Kia ora whanau,

November already...and the weeks are whipping by! We are aware of the fact that this time of year is terribly busy for families, so if you are finding that you are suffering from (digital) information overload, we are going to have a tray outside Rooms 10 and 11, in which we shall place hard copies of our team news and events. Please feel free to pick one up if you would prefer.

Please note the following:

• Whanau hui from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, November 10th;
• Athletics starts on Wednesday afternoon (RJT), so please send your child in sensible shoes fo running, jumping and throwing activities!
• Keeping Ourselves Safe activities will continue through to the end of this week, Week 4. (Home books will keep coming home throughout this week - please work through the marked pages with your child)
Other important dates to note this term are:
• Thursday, 26th November - team outing to Willowbank leaving 11:30 a.m. and arriving back at school between 2:30 and 3:00 p.m. (teachers will be seeking parent help for this outing over the next few weeks);
• Wednesday, 2nd December - Te Whanau Koru will be teaming up with Te Whanau Pohutukawa to go into town to visit the Transitional Cathedral followed by a picnic and time to explore in the Botannic Gardens, leaving school at 9:30 and arriving back at school early-mid afternoon;
• Thursday, 3rd December - Te Whanau Koru and Te Whanau Kahikatea celebration, starting at 1:45 and finishing at 2:45 p.m.
Best wishes to all,
Gail, Rowe, Jo, Cath, Andrea and Amanda 

Kia ora whanau,
What a lovely warm week we're having, and lots of fun and excitement as we head towards our Beckenham School Centenary weekend!
The following are some events and notes of interest through to the end of this week and for the week to come:

Keeping ourselves safe -
Our local constable, Constable Ross, will be visiting each class throughout next week. Please keep an eye out for any home learning coming home in relation to our Keeping Ourselves Safe programme. It would be fantastic if this was completed and then sent back to class each day, as this home learning  may be referred to in class the following day.

Beckenham School Centenary - 
If you haven't indicated that you are going to be away this weekend, would you please drop your children off at 11 a.m. this Saturday (this is slightly earlier than previously mentioned) to their classroom where teachers will mark them as present on a roll. The children will then go with their teachers to perform outside Hub 3 and 4. Following the performance, would you please collect your child from the veranda outside Hub 3 and 4. Please speak with your Point of Contact teacher as you take your child so that we are able to tick them off on our rolls and know that they are safely in your hands.
Also please remember that classrooms will be open between 12 noon and 1 p.m. to view the beautiful art works which are on display.

Lost property -
A lot of unnamed items have been left at school from dress up day last week - if you are looking for anything in particular you will find unclaimed items in the lost property box located in the office.

This Friday - 
We have our school open day on Friday and there are going to be a lot of ex-pupils walking through our classrooms to view teaching and learning in our Modern Learning Environments. Would you please remind your children of this? We will be wanting to keep our classrooms neat and tidy - it would be fantastic if you could check your child's bag and take out any unnecessary items to support your child with managing their belongings.

Pride assembly -
Our next PRIDE assembly will be held on October 30th at 10 a.m. Any parents are welcome to attend whole school assemblies.

Athletics -
We will be starting our Athletics programme in Week 4 (on Wednesday, November 4th). Please send your child along in appropriate footwear for 'running, jumping and throwing' each Wednesday through to the end of Week 8 (Thursday, December 3rd - not a Wednesday, however this Thursday is our proposed date for showing parents some of the activities we have been involved in).

Please note that a letter will be emailed out next week to let you know about any important dates through to the end of the year.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as are able at school on Saturday!

Best wishes!
Te Whanau Koru

Welcome back to Term 4. We trust you and your children had a relaxing and fun holiday. Term 4 is always a very busy term and this year is no exception!

Dates of note:

Thursday 15th October

• Shake Out! Practice ( Earthquake drill) - your children did extremely well during this practice. Well done, Te Whanau Koru!
• Hub Photos- These will be available for purchase if you would like to purchase one. Information will be sent home with your child.

Friday 16th October

• Rugby World Cup Mufti day- what a wonderful day we all had! Children arrived at school wearing clothing with a french flavour (Hub 10 & 11) or (in Hub 12 & 13) shorts, t-shirts and jandals, as well as other Oz-related items!

Next Week:

• Monday 19th Oct- Keeping Ourselves Safe parent info session will be held at 2:15- 3:00 p.m. in the Staffroom;

• Tuesday 20th Oct- children will be attending a play performed by NZ Playhouse- 'Jack Flash and the Jumping Beanstalk';

• Friday 23rd Oct- School open day as part of the Centenary celebrations;

• Saturday 24th October- School Centenary Day- Children will be performing their folk dances. Please ensure you have informed your teacher if your child is unable to attend.

Kia ora whanau,

Spring has sprung...just in time for the upcoming holidays!  (We'll just hope this wee wet spell disappears as quickly as it appeared).  Next week is the last week of Term 3.  It has been a busy, happy term with lots of exciting learning.

A special warm welcome to all our new children starting school. It is lovely to have you and your families here with us.

Gymnastics
A big thank you to all the parents who have assisted with Gymnastics.  We have completed this unit now.  The children have made incredible progress with their skill development.  They may be able to demonstrate to you at home!

Pride Assembly
At Pride Assembly last week, Te Whanau Koru presented  the money that we made on our Cupcake Day to SPCA .  This was gratefully received.  The children did a wonderful job presenting the assembly.  

Band
On Wednesday 23 September our very own Beckenham School training and concert band will be performing for the whole school.  We cant wait!

Ice cream and Jelly
Ice-cream and Jelly are for sale on Wednesday 23 September.  The cost is $2.00.  Please pay this before school in exchange for a stamp.  This is fundraising for Year 7 and 8 camp.

Games Friday
To end the term on a high note, we will be spending the afternoon of Friday 25 September taking part in a games rotation.  We will be playing some out favourites including Cat and Mouse, What's the time Mr Wolfy, Midnight and relays.

School holiday reading
We would love to encourage you to continue to read with your children in the holidays .  If you have a chance, you might like to visit the South Library who have a large selection of really exciting Early Reading books, as well as many old favourites.  Books such as Dear Zoo, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and We're Going on a Bear Hunt, encourage lots of repetition and rhyming.  Nursery rhymes are also a wonderful way to encourage literacy learning.  These can be sung, recited, or read.  Have fun!

School Centenary
Over Labour Weekend, Oct 23-25, Beckenham School are holding the School Centenary. Our classes will be performing folk dancing on the Saturday event and your child will be involved.  Our children will be performing between 11.00am and 12.00pm.  This will be followed by open time in the classrooms when children are invited to share their art works and classroom environments with the many visitors on the day.  It is going to be a great occasion - and a time to be part of history making.

Reading Books
HELP- we are in desperate need of willing parents who may have 15-20 minutes available to help with the returning of reading books to the resource room.  If you have a few minutes after dropping your child at school, or prior to end of day pick up, we would love you to pop into Rooms 12,13, 11 and 10 to see if the teachers have any books to be returned.  The books are returned to the reading room which is situated upstairs in the junior block, between rooms 2 and 3.  This does not need to be a regular commitment, but just any time that you have a little spare time.  Thank you in anticipation.

Wishing you all a lovely last week of the term,

Gail, Jo, Cath, Andrea and Amanda.