WELLBEING & SAFETY
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Wellbeing at Sunshine Heights Primary School is the foundation on which we build our community. It ripples through our school, creating a safe, supportive and trusting forcefield that empowers and protects our young hearts and minds. It builds individual and collective skills, strengths and mindsets; it thrives through support networks, and the emotional and social intelligence our students need to be ready to live and learn.
We are committed to ensuring both you and your child have a positive start to the school journey and know the important role Wellbeing plays in that. That’s why we have added an extra layer to our Wellbeing forcefield to help our new preps develop the social and emotional skills they need to be ready to live and learn, and the support networks families need too.
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Our special Prep forcefield looks like this -
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Francine Sculli, who works fulltime as our Wellbeing, Inclusion, Community and Engagement Lead Teacher, will be working closely with you and your children, helping to build strong connections, getting to know your unique stories and wrapping around a range of supports tailored to the individual needs of students and families. Francine can be contacted via phone on 8311 7100 or email at:
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A Prep Buddy Program that sees your child partnered with a Year 3 or 4 ‘buddy’ who will be an important role model in your child’s first year of school. Buddies spend quality time with the Preps, making sure they feel happy and safe during the school day. Our Grade 3 and 4 students love their buddies and we ensure they, too, have the skills they need to be great role models!
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Grade 5/6 Positive Play Mentors who rove about at recess and lunch to specifically support our Preps in positive play – helping them find friends, solve small problems and choosing appropriate games to play.
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Throughout Term One, the Prep teachers and their buddies will be supporting all Prep children with playing outside. A specific, beautiful play area has been dedicated to the Preps and is filled with games, toys and imaginative play so that your child is able to make a successful transition to school through safe and inclusive play. The school yard is always supervised by teachers between 8:45 – 9:00am and 3:15 – 3:30pm, and at recess and lunchtime.
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Access to student-led and student-centred lunch time clubs and activities that help students connect, explore and play
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Access to a teacher referral-based targeted, Prep-specific program run by social workers that help our youngest members to develop critical social and emotional skills, an Occupational Therapy program run by OT students to help with an array of educational activities that allow our students to actively participate in school and life, and an Art Therapy program run by student art therapists that helps students unpack big emotions through Art processes; both delivered through our strong partnership with La Trobe University
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Explicit Social and Emotional learning in the classroom through exploration of the Zones of Regulation, Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships, the ‘Right to Learn and the Right to Be Safe’, and our aspiration and four core values – Commitment, Courage, Collaboration and Connection
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A start up program and unit of work that focuses on helping our Prep students to know themselves, show themselves and grow themselves as a community of learners.
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Parenting Workshops and Forums, led by Mackillop Family Services, to help you best support your child.
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The School Nurse Program that helps support your child’s physical health. In Term 2, your child will be sent home with the Prep Questionnaire that you will be required to fill out. This will help gather important information that will the School Nurse identify any issues that may impact your child’s learning and development. Our amazing school nurse will make connections with families before visiting the school in Term 3 to see all the Prep children. For further information about the ‘Nursing Program, please visit - :
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Community events, such as the Prep Picnic, that allow our new students and families to connect and build strong relationships with fellow parents, students, staff and teachers.
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Daily Breakfast Club open to all students and parents from 8:30-8:55AM; the perfect way to fuel the body for learning and the heart through connection to other students and families!
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Students do not attend school on Wednesday during the first month of school to help them build their readiness to transition to full time school attendance.
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The energetic, caring and compassionate staff and other students of Sunshine Heights Primary School will form part of your child’s wider support network, continually looking out for the Prep students to make sure they are happy and safe at school.
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At the end of the day, the Prep teachers will walk the students to their line up area and wait for the parents to arrive, being there to engage with parents too! If your child needs to attend the Out of School Hours Program, a staff member from the Big Childcare will meet your child at the line up area. During term one the Before-care staff will also take your child to the line-up area to meet your child’s teacher at the start of the day. The Prep teachers will not leave the area until every child has been collected by their parent.