Wellbeing
Keep on keeping on!
I recently heard about a book written for primary age children by Melbourne author, Charlie Golding titled, ‘When the World Went Inside’. It sounds like an interesting book to read, even now that the world is allowed outside!
Despite experiencing increasing freedoms, I’m observing an underlying pervasive and heightened sense of unease and anxiety amongst many in our community, adults and children. I believe that it’s going to be important to continue to initiate discussion with our kids on what is going on in our world, how it is affecting our family and most importantly how it is affecting them.
However, it’s not just the kids’ lives that have been turned upside down, it’s the adults’ lives too.
The concept of taking one day at a time is an important strategy to continue on with even now. Many adults are experiencing an overwhelming, undeniable tiredness bordering on exhaustion. We need to keep reminding ourselves that we’ve all been through a very tough and draining period.
It can be too easy to look at others and believe that they’ve got through 2020 and 2021 better than we have, that their children have come out of it better than ours. That kind of guilt is most unhelpful and can be devastating. It’s important to remember that we’ve been in a state of disaster! Therefore, it’s been impossible to maintain the standards and routines we could have wished for.
Please continue to go gently and take notice of how you’re travelling. Children pick up on when the significant adults in their lives are struggling. To help them get through it’s important we help ourselves to get through as well. I wonder whether others are feeling like we’ve been running a marathon and the finish line is the end of this 2021 school year?
At the very least I’m sure we’re all hopeful of a better year in 2022…!!!
Take care of you and your loved ones.
Anne Lawry
Chaplain
RESPECTFUL RELATIONSHIPS PARENT INFORMATION SESSION
We would like to invite you to an online information session for parents and carers that has been organised for Monday 22nd November at 7.00 – 8.00pm.
This session will be facilitated by Mandy Stevens who is the Outer East, Respectful Relationships Liaison Officer for the Department of Education and Training.
Mandy will provide an overview of the Respectful Relationships program, including the research and data, which has led to Respectful Relationships being a mandated program in all Victorian Schools.
The Webex link for the Respectful Relationships Parent Information Session is:
https://eduvic.webex.com/eduvic/j.php?MTID=mcbf195518e87d9440b6e09aacc8b72ad
Monday, Nov 22, 2021 7:00 pm | 2 hours | (UTC+11:00) Canberra, Melbourne, Sydney
Meeting number: 2653 304 4162
Password: Bimbadeen
If you have any questions, please contact Cath Buckland 97269989 or Catherine.Buckland@education.vic.gov.au
onPsych Psychology
Dear Parents,
Prior to the Covid lockdown and return to Remote Learning, Bimbadeen Heights was in the process of forming a partnership with onPsych, who are a team of experienced, qualified, registered and accredited psychologists and mental health social workers who specialise in child and adolescent services. Our aim is to provide our students and families with the services of a psychologist on-site at Bimbadeen. This service will be bulk-
billed with no out of pocket costs to parents.
At present, onPsych are able to offer Telehealth appointments and a five-session intervention over the summer holidays. The appointments can then be continued on-site at Bimbadeen in 2022.
• If you have already given the school the completed onPsych forms and Mental Health Plan, they will be forwarded to onPsych who will then contact you directly.
• If you already have the forms, please complete them ASAP and send them to school with a Mental Health Plan.
• If you would like the forms sent home to you or have other questions, please email me at catherine.buckland@education.vic.gov.au
Regards,
Cath Buckland