Wednesday 6th of September is Show Day for Prescott Primary Northern. The school will be closed. Please contact myOSCH if you require care for your child. 

Sheepish author visits PPN

Andrew McDonough is the creator, write and illustrator of the much-loved Lost Sheep book series – and we were very lucky to have him visit PPN as part of our Book Week celebrations. Our student’s not only got a peak under the covers of Andrew’s creative process but also got to experiment with their own drawings with pen and paper.

This week is another busy one at school. We have had our author visits with Andrew McDonogh that have carried over from Book Week last week and the kids have loved it. A huge thank you to our Book Week team, Mrs Vitoria Cowley, Mrs Kelly Pridmore, Ms Jasmin Lim, Ms Sarah Petney, Mrs Megan Joyce, Ms Caitlin Smith and Mrs Karen Blyde. They have gone above and beyond for our children. Thank you so much to those families who were able to join us for the Book Week Parade last Friday. It was a hoot!

This week is also SSO Appreciation Week. We want to say a huge thank you to the non-teaching staff at Prescott Primary Northern. This includes our SSOs, Front, Office Staff, Student Services staff, maintenance staff and bus drivers, who work so hard for the children, families and staff in our school. Each of them give so much for our school family.

Also, a reminder that Wednesday next week is a Show Day, School Closure day so there will not be any school on that day.

This Sunday is Father’s Day and it would be remiss of me not to give a big shot out to the dad’s and father figures in our lives, and the lives of our children. I understand that families come in a lot of different forms, and I love to honour parents and good parenting, however, I also think it is of great value to honour and encourage fathers and father figures, for the special contributions they can make. Below is an article highlighting some of those specific things and offering us some research-backed suggestions on how we can make even better dad contributions to the lives of our kids. So hats off to dads!!! We appreciate and need you to be good dads for us!

Fatherhood Redefined.

Dads of all kinds are important contributors to families. Biological fathers, step-fathers, legal guardians, fosterfathers, grandfathers, even close family friends acting as faux fathers can all perform important roles in families. There is even a YouTuber who acts as “Dad” to 4.6 million subscribers, who turn to him for “Dadvice” about everything from how to shave a beard to how to inflate a tubeless wheelbarrow tire. However, the benefits of having a present and involved dad go far beyond having someone around to teach wheelbarrow maintenance. In fact, Harvard family scholars Marc Grau Grau and Hannah Riley Bowles state that “The importance of engaged fatherhood is now undismissable in ways it was not in earlier decades.” Fathers are not like mothers. Fathers parent in unique ways, which offers unique and important benefits to their families and children. Here’s a few things dads can do to be uniquely helpful:

Take paternity leave

Fathers who take paternity leave, especially if they take at least two weeks, are significantly more likely to dedicate their time to childcare and housework, not only during their leave period, but at least until the child is two to three years old!

Be present

It seems simple, but remember that having a present father in the home is a protective factor for reducing antisocial behaviour in boys, and reducing teen pregnancy, depression, and early sexual activity in girls

Share the load

It’s highly likely that the distribution of childcare and housework tasks isn’t as even as you might like to believe it is. By stepping up and sharing the load, fathers can help close the gender gap even further, model for their children how healthy relationships function, and set expectations for their children’s future relationships.

Play

Dads play in unique ways, particularly by encouraging risk taking and exploration. The sort of vigorous, stimulating rough-housing play that dads are so great at predicts enhanced social competence, while decreasing externalising and internalising behaviour problems.

Read to the kids

Reading books together, telling stories, and singing songs to the kids are all important forms of cognitive stimulation which have established benefits for improving literacy outcomes in children. Interestingly, these benefits are more pronounced when dad does the storytelling.

Talk with the kids

Dads also engage in a unique communication style with their kids. Fathers seem more likely to use bigger words when they speak to their children. Mums keep it simple. Both forms of communication are valuable for kids, but this report from the American Academy of Pediatrics points out data showing that “at 3 years of age, father-child communication was a significant and unique predictor of advanced language development in the child but mother-child communication was not.”

Engage in discipline

To discipline means to instruct, teach, and guide. Parents can effectively discipline their kids by setting limits in a way that explores what’s going on, explains our reasoning for desired behaviour, and empowers kids to problem solve and come up with reasonable ways forward. Fathers are typically more authoritarian than mothers, so may need to work harder to move away from coercive and punitive discipline methods.

There’s so many other things dads can do to be excellent fathers. But… here’s the vital thing:

Fatherhood matters. Period. Even if dad is not in the family home. Even if dad is not married or together with mum. Even when it’s not part of the ‘package’ deal. (Which is, by the way, ideal… but the world is far from perfect.)

In Australia, there are more than 1 million single parent families, and 86% of those families are mother-led. Additionally, data from the US suggests that 27% of non-resident fathers don’t see their kids at all. That is a lot of kids who are growing up with absent fathers.

Living away from the kids does not mean that a father can’t provide them with the benefits of being involved. This meta-analysis of 52 studies finds clear support that non-resident fathers can still have a positive impact on their children’s academic achievement, behavioural adjustment, and emotional well-being. Being involved matters. Having a positive father-child relationship matters. “ (Coulson, 2023)

Have a great week with our kids and happy father’s day,

Mark B

There are so many things that they do for us and sometimes we forget to thank them. I know that if anything in my house is broken or loose, my dad will have his toolbox ready to go. 

Feeling Blue

The term ‘feeling blue’ is widely used. Generally, adults use it to explain a general sense of sadness, tiredness or ongoing negativity.

Using the Zones of Regulation framework, we can actually help our children more specifically, and usefully, express, understand, and process their feelings within the ‘blue zone’.

While the Blue Zone is similar to when a person feels down, sad, or low in energy, it’s more accurately understood as a zone where a child might experience feelings of sadness, disappointment, or even boredom.

Here's how you might recognize when your child is in the Blue Zone:

1. Emotional Signs: Children in the Blue Zone might seem quiet, withdrawn, or even teary-eyed. They could express feelings of sadness, longing, or unhappiness. They might not show much enthusiasm for activities they normally enjoy.

2. Physical Signs: In the Blue Zone, a child's body might show signs of low energy. They might move slowly, slump their shoulders, or have a lack of physical activity. Their facial expressions might look more serious or subdued.

3. Cognitive Signs: A child in the Blue Zone might have trouble concentrating, appear disinterested, or seem preoccupied with their thoughts. They might focus on things that make them sad or things that didn't go well.

4. Social Signs: Children in the Blue Zone might prefer to be alone or have fewer interactions with others. They might not engage in social activities as actively as they would in other zones.

As a parent, it's important to understand that being in the Blue Zone is a natural part of the emotional spectrum. Just like feeling happy or excited, feeling sad or down is something that everyone experiences at times. It's crucial to create an environment where your child feels comfortable expressing their emotions, including those in the Blue Zone.

Here are a few ways you can support your child when they're in the Blue Zone:

1. Validate Feelings: Let your child know that it's okay to feel sad or down sometimes. Validate their emotions and reassure them that you're there for them.

2. Offer Comfort: Provide comfort through words, hugs, or spending quality time together. Sometimes, just knowing that someone cares can help lift a child's spirits.

3. Engage in Soothing Activities: Encourage activities that might help your child feel better, like reading a book, listening to calming music, or engaging in creative outlets like drawing or writing.

4. Open Communication: Encourage your child to talk about what's bothering them. Sometimes, sharing their thoughts and feelings can provide relief.

5. Monitor Self-Care: Help your child engage in basic self-care activities like getting enough sleep, eating nutritious meals, and staying hydrated. These factors can impact their emotional well-being.

Remember, the goal of the Zones of Regulation is not to avoid the Blue Zone entirely, but rather to help children recognize their emotions, understand why they might be feeling a certain way, and develop healthy strategies for managing and moving through different emotional states.

Our SSO’s Are Awesome!

This week we celebrated SSO Appreciation Week  - not because it’s on the calendar, but because our SSO’s are amazing and deserve to be celebrated. Our SSO’s not only support students in the classroom, but run out of class support, keep our library running, meet our students and parents in the front office, and ensure build strong, positive relationships with our students. To all our SSO’s - thanks for being awesome!

Father's Day Stall

Prescott College

OSHC - Show Day

OSHC Christmas Closure Times

Christian Book Sale