Swim Safe Week

Our Year 1 – 6 Classes have been enjoying their Swim Safe lessons at Waterworld this week.

#WorldReadAloudDay

On Wednesday the 5^th of February, Prescott Primary Northern joined a world wide movement!

They participated in World Read Aloud Day! (WRAD)

While each class may have done WRAD their own way, each student at PPN got to enjoy an excellent story, read to them, by Prescott Primary Northern’s finest!

Students were also encouraged to read to each other or to themselves out-loud. At Recess and Lunch, they went for a walk to StoryLand, where they met Fabula who immersed them in a truly great book. The students got to hear it, feel it and enjoy the wonder a truly great story can provide.

For 11 years, World Read Aloud Day has called attention to the importance of sharing stories by challenging participants to grab a book, find an audience, and read aloud! The global effort is now celebrated in over 173 countries and counting! WRAD was designed to remind communities of the importance of literacy and how important the skill is when building a better world.

Thank you Prescott Primary Northern for taking the time to Read Out Loud. It was WRAD reading with you!

Don’t stop reading out loud just because the 5^th of February is over! Find a book and read it with your friends, your family or simply out-loud to yourself.

Happy Reading!

Our school year is well and truly underway with Swim Safe Week for Years 1-6 in full swing. We are looking forward to Pancake Breakfast next Monday Morning and would love to see as many families as possible with us for some great pancakes and a great get to know you time. Last Wednesday evening we had our Parent Information Evening to start off our school year. It was great to see many of our families enjoying getting to know teachers and finding out what is happening in their classes in 2020. The relationship between a parent and their child’s teacher is a really important one and something we value greatly at Prescott Primary Northern. I read an article this week that outlines how we can build these important relationships. Please have a read and see if their might be some helpful hints. After all, it’s about our kids, isn’t it?

“In my work as a presenter and educator I’ve visited hundreds of schools, spoken with hundreds of school leaders and worked with many educational innovators and researchers at the forefront of modern education. These people and experiences have given me valuable insights into what makes great schools tick.

Strong parent–teacher relationships are one of the hallmarks of all great schools. They’re a major contributor to student success. The research into schooling across the Western world reveals that positive parent–teacher partnerships are a more significant factor in student success than parent income levels or social status.

However, parent–teacher relationships require effort and energy from both parties if they are going to really benefit children and young people.

Way to help form strong bonds with your child’s teachers this year:

Knowing (building affinity)

Know – the first element – requires you to be both proactive and patient. Proactive because you need to be willing to meet and work at maintaining relationships. Patient because it may take some time to build a working relationship. For your partnership to be meaningful and successful you need to meet with your children’s teacher(s) with the goal of forming a respectful professional relationship. Share your aspirations for your child and be willing to build the teacher’s knowledge about your family.

Get to know your child’s teachers’ aspirations and gain an understanding of their approach and the focus they have for this particular year group. Also commit to continuing to know what’s going on in the life of your child’s classrooms as well as the life of the school on an ongoing basis.

Supporting (building trust)

Children need to know that you are fully behind what their teachers are trying to achieve if they are going to commit fully to learning. The best way to support your child’s teacher is to trust their knowledge, professionalism and experience. Avoid the temptation to question the expertise of teachers in front of students, particularly when the teachers use methods that you are unfamiliar with. Initiate conversations with teachers around methodology to give them the chance to explain the approach they are taking.

Participating (building links to student learning)

Participation – the third element – takes into account the level of parent engagement in student learning. There’s a huge body of research that points to the correlation between parent engagement in student learning and their educational success. If you want your child to improve his learning, take an interest in what he is doing. Follow school and teacher guidelines about helping at home and attend as many conferences, meetings and events involving your child as possible. This simple strategy has a significant, long-term impact.

Communicating (building relationships)

Life’s not always smooth sailing for kids of any age. Family circumstances change. Friends move away. Illness happens. Mental health challenges can hit anyone at any time. These changes affect learning. Keep teachers up to date with significant changes or difficulties that your child or young person experiences so they can accommodate your child’s emotional and learning needs at school.

Advocating (building loyalty)

Advocacy – the last element – means that you talk teachers and your school up rather than tear them down among children and the wider community. Teachers hold very public positions and generally work hard to build good reputations both within their school and their wider education community. Consider a teacher’s reputation among the community and also with children when you discuss educational matters with others.

Building parent–teacher relationships doesn’t just happen. They take good will from both sides, a commitment to setting aside the time necessary to support the home-based learning tasks that are expected, and a willingness to communicate both concerns and commendations through the correct channels.

Parent–teacher relationships – long may they prosper!” (Grose, 2020)

Have a great week with your kids,

Mark B

Where Faith Reigns, Fear Has No Hope

I have had the opportunity to spend this week at the pool with all the PPN students.  It has been fascinating to watch the kids as they race over to the pool’s edge, gaze at the shimmering blue water and inhale the smell of chlorine.  A number of kids almost have to be held back from leaping in, as they are so enthusiastic and eager to get into the water.  Yet some reluctantly hang back near their teachers, worry and fear displayed on their faces.

Despite their fears, they all end up taking the leap (or step) into the water, with eyes fixed on their instructors and faith in them that they will not let them go!

Fear is a very real emotion that kids and adults alike all experience, but faith and trust in someone or something can help to overcome fear. As the students had to step into the pool with faith and trust this week, I thought of the story of Peter in the Bible, who stepped out of the boat and walked towards Jesus on the water -  Matthew 14:22.

The story goes like this:

One night, Jesus' disciples encountered a frightening storm. Then they witnessed Jesus walking toward them across the surface of the water, and their fear turned to terror because they believed they were seeing a ghost.  Jesus told them to take courage and not be afraid.  

Peter called out "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water," and Jesus invited Peter to do exactly that. Peter jumped out of the boat and began walking on the water toward Jesus, but the moment he took his eyes off of Jesus, Peter saw nothing but the wind and waves, and he started to sink. Peter cried out to the Lord, and Jesus immediately reached out his hand to catch him.  

We learn three very valuable lessons from this story:

1. We need faith – Putting our full trust and faith in God can help us take the next step in difficult times. Peter had to have a huge amount of faith in Jesus and this was evidenced by his actions.
2. Don’t let fear and doubt sink you – Many of us have circumstances in our lives that are worrying or frightening and these can cause us to take our eyes off Jesus. Where fear reigns faith is driven away, but where faith reigns, fear has no place. When Peter saw the wind and became afraid, he began to sink.
3. Jesus is always there when we face trials – Today Jesus does not walk as a human on earth next to us, but He is still in charge. He is always there to give us a helping hand whenever we face problems.  In the midst of the storm, Jesus was with Peter and prevented him from sinking.

I wish you a safe and enjoyable week and encourage you to step out in faith with something this week.  Put your faith in God as He will help to drive away your fears, doubt or worries. 

 

Phillip Lillehagen

Chess Club

After school Chess Club will begin on Tuesday of Week 3, at 3.20 pm and go until 4.15 pm in the Discovery Centre. This is also a come and try day for those that are not sure if they want to join Chess Club, they can come for this day with no obligation or cost. We do have a chess coach that comes into teach chess, so there is a cost involved for those that decide to join (usually between $30 and $35, depending on how many students we have).

Chess Club is for students in Year 2-6, however if you have a child in Year 1 that has played chess before, or you believe could sit and concentrate for an hour after school, please come and see me to see if there are any spaces left. New players are welcome, however, places are limited, so please see Mrs Vice to get your name on the list. Or email her on: julievice@ppn.sa.edu.au

We look forward to another great year in Chess Club!

Uniform Shop Hours

Uniform Shop Open Tuesday and Thursday 3:00pm – 3:30pm for single items and second hand browsing.

Fittings 3:30pm – 4:30pm with an appointment made through the front office.

Online orders through Flexischools to be in by 4:00pm for delivery next school day to your child’s classroom.

Please ensure all second hand uniforms you wish to put up for sale are of good quality.  All sales of second hand items are cash only.

Pancake Breakfast

Borrowing from the library has started this week! A reminder that students need to have a library bag to take their books home in. We do have a supply of plastic shopping bags that students can use if they forget theirs at home. If anyone has any spare plastic shopping bags we would love them to be donated as our supply is very low.

Prescott College

2 Koonga Ave, Prospect