Category Archives: Weekly Newsletters

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Rāpare (Thursday) 14 April

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Today is the last day of Term 1, with Good Friday tomorrow marking both the start of the long Easter weekend and the school holidays.

Term 2 Starts on TUESDAY 3rd May

Please remember that the Monday after the school holidays will be a Staff Only Day for our Kura. Term 2 will start again on Tuesday 3rd May. We look forward to seeing everyone back after the holidays.

Covid-19 Update

Note that numbers may be different to previous graphs, as we do get historical cases reported.

After hitting a peak last week and again early this week, we have had no new cases of Covid-19 reported to us in the past two days. That is great news, and brings our rolling 7-day average from its highest point on Monday of 4.9, to a clearly dropping 2.7 today.
Attendance was also at a term low last week, only getting to 72% on three days. It was good to see that we were back up to 77% for most of this week.

We still need you to let us know if any of our children test positive during the holidays, please.
If your child tests positive, please email me (principal@beckenham.school.nz) with their name, and the date they either started symptoms or tested positive. We will be forwarding numbers to the Ministry of Education through the holidays.

Moving to Orange!!!

As you will be aware, the whole country is now working at the Orange Traffic Light setting. 



This means that we are very pleased to be able to welcome whānau back into the school grounds, for the first time properly since August last year! No more dropping and collecting at the gate (unless, of course, that is still working for you!) Masks won't be required when outside, although you are welcome to wear them if you choose to. 

At Orange, we ask you to wait outside, well away from the hub entrances when dropping and picking up children. A teacher from each hub will be available to greet you outside the hub in the mornings, and teachers will walk out with children in the afternoons. 

All children will finish school at 3pm again!

Whilst the mandate for mask-wearing in schools has been lifted, schools are being encouraged to consider the needs of their community and put appropriate local guidelines in place.

At Beckenham, we believe that masks have been one of the best tools available to us for limiting the spread of Covid-19 at school, and keeping our staff and our children as safe as we can. We are also aware that further waves of Covid-19 are expected, and that NZ is going into its first influenza winter in three years. We know that many families are also now travelling both within NZ and even outside NZ.


For these reasons, we have decided to continue with our status quo on mask-wearing inside our buildings. This means that children in Year 3/4 are strongly encouraged to wear a mask inside, and that our Year 5-8 children should continue wearing masks inside, as they have done so capably this term. Our staff will also continue to wear masks inside. 

We know that this cautious approach has served us well so far, and we will review this during Term 2, as we get a better picture of case numbers in our school community.

Welcome Back to Nicola Reddecliffe

We are very pleased to confirm that Nicola Reddecliffe will be rejoining ourstaff in the New Entrant Koru Team from the beginning of Term 2. Nicola is well-known to many of you, both as a parent and member of the PTA, as well as having been a teacher in the Koru Team last year. Welcome back, Nicola!


Welcome to Maisie Bowden

Maisie has been working as a casual Teaching Assistant for most of the first term. She began just doing a few hours of back-up work, and has quickly become a regular and indispensable part of our team! We love having Maisie on our staff, and thought it was time we introduced her to you properly! Maisie also works at BOSCO so is well-known by our students, and will be known to some of you as well.


From all of us on the staff, to all of you and your whānau... thank you for your continuing support of us all in the work we do with your children. This term has been really challenging, and we have made it through with your support. We are all going to be taking a well-needed break over the next two weeks, and we wish you and your families a safe and relaxing break too.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Thu 14th Apr - Last day of Term 1
Fri 15th Apr - Good Friday (School Closed)

Term 2

Note that Monday 2nd May is a Staff Only Day (School Closed)
Tue 3rd May - First day of Term 2 
Wed 25th May - BOT Meeting 5.30PM - 7.30PM
Wed 25th May - PTA Meeting 7.30PM - 9.30PM

Term Dates

Click here to view 2022 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Skye Langer - Year 4

Skye Langer, you are a fabulous model of all our school values. You show incredible focus and persistence in learning. You keep trying through challenging ideas or material, and you honestly and openly reflect on your learning.  You have a growth mindset and encourage all those around you to do the same. Being an expert on a number of subjects, you share your knowledge and creativity with those around you, such as in your comic club group! You make a difference by noticing and helping around the hub, and supporting others when they need it. You are a welcoming peer who greets others with a smile and an open mind. Skye - thanks for being your amazing self! 

School Notices

Farewell to Constable Ross Mitchell

Yesterday we had the sad honour of farewelling Constable Ross Mitchell who is retiring from his role as School Community Officer with the NZ Police. Ross has been in this role for over 11 years, and has worked in our school training Road Patrollers, and supporting our teachers with Health and Wellbeing programmes of 'Keeping Ourselves Safe' and 'D.A.R.E.' during that time. Ross has been a person who has built his work on building relationships with our tamariki, showing them that the police are there to support, help and protect our community.


It was a fabulous opportunity for our senior kapa haka students to use their skills to show Ross how much they all appreciate his contribution. He was very moved by the haka they did for him. We acknowledge Ross's contribution to our school and wish him all the very best in his new role leading the hardware department at Mitre 10 Mega in Hornby. Do say 'Hi' to him if you see him there!

Community Dental Service - Dental Care During the School Holidays

The Community Dental Service will be providing urgent and relief of pain appointments during the school break at:
  • Aranui Community Dental Clinic, 240 Breezes Road, Christchurch
  • Hornby Community Dental Clinic, 2 Hei Hei Road, Christchurch
You can access these appointments by calling our Contact Centre on 0800 846 983.
For any dental advice please call the Contact Centre on 0800 846 983 or email commdental@cdhb.health.nz

Lost Property

As always, there is a collection of large and small items, along with various unnamed uniform items at school, awaiting their owners to come and claim them.
These three, precious items, are sitting in the office - the earring found in the playground today, whilst Peter Rabbit and the glasses have been there for a few days. Please come and claim them next term, if they are yours!

BOSCO

If you are looking for AWESOME Easter fun for your kids this holiday – look no further! BOSCO has an exciting April Holiday programme planned, filled with activities to keep all ages entertained so YOU don’t have to. We have Suzie the magnificent performer coming to us, House of Bricks, a dance instructor to teach us a few dance moves and so much more! You will not want to miss out on all our baking, crafts and special days that we have planned like pyjama day, circus day, wizard day and definitely not the BIGGEST EASTER EGG HUNT EVER! So, if this sounds like something you are interested in, email Juanita at office@bosco.org.nz or book online via Aimy Plus. See you there!

Community Notices

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

Hockey

Southern United hockey looking for players keen to try goalkeeping

Are you athletic with quick reactions? If you are, you could be an amazing hockey goalkeeper. Southern United Hockey Club are on the hunt for more goalkeepers for their Year 7 and 8 teams. Specialist coaching and development opportunities will be offered to all interested goalkeepers. Contact juniors@suhc.co.nz for more information.

Cashmere Technical Football Club Holiday Fun Programme

Earth Day competition which TOCK

Pebbles Montesorri Cashmere

Pebbles Montessori Cashmere have limited spaces available in our nursery for under 2 years. Currently we have all day Mondays and Fridays plus every afternoon. Please contact us to find out more information and to arrange a visit admin@pebblespreschool.nz.


Free Family Event - The Cashmere Club

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 8 April

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou



Ramadan is an important time in the Muslim calendar. For 2022, it runs from the 1st of April to the 1st of May. We have a number of Muslim whānau in our school and we wish them all the very best for this time.

Go! Dan! Go!

A group of Kōwhai children sent a video in to support Dan Carter in his kick-a-thon goal of raising money for UNICEF. They were spotted in the live stream last night! If you want to contribute to Dan's fundraising effort, you can do that by clicking this link.


COVID Update

Since we last reported to you on Tuesday, we have only had 2 cases a day for the rest of this week. We continue to have a number of students and staff isolating at home, either with COVID or as household contacts. We are hopeful that the spike of cases we saw early this week is our 'peak' and that we will now start dropping cases. We do want to get everyone through to the start of the school holidays as healthy as possible and hope that the holidays will be the 'circuit breaker' that we all need. 


We are also hopeful that this coming Thursday's cabinet announcement will see a shift to Orange before school returns for Term 2, which will allow us to make some much-awaited changes to our daily operations. As soon as we know more, we will let you know!

Please remember that our term finishes next Thursday 14th April.
Term 2 starts on TUESDAY 3rd May as we will be having a Staff Only Day on the Monday.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Thu 14th Apr - Last day of Term 1
Fri 15th Apr - Good Friday (School Closed)

Term 2

Note that Monday 2nd May is a Staff Only Day (School Closed)
Tue 3rd May - First day of Term 2 

Term Dates

Click here to view 2022 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Thomas O'Beirne - Year 4

Thomas, you excel at demonstrating our school values. You always show perseverance when facing a new challenge in your learning. You are kind and caring to others, and have a great sense of humour. We love your creative ideas in your writing as well as your funny stories. Thank you for showing We Get There Together and We Love Learning in many ways. Tino pai, Thomas!  

Louie de Clifford - Year 8

Louie you exemplify our school values. You are kind, creative, and loyal. You are personable and quick to lend a hand, and this makes a positive difference in our hub. Thank you for the leadership you show in technology and for being a stunning role model for others. Louie, you get stuck right into learning tasks, demonstrating a love of learning and challenge. Tino pai, Louie!

School Notices

Accessing your child's 2021 report through Hero

In 2021 your child's end of year report was generated through Hero and opened to you through your Hero log in. This was the first time we utilised Hero for this.
As we prepare for the next round of reporting at the end of Term 2, 2022, we have turned the report function on your Hero account off as of Thursday 31st March. You will still have access to the other functions on Hero that you can currently use. 

The purpose of turning the report off is to allow the teachers time to begin working on the next report for your child. Access will be turned on again at the end of Term 2 (we will let you know when), and you will then be able to access their new report, along with any previous achievement information.

We will also provide you with support on how to access the report when the time comes.

Diversity Day

It was wonderful to see our ākonga show up to school as their wonderful selves, just with a little more color today! We are lucky to have such an inclusive and diverse school that celebrates all communities. Our student council were very proud to have raised $360 for Qtopia, an organisation that supports the LGBTQ+ community. Diversity Day was a symbol of recognition of all the different people our Kura has brought together!!


Community Dental Service - Dental Care During the School Holidays

The Community Dental Service will be providing urgent and relief of pain appointments during the school break at:
  • Aranui Community Dental Clinic, 240 Breezes Road, Christchurch
  • Hornby Community Dental Clinic, 2 Hei Hei Road, Christchurch
You can access these appointments by calling our Contact Centre on 0800 846 983.
For any dental advice please call the Contact Centre on 0800 846 983 or email commdental@cdhb.health.nz

Sports News

Congratulations to...

The children in this photo were the inaugural recipients of the 'cricket certificates' that are going to be given out regularly to celebrate great skills and sportsmanship at breaktime cricket that is held on the field each day for Year 5-8 students (weather permitting). Thanks to Kingston for coming up with this great idea to promote cricket behaviour that supports our school values!
Thanks to Paul for his huge enthusiasm for supporting our tamariki in cricket at break times, and to Dave for also lending his support on the days he is here.

Year 5/6 Netball

Any student keen to play netball on Friday afternoon at Hagley courts needs to complete the google form sent out earlier this week OR email carolynaitken1974@gmail.com as soon as possible to allow us to sort teams. There is limited spots so this is only an expression of interest.

BOSCO

If you are looking for AWESOME Easter fun for your kids this holiday – look no further! BOSCO has an exciting April Holiday programme planned, filled with activities to keep all ages entertained so YOU don’t have to. We have Suzie the magnificent performer coming to us, House of Bricks, a dance instructor to teach us a few dance moves and so much more! You will not want to miss out on all our baking, crafts and special days that we have planned like pyjama day, circus day, wizard day and definitely not the BIGGEST EASTER EGG HUNT EVER! So, if this sounds like something you are interested in, email Juanita at office@bosco.org.nz or book online via Aimy Plus. See you there!

Community Notices

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

Cashmere Club

Elements Nature Based Play 

After a crazy term of uncertainty how about having your children active & creative in nature next school holidays.  Think huts, trees, tools, arts n crafts with time and space to be a kid.  Elements has a great mix of planned experiences and play throughout our programmes.  In the April School holidays Elements is offering ‘Natures Challenges’ & ‘Myths n Monsters’, for ages 5-13yrs on a Cashmere farm.
See our website https://www.elementsnature.co.nz/  or facebook page https://www.facebook.com/elementsprogrammes/ to see what we get up to.  Bookings are through https://elements.aimyplus.com 
For more info email elementsprogrammes@gmail.com

Studio One Performing Arts, your local dance school, is currently giving Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Acro lessons in your area. The school’s director is teacher, choreographer & ex-ballet dancer Patricia Paul A.R.A.D. (London). Ballet lessons from 3 years through to Advanced, and all levels in Jazz and Contemporary starting from age 7. For all enquiries please phone 372-9191 or email info@studioone.co.nz

METHVEN SCARECROW TRAIL

Fantastic, fun, school holiday activity!

The trail begins Saturday April 16th. Maps go on sale at Methven I Hub and for $10 (cash only) and the trail begins at the I Hub.

Don't forget to like the Scarecrow Trail FB page if possible - this is where we post messages and the results - https://www.facebook.com/MethvenScarecrowTrail/

Art Classes for Children

Is your child passionate about art? Would they like to extend their creativity through learning a range of new art skills and techniques? Maybe Kat's holiday painting workshops or after-school art classes are just what you've been looking for. Kat's Art Studio is located at 171 Waltham Rd. Art tutor Katrina is a professional artist and tutor who has over 10yrs experience teaching children art. For more details, please visit www.katsartstudio.co.nz


Snow Gear Sale

This winter St Martins Scouts are having a second-hand snow gear sale to fundraise.

Saturday 7th May 9am-3pm
St Martins Scout Den, 297 Centaurus Road, Christchurch

Come and grab some bargains on skis, snowboards, boots, jackets, pants, gloves, goggles and other winter gear.    If you have gear to sell, bring it along Friday 6th May, 2pm to 6pm.     Either donate it to the group or we'll sell on your behalf for 30% of the sale price.

https://www.smartscouts.co.nz/snow/

Click here to go to the Facebook Event

TIMA - School Holiday Programs for Tamariki and Rangatahi with a disability





Playball

AUDITION NOTICE!!

Luminaires are seeking talented actors, singers, dancers and even cheerleaders for our July 2022 Kidsfest Show - Monty Python's Spamalot Young@Part!!    Ages 8-18

Fill in the online form to register for your audition.    https://forms.gle/59FEvyskBQVYL5nj8

You can follow us on social media for updates:
https://www.facebook.com/LuminairesCharitableTrust
https://www.instagram.com/luminairescharitabletrust/




https://www.canterburyvolleyball.org/school-holiday-programme

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 25 March

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

It was lovely to get back to school on Wednesday out of my week in isolation as a household contact of someone with Covid! 

This week has seen a little more progress on the fencing project, with new posts going in around the netball court by the Kōmanawa building. we expect this next section of fencing to be completed by the end of next week.

Roadworks continue next week

We have spoken with the team who are working on the new water pipes on Birdwood Ave and Sandwich Road, and they expect Sandwich Road to continue to be a one-way street for all of next week. Thank you for adjusting your pick-up and drop-off plans to accommodate these roadworks, and keep our children safe.

COVID-19 update

Since we reported to you on Tuesday 22 March, we have had another 8 cases of Covid confirmed across the school. We continue to see people returning to school having completed their period of isolation, whilst others go into isolation, mostly as household contacts. We have had more staff needing to isolate as well, accounting for a number of relievers in the school.



Attendance across the school since our first Covid case 3 weeks ago has gone from around 88%, to 77% at the end of this week. In conversations with principals of other Christchurch schools, daily attendance is mostly varying between around 60-80% at the moment. Given we might be getting to the peak of COVID, we hope to see this attendance rate climb back up again by the end of this term and in Term 2. Saying that, we continue to appreciate you keeping sick children at home!

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Wed 30th Mar - BOT Meeting 5.30pm - 7.30pm (Staff Room)
Thu 14th Apr - Last day of Term 1
Fri 15th Apr - Good Friday (School Closed)
Term 2
Note that Monday 2nd May is a Staff Only Day (School Closed)
Tue 3rd May - First day of Term 2 

Term Dates

Click here to view 2022 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Madeleine Dougherty - Year 6

Madeleine, you are a great example of someone who demonstrates all our school values. You always take up the challenge to further your own learning, and your love of learning absolutely shines through. You contribute in many ways to our school community. Kai pai to mahi!

School Notices

No Coffee Cart next week - Nicola is not available

Paying your school Donation

Thank you to all of those people who have logged into their HERO via their browser or app, clicked on 'Finance' and have paid, or made contributions towards, their school donation for 2022.
 

Claiming back 33% of your School Donations and Contributions from the IRD

Just a reminder that if you make payments towards this year’s School donation before 31st March it will appear on your Donation receipt for the current financial year and you may be eligible to claim back 33.33 cents for every dollar you donate to the school. 


You are now able to produce your own Tax Donation Receipt from your Hero Login, from the tax year ending 31st March 2022. You will need to do this by signing in through your browser, not in the app.

Please follow this link for instructions. Your receipt will be downloaded to your device for you to print or attach to your online IRD donation claim.

For receipts for previous years, you will still need to contact Rachel Higginson by emailing accounts@beckenham.school.nz to request a tax receipt.

There is a limit of 4 tax years for claiming so this means you are currently able to claim for:

2018 tax year (ending 31 March 2019)
2019 tax year (ending 31 March 2020)
2020 tax year (ending 31 March 2021)
2021 tax year (ending 31 March 2022)

Scholastic Book Club

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:


If you would like a paper copy, please contact the Office and we can organise this for you.

Library Books Still Missing

Our library books are still missing and we would really love to get them back. Please can you check your home bookcase, in bags, under the bed - or any other place books tend to wander. Or, if we have lent you one of these wonderful books could you kindly return them back to our library or email the Office (office@beckenham.school.nz) saying you would like to keep them a little longer. Thank you!
Hey Warrior - Book Title

Hey Awesome - Book Title

What To Do When Your Temper Flares - Book Title

BOT Update

From time to time we will ask you to review one of our policies that come up on our review cycle. The policy for parental review this term is the School Closure Policy. 
You will find it on School Docs site using this link.

You will need to log in using the Username: beckenham and the Password: pride

We have now found that the best way to give Feedback really simply is done by clicking the green speech bubble.
From here, you will be taken to this form (pictured below) where you can give feedback. This may include things you think need to be added, considered, or altered. We really appreciate you taking a few moments to give feedback on our School Policies.
Please note: it is vitally important that the school has all of your up to date information, if in the case of an emergency (or school closure) we have to contact you urgently. If you have had any changes within the last year, or since enrolment, PLEASE email us at office@beckenham.school.nz and update your address, living arrangements, email address, contact phone numbers - including place of work and work contact details. We may have the correct details already - but it pays to double-check this!

Congratulations to some past Beckenham students!

The cast for the 2022 Cashmere High school production, Jesus Christ Superstar, has been announced. It was fantastic to see so many of our past Beckenham students getting involved and being given both leading roles, and parts in the Ensemble. We counted 5/9 lead roles being past Beckenhan ākonga! Congratulations to these talented young people! Isaac Macdonald, Sadie McLoughlin, Ben Evans, Juliette Gray, Georgina Cockfield, Sophia Brown, Morvern McDaid, Nathan Salgado, Fynn Skelton and  Hannah Winchester

BOSCO NEWS

Bookings are now open for the School Holiday programme at BOSCO


For more information, call 0276456632, or email office@bosco.org.nz

Book now at bosco.aimyplus.com

Community Notices

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


Be sure to click on the event details below so you can stay notified about these upcoming events. 

April 2nd: Fossil Fools Day - https://fb.me/e/1vv02W0H6

April 9th: All About BUGS - https://fb.me/e/6m4VbVHXW

April 16th: Easter Upcycle Workshop - https://fb.me/e/2hZ32Fdg7

April 23rd: Upcycle Fabric Workshop - https://fb.me/e/3cU6Dp0No

April 30th: "2040" Movie Screenings - https://fb.me/e/1FC9TKe1x

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 18 March

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Thank you all for continuing to support our efforts to keep all of our community healthy by keeping sick children at home. Thank you also for keeping us informed about children who are staying home due to being household contacts of confirmed cases. I write this to you today from my home - being myself a household contact of a confirmed COVID case! I expect to be back at school again by Wednesday of next week. 

Please remember to advise us if your child contracts COVID. We are required to give daily numbers (no names) to the Ministry of Education.

We are seeing attendance across the school has been slowly dropping through the term and for the last two weeks, we have had less than 400 out of 473 children at school each day. At one level, this has been expected as we have had COVID cases confirmed and people are having to go into isolation.

However, we do not believe that COVID is being transmitted at school!

We do have a number of students who are staying away from school due to 'being cautious'. While we also understand this, we have seen very little, if ANY, evidence of anyone catching COVID at school. In almost every case reported below, both for staff and students, the transmission has happened at home or in a social setting (which is to be expected as these settings are usually without masks and distancing). For that reason, we would encourage those families who are keeping children home out of caution, to send them to school so that their learning can continue uninterrupted. The measures that we are taking at school certainly seem to be making an important difference, and are making school a safe place for your child.


We are not seeing a huge rise in cases, and this week, we have had two days with no new cases reported. Our total number of cases at school since the first case on 3rd March is 23. This is an average of only 1.4 cases per day over the last 16 days.

Covid Cases per day - average 1.4 cases per day

Let's keep learning and staying safe together!

Ngā mihi mahana
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Wed 23rd Mar - PTA Meeting 7.30pm - 9.30pm (Green Room)
Wed 30th Mar - BOT Meeting 5.30pm - 7.30pm (Staff Room)
Thu 14th Apr - Last day of Term 1
Fri 15th Apr - Good Friday (School Closed)
Term 2
Note that Monday 2nd May is a  Staff Only Day (School Closed)
Tue 3rd May - First day of Term 2 

Term Dates

Click here to view 2022 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Maisie Lovelock - Year 8

Maisie, you are a shining star in our Kauri whānau. Your positive, kind and inclusive nature makes you a joy to be around. A proactive attitude and love of learning are key to your success. Thank you for the wonderful ways that you contribute and participate within our kura. 

School Notices

Updates to road closures/route changes

Thank you all for the way that you have supported our students to be safe this week with adjusting your travel around the school for the road works. 

Next week, Sandwich Road will be ONE WAY only, with entry from Norwood St and Exit via Eastern Tce.

Next week Sandwich Road past the school will be ONE WAY ONLY

We would encourage you to continue to walk and wheel as much as possible, and to park on Eastern Tce or Norwood St for pick-ups. There will be no entry into Sandwich Road from Eastern Terrace next week except for residents, staff and accessibility vehicles.

Walk & Wheel Prize Draw

Walk and wheel prizes have been drawn! Thank you to all of our tamariki who entered their names into the draw. It was so amazing to see how many tamariki were eligible to put their name in the draw. To be eligible you needed to have "walked or wheeled" to school at least 3 times over the past two weeks.



Prizes have been drawn and will be delivered to hubs next week.

Lost Property

We have a lost property rack out on the Library deck each day. Please have your children check here during morning tea and lunch. A reminder that it helps to have things named as we can get items back to your childs teacher much easier!

As well as this, we have quite the collection of other items held in the office. If your child is missing a watch, pounamu, or even glasses please come into the office and describe your item. We may have it! (Note some have been lost this year and some are from last year).

Scooter Mix Up today

We have had a look-alike scooter mix-up today after school. Please see the below pictures to see if you recognise this scooter as it may be yours!


The scooter that is missing (likely taken home by mistake) is very similar to this with key differences being it has a mountain-style sticker instead of a cross sticker, and the handle grips are not broken. If your child has picked up the wrong scooter accidentally, please can you return it to the office on Monday, where you will likely find yours waiting for you!

Policy Review

From time to time we will ask you to review one of our policies that come up on our review cycle. The policy for parental review this term is the Visitors Policy. 
You will find it on School Docs site using this link.  
You may need to log in using the Username: beckenham and the Password: pride

Click on "Current Review"




Scroll down to find the policy called "Visitors"

Once you have read the policy, click on the red icon in the top right hand corner, to leave your review!



Contact Details

Parents are responsible for letting the school know about any changes to their contact details, including details of parents who don't live with the child but who wish to receive school information and notices. If you have any changes, or want to check your details, please do this by coming into the Office, or emailing office@beckenham.school.nz. We appreciate you keeping us in the loop!

Staff Only Days for 2022 confirmed

Due to COVID, we have shifted the Staff Only Day that was proposed for Term 1 to Term 3.
We have confirmed the following dates as Staff Only Days for 2022:
  • Monday 2 May (Term 2 will now start on Tuesday 3 May)
  • Friday 12 August
  • Monday 19 September  

Absences

Please remember to contact the school office if your child will be absent from school. This includes if they are learning from home, unless you have already provided us with a timeline for their absence. 

When contacting us please remember to include; your name, your child’s name, the reason for their absence and how long you expect your child will be away from school.

If you do not provide a reason for your child’s absence, we are required to mark this as an unjustified absence on their attendance report.

Phone: (03) 337-1404 (Press 1 to leave an absence message)
or Text Message: 021 027 94107
or Email: office@beckenham.school.nz

Scholastic Book Club

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.

Lost Library Books

Dear parents and caregivers, if we have lent you one of these wonderful books could you kindly return them back to our library or email the Office (office@beckenham.school.nz) saying you would like to keep them a little longer. Thank you!

Hey Warrior
Hey Awesome

What to do when your temper flares

PTA News

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



Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 11 March

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Hooray for warm and sunny weather! Doesn't life always feel that much better when the weather is great? It certainly makes life at school feel more 'normal' in these strange times, as we keep all the windows and doors open to support ventilation, kapa haka happens outside, and a variety of music and sport activities are able to be undertaken outside too.

COVID Numbers Update

We have had a further two confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our student/staff population since we reported to you yesterday. This brings our total number of school cases to 14. We are also seeing some  people returning to school having completed their isolation periods. Our staff continue to work hard to keep the school programme happening as normally as possible, whilst we make adjustments for the fact that the number of children and staff at school decreases a little bit more each day. Today we had 100 children out of 476 away from school, and four staff isolating at home as either cases or household contacts. The particular staff who are away can change on a daily basis and we don't always know if they will be away for a day or two, or a more extended time. We are fortunate to have a reliable group of relievers we can draw from who know our children and staff and do their best to keep learning going as per the plan. Thank you for keeping children at home when they are not 100% well. 

Upcoming closure of Sandwich Road next week

We have been informed by SIEPP Construction that they will be closing Sandwich Road from Tuesday 15th March for up to a week. This is to undertake work related to the ongoing main water pipeline replacement project that is happening at a variety of locations across the local area.

From Tuesday 15th March, Sandwich Road will be closed to traffic at the Norwood St end, and open ONLY TO RESIDENTS, STAFF and ACCESSIBILITY VEHICLES from the Eastern Tce end.


We understand that this may cause some disruption and change to your normal travel times in the mornings so please do plan ahead and allow extra time. We understand that this work is important to our local community and that it will ensure strong infrastructure going forward.

This is stage one of three upcoming stages of work around the school that will impact on our usual traffic access. All footpath access to school should be available as usual.

Welcomes and a farewell

Staff and tamariki in our Koru New Entrant team were very excited to have Amy Bell join them this week from the University of Canterbury. Amy is studying to become a teacher and has been here for a week of placement and observation as part of her studies. 

Amy Bell

We also welcome Kal Walker to our school staff. Kal joins our teaching assistant team and comes from a background in Early Childhood Education. 

Kal Walker

We will be farewelling Elizabeth Mahy from our staff next week. Elizabeth joined our staff early last year as a teaching assistant and has provided wonderful learning and personal development support for a number of our children over the time she has been here. Elizabeth is leaving us to begin her tertiary study and we wish her all the very best for that journey!

Elizabeth Mahy

Noho ora e te whānau! Stay well!
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Mon 14th Mar - School Photos (Postponed)
Wed 23rd Mar - PTA Meeting 7.30pm - 9.30pm (Green Room)
Wed 30th Mar - BOT Meeting 5.30pm - 7.30pm (Staff Room)
Thu 14th Apr - Last day of Term 1

Term Dates

Click here to view 2022 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Xavier Kelly - Year 6

Xavier, you have had a great start to the year. You persist when things are tricky and your effort and positive attitude to learning has been noticed. You are clearly showing our kete value 'We Love Challenge', and you should be very proud of yourself. Teno pai, Xavier.

School Notices

Postponement of school wide photos

Due to the current high levels of covid cases in the community we have decided to postpone the school photos day planned for the 14th of March.  We will look to rebook this later in the year - potentially Wed 7 Sept 2022, but this will be confirmed at a later date.

Community Dental Service Suspended

The Community Dental Service is suspending some of its services from 5pm Wednesday 9th March 2022 to provide support to the Canterbury health sector in response to Omicron.

They will continue to provide relief of pain clinics by appointment only from Thursday 10th March.  You can access these appointments by calling the Contact Centre on 0800 846 983.

For any dental advice please call the Contact Centre on 0800 846 983.

PTA News

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

Community Notices

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

Please find the facebook links for these events:
Seaweek: https://fb.me/e/2NIggZW1g 
Global Recycling Day: https://fb.me/e/l7SRroQxN
"2040" Movie Screening: https://fb.me/e/1FC9TKe1x

Community Service Awards & Youth Service Awards

Nominations close 5pm, Thursday 14 April



On behalf of the Spreydon-Cashmere Community Board we wish to advise that nominations are open for the 2022 Community Service and Youth Service Awards.

Community Service Awards are a way of giving well-deserved recognition to people who make our communities better places to live.  They are a way of thanking and honouring volunteers who without pay and little recognition demonstrate dedication and passion, inspiring others to make service a central part of their lives. 

These awards are given to local community members and are intended to give public recognition to those who have contributed significant voluntary service in one or more of the following areas:
  • Physical well-being, eg recreation/sport
  • Children, youth and education
  • Older adults
  • Disability
  • Physical environment
  • Social and economic well-being
  • Cultural, church and community service
Youth Service Awards

Youth Awards are presented in recognition of significant voluntary service by residents aged 25 or under, living in the Spreydon-Cashmere area.  These awards recognize individual effort rather than that of a whole group or organisation.

For more information on the Awards:  ccc.govt.nz/csa

For enquiries: phone Wendy Gunther on 941 5113.

To make a nomination: Complete an online nomination form at:  ccc.govt.nz/csa
Or click on the link to download a printable copy of our nomination guidelines and nomination form.

Nominate now!

Junior rugby registrations are now open for this season - Sydenham Rugby Club