Week 11 newsletter

from the principal

Enjoy the Break!

It has been a busy, action packed Term 1. Seems like an age ago that the year started, Kahikatea were off to camp, but here we are at the end of another term.

Thanks to the staff and our great DPS Kids for all the amazing effort put in, the ideas created, the learning and progress made. Have a great break, relax, and we will see you ready to go Monday April 30th.

I wrote last week about perseverance, and not giving up in the learning challenge. Yesterday our Ka Rewa facilitators (Waireka, Kendyll and Chopper) were explaining their resilience programme to parents, and two great things leapt out at me:

Waireka spoke about winning and losing. In games, in work, in life things don’t always go to plan, and you may not ‘win’. She spoke about Ka Rewa, and how they deliberately make sure children understand this, and have the ability to dust themselves off, and try again...and that the trying again is the most important thing.
She also spoke about failure, and how important it is. When she asked our learners what Resilience is, one described it as ‘Failing Forward’...such great language to describe learning. It is rare to get something 100% right the first time you attempt it, but if we are willing to accept that failure is the path to success we become better learners for it.

Speaking of Excellent Learners...

Gemma received this great email from Jackson Stoneley’s nanny:

On the weekend at Levin, Jackson was at the beach with his Grandy (Gavin), when Gavin stood on a piece of glass. His foot got cut quite deeply and Jackson, using his first aid skills learnt not so long ago at school, was able to help his Grandy to bandage the foot. (Gavin could not reach his foot very well himself to do the task). Jackson took it in his stride despite lots of bleeding and suffice to say we were so proud of him.

Daddy, what was a truck driver?

Self-driving big rigs have been operating in the United States since 2015. They are another example of the way technology is disrupting traditional jobs that we have taken for granted for a long time. Which jobs will disappear in the next decade or two?

A Daimler-built autonomous truck can now legally operate on the highways of Nevada. Gov. Brian Sandoval has officially granted the "Freightliner Inspiration Truck" a license for road use in the state, making it the first of its kind to navigate public roads in the US. The Inspiration's "Highway Pilot system" is loaded with cameras, radars, other sensors and computer hardware like most autonomous vehicles. However, it's not completely self-driving -- it still needs a human driver behind the wheel.

According to the big rig's official website, when the semi-autonomous system takes over, its sensors and computers are "responsible for maintaining legal speed, staying in the selected lane, keeping a safe braking distance from other vehicles, and slowing or stopping the vehicle based on traffic and road conditions." That frees up the driver to do other tasks, like doing the inventory, route planning and scheduling. Certain conditions require it to transfer control back to the driver, though, particularly when exiting a highway, driving on local roads and docking to drop off deliveries.

The truck had to undergo rigorous testing before it was granted a license and had to drive over 10,000 miles on a circuit in Germany. At the moment, there are two operational Inspiration trucks, and it's unclear if Daimler's making more of them.

Farewell and Good Luck Nerina

Nerina Molechan (Kowhai Lead Teacher) has been successful in winning at job teaching Year 3/4 children at Hadlow School. This position starts next term. Nerina has been at DPS for nearly a decade, and will be missed. She has brought passion and enthusiasm to the classroom, embraced our Modern Learning journey, started and maintained our awesome DPS Bollywood group, and contributed so much to so many children in her time with us. Hadlow are lucky to be gaining her to their staff.

Welcome back Amanda Mitchell

Amanda returns to DPS next term, and will take over the Kowhai Lead teacher role from Nerina. Amanda is a vastly experienced teacher, and has led the Kowhai team for many years now. She popped into school yesterday with young Eden (baby daughter) and was a minor celebrity as we wandered through the new Kowhai learning space. The children were very excited to see her and Eden. Look forward to having you back on deck next term Amanda.

Half Day...Today!

Today, 12.30pm children head home. Once again this is greatly appreciated, as was your support for the Paid Union Meeting earlier in the term. 5th July is the next half day, the last week of term 2.

Donation Draw

Are you in the draw for that sweet, sweet iPad Mini? All you have to do is pay your school donation by 9am tomorrow. The donation is $50 per child, and a great deal for the education and resources that DPS provides. Many thanks for the recent influx of donations, and good luck for the draw tomorrow.

Thank you for your Support

The Kahikatea team had a great fundraiser selling their pizza yesterday, and cheers for all the support of this. As per the donation, the extra money means we can provide extra. In the past, teaching teams have used these fundraisers to subsidise trips away, and purchase extra resources for the classrooms (has your child used some of the LEGO around the school? Basically all of that comes through these fundraisers). Sure, it may be cheaper to buy the pizza yourself...but doing that doesn’t support our children and provide these opportunities for all our great DPS Kids.

pride & Whakatauki

Whakatauki

Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me maunga teitei

English Translation

Aim for the highest cloud so that if you miss it you will hit a lofty mountain.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT DPS?

Parent Feedback on Movin’March:

Movin’March was a month-long event organised by Greater Wellington Regional and local Councils to encourage students to walk or wheel to school. To help us build on this initiative, please could parents complete this short survey by Friday 27 April. Survey respondents will also go in the draw to win a $100 prezzy card. Thanks for your help - your comments will help us encourage more students to walk and wheel to school!

Wk 10

writing

2018 Student Councillors

Hi my name is Ātea I am a lead councillor at DPS. When I am not at school I love to go on my tramp. I really love netball and kickboxing. At school I really like our clean environment and how nice all the teachers are. I am now in Kahikatea which means that I am a senior at school. This year I want to clean up our school pool changing rooms so that they are cleaner for kids in 2019.

Hi my name is George. I am a councillor at DPS. When I am not at school I like to play tackle rugby and also like to do some boxing. At school I like to do service for the school. This year as councillors we were able to come up with an idea of helping the school on a project. I wanted to make a bike shed out the back of the school. It wouldn't affect people because it would have sliding doors the go up and down and they can be locked up.

Kia ora. I am David and I am a DPS councillor for 2018. I am a christian and I am proud of it. I like sports such as Mod-softball and Hockey. I think DPS is a great school because it has many things you can be involved in such as Pride-team, Kaitiaki, Councillor, Bollywood, Kapa-Haka and much much more. What I would do for DPS is make sure that when it comes to leadership roles the people can be trusted to do something when a teacher is not around and at the same time be responsible and not silly like some people.

Kia ora. My name is Xhan I am one of the DPS councillors for 2018. I love sports. My favourite sport is rugby and when I am older my dream is to become an All Black. At DPS I have learnt a lot since I started school. I like new ways to solve problems. What I like about being a councillor is that I can help the school. This year I want to treat people like they are the most important people in the world. If I go somewhere I will always show pride.

Hi, my name is Austin and I am one of the councillors for 2018. In school I like maths because it pushes me to learn more and get to the next stage. The sports I play at DPS are Intermediate Softball and I play base one. When I am not around in the weekends or the holiday I am doing boxing or playing basketball. What I love about DPS is that it is always clean and green and everything is available to play on at morning tea and lunch. What I like about being a student councillor is that you are helping other students to be role models.

Hi, my name is Aniwa I am a councillor of the school. Outside of school I like to go on my tramp. What I really enjoy out of school is playing netball and kickboxing (as you can tell Atea and I are very similar). One thing I really like about our school is that it's a nice place to learn and the teachers are very helpful if you get stuck. As councillors we can benefit the school and make it better. This year my idea was to change the pool changing rooms and maybe even add a playhouse for the five year olds so we are all just waiting to see what we can do for the school.

Hi my name is Ayla. I am councillor at DPS. Out of school I like to do sports like swimming, soccer and kickboxing. At school I like our clean environment and how all of the teachers are nice. I am now in Kahikatea which means that I am a senior of the school. This year I want to clean up our school pool changing rooms for the kids in 2019.

Hi my name is Izzy and I am a student councillor. Outside of school I do dance and I am very good at it. I am good at mod softball and I play it during the summer terms. I am good at drawing and I have new ideas for it. What I like about DPS is that we accept new people and have new ideas to make DPS a better school. We are a green gold sustainable school. As a part of the school council I want to put a roof over the library deck so that people can read in fresh air. My other idea is to make *Advice Posters* which will be like minor duty teachers so that children can solve their problems without wasting the duty teachers’ time.

Hi my name is Alexa and I am a student councillor. Outside of school I like to go on my tramp and I love playing netball and dancing. At school I really like our new open learning spaces. I am a Year Six which means I'm in the senior classes in Kahikatea. This year I would like to do more fundraisers to get more P.E gear, sport equipment and much more.

Hi my name is Hannah and I am a student councillor at DPS. I was born in Aussie so I have a pretty good Australian accent and I like baking in my own time. I have amazing friends at Douglas Park. I absolutely love literacy and writing is my thing. I love helping out around school and I love school trips. I think it would be nice to improve the pool changing rooms and/or add swings to the playground.

Hi my name is Theo and I am the 2018 boy lead councillor. My favourite sport is hockey and I have been playing for about 6 years straight. I love to go for walks in the bush like at Mount Holdsworth. Reading is one of the things I like to do in my spare time. I like DPS because there are a lot of opportunities, like sports, quizzes, camp (Kaitoke) etc. With my team (councillors) this year I would like us to go through the PE shed and have a sort out. By that I mean pump up the balls that are flat, update anything that is old or broken or even buy new things for different sports that our school doesn’t play.

Hi my name is Christopher and I am a DPS councillor for 2018. I like Star Wars and my favorite game is Star Wars Battlefront 2. I also like building Lego, cool types of wildlife such as lizards and frogs, and multiple outdoor locations especially the South Island. I like being a councillor and I also am a librarian which I enjoy. I also like the school because it has a lot of opportunities. As part of the DPS council I would like to walk around classrooms and see what's going on in the other classrooms like at literacy or numeracy times and help out when we can.

My name is Cody and I am ten years old. I am a DPS 2018 councillor as well as a Pride Team member. I love acting in my on time and playing with Star Wars Lego. I have lots of great friends including Christopher. I also love hockey. I like DPS because there's so many friendly faces. I like the playground too. Being a councillor is a big job but lots of fun too. I want kids to see what is right and wrong and now I have a role in this.

Kia ora. My name is Joseph and I’m 10 years old. I am a 2018 councillor. In my spare time I love to play soccer, read books and spend time with family. DPS is a great school and everyone can have multiple opportunities such as Bollywood, Choir, and councillors. The teachers respect everyone no matter the differences. My idea as a councillor is to make a zebra crossing on Lincoln Road because my Mum won’t let me walk to school because of the crazy traffic and driving. It will encourage parents to not drive and be safe.

Kia ora. My name is Jeremiah. I am a councillor for 2018. In my spare time I play hockey for DPS and softball. I enjoy playing with little kids at different times. I like DPS because there are many sports we can do like softball, mod-softball, hockey and netball. There responsibilities that you can do here at DPS like road patrol and being on the Pride Team.

Hi my name is Heidi. I am a 2018 DPS student councillor. I love to use my spare time to practice netball, cook and bake meals for my family. I play WD in netball and have been playing for only 2 years. I love maths, writing and reading and exploring the internet. I have a cute dog called Dexter, a cat called Peppa and many fish. At DPS I enjoy being a part of the DPS council team because we can discover new ways to improve our school. As a school council team I think we should create a Yr6 Leavers yearbook which the Yr6 leavers would receive at the end of the year along with their leaving certificate.

Hi my name is Arleena. I love doing all different types of sports outside and inside the school like netball, rippa rugby and gymnastics. I’m also really good at crafty things. I like meeting new people at school and I like learning new things at school like maths, literacy and inquiry. I love finding out and discovering things. I also like my teachers and the new classrooms and all my friends of course. Being a part of the student councillors this year I want to fundraise for things for the gardens at DPS, like flowers and new soil and maybe even plant some trees.

Hi my name is Kaitlyn. I love playing netball, hockey, touch, rippa rugby, gymnastics and miniball. In my spare time I like to hang out with friends and chill with my dogs at my Gramma’s farm. I have two German Shepherds called Axl and Mahli. Axl is one year old and Mahli is 14. At DPS I enjoy being in the DPS councillor team. I was so excited when my name got called out. Let’s just put it this way I was happy! This year I want to work on making a Year Six leavers book. I think it would be cool to look back and see how we looked when we were younger.

Hi, my name is Tiffany. I love to play netball and miniball in my spare time. At school I love to do maths, reading and writing. In netball I play WD/WA and sometimes GD/GK. DPS is a Green-Gold Sustainable School. We all need to do our part to help. As a councillor I need to do any tiny jobs so it will lead to a great accomplishment. When I got named a councillor it was like my heart skipped a beat!

COMMUNITY NEWS

Click here to see what's on in our community.

Go by Bike Week events

Decorate Your Helmet

Wednesday 18 April

9.30-11am

Carterton Library

Free event

To celebrate the Vantage Age Group Road National Championships, which take place in the Carterton District between 20-22 April, Huri Huri is co-hosting Go By Bike Week with Carterton District Council.

On the look out for some wheely great fun for the kids during the Easter holidays? Kids get down to Carterton Library and decorate your cycle helmet.

Prizes for the best helmets.

Huri Huri Kids BMX Workshop

Saturday 21 April

9.30-12pm

1.30pm-4pm

$10, please register via EventFinda

To celebrate the Vantage Age Group Road National Championships, which take place in the Carterton District between 20-22 April, Huri Huri is co-hosting By Bike Week with Carterton District Council.

Kids can join the Freestyle Lifestyle BMX team for one of two biketastic workshops - where they will learn about bike safety equipment and essential safety skills, and how to fix and maintain their bikes.

There will also be games, stories and stunt demonstrations, and the kids get to try out some basic BMX stunt skills.

After all that hard work - we're wheely sure the kids will want to grab their free sausages from our sausage sizzle.

Kids must bring their own bike and bike helmet, and we recommend that they wear long sleeve tops and long trousers / track pants for the workshop. Minimum age 6-years old.

Cost is $10 to register, and caregivers will need to complete a registration form and waiver at the start of the workshop.

Go to https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2018/huri-huri-kids-bmx-workshop/carterton

Huri Huri is very grateful for the generous support of Mitre10 MEGA and Carterton Rotary Club for helping to bring the Freestyle Lifestyle team to Wairarapa

Mini Wheelers

Saturday 21 April 2018

12.30-1.30pm

2-5 years

Carrington Park

Free event, please register via EventFinda

We’ve made a wee little course for little legs, Biketastic fun especially designed for kids aged 2-5-years old.

Don’t forget to bring along your bike!

Gold coin sausage sizzle available – a fundraiser for R2R (Rangatahi Tu Rangatira)

Go to https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2018/mini-wheelers/carterton.

After inspiring more than 10,000 people in Wellington over the last two years, the “Space & Science Festival” is coming to the Wairarapa.

Space & Science Festival, is a mix of spectacular science displays, science talks and classroom activity. It's a not-for-profit charity created by a group of volunteer parents, teachers, scientists, engineers and technologists. Our focus is on making science accessible, and providing fun experiences that encourage young minds and nurture their interest in a wide range of STEM activities.

The Festivals' Lead Partner, Genesis School-gen, will be showcasing their hands-on child-friendly activities so you can explore the world of energy.

Otago Museum will be offering you a stunning mix of science demonstrations - don't forget your cameras!

Marvel at the beauty of Bio-luminescent Bacteria, thanks to Siouxsie Wile's team at BirghtEnz.

Enjoy a variety of talks and presentations in the hall including one of New Zealand's leading astrophotographs, Stephen Chadwick and his presentation, 'A journey through the Cosmos'.

Not to mention a feast of creative technology to play and learn.

Tickets are only available only through the Space & Science Festival website and have been kept to a very modest $10 a person thanks to our lead partner Genesis School-gen. Ticket sales will support both Greytown Primary School and the Space & Science Festival.

Tickets on sale online here https://spacesciencefestival.org/index.php/greytown-space-science-festival/

Check out our series of events running through May too:

https://spacesciencefestival.org/index.php/events/

See you there!

PIFA Holiday Programme

Date: Monday 23rd & Tues 24th April

Where: Trust House Memorial Park Turf, Dixon Street, Masterton

Time: 9am - 12pm.

Price: $45 a day or $80 for the 2 days

PUKAHA MOUNT BRUCE HOLIDAY PROGRAMME

We bet you are all looking forward to the April school holidays! We have a ton of school activities on over the April holidays at Pukaha. Including a visit from the world famous "Bugman"-Ruud Kleinpaste. He will be "bug hunting" with kids of all ages on April 21st at Pukaha Mount Bruce!

Kev the kaka loved Easter so much he has a whole range of "eggtivities" happening at Pukaha over the whole month of April. It is Whio-Blueduck awareness month and also time to sign up for Pukaha's famous Junior Ranger school holiday programme and the new Te Kakaknau-The seed, a school holiday programme for the older kids. There is an Easter themed egg hunt to an amazing Bug Hunt with the world famous-Bugman-Ruud Kleinpaste, there are so many cool activities to keep the kids busy! Read below for information about them all!

On our egg hunt, see how many brightly coloured eggs you can spot around the Pukaha forest enter your egg count in the draw and you could win an annual Pukaha Family Membership!

Join in the fun at the EGGS, EGGS, EGGS discovery centre off the Kākā Cafe' with kids colouring pages, guess who's egg games and more.

On Saturday, April 21st Pukaha Mount Bruce gets “Bugged” by the world famous, Ruud Kleinpaste- a.k.a- The Bugman.

Ruud is best known for his television and radio shows which have included Newstalk ZB’s Ruud’s Awakening that was a popular radio talk-back program for more than 27 years.

Ruud’s television highlights include Maggie’s Gardening Show, the children’s programme What Now?, various series for Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel series -Buggin’ with Ruud.

On Saturday morning April 21st at 10:00 am your little conservation hero’s can join Ruud on a Bug hunt around the Pukaha forest. For $10 dollars children aged 15 years and under can participate in a guided bug hunt where they will learn all about bugs. The Pukaha rangers will take groups of up to 25 children through the Pukaha forest to hunt for all sorts of bugs. Ruud will be on hand to help identify the bugs and make sure all the citizen scientist gets plenty of bug knowledge. All participants will also receive a “Buggin with Ruud” official bug hunter pack. Each pack will contain a signed certificate by Ruud that makes each child an official bug hunter. The packs also contain some great bug facts and bug resources to continue the bug learning at home. Places are limited and must be booked in advance. The $10 booking fee includes entry to Pukaha Mount Bruce, so you can stay and enjoy all the other activities Pukaha has to offer. Parents are welcome to accompany their bug hunters. Normal entry prices for adults apply.

To book in your Bughunters email us at info@pukaha.org.nz or you can ring the visitor centre 06 375 8004.

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