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Autumn Art
As part of their art program, our Year 3 students have been exploring the amazing warm hues of autumn. Using the art of sponge painting, they have worked to create some beautiful works that capture Adelaide’s autumn trees that we see around us.






Nature Paint Brush
Sometimes inspiration for our nature experience comes in advance, and other times it comes with interaction in nature with my family. This week's inspiration was inspired by a simple play at our local playground with a beautiful big nature space next to it. On the ground were a lot of sticks and there was a big variety of different kinds of leaves and plants. The inspiration to make all these bits and pieces into a paintbrush came to life.
When the students came to the Nature Play Space this week, they were excited to paint, however they were confused as there weren't any paintbrushes. The students chose from a variety of different species of plants, grabbed a piece of string and tied them onto a stick. They then used their brush to make a picture using paints either of the tree around them, or a picture of their own. The students found it tricky to creatively use the nature paintbrush to make it do what they wanted, but their creativity took over and they were able to create a masterpiece, using different textures and techniques to make a picture. While the students were busy making their masterpiece a small mud kitchen was set up for the students to mix, grind and stir.
Have you ever tried making a paintbrush using pieces from nature?








Nature Maths
This week, we lapped up the bits and pieces of sunshine during our nature maths time. Students were still working on subtraction, and we used our natural items and some recycling to have some fun with subtraction in the sun.
Working in small groups, the students had cards with subtraction facts on them, a white board marker and some collected pieces from the nature play space. They worked out the sums using the items they collected and wrote the answer onto the cardboard, with each group member helping their group to get to the answer. We all enjoyed learning subtraction in a different way, with some students saying ‘That was fun’!










Hi, PPN family. It was so good to be back and hear the students say good morning at Assembly on Monday. I was away for some extra leave for the first couple of weeks, and I must say I missed the warmth and enthusiasm our school family brings. I have loved catching up on WOW news and Mother’s Day fun from last week. There are other highlights to look forward to in the next week or so with Miss Pfeiffer taking a team to the SAPSASSA Cross Country event on Friday, and our Autumn Playdate for preschoolers next Monday.
I was reading a piece out of the Bible recently that really got me thinking. It is, in fact, the shortest verse in the Christian scriptures. It only has two words. “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35) As I read, I looked for further context for this two-word sentence. The story that the words occur in is when Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died and Jesus sees the pain this has caused in Lazarus’ sister Mary. The Bible records that Jesus was “deeply moved in his spirit” by Mary’s pain and so he wept. I began considering what it is that I shed tears over, or what I am deeply moved by. Things like pain experienced by those I care very much about, injustices served on people, a lack of care, concern or love shown by people to others. There will be some reading this who have grown up being told or modelled that such depth of feeling or response is weakness. In my experience the very opposite is true. The strength it takes to be deeply moved by hurt or injustice is considerable. I read recently that “Without our tears, our hearts have few options but to harden.” (Eliand, 2024)
Why am I sharing with you on this topic? These are really important thoughts for us to consider, but also for our children to process. Emotional development and understanding in our children have become increasingly researched and valued in recent years. Many studies have taken place as we gain understanding into how children develop and how we can best help our kids grow. Helping our students with skills for seeing the perspective of others, sharing, contributing, and playing well in a group, being willing to go without so others may benefit, are all vital proficiencies for our children to learn and grow in. They have huge importance in the playground, classroom and at home. We also know that the are skills that will stand them in good stead for future family life as well as in their work lives.
There are many really good resources around for helping our kids develop these abilities. I would encourage you to take some time to read how you can best support your child/ren in their growth, and then put a couple of strategies in place. Here are three links that might get you started in your reading.
School-age development | Raising Children Network
https://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/strategies.html https://thespoke.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/social-emotional-development/
I hope you also find opportunity to model the importance of being “deeply moved” with compassion and in response to injustice and hurt just as Jesus was.
Have a great week with our kids.
Mark B
I want to take this time to give a massive thank you to everyone involved, we had a lot of help from staff and from students. In particular, our student chaplains. Our student chaplains were given a copy of the whole week's program on the Friday before WoW. And to my surprise, all the student chaplains came well prepared for all their roles by Monday. Each of them displayed a high level of responsibility and initiative, requiring minimal assistance in preparing for their parts to play during WoW. Some of these roles included welcoming all the students to WoW, preparing and leading an acknowledgement of country, running a quiz or an ice-breaker and finally introducing our guest speaker Pr Tim. Pr Tim shared how our students could let their light shine for Jesus using examples from the bible and linking them to real world examples as analogies for our students to understand. Some of my favourites were about Tommy Eddison, Louis Braille and Iqbal Masih.
Pr Tim shared with our team that he really loved the environment that the students provided, saying that they're all very engaged and passionate. He shared that it was so refreshing to see staff members so genuinely happy and really enjoying the work they do, with a God centered approach. The entire week was such a blessing. Including our finale on Friday night when we invited all of the students and their parents to our final WoW program complete with soup and buns. Finally a massive thank you to all the parents that joined us on Friday evening. You made a spectacular end to our amazing week and we really hope you enjoyed it as much as we did!
Many thanks to our entire community here at PPN, God’s blessings are truly abundant in this place.
Social Media and Kids
Over the last couple of days you may have read or heard news about the South Australian government taking initial steps towards banning social media for all children under the age of 14.
If not, you can read their official statement here: Nation-leading move to protect our children from social media | Premier of South Australia
I was struck by some statements made by Sonya Ryan OAM, who is the Founder and CEO of The Carly Ryan Foundation. She said:
Social media presents a ‘profound risk of harm’ for kids. Children do not have the life experience or the cognitive and executive functioning to think through harmful situations online, sometimes placing themselves at real physical risk.
Children are exposed to harmful content, including dangerous viral trends, pornography, online predators looking to sexually exploit them, cyberbullying and sextortion.
Numerous studies show that social media use among young children is linked to adverse effects, including unrealistic expectations and perceptions which can lead to severe depression, anxiety, inadequate sleep, low self-esteem, poor body image, eating disorder behaviours and online harassment.
While seemingly shocking, these are sometimes the reminders that we need. Yes, the ability for children to connect online does have some benefits, but the risk and impact it presents is unavoidably large and well documented.
Many social media platforms, thanks in part to pressure from European legislation, already have age limits for users. Even in these cases, parental guidance and support is vital. Just as we work with our children to be safe on the street, in the shops and in other social settings – and to learn to make wise choices in all areas of life – we also need to walk with them, guiding and occasionally making the hard choices for them, through the digital life.
For more information, ideas and support around internet safety for our kids, I encourage you to click the link below.
Internet safety for children 6-8 years | Raising Children Network
Mother’s Day Stall
Our Mother’s Day Stall is always a big hit with our students. We are blessed by the many mothers who are part of the PPN community. We hope you were all spoiled on Sunday!
Thanks to Mrs Isaac and our wonderful volunteers for creating such a fun and meaningful experience for our kids.
Learning Expo Morning
Step inside your child’s classroom, see their learning first hand and better understand what they get up to at school by coming along for the PPN Learning Expo on Tuesday, 28 May. Classrooms will be open 9:15 – 10:30am. No RSVP required.
Year 6 Science Literacy Assessment
In Week 5 of this term, our Year 6 students will take part on a short, online Science Literacy assessment. This forms part of the National Assessment Program, which provides information to schools and governments about the progress of students in key learning areas.
Prescott Primary Northern has opted-in to deliver this assessment as it will allow the school, students and families to measure student performance against national standards, and use the results to review, plan and adapt our teaching to ensure it remains the best that it can be.
If you have questions regarding the NAP Opt-In Science Literacy assessment for your Year 6 students please speak with your classroom teacher or contact bradenblyde@ppn.sa.edu.au
National Siultaneous Storytime
PPN are excited to take part in National Simultaneous Storytime next Wednesday. Our very own Bowerbird has been preparing his nest in the library. Have you seen all the blue things he has used to decorate it with? There is still time to help him out by bringing small blue items to the library to add to his nest.
Office Administration Trainee Position
ICAS Competitions
Lower Primary Sports Day
Our Foundation to Year 2 students will be running, jumping and throwing their little hearts out on Friday, 31 May at the PPN Lower Primary Sports Day. Events planned for the day include: sprints, ball throw, hurdles, long jump, high jump, egg and spoon race, and the water relay.
Time: 9:25am – 12:40pm
Where: PPN Back Oval
Please Note: Students need to wear full sports uniform and bring their water bottle, school hat and normal recess, lunch and brain food.
Parents are welcome to attend.