Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 7

Posted on 3 September, 20173 September, 2017 by Nicky Dunlop

What a big week we had last week, with our ski day and learning conferences.

A huge thank you to all the parents who came along and supported the children on the slopes. We couldn't have gone without you. The children had the opportunity to embrace 'we love challenge' and they did this with great gusto!

Parent feedback is being collected about learning conferences. I have just read through the feedback that has been given so far. Thanks to the five parents who have responded from our team. It would be great to get more Kauri feedback, so we can build a clearer picture of whether we are hitting the mark with these conferences and what needs to be done to improve them. Please take a couple of minutes to fill in this form.

Speeches:

This weekend we are reading through the children's speech documents and providing feedback and suggestions. We are working on a short timeframe with speeches this year. They will be delivered to home-groups starting this Friday afternoon, for those who are ready, with the rest being delivered on Monday and Tuesday of week 8. We are devoting quite a bit of class time to speech writing this coming week, however most children will also need to work on their speech as part of their home learning. The aim is to be finished writing by Wednesday, so that time can be spent practising the delivery, both at school and at home. The best six Year 7 and six Year 8 speeches will go forward to our speech finals. This will take place in our new hub at Beckenham, on Wednesday September 13th, in the afternoon.

Sexuality Education:

We are about to begin our ‘Sexuality Road’ health unit. During these lessons the children will be learning about changing bodies and feelings, relationships, communication and decision making, reproduction and support systems. We teach this topic every year in the Intermediate Hub, to ensure that students cover issues relevant to them, at an appropriate age. The Year 7s and Year 8s are taught separately.

If you would like more information on what is covered, we will be running an information evening on Thursday September 14th, starting at 7pm. This will be held in our new hub at Beckenham. It is important that you fill in this form, if you are planning on attending this evening.

Production Props and Costumes:

The Trials of Alice in Wonderland is our Year 7 & 8 production this year. The children are either in the acting group or the props and costumes creation group. It would be great to have some parents to support our children with the costume and prop making. If you are happy to help out and have the time on a Thursday afternoon, please send me an email. nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz

Finally, here are a few more pictures from our day up Mt Hutt.

Joe gets up close with the snow ... again.

Go Bella!

Kauri Whānau: Awesome Ski Day

Posted on 30 August, 201730 August, 2017 by Nicky Dunlop

What a stunning day we had on the slopes today. The children embraced the challenge, supported each other and made the most of their day on the mountain. So much fun!

Kauri Whānau Update: Term 3 Week 6

Posted on 28 August, 201728 August, 2017 by Nicky Dunlop

Ski day this Wednesday:

The forecast is looking good for our ski day on Wednesday. We'll have a very early start with all children needing to meet on Eastern Tce at 6:20am. This is due to our lessons being scheduled for 9am.

Key reminders:

Be at school, Eastern Tce, by 6:20am
Come dressed is: thermal top and long-johns, long woollen socks, warm top, weather-proof pants and ski jacket. We can take off layers in the bus / car.
In a day pack: gloves, goggles or glasses, large bottle of water, large lunch and inhaler / medication as required.
In jacket pocket: some energy food for snacking on the slopes.
Optional: activity for bus / car trip, camera, $5 to spend at cafe.
All children will be provided with a helmet, skis, boots and poles.
We will return to Eastern Tce by 6pm.

Learning Conferences:

We are looking forward to catching up with you at learning conferences tomorrow and on Thursday. You can still book a conference by going to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code ay2w2

Please come straight into the hub when you arrive. The children will gather their books and start sharing their learning with you. Your child's home-group, maths and possibly reading teacher(s) will drop by to discuss progress and next steps. There will be a list on the large whiteboard to remind the children about all that they have to share.

Winter Sport:

The winter sport season has finished. A huge thank you to all of the parents who regularly gave their time to coach teams. Without you, the children would not have had the opportunity to play. Also a big thank you to Jenny and Gayle for all of the extra hours they put in to coordinate this weekly programme.
Congratulations to our Year 7 & 8 hockey team who were placed 9th at the Canterbury Winter Tournament last week.

Speeches:

Today the children got underway with their speech writing. They are writing a 3-4 minute persuasive speech. While most of this will be written at school, some writing will need to happen at home. Please encourage your child to work on their speech.

Celebrating our Cantamath achievements:

We were thrilled with the number of children who achieved excellence and highly commended awards for their display work at Cantamath last Wednesday.

Highly Commended: Adam, Georgina, Tilly, Isla, Miriélle, Juliette, Daisy, George, Luke, Saraya, Kaia, Bonnie, Jarred's maths class project
Excellence: Caleb, Jessie, Christopher, Santiago, Constantin, Marlonique, Rosie, Alex, Fynn
Outstanding: Two pieces of work were awarded outstanding awards this year. We were very proud that Nicky's maths class project was one of them. We designed our own font and created a giant scrabble board that will displayed outside by the junior playground at Beckenham.

A big well done to our Cantamath teams who sweated it out for 30 minutes of challenging questions.

Year 7 team in action.

Receiving the outstanding award for our class project.

Excellence

Highly Commended

Excellence

Highly Commended

Excellence

Finishing off our class project on a Sunday morning.

Excellence

Highly Commended

Excellence

Highly Commended

Ski Day Rescheduled

Posted on 16 August, 201716 August, 2017 by Nicky Dunlop

We have rebooked our ski day for Wednesday August 30th. Many thanks to the parents who have quickly made themselves available to help with transport and support on the ski-field.

Unfortunately Mt Hutt did not have any days left this term with lessons at 10:30am. Therefore our lesson time will be 9am. This means we will need to depart school by 6:30am! (... and the kids were complaining about 7am) Set the alarms early that day, as we will need everyone on Eastern Tce by 6:20am.

If you have any questions, please flick us an email.

Kauri Whānau Update: Term 3 Week 4

Posted on 15 August, 201715 August, 2017 by Nicky Dunlop

Ski Day, this Thursday:

While the heavens opened and dumped lots of lovely snow on Mt Hutt over the last couple of days, unfortunately the forecast for Thursday is for strong winds. Please check https://www.nzski.com/mt-hutt/mt-hutt-weather-report after 6am on Thursday to check if the ski field is open. If open, we will be going, if not, it will be a normal school day. In the case of a closed day, we will reschedule the trip.

Key reminders:

Be at school, Eastern Tce, by 7am
Come dressed is: thermal top and long-johns, long woollen socks, warm top, weather-proof pants and ski jacket. We can take off layers in the bus / car.
In a day pack: gloves, goggles or glasses, large bottle or water, large lunch and inhaler / medication as required.
In jacket pocket: some energy food for snacking on the slopes.
Optional: activity for bus / car trip, camera, $5 to spend at cafe.
All children will be provided with a helmet, skis, boots and poles.
We will return to Eastern Tce by 6pm.

Cantamath, next Wednesday:

Next Wednesday, August 23rd, we will be taking all of Year 7 & 8 to Horncastle Arena at 8:40, to view the Cantamath project display. We will be back at Champion Street by 10am. A $3.50 transportation contribution will be added to your next account.

We were blown away by the high standard of work that the children produced for their Cantamath projects. Many thanks to the parents who helped with ideas, encouragement and support. Congratulations to the following people whose work has been selected to go through to the Cantamath competition:

Publicity Motif: Jessie, Caleb, Joel
Games and Puzzles: Alex
Static Model: Georgie, Tilly, Rosie, Fynn, Santiago, Saraya, Constantin, Marlonique, Isla, Miriélle
Dynamic Model: Kaia
Written Project: Sadie, Adam, Daisy, Isaac, George, Gabriel, Hannah W, Luke, Christopher, Bonnie
Photography: Juliette

Next Wednesday our Cantamath teams will compete against the best mathematical talent in Canterbury, in the problem solving competition. Best of luck to:
Year 7: Santi, Adam, Gabriel and Tom, with Hannah as reserve.
Year 8: Isaac, Rosie, Alex and Kaia, with Amelia as reserve.

Congratulations:

Three of our Year 8 students were interviewed for scholarships at Cashmere High School earlier this week. We were very excited to hear that Jordan H has won a leadership scholarship. Tino pai Jordan!

Inquiry Learning:

The children are currently completing their inquiry resource project to conclude our learning about diversity. These should be completed by the end of this week. If your child is not finished by the end of the week, we will let you know, as this will need to be completed at home.

Speeches:

We start speech writing season next week. On Monday we be looking at what makes a great speech and will start brainstorming topics. This year all children need to write and deliver a persuasive speech on some aspect of change. This topic is very broad. The speech is to be 3-4 minutes in length. We will be writing these at school. Discussion about possible topics, at home, would be extremely helpful. The speeches will be presented to home groups on Monday and Tuesday of week 8, 12 and 13 of September. Our hub final will take place on the afternoon of Wednesday Sept 14, in our new hub at Beckenham.

Te Whānau Mahi Tahi:

Last night, Te Whānau Mahi Tahi opened this year's cultural festival. They were stunning! They exuded power and mana on stage. From the moment they stepped on stage till when the last poi exited, our performers gave of their very best. Beckenham supporters in the audience were very proud. Tu Meke Te Whānau Mahi Tahi!