Week 9 NEWSLETTER

The Talented Mr Riley

Earlier this term James was the closing keynote speaker at the Interface Expo Conference in Christchurch, speaking on the topic of artificial intelligence and how teachers can be making use of it. I said I would share the video when it was released…so here we go! Proud of James, he tackled a tricky subject, made it very accessible for teachers and did so in an engaging and entertaining way (even if he made fun of The Beatles, the greatest band of all time!)

Social Media...do you know what your children can access?

While we don’t really have an issue at DPS with the above, occasionally something will happen and it presents a timely chance to remind us all about these things. Technology is everywhere, unavoidable. Modern social lives exist digitally now, as well as ‘old school’ face to face interactions. The danger is when someone acts in a way online that they wouldn’t in a face to face situation. Kids who have access to technology often have access to Apps/Social Media that they shouldn’t...virtually every platform has a 13 year old age restriction, or parent consent, or parent supervision requirement. However...a simple click, and they are in. The apps have these restrictions as they can access some pretty inappropriate content, have access to people in an unrestricted way, and allow conversations to happen online away from parent eyes. 

At school, the learners have no access to these things (facebook, snapchat, instagram, tik tok etc), but we are aware that at home some do. While this isn’t school business, if issues arise outside of school that come into our gates, we will address these. My message here is more about raising awareness...do you know what social media platforms your child is active on, the terms and conditions of these (some allow extensive access to kids contacts, images, conversations...) how they are acting, and what content they are interacting with? This NZ site has excellent advice and is worth looking at.

In the past I have written about ‘The Social Dilemma’, an excellent documentary on Netflix. The documentary is worth watching, and following that...starting a conversation as the adults at home, about what we think is right for our whānau. It really struck home to me at the end when the industry insiders spoke about themselves and their families...and that many of them, despite being in the industry, refuse to let their own families use these apps or have strong limits on what they can access.

Food for thought.

Winter Illness

That time of year again, and we’ve seen a rise in absences due to children being unwell. It is also near the end of the term, and children are getting tired. As parents we know this is the perfect storm! Take care over the next week, plenty of water, earlier bedtimes and hopefully we have a good run to the finish. 

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. 

Scholastic Website for all of your Q&A