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Year 5 Camp
Fun was had by all, and we are excited to return home and share all our stories and pictures with families and friends.
Year 6s Get a Taste of High School
Starting with students in 6C, these visits to our sister school in Prospect allow our students to learn and practice new skills with equipment not available to them at primary school, while also getting ready for the transition to Highschool. They also have a lot of fun!
Sounds of Nature Playdate
It was a hot morning but that did not stop the fun! There were lots of different activities and opportunities to explore and create the sounds of nature. The children created paintings of native wildlife, made music with glass jars filled with water, created their own musical shakers with objects from nature, and cooled off with water and ice play and a run under the sprinkler.
We were fortunate to have a special visitor, Phil, bring along his Yidaki and share some special music with us. There was fresh fruit and cold drinks and a special ice block treat for the kids. The morning finished up with a very special concert with everyone involved – Mr Borresen joined in with his ukulele, Phil with his Yidaki and all the children with the shakers that they had made.
We had a wonderful time sharing our amazing nature play space with our community and look forward to doing it all again next term.
Nature Play Treasure
One of our favourite family activities is to go for a walk and collect beautiful and interesting treasures. When we decide to bring them home, we use our treasures in lots of different ways. We can use them in play, in a nature table display at our house, or we make a craft out of our finds.
This weeks craft was inspired by one of our family walks over the weekend. We went up to Mount Crawford to enjoy the glorious weather and found a large amount of pinecones. The foraged pinecones turned into all sorts of creatures and crafts at PPN. Some pinecones were used in a mud kitchen, some were turned into colourful wool creations, and some were made into pinecone creatures.
To make pinecone pals, you need pinecones, foraged natural items and clay. Simply use pieces of clay to stick the foraged pieces to the pinecone. The best part about this craft, is that it was very cheap, with the only cost being the clay. The rest of the items were collected in nature or reused from other crafts. What creatures can you make using the items collected from your family walks?
I was reading an article recently about two mathematicians (one from the University of New South Wales) who, in 2016, managed to come up with a solution to a problem many thought impossible to solve. (Klarreich, 2016) It was seeking a mathematical solution to the problem of how to cut a cake in an envy-free way between any number of people. This dilemma has quite a long recent history among scientists and two relative newcomers were able to solve it.
Interestingly, the two men reflected that knowing less than some others actually freed their minds to approach the challenge in new and creative ways rather than following traditional approaches. (Klarreich, 2016)
If you are anything like me, when we see a young person struggling to solve a problem, whether that be how to piece together a new lego set, open the door on the kitchen play set, or do their maths homework, the temptation is to step in quickly and give specific, logical instructions, so they know what to do.
“Neuroscience would suggest we rethink that approach and allow kids to feel challenge and struggle. Neuroscientists have found that mistakes are helpful for brain growth and connectivity and if we are not struggling, we are not learning.” (Boaler, 2019) As a parent and teacher, this is hard to do and watch, but if we aren’t willing to allow our kids to experience this discomfort, we are making things more difficult for them when challenges arise.
Below is an article with some good explanations and hints for us as parents and educators on the importance of challenges in learning in our lives, and our kids’ lives as well. I hope you enjoy it.
“Challenges are the pathway to growth. When our children habitually avoid challenges, their learning stalls. When they learn to understand, value, and embrace challenge, their learning accelerates. So, helping our children develop a healthy relationship with challenge becomes one of the most important ways we can help them become better learners.
How does your child respond to a challenge?
Does your child avoid a challenge, seeking their “path of least resistance” in learning?
Or do they select the challenges they know they can do? Looking like they are working hard, but secretly avoiding mistakes by not taking on anything too challenging?
Maybe your child takes on challenges because the teacher tells them to. They follow the teacher’s instructions and are led through challenging tasks.
Perhaps your child takes on challenges because they need to. They have something they want to achieve, a goal in mind. Their relationship with challenge is born out of necessity so they can reach their goal.
But imagine if your child embraced challenges. In the spirt of John F. Kennedy when he said, “we do these things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard!” Imagine if when they were given the choice of doing something hard, or something easy, they’d choose the more challenging task, because they understood that challenge is the pathway to growth.
Becoming a Skilful Learner
How our children respond to challenges is a key element of what I call Learnership™ – the skill of learning. Learnership is a skill developed over time. It helps our children (and us) to get more out of every learning opportunity. Most importantly, Learnership is something we can teach our children that helps them to thrive both in school and life.
As parents we can help our children on the path to becoming better learners, by helping them develop a healthier and more productive relationship with challenge.
Comfort Zone V’s Learning Zone. What’s the Difference?
The first step in helping your child develop a healthy relationship with challenge is to teach them the difference between their Comfort Zone and their Learning Zone
We’ve all heard that we need to get outside our comfort zone and challenge ourselves, but how many of our children truly understand what that means?
For many people, getting outside their comfort zone means trying something new. But something new, isn’t always something challenging. Very often “new” is simply an “easy thing we haven’t done yet”. There is little struggle involved in this type of challenge, it comes with a great deal of certainty, and confidence that we’ll succeed. These challenges feel more like a task. They keep us busy, but they don’t help us get better. These types of challenges are in our Comfort Zone.
To be truly challenged our children need to stretch themselves beyond their current abilities. These types of challenge feel like a problem. Unlike a task where the path to completion is easily recognised, the solution to this challenge is not immediately apparent. They leave us feeling uncertain, and they involve struggle. The challenge feels “hard”. When our child feels like this, it’s a good sign they are in their Learning Zone.
Being in your Learning Zone feels uncomfortable. When our children find themselves in the Learning Zone, their first reaction is often to get out of it. Suddenly anything else seems like a more attractive option. They look for distractions, seek out easy options or adopt any number of avoidance strategies.
Struggle is temporary
It’s important to help our children recognise that the feeling of struggle and discomfort that comes with being in their Learning Zone is temporary. It passes. Many children believe if they are struggling now, then the next step in learning will involve even more struggle. They believe that the further they go, the more uncomfortable they’ll feel. So naturally, they turn away from further struggle.
The reality is that effort is the currency of growth, and struggle is the price we pay for that growth. The reward is that what we experienced as hard today, becomes easy tomorrow. It doesn’t get harder and harder and harder. It’s hard, then it’s easy. Then they move on, and the next step is also hard, until they make that easy. Being in the Learning Zone, and experiencing the struggle that comes with it, is not only a normal part of learning, but also an essential part of growth.
Parenting for more skilful learners
As parents we have an important role in helping our children become more skilful learners. This begins by helping them develop a healthy relationship with challenge. By teaching them that effort is the cost of growth, and normalising the struggle that comes from being in their Learning Zone, we help them become “comfortably uncomfortable” with challenge, and put them on a path of continuous growth.” (Anderson, 2023)
Have a great week full of helpful challenges with our kids,
Mark B
This week, I was blessed to have been on Year 5 camp! I got to be with the students and go through a challenging but exhilarating experience that taught us important lessons about teamwork and faith. Throughout the camp, we participated in a variety of activities such as the giant swing, laser tag, raft building, vertical challenge, and low ropes. Each of these activities presented different challenges that we had to overcome. Not just together as a team, but with God by our side.
The story of Daniel in the lion's den reminded us of the importance of trusting in God and having faith in difficult situations. Just like Daniel, we faced our own fears during camp, such as the vertical challenge and the giant swing. However, by supporting and encouraging each other, we were able to conquer our fears and complete the challenges.
The story of Esther also taught us about the importance of teamwork and leadership. Esther had to work with others to save her people from harm. Similarly, during camp, we had to work together to build a raft and complete the low ropes course. We learned that by working together and supporting each other, we can achieve great things.
Additionally, during camp, we had the opportunity to learn about God's beautiful creation through the study of reptiles. We learned about the different types of reptiles and their habitats. This experience reminded us of the diversity of God's creation and the importance of caring for it.
Overall, Year 5 camp was an unforgettable experience that helped us to develop our teamwork and leadership skills, and taught us about the importance of faith and caring for God's creation.
The Resilient Parent – FREE WEBINAR
But what about becoming a resilient parent? Isn’t it just as important for us, as parents, to build resilience? After all, how can we raise resilient kids, without being a resilient parent?
Evidence tells us that parenting may be harder than it’s ever been before. There are many reasons for this… But we can do something to become both better parents and less burnt out in the process – and that’s by becoming more resilient parents.
And it’s only by becoming resilient ourselves, that we can teach our children to be resilient as well.
You’re invited to join Dr Justin Coulson for this FREE 30 minute webinar to explore the secrets to resilience as a parent. You’ll learn:
-How to be a more resilient parent
-How to show up in a way that is good for you and for your kids
-How to model resilience for your kids so they can better weather the storms of life
-How to sustain connection with your child when we you feel like you're going under
Click here to register now. Even if you can’t make it, you will have access to the recording for 7 days.
Pupil Free Day
Year 3 and 5 NAPLAN 2023
|
Day |
Date |
Test |
|
Wed |
15-Mar |
Writing |
|
Thurs |
16-Mar |
Reading |
|
Fri |
17-Mar |
Conventions of language |
|
Mon |
20-Mar |
Numeracy |
If you have a child in Year 3 or 5, please understand that this is simply a snapshot of their academic progress so far. We do not want this to become a stressful experience for our students or families, so we appreciate your support as we remind our students that to do their best is all that is asked of them.
Crazy Hair Day
Uniform Shop
Please book your appointment for your child’s Winter Fittings through the Front Office now.
These fittings are from Week 7, including the first term holidays.
Please call the office to make your appointment for a fitting: 8396 2577
Enrolments 2024
Foundation for 2024 is now fully booked. Please contact the office urgently if you have a child you wish to enrol for 2024
Office Administration Trainee
Do's & Don't of Dropping Your Kids to School
Daily Health Check
Prescott College
Enrolling at Prescott College
Places are filling fast for Year 7, 2024! To enrol, go to Apply Now.
Join us at one of our OPEN DAYS to take a guided tour of the Prospect campus and meet our wonderful staff and teachers.
We currently have a scholarship opportunity for students who show great potential in academics. See ad for details.
Website: prescottcollege.com.au
Phone: 8269 1655
