Filter Content
Year 4 Zoo Sleepover
Over the last couple of weeks, year 4 classes went to the Zoo to sleep with the lions. I mean, next to the lions. For many students this was their first overnight camp and time away from home. They all did exceptionally well and had a huge amount of fun participating in a guided night walk, morning walk, scavenger hunt, and various other educator led games learning about the various animals God created.
Buddy Classes
New Leaves, New Blooms
The soft and lustrous blooms of spring are covered in dew waiting to greet a new day. Delicate new leaves burst forth from barren branches that have shouldered the barrage of winter. Emergent rays of sunlight greet the new day gracefully filling the sky with hope and light. A new day dawns. A day filled with promise, discovery, and purpose. Children fondly seeking to connect with natural elements seek play, exploration, and companionship. This week at Prescott Primary Northern we celebrated Spring! Children eagerly followed their fascination and voraciously explored the gifts of spring. From flowers and blooms to leaves and seeds the children actively immersed themselves in Nature Play. The subtle interconnections of relationships and shared experiences also blossomed as friends played. These shared experiences create bonds and a sense of connection that creates optimism and hope for the future.
I really struggle with just being still. I know it is something I need to work on. I have an app on my phone called “pause”, where I am supposed to pause, listen and contemplate some Bible verses and thoughts. There are days when I have to stop myself from doing several other things at the same time as pausing – ironic, hey. It may come from my spiritual heritage of Protestantism and its work ethic. The ability to enjoy stillness and down time is an important thing for adults, as well as children. We have a great opportunity in a couple of weeks when school holidays come around, and the hustle and bustle of life may slow slightly, to take time to help our kids to enjoy some down time. It might be a good opportunity to set it up a situation that allows your kids, and yourself, to just take the pressure off things a little and be relaxed and still. These are important, but hard skills to learn that will come in handy for the rest of their/our lives. Below are some suggestions about why down-time is important and how it might happen. I hope you find it helpful.
“If your teenage children live wound-up, highly scheduled lives then they need to rediscover the lost art of down-time.
Down-time is like mucking around except that it’s passive. It’s about kids relaxing, doing whatever it is they feel like doing – whether that’s watching a screen, hanging around with siblings or mates, reading a book or simply daydreaming.
There are three compelling reasons to allow kids down-time:
It’s great for mental health. Hard-driven kids need some time to rest their brains. The thinking wheels can’t keep spinning all the time.
It builds relationships. You’ve got to be close to someone to feel comfortable down-time with them. A household needs to be relaxed and free from tension for down-time to happen.
It feels good, which is good reason to do something.
The art of down-time comes with age
Toddlers are too active for down-time. Their physiology ensures that when they have some free time they’ll generally keep moving and exploring.
Kids in primary school start to learn the value of down-time. They generally spend down-time on their own or by mucking around with their friends.
Teenagers are natural down-timers. They do it without trying. Teens take up a lot of space during down-time at home, tending to sprawl out and fill living rooms. Many don’t mind down-time with their parents if their friends don’t see them.
Many parents feel uncomfortable when their kids spend too long in down-time. Busyness is seen as a virtue. Sure, it’s good for our kids to be occupied a lot of the time, but active lives need to be balanced with opportunities for inactivity.
Don’t confuse down-time with brooding
Brooding, like ruminating, involves a young person repeatedly visiting their thoughts, going over past mistakes, or worrying about the future. Down-time is different as it enables a young person to chill out and relax.
Down-time is a lifetime mental health, relationship-building, and happiness habit. It’s something to be encouraged, rather than clamped down.” (Grose, 2021)
Have a great week with your kids,
Mark B
“Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46 : 10
I finished a book titled, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry” recently, and it highlighted the need for us to slow down our lives. The author points out that the Bible never mentions anything about Jesus running, or walking in a hurry. He concludes that the reason why Jesus never hurried, is because hurry is incompatible with love. And Jesus is love.
This thought really resonates with me, because I find that whenever I am in a hurry, I am impatient, grumpy, and irritable, all attitudes that are the polar opposites of love. If I am honest, I really struggle to show people genuine, and selfless love, whenever I’m in a hurry.
This is worrying, because we are busier today than ever before, and busyness often disconnects us from God, and others. That is why Corrie Ten Boom said that, “If the Devil can’t make us bad, he’ll make us busy.”
So, I am currently on a mission to eliminate hurry from my life. I am trying to walk slowly through life, like Jesus did. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus gives us an invitation, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace,” (The Message Translation).
If you’re feeling a bit tired, and disconnected, maybe it’s time to leave the “fast lane of life,” and follow Jesus in the slow, and unhurried, lane of love.
God bless,
Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai
Canteen
What a fantastic term we have had in the PPN Kitchen, it is such a pleasure to be making healthy and nutritious food for your children!
I am writing to you all to ask that you please not send your child to school with any food that requires boiling water (noodle cups etc) or food that needs to be reheated. For safety reasons, we are unable to reheat any food that comes from home in the canteen.
I would also like to ask that if you plan on ordering any food for your child on the last day of term, could you please do so before Thursday, the 23rd of September. We had almost half the school order lunches on the last day of Term 2 and we need to be as prepared as possible. Flexischools orders are preferred. For this day only, there will be no pizzas available to order. Everything else on the menu will remain the same.
With Gratitude,
Margarita
Canteen Manager
School Choir
The Prescott Primary Northern school choir will now present the musical 'Esther-Ordinary Faith' on Thursday, October 21st, not September 16th, as originally planned. Thank you for noting this. We apologise for the inconvenience.
Casual Day—Friday September 24th
On the last day of each term, students may come to school in casual clothes only if they bring a gold coin donation. Please note that students need to remember as they choose which clothes they would like to wear for casual day that they need to dress appropriately. Their clothes should cover their bodies in the same way that their uniform does and their shoes should be appropriate for running and playing.
The money raised this way is allocated to either a sister school project or to Asian Aid.
This term’s funds will be set aside for Asian Aid.
Here a part of Asian Aid’s CEO’s message to their supporters in their last newsletter:
“Throughout Covid-19 we have remained focused on our mission but also ensuring we have kept ‘eyes on the child’. We have incorporated the following:
- Ensuring the children are safe at home, through welfare checks
- Provide food security to not just the children but also their families through our Family Food Fund
- Ensure that where possible, children continue to learn
- Provide additional support for children who have been unable to learn through our No Child Left Behind campaign.
Thank you for you ongoing support. We ask that you join us and remember the children, their families and partners in your prayers.”
Uniform Shop
The Uniform Shop will be closed until further notice. Please order uniforms through flexischools.com.au and the items will be delivered to your child’s classroom within 3 school days. If you order the wrong size, please return the item to the Front Office with all the packaging and a note with your child’s name and explaining whether the item is too big or too small and we will exchange it for you. Thank you for your cooperation during this time.
Entertainment Membership
Do's & Dont's of Dropping Your Kids to School
Daily Health Check
I would like to give a BIG THANK YOU to all of you for your great support of Mrs Blyde and I in making our 2021 Book Week successful!!
On Sunday, just a few days ago, I attended a Book Launch by a new graphic novel author called Jason Pamment at Greenlight Comics in the Adelaide CBD. His debut book is called Treasure by the Lake and he shared with us how first came up with the idea for the story about 10 years ago. His background is in animation, so his initial work on the novel was by completing the drawings, which began as sketches while on a cargo boat in Chile, travelling to Patagonia. We now have two signed copies by this local graphic novel author that will be available for borrowing! He has started work on his second novel and I will try to organise a date for him to visit Prescott Primary Northern next year.
SAPSASA Athletics
Prescott College
