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We had our Sport’s Days last week. Our Year 3 to 6s went to SA Athletics Stadium last Wednesday and our Foundations to 2s had their day here at school last Friday. What amazing days they were. The kids had a ball. Mr Campbell, our staff, volunteers and Sport’s House captains did a fantastic job and my thanks go to you all. When I first started to reflect on things, I began to recall the things we were not able to do that we have in the past. Then I stopped. I grabbed my thinking by the scruff of the neck and said, “Hang on. Rather than spending too long on what we didn’t have or couldn’t do, or the demands and complications, have a think about what we were able to enjoy.” In times of stress and uncertainty, it is so easy to miss what we have and are able to do. I love this saying from a German writer, “We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.” (Alphonse Karr)
I wrote last term about the “Scarcity Society” we live in (we focus on what we don’t have) and this is another reminder. While our children need to know about their rights, we also need to create a sense of gratitude in them about the amazing blessings we do have. I have found one of the best ways to respond to my thoughts of what I don’t have, what I should have, what I’m missing out on, is to create a habit of gratefulness. This does not happen after one or two times, but needs practice to make it a habit. A friend sent me a link this morning to a song called, “Raise a Hallelujah.” The chorus of that song has these words “I'm gonna sing, in the middle of the storm, Louder and louder, you're gonna hear my praises roar . . .”
The habit of gratefulness is another great resilience builder for our children, but also for us as adults. The challenges of 2020 are a great time to hone the skills and habits of gratefulness and model and discuss them to our kids.
The Bible writer Paul wrote this, “And we also have joy with our troubles because we know that these troubles produce patience. And patience produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. God gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.” Romans 5:3-5
Have a great week with your kids,
Mark B
The Gift
It was playing out in slow motion. The bottle fell towards the concrete and exploded on impact, instantaneously filling the air with the aroma of Calvin Klein’s new fragrance, ‘SHOCK’! It was a shock! My new Christmas present evaporated right before my eyes. For weeks the aroma could be smelt on the concrete outside our house where the bottle had broken.
Similarly, there was perfume broken open in a story in the Bible (John 12). There was a feast with Jesus as the honoured guest. This was the town where He had raised Lazarus from the dead not long before, and the place where the religious leaders were looking to kill Him.
Mary is sitting at Jesus feet, usually a place that is reserved for the disciples. She is trying to be inconspicuous which may have worked had she not broken open a $10,000 bottle of perfume as a gift for Jesus and anointed His feet with it. The sweet smell caught everyone's attention in the room. There was no hiding it! Mary lets down her hair and wipes Jesus feet with it. A gesture of deep gratitude honouring what Jesus had done for her.
Just as the aroma of Mary’s gift impacted everyone in the room, so too did Jesus’ broken body on the cross. His death and resurrection impacted the whole world.
Unlike the perfume aroma which faded away over time, Jesus’ selfless act still impacts each of us today. His blood covers the whole world which gives every single person the offer of new life when he returns. We just have to accept his gift.
I hope you have a great week,
Chaplain Phil
2020 School Improvement Survey - Closes on Friday
Last week, our parents received an invitation to participate in Adventist Schools Australia’s Parent Survey. Every family was given a unique access code so that opinions will be 100% anonymous. Parents' views assist us to provide a more accurate, reliable, and equitable picture than is obtained using only staff and student measures. We would like to encourage you to participate in this survey, as the more data gathered, the more this will assist us in providing the best possible educational experiences for our students.
This is the last week that you will have an opportunity to contribute in this survey looking towards school improvement. Don't miss out! The survey will be ‘live’ through to close of business on Friday 23rd of October.
Uniform Shop
Week 3 is next week and all students MUST be in full Summer Uniform. Please call the Front Office on 8396 2577 to book your appointment as there are limited times available. Appointments are essential.
Alternatively, all clothing is available online. The NEW SPORTS clothing is a small make so you may like to order a larger size.
The NEW PE Uniform is Compulsory from Term 1 of 2021. The current Year 5’s will be exempt from buying the new Sport tops as they will be issued with a Year 6 class top early next year.
Remembrance Day – Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are advised that this article contains images of deceased persons.
As Remembrance Day approaches on the 11th November, this year, due to Covid-19, NAIDOC Week also falls within the same week.
Many people are aware of European Australians who have served their country in times of conflict, many of our community may also have relatives who have served or who are serving. Little awareness is made, however, of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have served their country in the past and who are also serving today. In the past, a lot of prejudice and hostility was projected towards the Indigenous peoples of Australia, so much so that these people suffered poor living conditions, low wages, limited access to education and limited voting rights.
Over the next few weeks, we shall look at some Indigenous Australians who served their country and deserve the same respect that others are given, to commemorate their sacrifice.
The Bible tells us of the need to regard all people in a respectful manner, regardless of gender, race or status, especially if serving together under a common purpose: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28 NIV)
At the onset of World War 1 in 1914, Indigenous Australians were not allowed to enlist in the armed forces, although many wanted to. By 1917, Britain and her Allies were desperately requiring more troops and so, gradually, changes were made to existing Military Orders (established by British descended politicians!) to allow "Half-castes [to be] enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force provided that the examining Medical Officers are satisfied that one of the parents is of European origin.".
Once enlisted in the armed forces, Indigenous Australians were generally regarded as equals: receiving the same rate of pay and treated without prejudice.
One Indigenous Australian who enlisted to serve in World War 1 was Douglas Grant. The following is sourced from the Australian War Memorial website.
Douglas Grant was born into a traditional Aboriginal community in the Bullenden Kerr Ranges of Northern Queensland in the early 1880s. His early family life was torn apart in 1887 when his parents and much of his Aboriginal community were killed in what was believed to be a tribal fight. He was rescued just moments from death by scientist Robert Grant, a Scottish immigrant surveying in the area at the time. Naming him Douglas, he raised him as his son.
The Grant family settled in Lithgow, New South Wales. Douglas, along with Robert’s other son, Henry, attended Scots College in Sydney. There, he developed a love for Shakespeare and poetry, and his talent for drawing was encouraged. After finishing school, Douglas pursued his interest in drawing, training as a mechanical draughtsman.
When the First World War broke out Grant managed to enlist with the 34th Battalion in January 1916. However, as he was about to leave Australia the Aborigines Protection Board intervened, noting that regulations prevented Aboriginals from leaving the country without government approval. Undeterred, Grant enlisted again, and this time successfully embarked with the 13th Battalion in August.
However, his service was to be short-lived. On 11 April 1917, just two months after arriving in France, Grant was captured during the first battle of Bullecourt. In this battle at least 3,300 men were killed or wounded and a further 1,170 were taken prisoner.
Grant was a well-educated, articulate man with a thick Scottish accent. As such, he was a person of curiosity to German doctors, scientists, and anthropologists. To his comrades, however, he was cherished as a remarkable figure who proved to be both honest and quick-witted.
After his capture, Grant spent two months in France. However, owing to his dark complexion, he ended up at Wünsdorf (Zossen) prisoner-of-war camp in the German state of Brandenburg. Wünsdorf was a Halbmondlager (“half-moon camp”), a special type of “show camp” where the Germans kept French and British colonial troops, many of whom were Muslims, hoping to exploit their supposed indignation towards their colonial masters. While there, Grant supervised the distribution of comforts to Indian prisoners as a member of the British Help Committee.
After 22 months, Grant was repatriated to Australia, where he resumed his job as a draughtsman before moving on to work as a labourer in a paper factory and then a small-arms factory. He lobbied for Aboriginal rights and became active in returned servicemen’s affairs. Grant died in 1951, aged 65, and was buried in Botany Cemetery in Sydney.
6020 Pte Douglas Grant (second row, seated fourth from the left) returning to Australia with other soldiers on HMAT Medic in 1919.
Lest we forget.
Matt Mackay
HASS Coordinator
Bibliography:
Australian Government. Aboriginal service during the First World War in Australian War Memorial <<https://www.awm.gov.au/about/our-work/projects/indigenous-service>> (Retrieved from the World Wide Web, 20 October, 2020).
Part-Time School Bus Driver Required
Dyslexia Awareness Month
Parking Around The School
1. Parking out the front of the school-
We are noticing a lot of parents parking in the front area of the school, walking to the single gate and dropping off, only to return to the car minutes later and reversing out into traffic. We understand the convenience but parking here and reversing out is stopping the flow of traffic from the drive through zone. We are asking that if you are walking your child onto our school grounds or collecting them in the afternoons, please use the back car park.
2. Keeping the car park entrance clear
As mentioned in a hand out, it is very important that you please do not park in the entrance to the back car park. If the drive through line is full, please wait with your left indicator flashing while on Nelson Road. When the line starts to move, then feel free to move into the drive through zone but please don't block the car park entrance.
3. Turning left only out of car parks and drive through
In peak times, when families wait and try to turn right onto Wright Road from the drive through, it again, slows the whole drive through down - often to a complete stop. We are asking kindly that you turn left only out the drive through onto Wright Road.
4. Side gate reopened!
We have cleared the temporary storage near the Front Office and are happy to open this walkway again to allow an alternative entrance, rather than going through the Front Office.
Please remember the current restrictions still in place (No adults entering classrooms unless you sign on in the Front Office).
We hope to continue to develop the parking around the school so it runs as smoothly as possible.
Daily Health Check
Dear PPN Families,
As part of our Book Week celebrations, we will be holding our annual Book Fair from Wednesday, 21st October, to Monday, 26th October in the Discovery Centre. Due to COVID restrictions, our procedures for the Book Fair will be as follows;
- Classes will visit the Discovery Centre to view the books and complete a wish list to bring home on Tuesday or Wednesday this week
- Children can come to the Discovery Centre to purchase books on Thursday, Friday and Monday morning between 8:40 and 8:55AM
- Parents can visit the Book Fair on Wednesday, Thursday and Monday afternoon between 3:20 and 4:00PM
- Parents wishing to visit the Book Fair are requested to sign in at the Front Office and line up (1.5m apart) in the internal corridor outside the Year 1 classrooms. Groups of 25 people will enter the Discovery Centre at a time (please social distance while in the Discovery Centre) and, after viewing the Book Fair, exit through the main Discovery Centre door to sign out at the Front Office.
Although parents are most welcome to come along to the Book Fair, due to the necessary social distancing procedures, it will be more time effective for families if children come to the morning sessions where PPN staff will assist them to purchase their books.
Students and teachers alike are looking forward to Friday’s Book Week Costume Parade. We are very disappointed that families will not be able to attend this year due to COVID restrictions, but we will be sending class photos of costumes home and images from the day will be in our newsletter and on our Instagram page.
Thank you for your wonderful support!
Book Week Committee
SAPSASA Track and Field Day
Prescott College
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