Kahikatea News Term 3 Week 2

Kia ora e te whānau,

What a lovely two weeks back of Term 3. We have noticed that the children are positively growing in physical and social-emotional skills. We have loved seeing the smiley faces and the "Good morning!". If you have any concerns or questions, please make sure to speak with your child's homegroup teacher.


Timetable

We have made some changes to the timetable this term to meet the needs of our tamariki, this means giving us more time to incorporate wellbeing activities in the morning (such as mindfulness, yoga, body percussion, etc.) without taking away learning time. The children have adjusted super quickly and smoothly to the new timetable and enjoyed having a "sneaky snack" after the fitness break in the morning. Ka mau te wehi - Awesome work!


Hillview Cross Country Challenge

A massive thank you to the parent helpers who supported the Hillview Cross Country event, your help made a huge difference to us. We are very proud of the children as they participated amazingly at the event.

Calendar Art

Just a quick heads-up that we are underway with creating our Calendar Art, and you may receive an email later this term about ordering products with your child's art printed on them. More details to come.

Lunchbox food

We really appreciate the fresh fruit and vegetables that have been coming to school in the tamariki's lunchboxes. This makes a difference to their intake of nutrients essential for a healthy body.


Arty Shapes

Our maths unit in the last two weeks is called Arty Shapes, looking at shape properties such as sides, corners, etc. Check out our shape creations!












Learning Through Play





























Have a lovely weekend!

The Kahikatea Team.

Amber- amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz

Sarah- sarah.angelo@beckenham.school.nz

Quynh- quynh.nguyen@beckenham.school.nz

Ella- ella.rainbow@beckenham.school.nz

Lisa- lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz






Kahikatea News Term 1 Week 3

Kia ora e te whānau,

We have had a wonderful start to the year in the Kahikatea team. Time has flown! We have loved seeing tamariki settling in so well and coming to school with smiles on their faces.


Learning Through Play Highlights

We love Learning Through Play in the Kahikatea team!

"I like putting in water for water play!" - Jacob

"I like being outside and water play!" - Emily

"My favourite activity is dress-up." - Maryam

"I like being on the swing." - Henri

"I love playing outside." - Archie

"We love playing with the Duplo." - Kura and Mia










Learning Through Play Resources

Kahikatea is on the lookout for toys and resources for Learning Through Play. If you have toys, games, puzzles, or dress-ups that your family no longer needs or uses, we would happily take them off your hands! He waka eke noa, we get there together.


House Games

We will be having House Games on Mondays during weeks 4 (19/2/24), 6 (4/3/24), and 8 (18/3/24) this term. Your child is welcome to wear their house shirt.


Library

We will begin our weekly library visits next week (Week 4). The library is also open during morning tea and lunch play times - children are welcome to go to the library to return books, issue new ones, or browse books during this time.

Library Days

Tuesdays - Amber and Ella's home groups

Thursdays - Quynh and Sarah's home groups


Literacy

We began working with our literacy teachers this week. It has been lovely to see children showing 'We Love Learning' during literacy time. Your child's literacy folder tub is kept in the pathway. We encourage children to bring their literacy folder to each literacy lesson.


Whānau Photo Wall

One of our kaiako, Sarah, had a wonderful idea of putting whānau photos up on the wall in Kahikatea. If you have photos of your family that you would like to contribute to this, please feel free to email Sarah (sarah.angelo@beckenham.school.nz) or your child's home group teacher.


Netball Sessions

The Kahikatea team is really looking forward to our upcoming introduction to netball sessions. We have coaches from Cashmere Netball Club coming to run four sessions per homegroup, beginning in Week 5. Sarah and Quynh's home groups will have their sessions on Tuesdays, and Amber and Ella's home groups will have their sessions on Thursdays. Thank you Cashmere Netball Club!
That's all for now,
Team Kahikatea

quynh.nguyen@beckenham.school.nz
amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
sarah.angelo@beckenham.school.nz
ella.rainbow@beckenham.school.nz
lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

Kahikatea News Term 4 Week 3

Kia ora e te whānau,

It has been a lovely week back after the long weekend. We have been enjoying the lovely Spring weather!


Athletics

A highlight of our week was athletics day. Kahikatea children showed 'We Love Challenge' and 'We Get There Together' as they participated in long jump, hurdles, shotput, and relays. Here are some photos taken during our training and on the day.





























Toys

A quick reminder that toys are not allowed at school. If you have any questions, please let your child's homegroup teacher know.


That's all for this week. We hope that you are having a fabulous weekend!

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


Kahikatea News Term 3 Week 3

Kia ora e te whānau,

We all had such a great time at the disco today! Thank you to all of the parents/caregivers who came along and joined in with the fun, and to our wonderful PTA for organising such an enjoyable event.

Keeping Ourselves Safe

The Kahikatea team will be participating in the Keeping Ourselves Safe programme during Weeks 6 and 7. Your child's homegroup teacher will teach six sessions and Constable Meg will teach two sessions.

What will children learn?
They will learn:
- to work out when their safety is at risk
- how to keep safe when they meet and mix with other people
- who and how to ask for help if they, or someone they know, is being abused
- to go on asking for help until someone does something to stop the abuse
- that it is important to make and follow personal, family, and school safety rules

Children will have some short activities to work through at home with you. Thank you for your support with this.

Please click on this link for more information about Keeping Ourselves Safe.

 

Lunchboxes

Just a reminder to please not send lollies, chocolate, or drinks other than water to school. Our food-at-school policy aligns with national food and nutrition guidelines. 

"Good nutrition is essential for the healthy growth and development of children and young people.  Children and young people eat much of their food each weekday at school. Good nutrition affects students’ behaviour, learning, concentration and energy, as well as their physical health. When students eat a nutritious diet, they find it easier to learn. Teachers report improvements in students’ attendance, attention, behaviour and levels of concentration in schools where healthy eating is accepted practice." (Ministry of Education Healthy Food and Drink Guidance 2020)



Friendships

With inclusion being our word of the week, it might be worth checking in with your child about their friendships at school. In Kahikatea, we always encourage our tamariki to make new friends and get to know other children in the hub and at school. That way, they don't feel like they have to stick to one friend every playtime. Below are some videos you and your child can watch and discuss together.



Gymnastics

The Kahikatea tamariki have been enjoying doing gymnastics at Olympia! We have seen our school values of 'We Love Challenge' and 'We Love Learning' on display during each session. Next week will be our last week of gymnastics. Here are some photos from our sessions.























































Have a lovely weekend!

The Kahikatea Team

Kahikatea News Term 2 Week 3

Kia ora e te whānau,

We had a great week with our tamariki despite some challenging weather and the Cross Country and School Disco being postponed. We would like to thank you for your understanding. 


Nuts / nut-based products at school

This is another reminder that the Kahikatea team has students with nut allergies, one of these is life-threatening. Therefore, we are asking that nuts and nut-based products are NOT brought to school by your child. Nut-based products include items like Nutella, peanut butter, muesli bars containing nuts etc.

The team is also aware that some children may have other dietary requirements. Please talk with your child’s Homegroup teacher if this is the case so that they are aware and we can create a specific plan to support your child if need be.

Our policy at school is that children only eat their own food and not share. Teachers are reminding children about this, along with reminders about handwashing and putting food wrappings in their lunch boxes to take home.

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

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


Music unit

The children have been super excited and engaged with our Music unit, which has focused on various elements of music, and different types of musical instruments. Most tamariki have designed and made their own instrument and today finished these by decorating them. Children who have been absent due to illness will have an opportunity to work on this next week.

On Monday, there will be a percussion performance called 'Strike to School' at our kura. We will get to see how people use body percussion and handmade instruments to create music.









Cross Country
We have re-scheduled our Junior Cross Country event to be on Tuesday 16th May. Children will gather on the park at 2pm and the races will start shortly after, starting with Year 4 and finishing with Year 0/1. 

Please feel free to come along and support your child/ren if you are able. Tamariki may wear their house tops on this day. Please ensure that they are wearing appropriate footwear.

Thank you for your support!


Learning Through Play
This term, we have continued to explore and engage in different activities for Learning Through Play, including water play, body movements with music, chalk art, drawing using Arts for Kids Hub videos, and so on. The children have had lots of fun!
















Have a lovely weekend!

The Kahikatea Team

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