Category Archives: Koru

Koru Team News: Term 2 Week 10 (5/07/2024)

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 Kia ora e te whānau,

Woohoo!! What an amazing term we have had!! We cannot believe it is already the end of Term 2! Your tamariki are doing so well, as they strive to keep up the momentum with their learning! It's been a very busy fortnight, including our Matariki hui, our Art Gallery Trip, and several children having their transition to school visits. We welcome Millie who started in Week 9, and Audrey who have started on Monday of this week. We are so thrilled to have you in our Koru team!

We also welcome Nicola Reddecliffe to our Koru teaching team. Nicola will be the home group teacher for our third homegroup, as more tamariki (children) start throughout next term. We are so excited to have her back in our Koru hub!


Art Gallery Trip:
What amazing outing we had at the Art Gallery. A massive thank you to the wonderful family helpers we had, we could not have done it without you! The children had such an awesome time, and it was great to see their engagement, enthusiasm, and excitement towards the different activities that were on offer. If you have any photos from the Art Gallery trip, please send these through to your child's home group teacher. Here are some snapshots the teachers took:





We will have the amazing art works our tamariki (children) created, up in the learning space next term.

Matariki Evening:
Thank you to those who attended our Matariki evening. It was a lovely celebration for a special event significant to Aotearoa (New Zealand). It was great to wander around and have a look in all the different hubs and see the wonderful activities that were on offer. It was extra special to see happy smiling faces, and seeing plenty of interactions between whānau (families). We hope you all  enjoyed the evening, and had a lovely and safe long weekend. 


A few reminders for next term:
  • Term 3 starts on Monday 22nd July
  • We will be having a Welcome Assembly on Friday 26th July to welcome all our tamariki (children) who started from Week 2 of Term 2, as well as those who begin at the start of Term 3. 
  • Literacy folders are staying in the hub over the holidays and will be handed back next term.
  • Lunchboxes next term: Can you please ensure your children have minimal wrappers in their lunchboxes. This makes it more accessible for your child and easier for them to eat. If there are wrappers or yoghurt pouches, could these please be slightly cut/ripped so your child can independently open these. Thanks for all your support with this. 
  • If Library books head home over the holidays, please make sure these come back in the first week of next term so that your child can get new ones. 
We hope you have an awesome, safe and restful holiday break, and we look forward to seeing our tamariki (children) back refreshed and ready for Term 3. 

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Georgia, Stacey and Elizabeth

stacey.mclachlan@beckenham.school.nz
georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz
elizabethgail.drummond@beckenham.school.nz
















    Koru Team News: Term 2 Week 8 (21/06/2024)

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    Kia ora e te whānau,

    The time really seems to be flying by with just a fortnight now until the school holidays, the last day of term being on Friday, July 5th. We have some exciting events planned for the final part of the term, including our Art Gallery trip on Monday, the Matariki evening on Tuesday next week and some Matariki baking on Thursday of next week just before the long Matariki weekend. Please see below for reminders about the dates on which these events and some others will be taking place.

    We warmly welcome Aylah who has had her first full week at school (what a wonderful first week you've had, Aylah!), and we're also excited to be welcoming Millie who is going to be starting school on Tuesday next week. We're so glad to have you both in the Koru team, tamariki!

    Important dates to remember:

    • Monday, June 24th, 9:00 - 12:00 Koru team Art Gallery outing
    • Tuesday, June 25th, 5:30 - 7:00 p.m. our whole school Matariki evening
    • Thursday, June 27th, Koru team Matariki baking (we'll be baking plain scones with jam on them - please do let us know if you'd prefer that your child doesn't have a scone)
    • Friday, June 28th, school is closed for the long Matariki weekend
    • Friday, July 5th is the last day of Term 2

    Cyber Safety at Beckenham Te Kura ō Pūroto:

    In this Blog post, we have a focus on being Aware 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 these days, digital technology is a key part of our young people's lives. 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.

    Maths in the Koru Team:

    In the Koru team, we just LOVE Maths! Our Maths takes the form of:

    • a weekly problem-solving session
    • Hot Spot warm ups, with a focus throughout each week on developing number knowledge, Move and Prove and Notice, Think, Wonder (see below for descriptions)
    • small group lessons, during which the children are taught to use their number knowledge in order to strategise to solve number problems
    • at times throughout each term, a focus on other Maths strands (aspects of Algebra, Geometry and Measurement and Statistics)
    • and once a week on Fridays our handwriting lesson is devoted to specifically learning and practising the correct numeral formation.
    During problem-solving, the children will be presented with a story and a challenge and will have the opportunity to work in small groups or pairs to solve the problem. The children will often use a whiteboard and other resources to support their problem-solving. Here's an example of an open-ended problem:

    Here are three caves. There are bears in each cave. There are 12 bears altogether. If there are 2 bears in the first cave, how many bears might be in each of the other caves?

    Notice, Think, Wonder:
    This involves the children simply offering up their observations and thoughts in response to an image which we will have displayed for them. Here is an example of a Notice, Think, Wonder image:

    Move and Prove:
    This activity begins with the children being shown a slide such as this:


    The question is discussed initially, as a whole group, and then children are asked to 'turn and talk' with the person beside them and discuss why they think the way they think. Once this has happened, the children are asked to move to a position on the mat which has been designated as either 'a', 'b', 'c' or 'd'. If a child finds it difficult to make a decision straight away, we have a space in the middle of the mat, which is the 'pause' area and children who are waiting there are given time to make their decision while others are asked to justify their choice. If a child who is sitting in the middle is persuaded by another child's justification, they are then able to move to sit with that child. As you will see from the image above, it's possible that there might be several 'correct' answers, depending on the way you view and think about the possibilities presented, and we inevitably notice that the children are able to come up with very interesting justifications for the choices they have made!
    Here is a selection of photos showing aspects of our Maths programme:





















    We do hope you have a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing all of those beautiful smiles back at school on Monday, ready for our outing to the Christchurch Art Gallery.

    Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
    Elizabeth, Stacey and Georgia





    Koru Team News: Term 2 Week 6 (07/06/2024)

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     Kia ora e te whānau,

    We have made it halfway through our second term of the year! We hope you are all managing to stay clear of the winter bugs which are starting to circulate. We'd like to share a warm welcome to Bruno who started school with us on Tuesday. Bruno has a big brother in the Kōwhai team, so we welcome Bruno's family to the Koru team!

    If your child started during Term 1, they will be receiving a Mid Year report. These have beem sent out today, so please check Hero to view this. We have had a busy last few weeks, and still have some exciting upcoming events. Below are the important dates:

    • Learning Conferences (next week); Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th June 
    • NZ Opera; whole school performance in our Hall; Thursday 13th June
    • Koru trip to the Christchurch Art Gallery; Monday 24th June  
    • Matariki Evening at school; Tuesday 25th June 5:30-7:00pm
    • Matariki (school closed); Friday 28th June
    • Hillview Cross Country Zones; Tuesday 2nd July (Anna Reid will have been in contact if this applies to your child)
    • Last day of Term 2: Friday 5th July
    • First day of Term 3: Monday 22nd July
    Morning routines:
    We are so proud to see the children continuing to show 'We Love Challenge' by carrying their own bags; putting their lunch box and drink bottles on the shelves; putting their Literacy folders in the group boxes and then settling down quietly into a game or activity each morning! 
    We thank all the Whānau for the quick and calm 'good byes' in the morning. As we get more children starting school, sometimes we notice it feeling very overwhelming and busy with so many people in the Hub before school, it is really helpful when you say goodbye and leave your child with us, leaving them to have some fun with their new school friends.

    House Groups:
    Our Koru children have all been allocated a 'House' to belong to: Fisher, Heathcote, Tennyson and Waimea. Children from the same family/whānau are put into the same house. Each house has its own 'chant' and tamariki learn this, so they can participate in the house chant at sports and special events, and in Celebration Assemblies, if it is their house that has won the House Points for that fortnight! You can find the House Chants here, and other are also videos that you can share with your child to help them learn their house chant. Mā tātou katoa te waka e hoe! We Get There Together!

    Lunchbox Reminders:
    • Please ensure your child is only bringing water to school (no juice or other drinks)
    • It is also important to help teach your child how to open and close their lunch boxes, so they can do this independently at the start and end of eating times
    • It would be great if you could also either pre-cut or teach your child how to open packets in their lunchboxes (for example potato sticks, chip bags, twisty yoghurt pouches, muesli bars etc.)
    Thank you for your help and co-operation with this!

    Word of the Week:
    Each week, we have a school-wide word of the week that we discuss, watch videos about, and try to implement throughout the day. The words we have had so far this term include:
    • Upstander: Standing up for others in situations that aren't right, and supporting others who may need your help
    • Honesty: Being truthful in what we say and do 
    • Inclusion: Making others feel a part of something and including others in your activities/games. 
    • Kindness: The quality of being considerate, friendly, and generous.
    • Respect: Accepting others for who they are, even when they are different from who you are, or don't agree with you. 
    • Resilience: Bouncing back from challenges and trying again. 
    Our Koru tamariki are becoming very knowledgeable about these words! Have a look at some of the awesome photos of our tamariki showing our "Word of the Week" and our school kete values:






















    Disco:
    Today, we celebrated our school PTA Disco. Our tamariki had some awesome outfits, and showed off their amazing dance moves. Have a look at some photos showing the fun we had:








    Learning Conferences:
    A reminder we have Learning Conferences coming up next week. If your child started at the beginning of the year, the Learning Conferences are optional if you would like to chat with your child's homegroup teacher about their mid year reports. If your child started at the beginning of Term 2, we recommend you booking a Learning Conference time so that your child's homegroup teacher can discuss their transition with you. School will be finishing at 1:30pm. Please refer to the School-wide newsletter from last week for more information about this, and for how to book a learning conference. 

    Reminder - Art Gallery Trip: We are still in need of some parent helpers for our Art Gallery Trip. If you are able to be help for this trip, please email your child's home group teacher. Thank you to those who have already done this. 

    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.



    We hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and stay warm!

    Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
    Georgia, Stacey, and Elizabeth

    stacey.mclachlan@beckenham.school.nz
    georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz
    elizabethgail.drummond@beckenham.school.nz










    Koru Team News: Term 2 Week 4

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     Kia ora e te whānau,

    We hope this finds you all well and managing to stay clear of the winter bugs which are starting to circulate. We'd like to officially welcome Callia and her family to Beckenham to Kura o Pūroto. Callia started school with us on Monday this week. A warm welcome also goes out to Ehsan who is going to be starting with us on Monday next week. Ehsan has a big sister in the Kōwhai team, so we welcome Ehsan's family back to the Koru team!

    We've had a very busy couple of weeks since our last Blog post. Activities have included:

    • Pink Shirt Day last Friday (emphasising the value of 'kindness')
    • the school Cross Country on Tuesday last week
    • learning how to play charades
    • learning some new waiata and playing Te Reo (emotions) Bingo
    • Book Character Dress Up Day today...
    • ... and of course lots of lovely Learning Through Play, with 'Inclusion' and 'Kindness' being our Words of the Week, and therefore a big area of focus for us all.
    Cross Country:
    Leading up to the school Cross Country, the tamariki, with the help of their kaiako, set themselves goals, which day by day they worked hard to achieve. They talked about 'pacing themselves', stamina and doing their best to have enough energy to continue to the end of the run. The children all worked very hard towards achieving their daily goals and we feel very proud of the effort they all put in on the day.
    Well done, children, and hopefully, families, you have all seen the Cross Country participation certificates which the children brought home this week.







    Literacy:
    Your children are doing so well in their Literacy learning. We just love the eager and excited attitude which they bring to their small group learning each day!
    Please follow these links for information about what we are focusing on at Stages 1 and 2 in our Structured Literacy programme, and also learn about ways in which you are able to help at home, at each of these stages:







    How can you help your child at home?

    The emphasis in teaching spelling is to focus on the sound, as opposed to the letter name. Making the phoneme (sound) - grapheme (letter shape) connection is the first step in literacy learning.

    Ensure that both you and your child are saying the ‘pure’ sound without an ‘uh’ sound on the end, for example, ‘lllll’ rather than ‘luh’. Please refer to this Youtube clip, The Sounds of New Zealand English, for more information on the sound that matches each of the letters.

    Here are some ideas about ways you might use the letter cards at home with your child: 

    Speed Sounds: use the cards as flash cards - your child can look at each letter card and say the sound it represents. See if your child can do this at speed.

    ‘I Spy’: You can play games such as ‘I Spy’, using the letter sound (not the name).

    Stepping Stones: Place the cards on the floor with the letter facing up, as if they are stepping stones across the river. Explain to your child that they have to cross the ‘river’ without falling in the water. Your child steps on each card and says the corresponding sound.

    Fish or Memory: You could make up a matching set of letter cards, and use both sets to play Fish or Memory together, by placing both sets of cards face down on the table or floor. Each player has to be able to say the sound, if they are to keep a matching pair of cards.

    Writing the graphemes: you might make the letter sound and ask your child to write the matching grapheme (support your child as much as is needed with this activity)

    Some of the above ideas can also be used with the heart words that your child either is, or will be, bringing home in their literacy folder.

    Look out for more information about our Structured Literacy programme in future Blog posts.

    ...and now just a few more fun photos from the past fortnight!














    Cyber Safety Information for Whānau:

    Staying Safe Online...

    As our tamariki spend more time online, it’s important parents and whānau help them stay safe. Now is a great time to talk to them about how we use the internet and digital technology.

    Netsafe has created an Online Safety Parent Toolkit so parents, families and whānau have all the information they need to talk about online safety.

    If you or anyone in your whānau needs support, you can contact Netsafe.

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

    We wish you all the best for a lovely weekend, everyone, and we look forward to seeing all of those beautiful, wide smiles at school again on Monday.

    Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

    Elizabeth, Stacey and Georgia


    Koru News: 10/05/2024 Term 2 Week 2

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    Kia ora e te Whānau,

    Welcome back to Term 2! We would also like to warmly welcome Korra, Hailey, Vincent, Archie, Elsa, Sadie, Manaia, Aurora, Marnie, Angus and Alma who have started school this term. We have got a busy term ahead of us with lots of exciting things to look forward to. Below are lots of dates and events for Term 2, there will be more information closer to the time for these.

    Term 2:
    • Cross Country; Tuesday 14th May, the junior races start from 2.15pm on the field. Children will need suitable shoes, a water bottle, and they can wear House Tops.
    • Readathon PTA Fundraiser; 6-17th June
    • Book Character dress up day; Friday 24th May
    • Staff Only Day (school closed); Friday 31st May
    • King's Birthday (school closed); Monday 3rd June
    • School Disco; 2:00-2:45pm Friday 7th June
    • Learning Conferences; Tuesday 11th and Wednesday 12th June
    • NZ Opera; whole school performance in our Hall; Thursday 13th June
    • Koru trip to the Christchurch Art Gallery; Monday 24th June  
    • Matariki Evening at school; Tuesday 25th June 5:30-7:00pm
    • Matariki (school closed); Friday 28th June
    Morning routines:
    We are so proud to see the children showing We Love Challenge by carrying their own bags; putting their lunch box and drink bottles on the shelves; putting their Literacy folders in the group boxes and then settling down quietly into a game or activity each morning! 
    We thank all the Whānau for the quick and calm 'good byes' in the morning. As we get more children starting school, sometimes we notice it feeling very overwhelming and busy with so many people in the Hub before school, it is really helpful when you say goodbye and leave your child with us, leaving them to have some fun with their new school friends.

    House Groups:
    Our Koru children have all been allocated a 'House' to belong to: Fisher, Heathcote, Tennyson and Waimea. Children from the same family/whānau are put into the same house. Each house has its own 'chant' and tamariki learn this, so they can participate in the house chant at sports and special events, and in Celebration Assemblies, if it is their house that has won the House Points for that fortnight! You can find the House Chants here, and other are also videos that you can share with your child to help them learn their house chant. Mā tātou katoa te waka e hoe! We Get There Together!

    Some Reminders:

    Friendship List: If you would like your name and contact details to be added to our Koru Team Friendship List, please email Georgia by Wednesday the 15th of May. Georgia will update the list and share it with you. If your name is already on the list, please don't worry about contacting Georgia again.
    georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz

    Lunchboxes: A few reminders about your child's lunchboxes:
    • Please ensure your child is only bringing water to school (no juice or other drinks)
    • It is also important to help teach your child how to open and close their lunch boxes, so they can do this independently at the start and end of eating times
    • It would be great if you could also either pre-cut or teach your child how to open packets in their lunchboxes (for example potato sticks, chip bags, twisty yoghurt pouches, muesli bars etc.)
    Thank you for your help and co-operation with this!

    Science: 
    On Wednesday, we had Ben Kennedy, a volcano expert, come and talk to the tamariki in the Koru team. Ben works at the University of Canterbury and is absolutely passionate about his chosen subject! He showed us his 'pet' rock collection, which represented the lava from various types of volcanic eruptions. We passed the rocks around and were able to see and feel many differences between each of them. Ben taught the children about words such as magma, lava, extinct, dormant and active. 



    We then all went outside where Ben's student, Jonathan, set up two different experiments for us: one to demonstrate the slow progress that lava makes as it flows down a mountainside and the second, to demonstrate what happens when there is more gas present and lava 'bombs' are created and then shoot up and out of the volcano, often landing some distance from the volcano itself. 





    Our first two weeks:
    Here are some pictures to show what we have been up to for our first couple of weeks this term, during Learning Through Play and Kinetic Letters with Bounce and Skip.











    We hope you have a fabulous weekend and look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

    Ngā mihi nui,
    Stacey, Georgia, and Elizabeth