Year 6 Prescott College Visits

Soccer Coaching Sessions

This week, students from Years 3-6 had the opportunity to participate in soccer coaching sessions funded by ‘Sporting Schools Australia’. The programs are designed to increase children's participation in sport, and to connect them with a variety of community sporting opportunities.

The coaches teaching focus this week was on passing, dribbling and turning skills. He also reminded students about the positive benefits that participating in sports can have on our heart, mind and lungs.

Many students in Years 3-6 also participated in the lunchtime tryouts for the Prescott soccer teams which will be competing in the South Australian Christian Schools tournament in Week 9. Thanks again and good luck to all those who tried out. The final teams will be announced early next week.

Tomorrow we have a wear red for the Heart Foundation fundraiser here at school. Next week, we will be celebrating Science Week. Fun Run, Book Week, Middle School Concert and choir performances are all coming up. These events are traditions for us here at Prescott Primary Northern and while they might look or be quite the same this year, they are a very important part of our school life. There are those who are suspicious of traditions, but there is a great sense of belonging for us as human beings, that comes from sensible traditions. This particularly applies to family traditions. In a time of much change and uncertainty, let’s strengthen, or start or resurrect, some family traditions to give anchor points in our lives and the lives of our children. I know many of you already have daily, weekly and yearly traditions that might be of a spiritual, religious, culinary or family building nature, and I would encourage you to build on and revitalise those again. Below is an article I read recently on the importance of traditions for our children. There are some very practical pointers I hope you find helpful.

“Strong families develop their own traditions and rituals that define them and bind members together. Birthdays, Christmas, Diwali, bar mitzvahs, and Ramadan are some traditions and rituals that families enjoy. They are the coat hooks upon which we hang our family memories. By definition, they are permanent and not set aside when life gets busy.

Rituals can be as simple as a parent saying to a child ‘I love you’ each day as they go to school,  a weekly game of cricket or another sport, or the bedtime-story routine that so many children love. The permanence and uniqueness of rituals give them their significance.

My own family, for example, has developed a very strong food culture that is shown through the traditions and rituals that we maintain. A meal takes time and effort to prepare and there’s an expectation that everyone contributes in some way. When the children were young the contribution was in preparation, table-setting or post meal clean up. The tradition of contribution continues as a new generation of children visit and do their bit to assist. Like most traditions this mealtime ritual was nurtured as a result of past parental experiences and gradually became refined over time to reflect our own family’s unique identity.

Develop traditions early

Family traditions are best developed when children are pre-school or primary school aged. Parent approval is important so kids will generally comply when enjoyable family traditions engender a relaxed, calm atmosphere. Adolescents are likely to challenge many of their family’s traditions and rituals, which is often difficult for parents to encounter. It helps to establish the traditions that are negotiable and those that are non-negotiable so you can approach adolescent challenges with some flexibility.

Defend them fiercely

When a child tells you that ‘everyone at school is allowed to do….” you can reply by saying, “In our we family we do it this way.” Leaning against family tradition in this way gives you a strength to resist children’s pester power. Family traditions and rituals need to be fiercely defended by parents.

Make family meals non-negotiable

This writer recommends that shared mealtimes should be non-negotiable in families. It’s no coincidence that countries with strong food cultures are also known for their strong family cultures. Shared mealtimes build connection, are great tools for developing children’s manners and respectful actions. They’ve also been linked to the maintenance of good mental health in children and young people, presumably due to the opportunity it provides parents to stay in touch with their children.

Healthy families are built around traditions and rituals. It’s useful to approach the concept of family traditions with a mix of firmness to insist that children adhere to family rituals but also flexibility to accommodate growing independence as children move into the next stage of development.” (Grose, 2020)

Have a great week with your kids,

Mark B

“Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.” Proverbs 1:8-9

Come To The Well

Shamed and dejected, trudging wearily, she makes her daily pilgrimage to the well.  It was hot and dusty, but the cool refreshing water beckoned to her.  Shamed by her five failed marriages, disgraced by her village and hiding from the scrutiny of others, she has withdrawn from society as she can no longer face the scornful looks and snide comment of the town’s people.  It is midday when she approaches the well, because she knows at that time, everyone else will be sheltering from the scorching sun.  

Jesus is waiting at the well. He asks her for a drink of water, initiating a conversation that ultimately develops into a friendship that changes an entire village.  Jesus shows love and acceptance to the woman. Their conversation covers a lot of territory but in the end, Jesus reveals to her that He is the Messiah. The woman is transformed just by talking with Jesus.  Her shame, guilt and rejection are forgotten as she enthusiastically runs back into town shouting the good news that she has met the Messiah.  

Jesus doesn’t care what our reputation is, where we have been or what we have done, He just wants to have a relationship with us. He meets us where we are at.  All we need to do is talk to Him and accept him, just like the woman at the well did.

The Bible says that many of the Samaritans from the town believed in Jesus because of the woman’s testimony.  She was not only restored spiritually but also socially, as she had been given a new start simply because God accepted her. 

What an amazing story, Jesus is waiting at the well for you today, why not sit, rest and take the time to talk to Him today. 

Click on the link to enjoy “Come to the well” by Casting Crowns https://youtu.be/JKioQPEW4do 

Chaplain Phil 

Wear Red For Heart Foundation

Father's Day Stall

Canteen - Mozzarella Mondays

2020 Census

Below is the 2020 Census Privacy Information for our school families:

ICAS Competitions

https://www.unswglobal.unsw.edu.au/hub/educational-assessments/reach-and-icas-assessments-mathematics-sample-questions/

Science Week

Daily Health Check

Book of the Week

‘Fly’ written and illustrated by Jess McGeachin

Fly is a beautiful story of determination no matter the odds, and love in the face of loss. Lucy had always been good at fixing things, and Dad needed a bit of help. It was just the two of them after all. So when Lucy finds a bird with a broken wing, she’s sure she can fix him too. But not everything that’s broken can be fixed.

New Books

There are a lot of new books that have recently been added to our library. A new series, called Kensy and Max, written by Jacqueline Harvey, has been very popular, as has the international bestselling Little People, Big Dreams picture book series that highlights iconic individuals, both past and present, through interesting stories and captivating illustrations that appeal to young readers.

Coming soon are some new Christian novels that will be suitable for our upper school students, and more copies of our much loved Where’s Wally!