Wellbeing Report
Andre Campbell
Welcome back everyone,
We are thrilled that shortly we will see all our students coming back to regular face-to-face learning. Well done to all of our parents who have maintained the expectations for learning at this time. We know it has not been easy, parents have worked exceptionally hard and we certainly continue to be grateful for your ongoing support of our work and for your children.
We are all so excited to be welcoming our students back to school and we aim to have a big focus on Learning and Wellbeing over the course of the term. Term 4 will see us focusing our work and resources on what is important at this time:
- Continuing to care for the students and making sure that they are happy returning to school and ready for learning every day.
- Continuing to care for our teachers and staff.
- Continuing to focus on the achievement of every student.
- Continuing to offer further support for those students that need it.
Some students may be feeling a little worried about returning to school. We do have a social story to help support those conversations at home. If you are interested in getting a social story, please give me a call. Last term our Mindfulness Toolbox kits were popular and we are aiming to add more ideas to help families. We are planning to add to all the fantastic things our families have been doing at home to create that sense of happiness and security for everyone’s wellbeing. Each day, the Wellbeing Team leaves a tub at the kiss and drop and we encourage parents and carers to take resources or to leave gratitude notes or pictures for the staff. These small acts really do bring a smile to our staff-keep them coming!
We are planning some fun events for the students to enjoy including crazy hair day, crazy socks day and maybe a crazy hat day. Every day the wellbeing Team will offer Friendship Club at lunchtimes. Children can come along and meet other students to rekindle new friendships and have some fun making crafts, colouring in and decorating rocks.
Woori Yallock Community House and our neighbouring primary schools are supporting the Kids Fest event during Children’s Week, October 25th to 29th. Kids Fest will mostly be an on-line event and we will be giving you more information on COMPASS soon. The timing will be perfect to help children settle back into school and there are a number of great activities planned.
There is a photo/art project where children will draw a picture of their favourite place in the community. Parents can then help their child take a photo of the location, the children will write a description explaining their reasons, and why they like this area and how it makes them feel. The Woori Yallock Community House will place all the entries into a booklet called My Community-Our Community. There will be prizes awarded for first, second and third place for different age groups.
All parents and carers need to do is simply register their children on the Woori Yallock Community House’s COMPASS notification. The children will receive their own activity pack including materials for-
Kite making
Friendship bracelets
Pet rocks
Wellbeing Toolbox Tips
Checking in with each other using the Blob Tree-
Face Mask Tips for Children
Using play to help get children familiar with wearing facemask ideas.
Go to:
Helping kids feel comfortable:
Tips
- Give children time to explain and talk through their questions or fears.
- Practice wearing the facemask at home to help your child get used to it.
- Give them time to touch them and play with the masks.
- Encourage your child to put it on their favourite teddy.
If you are looking for ideas, the Smiling Minds app has some fantastic mindfulness resources to help families and students. Go to: https://www.smilingmind.com.au/
The BRAVE program have an on-line program supporting families and young people who are experiencing anxiety. Check out:
The program also has video resources to help children and teenagers cope with stress in the time of COVID -19:
https://www.brave-online.com/coping-with-stress-in-the-time-of-covid-19/
Mindfulness activities help people to focus, cope with stress, and quieten the mind. Apps can be a quick go to. Have a look at:
Service Supports & Agencies
During the lock down there are many organisations across Yarra Ranges offering support and assistance. For community relief and support agencies, click on the link at:
https://www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au/Council/Coronavirus-Updates/Community-relief-and-support-agencies
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 during lockdown for essential services only; 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.
Don’t forget to connect with the Resilience Project resources online for parents. There are some fantastic resources to promote wellbeing in families:
https://theresilienceproject.com.au/at-home/parent-carer-information/
During these times, many reputable services including Beyond Blue are regularly updating their websites:
https://coronavirus.beyondblue.org.au/
Free Online Parenting Group
This term Eastern Health are offering a free program aimed to enhance mental health and well-being. The group commences Wednesday 27th October 10:30am-12:00pm and runs for six consecutive weeks on Zoom. Please see the flyer attached for further information.
Some of the topics will cover-
- Self-talk-unhelpful thinking patterns
- Management and awareness of emotions - What are the function of challenging emotion states like sadness or worry
It’s been a BIG year and we know that these times have been challenging for everyone. If you are looking for information, tips and strategies please join up to the Happy Families school membership at:
https://members.happyfamilies.com.au/woori-yallock-primary-school .
Also, here is another good article from the Child Mind Institute at:
Back to school anxiety during COVID
We are looking forward seeing all our families and working together to help everyone adjust and settle back into learning. If you need help with school uniform, a food hamper or enquires for other services please call Veronica, Lily or myself.