Kia ora, e te whānau,
It's been a very busy couple of weeks for us all in the Koru team: we've been completing our Calendar Art; we've had Book Character Dress Up Day; and we've continued to have fun with our Literacy and Maths learning, all the while embracing new friends into our team.
We are very excited to have welcomed Sarah Junghen as the teacher of our third New Entrant class at the start of Week 5. Most of you will have seen Sarah this past week, in the hub, but if not, please do introduce yourselves to her. Sarah has been teaching at Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto for some years now, and we feel incredibly lucky to have her with us in the Koru team!
We also welcome the new children who have transitioned or are transitioning into the Koru team, and are in Sarah's Home Group: Iyana, Lailah, Esther, Ariella, Molly and Mason. Ngā whetu koutou katoa - you are all stars!
Calendar Art:
The children have been working incredibly hard this term on their artworks, which will eventually be available for purchase as calendars, notebooks, cards, etc. We know that you're going to absolutely love these works of art, and we do urge you to support our PTA with this fundraiser. Please keep an eye out for more information about ordering calendars, etc. We will be adding information to our daily whiteboard notices as it becomes available.
Keeping Ourselves Safe:
This term as part of our Health Curriculum, teams are teaching the programme called Keeping Ourselves Safe, in Years 0 - 6. In the units, the Koru children will be:
- describing where they live; identifying things that make them special and explaining when they feel safe and unsafe
- learning to use the correct names for body parts and describing whether a touch is one they like, one they don’t like, or one that is confusing
- learning to say ‘no’ to touch, behaviour and words that worry or confuse them and talking about moving away and seeking help
- identifying the difference between good surprises and bad secrets
- identifying people they trust and understanding family safety rules.
We will be starting the teaching in Week 8 (the week beginning Monday, September 4th) and over the course of the lessons we teach, there will be some information and activities which will be coming home in your child's school bag. This is for you and your child to complete at home, and does not need to be returned to school. Please keep an eye out for more information about KOS in the weeks ahead, and if you have any questions, please just ask.
Exciting outing ahead for the Koru team:
We are very excited to be letting you know that on Monday, September 18th, the Koru team children will be visiting the Christchurch Art Gallery.
The purpose of this outing is to give the children the opportunity to engage in discovering and exploring the work of artists whose work is held by the Christchurch Public Art Gallery. Teachers will explore the Gallery with their students, discuss a range of artists’ work and explore ideas of navigation, belonging, identity and how we are connected across time and place. During the guided tour, students will use signs and symbols to create a pictorial map of their own identity and journey through the Gallery which they will then complete, using watercolours and pastels, in the Education Centre.
Please note that there will be no cost for this outing, as your school donation covers all costs involved.
We will be needing parent help, so please do email your child's Home Group teacher or teachers, if you're able to come along with us on the day.
Elizabeth and Stacey's Home Group will be leaving school at 9:30 a.m. and arriving back at school at 12:00 noon.
Georgia and Sarah's Home groups will be leaving school at 12:00 noon and arriving back at school at 2:30 p.m.
Beckenham's Got Talent:
We are desperately seeking all budding talents out there: singers, gymnasts, dancers, ventriloquists, magicians...!
Teachers have been talking with the tamariki about this fun whole school event, being held on the last day of term in the school hall. Prior to this date (on Friday, September 8th, for us in the Koru team), each team will hold their own team event and then one 'performance' from the Koru team will be selected, to be part of the whole school show on Friday, September 22nd.
Ideas for performances might include:
- a dance
- a song
- a gymnastics performance (with accompanying music)
- a hula hooping display to music
- a set of magical tricks
If you would like your child to participate, do let us know.
Please note that practices will need to take place at home and if there is to be accompanying music, it would be great if you could pass a copy on to us, or let us know exactly what it is and where we can find it.
Also, please don't feel constrained by the list above. Your child may have a talent well outside of this list, and if they feel enthusiastic and confident enough, we'd love to have them participate.
Literacy and Library Folders:
We have noticed, and many of you will have as well, that the children's folders, purchased when they first started school, are not 'hanging together' very well at all. We have noticed that the light blue folders, in particular, have been breaking down and deteriorating really quickly. We contacted Qizzle and sent photos to illustrate our concerns, and they immediately responded by saying that they were going to change their supplier, and asked how many folders did we need to replace those affected. Some folders (yellow ones, purple, red, orange, etc.) have not deteriorated as quickly but generally look as if they will, soon enough, so Qizzle told us that they just wanted to replace them all! We shall be sending home the replacement folders in the children's schoolbags next week. We thank Qizzle for responding so quickly and positively on our behalf.
Fun with Maths (we love numbers!):
...and one or two other items of interest for you:
- click on these links and join in as your children sing one of their favourite songs, Sprinkle a Little Sunshine (here with the lyrics, and here, without, but with very cute images instead!)
- for those new families to the Koru team, a link through to the National Anthem which we sing each morning - your children are doing an awesome job with this, participating and trying their very best each morning
- clicking here will take you to a variety of links for those of you who would like to read more about The Science of Reading and Structured Literacy.
In the meantime, you do hope that you've had a lovely day today, and that it's an equally lovely weekend ahead for you all!
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Elizabeth, Stacey, Georgia and Sarah
