From the principal: 2023 Term 1 Week 5

Kia ora tātou (hello to all of us)

We have some real sporting successes at DHS but one of our highest stars, and very humble with it, is Ryan Booth. Ryan’s target shooting results at a national level are outstanding and it was nice to see him profiled both in the Malvern News and the following article.

I celebrated a ‘milestone birthday’ this week with a gift of Covid! Seems very 2020s but also frustrating - I’m working from home until next Thursday. It’s a good reminder for me. I did take the day off when I started showing symptoms despite not testing positive until the next day, so hopefully I spared some people. Please do the same for us and, if you suspect your child may have Covid, don’t wait for a positive RAT result - keep them home.

The pressure on our relief of classes is made even higher by the secondary teachers’ union PPTA which has a “partial strike” banning members from covering any classes within school all this term. This is having the effect of disrupting learning right when we’re trying hard to provide our students with the first stable school time in three years. We are trying our absolute best to not affect learning but things like field trips are at risk if we don’t get parent help. At this stage, we hope to not have to roster home. Please note the PPTA’s full strike planned for 16 March: we have several teachers who are not union members available to supervise students but we need to know parents’ intentions for the day so we can plan accordingly. There was a quick response form attached to this email and it’s also linked here.

We’ve had some requests to explain the kupu Māori (te reo Māori words) we use. I’m a big fan of normalising the use of Māori, as the ‘right thing to do’ and for the way the concepts and learning expand our understanding of the world, as well as the unique blend it can make with English language and culture. Māori translations can be tricky as there is often no single word but we will try: better yet is for everyone to access the online dictionary Te Aka linked here as this will accelerate your learning. Remember to look through all the explanations available and select wisely!.

Noho ora mai (stay well)

Andy England

Key dates:

See https://darfield.school.nz/calendar/

Thursday 16 March: possible PPTA strike

Friday 17 March: Endeavour Sports (whole school)

Monday 24 April: staff only day (school closed for instruction for staff learning)

Tuesday 25 April: ANZAC day