Kia ora e te Whānau,
Welcome to the Week 8 Kōwhai blog.
Matariki
Mānawatia a Matariki! Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades, which rises in mid-winter and marks the beginning of the Māori New Year. It is a time of remembrance, celebration, and renewal. Over the last two weeks, children have been learning about the different stars that make up the cluster. The nine stars of Matariki are Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-ā-Rangi, Tupuānuku, Tupuārangi, Ururangi, Pōhutukawa, Hiwa-i-te-Rangi and Matariki. In te ao Māori, each star has a special job to do to look after our wellbeing and environment. Please see this slideshow for more information.
On Tuesday evening, we held a Matariki evening at school. It was wonderful to see so many parents coming to see the kapa haka group perform and share in our Matariki activities. The Kōwhai students did a fantastic job performing, and we were very impressed by their effort.
Reports and Learning Conferences
Last week, we celebrated the Kōwhai students' progress and success during learning conferences. Thank you to everyone who came to a conference. It was great to have the opportunity to reflect on the first two terms of 2025 and discuss the amazing learning students have been doing.
PB4L
This term, the Kōwhai students have been engaging in Positive Behaviour For Learning lessons (PB4L) on Tuesday mornings. The objective of these sessions has been to support students to develop social/emotional skills and develop strategies to manage challenges and improve their wellbeing. Over the term, there have been several topics that we have covered. These have included:
Understanding our emotions in relation to cross country
Appreciating our differences
How to be a good friend
For information about Wellbeing at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto please follow this link.
Instructional Writing
Over the past few weeks, Kōwhai students have been learning how to write an instructional text. An instruction text is a type of non-fiction text that provides step-by-step instructions on how to complete a task. The text may include organisational devices. As part of the writing process, students have been learning how to follow a set of sequenced instructions and then write about their experiences. For some classes, this has involved doing some baking and creating!
For more information about instructional texts, have a look at this slideshow.
Ferrymead
The Kōwhai Ferrymead Trip is coming up next week, Tuesday 24th June and Wednesday 25th June (Week 9).
A reminder that on the day your child is attending the trip, they need to be at school before 8:45 am. They will also need to bring:
A lunch box with enough morning tea and lunch for the day
A full water bottle
A polar fleece or jersey
A light waterproof coat if it appears overcast
Comfortable walking shoes
If you have any questions or concerns, please email your child's homegroup teacher or Georgia (georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz).
Head Lice
Unfortunately, we have had a growing number of cases of headlice reported across the school. Can you please check your child's head for eggs and live lice regularly and treat accordingly if detected. The following link has very helpful information about headlice and how to treat it.
https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/head-lice#main-content
Staying Safe Online: Scams
People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!
It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.
Read their scam tips here.
Lost Property
We hope you have a wonderful Matariki weekend.
Ngā mihi,
The Kōwhai team