Week 8 NEWSLETTER

Alongside (and within) our strong academic programmes, we give our students daily opportunities to be creative, and to find their success. We acknowledge that for some…the academic subjects are a real battle, each day they front up and try super hard, put in the mahi, but it isn’t easy…but, at our school…all children have multiple chances to be successful each day. Sir Ken also says in the video that as a result of the education system favouring academic outcomes as the best measure of success, many children don’t see themselves as successful because “The thing they weren’t good at at school wasn’t valued”...and I’d like to think that DPS does a stellar job of allowing children to Explore their talents and passions, and to be held up as successful young humans. I was reading an education publication this week…and saw the quote below. So true. 

Learning Conversations - Monday 30th March and Tuesday 31st March

Not long now until the first round of Learning Conversations for 2026. These are held twice a year, and form a key part of our school reporting system. What sets the Learning Conversation apart from other ways of reporting…is the involvement of your children. They get to share what they have been learning, what they have been creating, what they are involved in, what they find tricky and what they are most proud of. Teachers get to chip in…talking with you about your child and their learning…and you have your chance to ask questions and have a yarn about your child and their progress. 

Information will come home today…and the booking system in HERO will be opened up. Head to your app, and in the sidebar you can see the ‘School Bookings’ part…and you can manage your booking/s there.

Ngā Tama Toa

We are lucky at DPS to have such passionate staff, and one of the amazing things we have running is our Ngā Tama Toa programme…a leadership and mentoring programme with a Te Ao Māori focus for some of our senior boys. They work with Joe and Hayden each week developing themselves as young men, developing life skills and developing projects around the school. Last week they shifted some plants, cut and laid out some garden edging, backfilled with bark/mulch and created a new garden entrance to the creek. The trees planted there are Pōkākā…as the stream that runs behind the school is the Waipōkākā. They did an amazing job. 

Last week at Celebration Time the group members were announced…and a special moment happened. They were each presented with a leadership badge…like we do for our leadership groups around the school, but this one was special. The boys had designed what they wanted the badge to include, the story and features of it…they had presented that to me earlier in the week…and the badges that they were given were actually made here at school. Hayden and Joe took their ideas, generated an image…got the boys approval…then got trained by Emma to use our new badge maker here at school, and then made the badges! They look stunning…but it is the process that is the win. Students designing something new, seeing it be developed, and then having something made here onsite to represent them and the group. Ka Rawe!

Kahikatea Bake Sale

Thanks so much for your support of the Bake Sale this week, it is much appreciated. We were blown away by everyone’s generosity…especially given the tough economic times at the moment. The food was amazing, the support was generous…and there were a lot of happy children at morning tea and lunch!

Each teaching team does a fundraising effort across the year, one team a term. This allows for a bunch of ‘little extras’ - an additional part to a trip, some extra golden time supplies, new class equipment, new play/making equipment. As we know, school money can only be stretched so far…so these fundraisers make a real difference, thank you.  

Masterton Swim Champs

Well done to our swimmers representing the school yesterday at the town pools. You represented the school with PRIDE, and each race I watched I saw your hard work paying off. The quality of the competition is pretty intense these days…but our DPS Kids did a marvellous job!

Thank you to our wonderful parent helpers, Tessa, Nick and Sarah-Marie, who transported kids and did time keeping for us…without our parent volunteers these sorts of events wouldn’t go ahead, so thank you very much.

Well Done Isabella!

Some success from out of school to share…equestrian success! Isabella and her pony Chloe won Reserve Champion at the recent show, and they also won the Overall Points prize in the lead rein section. Well done Isabella! (and Chloe)

I love hearing about the success of our children outside of school…if your child has done something awesome, feel free to let us know so we can share the success with our school community.

Out of Zone Enrolments

The process for Out of Zone enrolments for Term 3 and 4 this year has started. In the last week of term applications will close…the last day to get them in is Thursday April 2nd. If you live out of zone, and have a child starting later this year…are we aware? The application process is very easy, but if we do not know about your 4 year old…they may miss out on a place. Flick an email to office@douglaspark.school.nz  

Stationery - Payment Reminder

We are very fortunate that our Board of Trustees subsidises stationery each year, helping to keep costs as low as possible for families. We kindly ask that all learners pay the $15.00 stationery contribution as soon as possible. 

Payment can be made online to ASB 12-3290-0064275-00. Please include your child's name as the reference. Alternatively, payments can be made at the office via EFTPOS, or cash can be sent to the office in a clearly named envelope.

We appreciate your prompt payment, as this helps reduce follow-up. If you are experiencing any difficulties, please contact the office - we are happy to help.

Term 1 Sports Fees - Reminder 

If your child is participating in Sport for DPS this term, please ensure the relevant sports fees are paid as soon as possible. 

Payments can be made at the DPS office (cash or EFTPOS) or via online banking:

DPS Account: 12-3290-0064275-00

Reference: Child’s first name, last initial, and the sport they are playing

Gary loves to play catch. He slides around leaving a slimy trail. He eats a lot. One time he ate my door and he snores really loud. He is very shiny because he is waterproof and we give him baths. He is as tall as a small dog. 

Gary makes me delicious honey sandwiches. I have taught him to do bombs with me. He is good, but I am still better. Sometimes he plays video games with me but I always cook him! He trains me to run fast too. 

What I find annoying is when he bombs, he sinks so I have to bring him up and I find it really annoying. It takes 3 days for him to charge so he runs out of battery every 3 days. I really like having Gary around. He’s the best at helping me multi-task and he always keeps me entertained with his silly ideas. 

By Ashton Dyer

Meet my robot, my robot assistant. His name is Dottie. He is the same size as me. He cleans everything he sees, even dog poop. Dottie is faster than a cheetah. and me and he’s pretty smart. He can cook too. He's a good cook who makes me breakfast all day. He's really nice to other people and me. Dottie is waterproof. His favourite game to play is tag. He has long legs, long arms, a short tail and little feet but he is still the same size as me. He doesn't eat too much, but he does make food. His favourite song is bye-bye bye-bye.

By Bowie Harrison

If you have recently moved house, had a change of phone number, or any other contact details of your child/children have changed, could you please let us know at the school office by calling in to see us, phoning us on (06) 370-0189, or sending an email to office@douglaspark.school.nz 

All school teams and draws will be posted on Hero.