Nature Scavenger Hunt

Have you ever gone on a scavenger hunt? What about a nature scavenger hunt? They really are a lot of fun, which is what the students at PPN discovered this week.

Students were given a list of items, along with a paper bag, and spent their lunchtime trying to find everything they could. They were busy little bees speeding around the playground, working hard to gather all the items they needed to find.

They were collecting leaves and seed pods, rocks and sticks, flowers and other treasures, and adding them to their collection.

What treasures can you find in Nature this week?  

What a great day it was last Friday. We had our Junior Primary Sports Day on the back oval here at school. The kids had a ball and the weather held off pretty well for us. It was also a great opportunity for our families to be back on campus and enjoy seeing our children jump, throw, run and crawl.

Thank you to those families who were able to join us. Thanks also to Miss Thomas, the Sports Captains, SSOs, and our Hot Drink team for organising and running things.

Earlier this year we had Harmony Day. As a part of our celebrations, our students contributed to different letters and eventually decorated a large display along our back fence with  the word “Kindness.”

I appreciate the link between living in harmony with all different people from many different backgrounds, and kindness. The links grow out from there. There are important links to us loving one another, as Jesus commanded.

One of the most famous passages in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 13 and its description of Love.

It says, “Love is kind.”

Why is the development of kindness in our children so important? There are so many moral reasons, but there are also very practical reasons including friendship building and social/emotional development. So how do we develop kindness in our kids, especially in a social media culture that often jumps to vindictive and unkind words and actions?

Below is an article that has some great suggestions, and it also explores why teaching kindness is so important for our children’s wellbeing. I hope you enjoy.

“Judgement and criticism are the stock in trade for many people in today’s fast-paced world. In our playgrounds and parks, children often act cruelly – or are simply uninterested in how other people feel. Little kids, big kids, and even adults can respond reactively and unthinkingly, or sometimes intentionally, with unkindness.

Although being unkind is nothing new (it’s happened from the beginning of humanity), technology is enabling cruelty in faster, easier, anonymous ways. Technology is also making it hard for our kids to develop skills to delay gratification. Exercising impulse control – self-regulation – is trickier because waiting isn’t needed. These things combine to make it increasingly hard to be a compassionate and kind person, someone who considers the needs of others rather than acting out of self-interest. It demands intention and commitment.

The helper’s high

Our brains release “feel-good” chemicals (like oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins) which fight stress and make us feel happy when we engage in, or even witness, acts of kindness. It’s called the “helper’s high” and it’s our brains’ way of rewarding us for doing good, making us want to repeat the behaviour to get the same good feeling again. Not only does being kind feel good, but it generally keeps us safe because it makes us more likely to be accepted by social groups. It builds social capital when we are considerate of the needs of others.

Create opportunities for kindness

Even though they are hardwired for kindness we still need to create opportunities for our kids to engage in acts of kindness. We also need them to know what it feels like to have someone treat them kindly (so they know what behaviours to copy, and why kindness is important). So how can you help them?

Model kindness

Show your children how you treat others kindly. Hold open doors for people, put trolleys back that are in the middle of the car park, drop a meal to a sick family member, donate old towels to an animal shelter, let someone in when traffic is heavy.

They don’t have to be grand gestures, just small and gentle ways of considering the needs of others.

Use kind language

Consider how you speak to your child and what you say when you speak. Ask how you speak about others (and yourself). Our kids use our behaviour as templates for how they should act. So let them see your compassion shine through for those around you. Be kind as you listen. Be kind as you talk. Say kind things.

Encourage helping

Is one child great at maths and their younger sibling isn’t? Invite them to teach them or guide them through their homework. Ask them to show you how to play their favourite video game. If they are great at cooking, ask them to help you prepare dinner. Having them involved in prosocial ways gives them a helper’s high.

Build their emotional intelligence

Kids who struggle to regulate and manage their emotions will find it harder to treat others with compassion. An essential part of teaching kids to be kind centres on teaching them to manage challenging emotions, and giving them coping strategies to navigate their way through.

Teach them the words for feelings. Without the right words to share how they feel it can leave kids confused, fearful and frustrated…which only serves to make their big feelings more intense. When you see them experiencing a feeling, name it for them: “I can see that made you so mad”, “I wonder if you felt sad when your friend left you out”.

Help them identify when they are escalating, but don’t try and reason with them when they are in the “red zone” – we cannot reason with them at this stage as they are in the emotional part of the brain (mid brain) not the part that lets them be logical (pre-frontal cortex). Discuss strategies and practice when they feel calm. Get them doing things like squeezing play dough, talking about how they feel, going for a run, switching on music that makes them feel good, drawing, or writing stuff down.

When you do this, you’re being kind, teaching kindness, and helping them be kind to themselves.

In closing

Encouraging kids to be kind is essential in helping them avoid seeking instant gratification, ego-centric solutions, or being cruel. When people are empathic and kind, they are more likely to experience better overall wellbeing, this is in part due to the helper’s high, but also because they feel fulfilled and tend to have better quality relationships. Kindness is cool!” (Tomlinson, 2022)

Have a great week with your kids,

Mark B

This term in Chapel we are continuing the theme of Transformation! We have explored the transformation that takes place in a person’s life when they have faith and trust in God. But have you ever realised the transform in nature or the animals which God created?

One of the times when I am reminded of the transformation which happens in the world, is when I’m flying interstate. The reason for this is because of the transformation you see when you are above the clouds (see pictures below from my most recent holiday).

Have you ever been mesmerised by the different cloud formations from above? Or by watching a sunset from above the clouds? Watching the sky turn from day to night while flying through the clouds? I have, and it’s when I’m flying that I am reminded that our God is a Creator! He created the heavens and the earth, and formed day and night from an earth which began as an empty and dark space (Genesis Chapter 1).

Blessings,

Pr Tiana

Being a little person can be hard work – and raising a little person can be hard work too!

Those impossibly cute time bombs have big feelings about everything. From what’s for dinner, to the clothes they wear, to why their sister is looking at them. Anything might set them off! On the good days, it can be kind of entertaining. But on the bad days, it can feel completely overwhelming.

Sometimes (or maybe all of the time), our feelings can grow just as big as our little one’s. We might lose our cool. Or even snap. And then comes the shame spiral.

If you have a child aged eight and under, you’re invited to this FREE webinar!

When: Tuesday, 14 June @ 7:30pm (can’t make it? Register anyway and access the recording up to 7-days later)

In this webinar, Dr Justin Coulson will take you through history and science as we find answers, hacks, tips and strategies that will help you keep your cool when big feelings have your kids (and you!) hot under the collar.

You’ll learn:

• The things parents say to their kids to make things better... but actually make things worse.
• The four key reasons our children have such big outbursts and tantrums.
• A roadmap to staying calm under pressure.
• Cutting-edge parenting strategiesto guide your children through their worst moments and back to calm.

>>>> Click here to register <<<<

Pupil Free Day

Gumboots At School

We are absolutely loving our Nature Play Space at school. This is a popular space at both recess and lunch times, as well as some outdoor learning lessons taking place in this area.

One of the most popular sections of our Nature Play is our giant sandpit and water pump. The creativity and problem-solving displayed here is amazing. We love seeing the children work together to create tunnels, dams and castles.

We have noticed that some of our children who regularly play in the sandpit and with the water pump are having difficulty keeping their shoes looking presentable. Instead of discouraging the sandy, wet play, or asking our families to buy new shoes on a more regular basis, we are allowing our students to bring their own pair of gumboots to school to be worn when playing in the sand pit and with the water.

The gumboots cannot be worn in place of school shoes in any other activity other than sandpit, mud kitchen, and water (eg. if playing soccer or climbing on the log scramble they need to wear their normal school shoes).

Classrooms will have a designated area to store these gumboots if you wish to send along named gumboots to stay at school.

Gumboots can be purchased from places such as Kmart, Big W or Target, ranging from $8 - $20.

Parents Back On Campus

Daily Health Check

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

Year 3 & 4 SACSA Soccer

Yr 3 - 6 Sports Day

OSHC Pupil Free Days and School Holidays