Welcome to PE Week! This week our children and teachers have been enjoying some extra special PE Week activities to help us get moving and appreciate exercise and movement. Our staff meeting this week was one big get-out-and-around the school activity. I hope your child has come home with some special memories. Also, this coming Friday we are having our Fun Run which is a great way for us to end PE Week. I hope to see you there.

This week I would like to focus on an area we don’t like to talk about very much, especially when it comes to kids. Anxiety. Some of you will wonder what I am talking about and think it doesn’t apply to your kids or family. I am so glad if that is the case for you. However, more and more is being researched, discovered and learned about anxiety in our kids, and I know some of you will have firsthand experience with a child experiencing anxiety. Whether you have kids who experience anxiety or not, I would really encourage you to read the article below as it is likely your child will have friends or you will have relatives who experience anxiety, and understanding, supportive adults are vital for our kids.

“In urban Australia it takes approximately eight years between onset of symptoms and a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder, and over twice that time in rural settings. That’s a long time for a child or young person to live with the turmoil of anxiety without getting the help they need.

Kids with a diagnosis of an anxiety disorder include those experiencing social anxiety, separation anxiety, generalised anxiety, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and specific phobias or overwhelming fears. Beyond Blue statistics state that 1 in 14 children experiences an anxiety disorder. Sadly, a great deal of childhood anxiety goes undetected.

Early detection is critical

Anxiety can be overlooked for many reasons. Often day-to-day functioning of anxious kids isn’t affected in obvious ways, and they can appear happy, but the signs of anxiety will be there if you know what to look for. Anxiety shows through behaviour and language, and is felt physically by a child. Avoidance and over-planning are the two most common behaviours displayed by anxious kids. Long before they become a child’s patterned response to anxiety-inducing events there are generally many subtle signs of anxiety including poor concentration, irritability, becoming upset over minor issues and constantly seeking reassurance. Anxious children and young people can feel nauseous, experience headaches, have difficulty sitting still and constantly feel on edge.

Anxiety is individual

Just as children display symptoms of anxiety in unique ways, they also react differently to everyday events. One child’s highly anticipated school camp maybe another child’s anxiety-inducing nightmare. Knowing the events that trigger anxiety in a child or young person is key to early detection and management.

The tools anxious kids need

Children and young people who experience anxiety need self-management tools to allow healthy functioning and prevent anxiety from deteriorating into a full-blown disorder. Knowledge of how and when to use management tools such as mindfulness, deep breathing, exercise, and thought distancing are critical to good mental health, allowing kids to turn the dial down on their anxiety while they get on with the activities that make them happy.

Lifestyle factors that minimise anxiety

Anxiety maybe commonplace but its origins are complex. Poor diet, lack of exercise, social media, sleep problems, and an inability to relax all play a part in exacerbating a child’s anxiety. And of course, the pandemic is a frightening time for children.

Attempts to help children minimise anxiety need to include healthy eating that ensures good gut health, frequent exercise that releases adrenalin and the stress hormone cortisol, plenty of endorphin-inducing free play in natural environments and developing good sleep habits that will last a lifetime.

In closing

No child or young person should suffer needlessly from anxiety. Life can feel very grey when anxiety is a constant companion. As a parent you help your child by being on the lookout for early signs of anxiety, recognising the events that cause your child stress and teaching them the tools they need to push anxiety into the background while they get on with enjoying life. Anxiety is not something to be feared, but a condition to be understood and managed before it spirals into a disorder needing professional intervention.” (Grose, 2022)

Have a great week with our kids,

Mark B

Hey PPN Family,

Life is filled with ups and downs, and it can be really tough when you feel like you have no one to turn to. When I find myself going through hard times, I am always encouraged by the promises of God like the one in Ezekiel 43:15-16 where He says, “I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace. I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak.”

When we are faced with the struggles and challenges of life, may we always remember that God is our loving Shepherd, who saves us and provides for us. God is with us at all times, and He will love us forevermore.

I pray that these truths will fill you today with love, joy, power and peace.

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai

The Time Out Alternative

Below is your invitation to a FREE and likely very useful parenting course hosted by Dr Justin Coulsen.

Parenting is hard!

We all have our preconceived ideas about the kind of parent we wanted to be before we become parents. But actually being a parent? Well it’s a whole new ball game isn’t it?

We’re tired, busy, run off our feet, and we have these little humans with their own personalities and ideas about life, who make it difficult to be the parent we’d always imagined we would be! We lose our patience, we yell, we resort to using discipline strategies that don’t seem to be particularly effective.

But what is the right way to approach discipline?

Smacking is out - unless you’re part of the old-school. Yelling is the new smacking, but no one wants to yell. It feels horrible. Time-out is the discipline strategy of choice in most major parenting programs but it has major drawbacks, the major one being that it doesn’t seem to work.

“Well what else can we do?” I hear you wail. “How can we help our children learn to behave, to self-regulate? How do we reduce conflict and challenging behaviour without losing our cool or putting our kids in Time-Out? How can we make things work in family life?”

What if I told you there was a 7 Day Course which, in 10 minutes per day, can change the way you parent? And not only that, but for a limited time, this $74 course can be accessible completely for FREE? Too good to be true, right? It's real. I promise. And it will help make your family much happier.

Join Dr Justin Coulson, one of Australia’s leading parenting experts, for this 7 day course that explodes the myth that discipline has to hurt. In just 10 minutes each day, you’ll:

· Learn to differentiate between discipline and punishment

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Staffing Updates for 2023

We have a number of changes amongst our staff for 2023 and would like to share these updates with our school community.

We would like to welcome Mrs Kerri Charity into the role of full-time Deputy Principal for 2023. We look forward to the care and experience she will bring to the leadership team. We would like to thank Mr Kaden Pepper for the work done in his role for 2022 and wish him all the best as he steps back into a part-time relief teacher role next year.

We would like to welcome Miss Zoey-Elise Watson to our team for 2023 as she takes on the role of Year 5 Teacher. Zoey-Elise will be an amazing asset to our school and we look forward to her ministry in Year 5.

We would like to congratulate Miss Nicole Pfeiffer on her role as PE Specialist Teacher in 2023. We are excited for her passion and experience she will bring to this role. We would like to thank Miss Alyce Thomas for her ministry in PE at Prescott for the past two years and wish her all the best as she moves into a classroom role at another school.

Miss Belinda Toohey, who has been teaching in Inclusive Education and relief teaching with us this year, will take up a Year 4 classroom teacher role next year. We are excited about all that she will bring to this role in 2023.

Ms Sara Strickland will be joining our PPN family next year in the role of Year 6 teacher. Sara began her teaching career at our sister school, Prescott College Southern and has been relief teaching at PPN this term to get to know our community. Mrs Melissa Isaac will be taking a step back from a classroom teaching role in 2023 to a release teacher across a variety of grades. We would like to thank Mel for her ministry in Upper Primary these past few years.

We are adding another stream to our Year 6 classes to complete triple streaming across our school. Mrs Rebecca Bell will be stepping into the role of our third Year 6 teacher next year. We would like to thank Bec for her ministry and leadership in Lower Primary and look forward to all she will bring to our Upper Primary team.

Mrs Alana Munday, who currently teaches part-time in Year 1, as well as relief teaches across all classes, will be stepping into Year 1C full-time. Thank you, Alana, for stepping into this ministry in Year 1 - we are blessed.

Miss Sarah Petney, who is a current SSO at PPN, will begin her teaching career in Year 1 next year. We look forward to her sharing her enthusiasm for this ministry and her heart for the students as she steps into this new role. Sarah will be replacing Mrs Lisa McGrath, who will be taking leave in 2023. We cannot thank Lisa enough for her gift of teaching and the positive impact she has had on many lives, both students and staff alike, and wish her all the best in whatever opportunities come her way in 2023.

We would like to welcome Miss Caitlin Smith to the PPN family. Caitlin will be taking on the role of Music Specialist Teacher in 2023, as Mrs Joy Stackelroth takes Long Service Leave next year. We would like to wish Joy all the best as she enjoys this time off with her family.

Mrs Harleen Bajaj, who currently works in Students Services on a Friday, will be working in Student Services and the Front Office full-time next year. Thank you, Harleen, for stepping up into this role - your ministry is greatly appreciated. Harleen will be replacing Mrs Barbara Pring, who will be finishing up at the end of the year to enjoy a different pace of life - we would like to wish Barbara all the best and thank her for her many years of service in the Front Office at PPN.

AMC and ICAS Certificates

Families of our F-2 Students...Save the Date!

Our Lower Primary classes have been practicing hard for our Christmas Concert which is only 4 weeks away!
We will perform the concert twice, on two consecutive mornings - Tuesday 6th December and Wednesday 7th December. More information about bookings to come soon!
We can't wait to share this special performance with you.

Fun Run

OSHC School Holiday Program