Kia ora whanau, 

We are all very excited about the upcoming events in the last week and a half of school. 

Important dates: 

Friday 4th - Noho Kura - overnight stay at school

Wednesday 9th - Junior Athletics - Kōwhai rotation 1:40-2:40, Whole School House Relay - 2:45-3:00

Friday 11th - Final Celebration Assembly of the year

Wednesday 16th - Last day of school - school ends at 12:30

Hats

It is getting hotter and sunnier every day. Hats are requirement for the students to be able to play outside. Please help remind your child to bring their named hat to school every day. This will be especially important next Monday and Tuesday when Canterbury Softball are coming in to do workshops with our students throughout the day. If they do not have a hat, they will not be able to take part in this great opportunity. 

Noho Kura - School Sleepover

We are all very excited for our Noho Kura tomorrow night. We have shared this social story with the students. You may want to also read this at home with them. 

Thanks again to all the parents who have volunteered to help. If you have not yet signed up for a job, please do so here. This link should be working now after a few false starts! We may also be assigning jobs as people arrive. 

If you do need to pick your child up early please let their homeroom teacher know, if you have not already done so. See you at 5:30pm! 

Athletics Afternoon

We have our Junior Athletics afternoon on Wednesday the 9th of December. We will be doing an Athletics Rotation of Shotput, Discus, High Jump and Relays from 1:40-2:40 and then the whole school house relays will be from 2:45-3:00. 

Rapaki Marae Visit

Nick and Tracey's homegroups had a great time at Rapaki Marae on Tuesday. Laura and Rowe's homegroups were very sad to miss out due to weather. Have a look at some pictures from the day below. 

Nga mihi, 

The Kōwhai Team - Laura, Nick, Rowe and Tracey 

 Kia ora whānau, 

Today we had our second house games of the year, which the students were very excited about! We will also have house games next week on Friday as well. 

We have a very full last 3 1/2 week of school coming up. 

Noho Kura

We are getting very excited for our upcoming Noho Kura. 

If you have not already filled in the form, please do so now. EVERY parent needs to have filled in this form whether their child is going to attend the kura or not. 

As this is an overnight stay, we will be asking for a contribution of  $15.00 per child for the costs for the night. 

Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered to help during the evening and stay the night. We will have a limited number of parents who stay the night, and will let you know asap who these are. We will also send out a letter next week with jobs for the other parent helpers. Thank you again for your time! 

Here are some details again of our Noho Kura:

Please collect your child after school, and bring them back to school at 5:30 p.m.

Children won’t need a change of clothes - when they get up on Saturday morning they can put their Friday clothes back on.

What to bring:

• Pyjamas
• Slippers or socks
• Sleeping bag and/or duvet
• Pillow
• Teddy bear, cuddly or favourite soft toy
• Facecloth, hairbrush/comb
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Something to sleep on (a small mattress/camping bed etc)
• own drink bottle 

If any parents would like to offer some baking for the students for supper time, please let your child’s homeroom teacher know. 

We understand that many children have sports on Saturday morning - so if your child needs to be picked up earlier than 9am please let your homeroom teacher know. If you have already written this in the comments section of the form that is fine.  

Rāpaki Marae Trip 

Rowe, Tracey and Nick’s homegroups still require parent volunteers for the trip to Rāpaki Marae on the 30th November/1st December. If you have never been on a marae, this is a unique opportunity to experience and gain some insight into our bi-cultural heritage. Please contact the teachers directly if you are able to assist. 

 Kia ora whānau, 

There are a few things coming up so we are sending out an extra blog post with all the information about upcoming events. 

Year 4 BYOD Parent Evening

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto has an optional Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) programme for students in Years 5-8. This programme is very popular and has been in operation since 2014. If you want to find out more about our BYOD programme including the rationale, digital citizenship practices and device responsibilities, please visit our BYOD website or come along to our information evening on Wednesday, 18 November from 7-8 pm, in the Kōwhai Hub. If you plan to attend this meeting, please RSVP here.

The evening is optional and is aimed particularly at parents of current Year 4-7 students who are considering taking up BYOD next year but have not yet made the decision. The information evening will give you a chance to hear about our BYOD programme and ask questions about how it works. 

We generally recommend that families who want to participate in the BYOD programme purchase a Chromebook for their child to bring school. We are currently changing our BYOD provider and will send out a Chromebook offer, with prices, closer to the end of the year.

With the introduction of the new Digital Technologies strand of the Technology Curriculum this year, ensuring that every child has access to a device becomes more important than ever before.

Rapaki Marae Visit and Noho Kura 

Please remember to look at this blog post about the marae visit and fill in the form about your child's attendance for the Noho Kura - whether they will be attending or not. 

If you are able to be a parent help with our marae visits on the 30th November and 1st of December please email your child's teacher. 

laura.williamson@beckenham.school.nz                    tracey.maloney@beckenham.school.nz

nick.bruce@beckenham.school.nz                               rowena.barker@beckenham.school.nz

Athletics Day

Our new date for the Junior Athletics Day is Wednesday the 9th of December. We will start our athletic rotations at 1:40 and then the whole school house relay will be at 2:45.

We will also have Canterbury softball in school on the 7th and 8th of December to hold some workshops with our students focused on softball skills. 

 Kia ora whānau, 

Below is IMPORTANT INFORMATION about two upcoming events for the Year 3/4 students. Both of these events require parent help so please read through all the information and respond to the survey. 

Please make sure you fill in the form at the end about the Noho Kura - EVERY family needs to fill this out, whether you plan for your child to attend or not. 

Rapaki Marae Trip - Monday 30th November/Tuesday 1st December

We are excited to be able to provide our students with the opportunity to visit Rāpaki Marae in Week 8 of Term 4. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about te reo Māori language, customs (tikanga), games (kēmu) and songs (waiata), the history of Rāpaki Marae and the ecology of Horomaka, Banks Peninsula. We will explore both the Marae and the surrounding stone beach, banks and rocky areas. 

The key dates are as follows: 

Monday 30th November: Laura and Rowe’s homegroups 

Tuesday 1st December: Nick and Tracey’s homegroups and Kahikatea Yr 3 students

We are currently seeking parent helpers for these two dates. Parent helpers are welcome to join us on the bus or take their own car. You do need to be available for the day. No preschoolers, please. If you are available to assist, please email your home room teacher asap. 

We are also seeking someone who would be willing to be our Kaikaranga and Kaikorero during the pōwhiri at the marae. In the past, we have had a parent who is versed in the protocols around this and who is happy to take on this responsibility for us. We would love it if you felt you could do this for us. 

For the trip, your child will need to wear and/or have:

• school uniform
• sturdy, comfortable footwear
• a windproof jacket which they can carry in their bag
• healthy, substantial morning tea and lunch
• named water bottle

Please note there will be no postponement day if the weather is unsuitable. An email message will be sent out at 8am on the day, if the trip is being cancelled.

Many thanks for the help and support, 

Year 3/4 Teachers

laura.williamson@beckenham.school.nz  rowena.barker@beckenham.school.nz

nick.bruce@beckenham.school.nz     tracey.maloney@beckenham.school.nz

jules.may@beckenham.school.nz                     amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz 

Noho Kura - Friday 4th December 5:30pm - Saturday 5th December 9-9:30am

We are excited to be able to provide our students with the chance to have an optional Noho Kura (school sleepover) on Friday the 4th of December 2020. 

Please read the information below and then fill in this form. EVERY family will need to fill this in whether your child will attend or not. 

There will be school as usual on that Friday, but then at 5:30 p.m. children can all return to school with what they need for the night. We will have a BBQ dinner, play some games, have supper and then settle down to sleep in the Tahaki Hub. In the morning we will all have breakfast together, after which you need  to take your child home - between  9-9.30am. If your child has specific dietary requirements, please note that on the reply form. 

Here are some details of our noho kura:

Please collect your child after school, and bring them back to school at 5:30 p.m.

Children won’t need a change of clothes - when they get up on Saturday morning they can put their Friday clothes back on.

What to bring:

• Pyjamas
• Slippers or socks
• Sleeping bag and/or duvet
• Pillow
• Teddy bear, cuddly or favourite soft toy
• Facecloth, hairbrush/comb
• Toothbrush and toothpaste
• Something to sleep on (a small mattress/camping bed etc)

We would love you to help us – it’s going to be lots of fun!! We will need some parent volunteers to come early to organise the BBQ and help get the hub organised for sleeping. Please indicate on the response form if you are able to help. If you offer to help overnight, we will be making contact closer to the sleepover night to organise a meeting and discuss possible areas of responsibility (for example, organising supper).

We are also seeking someone who would be willing to give a karakia on the Friday evening, including welcoming everyone and blessing our event. In the past, we have had a parent who is versed in the protocols around holding a noho and who is happy to take on this responsibility for us. We would love it if you felt you could do this for us. Please fill in the form to let us know if you are able to help – please don’t be offended if you offer and we have already filled the role!

If you child would like to come along for dinner and games and then go home then they are more than welcome. Please indicate that on the form. Be assured that we shall be prepared for every contingency. If you would like to discuss any concerns you or your child may have, please do talk to your child’s teacher.

Please remember to fill in this form with information about your child attending the Noho Kura. 

Thank you for your continued support, 

The Year 3/4 Teachers

 Kia ora whānau, 

We have had a wonderful two weeks of learning Swimsafe skills at Pioneer Pools. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning new skills, and it has been great to watch their confidence in the water grow. Thanks again to those parents who have helped us over these last two weeks. 

We are still planning on visiting the Rapaki Marae on 30th of November and 1st of December during the day. Due to a variety of factors out of our control, the sleepover part of the marae will no longer go ahead. 

We know that many of the children were looking forward to the sleepover part of our marae visit so we have decided instead to have a Noho Kura (sleepover at school) on the night of Friday the 4th of December. This will involve the Year 3 and 4 students spending the night at school, having a BBQ dinner here and sleeping either in the hall or in our hubs. We will have breakfast the next day and your children will be ready to pick up by 9.30 in the morning. 

We will be needing  parent volunteers to help us cook a BBQ and organise dinner on the night and will send out more information about the organisation around the Noho Kura in the next week. 

Athletics Day