Category Archives: Kowhai

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

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 2

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 Kia ora e te whānau, 

Welcome back to a busy term 3! It has been so wonderful seeing our lovely tamariki (children) back at school with an eagerness to learn and bright smiling faces! 

We would like to welcome Jordan into our Kōwhai team, who will be teaching Rowe's class on Monday to Thursday's, for the remainder of Term 3. We are so excited to have him as a part of the team, and we know you will all make him feel welcome. Jordan will start on Monday of next week (Week 3). 



Ferrymead:

On Week 9 of last term, our Kōwhai hub went on an amazing outing to the Ferrymead Heritage park. Our tamariki had the chance to experience how different everyday things have changed over time, dressing up in outfits from the past, experiencing what a classroom was like, walking through an "olden days" shop, and having a tour around the different areas of the Ferrymead Heritage Park. This was such a fantastic experience! Have a look at some of the photos below:















Illnesses:
A post was made on Hero about illnesses around the school, and we just wanted to reiterate, if your child is sick, please keep them home until they are well. If your child has vomited, please keep them home for 48 hours from the last time they vomited. Gastro bugs can be very infectious and can spread quickly through a school if children are sent back too early. Thanks for your support with this and helping to minimise the spread of bugs as much as possible.

Library Times:
Just a reminder of our Library times:
Monday - Hazel and Jordan's Literacy Groups
Tuesday - Anna M's and Georgia's Literacy Groups
Wednesday - Anna R's Literacy Group

Head Lice:
Just a heads up that we have had a case of head lice in the hub, so please be vigilant of any scratchy heads! If your child has long hair, we recommend that they have their hair tied up to prevent the spread of head lice. Thank you!

Nut Free:
Just a reminder that our hub is completely nut free. Thank you for your support by not putting nut and nut-based products in your child's lunch. (Nut-based products include items like Nutella, Peanut Butter, Muesli bars containing nuts etc.)

Cyber Safety:

Parent/Caregiver Evening: Behind the Screens – Internet Safety Tips for Home


Raising kids in the digital age isn’t easy and you’re not alone. Should your child have Discord? What are V-Bucks? Is it safe to let them keep their phone overnight? Join us for a practical, entertaining evening hosted by Attitude that will help you feel more confident about parenting in the online world.


You’ll leave with smart tips, tools you can use straight away, and a better understanding of how to guide your child through the digital space without panic or overreaction. Come find out if you're a Firewall Parent, an Open Source Parent, or a Bluetooth Parent—and why it matters.


When: 7–8pm, Wednesday 30th July 2025.

Where: Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Hall.

Who: This event is for parents/caregivers only.

Cost: Free to attend. A small koha (donation) is appreciated to help support the cost of this event.


Please complete this form to let us know if you are attending.


We hope you have a safe and lovely weekend!


Ngā mihi nui,

The Kōwhai Team


Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 8

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 Kia ora e te Whānau, 


Welcome to the Week 8 Kōwhai blog.


Matariki 


Mānawatia a Matariki! Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades, which rises in mid-winter and marks the beginning of the Māori New Year. It is a time of remembrance, celebration, and renewal. Over the last two weeks, children have been learning about the different stars that make up the cluster. The nine stars of Matariki are Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-ā-Rangi, Tupuānuku, Tupuārangi, Ururangi, Pōhutukawa, Hiwa-i-te-Rangi and Matariki. In te ao Māori, each star has a special job to do to look after our wellbeing and environment. Please see this slideshow for more information. 


On Tuesday evening, we held a Matariki evening at school. It was wonderful to see so many parents coming to see the kapa haka group perform and share in our Matariki activities. The Kōwhai students did a fantastic job performing, and we were very impressed by their effort. 



Reports and Learning Conferences 


Last week, we celebrated the Kōwhai students' progress and success during learning conferences. Thank you to everyone who came to a conference. It was great to have the opportunity to reflect on the first two terms of 2025 and discuss the amazing learning students have been doing. 


PB4L 


This term, the Kōwhai students have been engaging in Positive Behaviour For Learning lessons (PB4L) on Tuesday mornings. The objective of these sessions has been to support students to develop social/emotional skills and develop strategies to manage challenges and improve their wellbeing. Over the term, there have been several topics that we have covered. These have included: 


  • Understanding our emotions in relation to cross country

  • Appreciating our differences 

  • How to be a good friend


It has been wonderful to see students contributing and participating during these sessions and applying what they have learnt.  Here is an example of an activity students did around celebrating diversity.


For information about Wellbeing at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto please follow this link.

Instructional Writing 


Over the past few weeks, Kōwhai students have been learning how to write an instructional text. An instruction text is a type of non-fiction text that provides step-by-step instructions on how to complete a task. The text may include organisational devices. As part of the writing process, students have been learning how to follow a set of sequenced instructions and then write about their experiences. For some classes, this has involved doing some baking and creating!


For more information about instructional texts, have a look at this slideshow.







Ferrymead 


The Kōwhai Ferrymead Trip is coming up next week, Tuesday 24th June and Wednesday 25th June (Week 9).


A reminder that on the day your child is attending the trip, they need to be at school before 8:45 am. They will also need to bring: 

  • A lunch box with enough morning tea and lunch for the day

  • A full water bottle 

  • A polar fleece or jersey 

  • A light waterproof coat if it appears overcast

  • Comfortable walking shoes

If you have any questions or concerns, please email your child's homegroup teacher or Georgia (georgia.mckenna@beckenham.school.nz).


Head Lice

Unfortunately, we have had a growing number of cases of headlice reported across the school. Can you please check your child's head for eggs and live lice regularly and treat accordingly if detected. The following link has very helpful information about headlice and how to treat it.

https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/head-lice#main-content


Staying Safe Online: Scams

People in New Zealand are losing millions of dollars to scammers each year – and this is just the figures reported to Netsafe so the actual figure is likely much higher!


It’s important that you and your tamariki know what to look out for to avoid scams. Netsafe have put their best advice together to help you stay safe online and stay away from scams.


Read their scam tips here. 


 


Lost Property

If your child/children are missing any of the lost property items in the photo below, please contact the office to retrieve them. Thank you!


We hope you have a wonderful Matariki weekend. 

Ngā mihi, 

The Kōwhai team

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 6

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Kia ora e te whānau,

We have really been in the swing of things over the last 2 weeks, focusing on literacy and maths, doing our Inquiry on technology and creating our Miro scupltures. Here is an update on what has been happening.

Inquiry: Technology

Over the past weeks, we have been looking at what technology was like in the past and comparing it to the technology we have today, specifically looking at communication, gaming and entertainment, toys and transport among other things. Technology has advanced so much over the last 50 years! 

Can you order the communication technologies below from oldest to most recent?

Ferrymead Trip


As part of our technology inquiry, we are also very much looking forward to our trip to Ferrymead in week 9 to celebrate our learning. There will be some more information coming soon around the details of this. 

Just a reminder that Anna R's and Anna M's homegroups are going on Tuesday 24th June along with half of Hazel's homegroup. Rowe's and Georgia's homegroups and the other half of Hazel's homegroups will be going on Wednesday 25th June. If anyone in Anna R's and Anna M's homegroups is taking part in the Cross Country Challenge at Hillview on Tuesday, they will going on the Wednesday.

Visual Arts: Miro Scilptures

We have been busy making our Miro sculptures with recyclable materials and the outcome has been amazing. Everyone has been enjoying making their creations and are very proud of them!







Learning Conferences


Our learning conferences are coming up next week. Thank you so those who have booked their conferences already. If you haven't booked a learning conference yet, there are still available slots. You can contact your child's homegroup teacher if you need help with this or go to the office. We look forward to catching up with you next Tuesday and Wednesday and to share you child's/children's learning.

Matariki Celebrations

Tēnā koutou e te whānau,

We would like to invite you to our Matariki Whānau Rōpū hui.

Matariki is the start of the Māori new year and a time of reflection, connection and planning for the year ahead. We would like to celebrate with you and your whānau on Tuesday the 17th of June from 5:00 pm. The PTA will be having a Sausage Sizzle on the night for a small koha (donation). We will also be having performances form our Year 3-8 Kapa Haka groups, and each hub will be providing different activities to do with Matariki. There will be more details to come soon. 

Mānawatia a Matariki!

Staying Safe Online: Bullying


One in five young people in New Zealand have been the target of online bullying – it can happen to anyone, and it can be hard for parents and whānau to deal with. Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto takes online bullying seriously and would encourage you to chat to your tamariki’s teacher if you have any concerns about online bullying.

Visit Netsafe’s Online Bullying Advice for Parents to read more.