Term 3 Week 6 Newsletter
Leadership Insights
Standing Firm in Our Mission – Growing with Hope and Purpose
At Prescott College, we are blessed to be part of a vibrant, Christ-centred learning community that is proud of its Adventist heritage. In 2025, our focus is on celebrating who we are, while continuing to grow into the school, God has called us to be.
Our School Improvement Plan places strong emphasis on our core values of Joy, Integrity, and Respect. These values are not only words on paper but lived experiences in classrooms, playgrounds, and worship times. They remind us that academic success and spiritual formation go hand in hand. Our students are encouraged to achieve their very best in NAPLAN, SACE, and communication skills, while also deepening their walk with Jesus.
We know that schools, like people, must guard their hearts against drifting away from their mission. At Prescott, this means making intentional choices every day—ensuring that our curriculum reflects both academic excellence and biblical truth. By keeping Christ at the centre, we provide a balanced, faith-filled education that equips our students for life, service, and eternity.
Our community is dynamic and resilient. While we navigate financial responsibilities, enrolments, and the practicalities of running a school, we remain steadfast in our commitment to God’s mission. We are also blessed with a dedicated team of educators who bring both professional expertise and a deep respect for Adventist values. Their passion ensures that every student is nurtured academically, spiritually, and personally. Together, we continue to create authentic opportunities for discipleship, service, and growth in faith.
As we look ahead, we are filled with hope. By reaffirming our mission, engaging with our community, and remaining faithful to God’s calling, Prescott College will continue to be a place where students thrive, families feel supported, and Christ is honoured in all we do.
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” – Proverbs 16:3
Mr Ian Hamilton
Deputy Principal
Prescott News
Year 7 Science Excursion to Monarto Safari Park: A Wild Day of Learning!
In week 5, the Year 7 science classes had the exciting opportunity to step out of the classroom and into the wild with an unforgettable excursion to Monarto Safari Park. The day was packed with unique experiences, hands-on learning, and more than a few wild surprises!
The highlight of the day was the curriculum-aligned session titled “Students Turn Ranger”, where students worked in small groups, students put their senses and reasoning to the test as they identified scats, spoors, and animal remains. It was a hands-on way to learn how rangers track and study animals in the wild, without ever needing to open a textbook!
Students also delved into the complexities of managing animals in captivity, gaining insight into how specialised knowledge of animal behaviour is crucial to ensuring their health and wellbeing. The session tied closely into our current science topics, especially around ecosystems, food webs, and human impact on habitats.
Students enjoyed a guided tour of the zoo, and what a tour it was! One of the most memorable (and adrenaline-pumping) moments was when our bus was chased by a playful young lion! Safe behind the glass, we watched in awe and excitement as the curious big cat loped alongside us, giving everyone a story to tell for years to come.
Not to be outdone, a rogue kangaroo added its own drama to the day by darting across the black rhino’s path, only for the rhino to give chase! It was an unexpected but incredible demonstration of the unpredictable nature of animals, even in a managed environment like Monarto.
Another firm favourite was the chimpanzees, whose antics kept us laughing and captivated. Watching their social behaviours gave students a deeper appreciation for primate intelligence and group dynamics.
Overall, the excursion to Monarto Safari Park was more than just a day out. It was a vibrant, living classroom that brought our science curriculum to life in ways that couldn’t be replicated indoors. We returned to school tired but inspired, full of new knowledge, wild memories, and a deeper understanding of the animal world!
Ms Stephany Moukachar
Year 7 Teacher
P.A.R.T.Y.
The Prevent Alcohol & Risk-related Trauma in Youth Program
The P.A.R.T.Y. program was both informative and interactive. It was great to be able to listen and learn as well as participate in activities to gain a deeper understanding of the seriousness of alcohol and risk-related trauma. Hearing from Nick, a survivor of spinal cord trauma, was a great way of getting to know more about the personal impacts this trauma can have on someone's life and the journey of recovery. Overall, this was an amazing experience that will definitely cause me to think twice before making any decision that may cause negative effects.
Maddi Meza
College Captain
Developing Minds
Dear Parents/Guardians
I spoke with your young person’s year level recently about emotional well-being management. I hope they found the session helpful. I’ve summarised the main ideas of the seminar for you (this was also provided to them) below in case you would like to ask your young person about the session. If you have any concerns about your young person’s well-being, obviously feel free to reach out to health and crisis services (or speak to the school). You are also welcome to email me if you have any questions about the context of this session (or if you have any questions or interest about our therapy for adolescent well-being and parent-distress work).
Best wishes, Kirrilie Smout (kirriliesmout@developingminds.net.au)
Dear students
It was great to talk with your year group recently about emotional well-being and the science of stress/distress
management. I hope you found the session helpful. I’ve summarised the main ideas for you below (feel free to take a picture of this on your phone as a reminder if you think this might be helpful).
Research suggests that experiencing difficult and negative emotions frequently is common in all age groups – and across the world. This raises the question – why does life feel so hard at times? Here are three reasons which might be relevant – depending on the individual.
a) From an evolutionary perspective, our brains are designed to focus on problems (in order to solve them) and be alerted to dangers (especially true once we reach adolescence) which means intense experiences of worry, grief, sadness and frustration are just a normal part of the human condition.
b) Certain experiences, environments, and situations in our lives are linked to difficult emotional experiences – there are many of these but they include lack of sleep, school stress, trauma, friendship difficulties, family background problems, relationship concerns, and physical health issues just to name a few.
c) Some people are born with – or develop – a biological/genetic propensity to experience more intense and frequent difficult emotions (and mental health challenges) compared to others
Usually our difficult emotional experiences are a result of all three of the reasons above interacting with each other. It’s important to remember when we are having particularly tough times - that we are not alone in this– and that managing our emotional well-being is likely to be a lifelong endeavour for almost all of us.
Unfortunately, there are no ‘magic fixes’ which remove our distress or stress entirely. However, research does show that over the long term, there are some strategies and behaviours which seem to be linked to better mental and emotional well-being. Here are some which might be worth considering.
1. Reducing physiological tension. When our brain interprets a situation as dangerous it automatically goes into
freeze, fight or flight mode: adrenalin/cortisol are released into our bodies, our heart rate speeds up, our
breathing gets quicker and our muscles tense. This response meant that in more primitive times (when our
dangers were likely to be tigers and wars) we were more likely to be physically equipped to fight, take flight or
freeze – and therefore survive. However, this reaction still occurs even when situations deemed ‘dangerous’ by
our brains do not actually require us fight or flight- and this makes it harder for us to think, communicate and
concentrate. It can be helpful therefore to remember to reduce our physiological tension. We can do this by
practicing breathing slowly, and (ideally less than 8 to 12 breaths per minute and from our diaphragm). You
might like to imagine a box as you breathe (imagine drawing a line up one side as you breathe in, imagine a line
going across the top of the box as you hold that breath, imagine a line being drawn down the side of the box as
you breathe out, and then imagine the final line being drawn across the bottom of the box as you hold that
breath again). At the same time, we should try to consciously reduce our muscle tension - make our muscles
‘floppy’ and try to relax our arms, shoulders and neck muscles in particular. However it is important to
*remember* to do this box breathing/floppy muscles regularly before we are stressed – so that we are practiced
at doing it when we need it. You might like to try to ‘link’ doing this with something else you do already (e.g. in
the bus, lying in bed before sleep) or use visual or auditory cues (an alarm, sticky note) to help get into this habit.
2. Step back from distressing thoughts. When we experience difficult experiences, our mind is likely to interpret
everything around us negatively and provide specific categories of thoughts - like catastrophising, mind reading,
black and white thinking and future predicting. This is just our brain doing the job it was designed to do in more
primitive times. Research suggests that we can learn to switch our attention away from these categories of
distressing thoughts and recognise them for what they are – our brain’s attempt to protect us – rather than
paying attention to them and believing them 100%. To do this it can help to write out our thoughts and label
them (as one of the above categories). We can then consciously and deliberately, add in (remember the brain
works by addition not subtraction) some positive and realistic thoughts with sentences that start like: it’s not the
end of the world if............... I can survive it if............ the good thing about this is........... I am capable of..... and so
on. It can help if we write these things down. We don't have to believe them 100% for them to help us feel a
little better slowly over time.
3. Stay connected to people and activities. Another thing our brain does in hard times is make us want to withdraw
from people or avoid difficult, scary things. Again, this is our primitive brain just doing what it thinks is right – it
learnt generations ago that the best way to do this was to stay ‘in the cave’. This means we might have a very
strong instinct when we are experiencing tough times to avoid things that seem hard, stop talking and stop doing
life activities (and sometimes to just stay under the covers). Unfortunately those ‘withdraw and avoid instincts’
much of the time make things worse for us. Instead, we might identify (in advance – when we are feeling okay)
the times we ruminate and go over and over depressing/worrying thoughts or avoid things which are helpful for
us. We can then plan (again - in advance) to have other topics and activities to do during these times (even if we
don’t think those topics/activities matter at the time), and how we might help ourselves stop avoiding important
things. We should try to keep being with and helping others – social engagement (over the long term) is essential
for mood. Sometimes we have to take really small steps towards this.
4. SLEEP, NUTRITION, EXERCISE. All of this emotional management is hard work – and so unless we have sufficient
sleep, nutrition and exercise – it can feel almost impossible. Getting sufficient sleep usually means having a
pretty regular bedtime (and this regularity may be more important than the exact number of hours) – and
especially a regular wake up time. Usually most teens will need around 8-9 hours but if you are sleepy during the
day, this is the biggest red flag to indicate you are not getting enough. Also, we should be careful about caffeine,
keep our rooms cool and dark and avoid long naps (especially after the mid afternoon). Good nutrition is also
essential for a positive and balanced mood. Exercise is also associated with better mood and stress management.
5. ASK FOR HELP. It is important we keep talking with people about how we feel when times are tough (despite our
brain telling us it won’t help, or people will judge us). Ask for help from teachers, parents, friends, GP,
counsellors, school staff, family friends, text based, or phone based crisis lines (google “mental health help") for up
to date numbers and websites). It may feel like there is nothing anyone can do, and that you are a burden on
others, or that it is embarrassing but getting things out of your head and into the space between you and another
person is one of the most important things you can do. It doesn’t help every single time, but on balance it does
make a difference.
All of this can be extremely hard to do some days (and it is much harder to do this for some people compared to others).
On those days, the important thing is to just hang in there, and remember ‘it is just a moment, this time will pass’. (U2)
I hope some of these ideas help you continue to work on your emotional well-being management and help you cope with
the stress and tough times in your life.
Ms Chen
Inclusive Ed Coordinator
Dates to Note
RU OK?
The SRC are organising an event for R U Ok Day on
Thursday, September 11 (Week 8).
Wear: Something YELLOW to show your support
Donate: $2 towards the organisation
On Thursday, September 11, our school will be joining thousands of schools and workplaces across Australia in marking R U OK? Day. This special day reminds us all to take the time to check in with the people around us and start meaningful conversations that could make a real difference.
The message is simple: You don’t need to be an expert to reach out – just a good friend and a great listener.
Let's focus on the four steps to a conversation:
Ask R U OK?
Listen with an open mind
Encourage action
Check in
We encourage families to continue these conversations at home too. Sometimes the most important thing we can do is simply notice when someone’s not themselves and let them know we care.
If you or someone you know needs extra support, please remember that help is always available. Services like Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), and Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) are ready to listen anytime.
Let’s all do our part to create a caring and connected school community – because a conversation really can change a life.x
Employment Opportunity
Holiday Program for Young Females
Our Confidently YOU 2-Day School Holiday Course is designed for girls aged 10–17 years to help them build self-confidence, develop life skills, and have fun in a supportive and uplifting environment.
Over two engaging days, participants will take part in activities such as:
Runway & presentation skills
Speech and communication
Dance & acting workshops
Skincare and makeup tips
Vision board creation
Manicure session
And more confidence-building activities
Details:
Wednesday 8 & Thursday 9 October 2025
9:30am – 4:00pm
Next Generation Gym, North Adelaide
$250 (Early Bird Special – Save $50 if enrolled by 31 August 2025)
Chaplain's Corner
She laughed well, loved well and lived well.
My Nana believed in healthy living. Even when she was 80 years old, I would wake
up each morning at 6:00am to find that she had already had her morning cup of tea
with a fresh lemon from our lemon tree and had started up and down the stairs of the
house doing morning chores.
She laughed well, loved well and lived well.
Nana always had this little blue jar that she said did marvellous things for our
physical health. It could help us breathe better, make us feel better, and even helped
with stomach pains and broken bones! Her magical jar? A jar of Vicks VapoRub! She
had so much trust in that jar, and for most physical pains (except actual broken
bones), it had a healing outcome.
There is something else that is readily available to us all, helpful in all circumstances
– broken bones and broken hearts included. It brings us up to the throne room of
God, gives us strength, and can positively change our outlook on life. The apostle
Paul encourages us to make the most of it in Philippians 4:6-76
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Whether you are facing difficulties in life or are thankful for all that you are blessed
with, prayer is a powerful channel of communication with the God of Heaven. Let’s
be a praying community, and let’s see together how our lives can be positively
transformed as we grow in prayer.
Pr Tim Ah Sam
Chaplain
Key Dates to Note
PPN Open Day
Pupil Free Day
Student Services and Wellbeing
Join Homework Club – Tuesdays and Thursdays After School!
Homework Club is a great opportunity for students to stay on top of their studies in a
supportive and focused environment. Running every Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 to 4:30
PM, in the Library, the club offers a quiet space with access to teachers and resources to help
with assignments, revision, and time management. It’s also a great chance to build good study
habits and reduce stress by getting homework done early in the week. All students are
welcome—just let Mrs Nelson (Tuesday) or Mr Joseph (Thursday) know you are attending.
Canteen
The canteen is open at both recess and lunch. Most food items need to be ordered through the Flexischools app. To get started, simply download the app and create an account under Prescott College.
Orders can be placed anytime in advance, or up until 9:05am on the day. If you order for your child, please remind them what you’ve ordered so they know what to collect.
If your child is absent after you’ve already placed an order, please contact the office before 9am.
Uniform Shop
Summer Uniform Required for Term Four and Term One Next Year
It's now time to get the summer uniform out and check if everything still fits.
If you require a Uniform Shop appointment during the school holidays, please make an appointment for Wednesday, 1st October, 2025. This is the only day available during the holidays. Please call Darlene on 0490 880 023 or email djaekel@prescottcollege.sa.
Darlene Jaekel
Uniform Shop Coordinator