It’s Book Week!!  Such a great week celebrating the love of reading, the love of writing and the love of learning. A big thanks to the staff who are putting on all the special activities this week – it’s so infectious. The whole idea of encouraging the love of reading and learning and of one another came to mind as I read an article this week about some of the tragic events around the world where people have been very hurtful to others. One of our school values is Service – doing something for others with no expectation of anything in return – Selfless Service. I firmly believe this is incredibly important for our kids (and us), especially in the light of how strongly our society is emphasising what I should get, rather than what I can give. I am going to share part of an article with you here that is not really aimed at kids, it is for us as adults to share, model, teach and parent with our children. I think it also provides a great way to explain to our children why bad things happen sometimes and a great way to emphasise the importance of love and selfless service. While it is primarily written about the US, I think we share some similar challenges in our Australian society and can draw insights from Tim Jenning’s (a Christian Psychiatrist) reflections. I hope you find it as thought provoking as I did.

“In the aftermath of the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, President Trump and other leaders have expressed concerns that these acts are linked to mental illness. Some mental health professionals have been quick to point out that the data does not support such an assertion as more than 75 percent of mass shootings are committed by people without a history of mental illness.

If one allows the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition) to be the measure of mental illness and disease, then these mental health professionals are correct: Most mass shootings are not committed by those with diagnosable mental illnesses.

If, however, we use a different standard of health, a different lens to measure mental illness, then the president is correct. And what is that standard? Love — the selfless, compassionate regard for the welfare of others. If our standard of health is God’s design for life, the principle of love upon which the Creator built life to operate, then selfishness is seen as sickness and exploitation and injury to others is seen as pathology.

Desperate for Answers

It’s understandable that frightened people want an explanation for why violence and mass shootings are increasing. Some argue that these violent occurrences are mostly due to easy access to guns. However, guns have been easily accessible in America since its independence, yet the frequency of such violence is increasing; mass shootings are a problem of the past few decades.

Others argue that the problem is racism, but racism and class discrimination were much more pervasive and openly oppressive in America 75 to 100 years ago than today, and such mass violence was not occurring in our society then. I am not suggesting that racism doesn’t exist, but the data does not support the claim that it is the cause of this increase in violence. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, during 2012–15, the rate of white-on-white violent crime (12.0 per 1,000 white persons) was about four times higher than black-on-white violent crime (3.1 per 1,000). The rate of black-on-black violent crime (16.5 per 1,000 black persons) was more than five times higher than white-on-black violent crime (2.8 per 1,000).

No — racism is just another manifestation of the root problem causing the increase in violence: the lack of love and the rise in selfishness.

Something has changed in America; an insidious attack on the bedrock principles woven into the fabric of this society has occurred — and it is the true reason for the rise in mass shootings. There are ideas, practices, and policies that have taken root in America that undermine love, increase selfishness, degrade concern for others, and are thereby the actual cause of the increase in violence we are experiencing.

All Symptoms Point to One Disease

I propose that the rise in mass shootings is a symptom of a movement advancing in America that undermines integrity, personal responsibility, moral decency, basic civic responsibility, and, ultimately, love for others.

This rise in selfishness, a lack of regard for others, is evidenced not only in these mass shootings, but also in recent online video postings. For instance, take Cori Ward, a 30-year-old mother who was arrested in Florida after she posted a video of her daughter licking a tongue depressor in a doctor’s office and then putting it back in the container with unused depressors; she posted the video with the title: “Don’t tell me how to live my life.”

Or the viral video seen by more than 11 million people of a 17-year-old girl opening a container of Blue Bell ice cream, licking the ice cream, putting the lid back on, and then placing the container back on the shelf.

Yes — love is decreasing and selfishness is on the rise!

Jesus, speaking about this time in human history, said:

Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold (Matthew 24:12 NLT).

The apostle Paul said:

There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God (2 Timothy 3:1–4 NIV).

The real reason violence is on the rise is because love is on the decline. People are becoming more self-centered and are losing concern for anything other than self.

Recent studies have demonstrated that narcissism has steadily increased in the United States since the 1970s, with each subsequent class of college freshmen scoring higher on narcissism rating scales than the class before. This rise in selfishness, this “me-first” mentality, is rife in society today and heralds the death of love for our fellow human beings — and all types of violence are on the rise.

So what is destroying love and increasing selfishness?

The Bible teaches that:

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love (1 John 4:18 NIV84).

Love and fear are inversely proportional; as love increases, fear decreases — and as fear increases, love decreases. The more fear we experience, the more quickly we see threats, real or imagined, and take actions designed to make us feel safe. Rather than searching ourselves to identify and overcome our deficiencies in character, fear focuses our minds on self-protection, making us look outward to identify potential threats. This can lead to the projection of one’s own shortcomings onto others and can cause greater division and loss of love for our fellow human beings.” (Jennings 2019)

Have a great week with your kids,

Mark B

Are You Connected? 

How many of us truly value being connected?
Positive social connection improves physical health and psychological well-being. Social connection strengthens our immune system, helps us recover from disease faster, and may even lengthen our life!
People who feel more connected to others have lower rates of anxiety and depression. Social connectedness therefore generates a positive feedback loop of social, emotional and physical well-being (Seppala, 2012).

Last Saturday night, ‘Connect 4’ launched with a family games night. It was a high energy evening that involved around 120 students and their families. They braved the cold to come and connect with one another.

Families enjoyed a light snack and interacted through many different games. We had M&M relays, people bobbing and making statues, musical chairs and kids and their parents balancing on newspapers when the music stopped. People competed in toilet roll races and corners and we even had some less active individual challenges for those on the sidelines like tearing a Minty wrapper to make the longest length!

If you missed out on a rip-roaring Saturday night, don’t worry, you can come and connect at our next family games night at 6.00pm – 7.30pm on 31st of August, here in the church hall next to the school.

Keep your eye out for our upcoming ‘Connect 4’ events. We will continue to plan a variety of activities that encourage connection with families, friends, our school community and Christ.

Come and Connect 4 fun with us.

Chaplain Phil.

Book Week Bake Sale

Book Fair

School Fees

We would like to say "Thank You" to the many families who pay their school fees by the due date for Prompt Payment Discount, and we are pleased to subtract that amount from their full fee amount.

Term 3 Prompt Payment Discount due date was the 1st August, this date has passed, and now full fees need to be paid by the 22nd August, which is tomorrow. Please make your payment immediately if you have not done so yet.

If you pay after the due date for Prompt Payment Discount, please do not expect to receive the discount.

After the 22nd August, your account becomes Overdue, and we will phone you as a reminder to make your payment.

Your child/children attend a private school, and their education has many expenses for the school. When enrolling at Prescott Primary Northern, we explain the Fee Policy and school fees are a part of your agreement on applying. Therefore, we ask that parents take that responsibility seriously and make their payments by the due dates for each term.

We appreciate your kind attention to this matter.

Consent2Go

A reminder that Prescott Primary Northern has engaged the services of Consent2Go to provide a better way to manage medical data and excursion processes. Some of you will have already received an email that asks you to update your students profile. You need to then press the red button that says 'click here to update details'. If you have not received it yet, please keep checking your email this week for it. For those that may have missed it, you will receive a reminder soon.

Prescott College

Ryan's Ride For Refugees

Little Athletics

My OSHC Pupil Free Day