Student Welbeing
Nillumbik Lions Club Christmas Hampers
The Nillumbik Lions Club is generously offering several Christmas Hampers to Eltham High School families doing it tough, this year. Please provide a family contact and details below, and the number of children, ages, and gender, if applicable, to receive a hamper of basic foodstuffs, a box of Christmas goodies, and an age-appropriate present or gift for children. Hampers will need to be collected at the Church in Waiora Road, Eltham. Families will be notified of the pick-up location and date in mid-December.
If you have any further questions or require additional support, please contact MHP, Anna Jenkins at anna.jenkins@education.vic.gov.au or your student's subschool coordinator.
Provide family / carer’s contact details here: https://forms.office.com/r/CfNVRzekPZ
Summer School Holidays - Tips and Resources
As the school bells ring their last for the term, we're here to help you make the most of the upcoming school holidays with your teenagers. From bonding activities to educational resources, we've got you covered!
Quality Time Ideas:
Cooking Challenge: Get creative in the kitchen with a family cooking challenge. Let each family member pick a recipe and have a taste test at the end.
Outdoor Adventures: Explore your local area with bike rides, nature walks, or even a camping trip. For our student bike lovers, we recommend the Diamond Creek path and Main Yarra Trail.
DIY Craft Day: Engage in some arts and crafts. Whether it's painting, knitting, or building something, it's a fantastic way to unleash creativity.
Homework Detox:
Nature Retreat: Plan a day away from screens. Go to Warrandyte Creek, have a picnic, or simply enjoy the outdoors without any electronic devices.
Mindfulness Activities: Introduce mindfulness activities like yoga or meditation. There are plenty of online resources to guide beginners.
Library Visits: Spend a day at the Eltham Library. Encourage your teenager to pick a book outside their usual genre to broaden their reading horizons.
Communication Tips:
Family Meetings: Schedule regular family meetings to discuss plans, expectations, and share thoughts. It's an excellent way to foster open communication.
Stay Connected: Encourage your teenager to maintain connections with friends. Whether through video calls, outdoor meetups, or gaming sessions, staying connected is important.
Promoting Healthy Digital Habits (or even a Detox!) - School Holidays Edition
To promote healthy digital habits during and after the holidays, here are our EHS key recommendations to communicate with your young people to support them in maintaining a balance:
Establish tech agreements: Before purchasing a tech gift, it's necessary to create a family tech agreement involving your children to foster responsibility for their digital habits. Whether initiating a new agreement or revisiting an existing one, it's vital for all family members, parents included, to adhere to and exemplify positive tech habits.
Update parental controls: Ahead of the holidays, ensure that parental controls on your children's devices, consoles, apps, and games are current, considering frequent updates and potential changes implemented by developers.
Review terms and conditions: Parents or guardians often overlook the extensive terms and conditions accompanying new online games or apps installed by their children, with the intention to revisit them later. However, prioritising your child's data privacy is as important as promoting healthy tech habits. Thoroughly reading and comprehending these conditions is crucial for their safety.
Access rather than ownership: Initiate their online device experience with supervised access, gradually progressing to full ownership. Teach responsible digital citizenship, ensuring they can demonstrate understanding and practice online safety before granting complete ownership.
Consume content collaboratively: Enhance your understanding and facilitate casual conversations by dedicating specific times during the holidays for your child to guide you through their favourite apps or games. Alternatively, engage as a family in playing online games together.
Tech timeout: Maintain balance during the holiday season by allocating daily blocks of time to tech-free activities with your family. Utilise the morning energy peak for activities such as reading, learning, and exercising, setting a positive example for your child.
We hope these tips and resources help you create lasting memories during the summer school holidays. Remember, it's not about the quantity of time but the quality spent together.
We wish you all a fun and rejuvenating break!
MADELINE GAITANIS, Student Services Leader