Cooper Room

Dear Parents,

I am happy to inform you that Mrs Alison Blake will be the teacher in the Cooper room from next term. Ali has previously taught as the founding Director at Hamilton College Early Learning Centre in Victoria followed by a year teaching in London and more recently she has been at Lady Gowrie Kindergarten. Ali has already done some relief teaching with us so will be familiar to some of the children. We are delighted to welcome her to our wonderful centre !


Jeanine

Christmas Holidays

Dear Parents,
As many of you are starting to plan your Christmas holidays we are just letting you know that we will be closed from Dec 24th and returning on January 11th. There will be no fees charged for this period,

ELC staff

End of Kindergarten Term

Dear Parents of Kindergarten Students,
We have completed our first full kindergarten term in our new ELC and it has been one filled with lots of investigation, play, exploration and joy. Kindergarten staff will be away from the centre for the next two weeks, busily preparing for our next PYP Unit entitled Conversations in Colour and our main event for term four, our annual Early Years Nativity.
Kindergarten Teachers look forward to catching up with children and families as of Tuesday the 13th of October but if you have any questions or inquiries in the intervening two weeks we would ask that you speak with Jeanine.
For those on holidays, we hope that you have a wonderful two week break with your children, and for those who aren't we hope that your children enjoy our relaxed activities based holiday program.
We look forward to seeing you in two weeks time.
Regards
Mel, Alex, Emma, Susan, Nicola, Amanda and Pip

In the Classrooms

Langley
This week in Langley many of the children created stunning paintings for their grandparents as an extension learning experience from the visits on Grandies day on September 11th 2009. These paintings have formed the Messages of Love display that you can see in the Langley. Teachers recorded individual children’s thoughts and conversation as part of this experience and also included personal messages of love from the grandparents who attended Grandies Day to add to the display.
Andrea, Adele, Penny and Chloe

Mead
Dear Mead Room Parents,
Our children really have had a wonderfully busy and productive term. One area where we have really seen them jump ahead in leaps and bounds is in their Chinese lessons. The children really enjoy their lessons and the songs, stories and games they play to reinforce their learning. This term we have focused on colours and other various vocabulary. Next term the Chinese teacher is going to send home some lists of vocabulary that the children are focusing on so parents can try and help their children practice at home.
We would like to thank all parents for their support this term and look forward to another exciting term after the holidays. Happy holidays to all,
Emma, Susan and Amanda

Edgerley
Following our exploration into statues, we decided to visit Alchemy Iron Works across the road from our Kindergarten. We met Andrew, an artist who creates sculptures using metal. He showed us some statues and all the tools he uses to create his masterpieces. It was exciting to discover what was behind that roller door!
Mel and Pip

Chapple
We have had a very busy week with our excursion to the Wesley Uniting Church and our visit to Mr Tutt's office. Thank you to the parents who accompanied us to see the crest in the church. We really loved it!
Thanks from Chapple

New Date for Sports Day

Dear Parents,
It was with great disappointment that Sports Day was postponed due to weather. Although the sun seemed to shine for a short while on Tuesday it would have been extremely muddy underfoot and would have affected many of our planned activities. This day has been rescheduled to the first Friday of Term Four – Friday the 16th of October. Plans for this day remain the same. However we are aware that there will be many disappointed Tuesday children and so have made the decision that Sports Day will be for all Princes ELC Kindergarten students regardless of the day they normally attend. Please note that children who do not normally attend on a Friday must be accompanied by an adult and taken home at the resumption of the day.
Kind Regards
ELC Staff

Chicken Pox

Dear Parents,
As you will be aware we have had a case of Chicken Pox in our centre. Please watch your children in the coming week or two to see if there are any unexplainable spots. More details about incubation periods and symptoms have been sent home in the form of a letter through children’s pigeon holes. Please remember that if your child contracts Chicken Pox they are not allowed to come back to the Centre until all sores and spots have crusted over.
Thankyou for your assistance
ELC Staff

Mead Marshmellow Park Change of Date

Dear fellow Mead Room Families,
Sadly, our picnic this Sunday at Marshmellow Park will be cancelled due to the weather forecast being cold and wet on Sunday!
So we are locking in Sunday the 11th of October, 11am–1pm at Marshmellow Park, BYO food/drinks and let’s hope the weather is kind to us! This will set up a nice lead-in to our return to Kindy on the following Tuesday.
Enjoy your holidays (if you are lucky enough to get one) and we look forward to sharing some Merriment with you on the 11th.
Warmest Regards
Jude & Brendt
PS: Thank you to everyone who joined us for coffee on Wednesday morning at Palazzo!

Edgerley P&F Functions

Dear Edgerley Room Families,
Hello and welcome to the class of Edgerley! It's been great to finally put some faces to names over the past few weeks and we now look forward to building friendships over the next few years.
Thank you all for passing on your contact details, we really appreciated it. Please put these dates in your diaries and come and join us for some Edgerley fun:

Wednesday 23rd September - Coffee Catch up at Café Palazzo (straight after kindy drop off in the morning) (Edgerley and Mead group)
Saturday 10th October - Picnic at Marshmallow Park, 11am – 1pm. BYO food, drinks and bikes / scooters for the children to ride. (Edgerley group)
Friday 30th October - Friday Night Drinks at a venue still to be decided from 6pm onwards. (Edgerley and Mead group)
Tuesday 3rd November - Melbourne Cup – P&F PAC lunch at Sparrows in North Adelaide – tickets still available
Wednesday 25 November - Coffee Catch up at Café Palazzo (straight after kindy drop off in the morning)
Sunday 29th November - Christmas ‘End of Year Picnic’ at Tusmore Park near the wading pool (if the weather is warm) otherwise by the playground. 11am – 1pm. BYO food and drinks and bathers if it’s a nice day. We are also happy to organize a visit from Father Christmas if parents are interested in providing a small gift for their children? Please email us your thoughts on that idea! (Edgerley and Mead group)
January 2010 - In the New Year we will organize a play date for the children to catch up a few weeks before we start back at Kindy. Details TBA. (Edgerley group)

We hope you are able to join us at these get-togethers over the coming weeks and look forward to seeing you there.
Kind Regards,
Christine and Karli
P&F Reps for Edgerley Room

Sports Day

Dear Parents,
Unfortunately the school has had to make the decision to cancel Sports Day tomorrow. It will be rescheduled to early next term and we will advise you as soon as a date has been finalised,

ELC Staff

Cooper Room

Dear Parents of children in the Mead Room,
As many of you are aware we have had a significant increase in numbers in our three year old Mead room, with more children who are due to start with us next term. We have now made the decision to open our second three year old room, Cooper, at the beginning of the fourth term. We are currently finalising the staffing for this room and will inform you of this as soon as we have confirmed the employment of an outstanding Early Years teacher and assistant. In line with our placement guidelines, students will be divided according to their school entry dates. Children who begin school in January 2011 will remain in the Mead room whilst children who begin school in July 2011 will move to the Cooper room. Parents will receive letters confirming these placements in their pigeon holes next week. We would like to warmly thank the team of Emma McKenzie, Susan Lock and Amanda Rees for the wonderful start that they have given our three year olds to date.
Thankyou
Jeanine Dry and Melinda Bishop

In the Classroom

Langley
All aboard in the Langley room
This week in Langley we continue to expand on the children’s interest in trains. We are working towards a “Langley Train” to display in our room. Each child has their own carriage to decorate ink in using spray bottles. This strengthens fine motor skills as well as emulating the “choo choo” sound a train makes. As the colour sprays from the bottles we observe how they all mix together... and it’s lots of fun!The children visited the art room to create the train’s wheels. We used stamp pads and recycled bottle tops, paper rolls and sponges to create the round wheel shape.
We look forward to displaying our finished carriages, complete with a window and a photograph peering out, enjoying the ride!
Andrea, Adele, Penny and Chloe

Mead
Dear Mead Room Parents,
We have another busy week in the Mead Room. We have had a lot of sporting practices in the prep school gym for our sports day, exercising and moving to music. We have also had some practice at running races, teaching the children to try and stay in their lanes and not traverse too many other lanes!
This morning was a beautiful day and we got out the water play outside. The children had a wonderful time in this activity.
Emma, Susan and Amanda

Edgerley
This week we visited the Senior School Sports Day to watch other students participate. We really enjoyed watching the big boys run the 100m hurdles. One student was so strong that he actually ran through the hurdle instead of over it, snapping the wood! That was a catalyst for quite a bit of discussion about participating properly. The boys observed the high jump and marvelled both at the students’ skill and also at their flamboyant house coloured outfits and costumes. We very vocally cheered on participants from our own houses and talked about our upcoming sports day next Tuesday. We eagerly participated in sack races at Kindy and even role played the part of the official starter with his gun!
Kind Regards
Mel, Todd and Pip

Chapple
After watching the Big Boys Sports Day in preparation for our own, we decided to attempt the long jump. It was great! As we will be having Sports Day next Tuesday, we will miss our library lesson. Fortunately, Mrs Gilchrist has offered to change the books over for us, if they come in a library bag. They will return the old ones and put in a new one for the holidays. So please send library books in bags on Tuesday.
We have planned an exciting excursion to visit Reverend Harkness at the Wesley Uniting Church for next Wednesday, 23rd. Please send back permission slips by Monday, if your child will be attending. This will be for Wednesday children only.
Thanks from the Chapple Room

Sports Day

Dear Parents,Sports Day will occur this coming Tuesday. It is a wonderful morning usually enjoyed by all but can be tiring for our young students. In order to help us make it a great day you can do the following.
*Wear your child’s house colour to support their team
*Participate in the parent races, parluff relay and circle games with your child (so don’t forget your sport shoes!)
*Encourage the children to stay with their teacher
*Please do not feed your child during sports day. We do go back to the Kindergarten during the morning to have a drink and a snack but do not encourage children to eat on the oval because of the high potential for choking accidents. It should be noted that the P&F cake staff will be open for your refreshments and will not be for kindergarten students during the course of the morning
The day will begin at 9.00 am Please ensure that you are at the ELC by 8.45am and have dropped your child off and signed them in as normal. Please move to the gym and wait for us there if you would like to watch sports day. We understand that some parents are not able to stay for the whole morning so below you can find a running sheet of our planned activities. Please be aware that our times are approximate only.
*9.00 - Health Hustle in the Preparatory Gym
*Approximately 9.15 – 9.45 – Running Races
*Approximately 9.45 – 10.15 – Circle games
*Approximately 10.15 – 11.15 – We will break for snack and a toilet stop in the ELC. Please help us by remaining at the field. Only children and staff will go back to the ELC
*Approximately 11.15 – 11.45 – Circuit activities
*Approximately 11.45 – Medal Ceremony!
*Approximately 12.00 – Sausage sizzle lunch for students in the ELC with an iceblock treat.
Parents who would like to take their children home at this time may if they choose (please don’t forget to sign your child out)
Thankyou
ELC Staff

Portraiture

Dear Parents,
In the lead up to Christmas we have engaged the services of a wonderfully talented local artist who specialises in portraiture. Mrs Jasmin Zecchin has studied a Bachelor of Visual Communication, majoring in illustration, at the University of South Australia. After being awarded course honours on the completion of her degree in 2005, Jasmin has experimented with a variety of media including water colour, acrylic and pastel. For her personalised portraits she has returned to the beautiful simplicity and elegance of graphite pencil. Jasmin is also the older sister of our very own Mr Kerber. Jasmin is able to complete portraits from you favourite photo in time for Christmas, a perfect gift for grandmas, grandpas or your unsuspecting husband or wife! A sample of her work will be available to be viewed next week in the ELC at the parent desk. If you would like to engage Jasmin’s services her contact details are available in the form of a brochure at the parent desk. Please inform Jasmin that you are a parent of Princes ELC because $10 from each portrait will be donated back to the ELC for our Wesley Mission Christmas fund that helps families in need over the Christmas period.

*Matte Opening - 20x30cm - One subject unframed $180
Extra Subjects - $50ea
Optional Framing - $100

*Matte Opening - 30x40cm - One subject unframed $240
Extra Subjects - $70ea
Optional Framing - $140

Sun Screen

Dear Parents,
As term four approaches we are preparing for warmer weather. Please ensure that your child has a PAC legionnaire hat available from Princes Parade Uniform Shop in their locker before the end of the term. In line with our Sun Protection policy children are required to wear hats in the fourth and first term.
We ask parents to apply sun screen to their child in the morning before coming to the centre. This allows time for the sun screen to begin working before children head out onto the playground. During the day staff in the kindergarten will assist children to reapply their own sunscreen using Woolworths Sun Lotion SPF 30+. Langley sunscreen will be applied directly by teachers using tissues. If your child is unable to use this brand sunscreen please make your child’s teacher aware and hand a named tube of appropriate sunscreen directly to the teacher to keep at the centre.
Thankyou
ELC Staff

Excursion to Kent Town Church

Wednesday students from Chapple and Edgerley Room will be walking to Kent Town Church on the Morning of Wednesday the 23rd to observe the stain glass windows and the family crests of Prince Alfred and those of the college.
Thankyou
Alex Marcus

Excursion to Alchemy Iron Works

Thursday students from Edgerley Room will be walking to Alchemy Iron Works on the Parade West on the afternoon of Thursday the 24th to observe local artist Andrew Parish and learn more about creating sculpture from metal.
Thankyou
Mel Bishop

School Holidays

Dear Parents ,

During the holidays the teaching staff and some assistants will be on leave but the other staff who regularly see your children will still be here. We will run a more activities based program with some "extra" events for the 3-4 year olds. We will let you know about these shortly. The Langley room will run its normal program.
Please let us know if your child will be away so that we can make sure we have sufficient staffing. If you wish to take advantage of your opportunity to have some holidays at half fees (2 weeks per year) then please make sure you request this also.
There are still a lot of families who we do not have either parent or child reference numbers for from the Family Assistance Office. If you wish to claim the rebate on your fees (non means tested) then we need these as soon as possible,

thankyou
Jeanine

What a Grand Day for Grandies!!

Staff and students were thrilled to entertain a large band of Grandies this morning for our annual Grandies Day. The morning was warm and balmy, perfect for heading out onto the playground. We discovered Grandies in the sandpit, on the swings and one brave one clambering over climbing equipment!!

Thank you for coming to our Kindergarten and supporting your young grandchildren. We enjoyed meeting you.

Warm Regards
ELC Staff

Parent Teacher Interviews

Dear Parents,
As the end of term three approaches it is now time for parent teacher interviews in the Kindergarten. Teachers offer 15 minute interviews over two nights. Due to changes in the interview process in the Preparatory school we have only recently finalised our format for this year and do recognise and apologise for the fact that notice is short.

Interview schedules for Mead, Edgerley and Chapple classrooms are available at the front desk with Julie Porter. Please take a moment to find a time that you are able to attend and fill in the slot with your name. If your child does not attend the centre on the day remaining before interviews please feel free to call Julie to schedule an appointment time.

Parent Teacher Interviews will be held in classrooms and therefor student bags and drink bottles will be placed outside the classroom door. Sign out rolls for children in extended care after 3.00pm will be placed on the parent desk.

Mead Room interviews will be held between the 14th and 17th of September (Please ask Julie to inform you of which teacher you are scheduled to meet with)
Edgerley Room interviews will be held on the 15th and 16th of September.
Chapple Room interviews will be held on the 15th and 17th of September.

Thankyou
ELC Staff

In the Classrooms

Langley
This week in the Langley Room the children have been very excited about trains. With Henry Pearce as the lead conductor the children have been setting up a long train using the classroom chairs. With the help of the teachers, you can see they have made a very long carriage. The Langley room has had many ‘all aboard’ and ‘toot toots’ which the children all get involved in. We are going to make train tickets and bring in some hats to further their enjoyment in trains. In box construction we will be making and decorating trains.

Kind Regards

Adele, Andrea, Penny and Chloe

Mead
Dear Mead Room parents,
We have had fun preparing for Grandies day this Friday. The children have been making a small gift for their grandparents and talking about what we love about them.

Julian: We go to the park. We play games. She has golden hair.
Luke: My grandma has already seen my classroom. I love her because she plays with me.
Jamison: I got a nanny and a grandpa. I play with them at all their houses. We play Mr Wiggles cars.
Tyler: Nanna watches TV with me. She's got brown hair like me.
Max G: My grandpa tickles me. They sit with me and watch Ben 10. I love them and I give them hugs.
Hugo: They live at their home. I go to their home. They have toys in their garage. They have jigsaws.

We look forward to seeing all these special grandparents at Grandies day!
Emma, Susan and Amanda

Edgerley
This week in Edgerley we learnt a lot about sharing and turn taking. As part of our investigation into cogs and gears we began to take apart some old machines. We talked at length about how to share the screw drivers. We thought up some solutions to the problem.
Perhaps we could make a turn taking list? Maybe we could use our name tags to indicate who was taking a turn next? Finally we decided that people needed to use their words to let the people using the screw drivers know who was interested in taking the next turn. This worked a treat as children were very conscientious about finding the next person to have a turn. We followed this up by some wonderful sharing and cooperation on the seesaw outside. What a great bunch of friends we are!

Kind Regards
Mel, Todd and Rosalie

Chapple
We have been continuing on our journey of belonging. This week, Mr Tutt came to share some information about the school crest. He invited some of the boys to ask him some questions about the crest. Some of the questions from the children included:
‘Do you go fishing?’
‘Do you go camping?’,
‘Why are you the school boss?’,
‘What do the words say?’
‘Why is it maroon?’
We all enjoyed having Mr Tutt in our room and learned a lot, including that the school crest is based on the family crest of John Wesley. Our next step will be to plan an excursion to the Kent Town Wesley Church to look at the stained glass window with our school crest in it. If you have a family crest or symbol, please let us know, as we would love to hear about it. Also, we are keeping a record of our journey in a book on the top of the shelves. Please come in and have a look!
Thanks from the Chapple Room

Mead Room Merriment

Dear fellow Mead Room Families,
Hello again and we hope you are all settling in to our new classroom!
It has been great to finally put some faces to names over the past few weeks and we look forward to getting everyone together for some casual ‘get-togethers’!
Thank you all for sending through your contact details and now that we have everyone on board, we can lock in some dates to catch up. So get your diaries out and come and join us for some Mead Room Merriment:

Wednesday 23rd September - Coffee Catch up at Café Palazzo (straight after kindy drop off in the morning)
Sunday 27th September - Picnic at Marshmallow Park, 11am – 1pm. BYO food and drinks and bikes for the children to ride
Friday 30th October - Friday Night Drinks at a venue still to be decided from 6pm onwards
Tuesday 3rd November - Melbourne Cup – P&F PAC lunch at Sparrows in North Adelaide – tickets still available
Sunday 29th November - Christmas ‘End of Year Picnic’ at Tusmore Park near the wading pool (if the weather is warm) otherwise by the playground. 11am – 1pm. BYO food and drinks and bathers if it’s a nice day. We are also happy to organize a visit from Father Christmas if parents are interested in providing a small gift for their children? Please email us your thoughts on that idea!
January 2010 - In the New Year we will organize a play date for the children to catch up a few weeks before we start back at Kindy. Details TBA.

We hope you are able to come along to some of our get-togethers over the coming weeks and look forward to seeing you there.
These dates will also be distributed in your children’s pigeon holes in case we happen to miss anyone. Enjoy the sunshine over the next few days!
Warmest regards
Jude & Brendt

Prince Alfred Old Collegians Football Club Invite

The Prince Alfred Old Collegians Football Club invites all Princes families to join them as they make history when all three teams play off in their respective Grand Finals this weekend.
Once again, former Adelaide Crows 300 game player Mark Ricciuto will pull on the Red jumper on Saturday 12 September at the Campbelltown Memorial Oval, Corner Darley & Lower North East Roads, Paradise.

10.15am -C Grade Grand Final PAOCFC (2nd) v Golden Grove (1st)
12.10pm - B Grade Grand Final PAOCFC (1st) v Poorka (3rd)
2.20pm - A Grade Grand Final PAOCFC (2nd) v CBCOC (1st)

All members of the Princes Community are welcome to join the PAOCA Football Club after the game at the Alma Tavern beer garden. Please use the eastern car park entrance as there is no access to the event from inside the hotel.

Signing In and Signing Out

Dear Parents,
To ensure the safety of children we ask that all parents sign their children in and out at the start and end of the day. It is a legal obligation to do this and ensures that staff are aware of exactly who is supposed to be in the centre at any given time. Please ensure that you assist us by completing register sheets every day your child is in attendance.
Thankyou
ELC Staff

Missing Rugby Top

Could all parents please check the name in their child's Rugby top as Hunter Laing's is missing.
Thankyou
ELC staff

Direct Debit Procedure

Dear Parents,
For those of you who use our Direct Debit procedure please note that it will show as "Gateway, Kendron" on your statement. Gateway is the company who provide our software package and Kendron is the suburb in Brisbane where they are based.
Jeanine

Warm Weather

Dear Parents,
Temperature forecasts for the final two days of this week are predicted to be in the mid to high twenties. As you are aware, students of the ELC are not required to wear hats in the second and third terms of the year, however we are mindful of protecting children's skin from the sun. Please assist us by ensuring that your child's hat is hanging inside their locker door for us to use on Thursday and Friday. It would also be helpful if you could apply sunscreen to your child before sending them to school on those two days.
Thank you
ELC staff

Upcoming Term Break

Dear Parents,
We are now three short weeks away from the term break holidays. Kindergarten programmes will cease on Friday the 25th of September and resume on Tuesday 13th October. Our centre will continue to be open as part of our extended hours program. If your child will be absent from the centre during the term holiday break can you please inform us by e-mailing jporter@pac.edu.au or speak with Julie or Jeanine so that we may organise appropriate staffing schedules.
Thankyou
ELC Staff

Grandies Day

Dear Parents,
You will have received invitations in your child’s pigeon hole for our annual Grandies Day event. This year, due to the redevelopment of our main school auditorium, our schedule for the day has changed significantly. Please see your invitations for details. All students are invited to bring a Grandies for a portion of the morning but only those who would normally attend on that day may stay for the entire day. If Grandparents would like to join us for a portion of our morning on Friday the 11th of September please send RSVP’s to jporter@pac.edu.au

“There is no other relationship like the one between grandparents and their grandchildren. Without the anxiety and pressure of parenthood, but with the wisdom and experience that comes with age, grandparents can be devoted role models and nurturers, enthusiastic playmates, and patient providers of knowledge and reassurance. It is a role that can inspire a strong mix of emotions, from intense joy and fierce pride to all-consuming love.In return, grandchildren allow us to relive the pleasures of childhood. They enable us to see our own children in a new light - and our children, too, discover the parent we have been to them. And no matter how many grandchildren follow the first one, the feelings remain just as powerful - grandparent love is boundless. It is a love affair of a very special kind.”
From: ‘The Book of Grandparents - A celebration of a Very Special Kind of Love' by Tom Keneally and other well-known Australian personalities.

Open Day at Scotts Creek

On Sunday August 30 a number of families from Princes visited Scotts Creek – our Outdoor Centre on the River Murray.
Zachary from Chapple Room was the youngest person to take a risk on the flying fox that stretches over the creek.
After ‘flying’ across the creek, he was canoed back to the pontoon by a Year 11 leader, before being unharnessed by Kylie, one of the outdoor educators.
Zachary’s smile was so wide that his ears moved! What a risk taker and an adventurer!
Mon Saunders
Community Relations
Prince Alfred College

Welcome to the World

Dear Parents,
Last week we welcomed the arrival of Max Thomas Kerber. We are pleased to let everyone know that Max and Mum, Jackie, are doing well. Mr Kerber has returned to work, much to the delight of the children in the ELC who missed him in his absence. As you can see in the photo of the proud dad below, Max is a mini Mr Kerber!

We are also pleased to announce the arrival of Ethan’s new sister Erin. Both Erin and her mum Bernadette are looking wonderful. What exciting show and tell Ethan will have in Langley in the coming weeks!

The Big Boys Breakfast

Thankyou to all the fathers and special big boys who joined us for our Big Boys Breakfast this morning. It was our first year in our new venue and we were very grateful that our breakfasters were so patient as we handed out the meals. Thankyou for listening to our concert and we hope that you liked your Fathers Day presents. We look forward to seeing many of you at the end of today (with your bow ties still on of course!) We would also like to thank Prince Alfred College Housekeeping staff for their efforts this morning and Preparatory Principal, Neil Andary for “plating up”!
Dwayne from Festival Photographics took some wonderful photos this morning and instructions for viewing the proofs will be posted on our blog site in a weeks time.

Fatherhood is not for sissies.

Fatherhood is not for men with weak stomachs, small minds, or big egos.

Fatherhood is not for men who cannot see the elephant in the clouds, the other side of the story, or the silver lining.

Fatherhood is not for men who cannot hear a joke told more than 10 times, the unspoken words of a child's heart, or answer the endless "whys" of childhood.

Fatherhood is not for men who cannot believe in dreams, in miracles, in themselves.
Fatherhood is not for sissies.