Interschool Chess Tournament

A great day was had at Tyndale Christian school on Monday for the Term 2 Interschool Chess Tournament. Six schools participated in the tournament this term. All Prescott players had an exceptional day, helping our school win by a convincing 7 points! Aishwarya remains a challenge for all teams, once again, winning all games and coming home with a lot of gold! It was great to see Charlie and Jap win their first medals ever. Congratulations also to Finley, Cruz and Isabella on their great games and sportsmanship for their first tournaments. As always, I was so proud of our team's genuine sportsmanship and friendliness to players from all schools. Handball games during break times initiated by Prescott players, with all schools invited to join in, is a genuine highlight of the day. Well done, team!

Mrs. Vice

Bug Hotel 

Beneficial insects are important for our Nature Play Garden at Prescott Primary Northern. These insects help to pollinate our fruits and vegetables, and they also prey on pests. To provide a safe place for insects to shelter, the students at Prescott Primary Northern created a Bug Hotel for these beneficial insects. Students will be able to watch the Bug Hotel take on new life, and watch the cycles of life unfold before their eyes.

Composting Workshops through the Communities Environment Program

At Prescott Primary Northern, we have been involved in the Communities and Environment Program, which aims to promote and encourage the benefits of sustainable environmental practices. It also aims to build community knowledge about our local environment and how we can conserve, protect, monitor, and manage our environment and waste sustainably. Our school has been steadily working towards the introduction of a more sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to managing organic matter on our site. Year 4 students were involved in the composting project management team in 2020. They actively tried different ideas to work out what type of collection systems would work for our classrooms for waste management. Since this time, we have purchased classroom bins for green waste, we have purchased a worm farm to process organic matter and a small rotating compost bin for composting smaller organic matter. These have been used to run composting workshops to educate our school community about the composting process and it’s benefits. Recently, Savvy Earthworks and Landscaping have constructed larger composting bays so that we can utilise larger volumes of organic matter on site to allow for decomposition of the organic matter, which we will reintroduce into our soil. This process prevents the loss of natural resources that we are able to use to regenerate the soils throughout our school.

Students have been participating in composting workshops to learn the benefits of composting. They have learnt about the process of making compost and the role of decomposers. Students have also actively planted plants using compost to improve the soil. The composting cycle benefits the whole school as a teaching tool to educate our students and the wider community about the benefits of using organic matter to build up the quality of the soil, which supports plant growth that in turn supports the ecology at Prescott Primary Northern.

This week, students from Years 5 and 6 participated in the composting workshops, and used the compost that we have been making this year to plant new plants into our Nature play space and into our Vegetable Garden. Students were intrigued by the composting process, and particularly enjoyed planting plants that will grow and benefit our environment and our students.

The composting project continues to be a school initiative that will teach students and our community about the importance of composting, and creating less waste into the future. The composting project has built community knowledge about our local environment and how we can conserve, protect, monitor and manage waste sustainably.

Year 6 

Year 5

Year 4

 

As I was helping one of our students out of the car the other morning at drop off, he began telling me that they have a new car. We chatted about seats and cupholders and stereos, and when I mentioned the nice colour of the car, he said to me that since they had got the car, he had seen quite a number of cars the same colour. I asked if he hadn’t noticed them before, and he answered that he hadn’t. Have you ever had that same experience? You don’t notice something that is all around you until you especially look for it. Over the last few years, Alison and I have taken an interest in observing and photographing birds. The birds have been there all our lives and in all our previous travels, but we hadn’t really noticed their specific habits, characteristics and beauty.

These reflections got me thinking about what we look for when it comes to our kids. Are we so busy viewing things through our adult eyes that we miss out on seeing what’s important to our kids? I constantly fall into the trap of projecting my adult worries, concerns and priorities on kids. Don’t get me wrong, the wisdom and insight that comes with experience and maturity are vital in guiding, disciplining, directing and raising our children, but the reality is that I see what I’m looking for. One of the reasons I am sharing this with you is that Mid-Year Reports are going to come your way in the next week, and they will provide a great opportunity to sit down with your child and talk about their learning journey. There will be things that you are looking for, but why not ask for your child’s perspective. Ask about what they see in their learning, what they are finding easy or hard, what they are enjoying or struggling with. I am hoping it will open the door to a greater perspective and an opportunity to provide moments of connection and support.

Have a great week with your kids seeing what you’re both looking for,

Mark B

Sharney Truscott

Last Monday, our staff joined with many others around the country in remembering Sharney Truscott. Sharney taught Year Two here at Prescott Primary Northern in 2019 and 2020. Sharney passed away after a very short illness. Miss Bernoth travelled to the Hunter Valley in NSW to share on behalf of Prescott Primary Northern. Our flags flew at half mast and a candle burned for the day in our front office.

Sharney has always been passionate in her commitment to social justice, particularly when it came to ensuring that every child had access to high-quality education. She visited Cambodia twice and fell in love with the country and its people. It is here that she developed her passion for teaching English to people as a second language.

In lieu of flowers, family are asking for donations to be made to the Restore One School in Cambodia. All donations will be going towards a special project in Sharney’s name. A ‘Reading Garden’ where students can enjoy a quiet time under a gazebo surrounded by beautiful plants (and even some Sunflowers, Sharney’s favourite!). Any extra funds will go towards ensuring that there are plenty of books for the students to read and enjoy.

You can donate to Sharney’s Restore One Reading Garden here: www.sharneysgift.com

Sharney Joyce Truscott

12 December 1995 – 14 June 2021

We were very blessed to have Sharney as a part of our school family and we look forward to seeing her smiling face once more when Jesus returns. (1 Thessalonians 4: 15 – 18)

ICAS and Australian Mathematics Competitions

For those students that have received an invitation to these competitions, don't forget your permission forms need to be returned to school by the last day of this term. Money for the AMC is paid directly to the front office, and the ICAS needs to be paid online with the school code that was in the letter.

PPN School Bag Requirements

At a recent School Advisory meeting, it was decided that some changes would be made to our existing school bag expectations. We are going to be moving towards every student at Prescott Northern having an official PPN School bag by the start of 2023. We are going to be doing this over the next 1.5 years to make the transition easier on families. If you wish to purchase a school bag for your children prior to the required dates, please feel free to do so. We have devised a plan and we wish to share the following with you-

Start of 2022 - PPN School bag compulsory for Foundation only
Start of 2023 - PPN School bag compulsory for 2023 for Foundation to Year 5
Start of 2023 - Year 6 - either the PPN school bag or Prescott College school bag can be purchased but it must be one or the other. 

By 2023 all students will have the PPN School bag. We thank you for your help regarding this and if you have any questions, please contact me via email:  jasondavis@ppn.sa.edu.au

My OSHC

As you know, it is one of our conditions of enrolment here at PPN that your child/ren must be also enrolled with My OSHC, and be updated each year.  My OSHC have a new and easier system where you can update your information, update any medical information and book your child/ren for a My OSHC session all online.

Please head to https://myoshc.net.au/ to complete your child's enrolment with My OSHC as soon as possible.

The reason we ask all our students to be enrolled with MyOSHC is in case of an emergency where you are unable to collect your child/ren from school, you can rest knowing your child is being looked after.  If your child usually goes home on our bus, they also need to be enrolled.  If for any reason, you are not home when the bus arrives at your house, the driver will bring your child back to My OSHC to be cared for.

Reminder:  All students are supervised for half an hour after school finishes each day (until 3.45pm Monday - Thursday, and until 3.00pm on Friday) after which your child/ren will be taken to MyOSHC, and you will be charged.

Thank you for your cooperation with keeping your child/ren's details up to date with My OSHC.

Kids Cancer Project

Casual Day

Entertainment Membership

Do's & Dont's of Dropping Your Kids to School

Daily Health Check

OSHC Christmas Closure Notice

Animal Welfare League

Head for THe Hills Off Road Cycling

Mountain Biking Programs

Head for the Hills has a range of Mountain Bike programs commencing soon, including an After School Skills Program just for girls. They also have their popular Holiday Geocache Adventure, Holiday Skills Clinics and After School Skills as per usual. These programs focus on the key skills of mountain biking, and will develop the students:

• Bike handling and balance

• Control and trail reading

• Technique (discipline independent)

Students will also learn about the non-practical aspects of mountain biking, including:

• Trail etiquette for shared-use networks

• Risk assessment and management skills

• Knowledge of participation opportunities For more information, visit headforthehills.net.au

July Holidays Basketball