Wellbeing Blog 27.8.2020

Positive Benefits

I hope you are all travelling as well as you can and are looking after yourselves.  I have participated in a number of sessions this week that have really focused on the positives of the situation we find ourselves in, which has made me feel hopeful and happy – a good way to end the week!

I attended a DET webinar on Wednesday night by Dr Michael Carr-Gregg – a child psychologist, called Managing the Coronacoaster.  You may also have attended – an invitation was sent out to all CCPS families via email last week.

I found it really practical and helpful.  There was a focus on hope and optimism – he feels that is the main job of a parent in a situation such as this:  to be hopeful and optimistic for our children.  That really resonated with me.

There were 12000 expressions of interest to attend so they have scheduled another one for Tuesday 15^th September at 7.30pm.  I suggest you register early if you are interested!

**Places are still available for Managing the Coronacoaster – Tips for building resilient families webinar on Tuesday 15 September at 7:30pm. For more information and to register, visit: eventbrite.com

I also read an article by Pasi Sahlberg, an educational leader and former Finnish educator.  He outlined some of the unexpected benefits of learning in lockdown.  The article covers the following topics:

·       Your job is to be a parent, not a teacher

·       Your children’s education won’t suffer

·       Remember learning never stops

·       Let the children play

·       Human interaction should prevail in the future of education

Again, a really positive focus in a time of uncertainty which I found really beneficial!

If you are interested in reading the full article: Unexpected Benefits

A really handy website

I also discovered an excellent website called Health Direct.  It provides free advice about health right across Australia, including a symptom checker, health information and a tool to find health services in your area.  So if you need a doctor, pharmacy, dentist, psychologist, etc. there is a great search tool, using your postcode.

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/

Information for people in need of assistance

Red Cross, Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Department of Health and Human Services have implemented the Extreme Hardship Support Program to provide emergency financial assistance to people who are unable to access income support.

To be eligible for this program a person must:

• live in Victoria, and
• be unable to access Commonwealth income support (such as JobKeeper or JobSeeker) or the Victorian International Student Emergency Relief Fund, and
• have zero or very limited income, savings or community support
• be a temporary or provisional visa holder, or an undocumented migrant.

To apply for emergency financial assistance go to www.redcross.org.au/vicrelief. Applicants will need their passport and bank statements showing transactions for the last three months. You can also call a dedicated phone line on 1800 855 240. Speak to someone at Red Cross if you do not have the right visa or bank documents.

The website has information in simplified Chinese, Farsi, Malay, Nepalese, Spanish, Tamil, Urdu and Vietnamese.

FAQs and a fact sheet for community organisations are now available on the DHHS coronavirus website.

Please pass on this information if you feel you know someone would benefit from this.

And finally:

Hang in there, everyone!  The numbers seem to be coming down and hopefully we can see you all face to face soon.

Kerry Bates (Assistant Principal) and Sarah Tappy (Wellbeing Teacher)