Assemblies - Friday afternoons is set aside for assemblies. Every alternate week it rotates from a syndicate assembly or a full school assembly. Some children are awarded either ‘Learner of the Week’ or a 'R.E.A.L Certificate'. During whole school assemblies we have a draw for the ‘Responsible Children's Award’ winners. This is where the children have all week to earn ‘Responsible Children's Award’ slips and they are placed in respective containers. Six student’s names are drawn from this collection of slips, and they are offered a prize from a prize box. Chocolate bars are very popular.
Camp – Every year we offer our Year 5&6 students a school camp. One year it will be based at Omaui and each class spends three days and two nights at this camp. The alternate year is a school-based camp where the entire senior syndicate camp together for two days and one night. It seems to be a real highlight for the senior students.
Mitre 10 Tough Kids – Mitre 10 Tough Kids is an event for some of our senior students and is held at a venue in town. It is a privately run obstacle course where the children are guaranteed to come back wet and happy. It is based loosely on the old Top Town competition that used to run many years ago.
Swimming is a programme we offer all our students. The students are bused to the main swimming pool in town, Splash Palace. Middle and senior students usually swim in term 2 for ten sessions and the juniors swim in term 3 for 10 sessions. The programme and transport are kindly sponsored by the Invercargill Licensing Trust so there is no cost to parents.
Retell Festival - This festival is for all Donovan Primary students. They learn to retell a story, fairytale or poem in their own words. The top three in each class compete in the syndicate finals and the top syndicate finalists compete in front of the entire school. Trophies are awarded to each syndicate level. The new entrant students compete for a poetry trophy.
Merit Assemblies – During the last week of the year we hold several assemblies where we recognise our outstanding children. The first assembly is for our Merit Assembly winners. This recognises children who have worked well all year but are not the top achievers. We recognise their hard work and attitude to learning.
Prizegiving – Prizegiving is our final assembly for the year and is an opportunity for Donovan Primary to recognise our Outstanding Effort, and Achievement recipients. There is only one winner in each category in each year level per class. Trophies from the BoT and PTA are awarded to two recipients who show ‘Outstanding Citizenship’, and one trophy is awarded to the recipient who has shown ‘Resilience When Facing Life’s Challenges’. At this assembly, two new school leaders are named for the following year and the current leader’s hand over their responsibilities.
Graduation is a special event for our Year six students to celebrate their time at Donovan Primary. It is usually held a few days prior to the end of the year and begins with a ‘day out’ with their peers and senior teachers. It is followed with a formal assembly in the evening, where each teacher speaks of, and to their Year six graduates. Each student receives a leaving certificate and pen. It is a special time to honour our leavers for their contribution to the culture of our school.
Skiing – Skiing is sometimes offered to our senior students as a one-off trip. This is based on first in first served as the numbers are limited. Bus leaves early to get to Queenstown by 8am and is back around tea-time. It is a long day, and the students travel home very tired, subdued and happy.