Week 10 NEWSLETTER

From the Principal

A recent Stuff article announcing the potential industrial action led to a heap of nastiness in their comments section (with a few positives thrown in for good measure). While on the surface the outrage may seem justifiable (why should teachers get paid more?), the industry has deeper issues that can’t be ignored. Attacking teachers as a group though, is wrong and throwing around untruths is not helpful.

Does anyone really believe teachers work from 9am until 3pm then head home to put their feet up?

The first car arrives at the DPS carpark around 6.30am and it is not uncommon for the last car to leave 12 hours later (with learning conferences this week the last staff left just before 8pm). But you guys get sweet holidays across the year! True, we have non-contact time (not holidays) but again...walk through the school daily during non-contact time and you will see teachers here. Often the reality is that half of the non-contact 2 weeks is spent at school. And the ‘extras’ that our kids love...Sport, pretty common to see our teachers on a cold Saturday morning taking sport in their own time, Friday night taking sport, early morning hockey training, miniball into the evening, Bollywood in the weekends...these things we offer because they are awesome for kids, but we aren’t paid to do them.

I’m not playing the poor me, poor teachers card...but want the debate to be based on the reality of the job, not the myth. Other jobs are just as, if not more, demanding...but often teaching can be painted as a pretty sweet, easy job...minimal hours, lots of holidays and great pay. Myth.

To me the facts are clear on the current reality:

• We have an increasingly aging teacher workforce, many teachers are retiring or leaving the profession
• Less people are training to become teachers
• The dropout rate in the first 5 years of teaching is growing at an alarming rate
• Changes to registration criteria mean fewer relieving teachers are available

All this will hurt our community in the future (and are currently hurting places like Auckland). No one wants large class sizes, but if we can’t hire teachers as none are available...sizes will increase. No one wants classes split, but if we cannot get relieving teachers then that is what we will have to do. People enjoy the ‘extras’ we offer here, but in a competing market these extras will be the first to go (our sport teams, cultural groups etc). The NZEI is after a pay rise for teachers, not to reward those in the profession already (although they deserve every last cent), but to make the profession attractive again. The education sector is important...one of the few that impact on ALL people in society. We want it to be the best, need it to be the best.

Mia Francesca Brienza

Mia Francesca Brienza was born on 27th June, the latest addition to the Brienza household and our wider DPS whānau. Big sister Alessandra is over the moon. We wish the Brienza’s well in this special time with young Mia.

‘I was never very good at that’

I’ve enjoyed hearing the conversations between students, whānau and teachers at the Learning Conferences this week. Stories of progress, of making mistakes, the messiness of learning and of successes made. One phrase that popped out occasionally didn’t quite fit…”I was never very good at that”.

How often is that heard from parents in regard to spelling, maths or writing? While it may be the brutal truth (we all have areas of strength and weakness) there is a negative impact on students’ learning to hear language like this. When kids hear a parent was not good at that subject it lowers their expectation of success. If they hear it often enough, it can become a reason why they are not good at it & gives a reason to not even bother. Ultimately it can help develop, or reinforce, a fixed mindset...where the children may start to say (or think) I can’t do this. Those 4 words are so limiting, and disastrous. We want our learners to take risks and that means we want them to fail. No one ever is perfect at something in their first attempt...but someone who thinks “I can’t” won’t even make that first attempt.

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?

Uniform shop : Will be open from 10am to 12 noon on Thursday 19th July.

The office will be open from 10am to 2pm on Thursday 19th and Friday 20th July.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

July School Holidays at Masterton District Library

There are still places available for our Winter Warmers reading programme, also taking place during the July school holidays is the Maths is Funprogramme.

Maths Is Fun is free for all primary aged children. Its aim is to encourage children to have fun with numbers, increase confidence in maths, and understand how it can be is used in everyday life.

Children explore maths concepts through games and activities that can be shared at home.

Maths Is Fun is led by trained teachers and is made up of two, 2 ½ hour sessions on Monday and Tuesday for Years 1-4 and all day sessions for Years 5 – 8 on Wednesday and Thursday during the first week of the school holidays.

Jane Horsham....Children & Youth Services Librarian...Masterton District Library

janeh@library.mstn.govt.nz 06 370 6261