Category Archives: Weekly Newsletters

Moving to COVID Alert Level 2 at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

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Kia ora e te whānau

As you will have probably heard via tonight's news, we are moving to Alert Level 2 at 11:59pm tonight due to new community cases of COVID-19 today in Auckland.

Whilst this is never a situation we want to be in again, we have been here before and we have very successfully navigated this situation as a school and wider community. We've Got This!

The Secretary for Education has already emailed all principals around the country and the following ways of operating apply to Alert Level 2:

1. Schools are open to everyone, and all children must attend.

At Alert Level 2 the disease is contained but there is still risk of community transmission. It is safe for children and staff to attend school as there will be appropriate measures in place, including for children and staff vulnerable to severe illness.


2. Learning will be onsite with distance learning offered in some circumstances.

Distance learning will be provided for those required to self-isolate, those individuals who health authorities have asked to stay away while waiting for a test result, or those choosing to remain at home because they are vulnerable to illness.
If you believe that your child fits the above criteria, please let the office know and we will contact you regarding home learning options.

3. Schools are not classified as gatherings and a range of events and activities can go ahead.

For most day to day activities at schools, the rules for gatherings do not apply. Under the COVID-19 Public Health Response Order, schools are exempted from physical distancing requirements when people are there to receive, provide, or support education services.
However as soon as an event or activity brings people onsite who are not there for education purposes, including students, parents and caregivers, then the rules for gatherings do apply. This includes performances such as school plays, cultural events and sporting activities.
This means that we will return to our protocol of parents dropping and collecting children from the gate rather than coming onto the school site. 

We will have staff at the main gate, and at the Park entrance to school so that you can hand children over to them, rather than coming onto the school site.

KORU - NE children - will finish at 2:30pm during Alert Level 2 to ensure that they can be collected at the MAIN GATE before the main rush of caregivers arrive for the 3pm pickup.


4. Schools will close for cleaning and contact tracing if there is a confirmed case who was infectious when at school.

Your Director of Education will work closely with you and health authorities should this occur. Please contact your Ministry regional office if you hear of a confirmed case in your school community but haven’t been advised about it by health officials.

5. Face coverings are not required at school or on any school transport.

This includes charter buses hired by the school to transport students and staff. Anyone who chooses to wear a face covering in any setting should be supported to do so.

6. Sick people must stay at home.

They should seek medical advice if they have COVID-like symptoms and get tested if advised to do so. If that person displays relevant symptoms of COVID-19, tests positive for COVID-19, or has been in close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19, they must self-isolate.

7. You must have a contact tracing system in place.

If you have to come onto the school site, please ensure you sign in at the office as usual, AS WELL AS using your COVID app if you have one

8. Fundamental public health measures continue to apply at every alert level:

  • Physical distancing (not touching and not breathing on each other at Alert Level 2)
  • Hand hygiene
  • Cough and sneeze etiquette
  • Regularly cleaning and disinfecting high touch surfaces.


Stay in Touch

If you need to contact your child's teacher - email will be the best option at Alert Level 2. You can find all of the teacher and Admin email addresses HERE
If you need to contact Jacky in the office - email office@beckenham.school.nz or phone 337 1404
To contact Rachel in accounts, contact accounts@beckenham.school.nz or phone 337 1404

We will continue to keep updating you as more information comes to hand.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the Team!




We have copied information from the Covid19.govt.nz website below for your reference.


Education information at Alert Level 2

At Alert Level 2, early learning centres, schools and tertiary education facilities are open for all age groups.
If an educational facility is connected to a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19, it legally must close temporarily, if advised by the public health unit, to allow for contact tracing.
Children or young people legally must stay home if they:
  • are unwell
  • have COVID-19 symptoms
  • are self-isolating
  • are waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test.
Distance learning will be available for any students not able to attend school.

Children, young people and teachers do not need to wear face coverings at school. This is because the risk of infection within the school environment is low.

Early learning services and schools

All early learning centres and schools are physically open including for years 11 to 13. Distance learning will be available for those who cannot attend school, for example where people are self-isolating.

Early learning centres and schools are safe environments for children, young people and staff. Additional public health control measures are in place to prevent the spread of disease and to support contact tracing.

Shared parenting at Alert Level 2

From the COVID19.govt.nz website:

At Alert Level 2, parenting arrangements can be as normal.
Household bubbles do not need to be maintained, and you can connect with friends and family in a safe way.
It's safe to send your children to schools, early learning services and tertiary education. Appropriate measures will be in place.

Travelling for parenting purposes

Children can travel freely for the purpose of parenting arrangements. There's no restriction on distance for domestic travel.

Children still should not move between households if they show cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms, are awaiting a test or are required to self-isolate. Make sure you travel in a safe way and follow public health measures.

Public transport is available to everyone at Alert Level 2. Keep in mind that there’s less capacity on public transport because of physical distancing so if you can, consider travelling at off-peak times or walking or cycling. You should not travel on public transport if you’re unwell.

Legal advice and Family Court

Lawyers and other legal services are available during Alert Level 2 — physical consultations will need to follow public health measures.

You can find a list of legal aid lawyers on the Ministry of Justice website or you may be eligible for assistance from a Community Law Centre.

If you have a dispute on shared parenting the Family Court may be able to assist.


If you were doing Family Dispute Resolution check with your provider. These services will be available under Alert Level 2 but the way they are delivered may change, including doing some of the programme by phone or online.

Call 0800 COURTS (0800 268 787) if you need other information about Family Court.

Beckenham Newsletter 5 February 2021

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

It was amazing for our teachers to catch up with so many of you over the two learning conference days. Thank you so much for making the time to set the year up so well for your children and to ensure that you met with teachers. We know that the children have been mostly excited (and a bit nervous for some) about being back at school, and we hope you have had happy children at the end of each day yesterday and today.

Please remember that any concerns or wonderings should always be communicated to the child's hom group teacher in the first instance. Email is ideal if you don't see them in passing, and they will always endeavour to respond to you within 24 hours.

We apologise in advance if we have some communication challenges in the upcoming few weeks - we have just this week switched over to a new student mangement computer system and some of our data hasn't switched well from the old system to the new one. It will take Jacky some time to go through the contact forms that you completed at learning conferences and make sure that we have your information correctly in the new system. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

I know our teachers have had a huge week this week, first preparing, then with learning conferences, and then yesterday and today teaching. We are all looking forward to the long weekend and then to establishing a more typical routine next week.

Have a great Waitangi Day on Monday!

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at our Staff, Board, PTA, BOSCO picnic from 5-7pm next Friday, 12th Feb. Bring your picnic/fish'n'chips and a blanket, and come along and meet up with other families. There will be some games, including Ki-o-rahi, and a bouncy castle.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates


Upcoming Events

Mon 8 Feb SCHOOL CLOSED - WAITANGI DAY
Wed 10 Feb CSM Outreach Band programme enrolment evening 5-6pm
Fri 12th Feb - School Picnic 5-7pm

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.

School Notices

School Donations, and $5 Stationery Charge

Many thanks to all of the families who have already paid their $5 stationery charge (for either pens or maths exercise books). This is very much appreciated. If you haven't yet paid, please would you arrange to do this next week.

We will shortly be sending out a request for the $150 school donation. Remember that you can claim back 33% of this from the IRD, so effectively this is only costing you $100 per child. If you would like to get organised with a monthly or fortnightly payment for this we suggest the following amounts:
  • fortnightly $5.75 per child = $149.50 /yr (or $10-$12 per Y7-8 child if you want to pay for most of camp across the year. There is no Y5/6 camp this year)
  • monthly $12.50 per child = $150 /yr ($25 per Y7-8 child if you want to pay for most of camp across the year. There is no Year 5/6 camp this year)
Thank you to those families who have already set this up, or who have paid their donations already. 

Sunhats are needed at school EVERY DAY

We are noticing a small number of children do not have their sunhats at school yet - PLEASE ensure that your child has a hat EVERY day. They need this to be able to participate in outside learning activities during the day.

Second Hand Uniform Shop (PTA)

The PTA run an amazing service for our community by offering second hand uniform for sale back to families at a very reasonable price. If you have good quality uniform that your children have grown out of and would like to donat it to the uniform shop, please bring it to the office, or take it to the uniform shop when it is open.
Opening hours:
Mondays & Fridays from 2:50pm - 3:15pm

CSM Outreach Band programme at Beckenham for 2021...

There will be an info session about the CSM Outreach Band Programme this coming Wednesday, February 10th at 5pm in the Pōhutukawa Hub for parents and students (Years 5-8) to come and try the instruments, find out about costs and talk to the tutors.  If you know that your child wants to enrol, or re-enrol for music lessons this year please fill in the link below re Band Enrolment.   Band and lessons will start on the 17th of February.
If you have questions, please email Jody Keehan at: outreachband@csm.org.nz

Kapa Haka 2021

We are very excited to confirm that Whaea Cath Milio will continue as our Kapa Haka tutor this year. We will be offering kapa haka rōpū (groups) from Year 3 - Year 8, and Cath will be supporting the teachers in NE through to Year 2 with their hub programmes.

In the Kōwhai team, ALL children participate in Kapa Haka for Term 1. 
From Year 5 through to Year 8, Kapa Haka becomes optional. Whaea Cath would like to open the Y5/6 and Te Whānau Mahi Tahi rōpū up to newcomers for the start of the year. If your child has not opted into Kapa Haka before, but would like to give it another try, they are able to join in for the first 4-5 weeks. At that point, all of the children will be asked to decide if they want to commit for the rest of the year. 
We hope to see both our senior Kapa Haka groups increase in size up to around 40-45 members.
Please talk with your child (if they are in Y5-8) about taking up this opportunity.


Kapa Haka will happen on Friday mornings. Te Whānau Mahi Tahi from 9-9:45am, followed by Pōhutukawa Kapa Haka from 9:45 - 10:30am. These groups meet in the north BOSCO room.

Mana Ake “Drop-Ins” are continuing…

A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 – 9:30am. These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here: Mana Ake booking  The code to use is 88t39. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office and she will make a booking for you.

Basketball Hoops

Our tamariki have asked for more basketball hoops so that they can practise shooting at break times. One idea they had was creating a backboard for one side of the double-sided netball hoops. We would love to hear from anyone interested in supporting us with this project. Please email Jenny at jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz

Parking in the 3min area on Sandwich Road

A reminder please, that the stretch of road adjacent to the Admin building on Sandwich Road is a 3min drop-off zone from 8:30-9:30am and 2:30-3:30pm on school days. This means drivers are not able to sit in their cars from 2:30pm waiting for children, or to park cars in this area and go into school. If you arrive early and wait for children, or if you need to get out of your car and come into school, please find an alternative place to park. Having this area just for drop-offs means that the traffic on Sandwich Road moves smoothly before and after school, and this is much safer for our children.

Clarification of dates for the start of the 2021 school year…

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Kia ora koutou

My apologies for any confusion caused by a couple of incorrect dates for next week's events in the newsletter yesterday.

This information below is correct:

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Tue 2 Feb Learning Conferences. Please check you have booked a time for each child
Wed 3 Feb Learning Conferences. Please check you have booked a time for each child
Wed 3 Feb PTA Mtg - Green Room 7:30pm - all welcome
Thu 4 Feb Classes begin
Fri 5 Feb Welcome Assembly
Mon 8 Feb School Closed Waitangi Day
Fri 12 Feb Combined School, PTA & BOSCO Picnic - Everyone welcome

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.


Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto – Start of Year Newsletter for 2021

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Welcome back to what is nearly the start of the 2021 school year. Whilst we don't complain about having warm weather, let's hope that it isn't quite this hot when school starts back next week! I hope that you have all managed to get some time to relax with your whānau at some stage over the summer break.

This newsletter is designed to give you a heads up on lots of important, need-to-know information to ensure that you and your children have as smooth a start to the school year as possible.

Staff have been heading back into school this week, with all teams having met in the last day or two. Our five new teachers have also been participating in an induction programme over the past two days, led by our senior leadership team. All of our staff will be onsite from tomorrow as we have three staff only days on Thursday, Friday and Monday, preparing for the year ahead! 

We will be starting with an exciting morning of sustainability and science, utilising the outdoor environment to understand the links with our cultural narrative. All staff will be involved in this, so the office will be closed in the morning and will open officially at 1pm.

Over the three days we will also be spending time learning how to utilise our new Student Management System. We have a major session planned for our teachers to learn more about the Science of Reading / Structured Literacy approach that we are continuing to understand and utilise to support our teaching of literacy this year. Our staff will also be engaging with some Kapa Haka and increasing their personal commitment to learning more Te Reo Māori.

New teachers induction 'How we do things at Beckenham'!
from left: Quynh Nguyen, Caitlin Worfold, Meagan Mathers, Sue Leadbetter, Nicola Reddecliffe & Lisa Collier

Learning Conferences - next week on Tuesday 1st & Wednesday 2nd Feb

It's not too late to book a learning conference for next week. Every team in the school is slightly different this year, so this is an important opportunity to meet the teachers in your child's team and talk about the upcoming year of learning, even if your child has the same teacher as they had last year.
Please log onto www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and, using the code 4ga7w, log in to the site and book a 30min conference with your child's new teacher.
We only have a limited number of booking slots, so we do ask that separated parents do work together to book a single learning conference for their child so that all families are able to book a time.
Before you attend the learning conference, you might want to think about these questions and discuss them with your child:

Getting ready for your start of year Learning Conference:
  • Talk with your child about what they enjoy learning at school – what they feel they are good at.
  • Are there any barriers/challenges that get in the way of them learning?
  • What would they like to get better at?
  • What kinds of things help them to learn best? (e.g. where they sit, people they do/don’t work with, need for breaks/food/exercise, etc.)
  • Is there anything about your culture, religion, family situation etc that would be helpful for us to know to be able to support your child?
  • Any wonderings, questions?

Stationery 

If you have not yet purchased your child's stationery, you can download the stationery list from the school website.
When you come to the learning conference, please bring $5 with you to pay for two maths books ($2.50 for each book) if your child is in Years 3-8, or for special handwriting whiteboard pens if your child is in NE or Year 1/2 You can also pay for these items at the school office using eftpos before or after your conference.
Pencil Cases: if your child brings a pencil case to school, please keep these small - the storage spaces are not big enough for large, fluffy pencil cases!

Classes begin on Thursday 3rd February

Please ensure that children are dropped at school between 8:30 and 8:55am. There is no supervision before this time. Hubs will be open each day from 8:30am.
As always, we encourage you to foster your child's independence by letting them take their own bag and belongings into the hub to get sorted for the day.
There will be a teacher outside the hub each morning (NE, Y1/2 & Y3/4) if caregivers need to talk with a teacher. The other teachers will be in the hub greeting the children and helping them get set up for the day. 

Transition support

Our staff have created a transition slideshow which is shared here for you to look at with your child(ren). We know that some children will be new to Beckenham and others will benefit from knowing about people and routines in advance. We hope that this will provide a sense of some of the things that are staying the same, and what might be changing or new.


Health & Safety

Sunscreen, Hats and Drink Bottles - 

Please remember to send your child to school each day with sunscreen applied, and with a school hat and their drink bottle. 

COVID-19 Precautions

Please remember that ALL adults who come on site need to use the QR code to sign in using the school's COVID-19 QR code. These are on hub doors and the office door and there is one outside the library and Pūkaki for when you come onto the school site to pick up children.



We will be using hand sanitiser daily at school - if your child can't tolerate the variety we use at school, please supply your own, and email the teacher to let them know.

Children with Health needs, Emergency Plans and/or medications

If your child has medication that needs to be kept at school it is very impportant that you come into the office and set up a new plan with Jacky for the administration of this. All medication held on site should have been sent back home to you at the end of last year. Please check expiry dates on medications before you bring it in.
If your child has an emergency medical plan for asthma, anaphylaxis, diabetes, siezure, allergies or any other critical medical emergency, and you have had that plan and or medication updated over the holidays, please also bring that into the office.

Uniform

Please ensure that your child has appropriate uniform ready for the start of school. You can check our uniform guide on the website.
The PTA run a second hand uniform shop from the PTA building behind the caretaker's garage on the corner of Sandwich Road and Eastern Tce. 
The Uniform shop will be open on 
Tuesday 2nd Feb from 10-11am,11:30am-12:30pm and 1:30-2:30pm
Wednesday 3rd Feb  from 10-11am and 1:30-2:30pm

Normal term time opening hours will be Mondays & Fridays from 2:50pm - 3:15pm

Building Update



As some of you will have noticed if you have walked past the Eastern Tce end of the school, the old Room 19/20 - Hangere Block has been demolished over the holidays, to make way for a new New Entrant double room hub that will be being built this year for our growing roll, by the Ministry of Education. Whilst this building work is ongoing, the normal Eastern Tce access to school will be closed off. You will still be able to access school from Eastern Tce by using the public path that comes up between the school and the Adventure Playground. The bike shed behind Kōmanawa will still be available.

The Kōmanawa block (New Entrants) has had a much needed toilet refurbish over the holidays as well!

The Treemendous play area will be out of bounds for the duration of the building work.

Welcome Assembly - Friday 5 February 9:15am - 9:30am

 At 9:15am on Friday 5th Feb we will hold our first 'Welcome Assembly' for 2021. At this assembly, we will formally welcome all of the children, families and staff who have joined our school since the last welcome assembly was held on Fri 16th October 2020. We encourage whānau to stay and join us, particularly if you are new to the school - this assembly is to welcome you! The PTA will provide morning tea and an opportunity to meet other families immediately after the assembly.

Combined School, PTA & BOSCO Family Picnic: Friday 12 Feb from 5-7pm

Bring along your picnic or your fish and chips and meet other families, along with our PTA, Staff and BOSCO teams. There will be a bouncy castle and some other games too.


Help needed - simple sewing job.

We are looking for someone who could make some very simple curtains to cover the front of some cupboards in a classroom, please. Nothing fancy - they will be hung on a curtain wire.
We also need some slip covers to be made for some quarter round seats that are starting to look a bit shabby. We can provide an example to cut a simple pattern from. We will provide the material that are required. If you think you could help with one or both of these jobs, please contact Jacky by emailing office@beckenham.school.nz

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Tue 2 Feb Learning Conferences. Please check you have booked a time for each child
Wed 3 Feb Learning Conferences. Please check you have booked a time for each child
Wed 3 Feb PTA Mtg - Green Room 7:30pm - all welcome
Thu 4 Feb Classes begin
Fri 5 Feb Welcome Assembly
Mon 8 Feb School Closed Waitangi Day
Fri 12 Feb Combined School, PTA & BOSCO Picnic - Everyone welcome

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.

Looking forward to seeing you all next week, from Tuesday. 

Sandy and the refreshed and ready-to-get-going team at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto!

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter 15th December 2020

Posted on by

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

This will be the last official newsletter of the year (although there may still be the odd email over the next week!). Please do read this through carefully, as there is a lot of important information in this!

Tomorrow, our final day of school, your child(ren) will be told who their 2021 homgroup teacher will be and then they will be visiting with their new teacher (if available) and homegroup for some time to get to know one another.
Your child will bring home a letter for you, confirming who their home group teacher will be. This letter will also contain contact information for all of the teachers in your child's team for next year.

Please Book your Learning Conference now...

Tomorrow's letter  will also contain information about how to book a Learning Conference for the start of 2021. Please log onto www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and, using the code 4ga7w, log in to the site and book a 30min conference with your child's new teacher.
Please note that there will only be one letter per child. If you live in a different home to your child, ask them who their teacher is for next year. We do have a limited number of booking slots, so we do ask that separated parents do work together to book a single learning conference for their child so that all families are able to book a time.

Stationery Lists

Also coming home tomorrow will be next year's stationery list. You can also find this list on the school website. You can order most of the items on the stationery list by logging onto the OfficeMax 'MySchool' website, and putting in our school name.
BYOD Chromebooks are available through PBTech - log onto their website and put in our school name to order a Chromebook for your child if they are in Year 5-8 next year. (This is optional, and strongly recommended).

A final Staffing Update...

We will have had a number of changes to our staff by the time school starts again next year.
In our final update for the year, we welcome Nicola Reddecliffe to our teaching staff for 2021.

We are now able to confirm our teacher staffing for next year:

Jo Smith will join Sue Leadbetter and I in the senior leadership team as Acting Deputy Principal.

Koru Team - (New Entrants)
Elizabeth Drummond, Nicola Reddecliffe & Stacey McLachlan

Kahikatea Team (Years 1/2)
Amber Donovan (Team Leader), Katie McFarlane, Charlotte Verity & Lisa Collier

Kōwhai Team (Years 3/4)
Laura Williamson (Team Leader), Rowena Barker, Nick Bruce, Quynh Nguyen & Meagan Mathers

Pōhutukawa Team (Years 5/6)
Steve Cooke (Team Leader), Anna Reid, Gayle McNaughton & Rae Marsh

Kauri Team (Years 7/8)
Nicky Dunlop (Team Leader), Megan Culver, Jenny Diggle, Caitlin Worsfold & Georgie Jones

Our congratulations go out to Lisa Griffith who has won a specialist Reading Recovery Teacher position at Te Kōmanawa Rowley School next year. We wish Lisa all the very best with this new role.

Congratulations to Sari Farrant who joined us to start our last New Entrant class in Term 3 this year, and who has won a position at Leeston School for next year. We wish Sari all the very best with her new role too.

We take this opportunity to thank Tracey Maloney for the commitment, energy and care that she has given to our Year 3/4 team in particular, joining our staff full-time just as lockdown began to fill the position made vacant when Paulette Newton left. We hope that we will see Tracey back at Beckenham as one of our key relievers in 2021.
Left to right: Lisa Griffith, Sari Farrant, Tracey Maloney

Outreach Band

We had our first and final performance of our 2020 Outreach Bands at school last week. The bands are made up of a combination of students from Beckenham, Hillview Christian School and Ōpāwa School. It was such a treat to hear them all perform. 
The CSM Outreach Band programme will continue next year. If your child will be in Years 5-8 next year and would like to join the band programme, please contact Jody Keehan (the CSM Band co-ordinator) by emailing: outreachband@csm.org.nz 


Requests for School Donations, Camp Contributions and Technology Fees

Last week you may have received a school statement with requests for your contribution, or outstanding fees to pay.
As you know - we now have a system in place (see our website for full details) where we request just $150 per child each year as a donation. That covers everything EXCEPT camps (Year 7/8 Dunedin Camp, Year 5/6 Living Springs Camp, and Y3/4 Noho Kura) and take home materials - in particular, the charge from Christchurch South for Year 7/8 technology.
If you have outstanding balances on your statement, we would appreciate that the fees (Y7/8 technology) are paid, and any contributions to school donations and camps are still made and will be very much appreciated. We are not able to continue to run camps if we do not get donations from whānau as they are outside what the Ministry of Education funding will accommodate.
The school bank account is 12-3148-0131641-00 Please use your child's name as the reference.

Sandpit Box - installed

Thanks to funding from the PTA Outdoor Spaces fund, to the engineering and carpentry skills of Justin Palmer, and the determination and tenacity of Nathalie Doering to get this project finished, we now have a wonderful Sandpit box installed adjacent to our sandpit. This will enable us to store sandpit toys securely and have them available for the children to use each day. 


Today was a very special day as we farewelled out Year 8 Leavers at their Graduation Ceremony. Our best wishes go with them all as they head to high school in 2021. We also farewell the families who will no longer have children at Beckenham after tomorrow - we thank you for your support over the years.

As I noted in my speech at the leavers' graduation today, 2020 has been a very challenging year in many ways. I wish you all a very safe, relaxing and happy summer break. Thank you all for your support through the challenges that 2020 presented to us. We look forward to seeing those of you who have children returning, in 2021.

Remember that school finishes at 12:30pm tomorrow!

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Wed 16 Dec: - 12:30pm - School finishes for the year. Stationery lists and home group team and teacher information for 2021 sent home.

Term 1 2021

Tue 2nd February & Wed 3rd February - Learning conferences
Thu 4th Feb - Classes begin
Fri 12th Feb - Combined School, PTA, Board & BOSCO Whānau Picnic - bring along your dinner and get to know other families

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Corry Lee - Year 4

Corry, you are a delight to have in the Kōwhai hub. You are a polite and helpful team member who is always willing to take on extra responsibilities and show our school value "We Get There Together." It has been fantastic to see you grow into such a positive role model to all students this year. You work hard at everything you do, and share your thoughts with others in a kind and caring manner. You have fantastic self management skills and are a very responsible student. Thank you for always demonstrating our school values. Ka pai Corry!

Isabella Day - Year 6

Bella, you are full of life and energy and you are also an extremely loyal friend to your peers. You give everything a go and you encourage and include others which shows how you demonstrate the value 'We Make A Difference' and 'We Get There Together'. You also have a positive mindset with regard to your learning, showing great persistence even when you are finding it difficult. Ka pai Bella!

School Notices

It's not too late to make contributions, donations or to clear payments on your school account! Every single dollar counts in the running of our school, and you will have recently been sent a final invoice for the year. This will include, for Year 3/4 whānau, the request for a contribution to the Noho Kura that was held last Friday.
If your child has attended one of the Year 3/4 Noho Kura, or the Year 5/6 or Year 7/8 camps this year, your contribution towards that cost would be very much appreciated as these events (being overnight events) are not covered by the school donations.

Dental Care during the School Holidays                               

The Community Dental Service will be providing dental care for children enrolled with our service during the upcoming school holidays.  The clinics will offer treatment and relief of pain sessions by appointment only.   To make an appointment please call/email our Contact Centre which operates between the hours of 8am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday throughout the holidays (closed between 25th December to 5th January).

The following Dental Clinics will be open during these school holidays:

·       Woolston Clinic, 11 Hopkins Street, Woolston,

·       Hornby Clinic, 2 Hei Hei Road, Hornby,

·       Northcote Clinic, 24 Tuckers Road, Casebrook,

·       Timaru Clinic, Level 1, 18 Woollcombe Street, Timaru

The clinics will offer appointments between 8.15am and 4.45pm for school-age and preschool children.  If your child has dental pain because of an accident, please contact your dentist in the first instance.
To book an appointment at one of our clinics please:  call 0800 846 983, or email commdental@cdhb.health.nz

BOSCO



Our bookings for the January Holiday Programme are open now. If magicians, nerf wars or pony parties sounds like fun, be sure to contact Juanita on 027 654 6632 or you can email her at office@bosco.org.nz to make a booking. We also have an around the world day, a science and magic day and a crazy hair and dress up day. There will never be a dull moment if you join us these holidays!




Guitar, Bass and Ukulele Tuition Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto 2021


Beginner Guitar, Bass and Ukulele lessons, both group and some individual are available during school time beginning February 2021.

Roger Hamilton has been teaching these instruments for the NZ Modern School of Music for 15 years both privately and in other South West Christchurch schools as well as at Beckenham.

Lessons are $9 -10 per week, depending on group size invoiced per term for the number of weeks/lessons.

If you would like your child to learn an instrument, either call or email Roger directly on the contacts below or collect a form from the office to fill in and return bottom section to the Office by start of Term 1, 2021.

email: rbhamilt@gmail.com 
cell: 027 3070466 /  03 9424619

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Note: 
Ukulele 
Learning ukulele is a great way to start a life of making music. It’s relative physical simplicity to play allows early success in musicality while learning the basics of music theory and of producing sound, which is what music making is all about! Children can learn Ukulele from Year 3 up. 
Ukulele players in their 2nd year get to go to “Strum, Strike, Blow’, an annual event for players at Horncastle Arena.  See Youtube also:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFbUO8dKfX0

Guitar: To learn Guitar, you need to be at least Year 5. 
Bass Guitar: Bass learning is from year 6 up. 

The reason for the limits on different instruments is the physicality of learning them. Many students start on Ukulele and go onto Guitar. They learn many of the skills of guitar by learning Ukulele first, plus they learn to play 2 instruments! 

Roger teaches with the NZ Modern School of Music and manages the Christchurch area.

BOT Update

With the resignation of Parent Trustee Carmel Wade earlier this term and the end of the tenure of three other Parent Trustees, there have been four impending vacancies on the Board of Trustees.
Nicole Forster has been selected onto the board as a Parent Trustee to fill the casual vacancy left by the recent resignation of Carmel Wade, at the October meeting.
The terms of three trustees; Ester Vallero (Chair), Matthew Macdonald and Jude Clarke came to their end this week. Two of those places were filled through the recent election, and we welcome Suran Dickson and Richard Scott to the Board.
The third vacant position was not filled through the election, resulting in a casual vacancy.

The Board of Trustees had their final meeting of the year this week and Matthew Macdonald was selected to fill the casual vacancy.  Matthew was also voted to hold the role of Chair, until the first meeting of the new year; the meeting when the role of Chair is always up for election from within the membership of the Board.

The Board also made the decision to appoint Jude Clarke back to the Board for a further year, to support the board in the finance role that she has held for the past three years, so as to maintain some financial continuity whilst the new accounts and payroll administrator becomes familiar with her new role.

The Board would like to acknowledge the leadership and mahi of outgoing Chair, Ester Vallero over the 4 years she has been on the Board, the last two of those as Chair. Ester has led the Board with children and their families at the very heart of every decision made. We are extremely grateful for her commitment and passion to support the wellbeing of our children, their whānau and our staff. Thank you, Ester!

New Parent Trustees: Nicole Forster, Richard Scott  Suran Dickson


Community Notices

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

We are running a fencing holiday programme in January at our fencing club in Addington.
The dates for January are 6,7,8 & 18 – 22nd. Fencers at primary and intermediate school are in the mornings.

Go to our website here to register. Read the info first. There is a 20% discount if you register for 3 or more sessions for each holiday programme. To apply the discount use the discount code holiday.  When you hit confirm it applies the 20% discount.



Elements Plus

Elements Plus (10-14yrs) programmes are now open for summer registrations. Learn new skills such as using pocket knives, rope & possibly fire. Time to explore, climb trees, group games & laugh in open spaces. Also construction & crafting opportunities too. Check out our facebook pg or website to see what we do. Westmorland farm or Brighton. Various dates from 16 Dec to 29 Jan
Book through https://elements.aimyplus.com Also listed as events on Facebook Elements
Nature Based Play at https://www.facebook.com/elementsprogrammes/ For more info or
to join our email list: elementsprogrammes@gmail.com