Student Wellbeing
Welcome back to Term 3. I hope families were able to get some quality time together during the recent holidays. I’m sure many of you were impacted with travel restrictions and once again had to be flexible and make changes to your holiday plans. The past holidays remind us how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful location, with many wonderful natural areas to explore whilst staying close to home.
As we start the new term, I would like to take the opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of safe travel to and from school. It is wonderful to see how many of our students engage in active travel (walk, ride or scoot) options to get to and from school on a regular basis. Even now, in the middle of winter, many families take advantage of active travel as a way of contributing towards the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Some parents tell me that they enjoy this time walking with their child (and usually the family dog too) as it is a great time for conversation and can be a lot less stressful than driving. The high number of active travellers definitely benefits our school community, with less traffic around our school.
As children grow, and with supervised experiences, they gradually become more independent in their ability to get around by themselves. One of the most important aspects of being a parent is teaching your children to become independent. But sometimes it’s easier said than done, especially when you have such a strong instinct to protect them.
For tips on preparing your child to get around on their own, please read VicHealth’s Steps for helping children become more independent.
With so many children walking, riding and scooting to and from school, it is important that everybody takes responsibility for ensuring that our students are safe.
For students, this means they need to be aware of their surroundings and have clear strategies to keep themselves safe. For example, looking carefully when crossing roads, following laws for pedestrians and riding safely.
For the adults in our community, taking responsibility for ensuring that our students are safe involves:
- Ensuring that your child/ren are ready for traveling independently in a safe manner
- Driving safely, aware of the unpredictability of some children who are developing their independence in getting about by themselves. This includes limiting your speed, especially in the streets close to schools.
eSafety Webinars
The eSafety Commissioner provides opportunities for parents to be more engaged in their children's safety online through a series of webinars on specific topics that are challenging for parents to monitor and manage. This term they are offering the following webinars:
- eSafety’s Guide to Online Sexual Harassment and Image-based Abuse (designed for parents and carers of young people aged 13 - 18)
Several dates available
- eSafety’s Parent Guide to Popular Apps (designed for parents and carers of young people aged 8 - 13)
Dates: Monday 16 August 12.30 to 1.30 pm
Tuesday 31 August 7.30 to 8.30 pm
Parents can also access more eSafety Information, including the video and information sheet summarising the eSafety’s previous webinar: Cyberbullying and Online Drama by visiting the eSafety’s Parent Resource page.
Paul Anderson
Student Wellbeing Leader