Wellbeing Report 

Hi everyone, we have a fantastic Wellbeing Team with me, Sally and Libby. We can help 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. 

If parents are looking to purchase school uniform, we sell second hand school uniforms. Last week, Sally and some parents helped run a stall afterschool. Please keep in mind, parents can email the Wellbeing Team for requests for second hand uniform.  We do make up bags for children to take home and then parents can decide which items to keep. 

We accept donations from families, and we often need spare socks and boys’ and girls’ underwear to change children. If parents have any spare clothes they no longer need, we are desperate for boys’ shorts size 4-8 and socks. When a child has a toileting accident or gets wet, having a supply of spare clothes. This means there’s no disruption to a parent’s day where you would get a phone call to come down to the school with a change of clothes. 

Also, when families are feeling financial strain and hardship we can apply to State School Relief for school uniform, underwear, socks and school shoes and runners. Keep in mind that State School Relief can also help families replace eyeglasses. Students can get one free voucher per year which is particularly handy when a child breaks or loses their glasses.   

For any enquiries, please email the Wellbeing Team at-

Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au

Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au

elizabeth.martin3@education.vic.gov.au

The National eSmart Week has just wrapped up for 2024. For parents who don’t know, when children use the school's internet connection there are several safeguards in place to ensure that inappropriate material is not allowed through, so that the children can enjoy using the internet safely.

We all know that the Internet is a wonderful place for children to learn and have fun, but there are also dangers, and it is important that children are safe while online.  Here at Woori Yallock Primary School, we are committed to on-going education about safe and responsible online behaviours. It helps everyone that we work together with teachers, parents and guardians. 

If your child has access to the internet at home, we strongly advise you to take a look at the link to the eSmart website, which offers advice, information and resources to help you find out more about how to keep your child safe online. It is important for parents and carers to be aware of checking their privacy settings especially when using social networking sites. The eSmart website has a number of education resources for use in schools and at home. There are a range of topics that may interest you including their “Top 10 Safety Cyber Tips and “How to Develop Healthy Gaming Habits”. Please go to-https://www.esmart.org.au/

The Alannah & Madeline Foundation has developed a new and innovative online learning experience that builds digital intelligence in students aged 10-14, giving them the knowledge and skills they need to harness the opportunities and deal with the challenges of the digital world. This tool is being rolled across Australia later this year. For more information, please check out.

https://www.esmart.org.au/news/digital-literacy-launch/

Head Lice 

This term it’s been fantastic that we have had only small number of 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. 

The only way to stop lice from reinfesting is to stop their cycles, so repeat treatment and removal of the eggs is your only option. One popular treatment method is-

• Smother dry hair with conditioner.
• Leave for 20 minutes-this apparently stuns live lice.
• Comb through hair from the scalp to the hair ends with a fine-toothed comb and wipe on paper towel to remove lice and eggs. Do this thoroughly and repeat procedure until no lice or eggs are detected. 
• Following this treatment, daily check hair carefully.
• Treat and check your child 7 days later, however, get into the habit of screening your child every week.  

Remember, if you find head lice in your family, please tell anyone who has had head to head contact with the family member. 

Activities Breaktimes-

Free play Lego Club & Finger Knitting Club at lunchtime-Monday & Thursday

Craft Club at lunchtime-Tuesday & Wednesday

This term, our activities at recess and lunchtime have been extremely popular.  Children have been making friends having some fun and learning to be creative.  In craft club, students have been making bookmarks and key chains using diamond art. Now that the weather is getting cooler, we will be making items from wool including finger knitting, woollen dolls and friendship bracelets. Lego  Club is always popular and I love overhearing the children’s conversations about their projects.  For children who can’t go outside for any health reason, we do offer supervision at recess including colouring. 

Attendance & Absences

We encourage parents and carers to refer to COMPASS for information happening at school. Schools are required to work towards IMPROVING THE ATTENDANCE and PUNCTUALITY RATES of our students. When your child is going to be away parents and carers need to notify the school through COMPASS. This really helps us as we are able to communicate effectively with all relevant staff early in the school day. 

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

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!

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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.

Chaplain Chat

Over the next few newsletters, I will focus on Emotional Intelligence drawing on the work of Dr Chinwe Williams and Daniel Goldman from the Parent Cue website. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to understand your own emotions or the emotions of others. It is about creating and maintaining healthy relationships now and throughout life, who doesn’t want that for their kids?

The four main pillars of EI are:

• Self- Awareness, 
• Self – Management,
• Empathy and Understanding
• Relationship Management.

This week we will focus on the second last pillar: 

Empathy and Understanding

Empathy is the ability to imagine how somebody else is feeling at any given time, it is a tool people of all ages can use to help them decide an appropriate way to behave around other people. For example, if a child is invited to a friend’s party and upon arrival, they seem apprehensive, their resistant body language is a sign that they need time to settle into the new environment rather than being pressured to enter. An empathetic and understanding person will be willing to give the child space to settle.

As children grow it is important for them to be able to develop empathy, they will be able to treat others in a way that is respectful, and they will be better able to express their own emotions. Empathy develops strengths which in turn leverage creative problem solving that will help your child to grow into a compassionate and caring adult.

Second-Hand Uniform Sale

On Wednesday the 24th of April, we held a uniform sale. Thanks to Jas for your help with the sale, and to all who came and rummaged through the uniform, we hope you found what you needed. We always have uniform available, if you need some second-hand uniform at any time, please contact the wellbeing team and we can try to help you out. Uniform sells for $5 each or 3 items for $10.

Breakfast Club Monday & Wednesday 8:15am-8:45am 

If your student is in need of breakfast, please encourage them to stop by to pick up some food so there are no hungry tummies in the classrooms. Breakfast club runs on Monday and Wednesday mornings 'pop up' style from 8:15 – 8:45am down at the entry to the grade 1 - 2 classrooms. Students can enjoy a range of foods, including toast with vegemite, butter or jam, small UHT milk packs, fruit cups and fresh fruit. We are very thankful to our parents who help with the preparation of food at breakfast club.

Food Pantry

The food pantry will now be open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons between 2:30 and 3:30pm. Please note the pantry will close early on Monday’s. We have had a lot of donations coming in from parents, so our pantry has become very full of a wide range of items, including fresh produce. Thanks to all those who have donated. If you are in need of a pantry top up please stop by and pick something up. We also have food hampers available that parents and carers are free to access from the entry near the pantry. These boxes have a range of food staples and weigh 11.6kg, so please prepare for that if you intend on taking one home.

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 and Wednesday’s and can be contacted via email:

sally.marshall@education.vic.gov.au

 or by phone on 5964 7258.