Wellbeing Report 

Social & Emotional Wellbeing Programs

It is great to be back at school. This term we are continuing to offer programs that will help increase our students’ resilience, self-confidence and improve their social and emotional skills. Each week, all classrooms are delivering the Respectful Relationships program. Please ask your child about their lessons and what they are learning. The more we talk about and discuss these skills, the more they become an automatic response and behaviour.   

Community Pantry Mon & Tues-Hall Foyer

We have had a great response to families accessing our community pantry. Lily and Jeanette are now offering more days where our pantry is open. For these extra days, please watch out for the COMPASS notifications. Our regular days Monday and Tuesday afternoons from 2:30pm-3:30pm, parents and carers can come along and meet Jeanette, our chaplain to pick up some food items. We have a variety of breakfast staples including long life milk, cereals, soups, rice dishes and fruit.  Food Bank generously supply our Breakfast Club program and they are supplying our community pantry. All families will need to do is bring their own bags.  If you know someone going through a rough patch please reach out and let the Wellbeing Team know.  There is no charge and we are thrilled that we can extend this support to our Woori community. 

There are many organisations across Yarra Ranges offering support and assistance. For people looking for food relief, CIRE at the Yarra Junction hub, have food parcels and they have free bread on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. The Yarra Junction hub is open for food relief and they are a Centrelink Access Point. This service can be accessed by appointment where the school Welfare Team can refer families. If you are interested or know of any one you would like to recommend please contact me. During the school holidays, people can enquire directly at CIRE.  They are located next to the Yarra Junction Post Office and they are open Mon-Fri: 9am-4pm.

Breakfast Club- Every Monday & Tuesday 8:15am-8:45am 

Breakfast Club is up and running every Monday and Tuesday. Please try to drop your child off by 8:30am to avoid disappointment, Breakfast Club must close at 8:45am in order for the classrooms to start. 

We have made some changes to help our students and parents remain COVID safe while breakfast is served. We are offering al fresco dining experience where we are serving breakfast in the undercover area next to the German room. The children will eat their breakfast and then they will put their dirty dishes into tubs for washing up. We are offering toast, fruit cups, milk prima packs, hot baked beans and spaghetti. 

It has been great seeing children eating toast and drinking milk packs on their way to class. 

Food Bank deliveries have been coming more often. We have apples, oranges, pears and carrots in the canteen fridge and the classrooms are encouraged to fill up their bowls as needed.  We can cater for food allergies including lactose and gluten free items. We are planning more opportunities to increase healthy food education and Jeanette is looking into an after school cooking class.  More news to come! 

Uniting School Partnership

The Wellbeing Team are forming a partnership with Uniting and 3 local primary schools to potentially offer group activities to help build on strengths, relationships and school connectedness. 

In a couple of weeks, we are planning to kick start the program with an afternoon tea fully provided by Uniting, more details to come! 

Later in the term, Uniting are partnering with other services to deliver group run activities for the whole family. We are considering a Woori LEGO Masters, Marital Arts Therapy, a reptile program which will run over 3 weeks to cater for junior, middle and senior school. Uniting is also offering individual help for NDIS, linkage to other services, group based and individual support. Please contact the Wellbeing Team for a referral form and we will take you through the steps. 

Head Lice 

Great job parents! We continue to have low numbers of live head lice cases in the school. We continue to 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 issued on COMPASS.  Reminder, any child found with live lice will be excluded from school until they are treated. 

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. We encourage all parents to call the office when your child is going to be away AND 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 

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.

State School Relief

We can help families who are experiencing financial hardship to purchase school uniform.  Please see the Wellbeing Team for assistance. 

Don’t forget about second Hand Uniform!

Thank you to the many families who continue to purchase second hand uniform. We currently have a lot of school jumpers and summer dresses in stock and Jeanette and I can help you out when our Community Pantry is open. Parents and carers can purchase items from $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00. All monies raised are invested back into the school and the welfare programs which support our students.  Please keep those clothing donations coming!

Playgroup at Woori Yallock Community House

For parents interested in joining playgroup our local Woori Yallock Community House is running a program on Monday mornings from 10am-11:30am.  There is an eligibility criteria so parents need to register at Yarra Ranges Supported Playgroups Ph: 1300 368 333

2022 Free Happy Families Membership

 Here is a quick tip video from Dr Justin Coulson around dealing with screen time.   If you found this tip useful and would like to see more of Justin's parenting tips and strategies, don't forget that our school is subscribed to Dr Justin Coulson's Happy Families School Membership. 

The membership offers monthly live webinars and with Justin, quick tip videos, weekly inspirational emails and the video library which is the full back catalogue of all of Justin's parenting webinars from Little People, Big Feelings and Building Resilience to webinars on raising teenage girls and teenage boys and A Parent's Guide to Raising an ADHD Child, and many, many more.  All of these resources are based on positive psychology methodologies to support children and get them to thrive. 

If you are yet to sign up, please do so here. 

Craft Club at Lunchtimes in the German Room

1:40pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday Junior School 

1:40pm Tuesday & Thursday Middle/Senior School 

Chess Club Tuesday Lunch Time

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, students can find us where we will be teaching

pom pom making, plaiting friendship bracelets, weaving cat’s eyes, pipe cleaner craft, finger and French knitting. Our older students come along on Tuesdays and Thursdays and we are working on dream catchers, French knitting and macramé.

Chess Club is also happening every Tuesday at lunch time. 

We are still looking for donations of wool and other haberdashery items including ribbon, embellishments, buttons and charms or anything that can add a bit of bling to our projects.  All extra pairs of hands are welcome, if you are interested in helping please let me know. 

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Playtime-Playing Fairly 

Fair players get to play more games. A person who plays fairly and gets on with the game allows others to enjoy the game. If they enjoy the game, they’ll want to play with that person again. People who play fairly get a reputation as good people to be around. People who don’t play fairly are not chosen as people to play games with

Tips-

• Do comment on the other players’ good moves.
• Remember to wait your turn.
• Get started and pay attention.
• Have your go reasonably quickly when it’s your turn.
• Play by the rules.
• If you go out or get caught, just accept it

Health update 

For some people getting over their mild COVID symptoms, they may experience lingering fatigue, breathlessness and generally not feeling 100%.  I encourage parents to check in with their children and talk through any health complaints or worries. 

Infectious Diseases 

To help prevent and control the transmission of infectious diseases in schools, a child must be excluded from school if he or she has any of the following:

• Gastro/Diarrhoea - until there has not been a loose bowel motion or any symptoms for 48 hours
• Chicken Pox - until fully recovered and blisters have dried
• Measles - at least 7 days
• German Measles - until fully recovered and at least 4 days from the onset of rash
• Whooping Cough - four weeks
• Hand, foot and mouth - until all blisters have dried
• Hepatitis - medical certificate needed
• Impetigo “School Sores” - until treatment has commenced and sores are healed
• Ringworm - until treatment has commenced. Medical certificate may be required.
• Mumps - until fully recovered
• Scabies - medical certificate needed

Importantly, children who have been vomiting should not attend school until 48 hours after the vomiting ceases.

While these are some common diseases, please refer to the Better Health School Excursion Table* for a comprehensive list and updated information. Please contact the office if your child contracts any of these. Please refer to the Dept of Health for further information-https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/infectious-diseases/school-exclusion/school-exclusion-table