Students in the Year 4 STEM team have been working very hard on their Ferris Wheel projects this semester. We have been learning about Civil Engineering, circuits and motors. As part of their learning the students designed their own working Ferris Wheel, connected to a motor and battery pack. Today most of them finished their projects and will be bringing them home. Strap yourself in, lego men, get ready for a fast ride!

Year 5 Creative Writing Enrichment team

This year a team of talented writers from Year 5 have been working on writing their own picture books for the Junior Primary students. This has been an accumulation of many, many hours of learning how to write a picture book, writing, editing, re-writing, more editing, and drawing and colouring all of their illustrations. Today we celebrated as their 'published' books have finally arrived for all to enjoy in the Discovery Centre. The books look so colourful and the stories are fantastic too. Parents are encouraged to pop into the Discovery Centre to have a read for themselves. Congratuations to all of our aspiring authors on your hard work and wonderful efforts!

Year 6 Art on Display  

Our Year 6 students have been proudly displaying a range of their artwork in the library over the last few weeks. Their talents and efforts have not only produced amazing works, but give every student inspiration for what they can achieve!

Year 4 Tomato Town Banquet

“Doot Doot!” (The traditional greeting in Tomato Town) - The Mayor of Tomato Town, Mr Gomez Pectin, tasked our Year 4 students with a rather tasty challenge this past semester: To grow their own tomatoes, sample a variety of ingredients such as herbs and veggies, and design their own healthy non-cooking recipe that features their fresh tomatoes! All a part of Food Specialisations (Design and Technologies), Science (biology) and healthy eating (Health), students have been learning about designing a safe environment for plants, researching recipe ideas, problem solving and working as a team to meet the needs of the design brief. 

As promised, last Friday was held the Tomato Town Banquet! Mayor Gomez Pectin and his assistant, Ms Phenolic Flavanoid, visited our Year 4 munchkin chefs who had been working feverishly to create their recipes. Our guests then sampled every dish and scored them to a strict marking criteria.

“All the dishes were fantastic! So tasty and good looking!” exclaimed Ms Flavanoid. “VIVA EL TOMATE!” shouted Mayor Pectin. A fun tomato-filled time was had by all.

Nature Mobiles

Have you ever looked at the beautiful pieces of nature and thought it would look good as a piece of art in your home?

Today the students at PPN used some collected natural items to make a beautiful hanging nature mobile. Because it was a bit fiddly and used some important fine motor skills to put together, it was a little bit of a challenge to tie the string onto the stick and then each item they wanted to use to decorate. However some students had sheer determination to complete it before the bell, and they did, creating beautiful natural mobiles!

Will you collect some items on your nature walk this week and create a natural mobile for your home?

Where do you go? 

The last few weeks have seen students working hard finishing all their assessments, which teachers have marked and are now writing students’ reports. While some of our students can complete the work with little assistance, some need a lot of SSO time to finish the tasks.   

Everyone needs help at some stage in their journey towards accomplishing tasks in life. Arguably the assistance is not the same.  Some know their needs and readily ask for help while others rely on other people noticing their struggles and offering to help or simply taking over their burdens where possible.  Ultimately, the tasks are done. 

In a few weeks, school reports will be complete, and parents and guardians will be able to see the progress their students have made.  This reminds me of the bigger scope of life where we can be burdened with a lot of things and need help.   

Where do you go?  Who do you turn to?   

Dottie Rambo’s song identifies Jesus as the Rock and says:  "I go to the rock of my salvation; go to the stone that the builders rejected; when I need a shelter when I need a friend I go to the Rock”  

What about you? 

Hey PPN Family,

I was reading my Bible recently and I came across a verse that reminded me again of how much God really loves us. The verse was Ephesians 1:4, but before we get there, I would like to start with 1 John 4:8 (NLT) where we read, “But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

The fact that God is love is one of the foundational teachings in the Bible, and this idea was magnified for me after reading Ephesians 1:4 (NLT) where Paul writes, “Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.” The thought that hit me was that even before God created the world, he knew that Jesus would have to die in order to save us from sin and death.

The love of God is amplified even more when we realise that Jesus is the one who created everyone and everything (John 1:1-3) which means that when we read in Genesis 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person”, it was actually Jesus who created Adam.

This means that when Jesus breathed the breath of life that gave Adam life, He knew that this would lead directly to Him breathing his last breath on the cross to save Adam and all of us. That is how much Jesus loves you and me.

May this truth fill you with love, joy, and peace as you go about your day today.

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai

How to be a Hope Builder

Maybe it’s forgotten homework, losing a soccer game or hitting the wrong notes at a piano recital. Following mistakes or perceived failures, our children often fall into a pit of hopelessness – and with the loud messages that surround us in the media, who can blame them.

However, one of the key roles of parents is to build hope and confidence, and ultimately inspire our children so that they can see the best of themselves, and the ways in which they can make the world a better place.

Here are three simple ways to be a hope builder in our families:

1. Encourage Goal-Setting:

• • Explore Interests: Help your child discover what excites them—try new activities like sports, art, or music.
  • Set Small, Achievable Goals: Break big dreams into manageable steps to build confidence through progress.

2. Teach Problem-Solving:

• • Brainstorm Together: When challenges arise, help your child think of multiple solutions and pick the best one.
  • Embrace Mistakes: Remind them that mistakes are part of learning, not failures—“hills make you strong!”

3. Build Confidence:

• • Reflect Often: Talk about what went well or what could improve after an experience. This strengthens problem-solving and self-belief.
  • Give Choices: Let them make age-appropriate decisions and learn from the outcomes.
  • Be Their Cheerleader: Show unwavering belief in their abilities, even when they doubt themselves.

By teaching kids how to set goals, overcome obstacles, and believe in themselves, you’re equipping them with the tools they need to face life’s challenges with hope and resilience.

You’ve got this, hope builder

 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13

For more tips on building hope in your children click here.

Don’t miss out on your crazy hair day on Friday - Bring your gold coin donation any day this week!

Plus, three students and one teacher will be having their hair cut to donate to WIGS4KIDS. Join us in the shade of the back oval trees on Friday afternoon.

NOTE: The weather is forecast to be hot. Arrangements have been made to keep everyone cool.

My OSHC Vacation Care

My OSHC Christmas Closure Times