Newsletter
Week 2 NEWSLETTER
from the principal
The Power of Reading
We know the worth of reading mileage…the idea that the more kids read, or are exposed to reading, the higher the impact on their ability to read. At school we teach the skills of reading, expose them to a range of books through class and through the library, make them excited through teacher reading…but…when school works in tandem with home, great things happen.
Jane Macdonald would talk about ‘1000 book’ kids…the idea being that ideally children would have read (been read to) 1000 books by the time they came to school. Sounds like a lot…but really it is more the idea that, daily, children before they start school, should be read to. This same idea carries on once school starts, that ideally children should read for 20mins at home each day. This could be them reading to themselves once they’ve gained those skills, but equally it could be the parents reading to their children. Hayley and I read a book to our boys each night before bed, it is a part of our routine. Over time the books have changed…and now it is as often a chapter book (like the Zak Zombie Minecraft books) as it is a picture book. Sometimes Henry and Emmett will read pages to us as part of this. Some great ideas here for how parents can support young readers at home.
How you do things isn’t as important as making sure something does happen ‘most’ nights…and I have a few things that can help here:
Our local library is amazing! Incredible range of books to choose from and the librarians themselves have great knowledge about what might interest children. A free service, well worth a visit.
We still have our school library and classes head there once a week to change books. Ask your child what day they go to the library and encourage them to bring the books home to share. A great way to bring some variety and new books into the house for a week.
Our ‘little library’ at the school gate. A place where you can bring books that have lost popularity at home, and exchange them for something new. This was built by one of our whānau classes last year and again, a great way to get different books into the home.
As a school we also have a couple of other more direct ways to help:
We have invested in two digital platforms…Reading Eggs for Rimu & Kōwhai and Lexia Reading for Rātā and Kahikatea. Both of these are fabulous…self paced, and pitched at the children's level of learning. They get progressively harder, but are very engaging for the children to use. As a family we try to get Henry and Emmett onto Reading Eggs a few times a week at home. We use a timer to limit the screen time, but give them 15-20mins each. This is enough time to keep them ticking away at the learning and will make a difference for them.
The new thing that we are involved with now is ‘Duffy Books’. This is a charity that has been around for a long time, but until recently DPS didn’t qualify for. So what is it? Essentially…three times a year your child will get to choose two free books! That’s 6 books a year coming into your home, chosen by your kids! Again..a chance to be doing that 20mins reading a night, to build that excitement around reading and to develop our kids into young readers. The first book offer round is about to happen, your child will bring home a catalogue that looks a little bit like the Lucky Book catalogue…except, these books come at no cost. Your children will get to pick their favourite 4…and 2 of these will be delivered to school for them. Such a cool thing!
US Marine Band!
Rātā and Kahikatea had a memorable experience last week heading to Wairarapa College to hear the US Marine Band. They put on an amazing show and the kids came back buzzing about it!
Whakaoriori Kāhui Ako/Masterton Trust Lands Trust - Whānau Survey
The Masterton Trust Lands Trust is currently gathering information about what you think would be beneficial to support ākonga across Masterton to succeed. This will inform the project scoping for an upcoming initiative being pursued by the trust alongside the Whakaoriori Kāhui Ako.
If you have a few minutes to spare they would love to hear your thoughts. The Trust have prepared a survey about how you think the Trust could best support ākonga across Masterton. Please follow the link below to access the survey. The link will be open until Wednesday 17 May.
Access the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/HRHT7NR
Writing - MRS McPHAIL'S HOMECLASS
We have been writing 6 sentence stories this week . We have been learning to identify the features of a narrative including characters, setting, problems, actions and a solutions. We then used digital tools to illustrate our stories.
fodps news
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 may be able to help you.
Cross Country
Save the date! Our school Cross Country will be held on Friday 26th May. We would love to see you there to support our runners!
Sport
Order Subway online or at the office for delivery to school friday
Every Friday we have Subway lunches delivered to school. If you would like to order your child a subway lunch, the easiest way is to order online. Please make sure you put your child's class (teachers name) on the order as it makes it much easier to sort our end. Subway can also be ordered by filling out a form at the school office before school on a Friday.
Community notices
