Category Archives: Kauri

Kauri News – Week 9

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Welcome back to Term 2!

Learning in Team Kauri - Presentations for sustainability inquiry

This term, our students have been deeply engaged in an inquiry topic focused on sustainability, exploring how our choices impact the environment and looking at ways to protect our planet for the future. Over the last two weeks, students have been proudly presenting their final project outcomes to their peers. These presentations showcase an impressive variety of creative mediums, including hand-crafted models, informative posters, and student-led podcasts, covering a diverse range of critical sustainability topics. We are incredibly impressed by the depth of research, critical thinking, and passion our students have demonstrated throughout this unit.

Canterbury Cross Country

Congratulations to our Year 7-8 students who made it through to Canterbury Cross Country. We are extremely proud of their efforts and the way they represented themselves at such a prestigious event. Results below:

AWD

Jacob Hamilton - 2nd (5:07)

Year 7 Girls

Clara Shaw - 87th (14:44)

Year 7 Boys

Haydn O’Connor - 32nd (12:14)

Year 8 Girls

Laura Stoney - 3rd (11:58)

Misha Lee - 45th (13:34)

Year 8 Boys

Ben Stoney - 33rd (11:33)

Year 8 hoodies - preliminary design and fundraising

We are excited to begin the process of designing and creating our special Year 8 hoodies! To ensure these keepsakes are accessible for everyone, the cost to whānau will be kept to just $20 per hoodie, with the students actively fundraising to cover the remaining balance. The students will be heavily involved in the design process to make these shirts uniquely theirs. Further information regarding order forms, sizing, and fundraising details will follow as soon as the plans are finalized.


Bingo Night & Hampers

Get ready for a fun-filled evening at our upcoming School Bingo Night! This exciting fundraising event is a fantastic opportunity for our community to come together for an evening of friendly competition, great prizes, and school spirit. All proceeds raised throughout the night will directly support our upcoming school projects and student resources. Whether you're a seasoned pro or a first-time player, come along for a chance to shout "Bingo!" while making a meaningful contribution to our school. We look forward to seeing you there for a night to remember! A big thank you for all our whānau who contributed some amazing items for our Hamper prizes.

Cantamath planning & projects

The 2026 Cantamath competition information has noe become available outlining this year's three separate competitions: the Year 5&6 Challenge, the Year 7–10 Display Competition, and the Year 7–10 Team Competition. Please mark your calendars for two key dates in August: Tuesday, 18th August is the drop-off day for all Year 5&6 Challenge entries and Year 7–10 Displays, followed by the exciting Teams Competition on Wednesday, 19th August. The official theme inspiring this year's creations is "Maths in Nature", while students looking ahead can start brainstorming for the 2027 theme (and 2026 motifs), which will be "Maths in Games". The classes in Team Kauri will be spending some time over the next two weeks to go over expectations and ideas. We encourage whānau to spend some time with their child to work on their projects.

Upcoming Events: Term 2

Week 10

  • Learning Conferences - Tuesday and Wednesday

  • Early finish both days: 1:45pm

  • Bingo Night - Saturday 27th June 7pm in school hall (tickets available)

Week 11

  • Last day of Term - Friday 3rd July

Week 1, Term 3

  • Wednesday 22nd July Matariki Evening 5:30pm - 7:15pm


A nationwide creative writing competition for young Kiwi readers
Every Reader Has A Story … What’s Yours?
Books can stay with us long after we've turned the final page. Sometimes they help us through a difficult time. Sometimes they make us feel understood. Sometimes they open a door into a new world, a new idea, or a new way of seeing ourselves.
How has a book helped change you? 
To help celebrate the inaugural NZ Children’s Books Week: Read Around Aotearoa, the children's book-gifting charity, Kiwi Christmas Books, is inviting you, the keen young readers of Aotearoa, to tell us a true story about how a book made a difference in your life. Entry form
You could win $250 in books for yourself and $500 in books for your school, and have your story published! 

Term 2, Week 10 -  All Ages

Staying Safe Online: Scams

People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!


It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.


Read their scam tips here. 

















Kauri Week 7 Blog

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 Kauri Week 7 Blog

Kia ora koutou,

What a busy and productive two weeks it has been in the Kauri Hub!

Our students are currently putting the finishing touches on their Sustainability Inquiry projects and explanation essays. Over the remainder of the term, students will be sharing their learning through presentations in their home rooms. They have been working diligently to prepare presentation scripts and showcase the knowledge they have gained throughout this inquiry. Be sure to ask your child what they have learned about sustainability and how they think we can make a positive difference for our planet.

Winter Sport

We have now completed two successful Winter Sport sessions. A huge thank you to all of the parents and whānau who generously volunteer their time to coach, manage, and support our teams. Winter Sport simply would not be possible without your commitment and enthusiasm.

Students are doing a fantastic job getting into the routine of bringing the correct gear each Thursday and being ready to go promptly. Those remaining at school have been enjoying a variety of activities, including badminton, table tennis, creative art projects, and cooperative games.

Trees for Survival

A group of our Year 5-8 students recently travelled to Kaiapoi with Sue to participate in the Trees for Survival planting programme. This valuable initiative gives students the opportunity to grow eco-sourced native seedlings before planting them to help restore eroding land, stabilise stream banks, and improve water quality.

The students returned to school a little muddy, a little tired, but full of stories and proud of the contribution they had made to the environment.


Literacy and Inquiry – Sustainability Explanation Essays

Over the past few weeks, students have been researching topics connected to sustainability, including sustainable cities, fast fashion, renewable energy, and protecting our oceans and waterways.

Throughout this process, students have demonstrated impressive perseverance, creativity, and critical thinking. Their inquiry projects highlight both their understanding of sustainability issues and their ideas for creating positive change.

In Literacy, students have focused on developing strong explanation essays by crafting effective topic sentences, paraphrasing research into their own words, and accurately citing sources. They have worked hard to clearly explain the how and why behind their chosen topics and should be proud of the progress they have made.

Ara Leadership Programme

Today marked the fourth and final session of our Ara Leadership Programme. Throughout the programme, students worked alongside Ara students and participated in a range of adventure-based learning activities designed to develop leadership, communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills.

It has been wonderful to see students challenge themselves, build confidence, and develop valuable leadership skills that they can apply both in and out of the classroom.

Upcoming Dates:  If you have not provided your luxury item for our fundraiser, please have your child bring in their item next week. We appreciate all you do.

Term 2

Week 8:

Thursday: Winter Sport

Friday: Celebration Assembly (Leadership Awards will be given)


Week 9:

Wednesday: PSC Cross Country Canterbury Zones (Yr 5-8)


Ngā mihi,

Hugo, Kate McG, Sarah A, Megan C, Nicky and Megan H 


Kauri- Term Two, Week 5

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Congratulations !

Leadership badges, Kete Certificates, Science Badge, Cross Country, NFL competitions! It is wonderful to see so many opportunities offered and taken up by our ākonga this term. Congratulations to you all, we are very proud. 

We also know that sometimes we miss something, so feel free to discuss this with your homeroom teacher. 

 Cashmere High School Trip 14 May

Here is a photo gallery of our trip on Thursday, along with some student voice of the experience. 

CHS "its scary as you feel like you have to get everything right", "they are a great bunch and they know their stuff ", "they are lucky having a trip like this". 

BKTOP " this was sooo much fun", "the haka was so loud, they knew how to use their voices", "I saw Jacob's sister", " the students were really friendly".

















Being Part of Something Bigger- Cashmere High School and Beckenham te kura o Pūroto

Planting in the Cashmere Stream.

This initiative was started through the sustainability club at CHS and some our students have been working with this group too! A big thank you to Vinnie, John, Max, Alex P, Tom, Alex S and Dylan who volunteered their time and Justine Vandenberg for giving our students the opportunity to be sustainable citizens. Ace!


The grasses will help to cool the stream for the eels, absorb run off and the draping leaves provide some habitat for small aquatic life. 










40 Hour Famine -Be part of Something Bigger


19–21 June | Be Part of Something Bigger

This year, World Vision are again inviting young people across Aotearoa to make a real impact through the 40 Hour Challenge — raising life-changing funds for children and communities in the Solomon Islands.

Why?
Because right now, many children and families in the Solomon Islands are facing significant challenges due to poverty and the impacts of climate change. Communities rely heavily on farming and fishing, making them especially vulnerable to changing weather patterns and natural disasters. Funds raised through the 40 Hour Challenge help provide practical support and create stronger, more sustainable futures.

Our Year 5–8 students had the opportunity to sign up this week. We would love your support in helping them sign up, choose a challenge, and begin their fundraising journey. Click the link here to join our school's fundraising page. 

Whether students choose to go completely offline for 40 hours or create a challenge of their own, every effort helps make a difference.

Child not taking part in the challenge but would still like to contribute? You can access our school fundraising page here.

Cyber Safety

The HDCA for Parents and Whānau

The Harmful Digital Communications Act (or HDCA for short) is an act passed by the Government back in 2015 to help people dealing with serious or repeated harmful digital communications. It covers anything digital like text, emails or social media content.


The most useful thing for parents to understand about the HDCA is the way the 10 communication principles define what is good or bad behaviour online.


If you’re ever concerned about your young person (or you just want to brush up on your knowledge!) visit Netsafe’s Guide to the HDCA

Staying Safe Online: Bullying

One in five young people in New Zealand have been the target of online bullying – it can happen to anyone, and it can be hard for parents and whānau to deal with. Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto takes online bullying seriously and would encourage you to chat to your tamariki’s teacher if you have any concerns about online bullying.


Visit Netsafe’s Online Bullying Advice for Parents to read more.



Kauri News – Week 1, Term 2

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Welcome back to Term 2!

Tēnā koutou! The Team Kauri teachers have been excited to welcome back our Year 7 & 8 students. We hope you all had a restful break and are ready to get back into the swing of things for the new term.

Building Work in Kōmanawa

There was some exciting progress during the holidays: new walls and doors were installed in our Kōmanawa spaces! These additions will help our team create more learning-centered spaces, reducing noise across the hub while allowing for greater flexibility when we are working collaboratively.

Technology & Languages

The start of the term has coincided with our new technology rotations. Students have already started in their new groups, and there has been a hive of activity across the spaces with everyone keen to learn new skills.

Students also welcomed back our language teachers this week as they continue to develop their knowledge and acquisition of beginner French and Spanish.

Fundraisers

At the end of Term 1, Kahawai (Hugo’s HG) organised a school sausage sizzle fundraiser. It was a massive hit! The class sold over 300 sausages and made approximately $500 profit. A big thank you to our admin team for collecting the money and tracking orders, and to the teachers across the school who helped manage the distribution on the day. Well done to Kahawai for the hard work that made this so successful!


Quiz Night 2026

In Week 10, Team Kauri will be hosting our annual Quiz Night! Please keep an eye out for further notices regarding this event. From Week 5, we will be asking each Team Kauri family to contribute a luxury item for our hampers.

We are also looking for parent helpers both for the evening itself and to help with the lead-up. We are especially keen to find a parent coordinator to help source special prizes to be auctioned or awarded to our top quiz teams.


Upcoming Events: Term 2

Week 1

  • Friday: Welcome Assembly

Week 2

  • Monday: ANZAC Day Public Holiday (No School)

  • Wednesday: PSC Aqua-thon Event (Swim & Run)

  • Wednesday: World Vision Junior Youth Conference 2026 – Christchurch

  • Friday: Whole School Cross Country

Week 3

  • All Week: PTA Readathon
  • Monday: Winter Sport Trials (1:30 pm – 3:00 pm)
  • Tuesday: Winter Sport Trials (1:30 pm – 3:00 pm)

Kauri Team Newsletter – Week 8 Term 1

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 Kauri Week 8 Blog


Kia ora koutou, 

We have been very engaged and working diligently in the Kauri hub for the last two weeks! We’ve been focused on our Literacy/Inquiry tasks on Leadership, have had hockey sessions to amp up our skills, Tuakana Teina time with our Year 1 and 2s from Kahikatea, and started cross-country training for the competition in Term 2. The Year 5-8 teachers have also been collaborating about our Winter Sports programme, which starts in Term 2 as well! 

Upcoming Dates:

Term 1
Week 9:            

Wednesday - Huxster Mountain Biking Event at McLean's Island

Thursday - Last day of school for Term 1 (have a restful break!)

Term 2

Week 1:

Wednesday - Ngā Puna Wai Tournament (Year 5-8)

Week 2:

Monday - School closed (Anzac Day)

Wednesday - PSC Aquathon Swim and Run Event

Wednesday - World Vision Junior Youth Conference 2026 (for World Challenge Leaders)

Friday - BTKOP Cross Country Event


Tuakana Teina with Kahikatea students

Every other Friday (non-assembly days), Kauri is buddying with the Year 1 and 2 students for some shared reading and inquiry time. Last week, they paired up one-to-one and completed a Nature Scavenger Hunt and read books together. We love seeing our school values ‘We Care’ and ‘We Get There Together’, during this time. Looking forward to next time!

Canterbury Hockey Sessions 

Each Home Group had a jam-packed 45-minute session with a Canterbury Hockey representative. The students learned about push passing, how to hold a stick correctly, had a few competitions and played a game at the end. Everyone showed ‘We Love Learning’ during their session!

Literacy/Inquiry Biographies

The past few weeks, the students have been researching a leader of their choice and writing a biography essay about that person. The students will also create a static image of their leader. This is a visual representation of their leader with a quote and symbol to depict a strong image portrayal. We look forward to completing our projects and sharing them with whānau and each other.

Year 7/8 Mountain Biking Relay

The South Island Schools MTB Champs are currently underway, and the boys have already had an awesome start. Our Year 7/8 team of Zach G, Ben S, and Daniel M took out 1st place, finishing four minutes ahead of the next team. They also placed 10th overall, racing against mostly high school riders.

In the U14 Cross Country race, Zach G placed 1st, winning by three minutes. Daniel M finished 6th, and Ben S came in 11th.

Such a great effort so far—we’re excited to see how they get on over the rest of the event!


PSC Canterbury Swimming:

A huge congratulations to all the Year 7/8 students who participated in the zone swimming competition. Fun was had by all, especially when they got their ice cream! The participants displayed grit and our school value, ‘We Love Challenge’. Well done tamariki!

Welcome to Nate, our 24/7 Youth Worker!

Nate, a 24/7 Youth Worker, will join the Kauri team in Term 2, working 2 days a week. He comes with fantastic listening skills and a passion to support all tamariki. We look forward to working with him on our team!

Have a fantastic weekend with your tamariki,
Hugo, Kate McG, Megan C, Sarah A, Megan H & Nicky