Author Archives: Jenny

We love Challenge

Posted on by
Today, during Discovery Stations, we talked about why it is important to challenge yourself. The children had some great ideas:

"If you do something and think it is challenging, but keep trying and then eventually do it, you will be so proud of yourself."

"It's important to challenge yourself because otherwise you wont try new things."

"If you are doing the same thing everyday, and it's not challenging, then you wont learn."





These girls found tangram patterns challenging at first, but after some perseverance, they worked out some strategies to make the task at hand easier.  



Fun Times in the Holidays

Posted on by
I went on two planes to got to the USA (United States of America) and I got to watch TV and I got headphones and we were on top of the clouds and it was awesome but we were in the plane for one whole night and I was tired!

by Ishaan

In the holidays I went to the bird park with my Mum and Daddy. It was very very fun. I saw birds, but they couldn't get our because they were in an enclosure. There were lots of birds. They went on my legs. They went on my arms. 

By James

I went to the movies and it was fun. There was a movie called Ice Age. It took a long time to watch the movie.
By Moa

My brother found a drift cart. It had no seat. My brother went to the Z. He pumped up the tyres. We had fun. My brother came back home. 

By Michaela

I went to the competition. I scootered around and landed a tail whip first try. Mum and dad dropped me and Jackson off and Ash was there too. 

By Jamie

Amazing Asia

Posted on by
We have started our Inquiry into Amazing Asia by encouraging the children to generate questions on aspects of Asian culture that they would like to know more about. Here are some of the questions they came up with:


  • How do you count to 100 in Japanese?
  • What does their writing look like?
  • How many countries are in Asia?
  • Are there any things that are similar to what we do in New Zealand?
  • What is the population of Asia?
  • What do they eat?
  • What and how do they celebrate?
  • What does their music sound like?
  • What do their boats look like?
Amazing questions tamariki ma!

We will start our inquiry by looking into our own cultures before looking specifically at Asia. We will then be focusing our inquiry to line up with our 'Make a difference' school value by asking how can we make a positive difference to people who move to Aotearoa from other countries? 

If you have any knowledge or expertise that could support our children in their inquiry, we would love for you to share with us! 

Hillview Cross Country Challenge

Posted on by
On Tuesday, a group of children from Kahikatea represented Beckenham School at the Hillview Cross Country Challenge. The children who went did our school and community proud in the way they demonstrated good sportsmanship throughout the trip. There were 10 schools at the event and the standard of running was high. Never the less, our kids did extremely well and all deserve to be very proud of their achievements.

The official results are as follows:

Year 1 Boys
Isaac 15th
Jamie 20th
Cian 21st

Year 1 Girls
Jayde 1st
Isabelle 5th

Year 2 Boys
Quinn 6th
Fergus 18th

Year 2 Girls
Vida 4th
Caitlin 7th
Maisie 9th
Lola 11th
Freya 13th


A huge thank you to all the parents who helped out, supported and cheered on our runners. We could not have offered this opportunity without you. If anyone has any photos from the event, please email them through, as it would be great for the children to share these with the rest of the Hubs.

Week 9 Newsletter

Posted on by
Kia ora Whanau,

Reading and Library Books

Please check around your homes for any school readers or library books that may be lurking under beds or hiden in book shelves. 

Science Fair

The Beckenham Science and Technology Fair opens on Monday at 5.30. The Kahikatea children will be show casing their learning about Space.

Hillview Cross Country Challenge

Good luck to the Kahikatea children who are representing our school in the Hillview Cross Country next Tuesday afternoon. If your child is competing please ensure they are in suitable footwear, have a warm layer, water bottle and a good lunch with them on Tuesday. 

Keep in Touch

Thank you to the families who have been keeping us informed about their child's absences. If you know your child will be absent for travel reasons, we appreciate plenty of notice, so that we can let their friends know where they are and plan and prepare lessons accordingly.