Dear Parents and Carers,

It was lovely to see so many of you at our Share the Joy of Learning this morning. The morning felt extra special with families here – full of smiles, chats and that ‘beautiful buzz’ that happens when our community comes together.
Thank you for making the time to pop in. I know mornings can be busy, so it truly means a lot that you chose to spend part of yours with us. Watching the children proudly show you around, share their work and beam with excitement was such a reminder of why these moments matter so much. If you weren’t able to join us this morning, we completely understand. We hope you enjoy hearing your child share all about their day with you. A big thank you to Sunny Boyy Vans for the coffee cart which is such a treat!

A group of our Year 3 students spoke this morning about kindness. Whilst this is an ongoing focus at school for students and staff, parents and carers also play an important role in building a positive school culture. Showing kindness to teachers and members of the school community helps model respectful behaviour for children. Simple actions such as communicating politely, showing appreciation for staff, supporting school expectations and approaching concerns in a calm and constructive way demonstrate the values we want students to learn. When children see adults treating teachers, ES and other families with respect, patience and understanding, they learn to model these behaviours themselves. This partnership between families and the school helps strengthen a community where everyone feels respected, in line with the approach outlined by the Victorian Department of Education in the framework, Respectful, Safe, Engaged: shared expectations to support student behaviour.

We feel incredibly grateful to be part of such a supportive community. Thank you for being such an important part of your child’s learning journey and for sharing in the joy with us.

Digital Wellbeing for Families Workshop
A reminder that we have our parents and carers online workshop: Digital Wellbeing for Families Workshop, hosted by The Resilience Project on Wednesday 11th March, 6:30-7:30pm (60 minutes).

Please individually register for the webinar using the link that was posted to you via Compass.
Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email that includes the Zoom link and a calendar invitation.

School Council
I am pleased to announce the following breakdown of positions for our new School Council for 2026/27:
Marija Pandza (Principal)
Thomas Pollett (DE representative) – Secretary
Anita Presti (DE representative)
Rowena Sykes (DE representative)
Nicky Schwabegger (DE representative)
Davey Smith (Parent representative) – President
Jess Hennessey (Parent representative)
Natasha Perri (Parent representative) – Vice President
Stauart McLean (Parent representative)
Sue Osborne (Parent representative) – Treasurer
Josie Pierce (Parent representative)
Maddie Cook (Parent representative)
Courtney Hargreaves (Parent representative)

It’s fantastic to see some new members join our newly formed council for this year, and we’re looking forward to working together as a new team.

Labour Day Public Holiday
Monday 9th March is a public holiday. No school or TheirCare will operate on this day. Enjoy your long weekend coming up everyone!

Talking about Mental Health

At school, we talk about mental health in the same way we talk about physical health — because we all have both.
Just as every child has a body that needs care and attention, every child also has thoughts, feelings and emotions that need care too. Sometimes children feel confident, calm and ready to learn. Other times they may feel worried, upset, frustrated or overwhelmed. This is a normal part of growing up.
Mental health (just like physical health) exists on a continuum. Most of the time, children manage everyday challenges with the support of family, friends and school. Sometimes they may need a little extra help to understand and regulate their feelings. Occasionally, a small number of children may need more specialised support — just as some children need medical treatment for physical conditions.
Some examples of the different degrees of mental health challenge
• Some children might just need reassurance after a difficult day or activity.
• Some might need extra support learning to manage big feelings.
• A small number might need specialist support — just like some children need physiotherapy or asthma treatment.
It is important to note that when we talk about mental health, we are not talking about mental health disorders. These two terms are not the same and whilst sometimes there may be some overlap, they are not interchangeable.
Everyone has mental health, not everyone has a mental health disorder.
By talking openly about mental health and wellbeing, we help children:
• develop resilience
• build emotional literacy
• manage everyday thoughts and feelings
• develop healthy coping strategies
• feel safe to ask for help
• understand that it’s okay not to feel okay sometimes
As educators that work with young people we are often provided with the latest research, training and information on supporting students’ mental health and wellbeing, but for many adults, talking about things like thoughts, feelings and emotions wasn’t something that happened when they were growing up. If you find conversations about mental health difficult, you are not alone! The good news is that supporting your child’s emotional wellbeing doesn’t require perfect words or long, serious conversations. Children don’t need expert parents, they need available ones. Which is why small, simple moments make a big difference.
You might try:
• Naming everyday feelings (“That looked frustrating.”)
• Sharing your own manageable emotions (“I felt a bit nervous before my meeting today.”)
• Asking gentle questions (“What was the best part of your day?” “What was tricky today?”)
• Talking side-by-side (in the car, on a walk, while drawing) rather than face-to-face
Some parents avoid discussing mental health because they worry it will put ideas in their child’s head, make things worse or lead to difficult questions. Whilst these are valid concerns to have as a parent, research consistently shows that talking about emotions in an age-appropriate way actually has the opposite effect, it helps children feel safer and more secure — it does not create problems.
You don’t need to fix every feeling. Often, children just need to feel heard.
If you want to know more about talking about mental health, some ways you can start are; accessing Emerging Minds’ factsheet (link below), reaching out to your child’s classroom teacher, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Leader (Ash Dorio) or school leadership team.

Why good communication is key to children’s mental health factsheet

Share the Joy of Learning

Sustainability Leadership Summit

From the Year 1 Classroom

Ahead of our upcoming excursion to the McCrae Homestead, the Year Ones have been exploring timelines as part of our inquiry question, “People and families change over time, but some things stay the same.” Students have been learning how timelines help us understand the past by placing events in order. Through our discussions, students have been comparing what life looked like in the past to what it looks like today. They were very surprised to learn that Miss Rea and Mrs Sykes didn’t grow up with iPads!

Year 3 – Fantastic Mr Fox

Year 3 students practised visualising while reading Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. Students used descriptive clues from the text, they imagined the setting in their minds and created drawings to show what they pictured while reading.