Young people thrive in school when they feel happy, confident and secure.
Student wellbeing is a whole school approach in partnership with parents and the wider community.
Baxter Primary School makes every effort to provide a secure and supportive environment so that our students enjoy learning.
Respectful Relationships
Respectful Relationships supports schools and early childhood settings to promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours. It teaches our children how to build healthy relationships, resilience and confidence.
Everyone in our community deserves to be respected, valued and treated equally. We know that changes in attitudes and behaviours can be achieved when positive attitudes, behaviours and equality are embedded in our education settings.
Respectful Relationships is about embedding a culture of respect and equality across our entire community, from our classrooms to staffrooms, sporting fields, fetes and social events. This approach leads to positive impacts on student’s academic outcomes, their mental health, classroom behaviour and relationships between teachers and students.
Together, we can lead the way in saying yes to respect and equality, and creating genuine and lasting change so that every child has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.
Further information regarding the program and the content of the lessons can be found on the Department of Educations FUSE website, or by following the links below.
Program introduction and overview:
https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/Resource/LandingPage?ObjectId=d722b857-8d78-4afd-8519-2bc7801d5590
Foundation Program: https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/Resource/LandingPage?ObjectId=893b7ed8-1f0a-4b6b-a2d0-c4a037ea0216
Year 1 and 2 Program: https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/Resource/LandingPage?ObjectId=29b6985a-935d-4053-97c9-f776a99b0fb6
Year 3 and 4 Program: https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/Resource/LandingPage?ObjectId=7327c6bf-696a-41c4-8fc3-3c45dccdc8bd
Year 5 and 6 Program: https://fuse.education.vic.gov.au/Resource/LandingPage?ObjectId=b74ae78a-995a-4a73-8361-3a200d448bd7
Buddy Program
The BPS buddies program links our Year 5 students with our Foundation students.
The buddies program connects our Foundation students with the senior school and provides a safe face for our new students around the school. Through the program, the Foundation students develop a sense of belonging, safety and security, knowledge of school expectations, social skills, confidence and independence.
The Year 5 students lead the program, which affords them the opportunity to build leadership skills through the planning and facilitation buddy sessions, troubleshooting in the yard and a general reassuring presence around the school. The Foundation students are able to continue to rely on and their buddy into their second year of primary school as their confidence and independence grows.
Our buddy program is valued by both students and staff and is therefore highly successful. The sessions are eagerly anticipated by both the Foundation and Year 5 students alike.
School
Camp Program
Baxter Primary School’s Camp Program provides opportunities for students to develop positive relationships whilst participating in a range of safe, developmentally appropriate activities. The children’s first experience of camp occurs in Year 3 and continues through to Year 6.
We endeavour to hold our School Camp Program at different venues to offer students a variety of activities and opportunities, throughout the four year period.
The Program aims to:
- Challenge children
- Promote resilience, initiative, self-reliance and responsibility
- Encourage relationship building, problem solving, respect and teamwork
- Endorse healthy lifestyle choices
School Chaplain
Chaplains support the emotional wellbeing of students by providing pastoral care services and strategies that support the emotional wellbeing of the broader school community. They work closely with wellbeing and allied health staff in schools to support students and their educational outcomes, staff, families and the wider school community.
Suzy McManus
Chaplain
Chaplaincy Program
Currently being updated by our new school Chaplain – Suzy McManus.
Student Leaders
Student Leaders at Baxter Primary School are given a variety of opportunities to represent its students both at school and within the local community.
Our whole school assemblies are hosted by our Year 6 Leaders with the structure and design of the assembly being developed by the students.
A focus for Baxter Primary School in the future is ‘to improve student agency and engagement in their learning.’ We currently have a working team investigating best practice in this area which will guide the role of our Student Leaders into the future.
Working with Children
In order for our school to be compliant with the WWCC Act and receive notifications on the status of Volunteer Working with Children Checks, your WWCC must be linked to Baxter Primary School.
Please log onto workingwithchildren.vic.gov.au and check that your WWCC is current and is linked to Baxter Primary School.
Please link your WWCC to our school so that you can be eligible to assist on excursions and with reading.
Your co-operation with this essential task is greatly appreciated.
Further information regarding working with children checks can be found on the Justice and Regulation Website for the State of Victoria Government System.
Breakfast Club
Breakfast club is held every Wednesday morning from 8:15am.
Coordinated by our Chaplain, Belinda Raar, the program is supported by other staff, parents and volunteers to provide a healthy, hot breakfast for all those that attend.
Breakfast club is open to all students and has become a great social activity with parents and siblings joining in on a weekly basis.
Our breakfast club is proudly sponsored by Foodbank Victoria and Woolworths Baxter.
