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Kahikatea News Term 2 Week 8

Posted on 18 June, 202422 June, 2024 by Ella Rainbow

Kia ora e te whānau,

So many exciting things have been happening in the Kahikatea hub this week!

Opera

The New Zealand opera's "Opera in Schools" came to Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto and performed 'The Elixir of Love'.

Baking

Greta's mum Lauren came to show Fisher house and Tennyson how to make some delicious scones. The tamariki learnt how to measure ingredients accurately. The scones smelt delicious.

Clip and Climb

Ella and Amber's homegroup had their trip to Clip and Climb. The children showed determination, resilience and teamwork. Everyone had so much fun! What a great afternoon!

Other Learning in the Hub

Cyber Safety

Awareness of Online Harm

Many parents didn’t grow up with the internet, so it can be hard to imagine how tamariki may use it. But digital technology is a key part of our young people’s lives these days. They use it for learning, communicating and entertainment.

Netsafe has released research that looked into parental awareness of children’s experiences of online risks and harm. The research found a mismatch between parents’ awareness and their children’s experiences of upsetting online content.

To check out the research, and other Netsafe resources, visit this link.

PB4L

Our PB4L focus of the week is determination. Here are the links to a short story about determination and a catchy song.

Maths

Our maths focus of the week has been learning how to measure accurately. The children have learnt to measure in non-standard units (e.g. plastic multilink cubes) and also learnt how to use a ruler.

Here are some helpful resources:

How to use a ruler Measuring in centimetres game

Nuts!

Just a reminder that due to serious allergies in the hub, we are a nut free zone. Please can children not bring in nut products such as peanut butter sandwiches and coconut snacks. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Kahikatea News Week 6 Term 2

Posted on 7 June, 20247 June, 2024 by Sarah Angelo

Discos! Discos! Discos!

Big Big thanks to all our parent helpers who made the DISCO possible.

Identity

You may have noticed a whole lot of waka going up in our homerooms. Tamariki (children) have been working on a hoe (oar) that expresses how they contribute to class. This shows our school value of Mā tātou katoa te waka e hoe, 'We Get There Together'.

Salt painting

Sarah and Quynh’s homeroom explored salt painting. This process involves the pulling (osmosis) property of liquid on salt. It was challenging to get the picture you wanted as you were limited by the materials. Our tamariki showed patience working together and demonstrated our school value of Nau mai te wero, 'We Love Challenge'.

Arts- Music

Last Friday some of our tamariki (children) enjoyed a music session with Ferndale ākonga (students). Both parties had a brilliant time - we are so lucky to spend time with our Ferndale friends

Cyber Safety - Gaming

Eighty percent of tamariki in New Zealand aged 8-17 have played games online. Games can have many benefits: entertainment, social opportunities, coordination development, problem-solving and multitasking skills. But, most of all, gaming is popular because it’s fun. But games can be tough for parents and whānau to navigate. How much gaming is too much? How do I make sure my tamariki aren’t seeing inappropriate content or chatting in-game with strangers?

Today we’re sharing Netsafe’s Online Gaming Whānau ToolkitNetsafe’s Online Gaming Whānau Toolkit so you have all the resources you need to keep your kids safe.

YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/rPN_ev1RSDQ

LiteracyEncourage your tamariki on their reading journey through reading and storytelling. Every child is given reading books to take home for home reading.

Mathematics

We are currently exploring and developing an understanding of time through a unit of work called How Long Now?

Dear parents and whānau,

This week we have been exploring time and learning to tell time to an hour and a half-hour. We have also been looking at different sorts of clocks. Please support your child in drawing pictures or taking photos of clocks in your home and community (for example, watches, appliance clocks, novelty clocks, clock radios). Another way you can support your child's learning is by talking about the time when certain things happen, especially if it is on the hour or half hour. For example: "Look! It's 8 o'clock, time for bed" or "It's 5:30, time for tea".

In addition to this, we always appr

Also, we are always helping our children to consolidate their number knowledge. Any card and board games are a fun way to reinforce this learning. For example memory, fish, old maid, snap, stop the bus.

ResilienceThis week uur PB4L (Positive Behaviour for Learning) focus has been on Resilience. Here are the links from our daily notices:

Resilience Song

Building Resilience: Character

Teaching Assistant

We are fortunate to have a trainee Teaching Assistant joining our team.

Sanduni

Hi everyone

My name is Sanduni and I’m from Sri Lanka. We moved to

New Zealand 8 years ago with my husband Harsha and my 6-month-old son Sedas. My son is now 9 years old and studies at Beckenham School in year 5. I have another daughter too. I love to dance and teach traditional dancing to Sri Lankan kids in Christchurch.

I will start studying a teacher aide course this year

because I love to help children like you improve their

learning skills. I'm so excited to start my first day next week. Thank you very much to all the teachers who have allowed me to visit their classrooms. See you all on Monday morning.

Sanduni

Kahikatea News Term 2 Week 4

Posted on 24 May, 202424 May, 2024 by Amber Donovan

Tena Koutou Katoa,

The cooler weather is now here and rainy days too! Thank you for naming rain jackets, coats, hats etc and checking in the hub to locate your child's belongings at the end of the day. Each home group has at least one large tub for school jerseys and jackets and we encourage children to check all of these if they have lost something.

School Uniform

Teachers have been reminding tamariki about the correct uniform items that they should be wearing to school. The following list is taken directly from our school website:

Clothing

Plain black culottes

Black and white gingham culottes

Black and white gingham dress

Black track pants

Black drill shorts

Red polar fleece jacket

Red polo shirt (long or short sleeved)

Red fleece sweatshirt

Plain red zip Merino top

School Footwear

Black school shoes

Plain white or dark runners

Black school sandal, preferably with a closed in toes

Black or white socks

Hair Accessories

Plain black/red headbands, ties, ribbons or clips.

Cyber Safety

All You Need to Know About TikTok

TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social media apps. It’s a platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos – and many young people love it! From new dance crazes to funny clips to animal videos, TikTok can inspire creativity and bring joy.

But parents and whānau must help their tamariki navigate Tiktok safely. Today we’re sharing the Netsafe Tiktok Family Safety Toolkit Netsafe Tiktok Family Safety Toolkit so you can help guide your whānau to a fun and safe digital experience.

Pink Shirt Day & Learning Through Play

Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Team Kahikatea

Kahikatea News Term 2 Week 2

Posted on 10 May, 202410 May, 2024 by Lisa Collier

Kia ora e te whānau mā,What a lovely two weeks back at school for Term 2. Our tamariki have settled in so well with the routines, we have loved the big smiles and warm greetings each day. We would like to send a big thank you to our parents and caregivers as you have made such a difference by setting your child/ren up for success in the morning transition. He waka eke noa - We get there together!Cross CountryA quick reminder that Cross Country will take place on Tuesday, 14th May. The junior races will start from 2.15pm on the field. Please ensure that your child/ren will have their drink bottles, running shoes, and pants, shorts or leggings appropriate for running. They have the option to wear their house shirt.Our tamariki have been training hard for this event and shown our value 'We Love Challenge'. Ka mau te wehi - way to go!School PhotosThank you to our whānau and caregivers for preparing your child/ren for school photos. Everyone came to their photo session with great pride and a big smile. We are excited to show their photos to you when they are available.Naming Uniforms and BelongingsPlease make sure that your child's clothing items, drink bottles, and lunchboxes are properly named. We have had quite a few tamariki losing their tops, jerseys and shoes. You are welcome to have a look in the hub and at the lost property after school should any of their belongings have gone missing.Paper Making and RecyclingLast week, Sarah and Quynh's homegroups had a great time experimenting with paper making! They learnt about the value of recycling, and how used paper can have a second life.

"We made paper out of used bits of paper."

"It was tickly and weird."

"It was squishy!"

"We put our hand on the bit of paper."

"We kept on pushing it."

"Mine was like a pancake!"

"I got heaps of little paper and squished it and we leave it for 24 hours."

"I liked pushing it, it was so fun."

"I made a love heart."

"I loved squishing the paper!"

Learning Through Play

We had scarf dancing as one of the options for LTP last week. Our tamariki had so much fun following and creating movements. Also, a big thank you to one of our parents for donating baby dolls, they were the most popular option during LTP.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Amber, Tracey, Sarah, Megan, Lisa and Quynh

Kahikatea News Term 1 Week 11

Posted on 12 April, 202412 April, 2024 by Katie McFarlane

Kia ora e te whānau,

What a fantastic term we have had in the Kahikatea team! Ngā ākonga have settled in beautifully with their 2024 home groups, and it has been wonderful to see friendships grow and rich learning taking place. Thank you for your ongoing support as we 'fill our kete for the journey.'

Katie and Amber have enjoyed co-leading the Kahikatea team during Term 1. Amber will be the Acting Team Leader from the beginning of Term 2. She is very excited to be stepping back into this role for 2024 while Katie continues working in her Acting Deputy Principal role for the remainder of the year.

Identity

Our concept-based inquiry this year is Identity. This term, we have worked really hard to learn new kupu (words) and rerenga kupu (phrases) by learning our pepeha (introduction) in Te Reo Māori.

Pepeha is a way for all of us to express to others who we are and where we come from. In Te Ao Māori it builds whanaungatanga (relationship/connection).

For Maōri (tangata whenua), pepeha is a set form of words that is recited. Pepeha is about places and people that Māori are connected to through their whakapapa (genealogy).

Non-Māori (tauiwi/tangata tītiri) can have a pepeha if they think about some rules (tikanga Māori). They can express their connection to the places and people they connect to through their own whakapapa.

Each child planned their pepeha, similar to the one below. They then practiced and practiced their pepeha. We are so proud of how well everyone has done! You can look forward to seeing your child's pepeha in their mid-year report learning post.

Ko wai tō pepeha? What is your pepeha?

Teddy Bears Picnic

It was such a treat to come to school in our pyjamas with our favourite teddy bear yesterday! We did a range of fun teddy bear related activities. Here are some photos of the fun!