Sensory Nature Play

The beauty of nature play is that it gives young people the opportunity to engage their curiosity, explore and innovate. Students at Prescott Primary Northern had the opportunity to engage in sensory play as they explored the new sensations of tapioca pearls contrasted against the different forms, colours, and shapes of beautiful orchid flowers. Students squealed with delight as they ran their fingers through the tapioca pearls. This was a new sensation that many students had not experienced before. Some students tried to describe the extraordinary feeling of the soft pearls to their friends with various words. As they found the right words they practised their communication skills, they devised plans and ways of sharing the experience in new and unique ways.

The Olympics have come and gone for another few years and it was great to witness the triumphs, tragedies, resilience and achievements. I watched an interview with the young Australian pole vaulter, Kurtis Marschall, who had made the Olympic Finals, but was not able to make a vault stick in the finals.

I saw a young man who was obviously devastated for himself and his family, coaches and country, but I also saw as young man who said he would not let this beat him and he would go back, see what he could do better and try again. While I am sure a medal winning performance would have made for a completely different interview, I have to say I was so proud of him for his effort, achievement, but most of all his attitude. It can be really frustrating not getting what we want, when we want it, but we must learn, and help our children learn, to deal with frustration, waiting, and what to do when we don’t achieve how we would like. This is probably not going to win me a popularity contest, but we do not help our children learn this by smoothing the path of our children. Taking away things that do or may frustrate our children does not help them learn to deal with it. Some of you may remember a few years ago I wrote in this section of the newsletter about not taking the stone out of one of my children’s gumboots straight away, but letting them walk with for a while try to move it to where it was bearable. This was my attempt at letting them deal with discomfort for a little while before taking it away. Below is an article I found around how we can help our children build frustration tolerance, and use frustration as an opportunity to learn and grow.

“Unfortunately, as the world puts increased pressure on kids to be winners, and parents feel compelled to enable them in every way possible, we’re seeing more and more kids who become distraught over even the smallest misstep.

Take Sara’s son John, who started taking piano lessons at 6. “Every time he played a wrong note he would pick up the music booklet and hit himself on the head with it!” she says. “His piano teacher said she’d never seen a kid who was so hard on himself. I told him when he made a mistake to treat himself the way he’d treat his younger cousin, that no one can learn if someone’s being mean to them, and that he wasn’t allowed to be mean to himself.”

 . . . Clearly, distress or frustration tolerance is an important life skill to master. When it comes to school, “the ability to tolerate imperfection—that something is not going exactly your way—is oftentimes more important to learn than whatever the content subject is,” says Dr. Amanda Mintzer, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute. “Building that skill set is necessary for kids to be able to become more independent and succeed in future endeavors, whether it’s personal goals, academic goals, or just learning how to effectively deal with other people.”

So how do parents teach kids to fail? Dr. Mintzer offers a multistep process:

First, show empathy

Empathize with your child; see that she’s in distress. “Don’t just say, ‘It’s okay, you’ll do better next time,'” Dr. Mintzer says. “It’s invalidating to brush off a child’s feelings of frustration and disappointment.” Instead, parents need to change their language: “I see you’re really disappointed, I know you really wanted to do better.”

Make yourself a model

You can explain that failure is a part of life and happens to everyone, even you. You could share examples of “failures” you’ve had. “Parents can model how to handle their own disappointment,” such as losing out on a promotion at work, Dr. Mintzer says. “Kids aren’t necessarily exposed to the reality that life includes mistakes, missteps, and even failures. As much as everyone likes things to go according to plan, it’s important to teach our children that it is also okay when they don’t.”

Make it a teachable moment

A child’s failure is a chance for parents to teach acceptance and problem-solving skills. You and your child can try to come up with what she could do the next time for a better chance at success. For instance, could she study differently or talk to the teacher about any problems she’s having before a test?

“It’s a balance of acceptance and change,” Dr. Mintzer says. “It’s about accepting that the situation is what it is and building frustration tolerance while also asking, ‘Can we change something in the future. Can we learn from this?'”(Arkey, 2021)

Have a great week with your kids,

Mark B

One day as the leppers were watching the crowds pass by from a distance, they saw Jesus. They had heard stories that Jesus had healed people. Could they dare to dream? 

The ten Leppers started Calling out, “Jesus, have mercy on us.” The plight of these men drew Jesus to them. He had pity on them and told them to go and show himself to the priest. Could Jesus have healed them already just by talking to them? There was no lightning flash, there was no angel choir singing, but a simple direction. Go, show yourselves to the priests. 

As the men were hurrying to see the priest, they could feel that they were different, they knew Jesus had healed them from their terrible disease.  Of the ten men that were healed, only one stopped and returned to Jesus, falling at His feet, praising Him.   

The Bible doesn’t tell us the composition of the group of men that were healed, but it identifies the man that returned, he was a Samaritan.  This man came from the group of people that Jews despised most.  He was the lowest of the low. 

Jesus said to the Samaritan who returned, “Were there not ten men that were healed?  Where are the others? Your faith has healed you.”  Jesus didn’t care about this man's heritage. He didn’t care that this man was defined by the world as an outcast. Jesus just loved him for who he was. Ten men were healed physically, but only one was healed physically and spiritually by their genuine faith in Jesus.

Jesus can sometimes be used as a ‘get out of jail free card’, someone we turn to when every other option is exhausted. The 9 other men believed in Jesus, were healed by Jesus, but then ran off without any further connection with Jesus. Their faith was superficial and shallow.  The one that went back to Jesus displayed genuine faith. He understood that healing needed to be more than physical, and he faithfully returned to be with Jesus, expressing his gratitude towards Him.  The important thing here is that this is not just a story about gratitude, it shows the difference between superficial faith and true saving faith. It demonstrates the difference between faith that is shallow and faith that saves.

This same physical or spiritual healing is available to us through Jesus, we just have to possess genuine faith in Him… faith that saves!

“We are not saved by a profession of faith, but by the possession of it.” - R.C. Sproul

Have a great week, 

Chaplain Phil 

Enrichment Groups 

Mrs Vice is looking to top up her collection of magazines for some group activities. If you have any old ones around the home that you no longer are reading, your donation would be greatly appreciated. Students can bring them to the SWAN room. Thank you!

Upcoming ICAS Dates

English - Wednesday 18th August
Science - Tuesday 26th August
Spelling  Bee  - Wednesday 25th/Thursday 26th August
Mathematics  - Thursday 2nd September
Writing- Term 4

Enrolments for 2022

Our Foundation classes for 2022 are full and we have a long waiting list already.  If you have a child who will be starting school in 2022 or you would like to check you have enrolled your child, please contact Tammy in the Front Office as soon as possible on 8396 2577.  Siblings will be given a position but only if there is one available.

New Billing and Administrative System at Prescott Primary Northern

Adventist Schools Australia have begun to implement a change in the Administrative and Billing Systems in Adventist Schools around Australia. This month, it is Prescott Primary Northern’s turn to move to the new platform. This means that in the week August 16^th to 20^th we will not have access to make financial transactions (payments/receipts). Please be aware of these dates and we thank you for your patience during this change over period.

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

Daily Health Check

Prescott College

Liberman Kindergarten