Kahikatea News Term 4 Week 2

Kia ora e te whānau,

We hope you all had a lovely holiday. Term 4 is an exciting term with lots of activities planned, and with the sunshine and wonderful warm weather, the children have been happy and settled back in school so quickly. We thank you for all the support to ensure such smooth transitions.

Labour Day Weekend

A quick reminder that school will be closed on Monday as it will be Labour Day holiday, and will resume on Tuesday 29th. We hope you'll have a relaxing and fun long weekend with your whānau.

Swimming (Water Safety Programme)

Swimming will start next week (week 3) on Tuesday 29th October and go until Friday 1st November, then week 5 from Monday 4th November to Thursday 7th November. Please note that there will be NO literacy books sent home in these two weeks due to the time taken for these water safety lessons. 

It would be a good idea to pack extra snacks and food in your child's lunchbox during these 2 weeks if possible to ensure our tamariki have full bellies after swimming. Please ensure that your child comes to school on swimming days with a NAMED swimming bag, clean towel and togs. You can also have a look at our Swimming Social Story with your child to know what to expect.

Thank you to our whānau who offered to help during the trips, you can either meet us at Pioneer or come with us on the bus. The departure time of each group is as follows:

Group 1 - Sarah's Homegroup + some of Amber's students: 9.30am

Group 2 - Ella's Homegroup + some of Amber's students: 10am

Group 3 - Quynh's Homegroup + some of Amber's students: 10.30am

The bus will be waiting on Eastern Terrace.

Please note: No Literacy Group Lessons will take place on the days we are swimming. 

Swimming- Parent Helper Information

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all, 

Thank you for being a parent/whānau helper for our swimming session/s. 

Please read carefully through the this information as this provides details about what to do as a parent/whanau helper during our time at Pioneer Pool. 

Helping Children

  • We want everyone to feel safe and comfortable at all times, so if you assist children in the changing rooms, please give verbal guidance. You do not need to dress or undress the children. 
  • Encourage the children to be as independent as possible and prompt them with what they need to do. 
  • Encourage children to use quiet voices in the changing room and keep their belongings in one place. 
  • Two or more parent/whānau helpers should be present, while others can wait at the changing room entrance to check that children have all their belongings. 
  • Parents can assist children to put their belongings into one of the cubbies provided. 
  • Parents/whānau are not required to be in the pool with children. 
  • Please let the teacher in charge know if you have any questions or concerns.
  • If a child needs to use the toilet, please show them where it is (these are in the teaching pool area, you will not need to use the public toilets), send the child in, and wait outside. 

Many thanks for your help with swimming this year!

 Please email your child’s teacher if you have any questions. 

Home Group Spaces

We moved homegroup spaces at the end of term 3, so here's a fresh walk-through of where we're based at the moment:

Ella - Atrium

Amber - Breakout Space

Sarah - Nook

Quynh - Theatre


Athletics

The tamariki from the Kahikatea team did so well at athletics on Thursday, what an awesome bunch! We saw a lot of demonstration of our values 'We Love Challenge' and 'We Get There Together' during our practice sessions AND the actual event, ka mau te wehi - how amazing! Below are some photos.















































Sunhats and Sunscreen

A friendly reminder that term 4 is a hats term, children are required to wear a hat when going outside. If they don't have a hat, they will need to stay in the shade by Tahaki building or the hall during playtime. Your child can bring their own sunscreen to school if they wish, please ensure that this stays in their bag during the day and your child takes responsibility for looking after it.


Maths- A Focus on Fractions 

Sarah's Homegroup has been learning about fractions, what they mean and what the symbols look like. The children then made a fractions robot in each group, they were super engaged and keen to make their robot look unique. What a cool activity!




Muesli Bar Wrappers

Ruby's whānau in Quynh's homegroup who have been sharing that, each year, they participate as instructors of the E3 expedition and make sustainability goals. This year they have gone back to this one around muesli bars which was last done back in Dec 2022. Below is the story told by the family.

"This was from our social media posts

https://www.instagram.com/p/ClsRXZdp-g1/?img_index=1 


So we did the numbers & came up with this…

* each person on E3 consumes 3x muesli bars per day. Avg per day = 16 people X3= 48

* 48 X 11 days = 528 bar wrappers. WOW THATS A LOT!!!!

* That’s just for 1 E3

But what does 528 wrappers look like? Hence the video of 100’s of wrappers falling out of that bucket. 

That’s 528 wrappers for each E3 that are not going into a landfill. 

And the remaining pics are the alternative. Over 1000 muesli bars so lovingly made by a few caring people who care about the planet… care about creation & care enough to demonstrate to you & all of us that meaningful change is achievable. All part of the great 10 Years of E3."

The family are setting a goal of collecting 2000 muesli bar wrappers to demonstrate how many wrappers have been saved from going into landfill by making their own for the expedition. In Kahikatea, Ruby and friends have started collecting these wrappers from other children's lunchboxes. If possible, we would also love to collect these from you, just hand them to Quynh or your child's homegroup teacher. 


Learning Through Play






Personal Space - Boundaries

In Kahikatea, we have been talking about and discussing boundaries, and what we can say when someone is being too close to our personal space. The video below is a fabulous resource, as the catchy melody and simple language make it so much fun for our tamariki to remember the key phrases. Please have a look with your child and sing along, we guarantee it'll get stuck in your head rather quickly.



Have an awesome long weekend!

The Kahikatea team

Amber Donovan | amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
Ella Rainbow | ella.rainbow@beckenham.school.nz
Quynh Nguyen | quynh.nguyen@beckenham.school.nz
Sarah Angelo | sarah.angelo@beckenham.school.nz
Lisa Collier | lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz

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