Chess Club

Chess Club has looked a little different this term with the option of going online, half of the team took up the challenge, and each week we have met Mr. Jelic on a Webex meeting for some coaching, before playing against each other on the Lichess online platform. Last Thursday afternoon between 4-6pm, nine teams in South Australia took part in an online Interschool Chess Competition and Prescott ranked third at the end of the challenging tournament. Congratulations to all players, especially Dylan and Tyson who were our top scoring players. Savannah who has been playing in our online competition and is now in Year 7, also opted to join our team for online chess and the tournament and was the highest scoring girl player, winning $50! We also congratulate the Salisbury Hub team, who won the tournament this term.

Next term, we look forward to Chess Club resuming in person in the Discovery Centre on Tuesday’s after school in Week 2 (28th of July). We thank Mr Jelic for his wonderful efforts in creating the online platform to help us all keep connected and practising our skills during this challenging time.

Mrs. Vice

Year 1 Dress-Up Day - ‘Long Ago’

Today Year 1 students finally got to wear their costume of choice, representing ‘Long Ago’. It is said that a picture tells a thousand stories, and the Year 1 pictures certainly do that.

It was fitting that Year 1 students would conclude their History unit, ‘Then and Now’ in such a celebratory manner.

Special thanks to Mrs Lorna Rogers and Mrs Lyn Maclean, who accepted the invitation to video themselves to tell our students about what life was like in Adelaide when they were little girls.

Thank you also to all of our parents, for helping your children be appropriately dressed in an attire of ‘Long Ago’.

Ruth Acuna Castro

I was at home the other weekend and I came across this interesting video on YouTube. The video was called the 'Backwards Brain Bicycle' and it piqued my interest. This man, Destin, was at his work and his buddies made a bicycle with 2 cogs on the steering wheel so that when you steered left, the wheel went right and vice versa. He hopped on, expecting to ace it and what he found was that he was completely unable to ride this bike - at all!

This was extremely frustrating for Destin because he assumed that it would be as simple as reversing his idea of how to ride a bike - but he was unable to do it. He goes on to say that it revealed one thing about his brain - he had the knowledge on how to ride it but didn't understand how to ride it. He came to the conclusion that knowledge does not equal understanding. 

As teachers (and as parents), we try to instil into our children a culture that says ‘It’s OK’ to fail when trying to learn new tasks! Instead, we believe that there is so much that you can learn from those mistakes and consequently get better at whatever you are doing. This is often easy to say, but very hard to live out as adults.

Destin goes on to say, "Once we have a rigid way of doing something in our head, we can't change it even if we want to". I find myself thinking regularly about this and I am continually reminded that our kids are amazing.  Each day at school they are challenged to learn new concepts and most kids seem to take it in their stride. I think that if I ever had to go back to school and be a student again, my old  ‘set in its ways’ brain probably wouldn't cope.

Long story short, Destin learns to ride the backwards bike after 8 months of trying. He challenged his son and it only took him 2 weeks to figure it out.

Although our teachers, students and parents have all experienced huge challenges this term, I am encouraged by the willingness of everyone to try new ways of doing things. Keep up the amazing work!  We are less than 2 weeks till holidays and I hope you all get a well-deserved rest with your families.

If you have a spare 7 mins 57 seconds, I highly encourage you to watch the video! (The Backwards Brain Bicycle   https://youtu.be/MFzDaBzBlL0)

Enjoy the rest of your week.

Jason Davis

I was listening to a leadership podcast a few weeks ago and the speaker was talking about how the main role of a leader was to be a problem solver. The idea really connected with me because it’s true. Not only of leaders, but also of parents, teachers, students and every Jesus follower.

When Jesus was here on earth His main focus in ministry was all about helping people to solve their problems. When people had the problem of hunger He fed them; when people had the problem of blindness He gave them sight; when people were depressed and alone He gave them love, joy and peace; and when all of humanity was separated by God because of the problem of sin and death, Jesus came to die for us on the cross and he rose again so that we could be reunited with Him, and have eternal life.

Jesus is the master problem solver. But as Jesus is working hard to try and solve our problems, Satan is on the other side working hard trying to cause them.

Jesus makes this clear in:

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Jesus is calling us today and everyday to join Him in solving the problems of the world. And so the question is which kind of person are you going to be? Are you going to be a problem solver, or a causer of problems?

I pray that we choose to be problem solvers with Jesus everyday. And if you are struggling with some tough problems and challenges bring them to Jesus. You don't have to fight them alone.

God bless,

Roland Talamaivao-Amituanai

Basketball Training

Basketball training is back and we are expecting and hoping that games will begin again early next term. We currently do not have enough coaches for all of our players and are looking for parents/grandparents/volunteers who would be willing to help out. Unfortunately, if we are unable to get enough coaches, the students who are not yet on a team, may not be able to play for next semester. To be eligible to coach, you must have a current Working With Children Check and we are able to help get this for you at no cost.

A big thank you to our current coaches for all the work you have done so far this year!

Please contact me if you are interested in coaching by the end of this week (26th June) - sharneytruscott@ppn.sa.edu.au

Thank you, Sharney Truscott.

Parent - Teacher Interviews

Parent Teacher Interviews are scheduled to go ahead in Week 10 on the 1st and 2nd of July. This is an opportunity for parents and guardians to meet with their child/ren's teacher and discuss their learning progress so far.

COVID restrictions have eased in some areas of school life and we are pleased to be able to invite our parents onto campus for these upcoming interviews. There are still some firm restrictions in place. We can only have a certain amount of people on campus and we are asking that no more than two family members attend these interviews. Where possible, please refrain from bringing students and their younger siblings on campus.

Parents who will attend these interviews on campus will need to complete a COVID form and enter only via the Front Office. Parents aren't to mingle before or after interviews on campus, but must respect the timeframe of the interview slots.

If parents/guardians are unable to attend these interviews in person, please contact your child/ren's teacher to arrange a time for a phone interview.

We realise that some of these restrictions may present some challenges for our families, and we hope that you can understand the measures we are putting in place to continue to keep our school community safe.

Please click on the link: https://pnorthern.click/PTO to book in your parent teacher interview. If you have forgotten or do not have copy of your pin, please click on obtain pin/password and a copy will be emailed to you.

School Photos

Daily Health Check

Book of the Week

Searching for Cicadas written by Lesley Gibbes and illustrated Judy Watson is another book that has been shortlisted for the Children’s Book Council of Australia (CBCA) 2020 awards. This book is nominated for the Eve Pownell Award for Information Books. Entries in this category have the prime intention of documenting factual material with imaginative presentation, interpretation and style.

It is a beautifully presented introduction into the world of the cicada, which engages and informs young readers through its unique melding of fact and storytelling. Each page contains a myriad of interesting facts about the cicada, presented in handwritten passages that mimic those of a naturalist’s notebook. Key information about different species, their lifecycles, calls and colours are intertwined with the gentle storyline. As both an exploration of science and nature, and a celebration of the bond between grandparent and grandchild, this is an information book to be shared and treasured. 

Premier’s Reading Challenge Competition

There is less than one week left for students to hand in their completed PRC form to go in the draw to win a $25 gift card to use at QBD Books. Every student who has completed the challenge and handed in their form has been entered into the competition and next Monday June 29th one name will be drawn and the winner will receive their prize just in time to use during the school holidays! There is still time, so get reading! Remember that this year ANY book can be counted towards the PRC.

Prescott College