel they need that extra emotional support during school hours. Sally is available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and she can be contacted via email:

sally.marshall@education.vic.gov.au

or by phone call 5964 7258.

Libby, Sally and I can also help you 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. We’ve had a great start back to school and we can see that parents have prepared their children well in setting them up for a successful year. 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.

It’s a normal reaction for some parents to feel nervous about a new school year. Some children will experience separation anxiety and so will parents. Speak to them about their worries and listen with empathy. Always acknowledge their feelings as this will give them a sense of control. Predictability is important for children to feel confident from the beginning so please be punctual at drop off and pick up time at the end of the day. Children pick up on what is being modelled so showing them that you are calm, supportive and positive will help your child feel confident and competent. Following a routine, getting plenty of sleep and eating healthily supports good physical and mental health and promote a successful school experience.

Support your child with schoolwork and school life. Show interest by asking what your child has done during the day, what homework they are working on, read their reading book with them and ask whether they need any help. We welcome parent volunteers to support learning by helping out in the classroom, or volunteering in the many projects/working bees and activities running at school.

Focus on your child’s strengths and the effort they put in. Praise your child for what they’re good at and let them know you’re proud of them for trying things they find difficult. Talk with the teacher/staff to find out how your child is going. A good relationship between school and home will ensure the best outcomes for your child.

For any enquiries, please email the Wellbeing Team at:

Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au

Elizabeth.Martin3@education.vic.gov.au

Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au

Activities at Break Times

Across the year, at break times, the Wellbeing Team run activity clubs. While we expect more hot weather, for this term, at lunchtimes, we are running Lego club in the library.

If your child is looking to make friends, have some fun and be creative, tell them they can come to the activity clubs. The clubs run in the main building outside the specialist classrooms and in the library. In the past, students enjoyed making key chains, bracelets, fidgets and cat’s eyes, turtles, finger knitting, bookmarks and they created some amazing Lego builds.

We are always looking for donations, especially wool, crochet hooks, craft/haberdashery items and Lego. This term, we are collecting the Woolworth’s Lego Bricks. When you are doing your weekly shop or if you have a family member interested in collecting them, we would appreciate you keeping the school in mind. In the past, we have collected the series called the supermarket and farm. The students still love making different shops and farms. If you are having a clean out, please feel free to bring your items to the office/wellbeing office.

Activities Term 1 for 3 Weeks

Activity	Recess	Lunchtime
Monday	No clubs	Lego club
Tuesday	No clubs	Lego club
Wednesday	No clubs	Lego club
Thursday	No clubs	Lego club
Friday	No clubs	Lego club

Parent Helper/Volunteers

Parents can help in a variety of ways to support the students with their learning including reading, high frequency words, spelling and timetables practice.

For interested parents, the school offer information sessions to explain in more detail how parents can support learning in the classrooms. For example, we do have working bees out in the school grounds so there are a number of different ways you can be involved within the school.

There have been some changes to the Working with Children’s Check (WWCC). The Working with Children’s Check is a mandatory requirement for anyone wishing to help or volunteer in the school.

If you are thinking you might want to be a parent helper, parents/carers need to attend an information session first. Libby and I will run through the Child Safe Sessions (this is required to meet our Child Safe Standards) which are compulsory for helping/volunteering in the school. Parent’s do not need to prepare anything for this, just come along and listen to us. Parents also need to supply their Working with Children’s Check (WWCC). This session as well as your WWCC is mandatory before you are able to volunteer.

These Child Safe sessions will take about 30mins, and you only need to attend one as they are all the same. At the moment, we are working on the dates/times as we will offer the sessions during the day, after school as well as on-line.

If you are unable to make these times but wish to volunteer, please speak to Libby or myself and we can seek alternate arrangements. Additionally, if you need help with your WWCC please feel free to speak to the Wellbeing Team or email the office:

wooriyallockps@education.vic.gov.au

Look out for the COMPASS notifications for dates and times for when these sessions will be available. We do our best to offer these sessions at various dates and times to work in with busy families.

Health

I encourage parents to please investigate any potential sickness complaints. Please encourage your child to practise good personal hygiene by washing hands regularly. It isn’t fun to be sick at school and there are exclusion periods for some health conditions. Don’t forget to tell us of any phone or emergency contact changes so we can reduce your child’s concern if they need to be picked up. In case of a toileting accident please supply a change of underwear in your child’s bag.

This term, we expect to have some hot days so freezing cold drinks and adding them to your child’s school bag will help keep lunchboxes fresh longer. A reminder that school hats are compulsory, and I would like parents to be active with encouraging children to wear sunscreen.

Head lice will be a problem from time to time at Woori Yallock Primary School and it is important to work together as a school community to minimise the frustration caused by the problem. I ask all parents/carers to regularly screen your child and please tell us in order to minimise the concern in the school.

Infectious Diseases

To help prevent and control the transmission of infectious diseases in schools, a child must be excluded from school if he or she has any of the following:

Gastro/Diarrhoea - until there has not been a loose bowel motion or any symptoms for 48 hours
Chicken Pox - until fully recovered and blisters have dried
Measles - at least 7 days
German Measles - until fully recovered and at least 4 days from the onset of rash
Whooping Cough - four weeks
Hand, foot and mouth - until all blisters have dried
Hepatitis - medical certificate needed
Impetigo “School Sores” - until treatment has commenced and sores are healed
Ringworm - until treatment has commenced. Medical certificate may be required.
Mumps - until fully recovered
Scabies - medical certificate needed

Importantly, children who have been vomiting should not attend school until 48 hours after the vomiting ceases.

While these are some common diseases, please refer to the Better Health School Excursion Table* for a comprehensive list and updated information. Please contact the office if your child contracts any of these. Please refer to the Dept of Health for further information-https://www.health.vic.gov.au/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion-table

Wellbeing Supports

We promote many opportunities for families and students to be an active part of our local community and encourage parents to be a part of our extra-curricular activities. Our welfare team are available to support families in times of need as we have established partnerships with a number of services. We would love to meet you so please contact myself, Libby and Sally.

State School Relief-school uniforms including underwear and school shoes/runners. For families experiencing financial difficulties we can apply to State School Relief for new uniform. Families will get a voucher for $85.00 to use at Lowes, at Lilydale Marketplace Shopping Centre.
Free Glasses for replacement-State School Relief approve one prescription per year for replacement eyeglasses. Please see me for more information.
Second hand uniform. We accept good quality second hand uniform donations which we sell. The monies raised help support our wellbeing programs including the Breakfast Club and our lunchtime activities including Lego Club and Craft Club.
Students can be referred to DET psychologist or speech therapist.
Term 1 Preps-DET school nurse for general health checks including vision and hearing.
Student counselling-students can access counselling via a mental health care plan referral from a GP. Shine Bright Psychology-counselling service for students & clinical psychologist Simone Turner. Simone works at the school on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
For approved students with NDIS or Allied Health Services- Psychology, Physiotherapy, Speech Pathology and OT services can provide therapy at school.
Service-Uniting Family Wellbeing. Uniting offer families individual help for NDIS, linkage to other services, group based and individual support. Alissa Bayliff is at school every Wednesday.
Eastern Health-Nutrition and Health support
School Chaplain-Sally Marshall (Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays)
The Smile Squad Dental Program
Glass’s for Kids program every 2 years. The program will be back in 2026.

Programs-

Free Breakfast club (Monday & Wednesday 8:15am-8:45am)
Free community pantry open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 2:30pm-3:30pm.
Food hampers-are available at any time. Parents can pick up a box at the community pantry.
Parenting programs with Uniting Family Wellbeing
Healthy Lunchboxes & strengthening families.
Health & Gender programs including:
3/4 Body Education
5/6 Sexuality Program
Social skills programs to small groups
Activities at recess and lunchtimes-including LEGO Club and Craft Club
Holiday & weekend camps for students. Please speak to Sally Marshall for more information.

Service Supports & Agencies

There are many organisations across Yarra Ranges offering support and assistance. For community relief and support agencies, click on the link at

https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Community/Health-and-Wellbeing/Community-relief-and-support-agencies

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

Since we started back, we have celebrated 6 out of 7 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.

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.

Healthy lunch boxes

The start of the year is a great time to introduce healthy lunch box routines for our children. I have found myself excited to fill a brand new lunchbox with a bunch of nutritious and yummy foods for my daughters as they head off to school but as the year moves on this excitement certainly drops. A good way to combat this and avoid simply grabbing supermarket snacks to fill the gaps as they year passes, is to have a plan set up while the excitement is buzzing. Below is a lunchbox planner that you can fill in and keep handy for the days when the inspiration fades.

Fill the lunchbox with a food from each of the five core food groups.

1. Fruit

2. Vegetables, legumes and beans

3. Milk, yoghurt, cheese or alternatives

4. Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds

5. Grain foods – healthy bread

I know it is challenging to find healthy foods that kids will eat. I have a fussy one but I have tried and tested foods I know that she eats at home and added them to the lunchbox. Sometimes the foods come home again but it isn’t always because it wasn’t a food that is liked, most of the time there are just too many distractions at lunch time. I have recently found that roast chicken meat in a Turkish roll is a win, in the roll I can add lettuce, carrot, cucumber, tomato in one not the other and cheese. These have been reported as a yummy lunch that is eaten first. I have added flavoured canned tuna to my eldest daughter’s lunch box because she has longer days at school now and when she eats it I know it is both healthier and satisfying her hunger longer than if I just threw in a packet of chips. The biggest tip is just keep trying new foods, the easier it is for them to grab and eat the more likely they will.

The lunch box is an evolving project. If you fill in a lunchbox planner with ideas and add and change them as the year progresses there is a chance that your child will not only eat their lunch at school but their lunch will benefit their overall health.

Second hand uniform

Feel free to contact the Wellbeing Room for any second hand uniform. We have a lot in storage so we can help out if you have any uniform needs. We will hold a uniform give away later in term one. We have been giving away uniform but if you are in a position to donate to the school this is always welcome.

Breakfast Club

This week we have held breakfast club with a difference due to ordering issues with the bread we have had to make some adjustments to the menu. Thanks to the wonderful Sandy who has spent time to make pancakes, muffins and ham and cheese toasted rolls.

Thanks to our kind volunteers who were flexible with the changes and Jas who added muffins to the menu on Monday. The students have enjoyed the special menu but we will be back to toast and spreads on Monday. Breakfast club is held on Mondays and Wednesdays between 8:15 and 8:45am.

Young Leaders

Grade 6 Leaders will be heading into the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on the 27th of March. This is a very important event for our Grade 6 leaders as it sets them up with a whole bunch of inspiration, ready for their leadership journey at Woori for 2026. This years speakers are Catherine Laga’aia, Daniel Bull, Adrian Beck and Nick Hudson. The Grade 6 students usually learn a lot at this event and have a great time travelling by train to the city. This year we have had a generous donation towards this event which means this is free for students to attend.

Food Pantry

The food pantry is open on Wednesday and Friday afternoons between 2:30 and 3:30pm. We have a range of foods, including gluten and lactose free items and on Wednesday’s we have fresh carrots and fruit, apples, pears and oranges. If you are in need of a pantry top up please stop by and pick something up. If you would like some extra food we have food hampers available upon request.

Chaplaincy

Sally Marshall – Chaplain is happy to catch up with your child if you feel they need that extra emotional support during school hours. Sally is available on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and can be contacted via email

sally.marshall@education.vic.gov.au

or by phone call 5964 7258.

School Holiday Care