Week 9 NEWSLETTER

• Secondly…we have had ERO at school this week. ERO are the Education Review Office, and part of their role is to visit schools on a cycle and evaluate how well they are going. Over the three days here they have interviewed staff, students, visited classrooms, observed teachers, looked at all our documentation and spent many hours interviewing Shaun and I. While we won’t get our report until next year, I can share a couple of things:

  • They loved our play and maker learning environments, and how engaged the children are in their learning. One of the reviewers commented she would have had her children come through the school. 

  • Hugely complimentary of our maths programme, despite it not being one of the government approved schemes. Stunned by the children's mathematical ability, and the way they can discuss their learning (across all learning areas). 

  • The school culture, the relationships between staff and students, student wellbeing, student behaviour…very impressed by all of this. 

  • Our use of digital technologies inside learning blew them away

  • Learner Agency is one of our Core Beliefs…and they said that we have some of the best learner agency they have ever encountered in a school…wow!

  • But the real win is around the teaching and learning at Douglas Park. They use a sliding scale to measure this…No evidence, improvement required, working towards, embedding and excelling. 

    • We had rated ourselves before they arrived as embedding (doing a great job) but…after looking at everything, pouring over our documentation and spending time observing lessons…ERO decided that actually we fall into the Excelling category! 

• The proof is in the pudding, you can’t get praise like that by accident. They mentioned so much more (loved the Wairarapatanga learning, said the school leadership were highly effective, we have great partnerships for learning, the school has strong evaluative capabilities, and excellent professional learning for staff)...but the key ones above really filled our bucket. These are the things we have worked so hard on, the things that we know make a huge difference, the things that bring joy to learning, the things that mean your child is in great hands…and (pleasing to me anyway) these are the things that perhaps the current educational shift would have us move away from, but ERO themselves can see how powerful they are for children. The proof is in the pudding…the school is in an excellent state. Outsiders can see it, and our children (like the Aquabots teams) are living and demonstrating it. 

The Proof is in the Pudding

Final Celebration Time

I look forward to seeing you all next week as we celebrate the 2026 school year at the Wairarapa College Hall (10am start!). This is always a real joyous occasion…seeing the photos from the year, celebrating our learners, recognising outstanding talent, singing together and farewelling our beautiful Year 6’s. 

We have a new award this year - Te Kawenata Tiriti (The Treaty Covenant). Te Kawenata Tiriti recognises a student who exemplify essential Māori values and competencies, ranging from leadership (rangatiratanga) and knowledge-seeking (mātauranga) to cultural arts, sports and guardianship (kaitiakitanga). The award celebrates someone who embodies the spirit of the Treaty partnership through their integrity, deep connections with others, and commitment to the collective good.

2026 Staffing

As I said last week, we are fully staffed for 2026! And, as always, the team at DPS is an energised, passionate and innovative bunch of teachers. Andrea Harvey joins the school from Solway School, she will be in Kōwhai next year. And due to a change in circumstances, Sophie Macdonald will be staying on next year…but hopping across to the Kahikatea teaching team. 

Teacher list below…the first name for each team is the Team Leader:

• Rimu - Hayley, Brooke, Josh, Helen and Kate (new to DPS)

• Kōwhai - Amber, Gemma, Michelle, Becky and Andrea (new to DPS)

• Rātā - Deb Ryan (New to DPS), James, Simon

• Kahikatea - Ginny, Maddie (new to DPS) and Sophie Macdonald

Dates for your Calendars

• Tuesday 9th December: Final Celebration Time at Wairarapa College

• Thursday 11th December: Last day of school, 12.30pm finish

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.