Week 6 NEWSLETTER

Society is often presented to us in ‘ideals’...people sharing about their perfect meal, perfect workout, new ‘thing’ they have just got, great holiday, cool job…and in a kid sense…winning at sport, doing a perfect drawing, making no spelling errors, having cool clothes, a flash scooter. All of this builds pressure…and creates a false view of life, and what happens is people start comparing their lives and experiences with others. This can lead to unkind thoughts developing (I’m not good enough, I can’t do it, I’m the worst etc etc). These are the thoughts that seriously affect our mental health and our overall well being. Being kind to yourself is the ability to shut those thoughts down, and to celebrate what you have, what you can do and what you are great at. Everyone has a talent…it isn’t how bright you are, but how you are bright.

I let the kids know about my struggle with writing…growing up I shifted school a fair amount, and the last primary school I went to had a thing called a ‘pen license’...you weren’t allowed to write in pen unless your writing was nice enough. Well…anyone who has seen me write to this day knows that my writing isn’t ‘nice’. I never got my pen license, the only kid in the class who didn’t. In this instance…I could’ve been unkind to myself, putting myself down and comparing myself to those around me. But…I was proud of my stories, my parents were proud as well…and ultimately it hasn’t stopped me from progressing in my learning and ending up where I am now. A small example, but relevant to our learners today. Not everything is going to be perfect, not everything will be a success, struggle is real...but it is part of the growth journey. Be proud of what you can do, have goals to work towards, but be kind to yourself along the way.

I came across this great clip the other day…I love music, and wanted to hear the interview about Neil Young…but the conversation at the end really captured me. I’ve clipped the video below (be warned, a bit of profanity if you watch the whole thing) to that part of the conversation. Howard talks about watching Bruce Springsteen play Thunder Road on the piano and being captured by the guy's hands. Conan chips in and explains that when we look at success we expect to see something different from ourselves, something unique…but we shouldn’t. Bruce’s hands are the same as our hands (the same hands he uses to play Thunder Road, he uses to open a pack of Doritos), Einstein's brain is the same as our brain…we have the same tools available to us. The bit that really got me was “if you put people on a pedestal all you are doing is degrading yourself”...again, building those unkind thoughts. We have the same hands as Ruby Tui, Billie Eilish, Jacinda Ardern, Sam Cane…it is what we strive to do with them that matters…not the comparison to them.

Be kind to yourselves, Nurture your strengths.

2023 Starting Date

The 2023 school year will start on Tuesday 31st January. Waitangi Day falls the following Monday, making two shorter weeks to start the school year.

Dates for the Calendar

A couple of other dates to remember

• Monday 28th November (next week) school is closing at 1pm for some staff development

• Tuesday 13th December. School closes at 12.30pm (our final day of the school year). We will come back to school from our Final Celebration Time at Wairarapa College and release the children from school

• Thursday April 6th 2023. A townwide teacher only day…effectively making the last day of Term 1 Wednesday 5th April.

Roy Farman

Some sad news, Roy Farman has passed away. For over a decade Roy had been coming into DPS to read with our children as part of our ‘Parent Tutor Reader’ program. Roy was a retired vet, and would often share wonderful stories from his career (both here and in England). He was amazing with the children, built great relationships with them…and gave a boost to a massive number of children and their reading. Thoughts are with his whānau…and I’d like to say a huge thanks for the impact that Roy made to many children in his time with us.

Daisy and Leilani

At the end of a dark deadly dirt track, trees parted like a crocodile's wide jaw revealing an old, rundown house. There were no signs of life. There were no birds flying in the sky, no cats hunting for mice. The house was completely empty. The paintwork faded, suggesting that no one had lived here for years. Once you stepped inside you could feel a presence lurking. A murderer's sound emerged from the house. Was it the cry of a child? Was it the warnings of a mad person? Or maybe a scream for help.

I did the smartest thing I could do at that moment, I Walked toward the deadly sound. Creaks from the wooden floor below. Screams echo through the walls. The screams guide me forward leading me to my doom. Was this going to be the place I die? I could feel someone coming. I bolted out the door, the lampost had fallen and the trees had misshaped form.

Then something screeched. My curiosity got the best of me and I looked back to see what was lurking behind me. But… nothing, not one thing was there. Was I seeing things??? Or was I just losing my mind? I swear I heard a scream but from where. Someone was playing with my mind. I knew it. And they knew it too. But before I could think straight. My vision slowly disappeared and I was dead on the dark deadly dirt track. and I knew this because I had become one of them...

Atticus

At the end of a dirt track, trees parted to reveal an ancient house. It was nightmare fuel. There were no signs of life. No birds flying in the sky, no cats hunting for mice. The house

was completely silent. The shattered windows were boarded up and the paintwork had faded, no one had lived here for years. A daunting sound erupted from the house as screeching as nails on a chalkboard. Was it the cry of a child? Or was it the warnings of a homicidal maniac?

You slowly crept through the doorway. A shout echoed down the hall. It sort of sounded like

the song “Barbie Girl”. You figured Barbie was in trouble! The carpet was ripped and

shredded like someone had run over it with a lawnmower. The white walls were glazed in

crimson red. You saw that Barbie was strapped to a rocking chair! Meat hooks were hanging from the ceiling. You knew what she was trying to say, you were next...

A shadowy figure appeared behind you, like a cat in the night. A hand slapped against your

back, putting you into a deep slumber. You woke up in a white room, strapped to a bed.

Surgery equipment hanging from the ceiling, threateningly looming over you, a scourge to

mental health. “Chop, Chop, Chop.” The shadow called through the loudspeaker. The glass is as thick as concrete. The figure reveals their identity as... “Mickey Mouse,” You say towards the glass, “My old friend, your back like the backstreet boys.”

“Goodbye, my old friend,” he calls to you. A guillotine drops down from the ceiling. Goodbye world...

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.)