Are you posting?

Please let us know! Campbell Primary has an incredibly high ADF population and hand in hand with that is an always large number of students transitioning out due to a parent or parents posting at the end of each year. All students in Years K-6 moving away throughout the year are offered the opportunity to participate in a transition program in preparation for the move. During Term 4, these are small group sessions of 2-6 students spread across the term (usually 4-6 sessions depending on the timetable and academic needs). These sessions cover strategies for saying goodbye, staying in contact, making new friends, and managing emotions. In addition, we also research gaining locations, schools, parks, clubs and other things that interest the student and help make all the change less daunting.

Families who have already received notification of your posting order will receive a letter and form home this week. If you have not yet had the opportunity to advise of your impending move, or if the note doesn’t make it home, please find the letter and form here. It’s ok if you don’t yet have all the details - locking in new housing is always a challenge! But returning the note with the basics enables us to plan the groups and prepare resources early and is greatly appreciated. These sessions are not mandatory. Unfortunately, they are also not available for local moves or graduation. If you have a student struggling with local transitions, please contact me to discuss support options.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to make contact via email at any time: Karyn.heitmann@ed.act.edu.au

Happy Spring holidays! Please also see the information below from our local DMFS team for an exciting opportunity.

Karyn Penney

Defence School Mentor

Dear ADF Families,

The DMFS Canberra Child of the ADF medallion Event is now LIVE on Eventbrite.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/dmfs-canberra-child-of-the-adf-medallion-tickets-715144054117

Child of the ADF Medallion (CotADFM) is a national DMFS initiative. Participation in this program is open to all children of current serving permanent ADF members who are listed as recognised dependants.

Each eligible participant may only receive one CotADFM. Medallions are presented to children (under 18 years of age) who have shown resilience and growth in managing the challenges of the ADF lifestyle, in particular:

1. Relocations
2. Connecting in new schools, sport, people and/or social groups
3. Absence of a family member for service reasons
4. Support of ADF capability requirements where there has been additional work tasking requested of the serving member that were unforeseen.

The eligibility of the child to receive a medallion is at the discretion of the serving member. DMFS will not be undertaking eligibility checks aside from confirming that the child is a recognised dependant of a SERCAT 6/7 or SERVOP C member.

The Canberra region will be holding two CotADFM event days.

• Monday 30 October from 1300 – 1515hrs at Duntroon Community Centre. This will be a much smaller version of the Saturday event and is aimed at families with non-school age children.
• Saturday 4 November from 0830 – 1600hrs at Duntroon Community Centre.

Please select one timeslot to attend, remembering to add one ticket per child who is to receive a medallion. One ticket = one medallion. Please also ensure that each child’s name is spelled correctly on the ticket as this will be transcribed onto the certificate that will accompany the medallion.

With an expected high demand, places will fill up fast and numbers will be capped at 40 for each session for logistical reasons. CotADFM will be held annually moving forward, so there will be other opportunities to receive the CotADFM in the future.

We look forward to sharing this special event with you.

DMFS Canberra Team.