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OFFICE HOURS 8.30AM TO 4.30PM
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BORONIA K12 COLLEGE NEWSLETTER
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KEY DATES
THURSDAY 1 APRIL: Last Day of Term 1
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MONDAY 19 APRIL: Student Free Day
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TUESDAY 20 APRIL: First Day of Term 2
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WEDNESDAY 21 APRIL: Year 7 Sport
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THURSDAY 22 APRIL: Year 9 and 10 Intermediate Sport
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MONDAY 26 APRIL: Year 11 and 12 Senior Soccer
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Year 9 and 10 Intermediate Girls AFL
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TUESDAY 27 APRIL: Year 3 - 6 District Athletics Carnival
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WEDNESDAY 28 APRIL: Year 9 Camp Departs
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THURSDAY 29 APRIL: Year 11 and 12 Senior Sport
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FRIDAY 30 APRIL: Year 9 camp Returns
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PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Congratulations to everyone in our school community for making it through to the end of Term 1, 2021. Despite the snap lockdown that we experienced, earlier in the term, the vast majority of students have settled in well to their learning. I am constantly impressed with the engagement (in learning) of students as I visit classrooms. The progress that they are making is to be celebrated and each sub-school will do so, in the final week, as they hand out C.A.R.L Awards at our end of term assemblies.
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Whilst we are not quite ready to return to our whole school assemblies (yet) we are increasingly getting back into our normal program albeit with some measures in place to ensure COVID safety. Just this week we held our very first music performances with an invited audience. As restrictions continue to ease (across the state) we will continue to respond/adjust our health and safety measures in line with DET guidance. I imagine that Term 2 will look and feel different for all of us.
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As the term comes to end, I want to acknowledge the work of all staff, both teaching and support. They continue to give of themselves, to ensure our students are being provided with exceptional learning experiences both in an out of the classrooms, often going above and beyond.
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As I tour prospective families for Year 7 and Foundation in 2022, I continue to proudly showcase the strong positive student/teacher relationships that are the foundation of our school culture.
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Improving our environment
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Our facilities team have been hard at work improving our school grounds. The Rangeview Road entrance has had a makeover and they are now working on the rotunda adjacent the Grade 5/6 classrooms. We have replaced a section of synthetic turf in the middle of the college grounds, our playground inspections have taken place and we have new flags flying. Works are also underway on the construction of our three lane running track, which will circumnavigate our oval. Whilst the wait has been long I am sure the final product will be worth it. This track will become another great addition within our grounds for our Health and PE team. It also has integrated within one track a sensory pathway.
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Teaching staff have completed Interim Reports on all students. In our Semester One Interim Reports students have been assessed against learning behaviours associated with the four college wide expectations that combine to create “Our Learning Culture”. Interim Reports can be viewed via COMPASS.
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Next week we look forward to secondary families attending Parent (Carer)/Teacher/Student Interviews. These interviews are an opportunity for you to meet your child's teacher/s and ask questions about their education. They also present an opportunity for you to give teachers further information about your child.
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I encourage all members of our community (that haven’t already) to go on, like our Facebook page and follow all the great things that are happening at Boronia K-12 College; https://www.facebook.com/BoroniaK12College
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At close of nominations I can now declare the following elected, as the number of nominees did not exceed the number of positions open.
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Welcome to our returning elected members:
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- Drey Baldwin (Parent)
- Susie Colling (Parent)
- Rachel MacDonald (Parent)
- Tonya Crean (Parent)
- Matthew Scammell (DET)
- Adrienne Tanner (DET)
- Nathan Jarvis (Student)
They will join Meagan Cook (Principal) and the DET, Parent and Student members that are also continuing:
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- Jessica Grimshaw (Parent)
- Nerissa Skevington (Parent)
- Linda Groom (Parent)
- Kathryn Middleton (DET)
- Michael Boencke (Community - Parent)
- Shaye Owen (Community - Parent)
- Maryann Ngo (Student)
I would like to thank Anthony S (student) for his contributions during his time on Council at Boronia K-12 College.
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I look forward to working with College Council (face to face) throughout 2021 as we continue to improve outcomes for the students and families of Boronia K-12 College.
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ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL'S REPORT
Hello to all members of the Boronia K-12 College Community.
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It is hard to believe we have already been back at school for 9 weeks with only 1 week until holidays. Across this time, so much has occurred. Some of the activities and experiences our students and staff have been involved in include:
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- Whole School Swimming and Athletics and Carnivals
- Junior School District Swimming
- Principal class visit to Foundation classes and a return visit by students to see our offices
- Grade 3/4 Expression Through Dance Incursion
- Year 7 Camp to Rawson
- Journey Tracks
- Year 8 Elective showcase for Food, Music and Public Speaking
- Year 9 B Active Ultimate Frisbee and Bush Walking
- Intermediate Volleyball
- Year 10 TAFE Taster at Box Hill Institute
- Year 10 Farm School
- Year 10 Get Wild elective including Bush Walking, Ropes Adventure, Caving and River Sledding
- Senior School VET classes
- VCE Studio Art Excursion
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Student Progress and Parents Contacting Staff
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Staff at Boronia K-12 welcome parent contact and are more than happy to discuss student progress and help clarify any issues that may arise. We believe that a very important element in helping children do well at school is to set high expectations. Just as our students’ belief in themselves can translate into either high or low performance, teacher and parent beliefs and behaviours can also affect how well a student performs at school. Educational research tells us that highly effective teachers are tenacious in their high expectations for all of their students – no matter what the circumstances. This also applies to parents.
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Staff are in the process of completing Interim Reports which focus on expectations relating to student work habits. Interim Reports will be made available to parents of all students from Foundation – Year 12 via Compass on Monday 22 March from 3.30pm onwards.
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Student/Parent/Staff Conferences are scheduled between 11.00am and 7.00pm on Wednesday, 31st March for all students in Years 7 - 12. Bookings for this event will be available via Compass from 4.30pm on Monday, 22nd March. If any parents/guardians are unable to attend our Parent/Student/Teacher conferences, there are a number of options available to them if they wish to make contact with individual subject teachers. The on-line Compass system is an effective way to monitor student progress, completion of work and attendance at school. The portal can be used as an email link to contact subject teachers or members of the Administration at any time. If parents wish, they can contact staff by calling the school phone number. If the teacher is unavailable, a message can be left on their voicemail. All staff endeavour to respond to these messages in a timely manner. Parents are also able to request a face to face meeting with staff at any time. However, it is important to make an appointment in advance to ensure that the teacher is available.
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Thank You to all the parents, students and staff who have attended our various Information sessions held so far this year. These include the F-6 Open afternoon and Curriculum Information Session, VCE and VCAL Information Session, plus the Year 7 and 9 Camp preparation sessions. These have been great opportunities to share stories, meet others in similar circumstances and reflect on our students’ journey. The support of our parent community is always very much appreciated and the Sub-school teams and teachers enjoy the strong partnerships that are built through these gatherings.
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Congratulations to the bulk of our students who are wearing correct school attire most of the time. More importantly, they are wearing it with pride. Our Year 6 and Year 12 students have been sporting their unique year level jackets/jumper which look terrific. Just a reminder that if a student cannot wear an item of their uniform on any given day they must bring a note from home and exchange this for a uniform pass from a member of their Sub School team. As the cooler weather starts to approach, we wish to remind all students and parents that ’hoodies’ are not to be worn as an alternative uniform item. If a student has a genuine uniform emergency and is unable to wear their school jumper or jacket on any given day, we request that they wear a plain windcheater or jumper (without a hood) and provide a signed note from their parent or guardian explaining the reason for this as mentioned above. The school has a supply of spare jumpers and jackets for students to borrow if necessary. Our classrooms are heated. We understand that transition to and from school as well as Recess and Lunch breaks can be chilly. We advise that students consider wearing a plain white T-shirt under their school shirt for extra warmth. Students who wear trousers may wish to wear stockings or skins under their pants and students are encouraged to wear a school cap for warmth.
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We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of members of our community who continue to donate uniform items that are no longer needed by their children. This clothing has been in great condition, freshly laundered and ready to be distributed to students and families that need a helping hand. Thank you for your on-going support. Families wishing to seek uniform assistance are asked to contact Ms. Kathryn Middleton or Nicole Costa on 9760 4900.
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Lockers, Valuables and Mobile Phones
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We would like to remind parents and secondary students that it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they have a padlock to secure their locker. Students who have not arranged to supply a suitable padlock for their locker will need to purchase one from the General Office. It is important that students who bring laptops to school keep their devices very secure. The same applies to students who choose to bring mobile phones to school: these must be kept in lockers and not on the individual student’s person. The intention behind the Department of Education’s rigorous mobile phone policy is to produce positive and supportive learning environments, which have minimal disruptions to student learning. Staff at Boronia have seen a distinct improvement in student class focus and participation with the absence of mobile phone distractions. If parents have an urgent need to contact their child over the course of the day, they can leave a message at the school office.
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The National Assessment program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) assesses literacy and numeracy skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life. Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will participate in upcoming NAPLAN tests include Reading, Writing, Conventions of Language (spelling, grammar and punctuation) and Numeracy. Testing will occur over a three day period from May 11th – 13th.
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NAPLAN is useful in the following ways:
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- Students and Parents can use individual results to discuss progress with teachers.
- Teachers are able to use the results to identify students who may require extra support or further challenges in their learning.
- Schools can use NAPLAN results to identify strengths and weaknesses in the teaching and learning programs, and also for goal setting in the areas of Literacy and Numeracy.
- The Year 9 NAPLAN results may be used as part of the application process during Year 10 course selection for students wishing to apply to undertake a VCE Unit.
Our school photo day was held on Monday 15 March. Whilst most students had their photo taken on this day, there was a need to run a catch up day for students who were absent. Catch up day was held on Monday 22 March between 1.30pm and 3.30pm. A big thank you to the student helpers, office staff and staff member Amy Tomlins who helped on the day. AR Photos have provided an individualised flyer for each student, each with a unique code allowing parents/guardians to register online to access their child’s school photos. These flyers have been distributed by class teachers (Junior) and Learning Mentors (Secondary).
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Assistant Principal Secondary
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WHOLE SCHOOL ATHLETICS DAY
Congratulations to all students who participated in the Whole College Athletics Day. After a long 2 year wait, it was great to finally be back at the track getting involved in all the track and field events.
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Thank you to all the staff who ran events and took part in other roles across the day and a huge thank you to all the parents who came out on the day and supported the students.
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Our VCAL students did an amazing job planning, organising and running the Foundation – Year 2 Mini Olympics, testing out the students running, jumping and throwing abilities.
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Congratulations to the students who qualified to represent Boronia K-12 College in the next level of interschool sport competition for Athletics. Primary students have all received their information for the event on Tuesday 27 April (Week 2, Term 2). The secondary event will not be run until Term 3 on September 7 and information will be distributed to students later in the year.
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The house points are heating up this year with competitions across the school and the Athletics Carnival results were the closest they have ever been with less than 50 points separating all 4 house. Congratulations to Freeman who broke Chandler’s 4 year winning streak.
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EARLY LEARNING CENTRE
One of our Term 1 highlights has been meeting our Grade 5 buddies. They visited us for Wellbeing Wednesday with Ms Costa and Ms Hancock and we all connected with a new friend. We showed them how we use shaving cream to create art and they showed us how clever they are at reading us stories and shooting goals in our basketball hoop.
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We also planted some seeds and we were super excited to return to kinder to see they had sprouted already. We can’t wait to see how big they get.
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Our 3 year old kinder group had their first experience at an emergency evacuation drill. They listened and responded so well to the instructions and being out of kinder for the first time.
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We have been creating our Easter bonnets with lots of different colours and materials and we can’t wait to show them off to the junior school community next week at our Easter Bonnet Parade.
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SECONDARY ART ROOM
On Friday 5 March, our Year 12 Studio Art students had a great day on their city excursion.
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Exhibitions we visited were: Triennial at NGV and Overlapping Magisterial at ACCA.
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PRIMARY ART ROOM
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With the change in seasons, our Foundation to Grade 2 students have bean investigating Autumn and some of the changes that occur in nature during this season. Our Foundation students created some paintings of trees which were inspired by the painting technique of Pointillism (dot painting).
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ART CLUB
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We hold an Art Club each Friday Lunchtime in Room T2.
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All Primary and Secondary students are welcome!
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Students are able to work on any project they like. A great place to get creative!
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JUNIOR SCHOOL REPORT
By Cailey F and Tori A - School Captains
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In Foundation- During Maths, they have been looking at 2D shapes and number lines. They have enjoyed finding some different types of 2D shapes. In Writing they have been learning how to write and recognise different letters. In Reading, the foundation students have begun using “Reading Eggs”, a website to help students learn to read different words and sounds. And whist learning about the zones of regulation, they have mastered the song “the zones of regulation”.
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In 1/2- In Maths, they have been studying addition, number lines, and how to use objects to add (e.g. Counters). In Writing, they have been looking at recounts. The recounts are linked to their central idea. In Reading, they are learning about text to self-connections and accuracy strategies to help when reading.
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In 3/4- During their central idea, the 3/4s have been participating in a Dance Program. Potentially, a performance for the Junior School will take place. The 3/4s have also been working incredibly hard to make all sorts of different art such as sculptures, drawings and graffiti that they have been doing in Spanish and the Art Room. These artworks will be displayed in the upcoming Art Show. In their Writing, the 3/4s have been looking at narratives based on a true story. In Reading, they have been looking at inferring. And in Maths, they have been studying subtraction.
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5/6- in 5/6, for Writing, they have been looking at narratives. The narratives were based towards the central idea (changes and challenges). In Reading, they were doing a story teller task. This task required them to read in front of their class or a select number of students. The Year 6’s have also begun their interaction with buddies. Enjoying an hour, a week helping and learning with them. Whilst the year 6 students are with their buddies, the year 5’s are getting to know their future buddies (kinder students). A Year 5 students stated that- “its been very fun getting to know them. They are very open and inclusive. They have very good bonding skills, and enjoy learning about the zones of regulation”. In Maths, they have been looking at coordinates. The main coordinates they’ve been studying is map coordinates. They had to make a custom make either using a cartesian or normal coordinates.
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STUDENT OF THE WEEK
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This week’s Student of the Week focus was students who are ‘safe and respectful.’
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These are students who are empathetic or sympathetic towards others, respect other’s personal space or beliefs and treat others with the same level of kindness.
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Student of the Week Awards:
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PRIMARY REGIONAL SWIMMING
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Congratulation on the efforts of 4 boys who went to the Primary Regional Swimming and finished 7th. The students were : Matthew J, Josh C, Jacob E & Thomas H.
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WELLBEING & INCLUSION
In Term 2, Boronia K-12 College will be launching the Let’s Talk Program across the College. Let’s Talk provides a framework to begin conversations with students that are struggling emotionally. We began this program in response to a growing community need around mental health. We believe if we begin these conversations early with students then we may prevent them from escalating into significant problems later on.
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A group of 16 staff have been trained as Mentors.
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To enhance this program even further, a group of students from Grad 5/6, Year 9 and Year 10 have been trained as student Buddy’s in the Let’s TALK framework The Mentors have been trained to ask the right questions and to respond in the most appropriate way. Nicole Costa, Adrienne Tanner, Maggie Davidson, Victoria Kontra, Chloe Flint and Ben Maclean are the staff that will ensure this program becomes an important part of the College community.
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Vanessa Murdoch from EACH and Ange Thurbon from Knox City Council continue to support our growing number of indigenous students in the Journey Tracks program. We have had two sessions in Term 1 where we continue to support our students to explore their Culture. On Wednesday 17 March we were very fortunate to have Nikki Madgwick come in to talk about storytelling and creative writing. Nikki works at Oonah in Healesville as their Community Engagement Worker, and co-facilitates their young women’s program. She has also shared her spoken word poems at events like Knox Council’s Sorry Day and MC’d the reconciliation week event for Yarra Ranges Council in 2020. She presented at the Outer East Youth Service Providers Network last year on engaging Aboriginal young people.
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Nikki shared her journey to becoming a performer and storyteller. She brought real passion and knowledge to the group as they start to explore story and introduce the notion that what young people have to say is valuable and worth sharing. The students began their storytelling journey by responding to the writing prompt “Healing Country”.
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Nikki finished the session by sharing her poem “Does my Heritage Offend You?
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We look forward to Nikki returning in Term 2 to complete the writing task with the students.
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MIDDLE SCHOOL
Everyone had such a great time at Year 7 Camp! Some students have written about their experiences:-
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On Wednesday 24 February all the Year 7’s went to Rawson Village for camp! The bus ride there was exciting but long, all we wanted to do was arrive at camp! Everyone was dying to find out who was in their cabins. I was with Hannah, Jasmine, Lilly, and Keeley. I was in Mr. Edwards activity group and on the first day we took part in hut building, zip-lining, rock climbing and bush cooking. Rock Climbing was my favourite activity, I went on it heaps! Even twice blindfolded! For dinner we had lasagne and chips and for dessert we had ice cream! On the second day of camp, we hiked to the Thompson River to go canoeing. We returned to camp and completed a high ropes course and mountain biking. What an exciting day! For dinner we had chicken schnitzel and chips and after dinner we watched the movie ‘Hunt for the Wilder People’. Sadly, the next day we had to get back on the bus for a boring trip home. When we get back to school, I was happy to see my family. Overall, my favourite thing about camp was the high ropes course!
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It was a cold windy morning on Wednesday 24 of February 2021, when all the Year 7s were getting ready for camp. At 8.10am we all got on the buses and took off for Rawson Village. When I boarded the bus I decided I was going to sit next to James L and we sit on the left side, sixth row back. I took the aisle seat and he took the window seat.
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By the time we leave Boronia K-12 onto Albert Ave in was 8.30am and we officially started the trip to camp. When we get there it’s 12pm and about 30 minutes of free time on the oval to mess around and have some fun. Then we go to our first activity which for our group was rock climbing.
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We all walk to rock climbing and meet the instructor Jordan. He goes through safety procedures and how to put on the safety equipment and then we get to climbing. It was a bit difficult. But I ended up going up the tower five times. Once blindfolded and once only using the red rocks. Then when we finish that we go to do bush cooking.
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When we got to bush cooking we made some damper. It took about ten minutes to get started because I had trouble finding a stick. It tasted pretty good considering I burnt the two I had. I put jam and marmalade on them. I thought that the one that tasted best was the marmalade one. When we were done with that we went on to zip-lining.
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Zip-lining was fun even though I injured my right knee. The instructors name was Michael. He seemed relatively nice and funny. The first time I went down it was a bit nerve-wracking when you jumped. The second time I went down I got told to go no hands and spinning, so I delivered and I also ended up doing legs crossed on top of all that. Then we went to hut building.
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Hut building was pretty good considering it was mostly already made for us. We added a protective wall to it and a back exit which was fun to do. This activity was fun.
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Then we got given our cabins and I got a few friends and a few others. Then we went and had dinner. For dinner we had lasagne and chips. We then had ice cream with boysenberry sauce and it was really good.
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So we finish and we go to the main room, but it’s cold so I go get my fluffy coat. For the activity we did trivia night. We did alright, we got a six out of ten but we got more than most groups. Then it finished and we went to bed and that wraps up the first day.
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To start Day Two we get woken up at 6.45 and I was not happy to say the least. Then I got up, showered, got dressed and go to breakfast. For breakfast we had pancakes. When we finished we went to our first activity.
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For activity one we did High Ropes, but I was ill so I got to take a nap and I slept activity two so unfortunately I can’t say what happened then. For activity three we did mountain biking, which was fun. I was more advanced so I got to go at the front of the line when we started riding so that was good.
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Next we did bush walk which was alright. I hanged out with Thomas and we talked a bit. At the end of the hour and a half long walk we got to do canoeing which was fun. In canoeing I partnered up with Thomas and we did well together. There was slight arguing and at the end of that we went back and had dinner.
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For dinner we had chicken schnitzel with chips and vegetables which was good. For dessert we had brownie with ice cream which I enjoyed. After that we rehuddled and had a movie night and that was it.
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On Friday we had toast, baked beans, sausages and hash browns for breakfast. The we had free time for four hours, but we had to pack and all that so we were ready to leave. At 12.30pm we had lunch then we left.
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By the time we got back to Boronia it was 2.30pm and I got picked up.
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Interschool Volleyball
By Vinice B, Miah P & Amelia T
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On the 9th of March some Year 9’s and year 10’s went to the Dandenong Stadium to compete in an interschool Volleyball tournament. We split into 3 teams, one boys’ team, one girls’ team and a mixed team, which was pretty much all girls. We all played four games each and versed some pretty good schools. The mixed team won a total of 2 sets but lost their games. The boys’ team also won about 2 sets but lost their games. The girls’ team won one game, which lead them to play in the finals against Scoresby. It was a close game and it seemed like Boronia had it in the bag early, but Scoresby staged a comeback and beat Boronia by 5 points. Overall the day went well and everyone enjoyed their time out of school playing Volleyball.
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SENIOR SCHOOL
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Are You Ready for Learning?
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On Thursday morning, Deborah Ellis, the Adolescent Student Nurse with the Department of Education and Training, spoke to our Year 12 students about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and how this can not only benefit student’s health, but can also greatly assist them in being best prepared for learning on a daily basis, and assist them to cope with the challenges associated with successfully completing their VCE or VCAL program.
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Such was the power and importance of the advice that she offered to the Year 12’s, I thought it appropriate to share this more widely with the whole school community, because this information is relevant to all students, not only those completing their final year of schooling.
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Debi spoke firstly about the importance of a healthy diet and good nutrition. Students were encouraged to ensure that they eat a variety of foods from across the major food groups each day and that they consume these in the appropriate amounts (see diagram below).
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Breakfast was identified as being a critical part of healthy eating and nutrition for adolescents. Deb provided some disturbing statistics that show that only 1 in 3 Australian teenagers consume a healthy breakfast; that 1 in 5 students are hungry during the day at school and that overall Australian teenagers consume a diet high in calories but low in essential nutrients.
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Evidence is clear that the brain thrives on food and eating a nutritious breakfast aids better attention in class, stronger memory, better behaviour, better maths performance, and overall higher levels of student achievement. A good diet also aids brain development and when kids consume nutritious foods and are not hungry at school, the thinking part of their brain, as opposed to the emotional part of their brain, is better engaged.
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In summary a good diet and healthy eating of certain types of foods has been scientifically proven to result in:
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- Improved memory and learning
- Better attention, focus and motivational levels
- Better decision-making abilities
- Reduces depression and anxiety
- Boosts mood and concentration levels
Debi also spoke about the importance of maintaining good “gut health” through good nutrition. Mounting evidence suggests that your gut’s health strongly influences your mood. There is evidence that a healthy gut can curb inflammation and cortisol levels, lower your reaction to stress, improve memory, and even reduce social anxiety.
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Probiotic foods such as yogurt are ideal for helping maintain a “healthy gut”. If a cupful of yogurt for breakfast can make SCHOOL more bearable, then Deb suggested, it’s time to go grocery shopping. Yogurt that lists strains such as Lactobacillus Acidophilus and Bifidobacterium Lactis actually contain the healthy bacteria your gut needs
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Deb also spoke about the concept of “brain clogging” and the types of foods that have been associated with this phenomenon. Brain clogging involves deposits of “artificial trans fats” within the brain tissue that adversely affect its functioning. The most likely sources of this type of fats are deep-fried foods, the crackers & white bread you always have in the house and, of course, fast foods. Scientific studies indicate that these fats could do a number on your memory. The more trans fats people consumed, the worse they performed on a word-recall test. High consumption of them is also linked to smaller brain volume and aggression and irritability.
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Finally, Deb outlined and provided some guidelines and as to the amounts of certain foods that students should look to consume, and this is summarised in the graphic below.
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Debi’s presentation to the Year 12’s also covered the importance of adequate sleep, and she outlined that adolescents require at least 9 hours sleep a night, any less than this, is considered a sleep Debit. One can never make up a sleep Debit. She provided the students with some tips for getting adequate sleep and these are outlined below:
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TIPS ON HELPING YOU SLEEP
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- Expose yourself to bright light/sunlight soon after awakening. This will help to regulate your body's natural biological clock. Likewise, try to keep your bedroom dark while you are sleeping so that the light will not interfere with your rest.
- Stay away from stimulants like caffeine. This will help you get deep sleep. If you take any caffeine, take it in the morning. Avoid all stimulants in the evening, including chocolate, caffeinated soft drinks, and caffeinated teas. They will delay sleep.
- Use the bed for sleeping. Avoid watching TV or using laptop computers. Reading in bed can be a problem if the material is stimulating and if you read with a bright light. Bright light may stop sleep.
- Don't stress if you feel you are not getting enough sleep. It will just make matters worse. Know you will sleep eventually.
- Avoid exercise near bedtime. No exercise at least 3 hours before bed.
- Don't go to bed hungry. Have a light snack, but avoid a heavy meal before bed.
- Bedtime routines are helpful for good sleep e.g. Listen to soft music, have a cup of tea, etc., this tells your body that it's time to slow down and begin to prepare for sleep.
- Avoid looking at the clock if you wake up in the middle of the night. It can cause anxiety. Turn the clock away from your eyes so you would have to turn it to see the time. You may decide not to make the effort and go right back to sleep.
- Keep your bedroom at comfortable temperature. Not too warm and not too cold. Cooler is better than warmer.
- Know that the "night cap" has a price. Alcohol may help you to get to sleep but it will cause you to wake up throughout the night. You may not notice it.
- Drink milk. Milk has an amino acid in it called Tryptophan that increase the levels of serotonin and/or melatonin in the brain which slow down brain activity.
- Do not nap during the day. If you are having trouble sleeping at night, try not to nap during the day because you will throw off your body clock and make it even more difficult to sleep at night. If you are feeling especially tired, and feel as if you absolutely must nap, be sure to sleep for less than 30 minutes, early in the day.
- Check your iron level. Iron deficient women tend to have more problems sleeping so if your blood is iron poor, a supplement might help your health and your ability to sleep.
- Keep a regular schedule. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday, even on the weekends. Keeping a regular schedule will help your body expect sleep at the same time each day. Don’t oversleep to make up for a poor night’s sleep – doing that for even a couple of days can reset your body clock and make it hard for you to get to sleep at night.
- Put your work away at least one hour (but preferably two or more) before bed. This will give your mind a chance to unwind so you can go to sleep
- SEEK HELP FROM A PROFESSIONAL IF PROBLEMS PERSISTS
In closing Deb Ellis is available through the school on Mondays and Thursdays and she can provide help and advice to students and parents/carers on a range of issues including relationships, body image, healthy eating, sexuality, anxiety and stress, sleep deprivation, substance use, and general health matters. Deb will be speaking to our Year 11 students on some of these issues next term.
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Director of Senior School
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YEAR 10 MENTORING
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Our Year 10 students were learning how to juggle and spin plates during their Mentoring class this month. The key focus was about developing a ‘Growth Mindset’. We watched a juggling tutorial and then went outside to give it a go. Feel free to use as you wish!
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OFFICE REMINDERS
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Parent Payment Arrangements
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Thank you to the many families that have attended to payments for Essential Education items, student electives that have a materials cost, VET material fees, Instrumental Music as well as the many families that have contributed to our voluntary levies.
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We trust that our families understand that at Boronia K-12 College we require parents/guardians to pay for Essential Education Items, according to the departments Parent Payment Policy. We make every effort to keep the cost of items and activities to a minimum and affordable for all parents and guardians. We also offer payment plans to suit individual families.
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If you have not attended to these payments, we would appreciate that you contact the General Office as a matter of urgency.
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Financial Support for Families
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Boronia K-12 College understands that some families may experience financial difficulty at times.
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For a confidential discussion to discuss alternative payment arrangements please contact:
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Maria Jansen - Business Manager
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Ph: 03 9760 4900 | Email: maria.jansen@education.vic.gov.au
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