Good Afternoon Parents and Caregivers,

Last week we raised awareness with our students and staff about Queensland’s Mental Health Week, an annual event held from 8-16 October 2022, and the importance of always looking after yourself. This aims to improve community awareness and interest in mental health and wellbeing across the state.

Throughout week 2, we discussed and used  wellbeing strategies:

• Mindfulness activities
• Circle time in classrooms where students feel welcomed by their class and teacher.
• Inclusion Teacher Alicia Tavelardis and Chappy Rach launched our Rock and Water program with our initial Year 1-4 group. The students had lots of fun learning what it means to be:
• a Rock: I can stand up for myself, I can make my own choices, I can defend myself, I know which way I have to go
• like Water: offering friendship, communication, solidarity, peace

Students learned how to ground, centre, focus and have a low breath in order to feel calm enough to make decisions about who they need to be in any given situation. They played purposeful games so the students could observe how they performed differently when they were calm vs. when they were not. Students responded well to the lesson and said they loved learning in the outdoor classroom. We look forward to working with the senior group this week!

The theme for the Mental Health Awareness week this year was “Take Time – for Mental Health” and focuses on six simple actions we can take to improve our moods, build resilience, and boost wellbeing.  These actions are to take time to:

• Get Healthy
• Keep Learning
• Show Kindness
• Connect
• Take Notice and
• Embrace Nature

As parents and carers, you play an important role in your fostering your child’s healthy mental health. Suggestions for parents are:

• Talk to your child about why looking after their mental health is important
• Browse through the resources on the QMHW website.
• https://www.qldmentalhealthweek.org.au/

Planning for 2023

We are busy planning enrolments, facilities, resources and staffing for the 2023 school year. If you have a child due to start Prep in 2023 and have not yet enrolled, please contact our Administration Officers ASAP.

If you have any matters you would like us to consider for your child’s class placement in 2023, please email me on the Principal email address, Principal@dayboross.eq.edu.au by Thursday 27 October. Please note:

• You may wish to include information about family circumstances that should be considered
• You may like to describe the qualities in a teacher that suit your child
• We do not accept requests for a specific teacher.

A reminder that we usually only have two classes in each year level, so we cannot always accommodate student grouping requests. Our staff work extremely hard to achieve the best outcomes across all class groups and we certainly consider parent information. This is a confidential request.

Please also notify, by email, if your child will not be returning to Dayboro SS in 2023, so that we can ensure our staffing and resources are as accurate as possible.

Thanks for your assistance.

Student Leadership Opportunities

We have started discussing with our Year 5 students the leadership opportunities for 2023. We will also begin to include our Year 4 students in this process. After Parade next week, we will meet with our Year 5 students to discuss the application process for 2023 leadership positions and the timeline for the process.

We keep our Year 4 and 5 parents informed of the process. We look forward to working with these cohorts of students to provide opportunities and also information for electing great school leaders.

Dayboro SS Students’ Success!

We continue to celebrate the successes of our students here at Dayboro. Last week, we had Gemma, Emily and Heidi participate in the Queensland State School Track and Field Championships as part of the Met North Representative team. All of the girls participated extremely well with personal best results recorded. Emily will progress to the National Track and Field competition! Congratulations girls!!

Brodie has also been working hard on his secret skill of rock climbing and recently participated in the QLD youth Rock Climbing State Championships and came first in his age group. Great job Brodie!

Dayboro State School students and our community

How lucky are our students to live in and around the Dayboro community? This week I discussed with the students how they can use our school values when they are out and about interacting with our community, including in the Dayboro local businesses. We want our students to wear their uniform with pride and be mindful of their interactions when out and about, showing how we have friendly, responsible, kind and respectful students.

It would be great to discuss with your child/ren; How does your child interact when they are not with you and maybe just accompanied by friends? Let’s work together to ensure our children have the skills to get on in the world and ensure that everyone is being respected in our community. 

Have a great week!
Gabrielle