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Exploring Earthquakes in Year 6
In recent lessons, Year 6 students have been delving into the fascinating world of earthquakes! Through hands-on activities, like comparing eggs to the Earth's structure and experimenting with playdough to understand the forces at play during earthquakes, our young scientists are gaining a deeper understanding of these powerful natural phenomena.
Playdate with Prescott
A welcome change in weather last Friday came at just the right time for our first Playdate with Prescott for 2024. We welcomed lots of new faces and with the help of some of our Year 5 students the little ones enjoyed a fun morning of nature play, painting, and craft.
The theme for our morning was ‘A celebration of cultures’. Together all the little ones created a collaborative artwork that celebrated our different cultures. Our staff and student helpers dressed in cultural clothes, and after lots of playing, crafting, and yummy fruit snacks we finished the morning with group time. Phil, our special guest brought along his Yidaki, and the children had lots of fun bouncing like kangaroos, walking like emus, and slithering like snakes.
We look forward to welcoming our little friends back for our next Playdate very soon.
We're Going on a Bug Hunt!
Have you ever gone on a bug hunt in your own garden? What bugs did you find?
We have so many creatures crawling around under logs and in our gardens doing wonderful things. This week, the students went on a bug hunt to stop and notice the bugs we might have around our school. Armed with a magnifying glass and a poster of common school yard creatures, the students went on a hunt around the school to see if they could find them. Squeals of joy were heard as they located an ant and saw a bee and butterfly flying between the plants in our playground. They loved trekking through the garden to see what they could find. There weren't too many about in the heat, but they were excited to keep their eyes out for what they might see around the playground in the next few weeks.
Students also had the chance to make a rock creature by decorating it with paint pens. Some students made lady bugs, spiders and there were plenty of bees.
Will you take some time this week to go out to your garden or a local park and have a close look to see what might be in your garden? Nature play SA have some wonderful downloads that you can print off at your house and discover what creatures you have around your house!
Foundation Nature Maths
For the next 5 weeks, our Foundations students will be heading outside to do some maths in nature. This week was our first lesson outside, and it was a lovely warm day to kick it off.
The students had a quick recap on the numbers we were focusing on and then had the chance to collect items in nature and represent the numbers 1-10 using the items they had collected. The students collected many different things from leaves, to bark, rocks and sticks and busily worked away to count the number of items for each number. They then got the chance to practise writing those numbers with a stick in the sand and the dirt. It was a great hands-on lesson that can easily be done outside wherever you are. We can’t wait to practise more maths skills outside next week!
Welcome to Week 5 of our first term, PPN Family. It is another busy week at school with learning activities in full swing, our student leaders receiving some extra inspiration about leadership and our first major service project for the year coming up tomorrow for the Heart Foundation, with "Reverse Day," where kids dress as staff, and staff dress as students. That should be . . . interesting? I can't wait to see how it goes.
Have you noticed how, in life and in parenting, there are times when it is tough to balance everything? It seems that by meeting the demands of one area, we run the risk of leaving another related area wanting. Let me give you an example. During my childhood, my parents and teachers tried very hard to get me to take some things seriously. I would brush things off without realising the impact some of my choices were having on myself and others. Fast forward a bit, and as a teenager, in my concern for not wanting to alienate or offend my friends or teachers, I would worry about things I might say, or had said or choices I had made, to the point that I would become anxious about those relationships.
I see it in everyday school life with our kids. The invasiveness of media and the transparency of our society, both of which have huge benefits, also add unprecedented layers of complexity to our children's lives. Little wonder, when we encourage them to consider carefully the things that they see and hear, they are challenged and worried by some of those. I read an article this week that talks practically about how we help our kids balance these things and how we can help them if things overwhelm them. I hope you find it helpful.
Don't Worry!
"When your child is angry, have you ever tried telling them to just "calm down?" I bet it worked! I'm entirely confident that they smiled at you angelically and said something like, "Thank you for your wisdom! You are right; I do just need to calm down."
Just kidding!
In fact, if they're anything like my own kids, they may have yelled back, "I don't want to calm down!" before storming off to their room and slamming the door behind them.
When it comes to dealing with big emotions like anger, it never helps to tell our children to just "calm down." Yet anger isn't the only emotion that we try to dismiss.
How often have we accompanied our kid to their first day of school, to the first training session for soccer, or to a piano recital and said something like, "Don't worry! You'll do fine?"
We might believe that we're being reassuring. After all, these words are coming from a place of kindness and compassion. Yet they are unlikely to do anything to address the worries and anxieties our kids are experiencing.
The difference between anger and worry is that worry is often a hidden emotion. We may say "don't worry", and unlike saying "calm down", it might seem to work. Our child may smile back at us as they walk into school or their piano recital. They might even seem less nervous the next time. Yet on the inside, they're thinking something like, "My parent doesn't understand me… I can't talk to my parent about my worries...I don't have anyone to help me..."
So if saying "don’t worry” doesn’t cut it, what should we be doing instead?
- Be proactive
Often, the biggest worry kids have is the fear of the unknown. We can greatly diminish the anxiety our kids are likely to feel by talking to them about what to expect. If they’re starting at a new school, that could mean introducing them to their teacher in advance, showing them where the bathrooms are, and deciding where you will meet at pick up time. If they’re preparing for their piano recital, it can help to talk about the schedule for the day, how many people are expected to be there, and what they need to bring alone. Whenever there is a big event on the horizon, it really pays to help our kids visualise what that event will look like.
- Provide emotional support in the moment.
If it looks like your child is getting nervous, telling them not to worry only invalidates their feelings. Instead, you can say something like, “It looks like you’re feeling a bit worried about something. Would you like to talk to me about it?” Then wait. Silence is a powerful form of communication; it tells our kids that we’re listening. Make sure not to jump in and try to solve their problems when they do start talking. Just listen and provide a sounding board as they work their way to their own solutions.
- Help them address persistent worry
Some kids are more prone to anxiety than others. Importantly, worry and anxiety do not always look like worry and anxiety. It can often present as frequent stomach aches, trouble sleeping, or irritability. If you’re not sure what is driving your child’s behaviour, but there have been recent changes in your child’s life or a big event coming up, worry may be part of the problem. It can be useful to talk to them in age-appropriate terms about the purpose of worry – that worry is like a messenger telling us that something might go wrong, and we can use our worry to help us make good choices and stay safe. Books like The Worrysaurus by Rachel Brightand, and What If? by Lynn Jenkins can also serve as a springboard for discussion.
Worry is just like any other emotion. We can’t stop our kids from feeling it by telling them to just calm down, relax, or get over it. Like with all emotions, the best thing we can do is to be patient and support our kids as the emotion runs its course. (Coulson, 2024)
Have a great week with our kids,
Mark B
Greetings all parents and caregivers,
We’re halfway through the term and I have no idea where the time has gone. All the staff are excited for tomorrow’s Reverse Day, and we’ve been eagerly discussing each other’s costumes and outfits. We cannot wait to see what creative ideas the students have come up with as they dress up as teachers and staff members for the day.
This week in Year 3, we’ve been looking at fear and linking it with the story of Moses. In Numbers chapter 21 you’ll find a recount of the children of Israel out wandering the wilderness and running into a snake problem. Now I don’t know about you, but as someone who is scared of snakes, I couldn’t think of anything worse than to be plagued by them. As the snakes were running rampant biting and killing everyone, Moses prayed for the people and God responded telling Moses to cast a snake out of bronze and place up high on a pole. And anyone that looks at the snake on a pole would be healed from the venomous snakes.
Moses did what was asked and sure enough, the children of Israel stopped perishing form the venomous bites. Now God had the power to handle this situation in any number of ways. He could have made all the snakes slither away and leave them alone. But He chose to make an image of the very thing they were scared of, and it was only when the people looked at it and faced their most pressing fear, that they were healed.
God wont always take away the things that are scary in this world. But He’ll always stand by us when we face our fears and give us the courage to be brave. This may have been one of the earliest recordings of exposure therapy we have. Studies show that when we are exposed to our fears and choose to face them head on, we don’t become less scared of the fear, we become braver in general. This is an important distinction. God can help us become braver, enhancing our character, instead of making the scary thing disappear.
So next time you’re scared (because yes, even adults get scared sometimes) maybe ask God for a little bravery, a little courage. And stand up to your fears instead of asking God to take them away.
God Bless!
Toby Ackland
It’s come to that point of the year where the goals we set on January 1 have either gained momentum, become a burden, or been given up on completely.
Our goals are often very personal – things we would like to do more or less of, strengths or weaknesses we would like to address, those kind of things. But what about family goals – did you set one this year? Have you ever?
Whether you have, or haven’t the thoughts below might be of use to you as we settle into the rhythm of 2024.
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When I look at people who achieve the most in life, they often have goals. Why?
Goals energise. Goals create clarity and focus. Goals offer opportunity – things happen to enable success when you set a goal.
But there are some problems with goals.
The first problem is that they won’t necessarily make you happy. Chasing the wrong kinds of goals (extrinsic) versus the right kinds of goals (intrinsic) is a sure-fire way to decrease your happiness, even while achieving the amazing.
The second problem is that goals often feel controlling. Rigid. And when we fail we feel incompetent, and the self-castigation commences.
The third problem is that many of our goals involve other people. If they’re not ‘buying’ the vision – if they’re not all-in on the goal – not only is the goal unachievable, but relationships rupture.
The fourth problem – and perhaps the most challenging – is that many goals don’t lend themselves to actually being goals. Having a happy family is hard to nail down into the SMART goal formula.
How do you get specific on what happy means?
How do you measure happiness in your family? And when?
Is happiness all the time even achievable? Realistic?
And what about the time element? Happiness today isn’t happiness forever.
There is no doubt that goals help us achieve. Evidence overwhelmingly supports this. But success with goal-setting, especially in family life, is more about a combination of knowing what you want and then building the system to underpin it.
Three things will sustain success in family goal setting and system building:
1. Start from the Bottom Up
Facilitate this through regular family meetings and asking questions like: “What’s going well? What needs improvement? What should be our focus?” By asking these questions, we empower children to contribute to family goal setting.
2. Build a Plan Together
Two steps here. First, if you know you want more kindness (or better/more regular holidays) ask “how” and make the plan as simple as you can.
Next, track progress. This must be non-punitive. It’s not a reward system. Rewards feel controlling. Instead, make the accountability easy, and fun with regular check ins. In our family, we have a weekly 15-minute family meeting to discuss progress, reassess plans, and stay aligned.
3. Focus on Being Together
To a child, LOVE is spelled T-I-M-E. Systems will be followed and goals achieved when children feel involved, connected, and engaged with you as you follow the plan/system. If the goal is to climb a mountain, training together will be more effective than training alone. If the goal is more fun as a family, time in bikes or on board games will be more effective than time in bedrooms.
When children actively participate in goal setting and experience autonomy, involvement with you, and moments of success and achievement, motivation is high, systems succeed, and your family is more likely to achieve.
(Source: Justin Coulson, happyfamlies.com.au)
Pupil Free Day
Friday 8th March is a pupil free day and Monday 11th March is a public holiday.
Reverse Day
While preparing for Reverse Day, please keep in mind the following in mind regarding your costume:
- Jewellery (including ear-rings and necklaces) are not to be worn.
- Girls may choose to wear lip-gloss, but no other make-up.
- Hair may be worn down, but is not to interfere with student’s learning.
- Costumes must not contain short skirts or shorts, and cover the body to the same extent as their school uniforms.
Naplan 2024
Enrolments 2026
Library Borrowing
A reminder that all students need a library bag to borrow and must return their books before they can borrow new ones.
Yr 3-6 Uppers Sports Day
Basketball 2024
Let the Bulls charge, the Falcons fly, while Lightning and Thunder take to the court!
Basketball has taken off this year with the first 3 games under their belts of our Year 2/3 and 4/5 basketball players.
After some team adjustments and new Managers put in place, we have 40 PPN'ers sweating it out on the court both at trainings and games each week.
This year, Coach Omar from ACBA is drilling our ball players in a fun, intensive training for some who are bouncing balls for the first time to those who have been on the court for 5 successive years. It's proving to be super beneficial as their games unfold each week. Omar has commented on the attentiveness and keen approach our students have towards his trainings.
The year 4/5 Lightning and Thunder teams have had "derbies" for the past couple of rounds. Displaying such great team work and competitive nature, these two teams are ones to watch as they progress through the competition against the likes of Good Shepherd and Pedare Christian School.
Thanks to the awesome Managers: John leading the 2/3 Falcons, Ian, Ross and Amy with the 2/3 Bulls, Lynne leading 4/5 Lightning and Sumit with 4/5 Thunder. Our teams thank you!
Check out some of last week's match between Prescott Lightning and Thunder!
