Week 4 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

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

Another week, and yet more educational announcements for the sector to deal with. I like telling a story to illustrate my thoughts around these things…and I have some good ones to share this week.

I saw Hazel crossing the road yesterday while doing road patrol, and saw her Dad carrying some green bits of paper. The day before, Hazel had been inspired to start some greenscreening, and that night had carried on some of the work…and what Dad was carrying in that morning got used to tell a digital story using green screen technology. Hazel loves telling a story, and is super capable digitally…and this is one way that she has chosen to do this.

The whole school has been working on Probability for maths over the past few weeks…and it has been awesome to walk through classes, and hear the learning in action. Tally charts, the language, tree diagrams, fractions…powerful stuff!

Vega came to see me this morning, and I had a visit from Blake yesterday…both came to share the coding that they have done in Scratch, relating to the Probability mahi. Vega has coded a rock-paper-scissors game…you click the button, and the two sprites play against each other. He has drawn the rock, paper and scissors images…and they appear. The coding makes the players produce a random response, and it also tallies up who ‘wins’. Blake’s code was a coin flipper…click the button, and the coin flips to heads or tails. It then tallies how often each result appears (he has been learning about theoretical and experimental probability). In both cases…the coding is quite complex, but it is related to their Maths learning

Bea and Lilith have used their Maker Time this week to make a tic-tac-toe game…and it is an excellent reminder of why what we do here is powerful:

They designed, then 3D printed a tic-tac-toe game…the ‘board’ and the pieces needed to play
They designed a spinner with 14 sections, each with a picture of the tic-tac-toe board showing where to place the player's piece. The centre has a little logo and their names
They’ve used hot glue and cardboard joining techniques to fashion a workable spinner
And…they have used their probability knowledge to draw a tree diagram showing the possibilities of a spin, and used fractions to describe the chances.

That is rich, rich stuff (and for the record…I won the game against Lilith).

We even had Bromley School from Christchurch come and visit us on Tuesday. They are an Apple Distinguished School as well, and they were here to look at our learning in action. Very positive feedback from them…particularly around our use of technologies, but also the creative opportunities our children get. They got to see the initial stages of Bea and Lilith's probability work…I wish they could have seen the final product!

In contrast to this…over the last week or so the ‘new’ refreshed curriculums’ (curricula?) for primary schools have been released. For Maths and English this is now the third version we have had in the last three years, all quite different from each other. But new versions of Technology, Social Sciences, The Arts, Science, Health & Physical Education and Languages have been released as well. My overall impression of them is that…while there is some good stuff in there, they are all rammed full of content, and a decent amount of that content is unnecessary. 332 ‘Knowledge’ things to teach, and 257 ‘Practices’ to teach…across the 7 core learning areas…in just Year 1! That is a lot of content to cover (a crazy amount), but to bring this newsletter post full circle:

The changes seem to imply a lot of whole class teaching, and a removal of time for things like play-based learning and Maker projects. All the examples above have happened with the children working independently, and giving them the opportunity to display what they have learned in a form that isn’t just a worksheet or textbook. They are cross curricular, student driven…and they have the time to go deep with the learning (rather than rushing Hazel through nearly 600 bits of learning in her first year of school).
Digital Technologies has been removed from the Technology curriculum until Year 6. Is it right that Hazel’s passion and ability with green screening would have to wait until her last year with us, rather than Year 1 like now?
Computational Thinking (coding) has also been pulled back to Year 6. Is it right that Vega and Blake’s ability and skills in this area not be developed until Year 6? Both boys are Year 4…and have been involved in coding at DPS right from 5 years of age
Probability in the Maths curriculum now doesn’t exist until Year 5…so Blake and Vega wouldn’t have that maths learning behind them to make their coding purposeful, and Bea & Lilith would only just now be exposed to that learning…and would their abilities be so advanced?

All that student mahi that I celebrated above…that is sadly under threat. I work with clever staff at this school, we have a supportive board, a wonderfully engaged school parent community…and an awesome bunch of DPS Kids who deserve every opportunity available to them, right from 5 years of age.

To sum it all up…and to make you think…consider all of the rich, digital learning that your child has done during their time at DPS. Coding, animating, making movies, photography, green screening, digital art, robotics…picture that in your mind, then look at the image below from the new Technology curriculum at the Year 6 level. We are better than this, and I have higher aspirations than this for our children.

Dates for your Calendars

Tuesday 9th December: Final Celebration Time at Wairarapa College
Thursday 11th December: Last day of school, 12.30pm finish

writing from mrs mcphail's class

Here is some of our favourite writing from the last few weeks. We have been learning to make our writing entertaining by adding our characters thoughts and feelings. As you can see we have covered a variety of topics.

subway lunch available every friday - order online or at the school office

change of details

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

Sports

All school teams and draws will be posted on Hero.

Community notices

Sarah McClintock, Aratoi Director, and the Tranzit Group's Managaing Director Paul Snelgrove, warmly wishes to invite you to the opening of two exhibitions on Friday, 7 November, at 5.30pm at Aratoi Wairarapa Museum of Art and History.

We are proud and excited to open Tranzit: Driven to Succeed- 100 Years of Innovation and Exploration and Esther Bunning: The Fractured Light of Being.

Tranzit: Driven to Succeed- 100 Years of Innovation and Exploration is showing in the Forsyth Barr Windows Gallery and the Tranzit Group Social History Gallery.

This exhibition will bring Tranzit’s history to life through memorabilia, photos, old uniforms, oral histories and objects that celebrate its people, its innovations and the future of the company.

It will also feature meticulously painted original oil paintings by former Tranzit team member and artist Wally Trickett and an accompanying book researched with help from respected historian Gareth Winter.

Esther Bunning's exhibition, The Fractured Light of Being is showing in the foyer and are based on the principles of Kintsugi. Ten women share their courage, embracing strength and vulnerability. These portraits honour stories, not perfection- layered and tender, they reveal the fragile beauty of ourselves.

We look forward to celebrating these exhibitions with you!

Please RSVP to info@aratoi.co.nz for catering purposes.

Wairarapa Hunting & Fishing

Scavenger Hunt

At the Wairarpa A & P Spring Show

1st & 2nd November 2025

Not long now till the 146th Spring A & P Show, taking place at Clareville.

The Scavenger Hunt will be happening again and we invite you all to participate! There are great prizes to be won, (donated by Wairarapa Hunting & Fishing) freebies to collect and fun to have at the Wairarapa A & P Show.

The Scavenger Hunt Trail has been a huge success and we don't expect this year to be any different.

On behalf of the Wairarapa A & P Society we thank you for supporting this initiative and look forward to seeing you all at the Wairarapa A & P Spring Show.

(You can pick up a Scavenger Hunt Map in the School Office)