Week 4 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

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

The Paris Olympics have just drawn to a close, NZ’s most successful event to date. Children across the school have been watching, learning and discussing the amazing athletic feats over there…proud of our athletes and their achievements. Some of the stories have been wholesome to watch…the Black Ferns continued success, Dame Lisa Carrington becoming one of the greatest Olympians of all time, Ellesse Andrews on the bike, and Lydia Ko adding a gold medal to her impressive list of achievements.

But, I also love the smaller stories…the ‘good people stories’ and I’d like to share two.

Hayden Wilde (our NZ triathlete) was favoured to do well in the games, and with help from his team mate Dylan, put himself in a gold medal position during the final run. However…just at the end of the race the British athlete put on a final burst, and Hayden watched his Gold Medal become silver. But…right afterwards, the first thing he did was congratulate his competitor and sit down with him, arm around his shoulder. “It was just so nice that both of us could be proud of what we’ve done, it was just a good moment, he and I”. I love that he turned from competitor to friend, and that he could be proud not only of becoming a Silver Medallist…but be proud of his friend winning Gold.

Another wholesome moment was this interview with Australian walker Gemima. Her messages are amazing, and really link nicely to things here at DPS:

Wanting but not Needing: She speaks about her aspirations to win a medal, but how she doesn’t need it for her own self-worth. Having high expectations in learning is what we are all about here, but these expectations don’t define people. No matter your level of achievement…improvement and progress is the key.
The Sun Will Rise Tomorrow: She spoke about how if she missed out on a medal, the sun will still rise. This is all about resilience. Striving for excellence, striving for a goal, tackling a new challenge…these are awesome…but failure doesn’t mean the end. Failure is just a stepping stone to success. We often speak of this here at school…having a Growth Mindset, and using the word ‘yet’ to reframe things (I can’t do these times tables…yet!).
Sport is about Community: She speaks about the benefits of sport…that sense of belonging, making friends, looking after your own physical and mental health and the skills you develop like leadership skills. Sport is a big part of our DPS culture, and I can attest to all of her things being true. Replace the word sport with kapahaka, or dance, or choir, or any kind of hobby…same thing. Being involved is important.

You can watch her interview here…it’s pretty short but powerful.

Matharapa

Speaking of competing…we had two teams involved in the Matharapa competition yesterday. While we didn’t place, the Rātā team did win a round…and Whaea Deb was super proud of their hard efforts and excellent PRIDE behaviour. Well done guys!

Foodbank Appeal

Massive thanks for your generosity last Friday for the Foodbank appeal. We gathered an absolute mountain of food for them, alongside the rest of the Masterton schools. A great initiative to support. Lovely note from the organisers as well:

"The Masterton Food Bank wishes to sincerely thank all of you for taking part in the recent non-uniform day for the Masterton Food Bank Appeal. The donations we received means that we can keep filling bellies up and supporting those in the community that need our help. Last year the Foodbank provided over 7000 food parcels and fed approximately 28,000 people. The Foodbank alone cannot do this so the support from the community makes a world of difference. The donations that came in on Friday have replenished our shelves and also brought a bit of sparkle to our parcels.

Again, our greatest thanks from Jenna and the team at the Masterton Foodbank"

What's happening at dps?

Use our fundraising page - https://daffodilday.org.nz/o/d-park-school

Our fundraising page allows friends and whānau to donate online - each donation is immediately added to our fundraising total so you can watch it grow.

Make a bank transfer

Here are the account details for your local Cancer Society:
Name: Cancer Society Wellington Division
Account number: 06-0689-0126104-00
Reference: 1661

Your funds will not reach your local Cancer Society or be added to your grand total online if these details are missing.