Week 5 NEWSLETTER

From the Principal

A focus on handwriting will make for lovely looking writing...whereas a focus on creativity and critical thinking will make for words that you actually want to read. If kids are creative little beings at 5 (and they are...just visit Rimu on any given day) then we must develop this, must foster it, teach it and help kids become better at being creative.

But why?

Because robots can’t.

Robots/computers are awesome at doing routine, repetitive tasks. They are starting to get good at thinking for themselves (AI) but that is still fairly limited. But they are not good at creating, collaborating in diverse settings, thinking critically (asking questions) nor do they have the ability to be agentic...they do as they are told (for now!).

The clip below shows the ‘Future of Work’...but the amazing, slightly scary thing this is...this is present day technology. Driverless tractors exist (someone told me a guy in Carterton has one…), robotic milking sheds exist (one in Fielding), shops with no employees (been to Countdown? The self-serve kiosks are pretty quick and efficient…). If this is the present, and routine repetitive jobs are currently being replaced, we need to arm kids with non-routine skills, to be better at the things that robots can’t do.

Matharapa

Last week 6 Kahikatea students competed in the annual Matharapa tournament. The event is a real challenge, difficult questions, time pressure and covering some new content. The girls placed 2nd overall for Year 5/6 children, a great result. The boys didn’t come away with a placing...but came away as great DPS kid representatives. When the results were announced their first act was to go and congratulate the girls...awesome!. Then, David Rees showed some real maturity by seeking out the organisers to thank them for their work running this event. Excellent examples of the DPS Kid in action…competing with learning, making errors/failing and getting up to try again, being humble in defeat and gracious to your hosts. Ka pai kids.

ERO: Next Steps

Thanks for all the positive feedback over the week about our ERO report. We can all be proud as a community about what the school has managed to achieve over the last 3 years and the direction we are heading. ERO has given us some next steps and they are worth a quick discussion:

• further accelerating the achievement of all students at risk in their learning
  • ERO point out that many children do indeed make accelerated progress in their learning, but challenged us to look more widely, to take the good systems we have and apply them to a wider range of children ‘at risk’.
• clearly articulating the school’s vision for success as Māori to sustain ongoing improvement
  • The challenge they left for us was to have another look at the DPS Kid, to take out the ideas/actions we have and to seek input from our Māori community and Iwi as to what these attributes may look like to them
• continuing to strengthen inquiry and internal evaluation practice to support knowledge building of effectiveness and inform decision-making.
  • They acknowledged that we have good process for review and are undertaking professional learning in collaborative inquiry...but also acknowledged that these systems are relatively new and need time to be embedded in the school.

ERO won’t be back for another external look into the school until 2021, but work is underway already to start to address their recommendations.

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

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.

Writing

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