Kia ora e te whānau,

We have had the most amazing first day in Koru today! Our team is called 'Koru' and our hub/building is called 'Hangare'. We are so proud of how the children independently unpacked their bags and said their goodbyes today!

Our day has been filled with lots of fun, excitement, getting to know each other and our learning space. We have spent lots of time together on the mat talking about what we do at school, how we do things and where things are. You could ask your child what they do if they need to go to the toilet, or where they go when the bell rings at the end of Little Play and Big Play?

We have gone on lots of adventures to explore around the school and where we can play; like Treemendous and the Junior Playground. We also visited Jacky in the office and looked in the Hall to see where the Welcome Assembly will be tomorrow morning.

We always have a teacher available before school to greet you and support the children in settling into the hub. We appreciate your support in having quick and quiet goodbyes and then we can help the children find something to play with. This is really helpful in creating a quiet and calm space for children to begin their day, especially as more children start school and our hub gets busier. 

We are super excited for our year ahead in the Koru team!

Ngā mihi nui,

Stacey, Georgia and Paul

stacey.mclachlan@beckenham.school.nz

georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz

 Kia ora e te whānau,

It feels very hard to believe that here we all are, at the very end of the 2023 school year. Your children have all settled so beautifully into life at school this year, and their learning has been impressive, to say the least. 

It's been very exciting for us as teachers, and you too, we're sure, to witness the social, emotional and physical progress, as well as the progress in academic learning that the children have all made since starting at school. What a wonderful group of tamariki they are! We're going to miss them terribly over the long summer holiday, and will be looking forward to seeing them back again (mostly as members of the Kahikatea team), with their beautiful smiles at the start of next year.

Thank you all so much for the unstinting support you have given both your children and the teachers this year. Their progress would not have been such as it is, without your backup on the home front. You can be absolutely certain that we have appreciated this enormously!

Final two days:

Please do ensure that you check that you have all of your child's belongings, before leaving on Tuesday:

• all clothing, including sunhat, polar fleece and socks 
• their lunchbox and drink bottle (there are often drink bottles left behind on the last day!)
• and any other personal items belonging to your child.

 Kia ora, e te whānau,

As our year is coming to an end, we have some exciting things coming up! We have lots of fun things planned for our last week and a bit! A reminder that on the final day of school, Tuesday, 19th December, our tamariki will meet their 2024 Home Group teacher and school will finish at 12:30p.m. 

Teddy Bears' Picnic:

On Monday, December 18th, we are planning to hold a fun Teddy Bears' picnic, followed by games, out in Beckenham Park.

At 1:20 p.m., children will wash their hands, put their hats on, collect their lunches, drink bottles and soft toys, and we'll head out to have lunch under the big trees near the Big Adventure playground. 

Once they have finished eating, children will be able to choose from a variety of games options: parachute games, Duck, Duck, Goose or playing on the Big Adventure playground. Games will be organised by some of our Year 7 students.

Please ensure that your child has the following items on Monday, December 18th:

• their lunchbox (it would be better not to order lunch for your child that day)
• their drink bottle
• their hat
• their favourite soft toy (teddy bear or other).

We're looking forward to a lovely, fun afternoon on the second to last day of the school year! 

Kapa Haka performance:

On Friday of Week 9, our children put on a performance to showcase some waiata we have been learning with Whaea Cath. Below are some photos of the wonderful afternoon showcase. Thank you to all those who attended!

 Kia ora, e te whānau,

Some important dates:

• Celebrate Diversity and Culture Dress Up day: Friday 1st December
• House Games: Monday 4th December, you can wear your house top if you wish
• Koru Kapa Haka performance: Friday 8th December 2.45pm at Hangere (our classroom)
• Tamariki meet their 2024 teacher and final day for the school year: Tuesday 19th December (school finishes 12.30pm)

End of Year Reports 

The end of year summary reports are now available through the Hero portal for children who are in Georgia, Elizabeth and Stacey's Home Groups. The end of year report reflects aspects of your child's learning for the second part of the year. Please take the time to sit with your child and share their report with them, celebrating their learning. 

To find your child's report; open Hero, click on their name, then click '2023 report'. If you need any help accessing the report through Hero, please contact your child's Home Group teacher.

Koru Waiata performance for families

We would like to invite our Koru families and Whānau to come and watch our Koru tamariki (children) perform the waiata we have been learning with Whaea Cath. 

• Friday 8th of December, 2.45pm; outside our classroom (Hangere)

Our word of the week is: Determination. Determination is never giving up, no matter what! A determined person decides to do something, and then does it! How have you shown determination today by trying again and again? 

Here are some photos of Koru children showing their determination when learning new things!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

 Kia ora, e te whānau,

Believe it or not, we are well over halfway through the term! We have had our school Athletics day, our second house games session and our tamariki continue to work very hard in their Literacy and Maths groups, as well as in the other learning areas such as Aotearoa NZ Histories, Science and Digitech, and with a further focus over the next few weeks in the areas of Visual Art and Wellbeing. 

Another plea to ensure that your child has a sunhat every day, please. If you can also apply some sunscreen before school, that would be much appreciated.

As the weather warms up, we have been engaging in some amazing water play during Learning Through Play. Our tamariki are really enjoying this and it would be great for them to have a spare change of clothes in their bags.

Some important dates for this term are as follows:

• House games afternoon - Monday, 20th November and Monday, 4th December (wear your house T-Shirt, if you wish)
• Celebrate Diversity and Culture Dress Up day - Friday, 1st December
• Tamariki meet their 2024 teacher and final day of school for the year - Tuesday, 19th December

Koru Athletics Morning:

What an amazing event, and even the wind wasn't able to stop us from giving it our full effort. The tamariki displayed our values of 'We Get There Together' by supporting and encouraging their peers, and 'We Love Challenge' by giving 100% to all activities. The gumboot toss, sprints and high jump were all a huge success. Well done to everyone!

House Games:

Every fortnight our wonderful Senior House Captains have been organising house games for the whole school. Students are put into teams within their house groups and participate in a variety of outdoor physical activities. So far we have been involved in playing Octopus, Duck Duck Goose, parachute games, egg and spoon races, potato sack races and All In Tag, just to name a few. The tamariki are loving it and they are encouraged to wear their house T-Shirts on these days. The next house games afternoon is tomorrow, Monday 20th November, with the final house games afternoon for the year being on Monday, December 4th.

Reminders:

Sun hats need to be brought to school every day. These will stay in your child's bag whenever the children are indoors. Unfortunately, no hat means no play.

If you use the sandpit at the end of the day after school, can you please make sure to put the cover back on before you leave. We really appreciate seeing that you are already helping us with this. Thank you!

Literacy folders need to be brought back to school and unpacked from schoolbags every day, so that they can be used during our Literacy sessions.

Library folders and poetry books need to be brought back on or before Fridays, so your child can get a new poem for their poetry books and some new books from the library. 

We hope you all have a fabulous week ahead, and we look forward to seeing you at drop off and pick up times!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Georgia, Sarah, Elizabeth and Stacey