Week 9 NEWSLETTER

from the principal

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

I’ve been writing about all the wonderful learning opportunities here at Douglas Park, and relating them to our vision word ‘Explore’. Part of the reason for the amazing creativity we see here, for the wonderful academic growth we see here and for the variety of experiences children take part in here…comes down to Failure. We believe Failure is a Wonderful Teacher.

Learning is designed here at school to be accessible, but also challenging. I touched on this last week…we want learning to be ‘Hard Fun’. This means that failure is common, and failure is celebrated as part of the learning process…when you first attempt anything it is unlikely you’ll be a master right away.

Our Play and Maker environments are where failure and challenge thrive. Everyday the children have the chance to build, make and create their ideas into reality…and everyday they run into all sorts of issues, suffer all sorts of setbacks, and come through the other side. Kōwhai have been learning about simple machines (pulleys, gears, fulcrums etc), and this week their play has a robot theme. Kiah brought his robot to show me what he has created with Max. Not just a robot…a robot with a working hand! When I asked him about it, Kiah mentioned that it didn’t work at first, and it took him and Max multiple attempts to get it to this stage AND…what I thought was cool…he was telling me the plans for the next steps with the robot ‘hoping’ that it would work, but knowing that it might not work right away. Awesome mahi lads.

I wandered through Rimu at some stage recently, and Hazel grabbed me again to show me her newest books that she has created…an original ‘Jolly Roger’ tale, and a remake of the ‘Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See’ story. Hazel explained to me how she had been working on these at home as well, and that it wasn't always easy…having to ask whānau to help with some words, but…again…persevering through the challenge to create something awesome.

Kiah, Max and Hazel are the examples in this newsletter…but children Daring to Dream, tackling a new learning challenge, accepting mistakes and learning from them…that is a common sight around the school, and I believe it is a key reason why the school does so well academically and creatively.

Failure is a Wonderful Teacher - I came across this clip recently of Steve Harvey (an American actor, show host) speaking to his audience about failure…and he speaks passionately about how failure leads to success.

I have failed far more times than I have succeeded
You will never succeed more than you fail, that’s not how it works
Failure is part of the process towards becoming successful
When you fail it is a part of the process, keep going…you are supposed to fail
When you fail, be glad about it…everytime you fail you are one step closer

The clip is here if you are keen to view it…(please be mindful of a bit of profanity at the 2min17second mark!).

HERO + Teacher Comments

Teacher Comments will be pushed out via HERO tomorrow (Friday). I wrote about these last week, they are a sum up of your child as a learner and a person. Normally we would also point you to the Graphs and Dials…but these are still currently switched off. Please take the time to read through your child’s comment, leave a ‘like’ and write a comment back.

Board of Trustees - Upcoming Election

It is that time again, Board elections! This year we will have 3 positions up for election, and that process will start for you early next term when nominations are called for. Being on the Board is a great way to give back to the school, and you get to be a part of setting our high level direction for the school, and be a part of decision making around things like property projects. I really appreciate the guidance I get from the current trustees, and look forward to working alongside whomever might be on the BoT after the election.

Keep an eye on HERO for more information.

Pride Day Out

We had a marvellous time at Go Zone on Monday to celebrate those children chosen for PRIDE Day Out. Each term we do something awesome for the children who haven’t lost any golden time across the term, haven’t been involved in any incidents across and the term and who have been voted by their peers as being a worthy recipient. We could easily take nearly the whole school each term based on that criteria, but we do narrow it down to one per homeclass! The children were awesome at Go Zone, big thanks to Joe and Amanda for making a big fuss of the kids down there. As promised…Mrs Bridges raced a bunch of children down the donut slide, and probably didn’t win as much as she expected! My highlight…seeing Abel Dare to Dream and have a turn on the donut slide, racing Mrs Bridges…well done buddy!

SPORTS LEADERS

Beatrix, one of our sports leaders, has been a roving reporter...check out her awesome journalism skills.

Ka rawe Beatrix!

My Movie.MOV

Fodps news

Friends of Douglas Park School – Get Involved!

We’re a group of dedicated volunteer parents and teachers who meet monthly to fundraise and support Douglas Park School. New members are always welcome — we’d love to have more helping hands on board!

Next Meeting:

Wednesday, 23 July - 7:00pm - School Staff Room

Each term we run a different fundraiser — from raffles and delicious pies to beautiful student artwork. These efforts go a long way in supporting our tamariki and school community.

Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to contribute to:

Brand new Jump Jam equipment — a fun, high-energy aerobics programme for our kids
Volunteering at the Matariki evening, including prepping veggies and donating kai
Ice blocks for students after the cross country
Annual contribution to school leavers' T-shirts
Ongoing support for Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) activities
New sandpit toys for outdoor play

Fundraising Highlights:

Pie Fundraiser: Raised an amazing $3,818.90! Huge thanks to our volunteers who sorted 1,971 pies, and to Countdown Masterton for donating banana boxes and paper bags.

Easter Raffle: Brought in $2,700 — thank you to everyone who donated and participated!

Together, we’re making a real difference. Come along to our next meeting — we’d love to see you there!