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Year 5 Visit Monarto Safari Park
Book Week
Year 3 Turn the Volume Up
At PPN we love to make learning real. Last week Mrs Buys led her Year 3s through an exploration of volume as part of their maths studies. Pencil and paper were replaced with tubs of water, measuring cups, bottles and syringes as students got hands-on with the concept volume.
Farewell Exchange Students
Our Year 5 classes grew for the last few weeks as we welcomed exchange students from China. Zijun and Zirui have spent time immersed in an Australian classroom, surrounded by the English language and many friendly faces. They even got to take part in the excursion to Monarto Zoo. This Friday is Zijun and Zirui’s last day – we wish them all the best as they home with fond memories of PPN.
Nature Play with Water
We have a beautiful bamboo water trail that can be open ended and used in many different ways. The students had fun making little rivers and then connecting all of the bamboo pieces together to make one big water trail. Water containers circulated and were shared amongst many students as they travelled to and fro the water pump.
Water is such an important source of life for us as humans, and a beautiful tool to use in play. How can you use water play in your house this week? As Spring is felt in the gardens at PPN, our young ones enjoyed decorating their own finger bird puppets which, when ordained with feathers, came to life and flittered around the nature play. I hope you enjoy the weather change and the promised forecast of a mild and enjoyable Spring season.
Who is in your team?
Last week, as I stepped into the bustling Discovery Centre, surrounded by the industrious hum of staff and students preparing for Book Week, I was struck by the spirit of collaboration and encouragement that filled the room. Amidst the music and shared laughter, each person played a part—cutting, gluing, mounting, taping—contributing their unique skills and energy to a common purpose. Though the scene appeared chaotic at first glance, it was clear that there was an underlying order, a shared vision guiding everyone’s actions.
When I offered my help, I was met with patience and guidance. My colleagues taught me new crafts, encouraging me to step beyond my comfort zone. Their support turned the unfamiliar into an enjoyable and rewarding experience, and in their company, I found confidence to try things I might otherwise have avoided. Reflecting on this, I am reminded of the importance of having people who encourage us, challenge us, and walk alongside us as we grow and take on new challenges.
This experience raises meaningful questions: Who is in your corner, cheering you on when you face something new or difficult? Who stands by your side, ready to offer help and encouragement?
The Bible speaks profoundly about the value of encouragement and community. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 reminds us of the strength found in companionship: “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labour: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.” We may not know who picks you up when no one is around but we know everyone needs a “picker-up—er”
We are not meant to journey alone. How do you inspire and encourage others?
Why the Term ‘Healthy Food’ Isn’t Helping Our Children
When you think of ‘healthy food’ what comes to mind? Fruits? Veggies? The food pyramid or healthy eating plate?
When asking Google, the generated response was “healthy food provides the essential nutrients your body needs for optimal health, including energy, growth, and overall wellbeing.” It goes on to define healthy food as nutrient-dense, low in added sugars, saturated and trans fats, sodium, and ideally whole or unprocessed.
Children are often taught, through schools, families and health promotion initiatives, about healthy food to encourage ‘better’ choices. But if it were that simple, a recent Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report wouldn’t show that 96% of children and adolescents – and 94% of adults – fall short of the recommended veggie intake (1).
What is diet culture?
Diet culture is an ever-changing set of social beliefs and expectations about food and bodies, that essentially at its core values thinness, leanness and musuclarity above all. It links being thin and muscular with being healthy – and wrongly assumes the health status of, and attaches stigma to, large bodies.
It pushes the idea that there’s a ‘right’ way to have a body and a ‘right’ way to eat to get there.
Diet culture ignores the complexity of health – including genetics, social factors, mental health, and chronic disease. We respect that there are important and valid public health concerns in our society, but we also face a mental health crisis, with rising rates of eating disorders and disordered eating. Globally, 1 in 5 children and adolescents are engaging in disordered eating (2). Butterfly’s recent Paying the Price report revealed an alarming 86% rise in eating disorders among 10- to-19-year-olds since 2012.
How do we promote healthy eating while supporting body image in children?
1. Drop the labels. Avoid calling food healthy/unhealthy, clean/toxic, good/bad, or junk. Instead, call food simply by its name. Broccoli is just broccoli or a vegetable, it doesn’t need to be defined as a ‘healthy food’. Chocolate is just chocolate, it doesn’t need to be referred to as a treat or unhealthy food.
2. Encourage curiosity. Explore the sensory properties of food. What does it taste like (is it salty, sour, sweet)? What colour is it? Does the colour change if we cook it? What’s the texture like (crunchy, soft, mushy)? Curiosity supports exploration – and children are more likely to try different or new foods when it’s not a pressure-filled experience.
3. Broaden the definition. No food is ‘unhealthy’ in isolation (unless a person is allergic to it). Let’s talk about nutrition and fuelling our body (which is incredibly important for physical and mental health), BUT also for enjoyment, culture, and social connection. Eating for pleasure is just as valid as eating for nutrients, and encouraging this is likely to foster a far more positive relationship with food and help to reduce the risk of disordered eating.
4. Take the pressure off. Nutrition is of course important for growth and development, but remember that nutritional intake isn’t dependent on each individual meal but spans two
weeks (or beyond). So, take the pressure off children eating a perfectly balanced meal or having a perfectly balanced lunchbox every day, because if provided with enough variety over a longer period, their bodies will absorb the nutrients it needs to grow and thrive. And variety doesn’t mean every vegetable, just a range across food groups.
5. Support regular and mindful eating. Encourage all neuro-typical children to eat at regular intervals and when eating, to tune into their body’s cues of hunger and fullness. More on this at Ellyn Satter Institute or the RAVES Eating Model.
6. Be neuro-affirming. Some neurodivergent children experience food, hunger cues, and openness to trying new foods differently. It’s important to validate their experience and find out what works for them – try to be flexible.
7. Avoid linking food intake to body size. When children view a healthy body as one that is thin, and achieved by eating (or not eating) certain foods, that can cause unintentional harm to their physical and mental health, and lead to disordered eating.
8. Add, don’t take away. Want kids to eat more nutrient-dense food? Add it in. Don’t restrict the other stuff. Adding increases nutrition and promotes a healthier relationship with food without causing cravings and negative feelings that can come with restriction.
References: 1. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/food-nutrition/diet
2. Lopez et al. (2023) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/2801664
(Source: Dr Stephanie Damiano, Manager of Butterfly Body Bright, Butterfly Foundation)
Fathers Day Stall
R U OK Fun Day
Spring Playdate With Prescott
Sleep for Austistic Kids
Better sleep starts here.
Early mornings, night waking's, and difficulty settling deeply affects our little ones, and leaves most parents feeling desperate for a solution.
This month, our free AUT to Know webinar is laser-focused on practical strategies to help autistic children aged 0-6 achieve better sleep.
Join AAA’s CEO, Nicole Rogerson, and Karen McKinnon from Autism Partnership, as they share expert advice on:
- Understanding common sleep issues
- Strategies to help your child settle and stay asleep
- Creating effective bedtime routines and the ideal sleep environment
- Guiding your child toward independent sleep
This live webinar will be held on Thursday, 28th August 2025, at 11:00 am (AEST) and will include a dedicated Q&A session where you can get your specific questions answered directly by our experts.
Can't make it? No problem! Everyone who registers gets access to the recording. Spots are limited so be quick.
Register Now
Ride4Life
PPN Open Days
Do you have friends or family considering enrolling their child at PPN? Our upcoming Open Days are their chance to visit our beautiful campus and see what joining the PPN family can be like.
Name Tags for Drop and Go
If you use Drop and Go to pick up your child at the end of the day please remember to place your child's name card on your windscreen. Clearly displaying your child's name makes pick up smoother and quicker for everybody. Many children were sent home yesterday with new tags, but if you need another one please contact the front office.
PPN Upper Primary School Concert
