Category Archives: Weekly Newsletters

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 17 June 2022

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora e te whānau

We are well into the cold, winter weather now and noticing that a number of our tamariki are coming to school without a sweatshirt or polar fleece. The PTA has a good supply of second-hand uniform items at very affordable prices. The second-hand clothing shop is open every Monday and Friday from 2:50 - 3:15pm, in the old dental clinic building on the corner of Sandwich Road and Eastern Tce

Learning Conferences

Learning Conferences will be happening during the last week of Term 2, on Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th July, from 2:15pm - 6:30pm. To book your conference, go to http://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/abad8 

Reports will be available the week prior to Learning Conferences. This will be an opportunity for you to meet with your child's home group teacher and discuss their progress and next steps.

Matariki Whānau Rōpū Hui

We are very excited about the upcoming Matariki themed whānau hui this coming Wednesday, 22nd June, from 5-6:30pm. Te Whānau Mahi Tahi and the Pōhutukawa and Kōwhai kapa haka groups  are looking forward to performing for you all for the first time this year!
The PTA Hāngi will follow immediately after the hui, for those who have ordered kai.

COVID Update

Only two new cases of COVID have been reported in our student/staff population this week which is really great news. You can see from the graph below that our 7-day rolling average is less than 1 and tracking down. 


Attendance is still sitting between 76-84%. We know that every day at school is important for our children's progress so please ONLY keep your child at home if they are sick, symptomatic or isolating. Otherwise - send them to school!

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Wednesday 22 June - Whānau Hui & Hāngī
Friday 24 June - Matariki - School closed
Wednesday 29 June - PTA Meeting (7.30-8.30PM in the Green Room)
Monday 4 July - school closes at 2pm for Learning Conferences
Wednesday 6 July - school closes at 2pm for Learning Conferences
Friday 8 July - Last day of Term 2

Citizen of the Week

Olivia Yeates - Year 6

Olivia, your love of learning is reflected in the way you grasp all learning opportunities on offer at school. Your focus and diligence, along with the high self-expectations that you set yourself, mean that not only is your work completed in a timely manner, it is also completed to an excellent standard. You are a role model in our hub and are a driver of your own education. Tino pai, Olivia.

School Notices

Matariki Evening (Whānau Hui) and Kapa Haka Performance


We would like to invite you to our first Whānau Rōpū hui of 2022. 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 the 22nd of June from 5pm.

5:00 pm - Welcome & Performance - Te Whānau Mahi Tahi

5:20 pm Move to hubs - Matariki activities

6:20 pm Return to hall - performance by Pōhutukawa and Kōwhai joint kapa haka rōpū

6:45 pm Hāngi (for those who have pre-ordered hāngi)

Nau mai, haere mai.

Absences

Please let us know if your child is going to be away BEFORE 8.55am on the day of their absence.
When you do this, it saves an enormous amount of time in the Office.

Just a reminder of the ways you can contact us:
BY TEXT - 02102794107
BY PHONE - 03 337 1404
BY EMAIL - office@beckenham.school.nz

Please note that the voicemail function does not work for the text line, you cannot leave messages on the cellphone number.
If you are emailing teachers, please ensure you copy in the office too.

Headlice

We have a had a number of cases of head lice reported in the school, so please check your student's hair and head and treat as necessary before sending them back to kura. You can find out more about head lice and treatment on the attachment (HERO).

Have you got your cheese roll order in yet?

Many thanks to those who have their cheese roll orders in already. If this is still on your 'to do' list, here is the link to place your order. Orders close this Sunday. 

ShowQuest 2022

Today a group of 26 students went with Jenny and a group of amazing parents to the Town Hall where they spent the day performing and filming their ShowQuest Entry. Due to COVID, this event is being filmed and critiqued virtually, and we expect that the children involved will have access to the professional recording when it is done.
It was an amazing day and a great culmination of weeks of planning, rehearsal and hard work. Congratulations!




Sports News

Junior Cross Country


On Tuesday this week, the junior school cross country was held on a beautiful sunny afternoon.
Thank you to all whānau members who were able to come along and support their tamariki during this event.

Congratulations to all those who have participated and put so much effort into completing the course. We are very proud of you indeed!

The following children are our 2022 cross country champions:

New Entrants: Florence Wood & Xavier Duncan

Year 1: Amelia Olykan & Hunter Olykan

Year 2: Ruby Grice & Alexander Pauley

Year 3: Jayme Scott & Max Olykan

Year 4: Laura Stoney & Ben Stoney

PTA News

Matariki Hāngī


Tēnā koe, thanks so much, for your support for our Matariki hāngī. 
The preordered kai will be available at the end of the Whānau Rōpū Hui, around about 6.30pm. 
We are so excited to be able to celebrate this special time of year as a community!!!
Orders are now closed as we have reached capacity. Sorry if you missed out on ordering, if it all goes well we may be able to go bigger next year! 

If anyone is keen to help by chopping up some veggies on a Tuesday evening (21st June)  please let us know by emailing pta@beckenham.school.nz

Peanut Butter Update

Thanks for everyone that ordered peanut butter, we sold 380 jars!! That is over $1000 dollars we can give straight back to school to support the children's learning.

Seeking a Parent Helper for Disco Night

The PTA would absolutely love the support of a school parent who would be keen to volunteer their evening to help us with playing the music for the school disco, on Friday 5th August.

Sound system & play-lists will be provided- we just need the support of an enthusiastic & knowledgeable parent to make this disco happen!

If you think you might be able to help us out please let us know asap. We would be very grateful for the help. Thanks!

Please email PTA@beckenham.school.nz

BOT Update

School Board of Trustee Elections 2022

Nomination round

Our kura will be undertaking a parent election for 3 School Board vacancies. This process will start with the issuing of nomination papers to our caregiver community by Friday 15th July 2022.

We have employed CES to undertake the election process on our behalf. This year with legislative change, our nomination form and full instruction on how to place your nomination into our own School’s Election website will be emailed to you if we have your email address in our database or you will receive it by post if we don’t have your email in our database.

Nomination papers will also be available at the school office. The school will send those on to CES for processing upon receipt from candidates. 

Nominations close on Wednesday 3rd August at 12 noon.
Election day is Wednesday 7th September.

We look forward to your participation in this process.

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Public Meeting 27th June - South Library and Service Centre building

The Council is exploring a rebuild for the library and you are welcome to find out more in person, watch the meeting live, or catch up later on YouTube.

What's happening to the South Library and service centre building?

We're engaging with the community as we explore plans for rebuilding the quake-damaged South Library and customer services building, Te Kete Wānanga o wai Mōkihi.

The building was badly damaged in the 2010/2011 earthquakes. Temporary strengthening has made it useable, but the community deserves a permanent solution that will future-proof the facility for decades to come.

Even setting aside the earthquake damage, the South Library and Service Centre building opened in 2003, and is due for an upgrade to modern standards – it could be much greener and more energy efficient, and the space inside could be improved to better suit customers and staff.

What happens next?

We’re beginning the design process for a rebuild and will be in touch soon for your input to help develop a concept design for the Council to consider in the first half of 2023. The Council will then make a decision about whether to rebuild or repair. The building will keep the same floor area and remain on its riverside site.

They’ll also need to secure additional funding in a future Annual or Long-Term Plan, because at the moment there’s only $13.6 million set aside for the project, and we know that the cost of the work will be higher.

In the meantime, we’re staying open and you can keep using the building as normal.

There's no start date yet. We expect construction work to take about 18 months, and we're scheduling it for after the new Hornby Centre opens in late 2023.

While the work is underway, we’ll set up a temporary library in a suitable premises.

For more information coming up, keep an eye on christchurchcitylibraries.com

Cashmere High School


Unfortunately due staff absences we had to cancel our Open Day, however as an alternative we will be hosting three information afternoons, if you are considering attending Cashmere High School in 2023 we invite you to attend one of these sessions. Please click on the link to confirm your place, numbers are limited.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 10 June 2022

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

We understand that winter illness, a city-wide vomiting bug and COVID-19 are adding up to very challenging times for most families. If children have been vomiting, please keep them at home for 48 hours after the last event. These bugs are highly transmissible, and we do want to keep everyone as well as we can. Thank you for supporting your child to continue to wear a mask at school. 

As you can see from the graph below, we have a low, but steady number of COVID cases in the school, with our 7 day rolling average currently sitting just under 2. We also know, that for every case, that is an entire household that needs to isolate for 7 days, which is extremely disruptive for everyone.

Not sure who needs to isolate when someone in your household tests positive for COVID? 

Go to this link on the covid-19.health.nz site to find out...

We DO love our Support Staff!


This week was Support Staff Week! What a great job our support staff do to support our tamariki, our teachers and our wider community! The daily interactions and support that they give to our students is so valuable and we know that they make a huge difference every day in the success of these students.

Ngā mihi mahana
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Tuesday 14 June - Junior Cross-Country
Wednesday 22 June - Whānau Hui & Hāngī
Wednesday 22 June - PTA Meeting (7.30-8.30PM in the Green Room)
Friday 24 June - Matariki - School closed
Monday 4 July - school closes at 2pm for Learning Conferences
Wednesday 6 July - school closes at 2pm for Learning Conferences
Friday 8 July - Last day of Term 2

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Jensen Spence - Year 4

Jensen, you show a passion for learning every day at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. You put every effort into producing quality work and show great focus when completing any task. You are an extremely respectful and caring student and you are also a fantastic team player, able to work with others to get there together. Thank you for all the hard work you put in!

School Notices

Family Holidays during the school term

All children are legally required to attend school every day that school is open, unless there is a justified reason for their absence. Student absence for holidays within New Zealand or overseas during term-time is understood to be the prerogative of whānau to choose and, in those circumstances, whānau should advise the principal in writing/via email. 
We also understand that COVID has prevented some families from travelling to visit family overseas for a long time and we do understand that some families need to plan trips to reconnect with loved ones. 
Please note that the school is legally required to record this absence as an 'unjustified' absence. Teachers will not provide learning activities for children who are taken out of school for holidays or trips away.

Scholastic Lucky Book Club

Lucky Book Club issue number 4 is out now.
Thinking about our environment and the amount of paper waste that occurs we are no longer issuing Scholastic Book Club brochures to students. You can however view the Scholastic Book Club brochure online and place your order as usual.

You can access the brochure via the link below.

Have any details for your whānau changed recently?

The information we hold for each student includes:
  • home address
  • cellphone numbers for each Primary Carer(s)
  • emergency contacts - phone number and their relationship to the child, e.g. Grandparent 
  • email address for each Primary Carer(s)
  • home circumstances/custody arrangements
  • medical information for your child
If any of these details have changed for your child, please phone the school or come into the office to speak with Jacky or Reihana to update the details for your child.

If you are unsure what information we currently have for your child, please contact the school office and we can let you know what we hold.

Cheese Roll Fundraiser

The Year 7/8 Kauri whānau are fundraising for their outdoor education trips this year. They are selling delicious cheese rolls (one dozen per pack). 1 pack costs $10, or 4 packs for $35. Please fill out and submit the form linked here to order. This form must be submitted or the paper form completed and handed into the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto office, by Sunday 19th of June. Orders will be made up on Thursday June 29th and will be ready for collection after school. If you would like to supply your own container, please clearly name it and drop it off into the collection box outside the hall from Tuesday June 21st. 

 Unfortunately our cheese rolls are not dairy free or gluten free. 


 Thank you for supporting the Kauri Whānau. Enjoy your cheese rolls.

Te kupu Māori o te wiki

pukapuka: book

Sports News

Junior School Cross Country (Y0-4) - Tuesday 14th June

Some important points to remember:
  • Parents/Caregivers are welcome to join us at this event on June 14th.
  • The afternoon will start at 1:00 p.m., with the oldest year group levels running first, on through to the New Entrants towards the end of the afternoon.
  • Practices will be taking place regularly between now and the Cross Country event: if you wish your child to be exempt from practices due to health reasons, please email your child's HG teacher as soon as possible to let them know.
  • Please send your child to school in appropriate footwear for daily running practices.
  • Please ensure that your child has their water bottle at school each day, including on the day of the event.
  • Children will be able to wear their house T-shirts on the day of the Cross Country
  • The postponement date for our Cross Country is Monday, June 20th.
Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you on the day of the Junior School Cross Country.

Swimming Sports

Wharenui Pool was a hive of excitement, anticipation, and very loud house chants for our school swimming sports. We appreciated being able to hold this event after it was postponed in Term 1 due to COVID-19 restrictions. 

We are proud of all the tamariki who chose to participate in this event. We know many children will have had butterflies in their tummies leading up to this event and they showed great courage in stepping up to this challenge. Tino pai! 

Swimming Champions
Year 5 - Kawa and Lily
Year 6 - Olivia and Jack
Year 7 -  Alfie and Emma V
Year 8 - Stella G and Tahere

The house relay that concludes our swimming sports is always a highlight. This year Tennyson took a convincing win for the second year in a row with Heathcote coming in second.

We wish our qualifying swimmers the best of luck for South Zone Swimming on Monday the 20th of June at Wharenui.

PTA News

Peanut Butter Update

We anticipate delivery of the Peanut Butter anytime now.  It will be available outside the hall from 2.45 to 3.15 as soon as we have it, hopefully, this will be Monday to Wednesday as originally planned.  If it doesn't arrive additional days will be available on Thursday and possibly Friday.

Hāngī Fundraiser


The PTA is having a hāngī immediately following the whānau hui at kura (school) on the 22nd of June at 6.30pm. 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 with a hāngī and sharing kai (food) together. 

YOU NEED TO PRE-ORDER HĀNGĪ ($15 each). Be quick as portions sold fast last year. We only have 120 servings available.
 Please order through the link below:

Our traditional hāngī will come in their own individually wrapped trays and will all be cooked together in a big kai cooker. We will have the traditional hāngī which includes meat, vegetables, and stuffing. We are also offering a gluten-free option and a vegetarian option. These portions can usually feed an adult and a child.

Thank you for your support!

PTA Survey

Please find below our 2022 Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA survey. It's a great chance to hear what we have planned for the year, to share your ideas for future fundraisers, and to find out how you can support us. It will only take a couple of minutes to complete.

Many thanks for your time.

BOT Update

School Board of Trustee Elections 2022

Nomination round

Our kura will be undertaking a parent election for 3 School Board vacancies. This process will start with the issuing of nomination papers to our caregiver community by Friday 15th July 2022.

We have employed CES to undertake the election process on our behalf. This year with legislative change, our nomination form and full instruction on how to place your nomination into our own School’s Election website will be emailed to you if we have your email address in our database or you will receive it by post if we don’t have your email in our database.

Nomination papers will also be available at the school office. The school will send those on to CES for processing upon receipt from candidates. 

Nominations close on Wednesday 3rd August at 12 noon.
Election day is Wednesday 7th September.

We look forward to your participation in this process.

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Kea Kids

Kea Kids News is a NZ On Air-funded news programme where kiwi kids get to present the news, and we're back on the air for a fourth season!

You can catch new episodes Wednesdays and Fridays at 12 noon, at www.keakids.news, YouTube, TVNZ On Demand, or at stuff.co.nz.

 'Swing for the Fences' 

A jazz night featuring swing, samba, funk and jazzy pop with award winning Big bands and special guests, 7pm Thursday 16th June in the McCombs Performing Arts Centre, Cashmere High School.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 3 June 2022

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Talofa tagata uma!

Learning Conferences coming up in Week 10 on the 4th and 6th of July

Teachers are currently writing reports in HERO and these will be made available to you on Friday 1st July. Learning Conferences will happen the following week, and school will finish at 2pm on Monday 4th and Wednesday 6th of July to allow time for these.
A booking system for learning conferences will be in next weeks newsletter.

Messaging Teachers

If you need to get a message to school about a child's absence (or any other important message) please ALWAYS contact the office either by email or by phone. Please do NOT text teachers as they may be away, or may not check their phone and then your message doesn't get through.

office@beckenham.school.nz
03 337 1404
Text only - 02102794107

Winter footwear options

With winter here, we encourage children to wear gumboots to school (especially on particularly rainy days, and to have a pair of slippers or an extra pair of socks in their bag for wearing in the hub. 

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Term 2 Dates

Monday 6 June - Queen's Birthday - School closed
Wednesday 22 June - Whānau Hui & Hāngī
Wednesday 22 June - PTA Meeting (7.30-8.30PM in the Green Room)
Friday 24 June - Matariki - School closed
Monday 4 July - school closes at 2pm for Learning Conferences
Wednesday 6 July - school closes at 2pm for Learning Conferences
Friday 8 July - Last day of Term 2

Citizen of the Week

Lillie Neame - Year 8

Lillie, you are a ray of sunshine within Kauri hub! You wear a smile wherever you go and as a learner, you show fantastic determination and drive. Not only this, but you are also an incredible friend to so many and we admire the way you are so inclusive of everybody around you. Pai tō mahi Lillie.  

School Notices

Toys and trading cards at school

We have noticed an increase in children bringing both toys, and trading cards (especially Pokemon cards) to school recently. We know that all of these items are extremely precious and that if they get lost, or accidentally given away or misplaced, it causes very real distress.

Our policy ​has always been to ask that toys (including trading cards) are left at home. 


Talking with your child about 'stranger danger'

For many years the rule for children has been "Don't talk to strangers". The messaging to children has changed over the last few years to focus on "Adults who can help us". As part of the Keeping Ourselves Safe Programme (New Zealand Police), there is a lesson with the children about Adults Who Help. The lesson covers:
  • Children need to learn who they can trust to help them if they are scared or worried about something, or if they feel unsafe. 
  • This person may well be someone they know, but they may also need to ask someone they don’t know for help. 
  • It is also important that children, and the people they live with, work together to develop safety rules and strategies that will help children keep themselves safe.   
As a whānau, these conversations are important to have with your children. The Kiwi Families website (click here for the link) has a page to support caregivers on how to talk with your child about strangers. This page may help you decide what are the key things you want your child to know if they are interacting with someone they don't know. ​

Sushi Meets Dumplings Lunch Order

Lost Property

Please take a look at the below images to see if they belong to your child. These items are in the Lost Property. This is out on the Library Deck during school hours.

In addition to this, we have a large watch collection building in the office from this year and last, as well as glasses - both prescription and sunnies. Please feel welcome to pop in to the Office to check if we have yours/your tamariki.

Kupu Māori o te wiki

whakapono: believe

PTA News

DJ Needed



The PTA would absolutely love to chat to any of our school parents who would be keen to volunteer their evening to help us DJ the school disco on Friday 5 August. Sound system & play-lists will be provided- we just need the support of an enthusiastic & knowledgeable parent to make this happen! We would be very grateful for the help.
Please email PTA@beckenham.school.nz

Hāngī Fundraiser (Matariki)


The PTA is having a hāngī immediately following the whānau hui at kura (school) on the 22nd of June at 6.30pm. 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 with a hāngī and sharing kai (food) together. 

YOU NEED TO PRE-ORDER HĀNGĪ ($15 each). Be quick as portions sold fast last year. We only have 120 servings available.
 Please order through the link below:

Our traditional hāngī will come in their own individually wrapped trays and will all be cooked together in a big kai cooker. We will have the traditional hāngī which includes meat, vegetables, and stuffing. We are also offering a gluten-free option and a vegetarian option. These portions can usually feed an adult and a child.

Thank you for your support!

BOT Update

School Board of Trustee Elections 2022

Nomination round

Our kura will be undertaking a parent election for 3 School Board vacancies. This process will start with the issuing of nomination papers to our caregiver community by Friday 15th July 2022.

We have employed CES to undertake the election process on our behalf. This year with legislative change, our nomination form and full instruction on how to place your nomination into our own School’s Election website will be emailed to you if we have your email address in our database or you will receive it by post if we don’t have your email in our database.

Nomination papers will also be available at the school office. The school will send those on to CES for processing upon receipt from candidates. 

Nominations close on Wednesday 3rd August at 12 noon.
Election day is Wednesday 7th September.

We look forward to your participation in this process.

"I am enjoying my time on the BoT. It gives me an opportunity to give something back to the community. It offers me an insight as to how the school is run. I have had the opportunity to offer a different perspective and have had the chance to hear others' perspectives as well. I have learnt a lot and have thoroughly enjoyed it. I encourage other parents to consider if this is something they could also do." - Matthew Macdonald, Current Board Chair

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Cashmere High School Open Day – Cancelled

Due to staff absences we are unable to host our Open Day 9 June 2022. This is very disappointing for us as our Open Day is a wonderful opportunity to welcome our community to Cashmere High School.

We are investigating ways in which we can provide families with information about our school.



Clothing Sale - at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Hall




Swords, spam, cheerleaders, spam, singing, spam and did I mention spam - a lot?

The best Kidsfest activity this July is the hilarious kids version of the broadway hit musical MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT YOUNG@PART.

Specifically adapted by Eric Idle for kids to perform to kids, this wonderfully wacky adventure of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table is based on the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail.  There’s outstanding singing, dancing, prancing with coconuts, French taunting and of course the Knights of Ni! As the Knights journey on their search for the holy grail they come to realise that the grail is about finding that thing that truly feeds your soul. From swords to cheerleaders there’s something for everyone in this one hour adaption.

You’d be crazy to miss it!.  Tickets $15. At Nasda Theatre during Kidfest these July Holidays!

Bookings https://events.humanitix.com/spamalot-young-part


Marching Canterbury

Don’t knock the sport of Marching, until you try it!

We cater for all ages 4yrs- 30yrs+ We are currently looking for more members to join our teams.

Marching encourages teamwork, discipline, and friendship. It’s great for coordination, posture and brain development. If you would like to see what we are all about and give it a go, get in touch with us at Publicitymarchingcanterbury@gmail.com or Kylie Dowers 021930434.

We have teams in all areas of Christchurch.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 27 May, 2022

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

What a frosty start it was today, and what a lovely day it turned into!


We are getting back into a routine of having regular assemblies again each week. It is really great to be able to be rebuilding our sense of family and community, after having spent so long working just within individual hubs.

Whānau Hui and Hāngi - Wed 22 June from 5pm

Please make sure you get this date into your diaries! At 5pm on Wednesday 22nd June we will be having a Whānau Hui. We will meet with a welcome in the hall from Te Whānau Mahi Tahi (masks on please) and then families will be invited to go to a hub and participate in some learning activities about Matariki. At 6:15pm, you are invited to come back to the hall and we will finish the hui with a performance from our Pōhutukawa and Kōwhai kapa haka rōpū. 
Those who are not staying for hāngi will be able to go home around 6:30pm, whilst those who have ordered hāngi will stay on. 

Hāngi order forms will be available next week. There will only be 120 serves of Hāngi available, so if you want to order hāngi you will need to get your order in quickly.

New Entrant Enrolments

Enrolments for the rest of the year - Do you, or one of your neighbours, have a pre-schooler who is turning 5 and wanting to start school this year? If you haven't yet enrolled them, please pop into the office and get an enrolment form, or download one from our website and fill it out and send it into the office, as soon as possible. We need to be able to accurately predict enrolment numbers to ensure we have the appropriate staffing ready.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Term 2 Dates

Wednesday 25 May - Zone Cross Country at Hansen's Park
Wednesday 25 May - BOT Meeting - 5.30-7.30PM in te Rūma Kaimahi (the Staff Room)
Wednesday 25 May - PTA Meeting - 7.30-9.30PM in the Green Room
Monday 6 June - Queen's Birthday - School closed
Wednesday 22 June - Whānau Hui & Hangi
Friday 24 June - Matariki - School closed
Friday 8 July - Last day of Term 2

Citizen of the Week

Mitch Welch - Year 6

Mitch, you make a difference through your actions. You are a great communicator and show that we can all work together to be successful. Your kind and caring nature shines through in your compassion for others and in how you take care of our environment at Beckenham. "Nā koe he rereke te Ao", the world is different because of you!

School Notices

Winter Bugs

As we head into Winter, and in a Covid environment, we see an increase in sickness, including Head colds. If your child is unwell please keep them at home to recover. If a child becomes unwell at school during the day, we will contact whānau to arrange for the child to be collected. The Covid-19  practices we have in place will also support our school community with remaining as well as possible over winter.

Long COVID in children

Long COVID describes the symptoms that continue or develop after the initial COVID-19 symptoms.
 
This is usually longer than 12 weeks after a person is first infected.
 
Most people with COVID-19 recover completely and return to normal health. People usually recover from COVID-19 after two to six weeks and many make a full recovery within 12 weeks.
 
KidsHealth has provided some useful information about COVID-19 symptoms in children which you can see summarised here (and read more in the links below):
  • for most children with mild COVID-19, they will be back to normal within a week. A small number of children might take up to two weeks to feel back to normal
  • most children with COVID-19 will have a mild illness and get better quickly
  • for a child or young person to have a diagnosis of a post-COVID-19 condition (long COVID) their symptoms need to be having an impact on their everyday functioning and cannot be explained by another condition
  • nearly all children will fully recover and return to normal health
  • scientists and health professionals are still learning about long COVID, but studies so far have found:
    • children are much less likely to have long COVID than adults
    • children recover faster than adults
    • it mostly affects children over the age of 10 – it's very rare in younger children.
Further information is also available on the KidsHealth website, including caring for a child with COVID-19.

Masks Reminder

At Beckenham we are still seeing the benefits of continued mask wearing and we are asking everyone  - staff, whānau and students (Year 3/4 and older) to continue to wear masks when indoors at school

We know that Cashmere High School has had another peak of cases in the past week, and with many families having children at both schools, we just want to continue to be as safe as we can.

We no longer have any child-sized masks available at school, so we do need you to send your child to school with a named mask each day, please.


Update from SIEPP about Roadworks on Eastern Tce

We received this email from SIEPP this week to share with you:
I want to update you on the works we are currently doing on Eastern Terrace with the water main renewal. Works have been taking longer than we had initially planned there due to having to deal with existing contaminated ground in the road where we are installing the pipe. Currently, we are up to the Fisher Ave end of Beckenham Park and are continuing to install the pipe towards Tennyson Ave. We are now coming up to a section of the road that has been identified as having traces of asbestos within it. Due to the health risks of asbestos, we need to follow strict precautions while excavating the material that has been identified as at risk. While completing these works we will need to set up an asbestos containment zone within our site. Anyone working within the at-risk area will be required to wear full hazmat suits with face masks and gloves. We will have decontamination zones to ensure that all of the material is contained within our work site.

I just wanted to let you know that this work is upcoming so that the school community understands what is happening when they see it commencing. The work we are doing is very low risk as there has only been a small amount of asbestos traces found in the ground and it can be easily contained. However, we must follow all of the required protocols for obvious reasons. We will put black polythene around our fences to make it harder for pedestrians to see in but will also have asbestos warning signs on the fences.

The asbestos area is from the end of Beckenham Park through to Fisher Ave and we plan on doing this work for aproximately 3 weeks.

Apologies from Nic in the Coffee Cart

She won't be available this coming Monday 30 May

PTA News

Last orders for peanut butter TODAY! 

There are 3 Products available:

750g Super Crunchy Peanut Butter
750g Smooth Peanut Butter
500g Everything Butter

Jars cost $11 each $11 a jar (we get $3). 

Please click the link (before midnight tonight) to get your jar!

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

FluTracking NZ

With the relaxing of COVID-19 control measures and the reopening of borders, we’re expecting a resurgence of flu in 2022.

We need more participants around New Zealand to help us track the impact of both flu and COVID-19 in our local community.

Please consider giving 20 seconds a week to reply to a survey and help NZ track flu and COVID-19. In return, you will receive a weekly report and a map of respiratory illness in our community!
Click on this link to find out more and sign up!
https://info.flutracking.net/

Thanks for your time and support.

Flutracking New Zealand
https://info.flutracking.net/
Public Health Group
Population Health and Prevention
Ministry of Health


Rhyme and Reason


Jemma and Nick Smithson, (parents of Bryn (Kowhai) and Elsie (Kahikatea)) are excited to share with the community the opening of their new preschool Rhyme and Reason in Opawa. Community open days are scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday this weekend, so come on down to view their renovated and newly fitted our Early Childhood Centre.

Parliament and its grounds are a place for everyone to share and enjoy, and we are excited to share a creative way for our tamariki to connect to Parliament.

Tell any tamariki you know that Parliament is putting the call out for wild, fun, and creative ideas for how the Parliamentary grounds could be an even more welcoming place!

With this new activity, we want to know what tamariki would do if they were in charge! Would they add another playground? Or cover the lawn with pink flowers? Or maybe add in more statues of people or things that inspire them!

Bring a vision to life and encourage them to design their own Parliament grounds using either the template on the other side of this sheet or freestyle it completely with their own ideas! Your work will be displayed in Parliament and shared with all who work and visit here – and who knows you may even get a special shout out from the Speaker!

Encourage any tamariki you know to take part – it’s easy!

Just follow this link, and use the template provided or create their own design.  Please send their mahi by Thursday 23 June 2022 to the Education Team at: Education Team, Level 11, TSB Building, 147 Lambton Quay, or by emailing to DesignParliamentGrounds@parliament.govt.nz.

We look forward to seeing what they create!

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 20 May 2022

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Safety in our Community

You will have all seen the letter from the Department of Corrections that was sent out on Wednesday afternoon. Whilst it can be unsettling to read this information, we do understand that these risks do exist in our communities across New Zealand all of the time. This is an opportunity for us to take time to think about how we support our children to stay safe. 

Central to keeping our children safe is ensuring that school drop-offs and pick-ups are completed in a timely manner. Our school opens at 8:30am, and children who need to be dropped off earlier than that should be booked into BOSCO. Likewise, school ends at 3pm and pick-ups should be completed by 3:15pm. If you ask your child to wait for you at a different point to the front gate, and you are running late, PLEASE ring the office so we can go and get them to come and wait in the office for you beyond 3:15pm. We collect up any children waiting at the front gate at 3:15pm, but won't know that a child could be waiting on Eastern Tce or Norwood St unless you let us know.

We have a strong sense of community around our children and we all appreciate the way families work together, with us, to ensure that all of our children are safe.

Safety on Sandwich Road outside school

We have been working with our children to remind them that bikes and scooters need to be walked, and skateboards carried, across the crossing and on the footpath outside school. There are too many people on the footpath for wheels to be moving quickly there at the same time.

Please help reiterate this message with your children:

Keeping everyone safe as they arrive at school and leave is very important. We Get There Together by:
  • Pushing bikes along the footpath once we are beside school property, and on the school site
  • Pushing scooters along the footpath once we are beside school property, and on the school site
  • Carrying skateboards along the footpath once we are beside school property, and on the school site
  • Push or carry your wheels when walking across the school crossing.
As parents, you can also support us with safety outside school. Please always walk your children across at the crossing when you need to cross Sandwich Road. This sets your child up for good habits when you are not there to walk them across. It also sets a safe example for other children who may not have an adult with them.

COVID Update

COVID continues to have an impact on us at school and, although our case numbers are not high, we have had more staff needing to go into isolation per week this term than we did last term. This has meant a lot more relievers in the school. Thank you for continuing to keep children who have any COVID symptoms at home. We have a good supply of Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) at school, so just ask for a box or two from the office if you need any. We can usually arrange for someone to drop a box into your letterbox, if you need to test and don't want to run the risk of leaving home.
At this point in time, across Canterbury, we are beginning to see people who have had Covid in the early stages of our outbreak (March and early April) test positive again for the second time. 


As you can see from the graph above, we do continue to have cases reported at school most days. As of today, 31% of our students and 36% of our staff have had COVID. Clearly many more have had to isolate, and have not had COVID. We understand that needing to isolate is extremely inconvenient for everyone, so the more we can do to prevent the spread of COVID, the less isolating should also need to happen. We appreciate that everyone continues to support everyone's wellbeing with mask-wearing when at school.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Term 2 Dates

Wednesday 25 May - Zone Cross Country at Hansen's Park
Wednesday 25 May - BOT Meeting - 5.30-7.30PM in te Rūma Kaimahi (the Staff Room)
Wednesday 25 May - PTA Meeting - 7.30-9.30PM in the Green Room
Monday 6 June - Queen's Birthday - School closed
Wednesday 22 June - Whānau Hui & Hangi
Friday 24 June - Matariki - School closed
Friday 8 July - Last day of Term 2

Citizen of the Week

Jenna Sitompul  - Year 7

Jenna, you approach every day with a positive attitude and a lust for learning! Your manners and appreciation for the people around you are second to none and we recognise your diligence with all tasks you take on. All this, paired with a wonderful sense of humour makes you a credit to not only team Kauri, but to our wider kura. Keep being you!

School Notices

Welcome Assembly


Thank you to William for his mahi to put this together for us.

Student Achievement

Today we congratulate one of senior pupils, Tahere Taylor, for his distinguished accomplishment today - being a published illustrator at just age 12! Ka mau te wehi, Tahere! That’s amazing.

Tahere has had his work published in TOITOI Issue 27. TOITOI is a national journal of writing and art by young New Zealanders ages 5-13. TOITOI celebrates the ideas, imaginations and creative spirit of their young writers and artists. You can learn more about it on their website - www.toitoi.nz

Toitoi Issue 27
Illustrated by Tahere

Thank you from Dan Carter and UNICEF

Kia ora!

I just wanted to reach out and say a huge thank you for Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto's support of our recent Kickathon campaign. The event was a great success and we managed to raise over $500K for kids in the Pacific.

Dan really appreciated the supporter video content, as did we, so huge thanks again. 

A little message from Dan: https://vimeo.com/711882052/d8b8064e1b

Thank you!

Sophie Barker
Partners Coordinator
unicef.org.nz

If you click on the Vimeo link above, you can watch Dan's Thank you video, where this image features for a very fleeting moment!

Dental Van Visit

We currently have the CDHB Dental Van in our school. This is a very important screening process for our children's oral health and we support this visit and try to help our children to understand the positive impact of visiting the dental van. 

As you can see from the info below, they don't do fillings or drilling in the van, instead focusing on screening and preventative processes. Please do ask your child if they have been to the van, and, if they have, ask them if they were given a 'Care Plan' which may need for them to have an appointment made for more FREE dental work at the Community Clinic. 

Bob Bickerton - Taonga Puoro

On Tuesday of Week 2 Kahikatea had the privilege of having a visit from Bob Bickerton with his Taonga Puoro (musical instrument) performance. He walked the students through the history of the instruments and their connection to the Māori Atua/Gods. 

The students were so engaged in this performance that afterwards they went out into our playgrounds and found their own natural resources to create music with. It was an amazing performance and we are so grateful to Bob for making a trip to Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto!

Food Allergy Guidelines

Across our kura, we have a number of children with different food allergies.

To support the wellbeing of these students we have the following guidelines in place which we ask you to follow:
  • Students with severe food allergies should only eat lunches and snacks that have been provided by their caregivers.  Bottles, other drinks, and lunch boxes  provided by caregivers , should be clearly labelled with the name of their child.  Home group teachers and caregivers will decide where the children’s bottles and lunch boxes will be kept during the day to ensure no cross contamination occurs.
  • Parents are asked not to bring food into school to be shared with other children.  Whilst we understand that there are times you want to celebrate special events for your children with their friends at school, e.g. birthdays or being awarded prizes, by bringing food and treats for them to share, we have a policy of children only eating the food that their whānau have prepared and sent with them.  We have a number of students with food allergies and also need to respect the wishes of some families who want to monitor what their children are eating and prefer their children just to eat food they have prepared. From time to time, there may be an event that teachers have organised that will involve food (cultural or learning activities) and they will have advised families in advance that this will be happening.  

  • At the beginning of each year caregivers will check the expiry dates on any medication to be held at school.  
  • On the first day of school, caregivers will bring their child’s medication to the school office where it will be stored in the Hauora Room.  Caregivers will sign a medicine authority form (School Docs Username: beckenham Password: pride).  The responsibility of monitoring the expiry dates of medications rests with the parent.
  • Caregivers may be asked to come and talk to staff about their child and ways we can support them at school.
  • Bottles, other drinks, and lunch boxes provided by caregivers, should be clearly labelled by the caregiver, with the name of the child.
We will inform you during the year if specific guidelines for your child’s hub change.  

Our full allergy policy and guidelines  are available on the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto website under “Information - Policies - SchoolDocs” then search ‘allergy’. (linked here)

If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss them in the first instance with your child’s point of contact teacher.

Headlice

We have had a few cases of headlice reported in Pōhutukawa and Kōwhai. Please check your child's head for eggs and live nits.  If you find any evidence of headlice please treat your children before sending them to school. Thank you!

Sports News

Cross Country Results

On Tuesday afternoon, our Year 5 - 8 tamariki showed their love of challenge in our senior school cross country. We are so proud of the way that the tamariki stepped up to this challenge and encouraged each other every step of the way. We congratulate every child who participated in their efforts. While the majority of children participated by running the course, a few children participated by taking on a leadership role in the event. Children contributed by setting up the course, judging, recording places, marshalling, commentating and taking photos. 

The level of encouragement that the children showed towards each other was outstanding. The Cup for House Spirit was ultimately awarded to Heathcote.


Top 6 finishers have qualified to represent our kura at Zone Cross Country which takes place on Wednesday the 25th of May at Hansen's Park. 

Year 5 Champions: Lilly and Olley
Year 6 Champions: Jack and Harriet
Year 7 Champions: Frida and Luka
Year 8 Champions: James and Torun

PTA News

PTA Fundraiser

The PTA is selling delicious Fix and Fogg peanut butter.

There are 3 Products available:

750g Super Crunchy Peanut Butter
750g Smooth Peanut Butter
500g Everything Butter

Jars cost $11 each $11 a jar (we get $3). 

Orders close next Friday 27th May. 
Use the paper form sent home with your child or click this link. (https://forms.gle/3wNznfNoE3KcNVC47)


Also please keep your eyes peeled for a Hero link for the annual PTA survey that will be out soon. This is your chance to get involved and let us know your ideas. 

Keep in touch with the PTA

To stay up to date with the PTA, please check out our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Facebook page, linked here. Or come along to one of our meetings - all welcome.
 
Meeting dates can be found in the weekly school newsletter, or on the school calendar - linked here.
These meetings are usually held on a Wednesday night 7.30-9.30pm.

You can email the PTA at pta@beckenham.school.nz 

Thanks for supporting our kura and the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA! 

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Update to My Vaccine Pass

From Tuesday 24 May an updated My Vaccine Pass will be available for anyone aged 12 and over who is up to date with their vaccinations.
 
For those aged 18 and over, ‘Up to date’ means that they have received two doses and a booster dose. For those aged 12 to 17 it means two doses only. Vaccine passes continue to not be available for those under 12.
 
While My Vaccine Pass is not legally required, people are encouraged to have a copy of their pass for when it might be needed. Some businesses, rest homes and other non-essential organisations are voluntarily keeping My Vaccine Pass requirements as a condition of entry.
 
A temporary My Vaccine Pass can be requested for someone who has not had all the required vaccinations because they have had COVID-19 in the last three months (available from 31 May).
 

Not all right?

For many of us, new challenges and the loss of our regular routines is causing stress. This can really erode our wellbeing over time. While it’s important to remember to do the little things that help recharge us, it’s also important to know there is someone to talk to and free help is available.

It’s all right to reach out if you need to - we all need a bit of support from time to time.

Call or text 1737 to speak with a trained counsellor anytime - it’s free and completely confidential. You can also call Lifeline on 0800 543354 or text HELP to 4357. Check out this page on the Mental Health Foundation’s website if you'd like some further advice on how to stay mentally well during this time.

Brain Play

Brain Play teaches online after-school science & technology classes to Kiwi kids aged 5 - 13, from right across the country! Online topics this term include 3D printing, coding, animation, STEM experiments, LEGO & more. Free trials available for new students. Check out our timetable on our website and use the form to get in touch - https://www.brainplay.co.nz/.