SCOOP MAGAZINE TERM 3 2016
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<strong>MAGAZINE</strong><br />
BROUGHT TO YOU BY DOUBLE BAY PUBLIC SCHOOL P&C<br />
7 WAYS TO<br />
BE PRESENT<br />
While Parenting For The Future<br />
TIPS &<br />
TRICKS<br />
To Get Your Home<br />
In Shape This Spring
P&C<br />
President’s Report<br />
Dear Double Bay Public students, parents<br />
and friends,<br />
What another terrific term it has been!<br />
Firstly, I can finally say the sunshade is in<br />
the process of being installed, as most<br />
of you will have seen if you visited the<br />
school grounds this week.<br />
This has been a long project, supported<br />
by our whole community, and it is fantastic<br />
to see that support and patience<br />
coming to fruition.<br />
Juniors, School Assembly’s, the Daceyville<br />
Big Band Bash, and the NSW School Band<br />
Festival. On Tuesday 20th September,<br />
there will be a Training Band and Strings<br />
Spotlight at 3.15 at school - please come<br />
along and listen to the wonderful progress<br />
the new band students have been<br />
making.<br />
The P&C are working on plans for the<br />
upgrade of our amenities block. We received<br />
a grant to go towards this project<br />
at the end of 2015.<br />
The Fathers Day Breakfast & Fathers Day<br />
Stall was a huge success. The P&C have received<br />
so much positive feedback from the<br />
event, and we made $3000 as well!<br />
The Book Fair Cake Stall looked delicious,<br />
and everyone enjoyed the morning<br />
book parade, and opportunity to visit the<br />
students classrooms. We made $1400<br />
from the Cake Stall.<br />
The Winter Disco was again a popular<br />
event for K-4. The sausage sizzle a sell<br />
out, and the kids loved dancing with their<br />
friends!<br />
The P&C thank all the volunteers at these<br />
fundraising events - your enthusiasm and<br />
time make these community events so<br />
successful and fun, and build a real sense<br />
of community in our school.<br />
The school Bands have had a very busy<br />
term, performing at Showcase at Souths<br />
Next term we have our major Fundraiser<br />
for the year: Thurs 27th October, 6.30pm<br />
at the Royal Oak Hotel Double Bay. We<br />
look forward to a fabulous night!<br />
Term 4 will also see the staging of the<br />
School Musical: Peter Pan. The students<br />
are so excited about this and we<br />
look forward to the performances on November<br />
29th & December 1st.<br />
The P&C meet twice each term, and we<br />
welcome your presence and input at<br />
these meetings. Please come along if you<br />
can. For further information, please go to<br />
the P&C website: www.dbpspc.org.au<br />
Enjoy the school holidays, and we look<br />
forward to an exciting Term 4!<br />
Best Wishes,<br />
Georgia Powell<br />
P&C President
At The Royal Oak Hotel<br />
Bay St, Double Bay<br />
(Entry from Cooper St)<br />
Thursday, 27 October, <strong>2016</strong> • 6.30-10.30pm<br />
Silent Auction • Live Auction<br />
SAVE THE DATE<br />
With thanks to our sponsors<br />
Richardson & Wrench | Double Bay
How do we find the balance?<br />
Here are 7 ways to be present,<br />
while still parenting for the future.<br />
1. Slow down the pace<br />
We are living life at a tremendous speed. Society deems us to live at this hurried, crazy<br />
pace and we are reaching the maximum capacity of the ‘hurry up’ culture. We are ferrying<br />
our kids from one after school activity to another, we are filling in every moment of the day<br />
with something and we are constantly in a rush to get somewhere. We are telling our kids to<br />
‘hurry up and eat your breakfast’, ‘hurry up and get your shoes on’, ‘hurry up and grow up’.<br />
If we slow down the pace of our lives enough to take in the wonder and awe of our children,<br />
we can see who they really are and nurture it. It is in this down time that we are building the<br />
strong, connected family relationships and living for the moment. It is also in this time that<br />
we can have fun with our kids and build positive memories.<br />
2. Perfection is an illusion<br />
A lot of the time we are parenting our kids to be the ‘model citizen’. We are pushing and polishing<br />
them to be perfect and forget that perfection is actually an illusion. We are all human<br />
and have our faults and differences – so do our kids. Disciplining can quickly change to criticism<br />
and we become critical of every little thing our child does ‘wrong’. It is actually OK for<br />
our kids to make mistakes and learn from them. It is OK if they only do what we want from<br />
them for 80 per cent of the time and aren’t perfect 100 per cent. We need to be clear on the<br />
traits and values we want to instill in our children from the very start and pour our focus only<br />
on them. If we try to guide and teach our children to do and be everything, it won’t work.<br />
3. Parent for the future, but meet kids in the now<br />
Kids, by their very nature, live in the moment. Unlike adults, they don’t plan every integral<br />
time period of what will happen in two weeks time and they don’t dwell on what happened<br />
a week ago. They live for now and we need to meet them there. We need to connect with<br />
them and have fun with them now. A great way to do this is through micro moments of<br />
connection. A high five at the door on the way out in the morning, a wink across the table, a<br />
spontaneous dance off in the kitchen or a note in their lunch box means much more to our<br />
kids than setting up an hour every second weekend to do ‘special time’. They want to live for<br />
now so join them in it.<br />
4. Say YES more often<br />
Provide plenty of opportunities to have fun with your kids. How often does your child say<br />
‘Can we go to the park and get an ice-cream?’. No. ‘Can we go on a bike ride?’. Not right<br />
now. ‘Can we go to the beach?’. Not today. Why not? Because we have filled our lives with<br />
so many other plans and arrangements, we run out of time to do the fun things with our<br />
kids.Being spontaneous and saying yes allows us to have fun with our kids and live the positives<br />
in life. Childhood is so short. My daughter turns 11 in a few weeks and she already wants
to be with her friends more than she wants to be with us. She is creeping into teenager<br />
hood and thankfully we have snuck in many more fun, ‘yes’ times that we should have in our<br />
time together.<br />
5. ‘Be’ with your kids, don’t ‘fix’<br />
Our kids don’t need fixing because they are not broken. They are born with their own personalities<br />
and traits. If you have more than one child, you know just how different each personality<br />
and character can be and while we have a set ideal in our mind of what our kids<br />
‘should be like’ each one is not necessarily going to meet that standard. Rather than fixing<br />
or changing our kids, they need us to be with them and to be there for them as a guide or<br />
mentor. They need us to know who they are and build our relationship around that, rather<br />
than always trying to turn them into what we want them to be.<br />
6. Disconnect and reconnect<br />
We live our lives connected to technology – we have our iPhones, kids have their iPads,<br />
WiFi is everywhere and we are connected to what is going on in our online world. You just<br />
have to go to the local park or swimming pool to see this. At a park last week, every Mom<br />
was holding her iPhone 10 inches from her face looking at Facebook or Instagram while<br />
her child played on the swing, climbed the monkey bars or slid down the slide. There were<br />
even a couple of kids that had bought their iPads to the park and were playing side by side<br />
on them. We are so connected to technology, and in this case, at the expense of connecting<br />
with our kids. Put the phones down at the park and push your kids on the swing. At the<br />
end of the day when they are reliving the fun things you did together, do you think it will be<br />
watching you on your iPhone at the park? Probably not. This is where the connection with<br />
our kids happens – when we interact, when we get involved in their fun times. Not when we<br />
sit back and connect with our technology.<br />
7. Don’t discipline all the time<br />
Parenting now is a very serious business. When we were growing up, often free-range parenting<br />
was how we were raised. We came home when the street lights went on and we<br />
learnt a lot of things the hard way. Along the way we became<br />
resilient and independent. It seems parenting has<br />
taken a full turn in many circles and the term ‘helicopter<br />
parenting’ is rife. We hang too close to our kids and we are<br />
constantly disciplining them. ‘Don’t do that’. ‘Don’t say that’.<br />
‘Don’t touch that’. I followed a mother around the supermarket<br />
with her toddler in tow the other day and she must<br />
have said ‘no’ and ‘don’t’ 80 times or more. It is reminder to<br />
let our kids have some freedom and do some of the learning<br />
on their own. They don’t need to be controlled by us at<br />
every turn. Guide and protect, but don’t spend all your day<br />
disciplining because where is the fun in that!<br />
I am glad my son called me out on focusing on the bad<br />
things last night, rather than looking at the good. Our kids<br />
are awesome and we don’t need to constantly tell them<br />
how to do things the best way but learn to appreciate them<br />
for who they already are. My son’s lesson to me: Parent for<br />
the future, but please live with me in the moment.
Tips And Tricks<br />
To Get Your Home Ship<br />
Shape This Spring<br />
As much as it sounds cliché, there really is no better time<br />
than springtime to put a broom through the house,<br />
dust off the cobwebs and throw out any junk. The sunshine,<br />
fresh air and warmer weather is a great incentive for a<br />
spring-clean. Here are our top tips and tricks to getting<br />
your house ship shape this springtime.<br />
• Use a lint roller to clean off your lampshades (you will be<br />
amazed at how much dust they pick up!).<br />
• A mix of water, vinegar and lemon juice works a treat<br />
when trying to remove scum off your bathtub.<br />
• Clean out your washing machine by running a cycle with<br />
bleach and then another cycle with white vinegar.<br />
• Slide post-it-notes between the keys of your computer<br />
to pick up and remove dust.<br />
• Wipe down ceiling fans and shutters using a spray bottle<br />
filled with water and two tablespoons of distilled white<br />
vinegar and an old pillowcase.<br />
• Empty out your freezer. Use up any leftovers and give it<br />
a good wipe out.<br />
• Go through all the family’s clothes and cull, cull, cull.<br />
Springtime is a great time to get rid of any old shoes and<br />
clothes and donate them to charity.<br />
• Make a note of the next council clean up and start<br />
accumulating any clutter that could be tossed out.
Spring Breakfast<br />
Muffins Florentine – Breakfast<br />
Preparation:10min<br />
Cook: 20min<br />
Ready in: 30min<br />
Serves: 4<br />
Ingredients<br />
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil<br />
• 800g baby spinach leaves<br />
• 4 eggs<br />
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar<br />
• 4 wholemeal english muffins, split<br />
• 8 chives (optional)<br />
• Yogurt and chive sauce<br />
• 2 egg yolks<br />
• 1 teaspoon dijon mustard<br />
• 1/2 cup (130g) Greek-style yogurt<br />
• 8 chives, snipped<br />
Directions<br />
1. Firstly, we will make the sauce. Whisk the egg yolks,<br />
mustard and yogurt in a heatproof bowl over a large<br />
saucepan of simmering water (without allowing the bowl<br />
to touch the water) for approximately 10 minutes until<br />
thick, then remove from the heat. Add the chives and<br />
season to taste. Cover the bowl to maintain warmth in<br />
the sauce.<br />
2. Heat the oil in the pan, add the spinach and stir-fry<br />
over a medium heat for 2–3 minutes until wilted. Drain<br />
in a sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to<br />
remove excess moisture. Season to taste, then cover to<br />
keep warm.<br />
3. To poach the eggs, fill the pan with 1/3 water. Add<br />
the vinegar and a pinch of salt and heat to simmering.<br />
Carefully break in the eggs, one at a time, and cook<br />
gently for 2–3 minutes until they are cooked as you like<br />
them, spooning the hot water over the yolks towards the<br />
end of the cooking time. Meanwhile, toast the muffins.<br />
Using a spatula or large spoon, delicately lift the eggs<br />
from the water one at a time and drain on paper towel.<br />
4. Divide the spinach among the muffin bases, place a<br />
poached egg on top and spoon over the warm sauce.<br />
You can garnish with whole chives, if you wish, sprinkle<br />
with pepper and rest the remaining toasted muffin halves<br />
on the side.
Save the Date!<br />
Double Bay Public School<br />
Proudly Presents<br />
November 29th & December 1st <strong>2016</strong><br />
Matinee and evening performances
Handy<br />
Home<br />
Hacks<br />
∙Lengthening Vegetables Lifespan∙<br />
If vegetables become cheaper in price due to ageing,<br />
you should stock up. As soon as you have your produce<br />
at home slice and dice it and then place it in freezer<br />
bags. If you immediately freeze it then you will halt the<br />
ageing process. Plus, you’ll have ready-to-use frozen<br />
vegetables for whenever you want to make a stew or<br />
sauce<br />
∙Storing asparagus∙<br />
We all have experienced vegetables getting soft and<br />
limp inside the bottom drawer of the fridge. How do<br />
we keep vegetables alive longer? Place a vegetable like<br />
asparagus upright in a jar, or cup in your fridge. Remove<br />
the bottoms of the storks, put them together into<br />
bunches and soak in a few centimetres of water to ensure<br />
they retain their freshness.<br />
∙Homemade frozen yoghurt∙<br />
It’s hard to beat a homemade healthy yoghurt dessert.<br />
But who has the time to spend churning and turning to<br />
produce the results? To achieve the same result, buy<br />
a single-serve size of creamy yoghurt and a packet of<br />
wooden sticks. Don’t take the lid off, instead, pierce it in<br />
the centre with the stick. Next, put it in the freezer and<br />
then when the weather’s warmer and you’re after a treat,<br />
remove the lid and ease the now frozen yoghurt out of<br />
the container.<br />
∙Watermelon lollies∙<br />
Eating watermelon can be difficult at best. Watermelon is<br />
awkward to eat, big and difficult to move around on your<br />
chopping board, let alone cut. Then the fruit’s natural<br />
juice all over you. Rather than slicing the melon into<br />
traditional slices, cut it in half, then slice into strips and<br />
stick in a toothpick.<br />
∙Keep bananas ripe for longer∙<br />
Wrap your bananas with plastic cling wrap on their ends<br />
and they will last days longer.<br />
∙Delicious homemade iced coffee∙<br />
Enjoy a glass of homemade iced coffee that’s better than<br />
any store-bought caffeine kick. The trick to making good<br />
iced coffee is preparing frozen coffee cubes in an ice<br />
tray in advance. When needed you can add the cubes to<br />
ensure your coffee stays cold, then it keeps its strength<br />
rather than be watered down.<br />
∙Removing strawberry tops∙<br />
We always tend to waste a lot of strawberries by<br />
chopping off their stems.<br />
Instead of using a knife, which doesn’t get close enough<br />
to removing only the stork, use a straw. Pierce the base<br />
of the berry with the straw, by pushing it through you<br />
will see only the unwanted stem is removed from the<br />
strawberry. It is not messy and quick as well.
R&W DOUBLE BAY<br />
DATE MARKET WRAP UP<br />
by James Dunn R&W Double Bay<br />
Real Estate Market Wrap Up<br />
As a new parent, yes my wife and I<br />
welcomed a baby boy in August, I ask<br />
myself, will he ever be able to afford<br />
to own a home in Sydney’s Eastern<br />
Suburbs? Will this market ever peak, will<br />
it just keep rising and rising? I’m sure<br />
as parents, you are all asking yourselves<br />
the same questions. I can’t answer them<br />
and I’m not sure if anyone really can,<br />
but what I do know is that if you plan<br />
ahead anything can be achieved. My<br />
wife and I will work hard and plan ahead<br />
for our children’s future and part of that<br />
planning will be to encourage and assist<br />
them where we can, to buy real estate,<br />
good old bricks and mortar!<br />
When I bought my first home, an apartment<br />
in Double Bay, it was a struggle<br />
at first to meet the mortgage, but like<br />
my parents before me and theirs before<br />
them, I did it and within time I was able<br />
to upgrade from that apartment to a bigger<br />
apartment, big enough to accommodate<br />
my growing family. I understand it’s<br />
getting harder as prices rise and rise, but<br />
money is cheaper than it’s ever been, interest<br />
rates at an all-time low and access<br />
to a wide range of financial services available<br />
out there.<br />
So don’t get disillusioned, your children<br />
will get ahead, they will buy their own<br />
home and like all of us, they will learn<br />
how to budget to manage their finances<br />
and meet their mortgage payments, the<br />
important thing is to encourage them to<br />
get into the market as soon as possible.<br />
Whilst our company and my speciality<br />
area is Double Bay and the eastern suburbs,<br />
there are plenty of options to invest<br />
in real estate, it doesn’t have to be in this<br />
area, it can be anywhere in Sydney or indeed<br />
in other states. Look further afield<br />
just to consider getting in to the market<br />
is the key. We can help you in any areas<br />
of Australia with our Franchise network,<br />
just let me know and I’m happy to help.<br />
Meanwhile, what is going on in the market,<br />
it is by far the lowest supply and<br />
highest demand we have seen for a very<br />
long time, which is resulting in some<br />
extraordinary results, and it’s across the<br />
board in Australia, though Sydney definitely<br />
shows the strongest results.<br />
The CoreLogic Home Value Index recorded<br />
a 1.1% rise in dwelling values in August,<br />
with six of the eight capital cities<br />
recording a lift in dwelling values over<br />
the month.<br />
The CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value<br />
Index recorded a 1.1% rise across the<br />
combined capital cities over the month<br />
of August, while the performance of the<br />
combined regional areas (based on a<br />
one month lag) remained comparatively<br />
soft, with dwelling values virtually flat at<br />
-0.1% over the month.<br />
R&W<br />
But back to more pleasurable discussions;<br />
our market report produced twice<br />
a year, which goes out to around 3500<br />
homes, has had the cover of the February<br />
report featuring the winner of the School<br />
Art Prize, Sacha Tehan with her version of<br />
“My Street”. Each year winner, received<br />
a book voucher and Sacha along with a<br />
book voucher, receives an IPAD for her<br />
class. Congratulations Sacha!<br />
Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but show you<br />
a picture of my new addition to finish off.<br />
#proud dad.<br />
I look forward to seeing you all at the October<br />
fundraiser.<br />
James Dunn<br />
Partner<br />
Richardson & Wrench Double Bay