Term 3 Chess Tournament

Congratulations to our Chess Team this term, coming 2^nd place amongst the primary level schools and finishing in 3^rd place across the primary and high schools combined in South Australia.

The Chess tournament was held at The Mawson Centre with eight schools across the state competing against each other. Our top 12 players arrived with optimism and a positive attitude. A special mention to Tyson, Kareem, Jad, Param, and Anthony for receiving a medal for their outstanding performance. Maahi was also presented with a gold medal for Best Girl Player in the tournament.

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

Foundation Swimming

In Week 10 of Term 3, the Foundation children enjoyed a wonderful week of swimming. We loved learning about water safety as well as developing our confidence and skills in the water! 

Drop & Go Shelter Update

If you've been through Drop and Go, or driven past the front of the school recently, you would have noticed a few changes. Over the school holidays the frames of our new Shelters were installed. These will soon be completed to provide shelter to students waiting to be picked up at the end of the day. Shelters are also being added along the footpath at the front of the school, meaning that all students can get from the gate to their classrooms under cover. We can't wait to see them finished. Thank you for not entering the fenced off areas while the work is completed. 

National Water Week Nature Play

Water is such an important and valuable resource that we all need and use every day. National Water Week kicked off on Monday, celebrating the stories that we have with water, how we use it, and why it is important to us. It is also a week that focuses on how we can conserve our water, be water-wise, and help to keep our waterways clean.

Water is a very popular resource in our nature play space as well, and this week, the students got to use water in a variety of ways. Some small animals made their way to the nature play space, and needed a water hole for drinking, and the students helped by creating an array of amazing different waterholes out of sand and water. Other students poured, filled, emptied, and created water systems, using our water pipes. What started off as simple pipe and water play, quickly became a group effort to create a damn and river system that took over the sandpit.

It was so great watching a huge group of students all working together, with water, collaborating to create a working river system. This week as National Water Week continues, take a moment to discuss what is the importance of water in your family? How do you use it most, and what are some ways that your family can help to conserve water this week? 

Welcome back for Term 4 of the 2022 school year. I hope you and your family were able to have a really good time together during the school holidays.

As I have been helping students from their cars on drop off duty this week, I have been asking them about their holidays, and many of them had wonderful stories of travel and adventure, and playing around home. We will have a very busy time this term with all sorts of year-end activities, and I am sure it will fly by.

One of the great privileges of my time as a parent was driving my three kids home from high school each day. We lived about an hour away from school, so we would chat about all sorts of things on the way home. One topic that often came up was friendship issues. We would spend ages exploring various perspectives and feelings around their friendship challenges. I am not sure I was particularly helpful in offering insightful solutions, but it was great to be a part of their lives and what was happening for them.

Relationships are challenging, and helping our kids develop the skills and empathy required is no easy task. Below is an article, and an offer of a free webinar that I think you will find helpful, at least as a thought provoker or conversation starter.

“Relatively small issues, like not being invited to a party, can arouse big, intense feelings in our kids. Because belonging is at stake, friendship challenges will always feel like a life-threatening experience – so be assured that most parents find themselves dealing with powerful tears and shattering disappointments after tricky friendship days.

It is easy for both parents and teachers to fall into the trap of trying to “dial down the drama” when our kids feel overwhelmed. However, minimising or dismissing strong feelings will only tend to ramp them up, because our tween’s brains seek to be heard and understood in the process of regulating. I’d also like to suggest that it denies our children the opportunity to master these big feelings. Our kids need to feel to practise the emotional regulation strategies they need to navigate life well.

I want to share three practical strategies that parents can do to support their tweens during these moments. Friendship challenges are an incredibly rich platform to help kids learn emotional regulation strategies, as well as social skills, and we want to capitalise on both as we coach them forward.

Strategy 1: Let’s not fight the intensity

The more I learn about emotions the more I am in awe of our body’s way of coming up with solutions to discomfort, anguish and pain we experience. It doesn’t make any sense to judge that process but rather appreciate it. That’s why we want tweens to know there are no bad or good emotions. There are only healthy emotions, and each one of them is an acceptable and necessary part of being human. Ideally, we want tweens to feel safe to feel, without shame or guilt. This means accepting emotions within our home, in the same way we accept anything else about ourselves (or our experiences) that we cannot change – our age, our height, freckles or ears.

Strategy 2: Ask questions that empower

Although it’s tempting (and much quicker) to offer children prescription answers to friendship problems, it won’t help them in the long term. The problem with childhood conflict always being followed by adult intervention, is that kids can get into the habit of projecting their wishful thinking onto someone else who they perceive as being more powerful than they are.

If our children focus their energy on recruiting support rather than problem-solving, they miss vital learning opportunities. We are best to ask questions that express a sense of curiosity and empower them to take ownership.

Strategy 3: Find a positive expression

Whereas there are times that we suppress our painful emotions for our own survival, emotions are far better off moving through our kids rather than festering inside them.

One of my dearly loved local psychotherapists wisely tells me that children who have imaginations become their own play therapists. Play is a distraction that pulls kids out of their heads and into their bodies. Any type of play including immersing themselves in craft, participating in drama, dance, or sport, or building forts, slides and adventure courses are all helpful.

In closing

Home really is the hero in kids’ lives. It is the emotional shield from all that hurts us, bothers us, and tires us. It’s a place where love is tangible, and we are cared for in ways that make it easier for us to move back into the world with a soft heart. It’s the Utopia that we all yearn for and strive towards. When they feel disappointed, lost, afraid or disoriented it will be the predictability of home that continues to welcome them with open arms and wise words. As you implement these strategies, know you are offering your tween the home they deserve.” (Mitchell, 2022)

Have a great week with our kids,

Mark B

Michelle Mitchell presents: Handling tricky friendship days

Our school has a membership with Parenting Ideas. As part of this membership, you can attend the upcoming webinar ‘Handling tricky friendship days’ at no cost.

In this webinar, Michelle Mitchell offers a set of practical guiding principles to help empower children to handle tricky friendship days.

When: Wednesday 2 November 2022 8:00pm AEDT

To register for FREE click this link: https://www.parentingideas.com.au/parent-resources/parent-webinars/webinar-handling-tricky-friendship-days

Click ‘Add to cart’

Then, Click ‘View cart’

Enter the coupon code FRIENDS and click ‘Apply Coupon’. Your discount of $39 will be applied.

Click ‘Proceed to checkout’

Fill in your account details, including our school’s name to verify your eligibility. These are the details you will use to login to your account and access your webinar and resources

Click ‘Place Order’

This offer is valid until 31 December 2022. If you’re unable to make the broadcast time, just register anyway and you will get access to the recording.

Everyday we are faced with situations where we have to be patient. Maybe it’s a little extra patience you need waiting for your children to complete a task you asked to get done; maybe the patience is waiting for a prayer to be answered.

It is in the midst of these situations that we learn that God is still at work.

He is still working to make a way for us, even though sometimes it is hard for us to see. As hard as the lesson of patience can be, it’s an important one for all of us.

Patience teaches us to wait and to remember that we can’t control every situation in our lives. It teaches us that God is in control. When we continue our relationship with God and continually have faith in him, we learn to trust God through every situation we are faced with. It’s when we have full trust and faith in God that the patience we need in life will come naturally, because it will come from Him.

In Galatians 5:22 it reminds us that “God’s Spirit makes us…patient”. And as we grow in Christ, our ‘fruit’ of patience also grows.

So what situation are you currently facing that you need a little patience?

 “But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience”

Romans 8:25

5 Secrets to Surviving Term 4

We’re almost there everyone… just hang in a little longer.

Term 4 has arrived – but as any parent knows these last few weeks not only fly by, but can often be the most challenging. There’s a mixture of excitement and exhaustion as our children look forward to the end of a school year that has once again proved to be different from any other.

Below are 5 tips to help you and your child get through the school term with out the burnout and with every opportunity to succeed:

1) Stick to routines

Do not get out of routine yet. With longer days and better weather it can be tempting – but as best you can, stick to morning and afternoon schedules and sport/extracurricular pickups. This also includes sticking to a bedtime routine.

2) Continue reading/homework

Learning and assessment continue throughout the term, so it’s important to keep focused. If you feel that your child needs a literacy boost – it’s not too late to engage them in some extra support. Homework still needs to be completed so allow time for this each afternoon. Continue to read each night. Pick summer holiday books or Christmas-themed books to keep the kids engaged.

3) Keep everyone hydrated

It will get hot, very hot. As the temperature often climbs past 30+ degrees by the end of the term, ensure that everyone has chilled water close by at all times. Dehydration makes you feel sick, tired, and cranky.

4) Try to be extra patient

Most likely your children will be showing signs of tiredness. Assignments and tests might be looming – particularly in the upper grades. Remember to spend time talking and listening to your kids about how their day was. Supporting them through any issues they may be experiencing and showing patience will show you’ve got their backs and help to boost their confidence.

5) Itemise anxieties

Many of our worries are caused by a lack of readiness. Your child may be feeling anxious about next year – a new teacher, a new classroom. Those transitioning into high school might be feeling emotional about leaving old friends. Feelings of frustration might result in anger, tantrums, or meltdowns. Recognising and naming any worries can be calming and help your child to find solutions (it’s hard to think clearly when we are emotional).

Lastly, even as parents it's important to take the time to consider (and be thankful for) the people who helped you throughout the school year. Always value the combined team effort that it takes in teaching children. Maintain perspective and keep your sanity intact in these last few weeks!

NEW – PPN BREAKFAST CLUB

To help our students be at their best we are trialing the PPN Breakfast Club every Wednesday and Friday. The Breakfast Club is open to all students, from those who arrive at school hungry to those who simply want a little more to be at their best.

Free toast and fruit will be available from 8:30 – 8:50am, Wednesdays and Fridays outside the music room.

Absentee Follow Up Process - Parent Communication

One of Prescott Primary Northern’s priorities is to work in partnership with families to help students succeed and grow into the amazing people they are designed to be.

Part of this is ensuring students attend school regularly and, when this may not be possible, that our staff are able to best support them away from their normal learning environments.

As part of this support, school staff (including your child’s teacher, front office staff, and administration) may be in contact with you if your child has:

- Long periods of absence

- Unexplained absences

- Regular absences that impact their learning

You will have recently received an email outlining the processes we will follow if your child is away for any of these reasons.

If your child is away due to illness or other reasons, please contact the school as early as possible on the day.

Please check your inboxes and contact the school if you have any questions.

As costs continue to rise, we have made it a priority to keep any fee increases as small as possible. For 2023, our fees will increase by just 4.5%

Discounts continue to be available for families with multiple students enrolled, prompt payments, and school card holders. Please contact the school if you have any questions about your fees for 2023.

Uniform Shop

Term 4 is 'Change over of Season' where students need to be in Summer Uniform.  There is a two-week grace period where they can wear either Winter or Summer Uniform.

By week 3, all students are required to be in full Summer Uniform.

Entertainment Digital Membership

Everyone who purchases a 12-month or 24-month Entertainment membership between now and October 31, 2022 will automatically be placed into a contest for a chance to win up to $30,000 in cash and prizes. Twenty winners will each receive a $1,000 eGift card, and one will receive $10,000 in cash.

Daily Health Check

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

Prescott College

My OSHC

Spring Program Highlights

Spring Program Highlights 1.97 MB