Thank you:

As term one draws to a close, we would like to thank all of the parents who have helped to make some of the more exciting aspects of our programme possible. To those who cooked, encouraged and supervised on camp, to those who joined us to run activities or sleep over night at leadership camp, and then there are more who have helped out with the running of, and transportation to, sporting events. A big thanks to Ivo who runs our Friday code club. We love teaching your children, and with your partnership we are able to offer so much more than we could on our own.

Thursday April 13th: 

On the last day of term, we will be spending the day at Beckenham, so we can use the hall for J-Rock rehearsals. Children need to meet at the hall at 8:50. Please do not order lunch-on-line for this Thursday. Do bring $2 for a hot cross bun.

J-Rock is on Thursday May 18th. This is a full day and evening commitment for all children in our hub. A bus will take the children to Horncastle Arena in the morning. Parents or caregivers will need to arrange for the collection of children at 9pm from Horncastle Arena. 

Inquiry Learning:

Inquiry learning has been a big focus at school over the past two weeks and will continue to be this week. We are aware that some children are requiring more support to stay on track. The children are showing a positive attitude to the challenge this learning requires, and to keep the experience positive, we are going to give them a 'do less better' message on Tuesday. Over the weekend we have read each child's work and given them feedback and next steps. We would rather they revise and improve what they have done so far and get maybe at least one more slide done, than rush to have something written on each slide. Many children will need to be spending some time on this at home as well as at school this week. Thank you in advance for encouraging this to happen.

Seeking more parent help:

Leading up to and on the day of J-Rock we need parent support for the following:

• In order to take part in J-Rock there is a substantial participation fee. We will be holding two fundraising events next term to meet this cost. The first is selling jelly and ice-cream. We will do this in week 2, on the Wednesday for Beckenham and Thursday for Champion St. We are looking for one parent to help supervise some students to run this fundraiser. 
• On the day of J-Rock we are at Horncastle Arena from 9:30am until 9pm. Children will bring their lunch. For dinner we would like some parents to help prepare a finger food meal. In the past this has been an american hotdog, muffin and piece of fruit. 
• We are currently thinking about costumes for our performance. Some of these will need to be sewn. Prototypes will be made and we will need parents (grandparents etc) to do the sewing.

Looking ahead to ski day in term 3:

Winter sports help required:

Congratulations:

After an action packed leadership week, we are now settling back into routine in the Kauri Whanau. Hopefully your child has shared with you some of their highlights from last week. Listening to Mark Inglis speak was inspiring. The children were extremely focused and asked great questions. We have often referred back to the wisdom he shared, as it speaks so strongly to the children. The Year 8s impressed us with the way they applied the 7 habits in a wide range of practical activities, during their two day camp. We were also thrilled to hear feedback from the Year 1-4 staff at Beckenham, about how the Year 7 leaders interacted and guided the younger children so positively on Friday.

• 'Very impressed with the organisation and maturity of all our leaders!'
• 'The three boys took a group of children outside to play a range of games. The children came back full of enthusiasm and happiness. Gail, from Room 20 had been out there with them and commented on how well they had organised and managed the children.'
• 'The Year 7 girls were confident and well prepared. They brought positive energy and demonstrated competence and initiative in carrying out their activities. The sensitivity, warmth and understanding that they showed towards these young juniors ignited the connection and respect needed for a productive working relationship. '

Home learning:

The children currently have their final maths home learning for the term. This is due next Friday. We are underway with a leadership inquiry that involves leader research, story retelling and quote interpretation, all with links to the 7 habits, as well as personal reflection. The children will need to spend time on this inquiry at home as well as at school. It is all on google classroom, and can be accessed wherever there is an internet connection. Please ask your child to show you this work and encourage them to spend time continuing their inquiry research and recording at home.
Winter Sports starts in Term 2. We are seeking parent helpers to manage/coach teams alongside our teaching staff and are particularly looking for volunteers to support with hockey, football and netball teams.  If you are keen to support us in this we would love to hear from you. Please email expressions of interest to Jenny at jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz. We look forward to hearing from you!

J-Rock:

We are now underway with the whole team working on our collaborative dance performance for J-Rock. J-rock is the junior section of Stage Challenge, a worldwide dance competition and celebration for schools. Each school puts together an 8 minute performance based on a theme of their choice. To fit in with our learning around identity, our performance will tell the story of our school's history. On either Thursday the 18th or Friday the 19th of May, we will be spending the entire day at Horncastle Arena. The day will involve rehearsals, watching other school's performances, whole group meetings and free time activities. We stay right through to the evening performances. It is a huge and very memorable day. We have done this twice before in 2013 and 2015 and the children have loved the experience. At the moment a number are coming to grips with stepping out of their comfort zones, but in just five days we have seen enthusiasm blossom. Please make sure that the two dates above are marked in your diary; we will have confirmation of which is our performance day very soon.

Some Leadership Week Photos:

Seek first to understand and then be understood.

Synergise

We learnt so much from Mark Inglis about being proactive.

We thought about the way geese support each other when completing challenges on the climbing frame.

Leadership week started well yesterday. This afternoon we are very excited to have Mark Inglis coming to talk with our team about leadership. There are a number of changes to the usual programme this week, so please take note of the important messages below.

This Wednesday:

• School photos at Beckenham. All children report to the Beckenham hall at 8:30. We should be off to Champion Street soon after 9am.
• Those who signed up for HPV injections at school, will receive their first dose on Wednesday.
• Year 8s bring food donations for leadership camp: Coast, baking; Mountains, breakfast cereal and Forest, a bag of fruit.
• Year 7s, we need old newspapers and funnels for leadership activities with Tracy on Thursday. Please bring these in if you have them. 

This Thursday:

• Year 8s come with gear for overnight camp. Jarred's black jeep and covered trailer will be on Sandwich Road. On arrival, please take overnight gear directly to his trailer and then all Year 8s, and their day packs, go to the school hall. Due to a damp start to the day, we will be using the school hall until 10:15am.
• Please make sure Year 8s have plenty of warm clothing, including a waterproof coat and beanie. A lot of our activities will be based outside and the weather is not looking that warm.
• Year 7 bring food for a shared lunch. No chips please. It would be great to see some savoury offerings. Year 7s will be working with Tracy on Thursday.

This Friday:

• Year 7 report to the school hall at 8:50. They will be spending the day at Beckenham.
• Year 8s will arrive back at Beckenham by 3pm.

Home learning is due this Thursday, due to leadership week disruptions.

University of Canterbury Kiwi Competitions (Years 5-8) will be replacing ICAS tests this year.

The tests, in maths, english and science, are a good challenge for our more able students. Entry forms are available in the reception foyer of Champion Street. Please get these filled out and sent back to the Beckenham office.

Basketball:

We are holding basketball trials this week. Our plan is to enter two teams in the Monday and Friday after school competition at Pioneer, that runs through term 2 and 3. We have a huge bunch of hopefuls; unfortunately only half of them will get into a school team. Those who miss out and are still keen to play, can contact Pioneer Basketball, a club who enter teams in this competition, with children coming from a variety of schools.

Choir:

Jarred has met with the children who are keen to be part of our Kauri choir. They will be getting underway with a couple of lunchtime practices this term. Next term practices will take part during school time, while the rest of the hub will be engaged in other music learning. If your child hasn't let Jarred know they are keen to be part of the choir yet, it is not too late.

The Huxter Mountain Bike Relay:

This event is being held at Mcleans Island on Friday the 7th of April. While this event takes place during school hours, the children will remain the responsibility of their parents for the duration of the event. We know of a few children already entered for this event by their parents and a few more children seeking a racing partner. If your child is interested in this event, please email Jenny to be put in touch with another family who are looking to enter. Please also let Jenny know when you have made an entry so that we can provide a Beckenham sports top and mark the child appropriately on the school roll.  

Winter sport coaches required:

What a fabulous week of learning opportunities we are in the midst of! On Monday we were inspired by Ben Atkinson of 'Fill Your Lunch Box', a fabulous leader in our city. Today we spent the afternoon with Zara from Attitude.inc learning about having integrity when using technology devices. Zara will be back next week running workshops to delve deeper into how we can be responsible leaders in the cyber world. The children are responding with enthusiasm and impressive questioning to our guest speakers. Next week, as well as Zara, we have another inspiring leader visiting on Tuesday afternoon.

Important messages for next week:

Monday: Year 7s are to wear mufti as this is our Year 7 leadership day. Year 8 wear uniform as usual.

Tuesday: A normal day, with our guest speaker in the afternoon.

Wednesday: Class photos at Beckenham. No children to be dropped off at Champion street this morning. Be at school by 8:30 and meet in the hall. We will be busing to Champion Street soon after 9am.
Year 8s please bring food donations for leadership camp. Mountains: breakfast cereal. Coast: baking. Forest: a bag of fruit.

Thursday: Year 7 have a normal day at school, with Tracy teaching. Year 8s arrive at school in mufti with gear for next two days. A gear list will be emailed later today and be sent home on paper tomorrow. Year 8 will be sleeping over at school, you will see them again at 3pm on Friday.

Friday: Year 7 meet Michelle in the hall at 8:50am. They will be spending the day at Beckenham, as leaders in junior classes.

Action from the past week:

The Year 5 - 8 Duathlon last Friday was a great opportunity for the children to embrace challenge. Well done to everyone to took part and a big thanks to the parents who helped out. We were also very impressed with the support and enthusiasm offered by those students who were marshals on the course. They did a fabulous job.





After Ben Atkinson visited we spent time reflecting on what he taught us about leadership. Here is Olivia's reflection:



Zara's presentation about being responsible cyber citizens had us thinking, sharing and laughing.

Dear Parents/Caregivers,