Week 8 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

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

A good news story for the education sector got released this week. In 2022 PISA tested students around the world on their Creative Thinking Skills (alongside the normal testing of reading, maths and science), the results of which have just been released (the report is 300 pages long…but the beginning is worth a look. Or…this article is much more succinct!). Our students have done exceptionally well!

New Zealand students’ results were among the top five countries in the assessment – the first time PISA has assessed students’ creative thinking competencies.

This is good news for us as a country…NZ values the ‘number 8 wire’ mentality, that drive for us to be innovative as a small nation and compete against the world's best. The children have been discussing this recently looking at the work of Sir Peter Beck, founder of Rocket Lab. Right here in NZ we have a global player, a global leader in the rocket industry…and you can bet that Sir Peter and his team have that ‘number 8 wire’ mentality woven throughout what they do.

This is also good news for us as a school. We have our Strategic Goal to Develop a Culture of Creativity, and digging deeper into the report it highlights how important these skills are, and how they can be taught (like we do here at DPS).

The PISA results in reading and maths have been used to justify the current changes our sector is undergoing (despite NZ still performing well overall in those tests), but this Creative Thinking result has been overlooked…and we should be celebrating this widely!

Service Day

Another inspiring effort last Friday, despite the weather not being ideal! Developing great young humans, who understand the need to ‘give back’ is really important to us here at school and these days across the year are a part of how we do it. As always, the kids and staff were into it…we even got the Mayor along for a cheese roll and a cuppa!

Interschool Cross Country

A big group of over 50 DPS students competed at the Interschool Cross Country this week, representing the school with PRIDE. I loved watching them compete…giving it there all across a muddy, slippery track at the Solway Showgrounds. The team achieved well also, with a bunch now heading to the Regional Cross Country. I also loved watching the way our students conducted themselves, with more than a few adults commenting to me about their exceptional behaviour while waiting in the stands, and their politeness towards others (students and adults).

So…a great result, both as a group of athletes and a group of awesome young humans!

Royal NZ Ballet

We had Jordana from the Royal New Zealand Ballet this week to run sessions for all of our students…and they loved it! She was amazing with the students, and even those initially a bit reluctant really got into it. The children dared to dream and learnt a part of Romeo and Juliet adding their own dramatic endings.