Principal's Patch
Kia ora koutou
With just over two weeks until the end of the 2017 school year left, we are in our busiest time of the year with reports being proofread, class lists being confirmed and end and start of year organisation being finalised.
Children will be told who their 2018 teacher will be on the last day of term and will then all go in their new learning groups to meet their new teacher. You will get that information in a letter that day with your child's report. Also in that letter will be the information you need to book your start of year learning conference. Some of you may also get a letter about your child's attendance if we have noticed that their attendance has fallen below 85% and we are concerned about the possibility of a pattern being formed.
We have a record start-of-year roll for 2018 and are continuing to turn away all out-of-zone ballot applications, other than siblings. If you do know people who live in zone and are planning on enrolling during 2018, please encourage them to get their enrolment forms in before the end of the year as this helps us immensely in our forward planning.
Building update
We have our penultimate moving day on Monday 11 December when the admin and staffroom will move from their current location to the newly refurbished verandah block. Whilst we can't pretend we are looking forward to moving again, we are definitely looking forward to having the move completed. After that, the only move left will be the caretaker's garage that is to be shifted closer to the old Dental Clinic during the holidays to make way for the carpark extension.
The temporary pedestrian entrance adjacent to the West Hub will have the final fence panel added today. This was always the plan, making the front entrance by the flagpole the primary entrance to the school.
Gift giving at the end of the year.
We are aware that gift giving is one way that people often choose to show appreciation and that this is especially common at Christmas.
This year at school we have talked about the value of showing that 'We Care' through words and actions. Our teachers are talking with the children about the value of making and writing cards, and of doing or making something special to show appreciation or goodwill that doesn't involve buying 'presents' and where the focus is on the joy of giving and the kind thoughts that are being shared.
In line with this thinking, staff very much value a card or email of appreciation from parents and students and they do not expect gifts.
Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Wed 6 DecCanterbury Athletics in Ashburton
Wed 13 DecKauri walk to Victoria Park, 10am - 3pm
Thu 14 DecKoru Team: Rehua Marae Trip
Kowhai visit to Transitional Cathedral 10-10:45am
Fri 15 DecHelpers Morning Tea 10:30-11:30am
Final Celebration Assembly 11:30am-12:30pm
House picnic and celebration afternoon 1-3pm
Mon 18 DecYear 8 Leavers' Assembly - invited Year 8 whānau only due to space limitations
Term Dates
Click here to view 2017 and 2018 term dates.
Citizen of the Week
Fergus Knowles - Year 8
Fergus, it has been a pleasure watching you grow as a leader over the past year. You confidently lead house games and have a strong presence on stage. Fergus, you are a talented young man and this year, we have seen you strive to maximise your natural talents, go the extra mile and enjoy the successes that follow. You are insightful and perceptive; your contributions to learning discussions prove you to be a deep and critical thinker. You demonstrate a love of challenge on the sports field and show dedication to bettering your skill level over a range of sports. Fergus, we love your sense of humour and full throttle approach to life. Thank you for making our hub a fun place to be.
Olivia Kneale - Year 6
Olivia, you are a diligent, deep thinker who consistently displays the school value, 'We Love Challenge'. You give everything a go and always put in 100%. You are an incredible role model for others at school, especially in the way that you respect others and act with kindness. You are an active learner who is always willing to take on extra responsibilities, and fulfill these roles with honesty and reliability. You constantly 'make a difference' by supporting those around you, both in and out of the hub. You have a huge heart and 'care' about everyone's wellbeing. We just love having you in Pōhutukawa Whānau! Ka pai!
Sharing our Learning
Kowhai Team
Marae Trip
On Thursday 16 November we had a wonderful visit to Rehua Marae. We were welcomed onto the marae with a formal pōwhiri. This was followed by morning tea and an opportunity to explore the wharenui and sketch the beautiful carvings and kowhaiwhai.
We were so impressed with the wonderful behaviour of the children. They showed immense respect at all times. Thank you to Sherrilee who taught us about the marae and supported us during the pōwhiri. Thank you also to the lovely parents who supported us on the trip. We hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did.
Athletics Day
Wednesday 22nd was our annual athletics day. It was wonderful to see all the parents at school supporting their children. The Kowhai children competed in five events: High jump, Long jump, Shot Put, Discus and Sprints.
We finished off the afternoon by joining up with Koru to run house relays. Congratulations to Heathcote House for their win. It was great hearing your enthusiastic house chant.
Mandarin
A big congratulations to our star Lauren Maule, who was awarded a certificate of excellence for learning Mandarin. This was awarded at a special prize giving at St Margaret's college. Well done Lauren, you can be so proud of your achievement!
Amazing writers!
Once upon a time there was a man called Maui, he asked his four brothers for some help to go fishing. They hopped into their waka. Maui was paddling the boat when the four brothers were plaiting some ropes for Maui. Maui stopped paddling the boat and he said “I think this is the spot to fish”. The four brothers handed over the ropes to Maui. He put some bait on and threw it into the ocean. Then a big black fish came up, Maui struggled and struggled to get the fish up. Maui’s face went so red and his hands began to slip. He almost had the big fish but it sunk back down into the ocean. He shook with fear. He said “I will never give up!”. So Maui threw the ropes back into the ocean and finally Maui got the big fish up and to his surprise it stayed there. So Maui and the four brothers got out of the boat and started cutting up the big fish. Then the fish turned into the North Island. - By Zara.
Splish splash went the paddles. Plop! Went Beckenham’s hook. Deeper and deeper the hook plunged, dodging any fish that came near until it struck the top of a whare. This wasn’t any ordinary whare, it was the whare attached to the Island under the sea. Beckenham tugged and pulled but the island knew where it’s home was so it started to fight. The island was strong but Beckenham had something it didn’t...courage! Finally the island ballooned to the surface, and what an island it was! It was one of the longest islands Beckenham had ever seen before. Beckenham couldn’t get back to her people. The birds came looking for her. They found her and Kiwi. Beckenham was the first Maori person to ever live. I don’t know what happened to Beckenham. Some say her soul didn’t go to heaven or hell but went to a place where some springs were bubbling, dug a hole and planted herself into the heart of that place. Now it is a school where I wrote this story. - By Kate
School Notices
We are Treemendous winners!
Philippa Wareing, one of our teacher aides, Michelle Maule, Nik Kneale, one of our amazing parents, our ESOL children and our School Council completed an application to the Mazda Foundation for a $10,000 grant to ‘makeover’ one of our outdoor learning spaces.
The team decided the area along the Eastern Terrace boundary was an underutilized area where we could enhance our children’s learning opportunities, easily merging the natural landmarks and incorporating our cultural narrative. This area will provide opportunities where children are stimulated, engaged and involved in exploring their physical environment and it will also be an area of fun so children have the opportunity to relax and enhance their wellbeing.
The school team created a detailed plan of all the children's ideas which was submitted to the Mazda Foundation on 25 October.
On the 6th November we received a very exciting phone call that Beckenham School had been one of four schools to receive the $10,000 grant. This was from a pool of 80 schools that placed an application in.
We will share with you the children’s initial ideas and Nik Kneale’s landscaping plan early in 2018 when we will be asking for a team of people to be on the committee to ensure our plan comes to fruition.
We have booked the Treemendous Team which comprises of; staff from the Mazda Foundation, judges and Rude Kleinpaste (the bugman) for June 15-16th 2018 to put the finishing touches on the area, mainly planting and bark and to have a BBQ celebration.
We would like to thank Nik Kneale for his amazing talent in pulling the application together into a very professional plan.
The Trials of Alice in Wonderland
Over the past two terms, Kauri Whanau have been learning lines, singing, working on their stagecraft, designing and creating props and costumes. We are now ready to share our fabulous production, ‘The Trials of Alice in Wonderland.’
We warmly invite the whole Beckenham School community to share in the fun. There will be two evening performances next week,
Monday December 4th and Thursday December 7th, starting at 7pm. We think the show will run for 60 minutes. Entry is by gold coin donation.
Guitar, Bass and Ukulele Tuition 2018 with Roger Hamilton
Beginner Guitar, Bass and ukulele lessons, both group and some individual are available during school time beginning February 2018.
Roger Hamilton has been teaching these instruments for 11, 3 and 5 years respectively at our school and in 2 other South West Christchurch schools as well.
NB: Children can learn Ukulele from Year 3 onwards. To learn Guitar, you need to be at least Year 5. And bass learning is from Year 6 up. The reason for these limits is the physicality of learning the instruments. Many of my students start on Ukulele and go onto Guitar, they learn a lot of the skills for the guitar on the ukulele by that, plus they know how to play 2 instruments. The ukulele is becoming more and more popular amongst adults as well as children. I recently saw a virtuoso player from Canada on Ukulele play the ‘Jumping Flea’, which is the English translation of ‘Ukulele’. He is known as one of the best players in the world. If you are curious, go to YouTube and search “James Hill. Ukulele”.
If you would like your child to enroll in learning any of these instruments, either call or email Roger Hamilton directly on the contacts below or get a full form from the office and return the tear off section to the school office before the end of the year.
email:
rbhamilt@gmail.comcell: 027 3070466 / 9424619
School Bells
Some of you may have heard the new bell/PA system in action over the past week. The bell sound clearly has some tweeking that needs to happen as it is pretty jangly, and we are grateful to have a bell again after all this time!
We currently have the following bells happening each day:
8:30am (to let everyone know that learning spaces are able to be entered)
8:55am (to signal the start of classes)
10:50am (end of morning break)
1:20pm (end of afternoon break)
3:15pm (time for children to come to the office if they haven't been collected. Only children who are actively being supervised by their caregivers or by BOSCO should be in the school grounds after this time.)
End of Year accounts
You should have received your final end of year account and request for contributions to school activities by email at the end of October. If you didn't receive this, or are not able to locate it. please do contact Vicki in the office
accounts@beckenham.school.nz and she will be happy to print or resend this out to you. Thank you to everyone who has made contributions so far. We would not be able to offer the activities that we do, without this contribution.
BOSCO Gate
This has been repaired today and will be unlocked again as normal at 3:30pm today for BOSCO access.
Canterbury District Health Board Community Dental Service - Dental Visit 2018
The Community Dental Service approached your school regarding visiting during 2017. After discussion with your school, it was agreed that we will delay our visit due to building work on school grounds. We will be visiting Beckenham School during the 2018 school year where we will see all students who are due for their examination.
Year 8 students will receive a letter posted home to arrange their enrolment for dental care under the adolescent dental scheme. If there are urgent concerns about your child's oral health prior to our visit 2018 visit, please call for an appointment at a clinic convenient to you.
To make an appointment you can contact our call centre: 0800846983 or email commdental@cdhb.health.nz
Dental Care over the School Holidays
The Community Dental Service will be providing emergency dental appointments on the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd December available at the following clinics:
Hornby Community Dental Clinic
Northcote Community Dental Clinic
Woolston Community Dental Clinic
Aranui Community Dental Clinic
and from Hillmorton Community Dental Clinic: Tuesday, 9th January – Friday, 12th January 2018 (inclusive)
This service will operate by appointment only and if we are unable to see your child, alternative options will be given. If your child has dental pain as a result of an accident please contact your dentist in the first instance.
New Year Clinic Openings
An emergency dental service will also be offered from Hillmorton Community Dental Clinic and Northcote Community Dental Clinic on the following dates:
Monday, 15th January 2018 – 19th January 2018 (inclusive) and
Monday, 22nd January 2018 – 26th January 2018 (inclusive)
You can phone and make an appointment for these clinics by ringing 0800 846 983.
Yours sincerely
Julie Denton
Service Manager
COMMUNITY DENTAL SERVICE
Lunchonline
At the start of term 1 2018 all existing account holders for Lunchonline will need to log on – click Add / Edit Members – Choose Beckenham School and relevant Year Group. This will update your settings for 2018.
Until the end of 2017 school year you do not need to change anythingSports News
Canterbury Schools Triathlon
The triathlon course at Pegasus is not for the faint of heart. The race begins with a rather chaotic dash into the lake for a 75 or 100 metre swim. Then the real challenge of transitioning into your bike gear while dripping wet begins. If you’ve ever tried to get soaking wet feet into shoes in a hurry, then you’ll understand how hard this is. The bike leg takes you on a 5 or 10 km trip towards the forest. Once off your bike, a 2.5 km lap of the lake brings you across the finish line, tired and happy.
Kaia Joergenson, Rosie Zinzan Dickie, Alex Braun, Ben Evans, Boyd Goldsbury, Jack Barton and Jain Copper courageously took on this challenging event and all ran a race to be proud of.
Registrations are now open for the 2017/2018 Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kid TRYathlon Series!
The world’s largest kids TRYathlon series is back. Open to kiwi kids aged 7-15 years of all sporting abilities, the Sanitarium Weet-Bix kids TRYathlon is a fun day out for the whole family. Swim, bike and run your way to the finish line as an individual or in a team of two, and receive your very own gold medal from top Kiwi sporting stars. Go on give it a TRY!
Register NOW to receive the Early Bird Discount price of only $38.00 per participant. Be sure to link your entry to Beckenham School - the school with the most entries can win LOADS of prizes!!
Sunday 25th February 2018
Jellie Park, Burnside
Congratulations to...
Juliette Gray who has been accepted into the Associates Program at the NZ School of Dance. This is a National Program that caters for students from the age of 13 years. Juliette will travel to Wellington once a term for a weekend and also spend time training in Wellington during the school holidays.
Congratulations also to the following students who sat music exams last term.
I am sure lots of practice has gone into the following results!
Felix Morgan - Initial grade, drums. Merit
Charlotte O'Connor - Grade 1, Flute. Merit
Olivia Kneale - Grade 1, Flute. Pass
Luke Menzies - Grade 2, Drums. Merit
Gemma York - Grade 3, Alto Sax. Pass
Meg Macdonald - Grade 3, Flute. Merit
Georgina Cockfield - Grade 3, Clarinet. Merit
Lucy Gray - Grade 3, Clarinet. Pass
Daisy York - Grade 5, Clarinet. Merit
Jamie Bennett - Grade 6, Bass Guitar. Merit
Sadie McLoughlin - Grade 6, Bass Guitar. Pass
...and congratulations to these three boys who so ably demonstrated 'We Get There Together' this week when very carefully working as a well-oiled team to create a fort with the big blocks in the new courtyard!
PTA NEWS
JUST in time for Xmas & proudly brought to you by Beckenham School PTA - the BECKENHAM TEA TOWELS are back, a NEW shipment has just arrived.
Every...single... street in our school zone has been included in these 2 unique designs!
Printed on 100% cotton, these amazing towels will make a fabulous gift for family and friends.
Get those Xmas orders in... final date for Xmas orders will be Monday, 18th December 2017.
Temperatures a rising in Beckenham...& we're heading into drought conditions....our thermometers have hit 70 deg...actually $70,000 that is!!
With the recent fundraisers contributing the following:
QUIZ: $4k
TEATOWELs: $3.6k
CALENDARS: $2.4k
DISCO:$1k
we are well on our way to hit our target of $115k!!!
A GINORMOUS THANKS to ALL the helpers who gave their time to the Tip Top A & P Show fundraiser over Show Week.
Your enthusiasm for the event & our school was magic! We loved meeting you ALL- parents, grandparents & ex/current students & hope you had an enjoyable time too. Profit from this event will be posted soon.
Remember its not too late to grab a FREE Atlantic Pumpkin seed (1 per family), from the office, to grow over the holidays & enter in the Twilight Fair "Big Boys" Pumpkin Competition on the 23rd March 2018.There are some pretty BIG seedlings out there already!
To keep up to date on what's happening in the PTA world make sure you check out our
website Community Notices
(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)
TimberNook
Christchurch summer programmes open for registration for nature based play! We sold out in the last holidays so be in quick!, 'Going Wild - December' (5yrs-11yrs) - 18-22nd Dec, 'Friends in the Wild' (4yrs-9yrs) - 8-10 Jan,
'Sensory Adventures' (7yrs-11yrs) - 15-17 Jan, 'Barefoot & Buckets' (5yrs-11yrs) - 22-26th Jan. Held locally at 151 Cashmere Road. See our facebook page TimberNook Christchurch NZ or email kim.tenebaum@timbernook.com or
www.timbernook.comThe Parenting Place
Exciting announcement:
Space for You and Your Baby joins Parenting Place!
Kia ora
We have some very exciting news to share with you (and we know you'll be just as delighted as we are).
Space NZ Trust, an organisation offering quality post-natal support, is joining our team at Parenting Place!
"At Parenting Place our ambitious dream is to see every whānau flourish in their relationships. For years we have been walking with families, starting when the child is a few months old. Now, with the integration of Space into Parenting Place, we have the opportunity to walk with parents from the time their pēpē is born. There's nothing more important than a deep attachment between parent and child, and this is what Space is all about. We're excited to work closely as a team to foster strong relationships that will carry families through a lifetime." – Greg Fleming, CEO, Parenting Place
Welcoming a brand new little person into the whānau is both wonderful and challenging as we adjust to a whole lot of 'new' – new routines, new responsibilities, and a new, precious someone to know and love. If you're about to step into parenthood, or if you have friends or family members entering this exciting season, we'd like to introduce you to Space (and hope you'll help us spread the wonderful news!).
We would also like to make special mention of NEXT Foundation and Tindall Foundation for their generous support, and for making this integration possible. "The first 1000 days is one of our key investment areas in education because of the research showing the impact that investment has at this stage", says Bill Kermode, NEXT Foundation CEO. "NEXT is delighted to support the expansion of Space as it integrates with Parenting Place, and sets parents and their babies up for this critical time in life."
Space For You And Your Baby is run up and down the country in local communities. Hosted by a trained facilitator, Space takes place over 20-35 weeks, and is tailor-made for parents and their newborns. Space supports parents to understand their baby and extend their learning and development through education, play and facilitated discussions. Topics include sleeping and crying, becoming a parent, establishing attachment, brain development and early experiences, communication and language development, exploration of play, physical development and socialisation.
We are so grateful to the NEXT Foundation and Tindall Foundation for making this integration possible. "The first 1,000 days is a key education investment area for us because of the research showing the great impact that investment at this stage of life has", says Bill Kermode, NEXT Foundation CEO. "NEXT is delighted to support the expansion of Space as it integrates with Parenting Place to set more parents and their babies up for this critical time."
Space is available through partner organisations such as Playcentres, churches and ECEs. Visit
space.org.nz/home/find-a-space-programme/ or contact our Space team on 04 589 5038 to find out more!
Ngā mihi,
Parenting Place team
