Week 2 NEWSLETTER

From the Principal

RSS welcomed us with a beautiful powhiri, we had kai together, then into it. The first 2 codes to compete were rugby and basketball, with DPS winning the rugby trophy. This left netball, hockey and football all being played at the same time. We had convincing wins in the netball, but the hockey/football was 50/50 leading into the last match for each...DPS won the first hockey match, drew the second, so needed a win in the third. In football we won the first match (a first for DPS we haven’t won a game of soccer at all yet), then lost the second...meaning we needed a win in the last game. The hockey won their last game (winning the code), and with Ayla scoring a last second goal the football came back from 0-3 at halftime to draw the match. This was enough to win the code on points as we had scored more goals overall.

So...winning 4 codes means the Tararua Challenge flag comes back to DPS for the next 12 months. A ‘home school’ hoodoo now exists as the visiting school has always won the flag. The challenge is on for 2019, can we keep the flag here?!

Massive thanks to the staff for the preparation and organisation of the trip, and for the huge parent support that came with us. Cheers also to FODPS for subsidising the trip so heavily to ensure our children can take part in such a cool event. Lastly cheers to Russell Street for being great hosts...awesome welcome, felt like coming home...well organised, and they gave us an awesome lunch, children (and adults!) were very happy with that!

DPS Kid

The Tararua Challenge was also a great chance for the DPS Kid teaching to shine though, and it did. Teachers and parents all commented on how well behaved our DPS Kids were, being polite, respecting the refs and players and just interacting well with everyone. We know now though that PRIDE is bigger than behaviour, and the other parts of the DPS Kid were on show...we had children ‘focussed’ on their learning, working in teams, accepting failure as part of the path to success, planning, communicating, sharing, seeking new experiences, taking responsibility for the environment there, and having mana in our Wairarapa culture.

What I saw that pleased me the most was our children being great well rounded citizens, taking part in an experience that for some was new (playing sport), and dealing with the wins and losses with PRIDE. Big smiles on faces, happy conversations between our kids and RSS kids and a real sense of achievement when we pulled off the overall win through individual efforts.

Teacher Strike - 15th August

You may be aware from media stories last night that the NZEI (Primary Teachers Union) have voted for a full day strike on Wednesday 15th August. The strike is from 7am until 7pm that day.

The Ministry and the Union have entered into mediation to try and find an agreeable solution, and if they do so prior to the 15th (and the teachers accept the offer) then the industrial action will be called off. We will keep you informed through the newsletter and our facebook page over the next 2 weeks. The school knows this will be an inconvenience for parents and whānau, but there is a bigger issue the Union is trying to address.

I’ve written about the ‘why’ behind the Unions actions over the last term, but heard it summed up nicely this week as the “40% problem”

• 40% of teachers are due to retire in the next 5-10 years
• There are 40% less people entering into teacher training
• In the first 5 years of teaching 40% of teachers leave the profession

We want to attract and retain people into this profession, and that is what the Union is after...it isn’t teachers ‘being greedy’ as some politicians have stated.

Rippa Rugby

Good luck today to the DPS Rippa Rugby team. As Wairarapa champs they are playing off against Horowhenua/Kapiti for a place in the National Championships! They play 3 games, winner of 2 goes through. Beautiful day here for it, we will update you on Facebook with the results.

UPDATE: We won! Well done team, off to the National Champs! Paraparaumu Beach School were awesome competitors, and the games were tight. Cheers to Coach Joe for his work, Blue for all the setup and Amy Williams for making the day happen. All the best for Nationals!

Board of Trustees

Minute Secretary Vacancy

The Board of Trustees has a vacancy for a Minute Secretary and would ideally like to recruit someone from the parent community. The role includes taking, compiling and distributing the minutes for the BOT’s nine meetings per year, with approximately 3-4 hours of time required per meeting.

Meetings are usually held between 7:00 pm-9:00pm on a Tuesday evening.

It is essential to be competent with MS Word and/or Google Docs and an advantage to be familiar with minute taking.

$20 per hour

Please contact the BOT Chairperson, Brett Cockeram via bot@douglaspark.school.nz

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT DPS?

Wairarapa Schools Photography Competition

The entry categories are:

• Living Photographs
• Non-Living Photographs
• Photo Essay

Photograph Essay

Must:

• Tell a clear, compelling story, or illustrate an emotion or event
• Have a title that adds impact to the essay
• Be a large size (e.g. at least 1 MB)
• Be named using the title of the photo and the name of the photographer.

Examples of Photo Essays:

Living and Non-Living Photographs

Must:

• Be saved in jpeg file format and at least 1 MB.
• Be named using the name of the photographer.
• Be taken by the student
• Be taken in 2018

Examples of Past Entries:

All images can:

• Be in colour or black and white.
• Be cropped but they cannot be digitally altered in any other way.

DPS learners can enter as many photographs/Photography Essays as they wish and teachers will select which 10 for each age group will represent the school.

Entries close Tuesday 18th September.

If you need assistance with getting your images to us you can bring your camera/memory card into school, or email the photos to Miss West or Mr Harkness.

awest@douglaspark.school.nz

sharkness@douglaspark.school.nz

Cook Island Language week

Uniform Shop

We have a good selection of 2nd hand uniform at the moment, sizes 6 and up. Open on Wednesdays 8-9am and 2.15-3pm for cash sales only.

Lucky Books at DPS!

Please have any orders back to school by Thursday 9th August.

Writing

Re-telling our holiday through puppet pals.

COMMUNITY NEWS

ATHLETICS TRAINING

This programme is designed for kids of all abilities from year 2 until year 6 who are looking for a little help to run jump or throw faster longer and further and considered the basis for many sports. The aim is to improve running, jumping, throwing techniques, move faster, Increase distance, get fit, lose weight or add some variety to your current fitness programme, while having fun. The programme for term three is:

Term 3 23 July – 28 September

Monday and Wednesday 3.45pm – 4.30pm General Run Jump Throw Training

Venues = Colin Pugh Sportsbowl, Masterton

Costs on Application

Please contact Mark Harris to book your spot on +64 21 300 380, mark@maharris.co.nz or refer to www.maharris.co.nz

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