Kahikatea News Term 4 Week 5

 Kia ora koutou,


It has been wonderful to see the weather starting to warm up! A reminder that all students are required to wear a sunhat for outside play/activities in Term 4. These are kept in hat tubs at school. Students are responsible for ensuring that they look after their own hats and place them back into their homegroup hat tub after break times.

We are also asking that students keep their shoes on at all times (especially outside) unless they are extremely wet/dirty. This helps keep our feet safe and minimises the chance of missing shoes and socks. 

Aotearoa NZ Histories

As part of our Aotearoa NZ Histories Curriculum, the Kahikatea learners have been learning about the first people of Aotearoa and the journey that they undertook to get here. We have been learning about tāngata whenua, Kupe's journey and the waka hourua.

It has been exciting watching this knowledge in our learners develop. 

House Games

Students across the school have been participating in House Games each Monday. It has been a wonderful opportunity for the learners to build team spirit, work with others, and have a great time.







Cashmere Technical Football

We have been fortunate to have some football skills sessions run by Cashmere Technical Football Club. These have been happening on Tuesday (Krystal's & Amber's Homegroups), and Thursday (Katie's & Lisa/Quynh Homegroups) afternoon. 



















Bounce and Skip

The Bounce and Skip monkeys have been having some amazing adventures with our tamariki! We all enjoy seeing what adventures they get up to. We are proud of the wonderful writing efforts of our learners who have taken them home.

When the monkeys come for a visit to your house, please remember to bring them back so they can go on as many adventures as possible.



Ka kite,

Team Kahikatea

Katie, Krystal, Amber, Lisa, Quynh


Kahikatea News Term 3 Week 5

 Kia ora koutou!


Wow, it is incredible to think that we are at the halfway mark of the term! Some fantastic things have been happening in our hub. 

Word of the week - Respect


Maths Week

Last week was NZ maths week. Our tamariki enjoyed many maths activities designed to engage and promote maths within our schools. We created giant graphs and even Mondrian Style artworks - linking maths with art. 

Here are some photos:
















Book Week 

Last week was book week, so to celebrate and share our love of reading we had an awesome whole-school book character dress up day. Can you guess who some of us dressed up as?



















Calendar Art

Kahikatea has been busily working away on their calendar art creations. We can't wait for you to see them! The order forms and the link to your child's artwork will be sent home soon.

































Have a wonderful weekend,

Team Kahikatea

Kahikatea News Term 2 Weeks 7 & 8

Kia ora koutou,

Wow....it is Week 8 already! We are having a blast in Team Kahikatea! As the weather cools down, please ensure your child has clearly named warm clothing. 

Hero Reports are Live

We have enjoyed being able to share the success of all of our learners! Have you seen your child's report? Have you shared this report yet with your child? 

Learning Conferences

These are coming up this week, on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th June. We look forward to meeting with you all. 

This is just a reminder that school will close at 2pm on both days. Children who are usually booked into BOSCO on those days will be able to attend from 2pm. The school will provide supervision for children between 2-3pm IF NEEDED.

Please see your child's Homegroup Teacher if you are yet to book a conference.

Word of the week

Our word of the week last week was FRIENDSHIP.

Below are some videos we showed the tamariki as we discussed what a good friend looks like, sounds like, and feels like.





He aroha whakatō, he aroha puta mai - if kindness is sown, then kindness you shall receive. 

Fun Run

On Friday 2nd June, some of our Tamariki (and awesome parents) participated in the school fundraising fun run to raise money for Trees For Canterbury. It was a fantastic effort by all, we are proud of you and loved cheering you on as you ran lap, after lap, after lap of the field. Below are some photos that were taken. 












Have you got your 'Maths Eyes'? 

As part of our mathematics lessons, we have been looking at everyday images and asking the following four questions:

1. What do you notice?

2. What do you think?

3. What do you wonder?

4. Where's the mathematics in this picture?

Have a go (both children and parents) with the following image. (It's a great way to see the world through a mathematical lens and to build up the skills of communicating using the language of mathematics.)

Photos from our week:
















Thanks for taking the time to read our blog.

Team Kahikatea

krystal.hunt@beckenham.school.nz

lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz

katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

quynh.nguyen@beckenham.school.nz

amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz

Kahikatea News Term 1 Week 5

Kia ora koutou,

Week 5 already! It is fabulous seeing all of our beautiful tamariki so settled into the Kahikatea Hub and doing some fantastic learning. 

Nuts at school - Whānau notice


We are aware that the Kahikatea team has students with nut allergies. Therefore we are asking that if nuts/nut-based products aren't necessary for your child's lunchbox please consider not including them.

The team is also aware that some children have other dietary requirements and their diet may need to be nut-based, so will need nut products to be included in their lunch box.

When the term starts, the teachers will remind the children that at school we eat our own food rather than share with others, along with reminders about handwashing and putting food wrappings in their lunch boxes to take home. This will also include washing their hands after eating nuts to remove any potential residue. 

If you have any questions please contact your child's Homegroup teacher.

Thank you for your support as 'We Get There Together'.

Word of the week

Our word of the week is RESPECT. 

Respect means that you accept somebody for who they are, even when they're different from you or you don't agree with them. Respect in your relationships builds feelings of trust, safety, and well-being. 



Math Focus

This week in maths, some of our learners learned about capacity and how different containers hold different amounts. 

They estimated how many teddies/cubes would fit into different containers, they measured by filling the containers, and they counted the teddies/cubes to check how close their answer was to their estimate. 

It was wonderful to hear the rich discussion about the best way to count the teddies. Depending on how big the pile was, sometimes they counted in 1s, skip counted in 2s, skip counted in 5s and when the pile looked enormous, they skip counted in 10s.


Spare Yarn

During Learning Through Play sessions, we would love to teach some children (who are interested) how to do finger knitting. 

Finger knitting is a calming activity that has many benefits for young children. It builds dexterity and strength in those small muscles which control the hand, fingers, and thumbs. These same muscles are the muscles we use to write, so strengthening them is extremely important. 

Finger knitting also encourages creativity (the creations students can make with their completed finger knitting are endless), hand-eye coordination, concentration, and perseverance. 

In order for us to do this we need some yarn. It doesn't have to be a full ball (small amounts are welcome), or fancy (just regular is fine). The thicker the yarn, the easier it is for children to manipulate. 

If you have some spare at home that you wish to donate, please bring it into the Kahikatea Hub. 


Boxes and Containers

We would love clean boxes and containers for box construction. Children love constructing with boxes and containers and it is amazing to see all the creative creations that our tamariki come up with. 

Don't fill your recycling bin with them - send them our way!

Literacy Videos

Your learner will have brought home a literacy pack in the last week. If you haven't received one, please get in touch with us.

We have recorded some videos to support our whānau with understanding what our literacy stages look like and what you can do to support your learner at home.

Click on the links below to access videos at your child's stage. There are two videos to look at.












Emma Nahna


Kapa Haka


Open Mornings

If you have never had the opportunity to have a tour of the school, or if you would like another look at how the school works, we are offering a series of dates from Wednesday 15th to Monday 20th March. Our amazing School Ambassadors are looking forward to having the opportunity to show you around.
To book a time, please go to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and enter the event code z7fnt.

Sunflowers

During one of our Learning Through Play sessions this week, sunflowers were our provocation (invitation to play).

Some students watched the following time-lapse of a sunflower, and then they had the opportunity to dissect some real sunflower plants. 







House Games Photos




That's all for now! 
Team Kahikatea

quynh.nguyen@beckenham.school.nz
lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz
krystal.hunt@beckenham.school.nz
amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

Kahikatea News – Term 4 Week 5

Kia ora e te whānau,

Week 5 already, what fantastic fun we are having!

Word of the week

Our word of the week is kindness
Kindness is "the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate" (Oxford Dictionary)



Te Reo Focus

This week, our Te Reo Maori focus has been how to ask someone what their name is and how to tell someone your name. The following video has been helping our tamariki learn this knowledge:



Art Lessons

Over the next few weeks, our tamariki will be participating in a sustainable art rotation of 8 different lessons. These lessons cover all four art strands of the curriculum (visual art, drama, dance and music)
They had their first two lessons this week. 

















Reading Books

Please ensure all Little Learners Love Literacy books are returned to school by the end of week 6. This will allow us to do a stocktake and work out what new resources we need to purchase to support literacy learning next year. 

Toys

We ask that our students leave their toys at home when they come to school. We have plenty of fun activities and things for them to play with whilst at school. When toys from home come to school they can get lost or broken. We know how special our toys are, and the best way to keep them safe is to keep them at home.

Photos from the past two weeks
























Ngā mihi nui,
Team Kahikatea

Katie McFarlane 
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

Emma Hayes-Smith
emma.hayes-smith@beckenham.school.nz

Krystal Hunt
krystal.hunt@beckenham.school.nz

Megan Harris
megan.harris@beckenham.school.nz

Lisa Collier
lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz