The journey to the postponed SAPSASA Athletics Day finally arrived on Monday 13th May and 25 students from Year 4 through to Year 7 marched out to represent our school with great attitudes, athletic prowess and team spirit.
Varying between 100m and 200m sprints, 800m runs and team relays, long jump, high jump, shot put and discus throws, our students competed against 16 other schools in the North East district of Adelaide. Our team was

The following students received ribbons in their specific events;
Zander -2nd in 200m, 1st in 800m, 3rd in Relay
Archer – 3rd in Long Jump, 3rd in Relay
Khalipha – 3rd in Relay
Ashton K – 3rd in Relay
Seth – 3rd in Long Jump
Alanna – 1st in 200m, 1st in 800m, 2nd in Relay
Akoul – 3rd in High Jump, 2nd in Relay
Andrea – 2nd in Relay
Ayla - 2nd in Relay
Gawar – 2nd in 100m
Jonah – 2nd in Shot put, 3rd in Discus
Abuk – 3rd in 100m

The top competitors from the 17 competing schools have been selected for the Adelaide Athletics Day to be held on Tuesday 21st May. These are students who will now represent the North East District at the “big event” at Santos Stadium. Congratulations go to Anthonette Holmes (Year 4), Zander Lillehagen (Year 4), Alanna Robson (Year 5), Ashton Hong (Year 5) and Gawar Chan (Year 7).
Well done to all!

A very special thank you to Mr Hatchard who drove us and was an official for the day, and the parents who supported our students in their endeavours.
Mrs Isaac

Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence. These are our school values and PPN endeavours to incorporate these into every aspect of schooling. Sometimes it's easy and other times it's hard to teach these values to the students. We often learn these values through experiences in our lives.

One experience we are participating in this week is NAPLAN testing. NAPLAN is the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy and every school in Australia participates in these tests. This year is the first year we are completing it online and this has had some challenges. I personally have been to 5 different information sessions which has taken up several days, just to make sure I am administering it correctly. If I'm being honest, I don't have time, however, we have to do it, so I make the most of it. The national results we receive far outweigh the time that I take to set the tests up and that’s a good thing! 

The way I see it, there are benefits and drawbacks to this type of testing. Some benefits are that students get a taste of testing at a young age. The reality of modern education is that assessment is a great way for teachers to accurately identify how each student is travelling in their classes. Teachers are continually assessing and this is another type of assessment. The students are also taught how to be respectful of others when completing the tests. They also have a chance to prove how much they know when it comes to the subjects that are tested. This information is great for the teachers to use and adjust teaching, according to what the students may or may not know.

There are sometimes drawbacks when it comes to these tests. Sometimes we can be drawn into fussing over the smaller details. We look and practice prior to the tests and make sure that we prepare as well as we can, even when we don't know what is going to be on the test. This can be beneficial for confidence but often I have seen students get overwhelmed with the 'pressure' of testing. I also think this goes against the whole idea of the tests. For me, the purpose of the tests are to look at one curriculum area (E.G. Numeracy) and see how the kids are going on that day, at that time of the year. They may be having a really terrible day and unfortunately the test doesn't take this into consideration. I think it's important to keep this in mind.

Overall, NAPLAN is a positive experience here at PPN. We take the tests as they come. If we achieve highly, that is great and if we don't, that’s OK too. It's great for teachers to see how their students deal with minor pressures of testing in a new way. Again, for all the annoyances of a test like this, the benefits for me far outweigh the drawbacks.

We can use the school values we learn to make these and any other assessment experience a successful one. We can RISE up and try our best, even when we think we can't do well. We always learn from the experiences, both good and bad. I trust that if your family are involved in NAPLAN this year, that you are positive and celebrate the highs and learn from the lows.

Have a great rest of the week with your kids.

In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the story about a man who finds a treasure hidden in a field, and he is so excited that the sells everything that he has to buy the field, and get the treasure. It was common for people to bury their treasures in ancient times, as it was the safest way to protect their money from constant wars and raids where soldiers would come through and take whatever they wanted. But sometimes people would die before they could retrieve their treasure, and so it would remain buried in the ground until some lucky person came along and found it.

Because of this, stories of hidden treasure were popular in Jesus’ time and everybody dreamed of finding treasure, similar to how many people today dream of winning the lotto. And that’s exactly what happens to this guy – he hits the jackpot, and he finds the treasure.

On the surface, it seems like the point of this parable is that having a relationship with God is the greatest hidden treasure, and that we need to be willing to give up everything to get it. But when Jesus told the story, the guy who found the treasure was actually himself. And the treasure that he had found was every person who has ever lived, including you and I. And so just like the guy in the parable, Jesus was willing to give up everything that he had, to get that treasure. This is exactly what Jesus did, when he came down from heaven and gave his life for us on the cross.
Friend, you are the greatest treasure, that God gave up everything for. In the words of the well known verse:

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai
Chaplain

Uniform Shop

Entertainment Book

Changes In The Library

Sports Day Timetable - Year 2-7

Basketball

Radioactive Cheeseballs Coast to Another Easy Win

With Nate held up at Customs, and Alanna out injured, the Radiaoctive Cheeseballs played a smaller line-up of 6 players.

Gawar and Akoul each adding 8 points to the Cheeseball’s 24 half-time points. By game’s end, all but one of the Cheeseballs had scored for their comfortable 28 point win.

Thanks to Mrs Robson and Hudson for step-in-coaching and scoring.

WILDCATS bring it to Bullets

Prescott’s Wildcats kept with league leaders, the Bullets, matching them on the scoreboard for a fair slice of the first half.

Zukiah sinking 6 of the Wildcats’ first half points, before finding himself in foul trouble. Jonah, Scout and Tanner, were the other main Wildcat scorers for the game.

Scout found a lift, literally pulling his socks up, and Sade ramped up her defensive efforts aided by Gem, but the Bullets soon found their groove, and put on a display worthy of their top-of-the-ladder position, in the end pummelling the Wildcats 48 : 15.

Coach Hatchard

Prescott College

Salisbury Plays