Author Archives: Chris Gaut

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 3 Week 8 2026

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Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,

Read on for news and information about what has been happening around the hub in the last two weeks!. Have a great weekend everyone, kia pai ngā rā whakata.

Wow what a busy time we have had in the Pōhutukawa team! Over the last few weeks we have done Cycle Safe, Food for Thought Programme, Special Visit from Ross Meder (Volunteer Ambulance Officer), Kiwi Competition, Beckenham's got talent and many more! 

In class we have been learning about Body Systems. We got our hands on some clay and made some brains! What a fun wee hands on activity to focus in on the main component of our bodies here are some pictures of the creative outcome. 











Operation! 
We have begun the task of building our own version of the game Operation. We will be doing our own copper wiring, wiring it all up together and connecting it all to LED lights and a battery pack. This is how were getting on so far. 








Student Council News

On Sept 18th, next Friday, the Student Council has organised a Heritage Day to celebrate our diverse cultures. Children are invited to come to school dressed in something to represent their family's heritage. This could be a costume, something special about the country or simply wear the colours from the country's flag. Please bring a gold coin for Big Brothers and Big Sisters.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organisation that helps children and young people build confidence, resilience and positive relationships through mentoring.

The programme matches young people with caring adult or older-youth mentors who spend regular time together, talking, sharing activities and simply being there. These supportive relationships can make a real difference to a young person’s sense of belonging, self-confidence and ability to navigate life’s challenges.




Privacy and Social Media

Actively managing your tamariki’s privacy settings on the social networks they use can go a long way

towards keeping control of their personal information.


Any information that is easily available online, whether it’s an email address, date of birth, or pictures,

could end up causing harm if it gets into the wrong hands.


To help you navigate privacy on social media, Netsafe has put together a guide on

How to Use Privacy Settings on Social Networks. 


Have a lovely weekend, Ngā mihi nui. Kia Kaha.

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Chloe, Nick, Kate, Rae, Megan and Laura

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 2 Week 9 2026

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Pōhutukawa Team News Term 2, Week 10, 2026

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,

What a busy few weeks we have had! We look forward to having the chance to connect with you at our Learning Conferences and also see many of you at our Matariki Evening coming up as well.  These connections, and the whanaungatanga that comes with them, are so valuable. They are wonderful chance for the students to reflect on their successes, as well as look ahead to the next two terms. We hope you enjoy some photos of life in the Pōhutukawa Hub over the past busy few weeks. Please take the time to read on for some important information.

Shoes/ Ngā hū

It has been really great to see the students 'stepping up' to show We Care for our school environment by removing their shoes during this wet and muddy season. It really does make a huge difference to our learning space. Our next 'step' in this regard is to continue to work on keeping the shoes in a tidy way. Again, revisiting these expectations at home, as well really helps us to get there together and show kindness to each other for keeping our learning spaces accessible for all, as well as showing We Care for our cleaning staff. A reminder that students can bring slippers to school to wear indoors as well if not having shoes on is a problem. 

Winter Sports/ Hākinakina

Our Winter Sports programme is also now full steam ahead, with all of our students getting some amazing netball, football, flag football and hockey experience! Our teams are enjoying themselves in the South Zone competition and representing Beckenham admirably. A huge mihi, thanks to the parents who are helping out on Thursday afternoons. We simply couldn't do it without your help and support.


Softball Taster Session 1 
"Give it a Go"













BLAKE NZ- Virtual Reality Sessions: Sustainability









Primary Sport Canterbury Zones Cross Country: Nga Puni Wai
Go Chloe!








A nationwide creative writing competition for young Kiwi readers
Every Reader Has A Story … What’s Yours?
Books can stay with us long after we've turned the final page. Sometimes they help us through a difficult time. Sometimes they make us feel understood. Sometimes they open a door into a new world, a new idea, or a new way of seeing ourselves.
How has a book helped change you? 
To help celebrate the inaugural NZ Children’s Books Week: Read Around Aotearoa, the children's book-gifting charity, Kiwi Christmas Books, is inviting
you, the keen young readers of Aotearoa, to tell us a true story about how a book made a difference in your life. Entry
You could win $250 in books for yourself and $500 in books for your school, and have your story published! 


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. 




Stay safe, stay warm,

Kia Kaha

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Chloe, Nick, Kate, and Rae



Pōhutukawa Team News Term 1 Week 8 2026

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Pōhutukawa Team News Term 1 Week 8 2026

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all

A wet end to the week, with quite a number of tamariki absent due to illness. With coughs and colds, as well as of course Covid, doing the rounds, we are being extra vigilant with our ventilation practices in the team, and giving lots of reminders to cough into elbows, wash hands regularly, and be aware of personal space. We hope you all have a happy, healthy weekend. Please read on for some updates and reminders.


Canterbury Hockey Sessions

This week we were lucky enough to have Canterbury Hockey come into Beckenham and run some sessions with us in preparation for Winter Sport. It was great to "have a go" for those who would not normally pick hockey as a go to sport! Thankfully the weather played ball too and we had a great time with the very knowledgeable instructors! Thanks Kate McG for organising these for us! 








Winter Sports Starts Next Term

Our Winter Sports programme starts next Term and will take place on Thursday afternoons. The tamariki will be either participating in competitive hockey, netball, NFL flag football or football. More information will be coming up soon so keep an eye out on the BTKOP SPORTS Google Classroom and the Daily Daily Notices. 

Muddy Months

As we head into the more winter like months we are noticing the inevitable increase of muddy shoes and clothes as students come back from play and lunch, having played sports and games on our beloved Beckenham Park. In Term 2 we will be asking students to take off muddy shoes before entering the Hub and lining them up neatly outside the door. We suggest that if your child is coming home with very muddy clothes, please consider supplying them with a spare pair of school shorts and a spare school top for them to change into once they finish their games. We appreciate your support with this.

Citizen of the Week: Stella



Kete Award Recipients Term 1 Week 8


Jessica and Ivy


Cultural Presentation: Sri Lanka / Madeev





Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto Student Council 2026




 Staying Safe Online: Online Grooming 

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 here.



Have a great weekend everybody, kia pai ngā rā whakatā!

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Nick, Kate, Rae, and Chloe.

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 1 Week 6 2026

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Ngā mihi e te whānau,

Warm greetings to you all. We have had a wonderful 2 weeks in Pōhutukawa. The weather has been mostly welcoming, apart from the wet blast last week, and the students in great spirits!  Please read on for some news from the team, and some updates on the term. Have a great weekend everyone, kia pai ngā rā whakata.

School arrival times

We have begun to notice more and more students arriving at school before 8 am and lingering around either in the park or outside the school gates. A reminder that students should not be at school before 8am, or alternative supervision is to be sought. Thanks for your help with this.

Working Hard throughout the week in the hub! 






























HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!!!


Online Safety: Gaming

Eighty percent of tamariki in New Zealand aged 8-17 have played games online. Games can have many benefits: entertainment, social opportunities, coordination development, problem-solving and multitasking skills. But, most of all, gaming is popular because it’s fun. 


But games can be tough for parents and whānau to navigate. How much gaming is too much? How do I make sure my tamariki aren’t seeing inappropriate content or chatting in-game with strangers?


Today we’re sharing Netsafe’s Online Gaming Whānau Toolkit so you have all the resources you need to keep your kids safe. 


YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/rPN_ev1RSDQ


Have a great weekend everybody, kia pai ngā rā whakatā!

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Nick, Kate, Rae, and Chloe.

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 1 Week 4 2026

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Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,

Huge congratulations to all of the Swimming Sports competitors who represented themselves so admirably this week. Such a fantastic way to show 'We Love Challenge'! Keep an eye out for some photos of the event from our Media Team. Thank you also to the parents and whānau who supported the tamariki at the pool, and in the preparing them for the afternoon. A special mention to those who have qualified for Zones. Nau mai te wero! And so, on we swim into the second half of the term. Please read on for some important information about what we are learning in Pōhutukawa.




Maths and Literacy Groups

Maths and Reading groups have now been established for the past week and we have had the opportunity to see how effective these are for our students. The decision has been made to switch the teaching of Literacy (Reading and Writing) to the home group teacher for 2026. This ensures we have a settled and productive time without any added disruptions moving forward. As of Monday next week, 2nd March, we will put this in place. 

We encourage you to take some time to ask your tamariki to show you what they are now able to access through their learning platforms. These are a great way to keep the learning going at home, too. The treasure is learning, he taonga te ako!



Kapa Haka: Pōhutukawa Team 











James and his Ferndale Friend Albie who joined the Pōhutukawa team for Kapa Haka! Albie loved his time with James. 


Cool Curriculum Classes (CCC Classes)

You may have heard your child talking about our CCC "cool curriculum classes". This is how we start our day; they are a great way to ensure we are teaching all areas of our curriculum. Chris is teachingVisual Art - Drawing and Creating, Rae: will be taking Coding, Nick is working with A.I: Use of Assistive Technology, Chloe will deliver Social Science: History and Kate: Te Reo Māori: Language.

There is such a lot of learning happening over the term in CCC, so we encourage you to keep chatting about what we are covering in these courses with your tamariki. He taonga te ako, the treasure is learning.









Education Outside The Classroom

A visit from Jamie from Trees for Survival.




All You Need to Know About TikTok


Tiktok is one of the fastest growing social media apps. It’s a platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos – and many young people love it! From new dance crazes to funny clips to animal videos, Tiktok can inspire creativity and bring joy.


But it’s important that parents and whānau help their tamariki navigate Tiktok safely. Today we’re sharing the Netsafe Tiktok Family Safety Toolkit so you can help guide your whānau to a fun and safe digital experience.




"Have a Chill Weekend Everyone" -  Maka (Yr5)


The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Kate, Chloe, Rae and Nick.