Kia ora Whānau, we have had another busy and fun fortnight in Kōwhai! 

Cross Country

We were so proud of all our tamariki with Cross Country! Not only did they give 100% to the event on the day, they also practised diligently each day for the fortnight before the event. Well done everyone!! Thank you to parents and whānau and friends who came out to support us, or who talked to their students and encouraged them prior to the event.

Uniform

We have noticed a number of students wearing non-uniform clothing to school, such as hoodies, jackets, crocs etc. Please make sure your children are wearing correct uniform items and colours, as detailed here. Please also send children with shoes each day, and if they have gumboots for outside wear, then please still send shoes or slippers which they can wear in the hub. A number of children are also coming to school without a polar fleece or jacket. Please ensure they have both, so that they are well prepared if the weather changes.

Cybersafety - The HDCA for Parents and Whānau

to help people dealing with serious or repeated harmful digital communications. It covers anything digital like text,

emails or social media content. The most useful thing for parents to understand about the HDCA is the way the 10

communication principles define what is good or bad behaviour online. If you’re ever concerned about your young

person (or you just want to brush up on your knowledge!) visit Netsafe’s Guide to the HDCA.

Learning about Recycling and Waste

Last week, each home group enjoyed a visit from the CCC Education Team, who taught us about recycling, compost and waste in Christchurch. We learnt about what goes in each coloured bin, how different materials are recycled and the benefits of recycling. The CCC Educators also told us about some of the amazing technology used in Christchurch's recycling plant and our city garbage and compost trucks, and that much of the gas emitted from our landfill is turned into electricity for the Council building and Art Gallery. How cool is that! Check out photos below, and you might like to play the Bin Good Game at home. Find out about what can go in the yellow recycling bin here.

Book Character Day

Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to our Week 5 blog! Here is some information on what's been happening over the last two weeks and what is coming up. 

Native Nurturing Learning Trips to Victoria Park

We are very excited about our trips to Victoria Park on the 13th and 14th March. Children will definitely need their hats, water bottles, jumpers and lunch box. 

Schedule  

We will:

• Explore the different habitats that exist in Banks Peninsula and identify why they are valuable.
• Explain how plants and animals that live in native forest and tussock lands are interdependent.
• Explain how pests impact our native forests and explore some solutions to these problems.
• Identify actions that they can take to encourage sustained growth of native animal and tree species.

Learn more about New Zealand nature with this booklet from DOC, designed for caregivers and their children.

Maths 

We're so impressed with how quickly students are getting to their maths class and embracing all our different types of learning. All groups are working on place value, number knowledge and basic facts. Each week, students complete exercise and application tasks, open-ended and unfamiliar problem-solving tasks, games and teacher focus groups. The akōnga especially love our introductory 'Rapid Routines'. These are fun maths thinking tasks, such as Which One Doesn't Belong.

Science: Gathering Data by Listening 

During the afternoons, we're enjoying tasks from other curriculum areas, such as social sciences, sport and P.E., science and interpersonal learning. Some classes loved an activity which involved listening to and testing sounds in science recently!

Discovery 

Enjoy looking at our recent Discovery pictures!

Top Team

Today Top Team came to Beckenham and the Kōwhai children had a great time trying lots of different team-building activities out on the park. They worked in teams of 6-8, competing against other teams as they rotated around a variety of tasks. They showed amazing co-operative skills and really embraced the school value 'We Get There Together'. It really was wonderful to see and we are so grateful that the weather turned out so well for us. Have a look at the photos below:

Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kia ora whānau,

Here is an update on what we have been doing in the Kōwhai hub over the past two weeks.

Christchurch South Library Visits

        

Athletics Day

Being SunSmart

Welcome back to school for our final term. It is wonderful to see the tamariki well rested and with lots of energy for the weeks ahead. We hope you enjoy our update. 

Athletics 

We are enjoying our athletics practice sessions at the moment. The whole school athletics event is on Thursday 26th October, and our team will complete their activities from 11am - 12:40pm. Our focus is on the development of the movement skills of run, jump and throw, engagement and fun. A house relay will take place at 2.45. We warmly invite you to join us for this day. Check out the photos below!

Sunhats

These are essential for this term, so please make sure your child has a named hat they can leave at school in their tote tray or in their bag. We encourage sunscreen to be applied at home before school, and we have extra at school that can be applied as children need. Please also make sure your child has a named water bottle at school every day.

Library Trips

We are looking forward to visiting the Christchurch South Library over the next fortnight. Please send children with jackets, jumper, sunhat and solid walking shoes on the day of their trip. Thanks to those who offered to parent help. If you are a parent helper (your child's teacher will have confirmed this with you by email), please be in your child's homeroom class at 1:30pm on the day of their trip. Many thanks.

Anna R: Monday 16th October 1:30-3pm

Anna M: Tuesday 17th October 1:30-3pm

Rowe: Wednesday 18th October 1:30-3pm

Charlotte: Tuesday 24th October 1:30-3pm

Nick: Wednesday 25th October 1:30-3pm

Learning This Term

We have some fantastic learning in store this term. 

Wellbeing continues to be a key part of our programme, which includes both a whole school PB4L focus and daily notice discussion, as well as explicit teaching and learning activities in class each week. Anna Reid has put together an amazing selection of learning activities for us, which covers being a good sport, conflict resolution, how to apologise, keeping things in perspective and gratitude. 

Our PB4L focus this week is being an Upstander. You might like to read this social story at home and discuss it with your child.

Art

Once we have completed Athletics, we will use our afternoon times for art and inquiry. We look forward to learning how to sketch and may make some fun nature creations (thank you Rowe and Anna for planning these for us!). 

Science: Ngā Manu (Birds)

We are also looking forward to a science inquiry into ngā manu, or birds. We will be learning key science ideas, including: 

* Different birds have different shapes, sizes, colours, beaks and feet. 

* All birds have two legs, wings, claws and a beak instead of teeth.

* The structure and features of a bird help it to get what it needs to survive. We can tell what sort of food a bird eats by looking at its beak and feet.

* Birds have adapted in line with their environments and/or to cope around people.

You can help your child by starting to notice the birds in your garden and our local community, and observing their behaviours and features.

Kia ora whānau,

We have had another very busy fortnight completing our calendar art and many more activities.

Keeping Ourselves Safe

We have started teaching Keeping Ourselves Safe (KOS), a safety programme from the New Zealand Police. These lessons will be taught by your child’s homegroup teacher, with support from Constable Meg Moynihan, our local Police School Community Officer. As Anna Reid is away, her homegroup will start the KOS programme at a slightly later date.

What will children and young people 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

What part do parents, caregivers and whānau play?

Parents and whānau are strongly encouraged to support Keeping Ourselves Safe. You can also talk with your child about what they have learnt in Keeping Ourselves Safe and help them with any KOS activities they bring home. Visit the whānau section of the NZ Police Keeping Ourselves Safe website for more information and frequently asked questions.

If you require more information about the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme or wish to discuss the learning, please speak with your child’s homegroup teacher in the first instance.

This programme is divided into focus areas and this week we have discussed the following:

Focus area 1: I am unique, He taonga ahau

For safety reasons, students need to know their name, where they live, and the names of the people they live with. When they can verbalise their feelings confidently, they can report times when they feel safe and unsafe. We also discussed online safety so the students have an understanding of what personal information should not be shared on line.

PB4L and Wellbeing 

Our school uses the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) schoolwide framework, to help our students understand and grow positive behaviours such as kindness, responsibility, respect and positive attitudes towards learning. We have a school-wide Word of the Week, and this week's is respect! Our students loved this song. We also have a learning focus, and this week's is mindset. You might enjoy watching this short video at home.

Gymnastics 

We loved our second trip to the Christchurch School of Gymnastics last week! The students were once more engaged in a variety of activities including swing ropes, trampolining, swing bars, balance beams, rolling, foam pit, rock crawl and more. The instructors were fabulous and were very impressed by the positive behaviour and listening skills of our students. We were all captivated by the dusting of snow on the hills on our ride home in the bus. 

The Christchurch School of Gymnastics offers after school and weekend classes if you wish to pursue this for your child.

Book Character Day

Last Friday was our Book Character Day and numerous book characters came to life.