Week 6 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

Vision: Together we Nurture, Explore and Create for a Better Future

Our vision word ‘Nurture’ has many applications here at school...nurturing young talent, nurturing ability in reading...but also helping create a place where we all care and look after one another. We embrace and celebrate diversity, and embrace difference.

Had some very positive feedback around our cross country that relates to this. Children positively supporting everyone, children stopping to check on injuries, children stopping to walk alongside those with asthma, lots of our wonderful support staff and teachers running with children...including everyone in the event. We even had Mr Riley give out an ‘award’ to 3 amazing whānau who cheered away, for every runner, for the whole hour and a half! Amazing.

Another great example coming out of Rātā is the way Nikoli and Dylan have been supporting a student who needs extra support in the classroom...in his learning, helping him with his Maker Diary and building...but, also as a person. Inviting him to play games, to play handball...seeking him out before school and at breaks to make sure he is included. So awesome of these young men!

Nurturing others, and being nurtured ourselves, is an important part of our vision for our learners, and these are some great examples of this.

Support Staff Week

It is Support Staff Week this week, the week where we celebrate our wonderful Support Staff at DPS. Teacher Aides, Cleaners, Office Admin Team, and our caretaker...all support staff, and all awesome. We have amazing teachers at DPS delivering a quality education, but that quality is enhanced by this Support Staff team. Our classes are wonderful to work in...fresh and clean each day, Cheers Ange! Our grounds are beautifully maintained, and any small issues resolved quickly, Cheers Mr Blue! Our school logistically, financially and operationally functions so smoothly, cheers Anne, Sara and Meryl! Our kids also get wonderful care and attention from our teacher aides, supporting them as learners and young humans. Cheers Nicola, Catherine, Andrea, Joe, Kris, Grace, Dan, Tori, Ginny, Sam, Mrs, Blue, Merryn, Jo, Viktoria. People make the Place...a saying I love...and so true, our wonderful Support Staff do make this place...make it function, make it awesome and make it a wonderful place to work and learn in. Happy Support Staff Week!

Neuroscience Lessons for us as Parents

I’ve come across a wonderful, wonderful resource that I’m going to share with you in the newsletter over the term. Nathan Makaere Wallis is a well known NZ neuroscience educator. He has partnered with Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu to create a set of videos for parents explaining the neuroscience of learning.

In this week's video Nathan speaks about The Potential of your Child, and the most successful thing we need to have in place at school...Relationships, Relationships, Relationships (caution...he does swear at 7.20mins!). Some key messages from Nathan:

“The stronger the relationship between home and school, the better the academic outcomes”
- He encourages us to connect, coming into school where possible, getting to know the staff...even just saying ‘hello’. Our termly powhiri welcome is the beginning of this home-school relationship.
“The stronger the relationship between the child and teacher, the better the academic outcomes”
- Nathan encourages schools to have students with their teacher for more than a year. This is something that DPS has always done, we’ve always had composite classes (Year 0/1, Year 2/3 etc). Last year we rearranged the senior part of the school to have two teams of Year 4-6...a 3 year relationship with the teachers. All this is reinforced by our open learning spaces where the children develop positive relationships with not only their homeclass teacher, but the other staff in the space.
“Peer relationships are important, but not how many friends or how often they change...more important is that they have a form of peer interaction, that they have a friend”
- He acknowledges that there will never be smooth sailing, friendship issues will arise and need to be dealt with. He encourages us to be prosocial in our responses, helping to give children strategies to improve their ability socially. At DPS this revolves around things like our teaching of the PRIDE values, teaching kindness, the friendship seat and the use of Circle Time weekly to raise and address issues in a safe way.

For us at DPS this idea of relationships is paramount, and encapsulated in our curriculum framework, our ‘3 circles’.

This framework guides how we want our programs to look, how we want our classes to operate, and the learning experience we want from our learners. Quality relationships...we know they are important, we talk about it often as staff and we get such positive feedback from you as parents about this. One easy example of this...we are the only school around that expects our teachers to coach sport teams across the year. All of our teachers coach teams, myself included. This allows us to see children in a different light, to build that relationship with whānau outside of school and to connect with children across the school.

Enjoy! And give me your feedback: principal@douglaspark.school.nz

Paid Union Meeting - Thursday 1st July: School Finishes 12.30pm

NZEI (The Teachers Union) are having a round of Union Meetings across the country towards the end of term. The meeting that Douglas Park staff will attend is Thursday 1st July. As such, school will finish at 12.30pm that day. We appreciate your support in this.

What's happening at dps?

Stay safe on the way to school, Call in to the school office to pick up your free backpack cover. We have limited stocks available.

WRiting - mr v's homeclass

Hi. It's you again. Let’s play what is the animal. It’s my turn.

So my animal meows.

Ha just kidding.

That’s too easy. My animal has an icy and snowy and dangerous habitat. It’s cute but its mostly cute when it’s a baby.

It can have babies. What’s that you just said? It’s a polar bear? Well, if you did, then you are…. WRONG! In fact, it hates polar bears. It lays eggs and they live far away from New Zealand. If you guessed a fish, you are ….. Wrong! It eats fish!

If you guessed a penguin, you are….. CORRECT!

By Willow

My Mystery Animal

I was strolling down the street and saw a lovely fresh lake. A warm breeze hit my face and I decided to jump in! It was cold as an iceblock! But I continued to swim. In the corner of my eye I saw a greenish brownish creature. It looked slimy but smooth. I turned my head and saw this creature eating insects with its tongue. This animal is my favorite animal. It can be poisonous! It has big bulgy eyes.

What is it?

By Heidi

Wow look Mum a dragon! “Oh stop joking Reece. There’s nothing there!”

No, it’s really there! Look!

“Ok I’m going to look in three two one.”

“See there’s nothing there. Let’s keep on going. We need to go home and cook tea ok?? Ok What is for tea?

“Oh we’re having chicken burgers”.

Mm I love chicken burgers.

Oh, Mum can I go to Kieran’s house tomorrow? “Oh I’ll ring his dad ok Reece?”

Ok mum! Now let’s go and have some burgers because I’m hungry!

Oh the dragon is back and it’s approaching us!

By Reece