Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Thank you all for the amazing way that you have adapted to our new way of being for Alert Level 2. The drop-offs and pick-ups have been going extremely well and many of the children have also had the opportunity to demonstrate new levels of independence a result.

It has been wonderful to see the learning happening again across the school.

A happy face back learning at school! Outdoor Play Space redevelopment It has been very exciting this week to see some key elements in the new outdoor play space be fitted including the slide, balance beams, bark areas and today, trees! The Greenscapes team will be in tomorrow morning to do some final planting and we are getting VERY close to being able to open up this space!

Staff Only Days - during Term 3:

We had planned to have a staff only day in Term 2, and another in Term 3, however, due to lockdown, these dates have been reviewed. We will now be having two staff only days during Term 3. These dates will be:

• Monday 20 July (meaning that Term 3 will now begin on Tuesday 21 July)
• Monday 31 August

It is important for families to be aware that these days are built into our calendar and result in the school staying open for two days longer at the end of the year than we would be doing if we didn't take them. They are not days that are taken at our discretion and not made up.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal

Important Dates

Citizen of the Week

Annabel Aitken - Year 3

Annabelle, you display a positive attitude to all aspects of learning. You are a role model in our hub who naturally demonstrates our school values and this has seen you always willing to lend a hand or help others who need it. You regularly take on extra responsibilities and can be relied upon to fulfil these a high standard, with a smile on your face. You are a star, Annabelle, and we are so proud of you. Tino pai!

Orders for Lunchonline will recommence on Wednesday 25th May.
To place an order, visit the Lunchonline website, click on the button on the top right-hand corner of the page that says "Place an Order" and then either log in or create an account.

School Photo Orders

The order forms for the school photos taken last term have been handed out to the children.  These are due back this coming Thursday, 28th May.  Please return them to the office,  Please ensure that the name of your child and their teacher's name are written in, on the details part of the envelope.
No late orders are able to be accepted.

CSM Bands in Action

Training Band

Concert Band

Lost Property

At the end of school today, we had two items of lost property in the Sandwich Road Bike area...

We think that the owner of the pink scooter below has taken home another pink scooter that is the same make and model - but with identifiable difference in the handgrips... if this looks like yours, it has been taken home by the student who was missing hers, and will be returned to school on Monday to be swapped over!


There was also a very nice pushchair left in the bike area after school today, thankfully without any child in it! This has been brought into the office and will be there on Monday morning for the owner to collect.

It’s been a very quiet few weeks for the PTA. Along with the rest of the world we are rethinking our schedule for the rest of the year. Many of what we had planned won't be able to happen, but we are hoping to still do some fun things to support the school community where we can, so watch this space, and our Facebook page to see what we manage to get up to.
If you need some uniform items, The PTA Second Hand Uniform shop will be open again from 25th May, every Monday and Friday, 2.30 - 3.30, but to keep things safe we have to open by appointment only. The easiest way to get in touch is to fill in this PTA google form with your name and number.   You can also call the school (3371404) and leave your details with reception. We will be in touch to arrange a time and let you know the details of where to go.

Next PTA meeting: Wednesday 27th May. 730pm.This is likely to be a zoom meeting - details will be sent out when details are finalised.

It’s great to have the kids back at school, we are looking forward to catching up with everyone soon.

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Congratulations for making it to the end of Week 3 of Term 2, in Lockdown at Alert Level 3.

Below is our Celebration Assembly video for this week and, as you can tell just by the cover shot, lots of fun was had in the making of this! (When you click on the link, you may find that the option of watching it in YouTube gives a better viewing experience).


The celebration assembly video is a great example of the progress that both our staff and our learners have made over the past weeks in terms of their confidence in using new technology for both teaching and learning, and communication. No doubt many of you have had similar experiences in your bubbles, learning to use new technologies to connect with other bubbles, with workplaces, and with services that we are used to dealing with in face-to-face situations.

The good news this week is that we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, and yesterday's descriptions of 'life at Alert Level 2' are particularly encouraging for us in Education.

After we hear the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday about 'when' we will be moving to Level 2, we will email you all again with more detailed information about what that will look like at school.

In the meantime, here are some key principles about what we know already:

• Schools will restart properly for all children on the first Monday after we return to Level 2
• Schools and Early Childhood Centres are safe environments for children, young people and staff. 
• Additional public health measures are in place to prevent the spread of disease, and at school, this will include
• ensuring those who are sick stay at home
• maintaining physical distance (in schools this means children, young people and staff maintain a physical distance so they are not breathing on or touching each other)
• focus on teaching children to practice healthy handwashing, coughing and sneezing
• frequent use of soap & water, and hand sanitiser
• keeping track of visitors to the school to support contact tracing

Sandy Hastings

Principal - Tumuaki

Devina Dev - Year 8

Devina, you are such a self-motivated and responsible learner. This has been even more evident during our time of learning at home. You seek feedback on your next steps, you ask clarifying questions and you are always polite and appreciative. You are seizing learning opportunities and making the most of this time to further your knowledge and skills across the curriculum. He taonga te ako.

Ella Newton - Year 8

Ella, we have seen such positive growth in you as a learner. You put thought and effort into all of your work and you are showing more confidence in sharing your ideas with others. You are a kind and caring person and it's obvious that you enjoy being with your circle of friends. Your writing skills are shining through and the Kauri teachers look forward to seeing you blossom even more this year. You are a star Ella! Ka pai!

Community Notices

Forest Run Fest: Frost Edition 2020 

The Forest Run Fest is a morning for all levels of walkers and runners to get out there, compete and breathe in the fresh winter forest air with your family and friends. It's a fantastic opportunity for families to set goals and work towards a challenge to achieve together!
There's a distance to cater for all abilities and ages!

Half Marathon
10KM
5KM
Kids 2KM (10 years old and under)
When: Sunday 5th July
Where: Bottle Lake Forest, Christchurch
For more information and to register click here

See you at the start line!

Circus Quirkus

The live performance of Circus Quirkus NZ 2020 had to be cancelled due to the unique situation we are all experiencing.
Here is the Link for Episode 1 of 3 of Circus Quirkus NZ - 2020 Online.

https://vimeo.com/415323817 - (Password = Rotary)

This has all been made possible by the Rotary Club of Christchurch Sunrise, our local Business Community, and Individuals to allow your clients and their families to enjoy our wonderful online show from the comfort of their own bubble.

Viewing is currently available.

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Stones painted by Sandy's sister, and donated to veterans at Rannerdale Veterans Rest Home

What a strange, and busy term this has been so far!

Some very exciting news this week was the starting of five New Entrant students! Avery special lockdown welcome to them! What a story they will have to tell their children about how they started school without leaving their front doors! We send out a very warm Beckenham welcome to these new students and their whānau and look forward to welcoming you on-site in person once school begins again.

We'd like to send huge congratulations to you all at home, juggling the challenges of being in lockdown and supporting your children with online learning. We absolutely take our hats off to you all for the extra time that you are giving your children with their learning and we have loved seeing and hearing about all the different ways that families have chosen to take on board the different learning possibilities over the past couple of weeks.

With the long weekend coming up, and a move to Alert Level 3 on Tuesday, we are all shifting gear again and will be adapting to the adjusted requirements on us all in this new level.

As you have probably heard, via various sources, Monday is the public holiday associated with ANZAC Day, and on Tuesday, schools across the country have been given a Staff Only Day for preparation for moving to Level 3.

Whilst our staff won't be setting new learning challenges for Tuesday or commenting on children's learning, we know that some of you will want your children to continue on with selecting from the learning options that are available through our website, through Google classroom (seniors) and through Seesaw (juniors).

New learning challenges and videos from staff will be posted ready for Wednesday morning.

What will school and learning look like next week, under Alert Level 3?

Online learning and connection with teachers will continue throughout Level 3 for all children.

From Wednesday 29th April, we will have a skeleton staff on-site during normal school hours and we will be operating two separate school bubbles of learning for children who have no adults at home to support them. Thank you to everyone for responding to our survey and for letting us know about your particular circumstances and needs. We have been able to limit the number of bubbles of children at school to two bubbles. This shifts 4 teaching staff from the online role that they have had so far, to a school-based role. This means that through Level 3, your children may be being supported by a teacher who is different from their usual home group teacher, as their home group teacher may be at school.

From next week, teachers will be focussing on giving feedback to, and engaging with the children in their learning, and won't be making as much contact with caregivers, unless you request it. If you would like to talk with a teacher, please DO get in touch via email or through phoning Jacky on 03 337 1404 and requesting that the teacher calls you back.

We understand that this next two weeks puts new challenges onto some families with workplaces expecting more of people turning up to work in person or online. We do want all caregivers to remember that you have complete say over how much, or how little you decide for your children to engage with the online learning... so that your family can continue to function successfully. Our staff are completely here to support you and will provide more or less support, as you need and request it.

As we will have children on-site during school hours next week, please do not come onto the school grounds during school hours if you are out for a walk. We will be working extremely hard to maintain the small school bubbles that we are creating, and thank you for staying away during this time to keep everyone safe.

On Monday or Tuesday, there will be a special email going out to the families of children who will be at school during Level 3, including more detail about school bubbles and how they will operate, drop-off and pick-up times, emergency contact information and procedures, and what children need to bring with them.

The office will not be open during Alert Level 3. Inquiries can be made by phone 03 337 1404 or by emailing office@beckenham.school.nz and Jacky (from her virtual office at home) will answer those calls and respond to emails during normal school hours.

We are very excited to be planning our first 'virtual' Welcome Assembly! Staff are secret-squirrelling away to create something new and special, which will be posted in Google Classroom and Seesaw on Friday 1st May so keep a lookout for that!

Thank you all again for your support through this pandemic.

Our thoughts are with you all, and we wish you all a safe ANZAC weekend.

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy and the team

PTA News

Hello from our bubbles to your bubble. Not much PTA action this term, but we do have a few thank yous to give. Firstly, we wanted to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks for all the wonderful support from our school whānau in the lead up to the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Twilight Fair. We were blown away by the kind and generous donations of time, service and prizes. It was so disappointing that it couldn’t happen when we had done all the hard work - and almost all we had left to do was enjoy it, but given the clusters that were brewing all over NZ, we are glad the Fair wasn’t one of them!!

We also wanted to give a massive shout out to all the staff at school, who are working super hard getting the online “school” up and running so that learning opportunities and connection with teachers can continue despite our lockdown.

We want to acknowledge as well you, the parents and caregivers! We are all dealing with unique challenges: managing work, preschoolers, school children, high school children, grandparents, supermarket shopping, all while we are juggling massive amounts of uncertainty: some days with more success than others. Thank you for your patience, your time and your kindness. Like everything else our community has dealt with, we will get through this together. Kia kaha - keep up the awesome work!

Lastly for a wee bit of fun, visit our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Facebook page to have a look at the Guess the Baby Competition. Click the link - Guess the Baby and check out how cute our lovely teachers were as babies! We have a few spot prizes to give away to random guessers - so it may be worth your while :). Competition is closing on 29 April 2020.

Following the Prime Minister's announcement, at Alert Level 3 Mainland Uniforms will only run through contactless shopping. Though our physical stores are closed, we will be able to process and courier online orders and orders through phone or by email daily from 28th April 2020.
 Online shopping as usual. https://www.mainlanduniforms.nz/
 Ordering through phone or email and payment by Credit Card
City Store: 03 3776771 Email: City@mainlanduniforms.co.nz
All orders are delivered via courier. Free delivery for over $50.00 purchase.
$5.00 delivery fee for purchase under $50.00.
Thank you very much for your understanding and your support.
Stay safe.
Best regards,
Mainland Uniforms Team
21042020

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Just a brief newsletter today to say "Thank you" for the way that you have engaged with our staff this week, as we have been contacting you to help understand how your bubble is working and where learning at home might fit in for you and your family. I also want to say a huge "Thank you" to all of our staff, for their flexibility, adaptability and 'courage' in embracing new online platforms and ways of working to bring learning to your children at home.

Our first priority this week has been to make contact with each family and make sure that every family could access the different online platforms that we are using. We have encountered such a range of different situations that you are all trying to manage - from 'prefer to carry on in holiday mode', through to 'feeling overwhelmed by the challenge of keeping your own work-from-home life going whilst trying to oversee childrens' learning', and everything in between.

We are all in this together, and this is a work in progress for everyone, in our school and across the country. Our staff are completely united in focusing on having the wellbeing of our children at the centre of everything we do, and are energised (as well as being occasionally overwhelmed) by the new challenges that learning online has presented us.

Now that we have a better sense of where our families are at, we will be continuing to adjust the learning options that we offer.

We acknowledge that many of you are also dealing with significant other challenges in your lives at the moment, that the lockdown has only made more difficult and isolating to deal with. We may be able to connect you to support networks, including Mana Ake and a Christchurch Methodist Mission Social Worker, and there are other pathways we may also be able to recommend. If you would like to discuss any needs, please email Sue, our Deputy Principal sue.leadbetter@beckenham.school.nz and she will be very happy to offer support.

Moving to Alert Level 3

As you will have heard yesterday, the government are starting to outline what life might look like when we move to Alert Level 3, and to describe with more clarity what this timeline will be.

They have shared some initial thoughts about what this will mean for Education. Like you, we are waiting to hear what this means for school in more detail, and we understand that the Ministry of Education will be working frantically over the coming days to provide us with more clarity.

I do expect that there will be things that we will be

Getting Support during times of challenge...

For support and advice on any parenting issue; if you need someone to talk to about what is happening in your family, or need some advice on how best to support your family, call our free parenting Helpline on 0800 568 856. Available from 9 am – 9 pm 7 days a week.

Online coaching
Online coaching to develop parenting strategies or coping skills you can implement straight away.

Our parenting coach can support you with strategies to help in chaotic situations, create structured routines that best support your family, suggest strategies to stop unwanted behaviour, create plans to achieve a calmer household and learn how to work together as a team, etc.

30 mins or 60 mins sessions available via Zoom. Call 0800 568 856 to book an appointment or read more here: www.parenthelp.org.nz/coaching

Affordable counselling

We understand that in this strange new environment we are in that all relationships can be tested and we urge you to reach out for support. Our counsellors offer therapy online via Zoom or via telephone. We offer a 30-mins free initial appointment.
Call 0800 568 856 to book an appointment or read more here: www.parenthelp.org.nz/counselling

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

With so much information and misinformation swirling around about COVID-19, I wanted to share with you what will happen if we were to have a case in our school community. We have been planning for this and are in a position to respond quickly.

• If a case is confirmed in our immediate school community (eg. a student, staff member, or member of their household), the Medical Officer of Health and Ministry of Education will inform me about this, and we will work together to get quick and clear messaging out to you
• If there was a case confirmed of someone in our school, we will likely be asked to close temporarily by the Medical Officer of Health. This will allow time for close contacts to be traced, appropriate testing to be undertaken, and a careful clean of the school to be undertaken.
• If our school does need to close temporarily, we are developing a plan to support student’s learning.

We know COVID-19 is on everyone's minds at the moment and, of course, people are concerned about the wellbeing of our children. Please be assured that with no case confirmed in our school, your children are safe here.

Good hygiene is a priority at school, and we are reinforcing this regularly with all students and staff. We know that practising good hygiene is still the best thing we can all do to prevent illness. Tony has taken on a new title as 'Hygiene Manager' and you will see him about the school with cleaning equipment doing additional cleaning of our high use areas such as external sinks, taps and water fountains.

We are getting the most up to date advice and guidance that is available, with two Ministry of Education updates coming into my inbox each day, so that we can confidently make informed decisions about the safety and wellbeing of our school community. 

Together we can slow the spread and a new whole of government website United against COVID-19  has been developed using information primarily from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education website. The Ministry of Health latest media updates are also on this site.

For COVID-19 health advice and information please continue to contact the Healthline team (for free) on 0800 358 5453. For those who have recently been overseas, they can register with Healthline online.

Healthline’s main number is still the one to call for non-coronavirus health concerns – 0800 611 116. Whichever number you call, you will get professional health advice and information.

People can also contact their GP directly. Shortly the Ministry of Education expects they will have more contact information to share.

The Ministry of Health have created a series of information sheets that provide answers to some common questions about COVID-19 that you may want to access.

When is sick, sick?

The messaging remains clear – that if you are feeling unwell please stay home, and the same goes for children and young people.  However at the tail end of a cold, there will be runny noses and probably some coughing. This might be worrying for some people who are being vigilant about their own and others’ health.

A diagram has been developed by Associate Professor Dr Siouxsie Wiles (Auckland University) to assist you when considering symptoms. What it tells us is:

• A dry cough and a high temperature are common to both flu and COVID-19
• Sneezing is not a symptom of COVID-19, however if someone has COVID-19, then sneezing can spread droplets containing the virus

As adults, we have an incredibly important role in filtering the information that our children get about this pandemic. We need to be very aware of not overloading them with the news of this from around the world, and use family time as time where the TV and News bulletins are turned off. They need as normal a world to live in as we can all create for them at the moment, and that is our primary role. I strongly urge you all to minimise all news discussions and content to times that children are not within hearing, and to focus your attention on the positive ways that you and your children can Make A Difference in our community, and show that We Get There Together, and We Care!

Changes in how we operate at school

Close contact in a school, especially in the learning hubs, is inevitable, and unavoidable. It is not possible to ensure that we have 100 or more children all maintaining a 1.5m distance from one another in the learning hubs. What we can mitigate, is further situations of close contact beyond the hubs. For this reason, we have cancelled whole school assemblies in the hall for the time being. We are also closing the library from Monday as this is a place where children from all different hubs come together at break times, in very close contact. If children have books that they have finished reading, they can drop them in the returns box outside the library door. We won't be issuing any books to children at the moment, however, teachers will be able to get out books to read to the children.

By mitigating the groups who have 'close contact', we will be reducing the number of close contact follow-ups that might be required should we have a confirmed case of COVID-19 in our community, such as happened in Logan Park last week. This would mean that we should be able to minimise the close contacts to the team, rather than assume that everyone across the school is a 'close contact'.

According to our pandemic plan, I now have an official new role and title - that of 'Pandemic Manager'! (Believe me - if I could manage it away, I would!) I have summarised my job description for this role as primarily being:

• To promote confidence for the community, staff and students that we have got this! We can carry on as ‘new' normal and adapt confidently to a changing landscape
• Keep you and our staff and board informed and up to date
• Liaise with the Ministries of Education and Health as required
• Monitor and review our planning and preparedness
• Ensure we are following our plan

Kia kaha koutou
Sandy and the team

Important Dates

Citizen of the Week

Robbie Mitchell - Year 6

Robbie, you are an amazing role model in our hub. You aspire to do your best in everything you do and you always rise to the challenge. We love your sense of fun and you are a very kind, caring and loyal friend. You are an extremely positive person to be around and you help to make everyone feel good about themselves. Tino pai!

Eddie Elphick - Year 8

Eddie, you have grown as a leader and learner within our kura. You are compassionate and thoughtful with a quick wit to boot. When you step up to lead, the respect and trust that your peers have for you is clearly evident. When it comes to learning, you embrace opportunities to improve by responding to feedback and giving your best effort. Thank you for all that you bring to our Kauri whānau.

School Notices

Staffing Update

We are very pleased to advise that we have appointed Rob Proffitt-White as our Acting DP from the start of Term 2 to the end of the year. Rob has been working in Australia for many years, developing and running professional development for teachers around mathematics teaching, and has been working with the DMIC (Developing Mathematical Inquiry) team here in New Zealand, who have been supporting our teachers. Rob is very excited to be able to continue working with our teachers in supporting our teaching of mathematics, as well as getting to know our students and their whānau.
\

Rob Proffitt-White

Donovan Bixley didn't make it today

Our Kōwhai students were naturally very disappointed that the author and illustrator, Donovan Bixley, who was going to be visiting today, had to cancel his trip to Christchurch. Scorpio Books have been in touch and will deliver any books that were ordered next week some time.

Kapa Haka is a happening thing!

This week was the second week of kapa haka for Pōhutukawa and Kauri students, and the first week for our Kōwhai team.
We are really excited to have this back up and running with Whaea Cath (pictured below).

Whaea Cath - Kapa Haka tutor

Update on the Fonterra Milk at School programme

We have been invited by Fonterra to switch from individual cartons of milk to 1L cartons, and serve the milk in glasses. We are very keen to make this switch as it will support the environment. We are in the process of investing in a new dishwasher and oven for the hall kitchen and when these are purchased and installed, we will resume the milk programme. This is likely to be at the start of Term 2.

Healthy Ōpāwaho Update from Cleo, Anna & Ben

As the Healthy Ōpāwaho student leaders for 2020, we want to make a big difference to the health of our local Ōpāwaho river. We have recently been on another trip with the rest of the young leaders. We travelled on a urea powered bus along the river. Our first stop was Napunawae, then we took a walk to a swampy area. We made many other stops along the way to the river mouth including a lot of reserves, and we spoke with a lot of people from the Department of Conservation, Rangers and other river experts. We also took a stop at South Library to look at water clarity and invertebrates in the river. We also did a short talk on the bus, about our school and the importance of our ponds.

Mana Ake “Drop-Ins” are continuing…

A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on alternate Wednesday mornings (28/08) from 8:30 – 9:30am. These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here: Mana Ake booking  The code to use is 88t39. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office and she will make a booking for you.

Diverse Learners

This year we are continuing with 2 projects / inquiries from 2019 around our diverse learners.
Beckenham Ferndale Inclusion Project (Partially funded by the Ministry of Education)
Beckenham Diverse Learners Project (Partially funded by the RTLB service)
Over the next few weeks we would like to share some information about both projects

Beckenham Ferndale Inclusion Project
What is Ferndale?
Ferndale is a specialist education school based in the East of Christchurch, catering for 100+ 5-21 year olds with ORS (ongoing resourcing) funding.
The Base School is in Merivale (main hub, admin, classes, school hall etc)
There are many satellite settings which cover primary, high school, tertiary/community
Satellite provision creates opportunities for:

• all students to be with their peers in their local community,
• all students to learn about each other,
• all staff to learn from each other.

Ferndale Base School, and satellite classes

Beckenham and Ferndale staff have been working together to enrich and strengthen our partnership so all children and staff benefit from the experience of being on site together.

Mainland Uniform Update

Due to the current situation with Covid-19, we would like to encourage all customers to use our online shopping system as much as possible, this would help protect families and our staff.
Our stores will continue to be open until further notice and our online service will be available to process your orders daily.  We appreciate your understanding at this time.

Please use the following link for ordering online: https://www.mainlanduniforms.nz/178-beckenham-school-city-store

Junior Neighbourhood Support

Elissa came to appoint the Junior Neighbourhood Support Leaders for 2020. These students have been chosen to take on these roles this year and they look forward to working on projects within the school to build community and help the environment.
You can still nominate children for awards for those children who go above and beyond to help others in their community, animals or do things to help the environment. Examples would be volunteering, reporting things that are dangerous, helping in emergencies and being connected citizens. Nominations can be submitted through:
http://www.nscanterbury.nz/junior_neighbourhood_support

Swimming Sports

Congratulations to our School Swimming Champions
Year 5 - Archie Arnott and Ashlyn Taffs
Year 6 - Tahere Taylor and Stella Gillman
Year 7 - Zoe Clarke and Cooper Reddecliffe
Year 8 - Abby Cockfield and Thomas Lyall

Our school swimming sports is concluded by our House Relay and what an intense and exciting finale that was. In the end, Heathcote took the victory with a very convincing win. Well done to everyone involved.

Zone Swimming Competition

Congratulations to all of our swimmers who represented our kura at our zone swimming meet on Wednesday. The level of sportsmanship displayed by all was exceptional and made me incredibly proud to be standing alongside our team. I would imagine that there would have been some tired voices after all the cheering from the Beckenham bleachers. The tamariki swam incredibly well against tough competition. The awesome results detailed below reflect their training, dedication and perseverance.

Thomas Lyall - 1st Backstroke and 1st Butterfly
Abby Cockfield - 1st Freestyle
Year 7 relay team (Fergus McMillan, Olive Morel, Cooper Reddecliffe and Zoe Clarke) - 2nd
Fergus McMillan - 1st Backstroke and 2nd Freestyle
Zoe Clarke - 1st Freestyle and 1st Breaststroke
Cooper Reddecliffe - 2nd Breaststroke
Emma Reedy - 2nd Backstroke
William Pooch - 3rd Backstroke
Archie Arnott - 3rd Backstroke

PTA News

Thank you all for the support in organising the Fair!
As you are already aware the decision was made to cancel this year's Twilight Fair. This announcement was made with a very heavy heart. The Fair Team strive to make this event fun and memorable for all involved and we have had incredible support this year from our wider community.  We were so excited for this week to begin as our final countdown began.

We want to say a very big thank you to all of you whom had volunteered your time to work on a stall, donate baking, donate seedlings and preserves, offered your time to help set up or be dunked by some crazy kids armed with balls - you name it - we do have an incredible
community that gets behind us.

Post cancellation events

The week building up to the fair is an immense task for Fair Team to co-ordinate so the decision was made early enough so we could make alternative arrangements of items donated and food product that was being purchased among many other logistical arrangements. With the support of the community we continued with raffle ticket sales, showcased Class Art and Silent Auction Items, had a Big Container Twilight Fair Sale & organised Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Pumpkin Competition. Thanks to everyone who grew or decorated pumpkins - they look amazing! At the end everyone who entered was a winner, but we also had overall winners! Congratulations to:
Harvey Hunter for Big Boy Pumpkin
Austin Reddecliffe  for Tiny Tot Pumpkin
Mia Aramowicz for Best Decorated Pumpkin
Andrew Gillespie for Best carved Pumpkin

Twilight Fair Silent Auction goes Online!

 At this time of global uncertainty, the health, safety and well-being of the community must stand at the forefront of any decisions that impact all of us and Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA has decided to replace its live Silent Auction with online Auction: Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Twilight Fair Auction. The auction is starting symbolically at the moment of the Fair opening 4.30pm on 20th March and closes at 7.30pm on 27th March.

Don't hesitate to peruse our list of Action Items. Anyone with a link to the auction can view it without having an account. And oh boy do we have some great items thanks to the generosity of our amazing sponsors! Did we mention that we have on the list a stunning Pastel & Spray painted Art Piece of Black Peak in Wanaka, courtesy of the fabulous Jane Guise Artist. An account is only needed in order to bid. Requiring an account for bidding makes it easy for auction administrators to identify and communicate with bidders during and after the auction.



Have in mind that starting bit is set up to the amount of existing bids done while the Silent Auction was on show in Kōmanawa. We would suggest to the bidders who put their offer already to create account for the Online Auction and keep an eye on their preferred items ;).