Week 4 NEWSLETTER

Having an AI alongside a human teacher is a total game-changer! With AI, students get a personalized learning experience, real-time feedback, and help with language translation. It can adapt to their individual needs and make learning so much easier. But let's not forget about human teachers - they bring some serious skills to the table that AI can't replace. They've got empathy, creativity, and critical thinking on lock, and they're able to build personal connections with their students that really make a difference in their learning and development.

Bottom line? AI and teachers make a killer team in the classroom. AI can bring the technology and personalized learning experience, while human teachers bring the emotional connection, mentorship, and guidance that really help students thrive. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses, but when they work together, they can provide a well-rounded and comprehensive education for students that's second to none.

Non-Uniform Day for Tinui

On Friday we will be having a non-uniform day with all money going out to Tinui School, as well as selling ice-blocks. The cyclone has done quite a bit of damage to the school, with water getting inside all the classrooms. A bunch of schools are doing the same which will be a great help…the Ministry will be covering all of the damage costs…the need to have stuff…but I doubt they will cover the nice to have things (teacher resources, games, plants, gear etc). Gold coin for non-uniform day, although feel free to donate more if you wish. 

People are doing great things out there…I mentioned the PowerCo workers last week who slept out in their ute in the floods to be able to keep working at restoring power to the community, over the weekend a considerable amount of food and much needed household items were donated/dropped off and this week I saw that one of our DPS parents is chipping in. Michael runs Wai Spark (Archie’s Dad), and he has offered his time to Tinui residents…both over the phone to discuss electrical issues, and in person with him and his team heading out to do voluntary work for people. Great stuff, and a great example once again of people stepping up and giving back to the community. 

Paid Union Meeting - Reminder: School Closing Early

Reminder -  that school will close at 1.30pm on Friday March 3rd to allow teachers to head to their Union meeting. I appreciate that this will be an inconvenience, so I thank you in advance for supporting us with it. This may seem like an odd time to be negotiating teacher salaries given the sheer scale of the money that will be needed to deal with the effects of natural disaster Cyclone Gabrielle…but this simple fact below shows the effects of the natural disaster that our profession is in the middle of:

• In New Zealand we have as many trained teachers NOT teaching, as we do teaching currently…we don’t have a Teacher Shortage in NZ…we have a shortage of people who want to be in the job, and stay in the job.

The sad reality is that the profession of teaching is no longer attracting people, and those that we do attract…the job is challenging enough that many leave within 5 years.

We need this to change…the profession is a beautiful one, our kids deserve the very best people in front of them…and teachers deserve the very best of conditions to keep them at the chalkface. It will be interesting times ahead.

Lucky Book Club Orders…here is some information so you can plan out your orders over the year.  When each edition arrives - students are offered the magazine but taking one home is not compulsory! We encourage parents to enstall the LOOP app on their devices to make ordering easy.  Please have your orders submitted by the closing date to avoid postage costs to yourselves.  

Any problems please contact Gemma McPhail at gemmamcphail@douglaspark.school.nz or you can find me in room Kōwhai.  Or you can talk to Meryl in the office and she maybe able to help you. 

Scholastic Website for all of your Q&A

FoDPS Meeting - Thursday February 23rd 2023

Join our small team of dedicated parents and teacher liaison to discuss fundraising opportunities for our DPS tamariki and support in school events throughout the year.

Email fodps@douglaspark.school.nz for the address of the meeting.

DPS Guitar and Piano Lessons

Is your student interested in learning Guitar or Piano?

Open to students from Year 3 to Year 6

Lessons will be once a week during school hours at $10.00 per session. 

Aidan Blake holds a degree in Music and is very passionate about nurturing students' musical interests and overall confidence in themselves. She has been involved in various music programmes in schools, alongside private tutoring and continuing with her own personal musical career.  

Please email Olivia Walsh, owalsh@douglaspark.school.nz if your child is interested. 

Stationery

Thank you to all those people who have paid for their child's stationery already this year.  All stationery is $15 and can be paid online into our ASB account (details below).  Please put your child's name and stationery as a reference.   You can also pay by cash or eftpos at the school office.

ASB ACCOUNT - DOUGLAS PARK SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES 12-3290-0064275-00

Term 1 Sports begin this week- Draws will be out on HERO as soon as they are confirmed. Fees need to be paid to the office ASAP or via internet banking: 

ASB ACCOUNT - DOUGLAS PARK SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES 12-3290-0064275-00

Term 1 Sports teams are below: