Week 10 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

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

Earlier this term we completed some work as part of a study by Auckland and Sydney Universities called the ‘Creative Schools Index’. The study is measuring how ‘creative’ schools are...our teaching, our environments and what we value in learning.

I’m very pleased to say that Douglas Park has come out very highly in the study, above the average for schools in NZ and Australia. What is quite cool about this...the schools who are engaged in the study are ones like DPS who value creativity, who are ‘into it’. For us then to come out higher than the average is an excellent indication that what we do here works. I had a discussion over Zoom with Dr Peter O’Connor from Auckland Uni, and he was blown away by our results and that we are at the highest end of what they are seeing in the study. He pointed out that the results also show that our creativity is backed up with our academic results and that DPS must have the ‘balance’ right between creativity and academic outcomes for students. All very heartening to hear as we have worked so hard over the last 5 years to create a learning environment that allows children to be creative, but still expects highly of them as learners.

This ‘speedo’ dial shows us sitting higher than the average school inside the study.

This spider graph shows part of the breakdown. The Uni’s have identified 11 parts to Creativity, and for all but 2 we are performing higher than the average. Pleasing to see our Core Beliefs feature highly.

Overall the results show us that the direction that DPS is heading, the hard work being put in by the staff is really paying off. Our children stack up academically against other schools, and now we see that they are also performing well at the highest level as creative persons. I’m very proud of this, and I’m excited to see where we take things next.

Learning Conversations

Thanks for your attendance at Learning Conversations this week as we unfolded our new way of reporting progress and achievement. I enjoyed wandering around the classes and seeing how proud everyone was...students, whānau and staff. It seems like our new language and new graphs have gone down well. If you’d like to give us some more feedback...positive or negative...feel free to send it through to me: principal@douglaspark.school.nz

Thanks Rosie and Dani!

Massive thanks! Rosie sold her house through Dani (Bayleys) and as a result DPS gets $500! Very generous, and very much appreciated.

If you are considering listing your house, Dani’s details are at the bottom of the newsletter.

Elise and Kate - Great stuff!

A great link back to our Creative Schools results...these girls have been busy in their Maker Time crafting a novel, and what a great job they have done! The cover and blurb on the back are an indication of the quality, but the work inside is stunning. The story is 9 chapters long (500 words so far!) and follows two horses. The part I really like is that the story is told from the perspective of each horse...each having a slightly different view on what is happening to them. This is a great illustration of what we strive for here at DPS...two students who are looking collaboratively, showing Agency by working on this in their own time and bringing in their reading/writing learning. Academic pursuit coupled with creative freedom. Well done girls.

Holidays!

End of another messy term, and time for a break. Enjoy the two weeks, let the children rest up and we will see you all again in Term 4.

School Office Open

Please note that the school office will be open during the holidays on Thursday 14th October from 10am-2pm.

Check out these awesome learners

We had our team swap day on Wednesday so teachers could get together and talk about our learning data.

It is always lovely to see the students learning together in a tuakana/teina setting.

We had maker challenges, singing, fort building, stories and fun times!

‘The Writing Crew’ from Kahikatea

Students had to write and then use the rich descriptions to draw these illustrations.

What's happening at DPS?

Sport

DPS Athletics Day - Save the date.

Our athletics day will be held on Friday 5th November at the Colin Pugh Sports Bowl.

Community notices

Wairarapa Spitfires Baseball Club

Summer is nearly here and that means the 2021/22 Wairarapa Spitfire Baseball season registrations are now open!

We have club teams available for all ages and levels of experience.

Rookie Ball – Ages 5 to 9 will play on Saturday mornings at Kuranui College at 9am

Minor League U11 – Ages 9 to 11 will play on Saturday mornings at Kuranui College at 10.30am

Intermediate U13 – Ages 11 to 13 will play on Wednesday afternoons at Kuranui College and MIS at 5.30pm

U13 Travel Team – Competitive baseball in the Wellington Regional Competition. Trials for this team will be held at Masterton Intermediate on Thursday October 14^th from 10-12pm. Players must be available to play on Sundays in Wairarapa, Wellington and Levin. For more info contact our Club Captain.

Our Have a Go Open Day is on Saturday October 16^th from 10am to 12pm at the Kuranui College Baseball Diamonds. Come along for a fun morning learning about baseball and free yummy Greytown Butchery sausages.

The baseball season will continue through to March 2022 with a break over the summer holidays.

For more information and to register check out our website www.spitfires.nz, join our Facebook Page Wairarapa Spitfires, or give Club Captain Shane Fawdray a call on 0273955001.

"Red Star Junior Cricket is looking for new and existing players to register to play cricket for 2021,term 4, from year 1 to year 8. Please contact Mark Elliott on 0277890707 or register on https://registrations.crichq.com/register/39321"

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