Crazy Hair or Hat Day

Term 2 Chess Tournament

Congratulations to our Chess Team, coming 2nd place in this term’s chess tournament at The Mawson Centre. Representing Prescott Primary Northern, our top 12 players competed against five other schools.

A special mention to Tyson, Jap, Kareem and Sophia who were awarded with a silver medal. Sophia was also presented with a gold medal for Best Girl Player in the tournament. Well done to Hridhaan and Neil, our youngest members on the team making it in the top 12.

I was proud to be standing alongside our students, they demonstrated great sportsmanship and teamwork. Great job to everyone on their excellent performance and outstanding achievements.

Miss Toohey

International Mud Day

I’m not sure about your family, but my family love the rain! Well, maybe not the rain itself, but the mud and muddy puddles it leaves behind. 

 “Mud provides an ideal platform for children to immerse themselves in one of nature’s finest elements and in doing so build a life-long connection to the natural world.” (Nature Play SA)  

There are many benefits of playing with mud. It helps to develop fine and gross motor skills, provides a multisensory experience, encourages problem solving and creativity, and encourages unstructured fun play.  

This Wednesday was International Mud Day, so the students at Prescott got to play and splash in muddy goodness. The students were encouraged to bring their gumboots to school this week and play in the mud puddle, indulge in the mud kitchen to make delicious muddy pies and cakes, and enjoy free play with the mud. 

The smiles and giggles were seen all around as they squished and squelched in the puddles, and played with mud.  As the rain falls this week, will you put on a raincoat and some gum boots, and play outside in the mud and the puddles? 

International Mud Day Community Playdate

Wednesday the 29^th of June was International Mud Day, a day dedicated to getting as messy, dirty, and squishy as possible. International Mud Day started in 2009, when a West Australian Teacher, Gillian McAuliffe, and Bisnu Bhatta from Nepal met at the World Forum for Early Childhood Care and Education. What started as a collaborative way of enabling children in Nepal and Perth to play with mud has grown to be a day of mud celebrated around the world.  

Sometimes getting dirty can be scary, and may even cause a sense of worry. But it almost always ends up putting a big smile on everyone’s face. Not only is playing in mud and getting messy fun, it is also an important biological need for all our children. Researchers have proven that playing with mud is important for children to be exposed to the friendly soil bacteria, while also involving all their senses and increasing brain activity, among many other amazing benefits.  

Prescott Primary Northern reached out to the wider community to invite local toddlers and pre-schoolers to come and play with mud. We had familiar faces and some new ones, come and enjoy the fun had when playing with mud. There were muddy cars, mud painting, mud kitchen play, and the most fun was had in the giant mud puddle. What started with some children playing and splashing in the puddle became the main attraction with mud cakes, big splashes, and water play for all. 

For children, mud is fun! Instinctively they are drawn to getting dirty and playing in mud. Our job as parents and carers is to provide the opportunities for children to play in mud and to give them permission to get dirty! 

Today is International Mud Day and we have had some great celebrations and activities here at school today. I thought it would be good to follow the mud theme, and it reminded me of something I read recently.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned a book I had been reading called “Make Your Bed” by Admiral William H. McRaven. I am up to my third time through that book now. It’s not long, but very helpful. Another lesson that Admiral McRaven learned in his Navy Seal training came during an exercise where the recruits were required to do activities in a big mudhole. They did running relays and the like while they were up to their waists in the mud. At the end of the activities, they were told that they would have to spend the night sitting in the mud.

During the night, officers would come over and say to them that if just five men would give up and leave the course, all of the others could get out, and go and enjoy hot chicken soup by the fire.  In the middle of the test, some of them seemed ready to give up. Then one man began to sing. One by one the others followed him. Suddenly the mud felt less cold, and the dawn closer. McRaven wrote, “Once again, we had learned an important lesson: the power of one person to unite the group, the power of one person to inspire those around him, to give them hope.” (McRaven, 2017)

In his original speech (which you can see on YouTube), he said, “If I have learned anything in my time traveling the world, it is the power of hope.” I am learning that of all of the motivations available to us, hope is one of the greatest there is . . . and if it is so important, we should be teaching our children about it, and how they can have it.

I like this definition of hope, “Hope is the belief that circumstances will get better. It’s not a wish for things to get better — it’s the actual belief, the knowledge that things will get better, no matter how big or small.” (Psychology Today) This is an important trait and habit for our children to develop. In fact, renowned research psychologist Martin Seligman found that kids who were more hopeful, actually had improved learning in school (1993). The following excerpt specifically addresses the idea of developing hope in our children and how we can do that.

“First, remember, your child watches you.

Do you have a sense of hope when you approach obstacles or do you give up easily? Take a personal inventory of your own behavior. When you are facing difficulty, talk it out with your child. Tell yourself, “I can do this. It will be ok. I just need to find a solution.” Let your child hear your thought process.

Read to your child.

Many children’s books have messages of hope. Talk to them about their favourite hero or heroine. Ask them what they like about the characters. Describe how that character shows hope and determination. . . Avoid books or media that only provide violence as a way to solve problems. Rather, reinforce characters that think through their options and find other solutions to their problems.

Teach your children how to stop and think.

Role-play difficult situations or conversations ahead of time. Problem-solve different responses and choices. Reward your child for role-playing with you, as well as trying different responses. Ask them how their efforts worked. Teach them you are on their side, and you will figure things out together.” (Anderson, 2013)

Hope is also a really important part of the Bible. 1 Corinthians 13 includes it right beside Faith and Love as a key principle of Christian belief and practice. “In this life we have three great lasting qualities—faith, hope and love.” 1 Cor 13:13.

Have a great week building hope with your kids,

Mark B

Here's a question - how generous are you?

With your time... your efforts... your money.

Here's another one (ok, two) - how happy are you? How would you rate your own wellbeing?

The science would suggest that these two questions are linked - that generosity has a measurable, positive effect on people's happiness, and more deeply, their experience of wellbeing.

I won't bore you with all the details (but feel free to check out the links), so below is a 4-point summary:

1. Both giving to impersonal causes (think giving to a charity) and personal (someone you know) is good for you!

   Both acts stimulate the brain's reward system (that make you feel good or happy), BUT only personal or targetted giving reduces the activity of the amygdala, the area of the brain that kicks in our flight-fight response and is linked to anxiety disorders (general and specific). Giving is good for you; giving to targetted, personal causes is even better! Read more about the study here.

2. It doesn't matter how much you give - your brain and body will love you.

   In one study, researchers discovered that the amount of money people gave away had no impact on their 'wellbeing response'. I particularly love this line in the report, 'It is worth keeping in mind that even little things have a beneficial effect - like bringing coffee to one's office mates in the morning.' Check out the report in Time here. 

3. Generosity breeds generosity.
   

   In this study, it was discovered that simply thinking about being generous resulted in positive brain activity - increasing the feelings of happiness and lowering stress. AND, that those who began thinking and acting generously about one task, also acted more generously across the board. If you feel like you need a wellbeing boost, take a moment to simply think about being generous and you'll start the ball rolling.

4. Volunteering is not only good for you now, but may help you live longer!

According to one study. participation in voluntary services has strong, positive impacts on mental health, physical health, life satisfaction, self-esteem, happiness, lower depressive symptoms, psychological distress, and mortality and functional inability. Being generous with your time makes the time you have available better - and gives you more time to use in the long run. Win-win-win! Take a deep dive by reading here. 

Parents Back On Campus

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Yr 3 - 6 Sports Day