Category Archives: Kowhai

Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 2

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Kia ora e te whānau

Welcome back to Term 4 and to what is shaping up to be a very busy term indeed! Here is an update on what has been happening so far and what is still to come.

Athletics Day 

What a fantastic day! It was great to see everyone giving the different events a go, challenging themselves, and showing our kete value 'We Love Challenge' throughout the day. From running and jumping to throwing, we were proud of the way the tamariki showed determination, encouraged others, and celebrated each other's achievements. Ka pai, everyone, for a great day of athletics!

Science

There has been lots of fun and excitement throughout the hub as we have been exploring the House of Science kits! Our team have had the opportunity to get hands-on with a range of experiments, make predictions, test ideas, and observe what happens with a variety of experiments, from wobbly jelly to sweet and salty cucumber. We have been looking closely at our results, discussing what we noticed, and reflecting on what we discovered along the way. It has been fantastic to see the curiosity, teamwork, and enthusiasm shown by everyone as we explore the world of science together. 

Swimming

We are looking forward to our upcoming swimming sessions between 9–20 November! Swimming is a great opportunity for everyone to develop their water confidence, practice important water safety skills, and build swimming abilities.

A big thank you to all the parents and whānau who are coming along to help us during our swimming sessions. We really appreciate you giving up your time to support our learners and help make these trips possible. We couldn't do it without you!

What to bring:

  • Swimming togs

  • A towel

  • Goggles (if needed)

  • A bag for wet swimming gear

Please make sure all belongings are clearly named. 

To help prepare for the lessons ahead, you can click on this link for a social story which outlines what is happening and includes photos of Parakiore Pool.

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 wonderful holiday weekend!
From the Kōwhai team.

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 10

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Kia ora e te whānau

Wow, what a wonderfully busy and productive term we have had in the Kōwhai hub and our final weeks have been no exception! The children have given their all to their learning this term and are ready for a well deserved break!

Term 3 Highlights

This week we asked the children what some of their Term 3 highlights have been. This is what they said:

Felting

Wednesdays this term have been our felting days and Nicky has lead the way for the entire team to develop our felting skills. We have seen some great improvements from where we all first started to where we are now.

"I liked felting - especially sprinkling water over the wool."

" I really enjoyed felting. It's something I've not done before."

" I loved felting. It was cool to make different stuff."

Dance

Theresa from Legacy Dance Studios has been a legend with her positive energy and clear instruction on producing four whole class dance routines. The choreography that the children have learnt has been super cool and we have absolutely loved seeing the children giving it their all!

"Dance was fun and not something I’d normally do."

"I liked dance because we will get to do it on stage."

Recorder

Another fantastic opportunity for our children has been weekly recorder sessions with Rachel. We have also noticed some excellent progress - from very off key moments at the beginning to being able to read and play the musical notes of B and C!

"I enjoyed recorder. I've never tried playing recorder before."

"I liked recorder because I love music."

Other Highlights

"I liked playing cricket with Dan. I got some wickets when I was bowling."

"The Tree Planting trip was so fun. We even got to have a sausage sizzle."


"I enjoyed the Zentangle art and bubble writing."


"I liked writing information reports. I got to choose one of my favourite animals."


"The morning questions on the board have been fun."

"I enjoyed learning about measurement in maths."


We are incredibly proud of all of the children in the Kōwhai hub. They have been absolute super stars with all of their learning and have managed the busy term so well! Term 4 looks like it will be just as action packed and productive. Please remember to keep your eyes out for Swimming updates and remember to send children to school with a sun hat. We look forward to welcoming you all back in two weeks time.

Enjoy the holidays!

The Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 8

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Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome to Week 8! Time is flying in the Kōwhai hub, and our days remain packed with energy, learning, and discovery. As Term 3 draws to a close, our students continue to be fully engaged and working hard right up to the finish line. 


Life Education

Harold the giraffe continues to inform and entertain our tamariki in the Life Education bus. The Kōwhai team have all attended our first session, with the second session focusing on interpersonal relationships coming up in Week 9. This programme complements the friendship lessons that we are currently teaching in class. With the aid of some wonderful friendship books from our library, we have facilitated some great discussion and reflection on what it is to be a good friend.


















Hip Hop Dance Lessons

We continue to enjoy learning and practising our hip hop dances in our home group classes. We are improving each time and are having fun along the way. We had planned to perform our dance at the end of Term 3. This has now been moved to the beginning of Term 4; more information about this will be communicated soon.


Kapa Haka Performance

A reminder that in Week 10, the Kōwhai team will be performing at assembly. Our tamariki have been working hard to put in the final touches on our performance and have worked hard to learn waiata. You are welcome to attend the Celebration Assembly in the hall at 10:00 am. We look forward to seeing you there to support our tamariki.


Maths In Action

Maths is fun when we can apply it in the real world. At the moment, all children in Kōwhai are learning and practising our measurement skills. We are enjoying measuring the length, weight, and capacity of classroom items as well as learning to tell the time, with lots of hands-on activities involved. 




Privacy 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. 



Learning Languages: New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL)

We have been working hard in Term 3 to learn the basics of New Zealand Sign Language, which has been a good challenge and lots of fun! We are very lucky to have two members of the deaf community visiting us in the Kōwhai hub next week to talk to us about NZSL, deaf culture and the importance of being inclusive and respectful of different ways of communicating. 


Beckenham’s Got Talent

The final of Beckenham’s Got Talent is fast approaching! 

The Kōwhai team have held the semi-final auditions and have narrowed performances down to five acts. Next week, they will put on a whole hub performance where we will choose the top three acts to go through to the whole school show in Week 10. We certainly have some talented tamariki in our midst! 


Heritage Day: A Message From The Student Council

On September 18th, next Friday, the Student Council has organised a Heritage Day to celebrate our diverse cultures. 


Children are invited to come to school dressed in something to represent their family's heritage. This could be a costume, something special about the country, or simply wearing the colours from the country's flag. Please bring a gold coin for Big Brothers and Big Sisters. 


Big Brothers Big Sisters is an organisation that helps children and young people build confidence, resilience and positive relationships through mentoring. The programme matches young people with caring adult or older-youth mentors who spend regular time together, talking, sharing activities and simply being there. These supportive relationships can make a real difference to a young person’s sense of belonging, self-confidence and ability to navigate life’s challenges.



Have a great weekend!


From the Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 6

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Kia ora e te whānau,

It’s hard to believe we are already in Week 6 of Term 3! Life in the Kōwhai hub continues to be busy, with plenty happening each week. There is never a dull moment, but all of the exciting opportunities are certainly keeping us on our toes!

Life Education

We are excited to welcome Harold and the Life Education bus to Beckenham in Weeks 8 and 9! Each homegroup will have two sessions, with the overall theme focusing on relationships with others.

The first session will explore peer pressure and strategies for managing it, while the second session will focus on understanding and coping with change. We are looking forward to some valuable learning and discussions with Harold!



Kapa Haka Performance


In Week 10, Kōwhai will be performing at assembly and we are currently putting in lots of practise to perfect our songs. If you would like to come and see the children perform, Celebration Assembly will be in the hall at 10am. We look forward to seeing you there to support our tamariki.

Dance

Since the beginning of the term, we have been enjoying weekly dance lessons, with each homegroup learning a different dance to a different song. We are hoping to showcase our dances in Week 10, although we are still finalising exactly what this will look like and when the performance will take place. As soon as we have more details confirmed, we will let you know. The children have been loving their dance sessions and are very excited to show off their moves!

Large Ball Skills


Following on from our focus on small ball skills last term, we have now started developing our large ball skills. The children are working on their passing, catching and dribbling, building their control and confidence with a large ball. They are also learning the basic techniques and rules of invasion games, including how to work as a team, maintain possession and move into space to score. We have had one session so far, and the children are loving it!

Beckenham's Got Talent


It’s that time of year again when we get to brush up on our skills and showcase our talents! The children are currently busy practising their acts in preparation for auditions in Week 8, which will take place during Discovery time. Three acts will then be selected to perform in the finals on the last day of term. We are all very excited to see the wonderful talents our children have to share!

Discovery


Our Discovery Time sessions have continued to be a favourite part of the week, giving the children the opportunity to explore, create, problem-solve and learn through a range of hands-on activities. The children have enjoyed getting stuck into activities such as playdough, chess, pom-pom making, drawing, building and creating. These sessions encourage children to follow their interests, develop their creativity and perseverance, and work collaboratively with others. It has been wonderful to see the children using their imaginations, trying new things and proudly sharing what they have created!











Have a great weekend!

From the Kōwhai team






















Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 4

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Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome to our latest update on what’s happening in the Kōwhai hub.

Exploring Felting

This term, we have been getting creative and learning all about felting! We have explored a range of different felting techniques and developed our skills by experimenting with wool felt, colours, shapes and textures.

We have enjoyed learning how to turn loose wool fibres into felt and discovering how different techniques can create different effects. We then put our new skills into practice by using felting to create a variety of different items.

We have been focusing on making felt discs, which will be used to help decorate our Shaun the Sheep sculpture. It has been fantastic to see everyone experimenting, learning new techniques, and watching it all come together. 


Learning NZ Sign Language

This term, we have been learning the basics of sign language and developing our understanding of how we can communicate using our hands, facial expressions and body movements.

We have been learning signs for different words and phrases and practising putting them together to communicate with one another. It has been a fun and engaging way to learn a new form of communication while developing our awareness of how people communicate in different ways.

It has been great to see everyone challenging themselves to remember new signs and using them in the classroom. We are showing that We Get There Together with everyone getting involved, supporting one another, and building confidence in using sign language! 


Disco Time

Next Friday on the 21st of August we will be having our Kōwhai disco from 3:15pm - 4:00pm. Make sure to bring your dancing shoes and your best dance moves!


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