The Smile Squad team from Peninsula Health are coming to our school soon. 

Smile Squad is the Victorian Government free school dental program. 

This means all students can get a free dental check-up, preventive services, and treatment at school. 

 How to access free dental care

We need your consent before we can provide services. Consent is usually provided by a parent or guardian. 

Sign up to Smile Squad at: https://bit.ly/smilesquadvic  

OR use the below QR code:  

Please complete and submit the consent form by Friday April 28. 

Paper copies of the consent form are available. Please contact the school office if you would like to request one. 

The electronic consent form can be translated into more than 100 languages, and the paper form is available in 13 languages. 

 Smile Squad dental packs  

All children deserve a healthy smile, and the Smile Squad free school dental program is working hard to help make sure this happens.  

Your child(ren) will soon receive a free dental pack to bring home. The dental pack contains a toothbrush, full sized toothpaste, and an oral health brochure. Please take the time to read the brochure. It’s full of helpful hints and tips to help your whole family eat well, drink well and clean well – for life. 

Did your dental pack come in a water bottle? 

Smile Squad water bottles are not dishwasher safe and must be handwashed.  

Standard strength toothpaste 

Smile Squad provides standard strength fluoride toothpaste that is generally used by ages six and over, unless recommended by a dental or trained health professional. 

If your child is under six, please talk to a dental or trained health professional to find out if your child might benefit from using this toothpaste. You can also choose to put the toothpaste away until they turn six or give it to someone else in your family to use. 

Do I need to attend my child’s appointment? 

No, you do not need to attend your child’s appointment. You can attend if you would like to, and you can take your child to the community dental clinic if you prefer. 

The Peninsula Health Smile Squad look forward to seeing you soon. '

Once again Karingal Height Primary School is undertaking the Premiers’ Reading Challenge!  The Challenge encourages children and students to read a set number of books over the year and record their efforts online. Since the Challenge first began in 2005, more than 4 million students have read over 57 million books.  I am proud to say that we have been a part of this wonderful program for over 15 years!

Each grade is challenged to read books at school, record the title and author and then have these uploaded by their teachers to record their progress.

Prep to year 2 children are challenged to experience at least 40 books read as a class.

Years 3 to 6 are challenged to read at least 15 books from the Premiers’ Reading Challenge List.

The Challenge begins now and closes on September 8^th (near the end of term 3).

Thank you for supporting this worthwhile initiative and encouraging your children to read as many books as they can, and ask questions about what book they are currently reading.

Once the Challenge is completed, those children who competed the challenge will receive a certificate from our state’s Premier. 

I will also be giving out badges for those students in Years 2 to 6 who read the most books.  These will be given out at assembly and more will be sent out about this later in the year.

Mrs Dickman
Literacy Specialist

We know sleep is essential for good health.

Research by the Australian Institute of Family Studies shows that many children and young people are not getting enough sleep on school nights.

This can affect thinking, concentration, memory, reaction times and mood.

Dear families

While we know sleep is essential for good health, research shows that many children and young people are not getting enough sleep on school nights. This can affect thinking, concentration, memory, reaction times and mood.

Research shows about 12% of primary school-aged children, a quarter of 12- to 15-year-olds and half of 16- to 17-year-olds don’t get enough sleep on school nights. The recommended amount of time to sleep for primary school-aged children is 9 to 11 hours. For teenagers, it’s 8 to 10 hours.

Signs that your child is not getting enough sleep can include:

· low mood and irritability during social interactions

· reluctance or arguing about getting off devices and going to bed

· falling asleep during the day

· difficulties waking up for school and sleeping in late on weekends to catch up

· changes to communicating or interacting at home.

You can help your child to improve their sleep by:

· establishing a regular sleep pattern and consistent bedtime routine

· supporting them to avoid using electronic devices such as smartphones before going to bed and in bed

· encouraging your child to exercise and spend time outside in daylight, steering clear of vigorous activity in the hour before sleep

· encouraging them to wind down and relax before going to bed.

If your child is still having trouble sleeping, has persistent problems with low mood, excessive daytime sleepiness, restlessness in bed, severe snoring or wakening unrefreshed, despite getting adequate length sleep, they should see a doctor.

For more information on sleep health, you can refer to: · Sleep tips for children and Facts about sleep for parents and school staff, from the Sleep Health Foundation · Why sleep is so important, from the Kids Helpline’s · Sleep explained, from the Better Health Channel.