Week 8 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

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

An interesting week here at school. Monday saw our teacher only day, staff coming together and working collaboratively to further understand the new maths curriculum. We worked in our teaching teams, sharing our knowledge and skills, and worked towards some new maths planning. The power in the day came from working together in our collaborative teaching teams.

Tuesday night however saw the release of a TV program looking at ‘Modern Learning Environments’...and oh boy, it wasn’t much fun to watch as a school leader of a school with 4 modern learning environments in it. It was a fairly damning piece of TV, and essentially all our successes, all that we value, all our staff mahi and all our student learning was dismissed as a ‘failed experiment’. Rough stuff! Particularly coming hard on the heels of our teachers working so hard, collaboratively, on the new maths curriculum.

However…

That negativity was totally offset by the incredible learning showcase we held on Friday…’This is Learning’. The event was a huge hit…we had put out 100 chairs in the hall thinking that would be plenty, but instead we had probably the same number of adults standing at the back of the hall, and even more outside. The choir was amazing, the kapahaka roopu were amazing…a great way to start the afternoon. But the absolute win was having you into our classrooms, to see our learning. The positivity, the smiles, the ‘wow’ moments, the proud whānau, proud kids…it was a real joy. Everything shown was ‘normal learning’ - as much as it was a showcase, the learning on display can be seen daily in our classes. Shaun had put together a video to start the event…footage captured from a couple of walks around the classrooms in the lead up to the event…normal, everyday learning…but so, so powerful.

And such a contrast to the messages from the TV show…what they labeled as failure, I saw nothing but hard work and success. Not too bad I reckon for a ‘failed experiment’ school working inside some ‘barns’!

Thanks!

Your support for our Teacher Only Day on Monday was much appreciated, and gave us great time together to delve deep into the new Maths Curriculum. Maths is a real strength of the school, but even we can see how challenging the new curriculum will be to get children to meet these new expected levels. However, Mr Riley led us through a great (but hard!) day looking at how we can more effectively plan for learning against the new document. Thanks again for your support.

Tararua Challenge

RE: Russell Street School Sports Exchange – Tararua Challenge

WHO: Rātā and Kahikatea Year 5/6 pupils
WHAT: Tararua Challenge 2025 – our annual sports exchange with Russell Street School
WHEN: Friday 12 September (Postponement date: Friday 24 October)
WHERE: Russell Street School, Palmerston North
TRAVEL: By bus
COST: Nil

Please see the Hero for further information and to complete the survey. All students need this be completed or they are unable to attend the exchange.

2025 dps lego competition

A huge thank you to everyone who took part in or supported our 2025 DPS Lego Competition. The judges were super impressed by the originality, creativity, build skills, and overall designs of all the entries!

Well done: Zak Thornton-Bolt, Lilith Bodle, Grace McPhail, Maisy & Jackson Hohepa, Teejay Morgan, Henry Sinton, Elliot Don, Meeia Buchanan, and Ari Cornford!

masterton intermediate year 7 enrolments for 2026

All Parents/Caregivers of Year 6 Students who wish to enrol their child at Masterton Intermediate School for 2026 need to complete this online before the end of Term 3. Click on the link to submit your child's enrolment online https://enrolments.linc-ed.com/apply/NZ/2909

illness

We are currently experiencing a significant increase in illness among the students in our schools. To help keep everyone safe and well, we kindly ask that you please keep your child at home if they are unwell. Keeping sick children at home helps protect other tamariki, staff and families, and supports quicker recovery for your child. Thank you for your understanding and support in keeping our kura healthy.

change of details

If you have 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