Week 7 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

Our Vision: Together we Nurture, Explore and Create for a Better Future

Developing a ‘Culture of Creativity’ is one of the school's two Strategic Goals, with a focus on digital creativity. Just yesterday I saw 5 year olds using Scratch Jr to design and then code an animation, and Elena came to share the song she had written and recorded in Garageband! Right from the start at DPS we encourage, and teach creativity…and boy do we reckon it pays off

elena.mp3

Alongside the digital focus, we haven’t forgotten about good old analogue creativity…and again yesterday I saw a great example when Calais, Aria and Selena came into my office. They’ve built a Jack and the Beanstalk model. It has moving parts like a lift for jack, a fridge with opening doors, and a drawbridge on the castle. The characters have been made so they can interact (they showed me how Jack was able to ride on his cow). So awesome. They’ve also been working on this for a little while…developing that perseverance muscle alongside the Creativity. Great stuff girls!

Service Day

Our first Service Day of the year is tomorrow (fingers crossed the weather isn’t too miserable). Giving back and learning about being a great citizen are at the heart of these days. We want to develop children who believe that they can make a difference, that they can (and should) do good things for others. We use the TVNZ ‘Good Sorts’ and the ASB ‘Good as Gold’ clips to help with this teaching, and give children great role models to aspire to. This is something we have been doing for several years now, and the children are really good at rising to the challenge. Last year TVNZ came to school and filmed us for ‘Good Sorts’...a nice full circle moment.

Matariki Evening

On Wednesday 26th June we will host our annual Matariki Evening. Kapahaka performances, art, games, storytelling, choir performance…it is always a great evening, and a great way to connect with whānau across the school. Keep an eye out for more information, and save the date!

School Uniform

Just a reminder that we do have a school uniform, and we do expect students to be wearing the correct uniform at school. School shorts, pants or culottes, school polo shirt and a school fleece jacket. We also have a sports uniform…but this is just needed if your child plays sports for the school. NZ Uniforms are the official suppliers of our school uniform. We do have a small stock of second-hand items at school that we sell on behalf. NZ Uniforms can be found in town, next to McDonalds or online here.

A Message from our Dental Mobile Team

Our last day at DPS is Friday 14th June. Thank you to everyone who have returned their dental forms. There are still quite a few Dental Consent forms that have not been returned. If your child has a form to return, please do so ASAP.

Any incomplete treatment will have to be treated at our Community Dental Clinic at MIS.

A huge thank you to the DPS staff for all your assistance.