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National Simultaneous Storytime 2020
#INTHISTOGETHER
Prescott Primary Northern committed to 2020 and being in this together. It has definitely been a year to remember – with Black Summer, COVID-19 and economic uncertainty. Australia has been experiencing an emotional and physical rollercoaster.
At PPN, we are a community filled with diversity and multiculturism (YAY!). While Harmony Week is about celebrating our unity within diversity, Reconciliation Week is a week where we encourage everyone to stop and to remember and realign our connection with our Land, Indigenous Australians, and each other. While the world is in upheaval, it is now more than ever that we need to come together and support one another. Reconciliation Week is to remind ALL Australians that we must remain compatible with each other, and with our differing views and beliefs.
PPN celebrated reconciliation by working together to create a new display titled Hands Up & Hands In – Together We Win. You will be able to see the display in next week’s newsletter, but we also encourage you to take a moment and visit the display when you are able to set foot on campus once more.
Thank you to all Australians for standing up for each other, for supporting each other and for always putting your Hands Up and your Hands In to hold each other up and help each other out. Together we will survive, together we will win. Great job, Prescott Primary Northern! A community of students, staff and families who reconcile with each other.
Pupil Free Day
"We are in this together"! What a timely theme to focus on for Reconciliation Week. With everything that is happening around us in this world, the hurt and brokenness that many people and cultures are experiencing, and with the current uncertainty of COVID-19, it is incredibly important that we come together and connect with one another to face these times together.
We all have a role to play in reconciliation and championing respect and a sense of belonging. I am not sure about you, but belonging to a community or being a part of a team, brings so much joy and a certain richness to our lives. Sharing a common goal or direction, sharing experiences together and understanding what one another may be going through, are all aspects that I value when belonging to a team. "We are in this together".
Last year, I had the privilege of taking some leave and travelling overseas for 7 weeks. This was an adventure full of many highlights and experiences that I will hold onto and treasure for the rest of my life. Part of this adventure involved a week long hiking tour through beautiful Croatia. I love being outdoors, I love exercise, I love exploring new places and I love being surrounded by like-minded people. Our hiking team of 10 (nine amazing humans from Britain…and me the token Aussie) experienced so much together during that week, hiking around 18km each day in the heat and humidity and through a variety of terrains. We shared a lot of laughter, and even some tears, and each day we shared experiences that built on the sense of belonging that we all felt. At the end of the week, it was incredibly hard to part ways, it was like we were farewelling close family. One of the team commented that this was the first time in a very long time that he felt as though he belonged and was so appreciative of the team that encouraged and supported him throughout the week. Love, belonging, understanding and connectedness can make a world of difference. "We are in this together".
Research professor, Brené Brown, shares the following about belonging: "A deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need of all people. We are biologically, cognitively, physically and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong. When those needs are not met, we don’t function as we were meant to. We break. We fall apart. We numb. We ache. We hurt others. We get sick." As I am currently enjoying some of Brené's books, this quote has both challenged and encouraged me and definitely highlighted the need for community. When we belong and go through experiences together, we share the joys and the challenges. We lift one another up when we fall. We rally around and support those in our team and our community. I have witnessed this deep sense of love and belonging in our school community, amongst our students, our staff and our families. "We are in this together".
There has been a buzz around the school with conversations and activities around Reconciliation Week and what it means to be in this together. I thought I would share a few wise words from some of our treasured team…
Tanveer (age 11) - We should help each other and lift each other up and cooperate in teams. Without a community, everyone would be doing their own thing and not really listen to one another. Reconciliation is when we respect and treat one another equally and fairly. If I could share one message to the world about how we should treat one another it would be just as God says, "Love one another as I have loved you."
Mehar (age 5) - You are supposed to take care of one another. When someone falls down you should help them up and take them to a teacher. To be in a team you should help others. If we didn’t have any communities, there wouldn’t be people to help or play with. I think reconciliation means you help others and care and respect for your elders. I would tell the world to "Respect elders and help them and show kindness and love to EVERYONE".
Emma (age 8) - Reconciliation means working together as a team and not leaving anybody out. Even if people look different or mean, they might actually be nice. I would tell the world "We should be nice to everyone".
Felix (age 6) - I think reconciliation means we are in this together. If we didn't have communities or teams, the world wouldn't be friends and everybody would be hating each other. If I could tell the world one message I would say "To be nice to everyone because we should respect each other".
Sophia (age 5) - You have to be nice to each other and to be in a team is to work together. The world wouldn't be very nice without communities. I think reconciliation means being kind. I would tell everyone in the world "You should be kind to people like God is".
Kitty (age 8) - I think reconciliation means not abandoning anyone. I would love to tell everyone on in the world to treat people nicely and don't judge people by how they look.
Sammy (age 11) - It is very important to treat everyone equally. I value being in a team and how we consider others. I don’t think the world would be right without communities to belong to - it would be all over the place. I believe reconciliation means recognising other people for what they have done and caring for others. If I could share one message to the entire world, it would be the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you".
What wise thoughts from some of our students in our community. Our school, and the next generation will be in safe hands. As we focus on Reconciliation Week here at school, I would like to encourage you to reflect upon ways that you and your family can champion respect and a sense of love and belonging as you build your community around you. Have a wonderful week and always remember, "We are in this together".
Blessings,
Tamara
It is such a blessing that the COVID -19 restrictions are starting to lift all around Australia and the world. Over the last few weeks, I have heard many people saying that they can’t wait to hug and hold their loved ones again. This is a wonderful insight into the way that God feels about us.
As I mentioned in a previous article, God’s plan was always for us to be in an eternal loving relationship with Him, but sin caused us to be separated from Him. This is why Jesus had to come and give His life for us so that we could all be connected with God again. We read in Mark 15:37-38: "With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
When Jesus died, the curtain between the Most Holy Place and the Holy Place in the temple was ripped in half, representing that all of the barriers separating us from God had been destroyed, and that we now have direct access to Him through Jesus, and He also has direct access to us.
Just as we have longed to be reunited with our loved ones again, God has also longed to be with us. And when Jesus died on the cross, it enabled God to come and live in our hearts. This is why Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:16:
"Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"
No matter what challenges you may be currently facing, I pray that you will be encouraged by the wonderful truth that God wants to live in your heart today, if you are willing to let Him in.
God bless,
Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai
Jaerah, Miranda, Ranbir, Anthonette, Ansh, Seth, Allaire, and Andrea
Scholastic Book Club
If you have any questions please contact the school.
Canteen Manager
NDIS Resources
Enrolments 2021
If you have a child who is ready to start at PPN in 2021, please see the Front Office staff for an enrolment pack as positions are filling very quickly and we don't want anyone to miss out!
Entertainment Membership
Entertainment memberships are due for renewal, click on the link below if you would like to renew your membership or purchase your new membership now.
PPN Pick-Up Zone
Some requests we have to help traffic flow is no right turn off Nelson Road into the Drive through Zone, no queuing across the entry to the back car park, come a little later (after 3.35pm Mon – Thurs) if you would like a quicker, smoother pickup experience.
Please ensure you have your child's name label is visible in your car when picking up your child. This makes it a lot quicker to have your child ready for pickup. If you require a name tag, please call the Front Office.
Daily Health Check
Book of the Week
This is “Tilly”, our second book Shortlisted for 2020. It has been recognised under the category of Picture Book of the Year by the Children’s Book Council of Australia.
Tilly’s found the perfect hiding place to keep her special treasures.
No-one knows about it, not even her big brothers and sister, who know everything.
But one day, something happens that Tilly could never have imagined…
Jane Godwin and Anna Walker created a wistful, enchanting and timeless story about an old house, and a little girl who lost her special things. It is a story about grief, lost, and the way we can hold on to and embody what is special to us long after it’s gone. It reminds us of how the small things we hold dear stay with us always.
Premier’s Reading Challenge Competition
Have you returned your completed PRC form yet? We are running an exciting competition in the library to encourage our students to continue with this year’s challenge. Everyone who returns their completed form by the end of this term will have their name placed in a jar. At the end of the term, one name will be drawn and the winner will receive a $25 gift voucher to use at a bookstore! If you have already returned a form, then your name will automatically be included.
REMEMBER!!! Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the organiser of the PRC have made changes to make it more accessible and flexible for students. A FREE CHOICE approach now allows for any book to be included on the PRC form.
