Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 4 November 2022

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

What an amazing week we have had...
  • Kahikatea and Kōwhai have been at swimming lessons each day.  The team at Pioneer Stadium have been extremely well organised and responsive to the needs of our tamariki.
  • Our first House Games - incredible leadership and organisation by our Year 7 and 8 Students.
  • Cashmere High School visiting with our Kauri hub teaching team to plan Year 8 transitions to High School and share information.
  • Our return to whole school assemblies also saw the presentation of the first of the Senior cups and a packed audience to watch our Koru team perform three Kapahaka items.  Lots of camera clicks, filming and smiles in the audience.  Thanks to Whaea Cath and the Koru team for all the work involved in getting these gorgeous tamariki ready to perform.  Thank you to the parents who sent us feedback - we appreciate your words and time.
"My mum and I came to the celebration assembly today to see my little girl and all the other gorgeous little ones sing, and to see her get her first certificate! I just wanted to say how blown away I was by the assembly, the mana and energy was so high and I just loved hearing and seeing all the cheering and high fives for people getting awards. It's so cool to see children altogether and so keen, but then also quickly regulated and calm when they needed to be. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you! Have a wonderful weekend."

A huge thanks also goes to the parents who helped with the whole School Athletics last week.  Your support is invaluable.  We were especially struck by the group of Junior School parents who came early or stayed to help with the Senior Sports events.  Thank you for living our school values and showing our tamariki how we all get there together, care and make a difference.  He rawe koutou!

Ngā mihi nui
Sue and Jo
Tumuaki Tuarua (Deputy Principals)

Important Dates

Fri 11 Nov - Canterbury Anniversary Day - (School Closed)
Thu 17 Nov - School finishing early at 1pm (Union meetings)
Thu 17 Nov - BOT Meeting (5.30 - 7.30pm - Rūma Kaimahi)
Fri 18 Nov - Celebration Assembly (10 - 10.30am)
Wed 23 Nov - PTA Meeting (7.30 - 9.30pm - Green Room)
Fri 25 Nov - Celebration Assembly (10 - 10.30am)
Fri 2 Dec - Celebration Assembly (10 - 10.30am)
Thu 8 Dec - BOT Meeting (5.30 - 7.50pm - Rūma Kaimahi)
Fri 9 Dec - Final Assembly (9.45 - 10.30am)
Thu 15 Dec - Last day of Term 4 - School closes at 12:30pm

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Jenna Sitompul - Year 7

Jenna, you are such an eager and happy student in the Kauri hub. You always show up on time to Student Council meetings which displays your reliability. Every day, you give all tasks your very best and you are so efficient at completing jobs and assignments. You show our school value, 'We Care' in all you do. You are helpful, kind and caring Jenna. Ka pai!

School Notices

Staffing update for 2023

As you will be aware, we have been working hard in the background these past couple of months organisng our staffing for 2023. 
Bearing in mind that there could still be changes between now and the start of 2023, this is our current teaching plan for next year:

Koru Team
Elizabeth Drummond - co-Team Leader
Stacey McLachlan - co-Team Leader
Georgia McKenna 

Kāhikatea Team
Amber Donovan - Team Leader
Katie McFarlane
Krystal Hunt
Lisa Collier 
Quynh Nguyen  (3.5 days)

Kōwhai Team (Year 3/4)
Anna Reid - Team Leader
Nick BruceRowena Barker
Charlotte Verity
\Anna McNeill
Quynh Nguyen (1.5 days)

Pōhutukawa Team (Year 5/6)
Steve Cooke - Team Leader
Gayle McNaughton
Rae Marsh
Megan Culver
Georgie Jones (part-time)

Kauri Team (Year 7/8)
Thomas Woodfield - Team Leader
Sarah Junghenn (Terms 1/2) & Jenny Diggle (Terms 3/4)
Bridie Zarifeh
Nicky Dunlop 
Thomas will be joining the team from his current role as a teacher in the Year 7/8 team at Cashmere Primary. Thomas has been teaching for 9 years, both in Auckland and in Christchurch. Bridie has been teaching for 6 years and will be moving to Chch from her current position at St Josephs's School in New Plymouth. Sarah (who has been working part-time in our Year 7/8 team this year) will be stepping in for Jenny in Terms 1 & 2 as Jenny will be taking refreshment leave and doing some travelling. Jenny will be back in Term 3. Nicky has decided to step down as team leader. Caitlin is moving to Ashburton at the end of the year and has secured a job at Ashburton Intermediate.

Dress Up Day

Kia ora e te whānau, 

On Friday the 18th of November the student council will be holding a pyjama day and "teacher student clothing swap" dress-up day. A T.S.S PJ day. Whether the students want to go all out with wigs and dresses to be dressed up as a teacher from our kura or just laze around in their pajamas, there will be room for all styles. A gold coin donation will be required! Have some fun!

From the Student Council

Community Dental Service

One of our Community Dental Service vans will be making a visit to your school soon.
  • Only the children who currently require a check-up will be seen at this visit.
    Please do not be concerned if your child is not called for a check-up this time.

  • The dental therapist will provide a regular check-up and preventative care which may include:
    - Cleaning/Scaling (to remove plaque from teeth)
    - Dental x-rays (to check for decay in teeth, or presence and position of teeth)
    - Fluoride Varnish (painted on teeth to help prevent decay)
    - Fissure Sealants (coating put on teeth to prevent decay) if required.

  • If your child requires any other dental care, they will bring home a ‘Care Plan’ which will explain what dental care and appointment times are required.

  • When you receive the ‘Care Plan’ please contact our Call Centre as soon as possible as you will need to arrange a time to bring your child to one of our Community Clinics for this dental care.

  • Please contact our Call Centre if you want further information on the Community Dental Service, to enrol your child or if you have any specific questions about your child’s dental care (a dental therapist will call you back)

  • Year 8 students: all year 8 students enrolled with the Community Dental Service are transferred from the Community Dental Service to a FREE private dentist from year 9 until their 18th birthday. To help with this transition please ensure you have informed your child of their family dentist (not orthodontist). This will enable us to transfer your child onto the correct dentist for year 9 onwards. More information will be sent home after their year 8 check-up.
To contact our Call Centre: phone 0800 846 983 / email commdental@cdhb.health.nz

Congratulations to our Y8 Award Winners...

Science Cup: Rowan Hopwood

 Rowan, your love for everything science is amazing! You are in your element when you are studying the unknown and how things work. You question why and how things work and your drive to learn about different science topics is admired. Earning eight science badges and your bronze award is extremely impressive. Your goal to earn two more badges and your silver award by the end of the year is something we have not seen happen on the Kauri team in quite some time. Continue to have that inquisitive mind, experiment,  manipulate variables and discover new things! Congratulations, Rowan.

O'Sullivan Cup for Excellence in Art: Reagan Maule

You always seem to have a drawing pencil in your hand.  You create intricate, well-proportioned, life-like characters that look ready to step off the page and into your fantasy world. You love to share your learning through art and do this in a sophisticated and detailed manner. You applied your digital drawing skills to design the backdrops for our ShowQuest performance. These were outstanding. Thank you for the joy and wonder that your artistic creations bring to others. Congratulations Reagan.

Acknowledgments

We recently received the first issue of a new series of chapter books from the Ministry of Education for students in Year 3.  They are designed to support the transition to reading longer texts and to foster a love of reading.
The first issue we received has a special connection with Beckenham as it has been written by Renata Hopkins, one of our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto parents.

Ka pai Renata, I'm sure the children will love reading about 'Super Spies' when these get issued to the hubs!

Sports News

Learn to Play Touch

Students from Year 5 - 8 have an opportunity to take part in a 6-week skills-based session learning how to play touch rugby.

These sessions are designed to be an introduction to the sport; no prior experience is required. This is for students who would like to learn basic skills before joining teams that play in competitions.

The sessions will consist of skill teaching, drills, and a casual game at the end focusing on the skill that has been taught. The emphasis is on fun, building confidence, and skill development in a non-competitive environment.

The sessions will run on Wednesday afternoon from 3.15 til 4.15 at Beckenham Park. Students will need to bring a drink bottle and wear their hats. If your child has any individual medication such as an asthma inhaler, they should have this with them at every session. 

Adult help is desperately needed - this ranges from just helping to get students into age groups and starting drills to taking mini-games and working with small groups. All help is gratefully accepted; there is no previous experience required for this either!

The first session will be Wednesday 9th November and run every week until Wed 14th Dec. 

If it is wet, a decision will be made by 2pm. School and caregivers will be notified. 

A google doc is linked below and must be completed by a caregiver - we must know how students are getting home afterwards.

PTA News

Our PTA fundraiser this term is selling a range of Goodies for Christmas, some new and some old favourites!

The 3 Product ranges available are:
  • Cured Salamis
    - One size, 4 flavors + Biersticks, all $20 each
    - Venison
    - Garlic 
    - Pepperoni
    - Spicy 

    All Salamis and biersticks are Gluten, Dairy and MSG free.  Find out more at www.cured.nz
  • Panfortes from Pilgrim
    - 250g Panforte $20
    - 1kg Panforte $60
    Panforte is an Italian Christmas fruitcake.  Packed with walnuts, almonds, figs, mixed peel and spices.  Bought to you by Pilgrim, a business owned by a school whānau. For more information visit https://pilgrim.net.nz/
  • Fix and Fogg Peanut Butter
    - 375g Smooth Peanut Butter 
    - 375g Super Crunchy Peanut Butter
    - 275g Everything Butter
    - 275g Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
    All jars are $8.00 each. Please note they are smaller jars than the last fundraiser.
The link for the online order form is below, there will not be any paper order forms this time.  


There is a very short time frame on this fundraiser.  Orders close: 6pm, Sunday the 13th of November 2022. 

Pick up will be from the PTA stall outside the hall after school from 6 December and will be advertised on Hero and the PTA Facebook page.

Thanks for your supporting 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.)

World Sustainable Toy Day

The global toy industry produces 1 million tonnes of waste annually. At the same time, 75% of kids are worried about their future because of climate change and the oceans are in a plastic-waste crisis.

Toys shape how our tamariki see and interact with the world, which gives us the opportunity and responsibility to use play to help them become more climate confident. We can leave them a better legacy than ocean waste and toys they lose interest in after just one week!

That’s why the team at Sustained Fun, creators of the reusable water balloon, EcoSplat, created World Sustainable Toy Day to be celebrated annually on the 3rd Friday of November (one week before Black Friday). 
Do you have toys that have been in your family for generations? Toys that your kids have played with for years? Toys that your kids have used in many different ways? Record a video or take photos of you and your kids with favorite' toys that last', tag us in your social media posts #WorldSustainableToyDay November 18th. 

Share or follow them Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WorldSustainableToyDay 

TMC Trucking Industry Show

A fantastic family event is coming up on Saturday, November 26th at the Canterbury Agricultural Park in Christchurch. The TMC Trucking Industry Show is New Zealand’s largest Trucking Festival and there is so much going on, making it heaps of fun for the whole family! Kids are FREE and all kids activities at the show are FREE too! Adults are just $10 entry.

There are so many activities for the kids – plan to stay all day! These include:
  • The largest truck bouncy castle in the world – a 22m long truck obstacle course (for kids over 10 years old)
  • The Mega truck bouncy castle 14m long!
  • The Carter Tyre Run – race through the tyre run in the quickest time to win prizes at the end of the show
  • Road Metals Giant Sand Pits with hidden treasure– one for the little-ies and one for kids over 8 years old. Did for treasure and win prizes!
  • The Valvoline Road Safety Scooter Track – grab a pedal kart or scooter and race around the track, learning some fun road rules at the same time
  • Activities Chill Tent – including colouring-in competitions for all ages
  • Trucking 9-hole Mini-golf course – grab a putter and make it round the trucks to beat your family and friends
  • People’s Choice – vote for your favourite truck, it’ll be pretty hard to pick from the 400 trucks on display!
  • The RC Haulers Radio Control Trucks – these miniature trucks have amazing detail and will be driving around a huge Trucking Village
There will be plenty to see and do at the show, with industry competitions also taking place including the TR Group NZ Truck Driving Championships, the Palfinger Crane Competition, Liebherr All-terrain Crane Competition and the NZ Forklift Competition.

Over 400 big shiny trucks will be on display, so walk around and vote for your favourite in the People’s Choice competition. There will be plenty of food vendors, coffee, ice cream and sheltered areas to relax, as well as the huge Monstavision screen where you can sit and watch the excitement from the industry competitions. The Show Shop will have a great selection of truck toys and remote control trucks available from just $30 – arrive early as these sell out fast.

This event only comes around every 2 years – so come along on Saturday November 26th and enjoy a family-friendly, affordable day out (please leave your furry family members at home).

Adult Tickets can be purchased online and grab your free kids tickets here too: Tickets for 2022 TMC Trucking Industry Show - Christchurch - Eventfinda


Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 28 October 2022

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou


We know that Diwali is a very important time of the year for a number of our families and we hope you have all enjoyed celebrating Diwali together this past week.

Upcoming works - Heathcote River Crossing - Footbridge closed

There is a section of major works beginning soon on Eastern Terrace (at the end of Malcolm Ave) which will affect pedestrian traffic from those that use the footbridge.

A new pipe is being installed underneath the Heathcote River, next to the footbridge at Malcolm Ave, and into Palatine Reserve. Palatine Reserve will also be closed for quite a long period of time, and the bridge will be closed over a 6-week period.

There will also be a section of Palatine Road closed just next to the bridge.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki (Principal)

Important Dates

Fri 4 Nov - Celebration Assembly (10 - 10.30am)
Fri 11 Nov - Canterbury Anniversary Day - (School Closed)
Thu 17 Nov - School finishing early at 1pm (Union meetings)
Thu 17 Nov - BOT Meeting (5.30 - 7.30pm - Rūma Kaimahi)
Fri 18 Nov - Celebration Assembly (10 - 10.30am)
Wed 23 Nov - PTA Meeting (7.30 - 9.30pm - Green Room)
Fri 25 Nov - Celebration Assembly (10 - 10.30am)
Fri 2 Dec - Celebration Assembly (10 - 10.30am)
Thu 8 Dec - BOT Meeting (5.30 - 7.50pm - Rūma Kaimahi)
Fri 9 Dec - Final Assembly (9.45 - 10.30am)
Thu 15 Dec - Last day of Term 4 - School closes at 12:30pm

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

William Orchard - Year 6

William, you are a hard-working student who is always giving your best and taking care to take on board and practice new learning. You show empathy for others and ensure you are an upstander when necessary, thereby always showing our 'We Care' and We Get There Together' values. You notice and do things that need to be tidied or sorted out and this is such a good skill to have. Ka rawe, William.

School Notices

School Photos

School Photos are now available to purchase again on the photographer's website: https://www.schoolphotography.co.nz/

The Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto link was temporarily removed at midday yesterday, while the photographers increased the security of their website and our pictures.

Thank you to all parents who informed us of various issues with passwords and our photographs - this should all be working again now with the same password provided previously.

As we have lost 2 days and had quite a few queries in regards to the link being unavailable, the Photo order close-off is being extended until Sunday 30th October.

Last chance Calendar Art orders

Did you forget to get your Calendar Art orders before they closed at the end of last term?

The order portal has been reopened until 1 November.  This is your last chance.  

Each product is made from your own child’s art.
These make unique Christmas gifts for family and friends and are perfect for posting overseas.

Follow these instructions to place your order online:
  1. Go to www.kidsartworks.com

  2. Use the Entrance Code: KZ*….. (add in your entrance code from your welcome letter e.g. “KZ3452”)*

  3. Enter your child’s room & name
Payment can be made over the website via credit card or account2account.

Congratulations to...

Andrew Robertson, for receiving the Rātā Cub Award at Scouts.

Congratulations to...

 Fergus Macdonald and Christopher McCracken-Shannon for placing in the Speech Zone Finals Competition which took place on Thursday evening. They delivered their speeches beautifully. Congratulations to Fergus for placing 3rd for the Year 8s. 

Mana Ake

TUNING INTO KIDS & TRIPLE P PARENTING PROGRAMMES

We still have some spaces available for Tuning into Kids and Triple P. Please see the attached flyer with parents. Triple P is offering a free online course for parents who would like to support their children who experience anxiety.

Helping whole families manage anxiety - Triple P Positive Parenting New Zealand (triplep-parenting.net.nz)

MANA AKE WEBSITE


Parents going to this site can be assured of finding up-to-date and quality information on wellbeing and parenting skills. https://manaake.health.nz/supporting-your-child/

SPORT UNIFORMS

Unless your child is competing in the Zones, we now require all sports uniforms to be returned to school, please have these cleaned prior to returning.

SCHOLASTIC

Issue 7 is out now. Please click here to view the catalogue, or here to sign up and learn how to order.
In this Bumpre edition you will find:
  • Christmas and Holiday Gift Ideas
  • The Best Books of 2022
  • Halloween Reads
  • Big Savings on Packs
  • $7 and Under Books, $3.50 Value Books and much more!
To make it easy to give the gift of reading this year, the LOOP Gift Function has automatically been turned on for this issue. Gift orders are intended to be given directly to the parents, not the child. 

Sports News

School Athletics Day

We were fortunate to wake up to a beautiful sunny day on Wednesday for our whole school athletics event. This day is a celebration of the learning that our tamariki have been participating in over the past few weeks, focusing on run, jump and throw. It's an opportunity for the children to challenge themselves, encourage others and come together in a day of shared experiences being outside and active. 

A huge thank you to all the staff for their planning and running of the day's events, to the adult helpers who made the event possible and to the crew of dedicated senior students who came to school early to turn Beckenham Park into an athletics arena. 

A personal highlight was seeing tuakana teina in action at the house relay. It was an exceptionally close race between Heathcote and Tennyson for a while, but Heathcote ultimately took the win. 
Jenny Diggle
Sports Coordinator

See below an awesome athletics day video made by Luka Aramowicz on our Media Team.


PTA News

We are well into this short last term and we have a few requests for help, please!!!

Uniform room

One of our dear PTA members is off on a new adventure so she can no longer work in the school uniform room. We would love a volunteer to open it one afternoon a week. This is about a 20-30 minute job and is an incredibly valuable service for our school. We are looking now so Jaana can train you up before she goes.

Please private message us on Facebook or email pta@beckenham.school.nz

Leavers Lunch

Every year the PTA coordinates a lunch after the Leavers assembly (14th December). Most of the PTA have leavers themselves and want to relax and enjoy the lunch this year. If you think you could help out by coordinating ordering the lunch or helping on the day to serve it, please let us know! 

Bike and Scooter racks

We would like to use some of the Outdoor Spaces funds that we hold by upgrading the scooter and bike stands. If you have particular knowledge about bike stands and how to fit the most bikes in a space we want to talk to you! Please contact us. 

As always, thanks for your continued support! 

Community Notices

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

From the Christchurch City Council:


Kia ora,

We’d like to hear what you think about Safe speed neighbourhoods.
We’re making it safer around all schools and surrounding neighbourhoods. Whether you’re visiting whanau and friends, letting tamariki walk, scoot or bike to school or driving to work and home again, you should be able to do it safely.

You can find out more about this plan and tell us what you think online, until Wednesday 30 November 2022. 

Talk to the team.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this further, please email me, or give me a call on the numbers below. 
 
Ngā mihi,

Hannah Ballantyne
Engagement Advisor
Communications and Engagement  
     
03 941 8055 | 027 310 1546

Somerfield Playcentre Garage Sale

Saturday 29th October
9am - 12pm

Clothing | Toys | Books | Plants | 
Baking | Candy Floss | Bouncy Castle | 
Sausage Sizzle | Bric a Brac |

BYO bag. Cash only.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter, Friday 21 October 2022

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Welcome back to Term 4! 

We have another exciting term of learning planned. With the weather warming up, we are looking forward to Athletic Sports next Wednesday.

A reminder that school is closed this Monday the 24th as it is a public holiday.

Welcome to the team to Stacey Hart, who will be joining us as a Teaching Assistant. If you see Stacey around our kura please make her feel welcome!

Dogs in and around school grounds

A reminder that no dogs should be on the grounds during school hours, unless by prior arrangement. Please ensure ALL dogs are on a leash when dropping off and picking up children as some people are not comfortable around dogs, and this keeps everyone safe.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki (Principal)

Important Dates

Mon 24 Oct - Labour Day - (School Closed)
Tue 25 Oct - Netsafe Workshop for all whānau - St Martins School, 7pm
Wed 26 Oct - School Athletics Day (details below)
Fri 11 Nov - Canterbury Anniversary Day - (School Closed)
Thu 15 Dec - Last day of Term 4 - School closes at 12:30pm

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Vivienne Cross - Year 3

Vivienne, you are such a vibrant and bubbly personality in our hub. You tackle any situation with great positivity and you have a wonderful sense of humour. You are a role model learner, showing great focus on your learning tasks and you put every effort into doing the best that you can. You are also very inclusive, ready to welcome anyone into your fold. You are a star!

School Notices

Sunhats and Drink Bottle Reminder

This a reminder that Term 4 is a Sunsafe term. Time to find the sunhat!

Please ensure that you send your child to school with a named red or black sunhat (bucket or wide-brimmed) and a drink bottle every day during Term 4. 

Sports Uniforms

All sports uniforms that have been issued to students need to be returned, clean, as soon as possible. There is a labelled box "Returned Sports Uniforms" between the Office and Library that is accessible all day.

Do you, or your neighbours, have someone turning 5 next year?

We need to get all enrolments for 2023 in, ideally by the end of next week, so that we can ensure that we have been given enough staffing for the year from the Ministry of Education. We have the opportunity to apply for a review in early November, if we think we have been under-staffed.
PLEASE contact Jacky or Reihana in the office for an enrolment form, or download one from our website.

Keeping Young People Safe Online - Tuesday 25 October, 7pm

Te Kura O Hato Matini - St Martins Primary School are hosting a free event for all local parents and whānau about keeping young people safe online. Netsafe's Relationship & Education Advisor, Paula Wistrand, will be talking about the risks, challenges and opportunities of digital technology, and the practical ways we can all help young people to be safe online. The session will look at how parents and whānau can support and enable children and young people to navigate online opportunities, challenges and complexities. 

This will be a great chance to get educated on how we can keep our tamariki safe, and we would encourage you to consider attending.

Comedy Quiz Night 2022

Come and join us for a night of fun on Saturday, October 29th, while supporting Kauri Camp fundraising for 2023. 

Tickets are $10 per person. Form a team of  4-7 people. Delicious supper provided. Bring money for bar and raffle tickets. Doors open at 7pm with quiz starting at 7:30. This quiz will be hosted Jarred Skelton, our local and much loved comedian.

Grab a team and click here to book $10 tickets: (click this link to sign up - fill in this form only once per team)

Scholastic Lucky Book Club


Issue 7 is out now. Please click here to view the catalogue, or here to sign up and learn how to order.
In this Bumpre edition you will find:
  • Christmas and Holiday Gift Ideas
  • The Best Books of 2022
  • Halloween Reads
  • Big Savings on Packs
  • $7 and Under Books, $3.50 Value Books and much more!
To make it easy to give the gift of reading this year, the LOOP Gift Function has automatically been turned on for this issue. Gift orders are intended to be given directly to the parents, not the child. 

Lunch Online

END-OF-YEAR DATES / TERM DATES FOR 2022 – 2023 LUNCH ORDERS

Term 4
Monday 17th October – Friday 9th December

2022

Term 1
Monday 30th January – Thursday 6th April

Sports News

Congratulations to...

Levi Bunting, who in June of this year was selected to represent Canterbury in the South Island Halberg games. He attended training sessions from June through to September before competing in a 3 day sports festival against athletes representing Tasman, Canterbury, South Canterbury, Otago, Southland and West Coast.

Halberg Games is a three-day national sports festival open to young people aged 8-21 with a physical or visual impairment.


Bella Day and Lola Harris, who are pictured wearing their championship medals and holding the trophy. They represented Canterbury in the South Island Regional Basketball under 13 tournament last week where they won 7 from 7 games and beat a tough Otago team in the final to win the tournament.
Both girls had strong performances and it was an amazing way for them to finish their season off in style.

Luca Arthur, who competed in the Secondary Schools National Mountain Bike Championships over the holidays. This involved racing in three events: downhill, enduro, and cross country. Luca placed first in the downhill and enduro and sixth in the cross country, an outstanding achievement that resulted in Luca also taking the overall win. Tino pai, Luca!

Athletics Day

We are looking forward to our Whole School Athletics Celebration on Wednesday the 26th of October.  Years 5 to 8 will be out on Beckenham Park competing in field and track rotations all day. Years 0 - 4 will start the day with their usual school routine and join us on the park for their run, jump, and throw rotations throughout the day. 

Athletics learning is a key part of our PE curriculum across all teams. The children are being taught safe and effective techniques as well as perseverance, resilience and sportsmanship. Our whole school athletics day is a celebration of this learning. 
 
Koru and Ferndale - 9:00 to 10:30 
Kahikatea and Kōwhai - 11:00 to 12:30
Our athletics day concludes with sprint finals, starting at 2:00. Our whole school will come together to cheer on the runners. The final event is a House Relay, which doubles up as an adults versus children race. With years 0 - 8 participating in this relay, we are going to need your support to make up an adult team. Bring your running shoes!

Community Notices

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

Fair Go - Consumer Heroes competition

We’re looking for tamariki who have a vision to change something in Aotearoa – it could be a big idea for the whole planet or the whole country, or a little change making a difference to their local community.

They come up with the idea, write a couple of sentences about what the vision/change is and what they need help with, and send it off to us.

If we choose it, the Fair Go team will leap into action, visiting with our camera and reporter teams, and helping them make a video pitching their amazing idea which will of course, then feature on Fair Go.

And – the lucky creatives will score amazing prizes provided by Canon, to help them continue with their creative journeys.  

The website link below provides the relevant information (along with a helpful video).


Entries close on the 26th of October so they’ll only have a few days, and we don’t mind if the entries are a bit rough – as long as the key vision is there.

What we’re looking for is great ideas, a willingness to be on camera, and – of course – parental permission.

Port Hills Athletics Have a Go sessions

Have a Go is a community-based athletics programme for 4-11 year olds based on Run, Jump, Throw from Athletics New Zealand.

The sessions go from 5pm to 6.30pm starting Monday 31st October, and will run for 8 weeks in Term 4, 7 weeks in Term 1. 

Families are welcome to have a two-week trial before registering with the club. Registration is approx $80 for those under 6 years and $100 for those over 6 years.  No uniform is needed.

Please email amandalanders1974@gmail.com if you have any questions

Looking forward to meeting you and your tamariki!

Biketober Event


St Martins Scout Spring Fair

The St Martins Scouts are holding a Spring Fair on Sunday 30 October 12-4pm.
This includes rock climbing, river crossing, kayaking and a car boot sale.

Support your local Athletics Club

Want to learn how to run, jump or throw? The skills you learn in athletics are the perfect foundation
for almost any sport.

Every student can give athletics a go. Your local athletics club is welcoming new members now and we encourage students to get involved and get active.

Contact details for all athletics clubs nationwide are available here athletics.org.nz/clubs/find-a-club/ and become a member.


Go Crew Events presents... Go Chef!

AKA: The Great Cupcake Challenge!

We’ve got a cool new brand called Go Crew Events and this is our first event!

The Great Cupcake Challenge will see teams of four rangatahi bake their own cupcakes, and then decorate them however they want. And then comes the fun part... eating them! 

All ingredients are supplied. And all teams will have the help and super-fun support of a ‘chief chef’ from the Go Crew.

Whether you like to bake alone or prefer to decorate with your mates, come along for an afternoon of fun with our Go Crew team!

Numbers are strictly limited.

This event is ideal for ages 10-13yrs. 

When: Saturday 29th October 
Where: Majestic House, 189 Durham Street South, Christchurch Central City, Christchurch 8011 (plenty of parking onsite from Wilmer Street)
Time: 10am-1pm
Cost: $30 per ticket per person

NOTE: All our Go Crew team members are police checked
Please let us know if you have any dietary requirements.

We'd love to see you there!

If you have any questions, please feel free to message us directly:

Email: gocrewevents@ggnz.org.nz
Phone: 021 919427 or 021 915039

Applications NOW open for MindPlus in 2023!

One in 20 students are gifted, and they need specialist education support to unlock their talents and passions and to thrive as learners.

Applications are now open for MindPlus OurSchool in 2023.

MindPlus OurSchool brings Y2 - 8 gifted kids together one day a week at one of our 13 units across New Zealand. The application closing date is 28 October.



Applications are always open for MindPlus Online which Y2 - 10 students can access online from anywhere in New Zealand, at school or home.


Term 4 is a great time to talk with parents about options for their gifted kids in 2023. We have a webinar on 18 October from 7 to 8pm so parents and teachers can find out more about MindPlus in 2023.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter, Friday 30 September 2022

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

We wish you all a very safe holiday, and hope that you are all able to get some quality family time over the next two weeks.

Considerations for home group placement for 2023

As we start to put together home groups for 2023, we know that you may hold particular information or insight that you want to share that will support the placement of your child for next year.
Our teachers have a lot of understanding around the needs of our children, and we are keen to also know if there is something particular we should be aware of as we make these decisions.
As you will appreciate, putting home groups together is a hugely complex puzzle where the needs of all children need to be carefully considered. This means that we are not asking for 'requests' for teachers or for friendship groups as we would never be able to meet all of those. What we are wanting, is to be made aware of anything we need to consider. We will add your considerations to ours, and do the best we can to make sure that everyone's needs have been considered.
If you have anything you want us to know, please email it to me (not to the teachers) so that I have all the information in the one place. We will need this information by the end of Week 2 next term - Friday 28th October.
email: principal@beckenham.school.nz

Junior Playground Rebuild - Work is finally beginning!

We have had this plan on our radar for up to three years and it is extremely exciting to be able to confirm that work is actually beginning on the replacement of our Junior Playground!
The fencing went up this afternoon and demolition will begin on Monday. The new build is expected to begin in Week 2 of next term. 



Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Fri 30 Sep - Last day of Term 3
Mon 17 Oct - First day of Term 4
Mon 24 Oct - Labour Day - (School Closed)
Tue 25 Oct - Netsafe Workshop for all whānau - St Martins School, 7pm
Wed 26 Oct - School Athletics Day
Fri 11 Nov - Canterbury Anniversary Day - (School Closed)
Thu 15 Dec - Last day of Term 4 - School closes 12:30pm

Term Dates

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 23 September, 2022

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

DISCO Fever is here! Great to hear the excitement around the hubs today as children prepare for their Disco later in the day. A huge thank-you to our PTA for the work and organisation that goes into this event for our tamariki.

Funding Changes

As you will have probably heard on the news over the past 24 hours, schools around the country have received their staffing and funding information for 2023. Whilst there have been no changes to the staffing formulas, there has been a major overhaul of parts of the operational funding formulas with the removal of the 'decile' system and the introduction of an Equity Index number (EQI). The EQI is designed to be more nuanced and to reflect better the actual needs of the children enrolled at a school. Whilst the news headlines you will read state that over 80% of schools will receive more funding as a result of this new formula, unfortunately, that is not the case for our school. This makes our need for your donation payment much more pressing, as we aim to provide quality learning experiences without adding additional requests for contribution for each activity.

Staffing for 2023 - Get your 3 or 4 year old enrolled now!



For us to get an accurate picture of our staffing needs for next year, we do need to know about EVERY child who intends to start at school during 2023 as soon as possible, so that we can inform the Ministry of Education of our actual enrolment numbers for next year. To ensure we are given the staffing we need from the Ministry of Education for the year ahead, we need to have accurate pre-enrolment numbers.

To enrol your child, please click on the link to our website enrolment page (linked here), and download the enrolment form. Alternatively, you can email office@beckenham.school.nz and request a form to be emailed out, or printed out and sent to you. We do need all 2023 enrolments in by the end of Week 2 next term, please.

It is never too early to enrol your child! We are happy to accept enrolment forms for ALL preschool children who live in zone.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Mon 26 Sep - Public holiday - Queen Elizabeth II memorial (School Closed)
Wed 28 Sep - PTA Meeting (7.30-9.30pm in the Green Room)
Thu 29 Sep - Parent Evening with Cashmere High School Principal (6-7.15pm Staffroom)
Fri 30 Sep - Last day of Term 3
Mon 17 Oct - First day of Term 4
Mon 24 Oct - Labour Day - (School Closed)
Tue 25 Oct - Netsafe Workshop for all whānau - St Martins School, 7pm
Fri 11 Nov - Canterbury Anniversary Day - (School Closed)
Thu 15 Dec - Last day of Term 4 - School closes 12:30pm

Term Dates