Upcoming Wellbeing events in Term 4:

LifeChanger (Year 5 students)
I CAN program (Year 6)- Week's 2-9
Wellbeing Day- Year 6
Buddies Program (Ongoing)

Wellbeing Structure:

Tegan is our Mental Health and Wellbeing Leading Teacher. She is full time in this role.

Nicole is our Primary Wellbeing Officer. She works Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday each week.

Kimmie is our Wellbeing Support Education Support Staff member. She works Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week.

I CAN Transition program:

On the 4th of December, our select group of Year 6's participating in the I CAN Transition will have their final session of the program. Throughout the 8 week program students have had the opportunity to build their confidence and teamwork skills through a variety of games and activities. Student's have also had the opportunity to ask questions about their upcoming transition to Secondary School and have these answered by their future teachers and Wellbeing support teams.

Year 6 Wellbeing Community Outreach Day:

Yesterday, Thursday 28th November, our Year 6s participated in a Community Outreach Day, preparing them for adolescence and their transition from primary to secondary school. The students were supported by staff Mr Challis, Mrs Van Schaik, Kimmie, Brigette & Nicole throughout the day.

The first stop was a visit to Headspace Echuca where they listened to Community Awareness Officer Jayden speak about the FREE services Headspace offer to adolescents supporting their mental health and wellbeing. They also participated in a Sexual Health discussion led by Nurse Bianca Fleming, which always spark a mixture of giggles and interest as they learn about their bodies!

After a morning tea break in the park, the students participated in a fitness session at Fitmob gym. They had a great time exploring all the gym equipment and discovering muscles they didn’t know they had.. resulting in a few sore bodies today!

A quick lunch break back at the park put them in good stead to head to their respective secondary schools for next year, be it Echuca College, St Joe’s or Moama Grammar.

They were able to familiarise themselves with school tours, meeting key staff and participating in some activities to help them feel comfortable and ready for official transition / step up days in the coming weeks.

We are so grateful for all the people who gave up their time and shared their knowledge and expertise:

Headspace – Jayden Howe & Bianca Fleming

FitMob – Shannon Fink (Finky!)

Echuca College – Carlie Jones

St Joe’s – Jarrod O’Brien and Kerrie Wood

Moama Grammar – Kirrilee Westblade

I bet all involved slept well last night! (Refer to the 'Special Events' page for a tonne of photos!)

Buddies- Week 7 recap

In our Week 7 Buddies session we learnt about the difference between 'Banter & Bullying'. We talked about what banter sounds like and examples of banter that we may use with those we are having a mutual joke with. This was compared to non examples that would be classified as bullying. We also enjoyed a colouring activity together.

Child Safe Standards

Child safety and wellbeing at Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School: information for families and the school community

Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School is committed to providing an environment where students are safe and feel safe.

Our child safety framework includes policies, codes and procedures that explain how we support and maintain the safety and wellbeing of our students and protect them from harm. These documents are available on our website: Key Policies, Child Safe Standards and Documents - Echuca Twin Rivers Primary School.

We are also committed to continuous improvement of our child safety framework. We are currently reviewing our child safety policies and practices to ensure they are up-to-date and effective.

Our students and families are important partners in this process. We welcome your feedback or ideas on ways we can improve our approach to child safety and wellbeing.

If you have any suggestions or comments, please contact our Principal Julie, on 03-5410 7700.

https://forms.gle/8jEnFmVvcz4XnEFW9

Buddies- Week 11

This Term we will have 3 Buddies sessions. They will continue to focus on Bullying... No Way in which we learn about being an up-stander or a bystander and having positive connections in the school environment. We will also discuss topics such as 'banter vs bullying'.

The Phone Pledge

This is a local organisation that is advocating for delays around the age & time that Children are able to access smartphones and social media. If you are interested, please see the contact information below.

Bullying Fact Sheets:

Healthy Schools Project:

SAFEMinds

SAFEMinds training is "a comprehensive professional learning and resource package that enhances the capacity of educators and school communities to; effectively identify children and young people with early signs of mental health concerns, implement school-based interventions and refer to other support services as needed."

This training presented information about the 'NIP it in the bud!' whole school approach to recognising and responding to early signs of Anxiety, Depression and emotional distress, communicated through self harm.

NIP it in the bud provided tools for us as educators to Notice, Inquire and Plan.

SAFEMinds: At Home provides parents and carers with information and resources to assist them to support their child and take appropriate action to reach out for support if they are concerned about their mental health and wellbeing.

Be You

Throughout 2024, ETRPS will be working alongside Be You to support the Mental Health and Wellbeing of our community.

Be You builds on the success and learnings from five existing programs aimed at promoting social and emotional health and wellbeing for children and young people in the education space: KidsMatter Early Childhood, KidsMatter Primary, MindMatters, Response Ability and headspace School Support. Be You is building on the evidence base and ten years of experience of these programs. These programs are now integrated into Be You – one single, national initiative delivered through early learning services, primary and secondary schools.

Through the partnership with Be You, staff will further develop knowledge about Mentally Healthy Communities and build our Mental Health Literacy understanding.

Fly2Health

By way of introduction, at Fly2Health Victoria we fly experienced (no new grad) Speech Pathologists and OT's to Traralgon, Sale, Horsham, Swan Hill and Echuca every fortnight to serve participants of the NDIS and also private participants. If your school has NDIS participants that are unable to be seen in Echuca we have immediate availability for Speech and OT with our team. Our clinic in Echuca is based at the Echuca Neighbourhood House at 261 High St. We run the fortnightly clinic from 9am - 4pm every second Thursday (this Thursday the 18th of April).

If you are an NDIS participants waiting for this service, please send this online referral through and we can commence services immediately.

https://flyhealthgroup-2.snapforms.com.au/form/new-client-referral-form

Please see below for further details.

Community Supports for our Parents

Taking a moment to offload, let go and be heard

Just having a chance to offload and let go of what is currently overwhelming us. Parentline is one of those supports. Connecting you with trained counsellors for a completely confidential conversation. Available 8am-Midnight 7 days a week.

Definitely a number worth keeping on the fridge!

Breakfast Club

Our Breakfast Club continues to run every morning at the Centre from 8.35am to 8.50am. We are so grateful to Foodbank Vic and Moama Bakery who generously provide food items for our students to enjoy.

Anglicare Early Help Services at ETRS

Bernie and Frankie

Our Wellbeing Dogs