Wellbeing Report
Sally Marshall
Hi, my name is Sally. I’m the new Chaplain at the lovely Woori Yallock Primary School. This term I have been helping out with the Breakfast Club, opening the pantry and getting to know some of the students. This is a fantastic school and I’m looking forward to contributing to the school community. A little bit about me, I have a background in childcare and coordinating youth group, I currently coordinate my local op shop, organise my local Christmas carols and serve coffee at my local playgroup. I live with my husband and two girls, we love finding beautiful places to explore and going on bike rides or hikes together.
If you would like to send your child to have a chat with me, I just need you to sign a consent form from the National Student Wellbeing Program. I’m available on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Please email me at:
sally.marshall@education.vic.gov.au
Goodbye Lily
In our last newsletter we had some sad news to tell you. Our lovely Lily Dix will be leaving us at the end of the year. Here is a message from Lily if you happened to miss the news -
Dear Woori Families,
A cheeky message from your colourful wellbeing wild woman (AKA Lily).
Next year I have made the tough decision to take on extra work closer to home. This means I will be saying goodbye to the wonderful Woori families I have had the pleasure of working with and getting to know. I will miss my Wednesday morning kiss and drop shenanigans and welcoming the kids into their Wednesday school day.
Thanks,
Lily
Book Review
This week, for something different I thought it would be nice to do a book review. Today I’m going to share with you about The Whole-Brain Child written by Dr Daniel J. Siegel. I bought this book as a resource for my local playgroup and I can’t recommend it enough. Even if you just skim through and only look at the pictures you will learn so many fantastic things that will help you develop your child to live a balanced and healthy future, have strong relationships and live a life of mental wellness. This book is so encouraging and helpful for any parent no matter what age and stage their kids are at. The lessons are developed to help children understand and monitor their own emotions and, how to build an understanding of other peoples perspective. A section about how past memories are affecting our child’s current behaviour and tips to help parents better manage tantrums. Everyone should want happy, kind and emotionally happy kids, this book has a relatable way of encouraging parents to reach that goal. I own a copy which you are welcome to borrow, there are also copies available at the Eastern Regional Libraries or you can buy one online. For more info check out:
https://drdansiegel.com/book/the-whole-brain-child/
Woori Gift Giving Tree & Community Hamper Appeal
Before the school year winds up, we are again inviting families to join us in making this Christmas one filled with joy and happiness for families in our community. For students and families looking to donate either a gift or a pantry item, we will set up our Gift Giving Tree and Christmas Hamper box at the Community Pantry area.
A decorated tree will be covered in labels, please pick off a label and purchase a gift for the child described on that label. This year to help us kick off the gift collection we have had a kind donation made by the lovely Just Kidding Magazine team. We encourage you to be involved in this if you can, these small gestures really do help our families have an extra special Christmas. Thank you
Breakfast Club
Breakfast Club is on every Monday and Tuesday morning from 8:15am-8:45am. Please try to drop your child off by 8:30am to avoid disappointment, Breakfast Club must close at 8:45am for the classrooms to start. Sandy, Sally and our team of volunteer helpers run the program and we always love extra parents popping in to help.
Community Pantry
The Community Pantry is in the foyer beside the drinking taps. The Community pantry is a great opportunity for families to fill any gaps in their pantry, please feel free to make use of the pantry even if you just need a box of cereal to get you through the next mornings breakfast before you head out for your big shop. There are gluten free and lactose free items available as well, these things can be costly so if you have the time make sure to drop by and pick up something.
The pantry is open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Friday afternoons from 2:30pm-3:30pm. The hampers are available every day of the week and parents and carers can either help themselves or contact the Wellbeing Team. We can bring them up to the kiss and drop for easy collection. There is no charge, and we are thrilled that we can extend this support to our Woori community.
Craft Club at Lunchtimes
If your child is looking to make friends, have some fun and be creative, please let them know that they can come to Craft Club at lunchtimes. For the time being, Craft Club is running outside the Art room. The students are enjoying making key chains, bracelets, fidgets and necklaces and shortly we will begin our Christmas craft activities.
Jigsaw Donations
The children have been enjoying our jigsaw puzzles in our wellbeing office. As we only have a small number of jigsaws puzzles the kids are getting through them quickly. For parents having a clean out at home, we are looking for jigsaw puzzle donations. If you can help, please bring your puzzles to the office. Thank you in advance!
Wellbeing Service Support
Uniting Child & Family Wellbeing Program
On Wednesdays, we have Callum McNeil from the Family Wellbeing program at Uniting in the school. Callum is happy to talk to parents about any potential concerns or behaviours with their children. Also, Callum can support families with parenting strategies and service referrals including family services and online resources for parents. The referral process is straight forward, and Uniting can engage within a reasonable time.
Please contact the Wellbeing Team for a referral form and we will take you through the steps.
Fruit Available
Fruit is available in the classrooms for students to eat. Every week, Food Bank supply the school with a variety of fresh fruit including apples, oranges, pears and carrots. To keep up with the demand, Sally, our school chaplain organised tubs for all the classrooms which she monitors and refills.
Save the date- 2024 Prep Transition
Step Up Day Tuesday 12th December 9:30-12:30pm. Please bring along playlunch and a hat.
Labelled Personal Property
Before we moved from the old building, we noticed that there were many unnamed items in lost property. Our lost property is now located in the cupboard area outside Prep A and the space we have allocated is limited. If your child loses clothing or lunchboxes these items will find their way to this space. Please make sure your child’s belongings are clearly labelled and we’ll do our best to return them to the rightful owner. Pop down to look or if you can’t get to the school, email the Wellbeing Team. After a couple of weeks, the items that cannot be identified will be sold at the next second-hand uniform sale.
Spare Clothes Needed
Every day, we change children who either fall over and get muddy/wet and those who have toilet accidents. The Wellbeing Team are happy to help, and we know how disruptive it is to a parent/carer’s day to drop everything to come down to the school with a change of clothes. We are running low on boys and girls shorts and socks and we are looking for donations. If you have any spare shorts and underwear ranging from size 5-10 please send a bag along to the office.
General Enquiries for Second Hand Uniform
For parents looking to purchase second hand uniform you can contact the Wellbeing Team any time, Monday to Friday. We are happy to make up bags (providing we have the stock) if parents cannot get to the school for our sales. Please email at
Sally.Marshall@education.vic.gov.au Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au
State School Relief
We can help families who are experiencing financial hardship to purchase school uniform. Please email at
Andre.Campbell@education.vic.gov.au Lily.Dix@education.vic.gov.au
For any enquiries, regarding wellbeing please email the Wellbeing Team at