Newsletter
Week 4 NEWSLETTER
from the principal
Our Vision: Together we Nurture, Explore and Create for a Better Future
Use of technology in schools has hit the headlines again with the National Party saying they will ban mobile phones in schools. Weirdly… they have said it will be up to schools if they want to do this…which is exactly how it is right now anyway! Here at Douglas Park students aren’t allowed to have phones during school time, but if they bring them they are to be handed to the office or teacher. While this is a real troublesome issue for many schools, luckily for us we don’t seem to be facing the same issues as them!
I think a better conversation for the nation to be having is how schools are using technology…are we using it just as a replacement for pen/paper, or are we using it in creative ways that add value? This is the journey we have been on for awhile now…a return to using devices to create. This all sits inside the culture of creativity we have here at the school…your kids are marvellous at taking the chance each day to build, make or create something. Cool video below of Ruby from the Rimu team. The team has been using green screen to inject themselves into videos. Ruby’s is very cool…she has written a story, then drawn her illustration/scene, then used the DoInk app to film herself with her illustration as the background while reading her story. Awesome! This has taken her great writing, added some visual art, some performance skills to read her story on camera, and then using the technology to put it all together.
There are some more awesome examples from the Rimu team, our youngest students, further down in the newsletter. Check them out, they’ve done amazing things!
Helen and Amanda
This week sees our 5th class open in the Rimu team with a new bunch of three awesome 5 year old DPS Kids! The class will be taken by Helen Gard’ner and Amanda Mitchell in a job share. Helen has been working in Rimu all year both in job shares, and as a literacy support teacher. Amanda is a long time staff member of DPS, and it is great to have her back again. Looking forward to seeing the powerful mahi these two will do with their three kids! (3 for now…the class will grow for the rest of the year to be around 15 children at the end of the year).
Building Work
The roofers are making great progress, all of the high level windows have been removed and boarded up along the main block… and they are close to starting on laying the new flat roof about Rātā. Those classes have now been fenced off on the playground side for safety as this work carries on.
The admin block is inching closer to being done…the arrival of two benchtops this week was another major milestone! So while it still doesn’t resemble a finished space yet…we are getting there!
Well done Sicarius!
Another ex-DPS Kid doing great things…it was cool to read of Sicarius’ success when this was shared with me from the Mākoura College facebook page.
Congratulations to Sicarius - Top Student at the Advanced Leaders Course held by RNZAF at Ohakea Air Base. Sicarius gained overall excellence against 240 top students from the central region of the North Island.
Taiea ana Sicarius! We are so proud of you ❤️
Rimu - Digital Learning
The Rimu Learners have been learning to be creative on the ipads. Check out what we have been creating.
We have been exploring with Sketches School and using the green screen. The green screen backgrounds were drawn or painted by the students, too - merging creativity from different media.
Kora Thompson - Emoji
Michael Kane - Villain
Otto Suckling - Symmetry tool
Patsy Hart - Landscape
Emmett Sinton - Rubbish Bin
Max Pope - Rubbish Bin -"Give me food"
Aaliyah Herrick - Portrait
Kiah Allen - Portrait
What's happening at Dps
Masterton Intermediate - 2024 enrolments open now
MASTERTON INTERMEDIATE SCHOOL 2024 ENROLMENTS OPEN
PLEASE ENROL NOW
Please enrol online using the below link
We are encouraging online enrolments!
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. Please note that these must be ordered by early morning on the Friday to ensure your child's order goes through for that day.
Please note that the app you are looking for is Subway Express - School Lunch programme.
Community notices
Kia ora,
At the Wairarapa Road Safety Council, we work with many partners and stakeholders with a vision of reducing death and serious injury on our roads. One of our core focuses is around Schools education and advocacy around ensuring a safe passage of travel to and from school.
We want to know how, where and when children are navigating the roads, footpaths and reserves so we can ensure their health and safety continues to be the highest priority.
Please fill in the two surveys provided even if you have already completed past travel
surveys.
Please complete:
● one ‘Family ’ form for your household, and
● one ‘Individual Child’ form for each child in your household
These surveys should take about 15 minutes to complete (total).
Your participation is very important. Every family in this school is being asked to complete
this survey to enable everyone’s children to get the best outcomes when travelling to and from school.
Individual: https://forms.gle/x3ssp3wXwVnHXTVG7
Whanau: https://forms.gle/iLDGanjJCWXbwMNb6
Information given on the survey will be used to help gain a better understanding of where
we need to support your school. We may also invite you to take part in further research. Your
responses will be kept confidential and neither your name nor your child’s name will be
associated with any results.
Please note – this is separate to the Council’s consultation on their speed review around schools.
Please complete this survey online using your link by Friday 11th August 2023.
If you have any questions please contact:
Holly Hullena - Projects Coordinator / School Travel Advisor
Wairarapa Road Safety Council
Phone: 06 377 1379
Email: rsc@wairsc.org.nz
Thank you for participating in this survey!
