Showcase

Kia Ora Whanau

RE: Showcase

We welcome you to attend our Pohutukawa and Kauri Team Showcase on Thursday 6th July 2017 at 7:00 pm - 8:15 pm. This event will be held at Hillview Christian School, in their hall (150 Wilsons Road, St Martins, Christchurch).

The following items will be presented during this evening:

  • Pohutukawa Kapa Haka
  • J-Rock Performance
  • Pohutukawa Team Jump Jam Dances
  • Pohutukawa and Kauri Team Citizen of the Week certificates
  • Year 7/8 Choir
  • Band (a group will be decided upon this week)
  • Leadership awards 
  • Intermediate Hub video 
  • Te Whanau Mahi Tahi 

All of our children have been involved in learning a Jump Jam dance throughout this term to share. We are encouraging them to wear:
  • a black, red or white t-shirt or long sleeved top
  • dark shorts or pants 
  • a hat and/or sunglasses (optional). 
It is fine if this outfit is the school uniform. 

If you are available to help set the hall up and pack down, please let your child's teacher know. We will meet at Hillview Christian School at 3:15 for set up and pack down after the showcase. It will involve putting mats and seats out and then putting them away and ensuring the gym is tidy afterwards. 

We look forward to seeing you there. 

Pohutukawa Newsletter – Term 2 Week 8

Kia Ora Whānau

Hub Opening
We had a high level of excitement around our new hub opening yesterday. Here are some of the comments from our students:

James - "I've never seen anything as awesome as this before!"
Brayden - "The inside was amazing!"
Winni - "There were lots of good cubby holes to hide in and it was good because there was a place where you could be noisy and places to be quiet."
Hayley - "You could have fun there and there were heaps of places where we could do work and it was soundproof. I'm really excited about going there."
Nina - "I liked the heated floors."
Angus - "I liked the big stage with the steps where we could sit on. I like the bathrooms. They were so clean! I'm ready to get into it."
Grace - "The kitchen is nice and big and we can cook and bake there easily."

Team celebration day 

We are planning an end of term celebration afternoon on Wed 5th July. Children are invited to bring board games, card games, devices, toys or crafts. These will be locked away in the staff office for safety until our celebration starts.  If they would like to wear a onesie, they can bring it along to get into after lunch.

Lost Property 

We have had a number of school polar fleeces go missing in the last couple of weeks. Can you please help your child check their name tags and ensure all items are labeled. We check our lost property boxes and and return named items daily so items may have been returned to the Beckenham site lost property box outside the office.

Writing

We have been writing collaboratively, motivated by hybrid animals. Part of our writing process was to choose a hybrid and a text type. Here are some examples of our animal hybrid writing:

The EliFly

I can’t help but stare at the deep, bold, teal greeny and golden colours of its elephant ear shaped wings.. flapping like a flightless bird. It puts its long snake like snout into the water for a drink. Splash! The water gets sucked up from the ground like getting taken from a UFO! Slurp!
He must have heard me!

At this moment as his eyes connect with mine and blind me, as bright blue and red rays burst from them, shining directly towards me."'Ahh” I scream. The creature races away from me in fright and as it turns I can see its shimmering golden tail swinging from side to side catching and reflecting the sun's rays. It starts running faster as I chase it deeper into the South Korean jungle. We end up running into a cave.

Just then I see flashes of eyes in the pitch black cave. It’s the elephants pack! I dash off like Usain Bolt, never coming back again.

By Joel and Connor

Cross Country

Cross Country

The children have been training regularly in preparation for our Cross Country Sports Event this Friday. We really appreciate your support. On Friday the children will have an early lunch before bussing back to Champion Street at 12.30. Teachers will lead a course walk to ensure the children are familiar with their route. The first race is the Year 6 girls who start at 1.30. Please ensure all children are wearing suitable footwear and have a warm layer to wear for before and after their race. Any children who are unable to compete due to medical reasons should bring a note from home signed by a parent or email the teacher.

Year 6 Girls – 1. 30 pm Year 6 Boys - 1.35 pm

Year 5 Girls – 1.45 pm Year 5 Boys – 1.50 pm

Year 7 Girls – 2:05 pm Year 7 Boys – 2:10 pm

Year 8 Girls – 2:20 pm Year 8 Boys – 2:25 pm

Thank you to all the parents who have offered to be course marshals. Please meet Jenny by the cricket pavilion at 1.15 to be given a high visibility vest and to find out your position.

Science

Kia Ora Parents / Caregivers

This term, the children in Team Pōhutukawa will be engaged in an exciting interchange programme for Science, Health and Art. One of the topics they will be studying is called “Life Processes.”

In this unit, the children will be learning about DNA, cells, organs and other aspects of the human body. As part of this topic, the children will be dissecting organs from sheep and pigs.

Hygiene and safety will be paramount in this unit. The children will be taught how to cut safely and will be wearing gloves throughout the procedures. They will be required to wash their hands thoroughly after each procedure.

When we’ve done this unit in the past, the response from the children has almost exclusively been that of enthusiasm and excitement. Any children that do end up feeling squeamish, however, won’t have to participate and will be provided with an alternative activity.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

Pohutukawa Newsletter Term 1 Week 10

Alpine Ice

We are looking forward to our Alpine Ice trip coming up on Monday 10th April. This is just a final reminder that each child will need their:
  • Jersey
  • Jacket 
  • Gloves 
  • Warm hat
  • Morning tea
  • Cut lunch (please note that there will be no lunch orders available on this day)
  • Drink bottle 
  • Any special items they may require, e.g., inhaler
  • Spare change of pants, just incase
  • Helmet - compulsory (bike, ski etc)
  • Pants (uniform, or as close to uniform as possible)
  • Thick socks (or 2 pairs). 
It would be very helpful at Alpine Ice if children know their shoe size. Please have this discussion prior to Monday. 


Wellbeing Circle Time

Part of our week is spending time in our home groups unpacking wellbeing. This term we have been focussing on wellbeing through understanding concepts around anxiety, family and hub culture, self-belief and identity. There has been a lot of discussion around how thoughts impact on behaviour and possible solutions for when these are negative. The resource that has been guiding these discussions is a book called 'Rising Tide' which has been put out by Worrybug. Your child will be bringing their own copy home next week for you to go through together and have further discussions.


Christchurch Libraries 

We have been lucky enough to have Kim, from Christchurch Libraries come to visit our team and take each reading group for a 45min lesson around authors, genres, new books and library programmes. 


The following are the library programmes available:

Mon - Science Snippets in the Library 
Mondays (3:30-4:30) – South Library
Free after school science programme presented by Science Alive! in libraries across Christchurch. Excellent Science Alive educators lead children through interactive activities to stimulate their interest in science, and something to take home every week! Cost: Free No Bookings required

Mon -  Maker Space Girls
Mondays (3:30PM – 5:00PM) – South Library - Girls' only version of our Maker Space Workshop.
This dynamic and innovative workshop will explore a range of exciting technologies. There will be four terms: 3D design, Coding and Robotics, Photo editing and Animation, eTextiles and Papertronics
When: Starts week two of every term
Age: 10-13 years               Cost: $20.00 per child per term

Thurs - Busy Book Club 
Tuesdays (3:30-4:30) – South Library
Explore new books, arts, crafts and technology and have after school fun in the library. Busy book club is a free activity that runs over two school terms. When: Starts week two of every term.
Age: 7-10 years                 Cost: Free                           Bookings required

Fri - Minecraft Club 
Fridays, (3:30PM – 4:30PM) – South Library
Get creative, start crafting! Build imaginative worlds and battle nocturnal creatures at the learning centres' Minecraft club. Novice or expert, join the club and play with your friends in our very own world. A tutor will be in attendance to supervise and assist if necessary. Starts week two of every term
Age: 8-13 years                 Cost: $20.00 per child per term                  Bookings required

Sat - Girls Minecraft Club 
Saturdays (2:30PM – 3:30PM) – South Library
Get creative, start crafting! Build imaginative worlds and battle nocturnal creatures at the learning centres' Minecraft club. Novice or expert, join the club and play with your friends in our very own world. A tutor will be in attendance to supervise and assist if necessary. Starts week two of every term
Age: 8-13 years                 Cost: $20.00 per child per term                  Bookings required

Roboclub: An after school programme for boys & girls Y4-8. 
Learn to programme EV3 Lego Mindstorm
April School Holidays – see website
3D Tinker Workshop
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 (9:30AM – 3:00PM)  - South Library Come along to our 3D Maker Workshop and use 123D to create your very own masterpiece.
Age: 10+ years                  Cost: $30 per child                                      Bookings required - limit of 12

Claymation Library
Discover the process of producing animated movies, in a style similar to 'Wallace & Gromit'. Plan an original story, create your own characters and craft your own movie using digital photography. This course runs over two days. See website for more details.
Bookings are required - limit of 12. Please phone to put your child on the waiting list.
Age: 8-12 years                                 Cost: $22 per child

Autumn Sewing
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 (9:30AM – 3:00PM) - Upper Riccarton Library
Fun workshop to learn the basics of sewing using a machine and create 1-3 projects. Choose a cushion cover, pocket scarf, pencil case or library book bag! You will need to choose and purchase your own fabric and supplies beforehand. Bring in your own sewing machine or borrow one of ours.
Ages: 9-12 years                               Cost: $15                              Bookings essential.