We have had another very busy week, with leadership, duathlon and zone swimming sports. A special well done to those children who have stepped up to show they love challenge. It was heartening to see the number of children giving their all during the duathlon on Monday. We are now settling back into routine. Please check out the important messages below.

Leadership Week:

Last week was filled with lots of learning, laughter and leadership experiences. We have had such good feedback about the Year 7s, from their day leading in the junior classes. The Year 8s really made the most of the opportunities on their two day camp. See the photos at the end of this post. A big thanks to Simon, Cory and Nicola, who helped out over the two days. Also thanks to Sandy and Jarred for stepping in when my voice disappeared! 

World War One Inquiry:

This week we have leapt into our inquiry: 'Walking with an ANZAC'. The children have each been given an artefact that links to a New Zealand soldier. This artefact is linked to a website which will guide the children on a journey to research their soldier. There was lots of excitement today when the artefacts were handed out. Tomorrow, Thursday, we are off to the Airforce Museum to learn more about World War One.

Cheese roll fundraising:

Have you ordered your cheese rolls yet? A big thanks to the 13 families from our hub who have. We are aiming for 300 dozen and so far have orders for 95 dozen.  Please click here to place your order.

Our cheese roll making days are two weeks away on Wednesday March 28 and Thursday March 29. We need parent help with supplying equipment and supervisory manpower. Please click here to indicate if you can help.

Comedy Night Fundraiser:

Make sure you have marked Saturday April 7th in your diary. This is the evening of our comedy night fundraiser. Jenny will be contacting the parents who offered to help soon, to get the organisation for this evening underway. We have the comedians  booked and the alcohol licence sorted, so we are well on the way.

Dunedin Camp $$:

The exciting news of the week came when we heard that The Southern Trust agreed to grant us money towards our transport and accomodation costs for camp. We have set a target to raise $2000 from our cheese roll fundraiser and another $2000 from the comedy evening. When all the sums are done, the cost of five days of awesome learning experiences in Dunedin, including accomodation, food and transport, comes out at $160 per child. We are thrilled to be able to get this camp to such a reasonable price. A huge thanks to the Southern Trust and those supporting our fundraising projects.

Being leaders in our junior hubs.

Year 8s unlock the maze, in silence!

Tarryn inspired us with her passion for volunteering.

Catching the bus into town was a great experience. We 'sharpened the saw' at the Margaret Mahy playground.

A bedtime story before settling down for the night.

'Thinking win win', the children worked together on the climbing challenge.

Taking up the duathlon challenge.

Throughout the next two terms we will be passing on information about high school open days.

The link to the cheese roll order form didn't quite make it onto the newsletter this evening, but never fear, here it is.

Order your cheese rolls here.

We are underway with our leadership week. Year 7 enjoyed learning about the '7 Habits of Highly Effective People' in a practical context on Monday. Jarred will be in to work with our Year 7s on Thursday and Friday, while the Year 8s are on their leadership camp. 

Parent Helper Needed:

We still need one parent to accompany us on our trip to the Airforce Museum next Thursday, from 10am until 3pm. Please email nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz if you can help.

Technology:  

We are concerned by the growing number of children who are being dropped at South on a Tuesday morning. On the odd occasion when students need to be dropped at South, e.g. following an appt,  please contact Jacky in the office to let her know that this is happening.  The child must report to reception at South when they arrive.  Please contact your child's home-group teacher if you have special circumstances that require your child to go straight to South on a Tuesday. 

Year 8 Leadership Camp Final Reminders:

Our Leadership Camp for Year 8 is almost upon us. Here are some important final reminders.
Please bring food donations to school tomorrow, Wednesday. 

• Mountains (Nicky's home-group): A packet of breakfast cereal
• Forest (Hannah's home-group): Some baking
• Coast (Jenny's home-group): A bag of fruit

Arrive at school at the normal time on Thursday. Take bedding and bag to the nook on arrival. Bring a packed lunch for the first day. We will be back at school before 3pm on Friday. If you need to contact us in an emergency, Nicky's cell is 0276229403. 

Fundraising:

Our next fundraising project is the making and selling of cheese rolls. Order forms will be coming out next week. We got great feedback about our delicious cheese rolls last year. Please spread the word far and wide so that the orders flood in!

Duathlon:

The last day for duathlon entries is tomorrow, Wednesday.  Course maps are available from our theatre.

Next week:

Monday: School duathlon in the afternoon.
Tuesday: Zone swimming sports all day.
Thursday: Trip to the Airforce Museum for writing motivation.

Photos:

One of the synergy activities the Year 7s did on Monday, was to make a container to catch water. The children were in pairs: one couldn't see and the other had lost use of their arms. There were a number of very successful containers and also a number of rather leaky ones!

We are currently in the middle of our art week, with a daily dose of visual art. There are three collaborative art pieces being created, which will be auctioned off at the school fair.

Camp Fundraising:

Many thanks to those who offered to help with fundraising projects later this term, particularly our comedy evening on Saturday April 7th. If you are keen to help and have yet to complete the form, click here.  This week we are selling banana berry smoothies at lunch time for $2. Year 7 & 8's day is Friday.

Many thanks for the team who manned the sausage sizzle last weekend. We made over $800 towards our Dunedin Camp. A big thanks to Countdown for providing all the food and equipment.

Writing Motivation Trip:

On Thursday March 15 we are off to the Airforce Museum for a writing motivation trip. The only cost is the bus fare and we will let you know that cost as soon as the quote comes through. We would like to take three parents with us for the day. Please email your home-group teacher if you are able to join us.

Duathlon:

Entry forms for the Year 5-8 Duathlon are now available. Children can pick up a form from the box in the theatre. Entries need to have signed parental permission. The hand in box is also in the theatre. The event is on Monday March 12th in the afternoon. A course map will be available by the end of the week. We encourage children to enter as a personal challenge, however they need to have a reasonable level of fitness.

Leadership Week:

Tama from Attitude.inc got us thinking about personal leadership in his presentation on Monday. He will be back to deliver workshops as part of Leadership Week.

Next week is our leadership week - exciting! Please read either the Year 7 or Year 8 information below, as the two groups have different programmes.

Year 7:

Year 7 have a leadership day on Monday. They can wear mufti to school on this day. We have introduced the 7 habits of highly effective people to the children, however on this day we look at the habits through a series of practical activities. Later in the week the Year 7s will work in pairs to plan an activity to deliver to a small group of younger children.

Year 8:

Year 8 have a leadership camp on Thursday and Friday, March 8 and 9. We will be based at school on the Thursday, venturing out after dinner for some physical activity. We sleep overnight in the hub. On the Friday we head off to Spencer Park at 9:30 and return by 2:30 - 3:00. Children need to bring their lunch on the Thursday. We ask for a donation of $25 to cover the cost of food and bus fares. To keep the price down we ask parents to donate the following:

• Mountains (Nicky's home-group): A packet of breakfast cereal
• Forest (Hannah's home-group): Some baking
• Coast (Jenny's home-group): A bag of fruit
• Please send these food items along next week.

• Sleeping bag, pillow and something to sleep on, e.g. sleeping mat, stretcher or lilo
• PJs
• Toilet gear and towel
• A change of clothes for the next day, again suitable for physical activity
• These things should be packed in a day pack:
• Packed lunch and refillable drink bottle
• Sunhat
• Waterproof jacket
• Optional: camera, cell phone (these will be collected in)

Our children are being challenged with rich problems to solve in maths.

Rich discussion and questioning is creating deeper understanding of concepts.

Our camp in Dunedin is just seven weeks away. It is time to get fundraising. We have the following projects planned:

Sausage sizzle at Countdown this weekend. Many thanks to the parents and children who have volunteered to man the BBQ and busk. Pop down and buy a sausage between 10 and 2 on Saturday or Sunday.

Next week we will be selling banana berry smoothies at school. The children will manage this, under the direction of Hannah.

On the 12th of March cheese roll orders will go out, with production days on the 28th and 29th of March. We will be seeking parent help for some equipment and supervision of groups on the making days.

The weekend before camp, on the evening of April 7th, we will be holding our comedy evening. Jarred and his crew will keep the audience rocking with laughter. This will be a major fundraising event and one that we need your support to run. Please complete this form if you are able to help out.

Vicki is currently applying to the Southern Trust for a grant towards our transport costs.

Thanks for supporting our fundraising efforts.