Our journey began at our accommodation, where we focused on teamwork and overcoming our fears. Highlights included soaring on zip lines and stacking milk crates high into the sky! In our free time, we enjoyed group games like Heads Down, Thumbs Up, and a new favourite, Gaga Ball. We also participated in orienteering, discovering various locations and solving riddles around our campsite.

Day 3 was particularly memorable as we visited Sovereign Hill. Here, we explored the many jobs from the Goldfields era and even tried our luck at gold panning. Some students were fortunate to find flecks of gold while panning, leaving us wanting to find even more. Seeing a real gold bar was a definite highlight. The sweets demonstration left us all with watering mouths, and we were thrilled to taste some delicious treats.

We also experienced what schooling was like in the 1800s, trying our hand at writing with ink pens and examining artefacts from that period.

The Year 5 camp was a time of learning and growth. We made new friends, acquired new skills, and faced our fears, making it an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

Autumn Market

We anticipated the feeling of Autumn this week as we prepare to see the leaves change colour and fall to the ground as an invitation to play. We had some fun Autumn themed sensory play in the Nature Play Space this week!

Using the beautiful produce that we can harvest at this time of year, we set up an autumn market using fresh produce and had turns being shop keeper and buyers. The students loved pretending to buy and sell all the different items. Playdough was also available for the students to create with. Using autumn nature and other loose parts, the students created many different creations that were both inventive and practical, including a clever broom made of feathers. As the students played their voices became more theatrical and engaging which was a joy to see.

Did you know that pretend play is one of the best ways to engage children in social settings and to grow their imagination? Have you been enjoying the beautiful colours of Autumn yet this year?

Reflections 

The Easter break has come and gone!  I hope it provided a much-needed pause, allowing us all to rejuvenate and recharge. It was nice to hear the laughter, students calling out to their friends as they arrived, staff catching up on what their holidays were like, playground sounds and all the hustle and bustle that will soon be part of our regular routines for another term.  The students are eager to embrace new challenges and opportunities for learning. 

There will be opportunities for students to explore new content, participate in exciting school activities, and continue their academic growth. Once again parents and guardians’ involvement are crucial to our collective success.  We have started the term with parent/teacher interviews and our dedicated teachers have spent time discussing the students’ progress from Term 1.  In this review of students’ performance their strengths and areas of potential growth are highlighted.  This process has prompted me to think—how often do we take time to reflect on what we have done well, where we need to improve and how we are going to go about it?   

Solomon says in Proverbs 4:1, “Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.” Who do you listen to? How attentive are you to your engagements? How much understanding are you gaining?

Hey PPN Family,

When I was in Year 3 at an Adventist Christian primary school in New Zealand, the principal once asked me to say a prayer after the lunchtime bell rang. With over 200 students and staff looking at me, I froze—and then I cried. I felt too ashamed to pray because I didn’t know any of the “big words” I had often heard the adults use.

Looking back, I wish I had known what Jesus said in Matthew 6:5–6 (CEV):

“When you pray, don’t be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward. When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.”

These verses are a powerful reminder about the heart of true prayer. Jesus warns us not to pray just to look spiritual in front of others. Prayer is meant to be a sincere and intimate conversation with our Heavenly Father—not a performance. Public prayer isn’t wrong, but our motives matter. When we pray to impress others, we miss the point. But when we pray quietly and sincerely, we experience God’s presence and peace.

I’ll be honest—I've prayed some “show-off prayers,” and I’ve also prayed quietly, just me and God. While people may have praised the former, the latter filled me with God's love, joy, peace, and power.

So, if you're longing for more of God's presence in your life, I encourage you to spend some quiet, personal time in prayer with the King of the Universe.

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai

The measure of a child is not another child

The conversations we have during Parent Teacher Interviews can be incredibly powerful as both parents and educators. Without a doubt, the time you spent with your child’s teacher this week has helped you understand your child better, as well as helping the teacher gain more perspectives on the young person that enters their classroom each day.

In some cases, we as parents can be tempted to think and ask questions that compare our children to others. The thoughts from parenting expert Michael Grose below provide an interesting perspective on the dangers of this kind of thinking:

Benchmarks are important in parenting as they let us know how are children are developing. Due to the individual nature of children it’s difficult to have a stringent set of benchmarks. Kids instead go through a set of developmental milestones and markers. For example,

· They will crawl before they walk.

· They will talk babble before they can say ‘real’ words.

· They will separate when they are ready.

It’s easy to use your friends’ kids as benchmarks. This is natural but can cause consternation and worry. When we’re parenting toddlers it can often sound like, “Your child walked at twelve months. Mine is thirteen months and still sliding along on her bottom! Mmmmm! What’s going on?” It’s when kids are at school that the real benchmarking takes place. We see other children reading at an early age and we think, “Why not my child?” We see a teenager who appears so self-assured and confident and we think, “Why can’t my teenager look and sound like that?”

Just as a measure of a parent, is not another parent the measure of a child is never another child.

Your child will develop his own talents and strengths in his or her own time. Avoid playing the comparison game as it will just cause heart-ache for you and your child. Some kids will excel compared to others, while some will not. It takes longer to grow some kids than others so patience and perseverance (to keep doing and saying the rights things) are your best assets as parents.

Focusing on children’s individual strengths, talents, interests and rates of development is at the heart of effective parenting. Anything else is a distraction.

National Simultaneous Storytime

National Simultaneous Storytime is a colourful, vibrant, fun event that aims to promote the value of reading and literacy, using an Australian children’s book that explores age-appropriate themes, and addresses key learning areas of the National Curriculum.

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 3 of Scholastic Book Club will be coming home with your child soon! Book Club is a great opportunity to purchase your child some fantastic books and support the PPN library at the same time.