Author Archives: Amber Donovan

Team Kahikatea Week 4 Term 3

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Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to Week 4! Our teaching and learning programmes are now in full swing, and it's been wonderful to see our new homegroup settling confidently into the breakout space. Next week, Kendall will be welcoming another group of learners from the Koru team. These tamariki have already visited our hub, and their transition is going smoothly as they begin to feel more at home in their new environment.

Supporting Your Child's Independence

We’re thrilled to see so many families encouraging independence by allowing children to come into the hub on their own in the mornings and confidently follow their daily routines. To support this further, at the end of the day,  you may want to establish a designated meeting spot with your child—such as the library steps, hall steps, flagpole, or another agreed-upon location outside the hub. This small step makes a big difference in reducing congestion and ensuring a smooth and safe pickup process. Thank you for your continued support!

Mathematics 

We are now using these fabulous Oxford Maths Student Workbooks. We will be using these once a week to provide students with the opportunity to revisit and practise key mathematical skills and strategies. Our Year 1 students are using book 1, and our Year 2 students are using book 2. 

Maths Week 

Click this link for information on how whānau can access the parent portal and find out more about mathematics in New Zealand schools. 

Next week is Maths Week, and we’ll be sharing a new maths challenge each day! If you’re dropping by, be sure to check out the whiteboard outside the hub and give it a go. Creating positive and engaging experiences with maths is a key focus of the refreshed curriculum, and we’d love for whānau to join in the fun and be part of the learning!

Keeping Ourselves Safe Weeks 5 & 6

This term, as part of our Health Curriculum, teams will be teaching Keeping Ourselves Safe in Years 0-8, supported by our Police Education Officer, Meg.  Click HERE to see more information on our school website. 

The four focus areas in the Keeping Ourselves Safe (KOS) junior primary programme are:

  • I am unique, He taonga ahau
  • My body is my own, Nōku tōku tinana
  • Unwanted behaviour or touch, Kore e hiahiatia te whanonga me te pā kino
  • Adults who help, Ngā kaiāwhina pakeke

What will children learn? They will learn:

  • to work out when their safety is at risk
  • how to keep safe when they meet and mix with other people
  • who and how to ask for help if they, or someone they know, is being abused
  • to go on asking for help until someone does something to stop the abuse
  • that it is important to make and follow personal, family and school safety rules
There will be homework activities for you to complete with your child/children, and we will send these home at the end of each learning session: 
Focus area 1 – I am unique, He taonga ahau
Focus area 2 – My body is my own, Nōku tōku tinana
Focus area 3 – Unwanted behaviour or touch, Kore e hiahiatia te whanonga me te pā kino
Focus area 4 – Adults who help, Ngā kaiāwhina pakeke
 

Welcome, UC Student Teachers 

We are fortunate to have students from the University of Canterbury, and this term we welcome Robert Carpinter to Amber's Homegroup, who has joined us this week and is here for 7 weeks as part of his final placement. Starting on Monday, we welcome Maddison Frame, who will be working alongside Sarah for 6 weeks.

Winter Ills and Chills 

Thank you for keeping your child at home when they are unwell — we really appreciate your support. As is common during winter, we’re seeing an increase in illnesses such as fevers and tummy bugs. To help prevent the spread and ensure all tamariki are well enough to fully participate in learning, we kindly ask that you keep your child home until they have fully recovered.

Friendly Reminders - Library Days 

  • Tuesday: Amber & Talia's home groups
  • Thursday: Sarah & Kendall's home groups
Library books can only be issued when your child has returned one or both books and has their library folder. Please support your child in returning their folder to school on their designated library day.

Smash Play Cricket Sessions 

Our tamariki had two fantastic sessions with Dan on Wednesday and Thursday last week. Here are some photos of the action...














Have a lovely weekend, from team Kahikatea. 

 Lisa, Amber, Sarah, Talia & Kendall 




















Kahikatea Team News Term 2 Week 2

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 Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome to Term Two, and a special welcome to our new tamariki and their whanau. It's a pleasure getting to know you all! 

We are looking forward to our visit to Ferrymead Historic Park next week. 

  • Your child will need to wear their school uniform
  •  A warm jersey or jacket
  • A packed lunch, 
  •  A drink bottle
  • No lunch orders, please 
Children don’t need to unpack their school bags when they get to school. 

School Cross Country 

This will be held on Friday, 23 May. Our children will run in their year groups. Teachers will walk their classes onto the big field for a warm,-up and then each year group will line up ready for their run. 
Year 1 will run at 11.20am (approx)
Year 2 will run at 11.30am (approx) 

We have daily practice runs to prepare for this event, including running on the big field and during our daily fitness sessions. Thank you for sending your child to school in appropriate footwear for running. 

Fraction Fun (MATHS) 

For the last two weeks, we have focused on fractions for our maths learning. Next week, we would like our kids to make Fairy Bread as a celebration of the end of this learning focus. If your child has specific dietary requirements (dairy/gluten), please email your child's homegroup teacher to let them know. 

Dear family and whānau,
This week, we learned about fractions as numbers. We explored the meaning of the top and bottom numbers in a fraction. Ask your child about the meaning of the numbers in a fraction like three-quarters or seven-eighths.
We used two types of material to explore fractions, circles, and rods. Challenge your child to divide circles up into equal parts and to draw a number line showing the size of fractions.


Learning Through Play 

Our beautiful tamariki still enjoy our Learning Through Play sessions with our whole hub. This week included the dress-ups and some disco dancing too! 


























Word of the Week: Honesty 


Honesty means that we are truthful in what we say and do. 

When we are honest, people in our lives know that they can trust us. Trust is an important part of positive relationships with our family, friends, and teachers.



Ferrymead Heritage Park - social story 

Here is the social story we have shared with our tamariki in the daily notices. You are welcome to go over it with your child/ren at home too. 


Book Character Dress-up Day 

Kia ora whānau,
As part of our readathon, we are excited to have a book character dress-up day on Friday, May 16th.
Students are invited to come dressed as a book character or, if they prefer, in their usual school uniform. It is not a casual clothes day.













Kahikatea Team News

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Term 1 Week 5 

Nga mihi kia  koutou, 

Our little Kahikatea team is settling in nicely and we have maths and literacy programs underway. We have welcomed one of the Kowhai homegroups into the atrium space so you and your child need to use our East-side entry doors in the mornings. Bags can continue to be placed in either the green or blue cubbies.  

Professional Development Days 

Sarah and Amber are attending a two-day Literacy PD on Monday and Tuesday next week. 

Michelle Bradley will be relieving for Amber. 

Ellie Galletly will be relieving for Sarah. 


Walk and Wheel Week 

Next week our annual walk and wheel week is happening! Check out the Daily themes and Walk or Wheel website. 

Literacy 

Each child has their own literacy folder and if their teacher gives them a decodable book to read it must be placed inside their folder and then put into their school bag. If you can't see it please come into the hub and look in one of the three blue literacy boxes in the pathway. 

Please return the literacy folder each Friday. Thank you! If you have any questions, please ask your child's literacy teacher. 

Naming Items 

Thank you for clearly naming all your child's personal belongings, these include uniform items (hats, jerseys, shirts, school bag), and their drink bottle and lunchbox. 

Maths

Dear family and whānau, at school this week we are completing a maths unit on native frogs in ponds. This unit is all about how numbers are made up of other, smaller numbers, an essential concept underlying addition and subtraction. The unit helps develop two ideas: 

  • there are a finite number of number pairs for a given number (for example 5 can be thought of as 0 and 5, 1 and 4, 2 and 3 and no other pairs can be found) 
  •  numbers are uniquely paired (if 2 is one of the parts of 5, the other part must be 3). 

Children need to investigate these relationships many times. Once children believe that 2 and 3 is always 5 they see a real reason to remember it. 

At home this week please help your child to solve the inside and outside the house problem below. Encourage them to record the numbers and draw pictures to show people inside and outside. Toys could be used to show these number relationships. Discuss these in your home language also if you wish to. 

______________people live in my house. 

If there are 2 people inside my house then___________people are outside. 

If there are___________inside my house then__________people are outside. 

If there are____________inside my house then__________people are outside. 

If there are______inside my house then______________people are outside. 



Check out some very cool mathematicians!






























Kahikatea Change Health Unit 

We are learning about the concept of change and our focus this term is on the physical and emotional changes in ourselves. We would love for each child to please have a colour photo of them as babies sent to school for some learning we will be doing next week. You are welcome to email a copy to your child's teacher if that is easier for you.



Library Days 

Talia and Amber go to the library on Tuesday afternoon 

Sarah goes to the library on Thursday afternoon.





Thank you for your ongoing support and helpful feedback, we are really enjoying getting to know you and your children! 
If you have any queries or wondering, please email your child's homegroup teacher or pop in to speak to one of us. 

amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
talia.garrick@beckenham.school.nz
sarah.junghenn@beckenham.school.nz


Have a lovely weekend everyone! 
Team Kahikatea 





Thank You!

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 Kia ora whanau, 

Our heartfelt THANKS to all of you and your beautiful tamariki for helping to make a magic year here in Team Kahikatea. We appreciate all your support, help and aroha, and we couldn't have done it without you. 

Have a lovely Christmas and holiday time, and stay safe and well; we look forward to seeing many of you again in the new year. 


For those of you who couldn't make it to our Global Groove End-of-Year Performance, here are some photos of your super kids...












































Class Placements 2025

Teachers will give out the class placement letters before the children meet their new teacher and home group friends. These letters will be put into your child's school bags. 

If your child was not here on the last day to receive their letter Jacky can arrange to email those letters to be emailed on WEDNESDAY. 


Have a safe and happy holiday everyone! 

Amber, Quynh, Ella, Sarah, Megan and Lisa 💜

Kahikatea News Term 4 Week 6

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Kia ora whānau, 

Here we are in Week 6, this term has been zooming along! A special thanks to those of you who assisted us during the swimming sessions in Weeks 3 and 5. The kids were all amazing due to the fantastic organisation and your support. We will have swimming again for Kahikatea and Kowhai in 2026. 

Upcoming events: 

  • Celebrations Assembly - these will be every Friday at 10am until the end of the school year 
  • Kapa Haka - Sarah and Ella's groups will resume weekly lessons with Whaea Kath. These are held in the school hall on Friday
  • Whānau Thank You -  Friday 29th November 8.15am - 9am (invitations for this have already been sent out to whanau)
  • Kahikatea End of Year Performance - Thursday 12 December 2-3pm (in the school hall) 


Transition Visits

During weeks 7, 8, and 9, our Year 2 tamariki will visit the Kowhai hub to familiarise themselves with the spaces and the different resources/play activities they can engage in when they become Year 3s in 2025. These are important visits, and your child/ren may have questions about next year, and we will do our best to answer them! Some children will need more visits than others, and each teacher has a plan for them. Class placements and teachers are still being finalised. 


Staying Safe Online

As young people become more independent online, they can connect and communicate with people they don’t know.

Often this is a positive experience, but sometimes your tamariki could be being groomed or talking to someone who isn’t who they say they are. Netsafe’s advice explains how unwanted contact works, including grooming and what whānau can do to educate kids.


Check out the link https://netsafe.org.nz/grooming-and-online-predators/


End of Year Performance 


We are learning two songs for our EOY performance. Please encourage your child/ren to practise! 


UNITY  & Seven Continents 




More Magic Swimming Moments