Category Archives: Kowhai

Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 2

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Kia ora e te whanau, 

We hope you have all had a fantastic week. We have had a busy week leaping into a busy and exciting Term 4.

Dance and Ukelele Lessons

Through weeks one and two we have started both our dance and ukulele lessons. It has been amazing to see 'We Get There Together' and 'We Love Learning' in these sessions as everyone starts to learn these new skills. Everyone has been trying new things and having a go! We will be doing both dance and ukulele until the end of the term and we look forward to see the progress. 

Scooter-athlon

On Wednesday, we had our Scooter-athlon. It was an action-packed afternoon with a lot of speed, cheers, and enjoyment. It was great to see everyone participating and enjoying some friendly competition between peers. Well done everyone on such an amazing event! Thank you too for the parent support. It made the event really special for our tamariki.









Hats

We are now well into term four and as we get closer to summer, it is important that we stay sun smart. Could you please support your tamariki to make sure they are wearing their hat when they are outside. If they have forgotten their hat, they need to go under the hall verandah at break times. Duty teachers will be supporting with reminders. 


Athletics

In weeks one and two, we started our athletics training. We have been working hard on training for shot put, discus, high jump, long jump, and sprints. It has been wonderful to see all the mahi that has been put in so far. We will be continuing our training in weeks three and four in preparation for the big day on Thursday in week four. We look forward to seeing everyone out there giving it a go and displaying 'We Love Challenge'.


Cyber Safety


Staying Safe Online: Online Grooming 
As young people become more independent online, they can connect and communicate with people they don’t know.
Often this is a positive experience, but sometimes your tamariki could be being groomed or talking to someone who isn’t who they say they are. Netsafe’s advice explains how unwanted contact works, including grooming and what whānau can do to educate kids.
Check out the link here.



Have a great weekend! From the Kōwhai team. 


Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 10

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Kia ora whānau,

It is hard to believe that we have reached the end of Term 3 and what a busy term it has been! There has been lots of fantastic learning going on, of course, the highlight being our gymnastics sessions.

Gymnastics

We had 2 really successful sessions of gymnastics and the children loved taking part and trying out all the different apparatus. It was amazing to see everyone giving it their all and putting every effort into learning new gymnastics skills on the beam, the rings, the trampoline and the bars. Everyone was exhausted by the end of it!



























Scooter-athlon

Next term, the Kōwhai children will be taking part in an exciting Scooter-athlon on Wednesday 15th October from 1:30 pm – 3:00 pm. This is the first time this event will take place at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto! Parents are invited to come along and cheer on the tamariki. The event will give students early exposure to a duathlon-style challenge, helping prepare them for the Year 5 onwards duathlons.
The Scooter-athlon will follow a run → scooter → run format, giving students the chance to experience a fun, active, multi-stage race. Students are encouraged to wear their house t-shirts, bring their own scooter and helmet, wear closed-toe shoes, and follow the safety rules. Year 7/8 students will act as marshals to help run the event safely.
Please note: If it is raining, the Scooter-athlon will be postponed. Any changes will be shared with parents via Hero.
Please let your classroom teacher know if your child does not have a scooter or if you have a spare one you are happy to lend.
We can’t wait to see the tamariki scoot, run, and have fun – nau mai te wero! We love challenge!

Production: Jukebox Journey

We have been busy learning various dances through the ages over the last few weeks as part of our inquiry on dance, including Egyptian, rock and roll, disco, ragtime and also futuristic! From next term, we will be very focused on putting together a performance of all the dances for you to come and see in Week 9 which will be on Thursday 4th December at 11:30am in the hall. There is lots to do apart from learning our different dances including making props and also making and acquiring costumes. The children are already really enjoying the experience and are very excited to perform for you!



Athletics Day

Next term, we will be doing athletics, learning how to do shot put, long jump, discus, high jump and sprints. We will be practising over the first few weeks in preparation for our whole school Athletics Day in Week 4, Thursday 30th October. There will be more information to follow next term.

Hats!

Next term, everyone will need to be wearing hats at school to make sure we are being sun safe. Please make sure your child/children have a school hat ready for the beginning of term. This can be a red or black bucket hat or wide-brimmed hat. All children will need a hat to play outside and participate in outdoor activities such as athletics. Thank you so much for your support with this.

Walk or Wheel To School Week

In Week 2, we will be celebrating Walk or Wheel to School Week by encouraging everyone to walk, scooter, bike, run or skate to school. The children also have the opportunity to go in a draw to win an amazing prize! This is a great way to encourage the children to keep active as much as they can. We appreciate that some of the children are not able to do this but we do encourage those families that need to drive to school to drop their children off a short distance from the school entrance and they can walk from there. 

Lamb Visit

Georgia’s homegroup enjoyed a special experience when a lamb came to visit the classroom. The children were fascinated to learn how to feed the lamb with a bottle, and they loved having the chance to get up close to such a gentle animal. A heartfelt thank you to Poppy and Elisa for bringing in the lamb they were looking after. We are especially grateful for the time and effort they took to make this visit possible—it created a memorable learning experience for everyone!


Legacy Dance Studio - Hip Hop

Steph has been working hard with our Year 3-4 Hip Hop Club over the last couple of terms. The classes do warm-ups, games, freestyle and add onto their dance each week!  They are working towards performing at the Legacy Dance Studio end of year show. 
There is space in our hip hop club if your child is interested in joining in term 4. Please email legacydanceoffice@gmail.com.
 

Discovery Photos










As you can see, Term 4 is shaping up to be a very busy term! It will also be lots of fun so we are very much looking forward to it. We hope you have a wonderful holiday break.

From the Kōwhai team





























Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 8

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Kia ora e te Whānau, 

Welcome to the Week 8 Kōwhai blog - it is hard to believe that we are approaching the end of Term 3. This week, we have welcomed spring and the warmer weather with open arms!


Gymnastics

On Thursday, the Kōwhai team was lucky to attend a gymnastics session at the Christchurch School of Gymnastics. It was wonderful to see students embracing our school value 'We Love Challenge - Nau Mai Te Wero’ and stepping outside of their comfort zones to try something new. We were very impressed with the way tamariki (children) represented our school and upheld our kete values during the trip. We are looking forward to our second session next Thursday!


If you are interested in learning more about the Christchurch School of Gymnastics or enrolling your child for sessions, follow this link: 

https://www.chchgymnastics.com/






















PB4L

Over the last couple of weeks, Kōwhai has been learning about how to strengthen our frustration tolerance as well as how to be proactive and assertive when asking for help. 


As part of the learning experience about frustration, students were tasked with the challenge of building a card tower. It was great to see how students persevered through the activity, calmly communicated their feelings, and then problem-solved as they tried new strategies. 


Asking for help

In this sequence of learning, students have been learning to reframe their thinking to view asking questions as a strength. Homegroups discussed that by asking questions, students demonstrate a curiosity to deepen their understanding, and as a result of gaining new knowledge, students are then able to build new connections and apply this to their learning 


Here is a link to the ‘asking for help’ slideshow that we have been working through, which includes some activities that you could try at home .



Performance/Inquiry

This term, we have been exploring the concept of ‘Change’ by delving into the wonderful world of dance and music. As a team, we have inquired into a range of musical genres from different eras and cultures, with a focus on how this was influenced by the current events of the time. The genres have included Rock n Roll, Disco, Futuristic, Ragtime, and Ancient Egyptian. Students have now opted into one of these genres, and with support from one of the teachers, will be working on developing a short performance. Our goal is to put these together and showcase them in a Kōwhai production. It has been fantastic to see ākonga (students) embracing this learning opportunity and letting their creativity shine through. As we progress into next term, we will keep you updated on how our performances are coming along!


Maths

Over the past two terms, students have been learning about the 5 Math Talk moves. They have been developing strategies to support them in communicating their ideas and sharing their processes in math. It has been fantastic to see how the tamariki (children) have embraced this learning opportunity. The teachers have been very impressed with the way students have been openly sharing their ideas, listening actively to others, and then responding thoughtfully. As a team, we have all been learning that there is immense value in listening, asking questions, and understanding other people's perspectives and ways of thinking. He Taonga Te Ako! - We Love Learning!


Here are some photos of Anna M's Math class. Students did a beautiful job creating patterns in nature.







Discovery

Below aere some photos of Discovery from the last 2 weeks:











Private and Social Media

Actively managing your tamariki’s privacy settings on the social networks they use can go a long way towards keeping control of their personal information.


Any information that is easily available online, whether it’s an email address, date of birth, or pictures, could end up causing harm if it gets into the wrong hands.


To help you navigate privacy on social media, Netsafe has put together a guide on How to Use Privacy Settings on Social Networks. 



We hope that you have a wonderful, restful weekend.


Ngā mihi nui,

The Kōwhai Team.





Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 6

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Kia ora e te whanau, 

We hope you have all had a fantastic week. We have had a busy week beginning to look at fractured fairy tales in writing as well as starting a new and exciting maths unit too. 

Gymnastics

On Thursday, in both weeks 8 and 9, the Kōwhai team will be making our way to Christchurch School of Gymnastics at QEII to learn some gymnastics skills. We will be working hard on improving our balance, coordination, and flexibility through various activities and we look forward to seeing everyones skills and confidence grow. The children will be doing gymnastics in school uniform but we recommend that your child wears school pants or shorts to school on these days which would be suitable for gymnastics.

Nut Allergies

Just a friendly reminder that we do have ākonga in the team that are allergic to nuts, so just be mindful as to what you are putting in your child's lunch. Please have a look at the contents of any muesli bars, trail mix, or any other lunch box items that may contain nuts. Thank you for your support and understanding. 

Keeping Ourselves Safe

We have started our Keeping Ourselves Safe unit this week, in collaboration with Constable Meg from the New Zealand Police. We will be covering different aspects, such as who we are, how we feel, being physically me, touch - what's okay and what's not okay, saying "no", secrets and tricks, asking people we trust for help, and safety rules. There will be some homework tasks that will be coming home with students in relation to these topics, so thank you in advance for your support with this. 

PB4L Focus

Our PB4L focus for this week was learning about how to strengthen our frustration tolerance. We looked at different scenarios and how to best manage them. We also discussed different strategies for dealing with our frustration, such as walking away and looking at how to disagree politely. 


Have a lovely and restful weekend!

Ngā mihi nui,
The Kōwhai Team

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 4

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Kia ora koutou, 

We hope you have all had a good week. We have been busy bees in our hub! This week, our tamariki enjoyed watching the staff vs students netball game and there was a lot of excitement and cheering. We were also looking forward to a tug of war between the houses today but unfortunately, it was called off last minute due to bad weather. Hopefully, we can rearrange it for another time! 


Beckenham's Got Talent

The student council is excited to be running another talent show this year. There has been a lot of enthusiasm for this and lots of brainstorming amongst the students. At this stage, our students have been given the opportunity to sign up for this during our morning notices. Whānau can also email their child’s homegroup teacher to sign them up if they wish.

When the students are planning their act, it is important to note that the maximum group size is eight people. The maximum performance time is four minutes and we encourage students to be able to perform their act for at least 1 minute. Students will have the opportunity to organise and practice during Discovery time.

The auditions will held in week 8 within our hub. We will then narrow it down to 4 semi-finalists who will perform for the whole Kōwhai hub and 2 acts will be chosen to go through to the finals which will be held in the hall on Friday 19th of September. Good luck!



4 Square Tournament

A schoolwide 4 Square tournament is being held during Friday lunchtimes in weeks 7 and 8. Students have been signing up for the event and are practising diligently in preparation for this.



Maths Week Next Week!

To celebrate Maths week next week, we will have a daily joke and maths problem for you to solve on a whiteboard outside the Kōwhai hub. Please do check them out and see if you can solve the conundrums together. We Love Challenge!


Mathematics & Statistics: Understanding your child's learning

The Ministry of Education Parent Portal is a collection of guidance and resources for parents, families and carers. Here, you will find information about the learning your child is doing at school within their year level, and how you can support them in their learning. Feel free to have a look and explore what you can do at home to support maths learning, while keeping it fun!



PB4L (Positive Behaviour For Learning)

So far this term, we have been: 

  • Celebrating how our brains work (learning about the diverse strengths and differing ways that our brains think)

  • Learning how to use the S.O.A.R (Stop, Observe, Assess, Respond) strategy to problem solve in the playground

  • Learning how to use a set of negotiation steps to express our problems and work with our peers to find a solution and check in with how this solution is working.



Cyber Safety

Staying Safe Online: Snapchat and Privacy

Snapchat is a popular messaging app that lets users exchange pictures and videos (snaps) that are meant to disappear after they’re viewed. Many young people love Snapchat but it’s important that they understand how to protect their privacy on the app.


Check out Netsafe’s Privacy on Snapchat page for some helpful information on Snapchat’s features. You can also find out more information about privacy, security and safety on Snapchat’s help centre.


Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team