It has been wonderful to see the weather starting to warm up! A reminder that all students are required to wear a sunhat for outside play/activities in Term 4. These are kept in hat tubs at school. Students are responsible for ensuring that they look after their own hats and place them back into their homegroup hat tub after break times.
We are also asking that students keep their shoes on at all times (especially outside) unless they are extremely wet/dirty. This helps keep our feet safe and minimises the chance of missing shoes and socks.
Aotearoa NZ Histories
As part of our Aotearoa NZ Histories Curriculum, the Kahikatea learners have been learning about the first people of Aotearoa and the journey that they undertook to get here. We have been learning about tāngata whenua, Kupe's journey and the waka hourua.
It has been exciting watching this knowledge in our learners develop.
House Games
Students across the school have been participating in House Games each Monday. It has been a wonderful opportunity for the learners to build team spirit, work with others, and have a great time.
Cashmere Technical Football
We have been fortunate to have some football skills sessions run by Cashmere Technical Football Club. These have been happening on Tuesday (Krystal's & Amber's Homegroups), and Thursday (Katie's & Lisa/Quynh Homegroups) afternoon.
Bounce and Skip
The Bounce and Skip monkeys have been having some amazing adventures with our tamariki! We all enjoy seeing what adventures they get up to. We are proud of the wonderful writing efforts of our learners who have taken them home.
When the monkeys come for a visit to your house, please remember to bring them back so they can go on as many adventures as possible.
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!
Welcome to Term 4! We have a busy term ahead, with lots of engaging learning experiences planned.
Weeks 1 - 3: Athletics practice (hurdles, shotput, relays, and long jump).
Weeks 3 - 6: Navigators/Waka Hourua - Tamariki will learn about the journey of the first people to live in Aotearoa/New Zealand.
Weeks 4 - 9: Cashmere Technical Football Club - Football in Schools programme (two sessions per week)
Weeks 7-10: Fairy tales - Children will learn that a fairy tale is a fictional story, often passed down through generations. We are very keen to incorporate fairy tales from all cultural backgrounds within our team. Please, if you have a fairy tale you wish to share, please let your child's home group teacher know. This unit will conclude with a trip to the Isaac Theatre Royal, where we will watch a performance of Cinderella by the Southern Ballet Company.
Teaching Assistants
This term, we welcome two new teaching assistants to the Kahikatea team. Laura and Karen, we are looking forward to working with you!
Laura
Karen
Sunhats
Sunhats are compulsory in Term 4. No hat, no play. We find it best to leave sunhats at school each day to ensure that children always have a hat at school. Each home group has a bucket in which these are stored. Please make sure that your child's hat is clearly named.
Little Learners Texts
We encourage children to bring their literacy folder to school at the start of each week with their previous week's text inside. This way, we have enough texts to use in our teaching for the following week. If you have any Little Learners texts lying around at home, please send them our way!
Word of The Week
This week's word of the week is 'upstander'. An upstander will use their words and/or actions to help someone who is being mistreated. The following video has been shared with your child/ren this week.
Library
Please note that Krystal and Katie's home groups have changed library days this term.
Library days are:
Tuesday: Lisa/Quynh & Katie's home groups
Thursday: Amber & Krystal's home groups
Please support your child to have their folder at school on their library day.
We can't believe there's only one more week of Term 3 left. We have been really enjoying the warmer weather and far fewer wet days indoors. This is a good reminder to dig out those sunhats ready for term 4.
Well done to our learners who auditioned for the talent quest which is being held next week. We loved seeing the joy you had in performing. Thanks for sharing your talents with us!
Cricket Awareness Skills Sessions
Last week we were lucky to experience cricket sessions with Southern Districts & South East Ōtautahi Cricket Club. Each home group had time over at the hall, learning new skills, such as batting and bowling. If your child came home buzzing, check out the brochure and information below, with how to access further cricket lessons.
"At Beckenham Park, we not only deliver cricket for all ages, but a quality, engaging sport and physical activity program that we deliver through play, using our natural environment and varied equipment. We aim to improve the physical literacy of our community and encourage them to stay physically active. We would love to see more of our Beckenham whānau join us for a summer of cricket.
We have teams from Friday afternoon Smashies, Year 1-2 Cricket through to Year 6 Hardball, and then for our female only players we have teams from Year 3-4 through to Year 8-10." - Cat Quinn, Kids in Action Christchurch
Beckenham's Got Talent
Auditions for team Kahikatea were held on Wednesday afternoon. We were so impressed by the confidence shown, the range of talents, and the willingness to give it a go. Ka pai everyone, Nau Mai te Wero!
Mathematics
This task sparked lots of discussion and thinking. In Lisa and Quynh's homegroup, we voted using tally marks, on which dog was the odd one out. Then we were set the challenge to find a second answer. Most people thought that the top right dog was the odd one out. Here are some of our reasons.
Top left: "That dog is facing the other way."
Top right: "It is the only one with spots. It must be a dalmation!"
Bottom left: "It's smaller than the others."
Bottom right: "It is long and flat, like a sausage dog!"
We have been enjoying exploring fractions as well as using materials to understand place value.
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori
We have been celebrating Māori language this week, through a range of activities and waiata.
Here are some waiata you might want to enjoy with your tamariki at home:
Here are some phrases your whānau may want to learn together:
Here are some images from our wiki:
Literacy
We have noticed so much progress in our handwriting over the course of the year. Bounce and Skip, the monkeys, have had many fantastic adventures with our learners and we have loved seeing all of the pictures of what they've been up to.
Handwriting is such an important part of our literacy programme. Check out this video discussing the research and evidence surrounding the impact of handwriting fluency.
Learning to use the conjunctions 'because', 'but', 'so':
Some of our eager writers and illustrators enjoyed sharing their books with Sandy on Friday:
We have really been enjoying the sandpit in this lovely weather. Sometimes our water and sand play can get a little messy, so please provide a change of clothes for your child if they are a keen sandpit adventurer!
Over the holidays we will be moving homegroup spaces. Quynh and Lisa's homegroup will move to the breakout space, Krystal's HG to the Nook, Amber's HG to the theatre, and Katie's HG to the atrium.
Our last day of the term is Friday 22nd of September (the same day that calendar art orders are due).
Have a wonderful holiday break and we look forward to seeing you all back on Monday 9th October.
Welcome to Spring! It has been wonderful to have warmer days and to see the sun shining this week!
Keeping Ourselves Safe
This week Kahikatea students have learned about:
Unwanted Behaviour or Touch
Students need to know that they can stop touching or behaviour that is inappropriate, that worries or confuses them, or makes them feel unsafe.
Students need to be able to say “no” confidently, move away, and report what has happened.
Secrets and Tricks
Identify the difference between good surprises and bad secrets
Identify the adults they trust about bad secrets
Explain safe practices for trick situations, including online.
This Brian and Bobby video has been a really helpful resource for our tamariki.
Last week during our lessons with Constable Meg we all watched this video about Consent (link). We encourage you to watch this too when you have time.
Word of the Week: Friendship
This week we have been learning about friendships and practicing being a good friend. Good friends have several common character traits. By intentionally practicing these qualities, you can help your child learn to be a better friend.
Here are some friendly character traits you can work on:
Taking turns
Offering encouragement
Sharing
Being patient
Including others
Mathematics
This week teachers have been completing the JAM test (Junior Asssessment for Maths) so classes have been combined. Some of the topics we have covered during this time include Skip Counting, Time, and Mathematical Art.
Here are some photos of our tamariki enjoying some different maths this week:
Chess Fun!
Every morning a group of Kahikatea students gather in the nook to play games of chess. Anyone is welcome to play and we encourage those of you whose children like to play or would like to learn how to play chess to check out this cool link: ChessPlus
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