Week 10 NEWSLETTER

From the Principal

The DPS Kid - Fostering creativity & adaptability in students

A long running theme in this newsletter has been around the importance of our school Core Beliefs (Agency, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Creativity) and how to go about developing these in children. I’ve mentioned my visit to Rototuna Junior High and the amazing learning on offer there (authentic, real learning centred around solving social issues, designing solutions and taking positive social action). I’ve written about our selection for the Innovation Fund and how we are looking at developing a culture of students 'making and creating’. I’ve also written about changes in education, what is important and powerful to learn vs traditional schooling.

One of our next steps is to explore Design Thinking as part of our maker learning, some of which will begin next term. Design Thinking is a process to go through to generate new solutions or products. Stanford University and their ‘D School’ are world leaders in this and one of their faculty are in New Zealand at the moment. Laura was interviewed by Radio New Zealand, and it is a great listen if you have 20 minutes...but if you don’t, the first 5 tell a great tale. She describes what Douglas Park is heading towards, what I’ve seen...and what I've been attempting to share via this newsletter. Well worth a listen, click here.

NZEI - Teachers Reject Pay Offer

You may have seen the news already that teachers have rejected the latest pay offer from the Ministry. While the latest offer seemed to be a step in the right direction, it didn’t address issues such as teacher workload, nor offer any further assistance towards students with additional learning needs. While the Union has been labelled ‘greedy’ for asking for 16% over 2 years, the offer doesn’t go far enough given the neglect of the previous government in terms of valuing the profession.

But, as I’ve said before...Pay Isn’t The Real Issue.

The maths stills seems very simple to me and very scary. 40% of teachers are nearing retirement, 40% less people are training to be teachers, and 40% of teachers leave the profession within 5 years of starting. Pay alone doesn’t solve this and the crisis is coming.

Douglas Park has some ‘older’ teachers (not naming names, just making a point!) and we have staff within their first 5 years of teaching. If they were all to go and we have 40% less applicants for jobs...would our community be happy with that? Not sure we would be. So, what does this mean? Early next term another vote will be taken on the industrial action teachers will take. This could mean more strike days in term 4. We will, of course keep you updated.

Hey Google, can you book an appointment for me?

Just a quick video to show the pace of technology. I was chatting to some school whānau about this and thought it worth a share. Google now has the ability to place calls, to understand conversation, and respond in a natural sounding way. The technology is impressive. While it isn’t released yet, you can imagine the disruption this will have on traditional industry. If your device can do these sorts of tasks, what does this mean for call centres? Booking agents? And if it can do it one way...calling to book an appointment...you can guarantee the same technology could be on the other end of the phone...answering the call, checking availability, and placing the booking.

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT DPS?

Chinese Language week!

2nd hand Uniform Shop @ DPS:

We have good stock of polar fleeces at the moment. Other items are available in various sizes. Shop is open on Wednesdays 8 - 9 am and 2.15 - 3 pm

DPS Lunch Orders

Subway lunch available to order on Fridays. Order online or pick up an envelope from the office.

Writing

More Awesome stories by our Kahikatea students!

Coywolf hybrid

Is it a wolf? Or is it a coyote? Coywolves can be easily mistaken. They live for around 3-5 years in the wild and around 10 years in urban areas.

The Coywolf lives in North America. They originated from Algonquin Park. Coywolves are purposely bred animals. They live in the Northeast from New Jersey to Maine. They also live in Canada and Virginia. They mostly live in dense woods or open bush around urban areas. Coywolves are a very unique hybrid animal.

By Oliver Memelink

Moment in time (Through a Gazelles eyes)

I yelled at the very peak of my voice to my Dad and all he does is tell us “ Get behind me!”

And we do as we are told. I see him crouching lower and lower to the ground, it looked like he was going to pounce. The lioness is creeping closer and closer. When all of a sudden I looked around to see that there were three more hidden in the grass. Dad yelled “Go through the gaps!” and I made a break for it. My heart was pounding. I knew that if I failed that would be it. My plan was to head straight for one and dodge it at the last second.

By Izzy Tortoza

What am I?

Water remained as gas until the earth cooled below 212 degrees fahrenheit. At this time about 3.8 billion years ago the water condensed into rain which filled the basin to create me. Did you know 70% of the earth's surface is covered by me? I am also a home to the most incredible creatures that are masters of disguise. The longest mountain range in the world is found under me, stretching over 56,000 km, the mid oceanic ridge is a mountain chain that runs along the center of the basin.

By Maia Elmsly

Community Events

Join us at your local Animates for four FREE activity sessions on Thursday 4 & 11 of October, session one commencing at 11am and sessions two at 2pm. Animates have proudly partnered with Kids Safe with Dogs Charitable Trust to educate children how to safely interact with dogs.

New Zealand currently has a horrifying number of dog bites and by educating children at a young age together with Kids Safe with Dogs we aim to reduce this statistic. Children will learn all about Jelly and her nine friends who are key characters that feature throughout the sessions and help explain various real life scenarios to teach children the correct way to approach a situation.

Fun school holiday activity sheets are available in-store and can also be downloaded from here

No bookings are required. Just make sure you get in early as parking is limited.

See you there!