Week 2 NEWSLETTER

iPads, Laptops and your Child

Technology is all around us, screens are everywhere. Periodically in the media, something will crop up about how much screen time children are being exposed to, and the dangers of too much. You might be wondering what our screentime is like at school, and what your child might be up to?  

Several points I’d like to make here:

• There is a difference in the types of screentime…sitting and watching YouTube or scrolling through social media is a passive form of screentime. Contrast that with sitting and creating something digital. This is an active form of screentime. Too much of either isn’t great, but certainly being active in front of a screen is far better than being passive (although there is a place for that as well…such as reading this newsletter!)

• The purpose of the screen use is also important. Some schools use technology as a reward, or as a form of babysitter…giving ‘busy work’ via a device. This isn’t the idea here at Douglas Park, our purpose is far more related to empowering kids to be creative with technology as a tool. 

• We do have a lot of devices here at school…but…kids aren’t on them all day everyday! It is about choosing the right tool for the job. Our kids still use pen and paper to draft their writing, still largely read from physical texts, still do real world art as well as digital. We are not just in front of screens all day! They are available, and if needed kids can access them…but if you picture our kids at desks, in front of screens for learning…that isn’t us.

The big message is that children can use screens to consume (passive) as well as create (active). Both have value, but we want the seesaw to be massively tipped towards creation as the purpose and reason for kids using technology. Our push over the last few years, and into the future, has been around using the devices to Create…and this has led to our invitation and application to become an Apple Distinguished School. 

Lots of the apps that we use here at school don’t do anything for you…they are blank slates. You have to use them as a tool to create something:

• Tinkercad: 3D modelling software…it does nothing, but when the kids start putting combo’s of shapes together to create, some of the things they make are astonishing. They then have the opportunity to 3D print their idea into reality

• Scratch: a simple coding program. Again…you start with a blank workspace, but when children start putting the block codes into the right combos I’ve seen them create awesome animations, and even their own games

• KeyNote: Meant to be used as presentation software (it is Apple’s version of Powerpoint) our children are more likely to be seen using it to create animations

• Sketches School: Drawing software. You start with a white page and a few drawing tools, so it is all on the kids to create with the app. Often these creations are brought across to other apps like Keynote as part of multi-app projects. 

We do use some apps that are less creative…but still activate their brains and require them to be active, and not sit there passively:

• Lexia Reading: Available for the two senior teams. A reading program that looks at phonics, spelling rules, word meanings and comprehension

• Reading Eggs: Similar to Lexia, but we use this for the two junior teams

• Maths Buddy: Maths software used by the two senior teams to reinforce the maths learning in class.

In the holidays I was invited by Longworth Education to be on a panel discussing play based learning in New Zealand. The final question was about technology in the classroom. You can have a watch here if you wish to hear my thoughts, and the thoughts of other NZ Educators on the topic. 

Matariki Evening

Fingers crossed for a nice clear night next Wednesday for our Matariki Evening! 

Cold Weather + Uniform

Just a couple of reminders here:

• With the change to the weather make sure your child has their DPS Polar Fleece jacket to keep them warm. While the classrooms are nicely heated, the weather outside this week has been anything but!

• Please make sure your child's uniform is named clearly. With warm classrooms, and colder weather outside…kids are taking their fleece uniform tops on/off. 361 kids here at DPS…all with similar looking tops. Those that are named tend to find their way back to their owner much quicker/easier than those that are not named!

• Change of clothes. The field is a bit of a muddy bog at the moment. On the days it is bad we close the field, but if there aren’t any standing puddles the kids are allowed on. If your child is one attracted to the mud…please have a change of clothes in their bag. We’ve had to call home a bit this term for new clothes after some close encounters of the mud kind!

The Haunted House 

By Audrey Soto

One normal day, I was in my car when my dad in the front said we’re almost there at the house. “Oh, I forgot to tell you we’re moving,” he said. 

The house looks like a disaster. What the…!!! I swear I saw a face watching me from the window. Well that’s going to give me nightmares. It’s probably best not to tell anyone because they won't believe me. 

Well, I found my room. Ewwww… it has red stains everywhere and an old cracked mirror that made me feel weird when I looked at it. Are the red stains blood or paint? I don’t want to find out. It looked like tomatoes.

It was time for bed, but I didn’t want to sleep. There were creepy noises everyone. All of a sudden I heard a bang! “Ahhhh,” I screamed. I’d never been that scared in my life. My heart was beating like a washing machine. 

I decided to go see my mum. I tiptoed like a quiet mouse into the hallway. I just want to go home, my real home. I was in the dark. I felt heavy breathing over me. Ok, no more tiptoeing. RUN! Suddenly, I fell over a toy. I looked up and saw the pale white face of a man looking down at me. “Go away,” I said loudly. 

My mum found me. “Did you bump your head?” she asked, “there’s no one here”. 

“Yes there is,” I exclaimed. She didn’t believe me and sent me back to bed. 

The next day, I got my phone so I could learn about the new house. I found a story about a man who escaped from a facility. Suddenly, I heard a voice that told me to go inside the mirror. 

I touched the mirror in my room as gently as a feather. Suddenly, I got sucked in the mirror. I saw a man with his lips sewn shut. His eyes stared into my soul deeply. Suddenly he grabbed me and stuffed me in a draw. I sat in there to rot away. 

Spirits

Maddison Mcquade

Down in the country, there stood a house. An abandoned one. A ghost haunted it for 3 years straight. Noone ever knew about the ghost. 

One day, a 14 year old girl was walking on a windy roads. She noticed the abandoned house. She wanted to find out if it was haunted, so she went inside.

The darkness inside was a gloomy cloud. She slowly walked in when suddenly she heard loud creaking. She reached when her hand started to glitch. She screamed at the top of her lungs and started to shake. The girl felt a strong wind swirling around her. 

Out through the broken back door, she saw a broken treehouse with extremely dark-green mould covered around it. The grass was as long as straw. She decided to climb up. When she was halfway there, the ladder decided to break. She hurt her arm and fainted for a few minutes.

When she woke up, she saw a lady in a white ripped dress, blond wavy hair and chocolate brown eyes. The ghost was staring into the girls eyes, holding the gaze as stiff as a rock. The lady was a trapped spirit, trying to protect the girl. The ghost started melting down like black dripping paint. Noone ever knew what happened after that...