Newsletter
Week 11 NEWSLETTER
from the principal
Vision - Together we Nurture, Explore and Create for a Better Future
Great story to share that illustrates the ‘Better Future’ part of our new vision. Aria in Kahikatea has noticed a problem. She believes we use too many paper towels for drying hands in the toilets, and occasionally these are wrongly put in the toilets causing them to clog. Once she noticed this problem, she started to do something about it...she found out the cost of a paper towel refill, she found out how many on average each toilet block goes through each week and she has used that to get a $$$ figure for a year of around $400. She also knows that there is an environmental cost (hard to determine) and the cost to the school to have Mr Blue or the plumbers sort the toilets.
Then...with some help she has researched air dryers and found that they range from approx $100 per unit, to $1600 per unit as well as the cost to install (what she is working out now) and the electricity cost to run (which she explained to me might be offset by our solar generation).
This is a great example of what we want to achieve here at DPS...a child prepared to make a difference for others, prepared to tackle an issue...and as a bonus it drags in the skills of reading, writing (she wrote me a letter) and the maths. Awesome work!
Thank you also for the feedback on our vision during the recent learning conversations. The feedback is super useful...we know we have launched the Vision here at school, but we want to make sure we get it as public as possible. Your ideas are invaluable to us.
Learning Conversations + HERO
Another great round of Learning Conversations this week, thank you very much for your support of these. We always get a really high turnout...and I do love seeing the happy kids, the proud parents and the proud staff. As would have been explained, the information about progress in reading and writing (not yet maths) is live in HERO. Across next term as students master new skills, new goals will be set for them and goals that are mastered will feed those Progress Dials. These dials show the progress children are making...the fine detail. These dials feed the graph, the dot and line. The dot you would have seen at Learning Conversations is actually for the middle of the year...so we have another whole term of learning before that dot is set in place. Lots of time for further progress to be made which is exciting. A good time to remind us all that learning isn’t a linear line on a graph...the road is bumpy, and challenges occur. What is important is progress! Progress leads to success. The two graphs show what I mean
While we don’t have Learning Conversations again until the end of Term 3, at the end of next term a teacher comment for each child will be shared to you in HERO. This will be a general sum up of our noticings about your child as a learner and as a person at school.
Sports Fees
That time of year when we are about to launch into the winter sport season and some of these codes come with a price tag to them. While we can’t get around this, these fees aren’t ours...they are for the various associations...we do do something about it. The Board subsidises the fees for both hockey and netball, so as parents you don’t wear the full cost to play these great sports. The school puts in around $40 per player for hockey and $15 per player for netball. While this doesn’t cover the full cost, it does reduce it for whānau...and it does add up quickly for the school, given how many children we get playing sports! So, a quick thank you to the Board for this generous act.
YMCA Volleyball
Speaking of sport...DPS got a good shout out from the YMCA for our awesome kids taking part in their volleyball programme. While the programme is open to all schools, it turns out DPS was the only school that took part this term...what an awesome deal our kids got, as we know how great these programmes are that the Y runs. I think this really represents what we want from our DPS Kids ...kids who are willing and able to Dare to Dream, to try something out and give it a go. They had a wonderful season, so thank you very much Masterton YMCA.
Autism Awareness Day
Tomorrow we are celebrating Autism Awareness Day...a non-uniform day, children are encouraged to wear colourful clothing to help raise awareness, and celebrate the wonderful diversity of learners we have here at DPS. Our autistic students enrich us as a school, and as a community.
As an aside...we will be calling these sorts of days 'non-uniform' from now on. This excellent article from the Spinoff helps to explain why.
Out of Zone Applications
Douglas Park is governed by an enrolment scheme (a school zone) and we only take out of zone enrolments twice a year. The next intake is for Terms 3 and 4 and the Board have opened up 20 places for out of zone students. Anyone who lives out of zone comes through this process. Even if you have children here already and have a younger sibling to start...if you live out of zone, you have to apply for your child to attend.
Contact the office if you need to put your child/ren down for a possible place office@douglaspark.school.nz
School Office Open in Holidays
The school office and uniform shop will be open in the holidays on Thursday 29th April from 10am to 2pm.
What's happening at dps?
WRiting
Plane Crash
Danny scrambled out of his wrecked jet. He was out of breath after the storm he just flew through. Danny stumbled over to the bernt black engine. He pulled a rusty old screwdriver out of his pocket. Turning and twisting the old parts of his engine he worked at the engine for hours on end. Finally he was done with his hard task. He calmed down and started to walk away sighing with relief.
“BOOM!!!”
The engine exploded sending Danny flying along with millions of other bits and bobs. He toppled to the ground with a “Thud!!”
Danny felt dazed and dizzy. His head was spinning and he was confused. “What just happened ? Did I hit my head? Where am I ?” Danny said to himself. Indeed he had hit his head, on a huge rock. He was out cold for 28 seconds and had a concussion. Which caused him to forget everything that had happened in the last five hours....
By Charlotte Thornburrow
Sports
A Great big thank you to mitre 10 Masterton for their very generous donation of rugby balls for our tamariki - They will get lots of use!
Kiwi Volley
Congratulations to all participants on a successful season. Thanks to Simon and Lisa for running this programme and helping our learners get another awesome sporting experience!
Tapu Ae
Last week a group of 3&4 students took part in the Tapu Ae tournament. For most of them, this was a new sport. Thank you Josh for taking time to teach them beforehand and coach them on the day.
This folder has a list of draws and teams. It will be updated as draws are shared so please check in here for game information.
Touch
Tonight is the final touch games for the season. Below is the draw.
Well done everyone on an awesome season!!
Winter Hockey
Thanks to those who signed up for hockey. We had a good turn out to our 'trials' this week.
Winter Hockey starts in Week 2 Term 2 and runs over Term 2 and 3.
Fees: $40 per player. This is to be paid to the office before Friday 7th May.
Students will not be able to play until either their fee is paid to the office or a payment plan is established.
Pushstart Flyer.pdfHockey Wairarapa are proud to introduce our ‘Push Start’ hockey programme.
All players school years 3/4, 5/6 & 7/8 welcomed to participate.
The link below will also take you to the registration form on our website
Fun sticks registration link
Year 5/6 Netball
Thanks to those who signed up for netball. All children have been put into a team.
Netball starts in Week 2 Term 2 and runs over Term 2 and 3.
Fees: $40 per player. This is to be paid to the office before Friday 7th May.
Students will not be able to play until either their fee is paid to the office or a payment plan is established.
Community notices
Entice is hiring!
We are looking for a kitchenhand from 9am - finish (usually around 3.30 - 3.45pm) Four days per week (Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri). This job would be ideal for a Mum (or Dad) wanting something during school time.
The job is dishes, simple food prep, more dishes, and cleaning down the kitchen at the end of the day. There is also the possibility of having days off during the school holidays, as our weekend teenagers are sometimes keen for more hours. We have a lovely team, and lots of fun along the way. Start date is Monday 3rd May (or earlier if possible) If you're keen to find out more, call Entice 377 3166 and ask for either Alice or Jennie, or send your CV to info@entice.co.nz
Kia Hakinakina is holding a School Holiday Sport Activation Programme. It is a fun skills-based exploration leading into games for understanding. A range of FUNdamental skills will include catching and throwing, balance and flexibility, striking and fielding, target and net and wall games.
To register please fill out the below google form.
Win $1,000 for your school and have your say about Masterton's future.
Kia ora
We want you to know about the chance to win $1,000 for your school as part of our draft Long-Term Plan (LTP) consultation, open today. This year the plan is called 'Stepping Up' because it's about making some big decisions for our future generations.
The LTP outlines the mahi that Masterton District Council is planning for the next 10 years and we want to know what our community thinks about the plans. We think schools can help.
How Can You Win?
We'd like you to share the consultation with your school community and encourage them to have their say about our plan. Everyone who makes a submission can nominate the school they believe should receive a $1,000 boost. They will also go into the draw to win one of two $500 travel vouchers for themselves.
The LTP consultation document is available on the Council website, where your families can make online submissions. We also have copies at our office at 161 Queen Street and Masterton District Library.
We’re happy to come along and talk to your students and their whanau so if you have a class that’s keen, or a school event that you’d like us to attend, let us know.
What’s in the plan?
The projects in the LTP will change our town in a way that hasn’t been seen for a generation. It includes three Big Decisions:
1. Civic facility We want to know whether our community thinks we should build our new civic facility now or wait until we have confirmed external funding.
2. Masterton revamp We want to know whether our community thinks we should complete our 10-year plan for upgrading the town centre, boosting our welcomes, and developing a Waipoua precinct or scale the project back.
3. More housing for seniors We want to know if our community thinks the Council should build public housing for seniors on land we own, or make the land available for someone else to do it.
If you have any questions or would like to invite us along to any school events, email Barbara Wilson – barbaraw@mstn.govt.nz or call her on 06 370 6300.
The consultation closes at 4pm on Monday 3 May.
We look forward to talking with you soon.
Ngā mihi
Lyn Patterson Kathryn Ross
Mayor Chief Executive
