Dear Karoo Community,

I hope that you all have had a wonderful fortnight and enjoying the warmer weather!

World Kindness Day

On Wednesday 13th November, Karoo PS jumped into the World Kindness Day spirit by lifting everyone's day and spreading kindness through their actions. Our wonderful Wellbeing Leaders, Indie, Charlize, Jack and Layla and our Smile Squad, working with Miss Wild, led the day by creating a Kindness Mural and providing a range of learning experiences for all our students. The Kindness Mural enabled all students and staff at our school to be the 'I' in kindness, as well as engage in a kindness scavenger hunt, working together to search the school for kindness quotes to share with each other and their classes. What a magical day, and a wonderful way to highlight how a small act of kindness everyday can make a lasting impact!

Intergenerational Connections

On the 1st November, Karoo PS's Victorian State School Spectacular (SSS) team ventured down to Waterford Park Retirement Village. At the village, our students performed for the residents a variety of songs and dances from the SSS show, demonstrating their talent and enthusiasm. The residents were delighted to watch a snippet of our magnificent performance and even joined in with one of our dances! Afterwards, we were then invited to enjoy a wonderful afternoon tea. Miss Beagley and Miss Wild are so proud of the how well the students performed and interacted respectfully with the residents. What a fantastic experience making connections!

Don't forget to make sure you tune in to watch the State School Spectacular on Saturday the 14th December on Channel 7 and 7plus!

School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS)

Karoo PS continues to implement School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) and each week we are focusing on a different area of our SWPBS Matrix. This week the focus is on 'We seek help when needed.' Our staff will work with our students to discuss how to know when they need help and strategies for how to seek help when needed. This is a conversation that can also happen at home, so that our students develop these strategies in all of their environments.

If you would like any further information, please don't hesitate to speak to your child's teacher, Robyn Harris (Wellbeing Learning Specialist) or myself.

Transitions

As we approach the end of 2024, it is important to acknowledge that there can be a range of emotions associated with this transitional time. Transitioning to a new year level or class can be a significant time of change for students, and along with feelings of excitement, they can also feel nervousness and worry, due to the uncertainty of what may happen next. We all know that experiencing change and learning how to work through these feelings is important for our development and as a result by providing students with transition support, we can encourage their social and emotional development.

At Karoo PS we support students during transition times through a range of ways, which can include the following;

Transition Social Stories
Learning Partner Student Voice
Step Up Days
Meet the Cohort/Class Days
Meet the Teacher Day
Transition Planning
Staff Communication
Parent Communication
Wellbeing sessions focused on emotions and change

Overall, providing support through transitions can help ensure that students wellbeing, and academic needs are catered for as well as fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness with school.

If you would like to support your child further at home during this time, you can do so in the following ways:

Provide emotional support and reassurance when needed
Listen to your child's excitement and/or concerns and validate their feelings
Discuss with them the change that is coming up and the different feelings that they may have when things change
Talk about the different emotions and that it is okay to feel these
Continue with normal routines at home to help your child feel a sense of stability during times of change
Encourage your child to talk to their teacher about how they are feeling
Communicate with your child's teacher to ensure that all understand how your child is feeling

We look forward to working with our students and families during this next exciting time.

Enjoy the next few weeks and I look forward to seeing you around our wonderful school!

Kind Regards,

Courtney Hoffmann

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