Newsletter
Week 3 NEWSLETTER
from the principal
Our Vision: Together we Nurture, Explore and Create for a Better Future
I love our vision…the big dream towards making this world a better place, and I love that the drive behind our vision is the desire to help create a Better Future. The All Blacks have a saying…Better people make Better All Blacks…the idea that to build a great team culture you all have to contribute, you all have to meet expectations and you all have to be role models of the values to each other. We have our PRIDE values here at DPS, and teach our Core Beliefs (Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Student Agency)...and we celebrate the enactment of these when we see students doing so. Two amazing examples of this were shared yesterday, an example of a student and of staff:
We had an email after school about Amelia from Kahikatea. A passerby in the street noticed what she was up to, and took a moment to email us and celebrate her actions. Have a read:
Just wanted to drop an email after watching one of your students cleaning the rubbish out of the stream at QE park today. She climbed down and removed 5 bits of rubbish out of the drain and it was a pleasure to see a young student taking pride in their community. She then calmingly patted the Eels & not hurt them. I wish more young people had the same attitude towards nature as she did. Just thought if you have a shout out board or something you could give her a smile as she made me smile.
Thanks Mel (a passer by)
And…if you missed it…our amazing Mr and Mrs Blue were celebrated last night by TVNZ as the ASB Good as Gold recipients! This is a massive accolade…and a well deserved one. If you even just know the Blue’s a little bit you’ll know how much they care, and how much they give back to our community. The Good as Gold segment was about their contribution to the Wairarapa Bush Rugby Union…but even that (which is huge) is just the tip of the iceberg. The Blues give a huge amount to their beloved Pioneer Rugby Club, Mr Blue takes time out of his day to set up the Colombo Road netball courts (the hoops and pads) during the netball season, has given heaps to the local touch rugby competition over the years…and of course they both give huuuuugely to our school. Could write a huge list, but at the end of the day all that matters is they are massively respected by the staff and children. If you asked the kids who they love the most at school…Mr and Mrs Blue would be right at the top I’m sure.
Both of these are great examples of a ‘Better Future’, how we can all contribute to making the world around us a better place for others.
If you missed the Blue’s on TV…click here and check them out!
Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC)
Over the last 5 or so years we have been steadily working at building up our EOTC experiences for the children, wanting to ensure that they get multiple opportunities across the year to get out of school and enjoy some learning in a different setting. Already this term our Year 4’s have been to Castlepoint, and climbed Rangitumau…and while they were doing this, our Year 5/6 children were away for 3 days at Camp Kaitoke. In a few weeks, Kōwhai are heading to the coast for Beach Education and after that, Rimu are off to the Forest School for a day of outside learning. The school commits a considerable sum of money annually now, to ensure these experiences can happen, and I’m grateful to the Board of Trustees for this support.
Grandparents Day
Another great day on Friday when we invited our special people into school to be with us. We couldn’t hold this in 2021 (COVID), so it was magic to be running it again. So heartwarming to see the grandparents and whānau come in through the gate, and the smiles on the young faces they are there to see! Both of our kapahaka roopu performed for the masses, and were (once again) amazing to watch. Thanks everyone for coming along, for making the kids so happy and for engaging in what they had to show you. We look forward to doing it all again next year!
For the Calendar
We have one confirmed half day this term.
Monday 28th November: School closes at 1pm. Staff are heading out with Joseph Potangaroa to look at local sites significant to the area
Calling all 4 Year Olds!
While our Out of Zone applications have closed for the year, we are still keen to hear from any of our in zone families who will have children starting with us next year. This information is invaluable, and allows us to plan our class and team setups much more effectively. If you have a younger sibling (or know of people looking to attend DPS) please flick an email to the office and let us know. office@douglaspark.school.nz
There will be NO SUBWAY THIS FRIDAY AS WE HAVE the athletic sports
SPORT
Summer Sports are well under way. If you are yet to pay your fees, these are now overdue.
Find the draws here. (Please note that some draws come out weekly or are yet to be set for the season.)
Athletics Day
Our DPS Athletics Day will be held tomorrow at the Colin Pugh Sports Bowl.
Pupils need to bring
DPS sunhat
Sneakers - these must be worn on the track, no exceptions.
Medication they require (sunblock, inhalers etc)
A full packed lunch
All pupils MUST have a water bottle
Students can choose to wear their DPS sports uniform or a house coloured top (optional, and they can wear these to school)
Please ensure everything named
The year 2-6s head down at 9am and their events start at 9.30am and the Rimu team heads down at 11am and their events start at 11.20am. We would love to see you there!
Below is an approximate schedule for the day.
Community notices
Mental Health and Resilience for your Whanau workshop
We know that this time has been hard in so many ways for everyone, and so we're wanting to help, by bringing Jordan Smith to Masterton as part of a nationwide series of events designed to put practical tools into the hands of whanau in the areas of Mental Health and Resilience.
Some of the challenges in the mental health space are super complex - which is why there are experts. But, there are some simple things that we can all understand that can give us, and our whanau, a real boost.
This 2 hour workshop is designed to be practical, useful, and down to earth.
This will be held in the school hall at MIS (38 Intermediate St, Masterton), from 7-9pm on Tuesday, 8th November.
Tickets are $10 per person or $15 for 2 people registering together. A light supper is included in registration.
For more info and to register, click the link below: https://equipperschurch.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/1484985
Any questions, please ask.
Kawana Gaunt
027 842 5055
Kia Ora School community whanau,
OnBoard Skate Inc have been doing some wonderful mahi around the new Masterton Skatepark and are looking into some research and ways around building in this.
I am teaming up with them on ways we can share safety and training around skateboards and would really appreciate if you could spare a few minutes share in your school newsletters for students to fill out their survey.
Here is the link to the students survey https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfTtK_xTv2twDTYnYUnKn61sK48bf31qRiveIMvW-mf81vjug/viewform?usp=sf_link that we are conducting as part of a wider research project on the Masterton skatepark development.
If you want more info on OnBoard Skate Inc, get in touch with them direct:
Steve Hodges
CEO
OnBoard Skate Inc
Mob: 021 283 2777
