Author Archives: Katie McFarlane

Kahikatea News Week 7 Term 2

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Kia ora e te whānau, 

Term 2 seems to be speeding by! We have been having a busy and wonderful time in the Kahikatea Hub, and we hope that you are all been keeping well.

Cross Country

The kids had an amazing time at the Cross Country on Tuesday this week! They should all be very proud of themselves for giving it a go and trying their best. Thank you to the whānau that were able to come out and support the kids and to everybody for supporting your kids.


Positive Behaviour for Learning

As part of our school-wide Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L) program, our focus this week has been learning about and using EMPATHY. Kahikatea learners have spent time discussing what empathy looks like, sounds mean tand feels like.

Dress Ups

As the weather is becoming colder we are finding ourselves taking part in a lot more indoor activities. One of our beloved activities is the dress ups. If you have any dress up costumes that you are no longer using please consider sending them our way. The kids would love some more options!

 

 

Upcoming Events:

Matariki Whānau Rōpū Hui

We would like to invite you to our first Whānau Rōpū hui of 2022. Matariki is the start of the Māori new year and a time of reflection, connection and planning for the year ahead. We would like to celebrate with you and your whānau on the 22nd of June from 5pm.

5:00pm - Welcome & Performance - Te Whānau Mahi Tahi

5:20pm - Move to hubs - Matariki activities

6:20pm - Return to hall - performance by Pōhutukawa and Kōwhai joint kapa haka rōpū

6:45pm - Hāngi (for those who have pre-ordered hāngi)

Nau mai, here mai. All Welcome!


The Christchurch Antarctic Centre

We are very excited to be visiting The Christchurch Antarctic Centre on Thursday, 23rd June.

 

Thank you to all those parent/whānau who have volunteered to assist. We now have sufficient numbers of parent/whānau helpers. Thanks everyone! 

 

Some important information:

  • Katie and Emma’s homegroups will be leaving school at 9am and will return by 12:15pm.

  • Please ensure that if your children are in Emma or Katie’s homegroups that they are at school on time on Thursday as we need to be boarding out buses at 9am.

  • Amber and Krystal’s home groups will be boarding their bus at 11.45am and returning to school by 3pm.

  • Please ensure that your child is dressed in their school uniform.

  • Please ensure that your child has a warm jacket/clothing.

  • Please ensure that your child has comfortable shoes.

 

Learning Conferences

Learning Conferences will be happening during the last week of Term 2, on Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th July, from 2:15pm - 6:30pm. To book your conference, go to http://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/abad8

Reports will be available the week prior. Learning Conferences are an opportunity for you to meet with your child's home group teacher and discuss their progress and next steps.

 

Thank you for all of your support! That's all for now,

 

The Kahikatea Team

 

amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz,  katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz, krystal.hunt@beckenham.school.nz, emma.hayes-smith@beckenham.school.nz

lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz,




 Take a look throught this important social story all about our upcoming trip : 


Kahikatea News Term 2 Week 3

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Kia ora e te whānau,

Here is the latest news from the Kahikatea team.


The Christchurch Antarctic Centre

The Kahikatea tamariki (children) and kaiako (teachers) are very excited to be heading to The Christchurch Antarctic Centre on Thursday 23rd June. The purpose of this trip is to consolidate the learning that our ākonga (learners) are doing this term around animal habitats.

Katie and Emma's home groups will leave school at 9am and return at 12:15pm, and Amber and Krystal's home groups will leave school at 11:45am and return at 3pm.

The curriculum achievement objectives that we are focusing on are...

Learners will...

- recognise that all living things have certain requirements so they can stay alive.

- recognise that living things are suited to their particular habitat


During our time at The Christchurch Antarctic Centre, the children will experience...

- a guided tour through the Antarctic Attraction and Penguin Encounter

- an 'Antarctic Storm' in the Snow and Ice Room

- a walk through the interactive gallery

- meeting some huskies


In order for this trip to go ahead, we require four parent helpers to come along per home group. You will be assigned a group of four to five children to supervise during the entirety of the trip.

Please email your child's home group teacher if you are able to help. 




Literacy in Kahikatea


We love literacy! Here is an example of how our timetable currently looks in regards to literacy. We will share more about maths and other learning areas in future blog posts, so check back in again soon!





That's all for now,

The Kahikatea Team

lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz
krystal.hunt@beckenham.school.nz
emma.hayes-smith@beckenham.school.nz
amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz


Kahikatea Newsletter Week 5 Term 4

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Kia ora koutou, It has been a busy couple of weeks for the Kahikatea team! A big highlight was our Year 0 to 4 athletics last week, which included adapted long jump, shotput, hurdles and relays. 
All our tamariki participated in each event with their house group, and it was wonderful to see our kete values in action!










As always, our hub has been a hive of activity. Here are some pictures to show you some of the things we have been up to during Learning Through Play.
























That's all for now!

Team Kahikatea

amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz
charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

Week 7 Term 3 Kahikatea – Welcome Back!

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Kia ora e te whānau,

It has been wonderful to be back at school for the past two days! Our hub has been a hive of activity since the children arrived on Thursday morning. Here are some photos of our wonderful children in action.






























We hope that you have a lovely weekend, and we look forward to another week of fun and learning next week as we venture into Week 8!

Katie, Amber, Lisa, Charlotte, Sarah

katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz
amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz
charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz



Kahikatea Newsletter Week 5 Term 1

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Tena koutou,

It has been a fun-filled couple of weeks in the Kahikatea Team. We have really enjoyed continuing to build relationships with your wonderful tamariki.

Here is an overview of our weekly timetable: 


Kahikatea Treaty

We have developed our Kahikatea treaty for 2021. We have been discussing each point with our home groups. Please feel free to read this with your child/ren!


Literacy

Teachers have been busy completing key assessments in preparation for beginning our new structured literacy programs.  We appreciate that many of our parents are keen to see books and materials coming home and will let you know very soon when you can expect to see reading folders and materials  coming home. 

During these first school weeks we have been exploring fundamental literacy activities and developing phonological awareness (skills in identifying and manipulating units of spoken language). We have been exploring oral language and the structure of writing through creating shared texts. In addition, we have enjoyed a variety of texts, including non-fiction and poetry. We have explored The Treaty of Waitangi, Chinese New Year, and the history of toys, through texts and hands-on experiences. We have also been loving our library time! 

Here are some pictures showing our learning: 















Request for materials

Many of the tamariki enjoy making masterpieces during our learning through playtime. If you have any of the following items, please send them along to school, and we will make good use of them!

- Small boxes, e.g., cereal, muesli bar, toothpaste, washing powder

- Plastic containers (clean), e.g., shampoo, washing liquid, soap

- Corks

- Buttons

- Fabric


Ferrymead Heritage Park 

The sun shone for us last Wednesday as we set off for Ferrymead Heritage Park. We had an amazing day of exploration and learning. Each group had the opportunity to learn about the following:

  • Heritage games
  • Homemade toys
  • Science of toys
  • Maori toys and games
We even got to have a ride on the tram! 

For our inquiry, the tamariki have been making connections between old and new toys, how toys work, the use of different materials, and have had many oral language opportunities to share about their favourite toys. 

A huge thanks to our wonderful parent helpers. It is because of your generous support that we can do such fun, engaging and memorable trips.




































Wellbeing

We have weekly wellbeing sessions in all teams. Over the last few weeks in Kahikatea, we have been learning about the importance of:

  • Making new friends
  • Self-confidence
  • Teamwork skills/co-operation
We have been reading stories, watching info clips, and also sharing our own stories about the importance of these competencies.

You might like to talk with your child about these things, and share your own stories about how you have made friends, challenges or benefits of teamwork, or what you say to yourself to feel confident in tricky situations.

Useful guides to help Christchurch parents to support their children with emotions and wellbeing: https://www.allright.org.nz/tools/parenting-guides


Library

Each home group has the opportunity to visit the library once per week. Our library day is MONDAY. Please ensure that your child has their library folder at school every Monday. Children are allowed to issue two books and must have their library folder to transport these home. 


Sunhats at School

We have been noticing that many children in our team often don't have a hat at school. In Kahikatea, all children keep their hats in their home group hat tub at the end of the day. This is to ensure that every child has a hat during Term 1. If you would like to wash your child's hat, please do this over the weekend, and return it back to school on Monday. We prefer that hats do not go home at any other time.

Parent Playground Roster

A big thank you to Katherine Christensen for offering to organise our parent playground roster. It will be wonderful to have extra adults out in the playground during lunch play to ensure that our tamariki are safe and happy.

Lunch play runs from 12.40 - 1.20 each day. Being on the parent playground roster is a wonderful opportunity to observe the dynamics of your own and other children playing in the playground, as well as being involved in the school community.

If you are interested, please contact Katie with the following information:

  • Your full name
  • Contact number
  • The names of your child/ren
  • Day/s of the week available

katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz


That's all for now! Katie, Amber, Charlotte and Lisa

katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz

charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz

lisacollier@beckenham.school.nz