Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Friday 19 June 2020

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Tonight I am writing this newsletter from Wellington where I have been for the past two days, attending the New Zealand Principals' Federation National Executive monthly meeting. This is the third year that I have had the honour of being on the executive. The vision of the Federation is to provide a professional voice and support for principals as they lead New Zealand Schools. One of our key discussions today was around the key priority areas we believe that the political parties should be considering when building their education manifestos leading up to the general election, including better access to funding and support for students with identified learning needs, providing professional supervision and ongoing leadership coaching for principals, and for the funding and staffing of primary schools to be equitable to that of secondary schools. It is a real privilege to sit at this table with other principals from around Aotearoa and try to have a positive influence on the future of education in our country.

Being in Wellington,  I sadly missed the excitement and fun that was clearly had by those who participated in the Mid-Winter-Breakfast and/or wore their PJs to school today! A huge 'Thank You' to our PTA and Student Council who collaborated to make this event happen.




Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Friday 26 June - Celebration Assembly 2:20 - 2:50pm in the hall.  Everyone Welcome
Friday 26 June - School Discos - see below for specific times
Monday 29 June - Zones Cross Country event at Halswell Quarry.  9am - 12:45pm
Tuesday 30 June - Learning Conferences - School closes 2pm
Thursday 2 July - Learning Conferences - School closes 2pm
Friday 3 July - Final day of Term 2.  School closes at 3pm

Term 3 begins TUESDAY 21 July

Term Dates: Click here to view 2020 term dates.

Note that 2021 Dates should be available in the next newsletter.

Citizen of the Week

Riley Hughes - Year 8

Riley, it's been awesome to see your growth over your two years in the Kauri team. You bring a sense of fun to all you do and also know when to knuckle down and get the learning done. Your deep thinking contributions enrich learning conversations. We really appreciate your willingness to lend a hand and the way you show 'We get there together.' Tino pai!

Ngā kupu o te wiki (words of the week)

"Nau mai te wero" - Bring on the challenge!



This is also the Māori version of our school value "We love challenge"

School Notices

Reminder: Learning Conferences - last week of Term 2

During the last week of Term 2, we will be having Learning Conferences. This will provide an opportunity for you to talk with your child and their home group teacher about their learning and wellbeing at school.
If you haven't yet done this, please book a learning conference time for each child you have at school.
The learning conference bookings are for 15 minutes each (NOTE that in Year 7/8, even though you will be booking for 15mins, the conference will take 30 mins as your child has a bigger role in the discussion at the intermediate year level.) If you have more than one child to book for, please do not book back to back time slots, as you will lose some of your time in moving from one conference to the other.

The conferences can be booked by going to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code yseec

Sports News

Cross Country

Due to much of the planning for Cross Country having been done whilst we were still at Level 2, the original decision made was for it to just be a Year 5-8 event. When we suddenly shifted to Level 1, the Year 3/4 students were given the option of participating, and we are aware that there may have been some confusion from both students and whānau about who could or should participate, which we do apologise for. Usually the event is a full school event, and we expect to return to that again next year.
The sun was out for the event on Tuesday afternoon and the day was warm and balmy. Spirits were high and cries of ‘Nau mai te wero’ were shouted from the start line. Lots of talk had been done in the lead up to the race about running your own best race and we were impressed by the way the children embraced this mindset.


There were a number of very tight finishes, with many children working hard to secure their placing right to the last step. We know that for many, the cross country course is a big challenge and we are so proud of how many children pushed through the hard yards to complete the course. A huge congratulation goes to all of our competitors. Champions at each year level will be in the next newsletter.


PTA News

Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco! Disco!


The annual school PTA disco is ON!  FRIDAY 26th June!

4:30 - 5:30pm NE - Year 3 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

6:00 - 7:00pm Year 3 - Year 6 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

7:30 - 8:30pm - Year 7/8

Bring a gold coin for entry, your water bottle, and more gold coins if you want to buy popcorn or other snacks.
Rainbow Theme - Be Bright, Be Bold, Be a Rainbow!

BOSCO July Holiday Programme

Our bookings are open and we have a very exciting program planned with fun activities, crafts, baking and outings. We would love to see you there. Contact Juanita for more information at supervisor@bosco.org.nz or 027 645 6631.


Community Notices

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

Starfish Swim School


Bookings for the July Holiday Programme are now open!

Week One: Monday 6 th – Friday 10 th July
Email: info@starfishswimschool.co.nz
Or phone us at: 03 3381795
2 Nash Road, Aidanfield
$49 per child for 5 x 30min lessons

Come swim in our intensive week to refresh your skills!

Motivationz Netball Holiday programme

14/15/16 July
Years 5/6 and 7/8 12pm-2pm
Years 9/10 2.30-4.30pm
Where: Graham Condon Centre , Sissons Drive
Cost: $100

Come and join our popular netball holiday programme, learn new skills and meet new mates but most of all have fun !
Book now , send an email to rebecca@motivationz.co.nz with name, DOB, school year group,  address and contact phone number.

Elements Nature Based Play 

Are you looking to give your children a different experience in the July school holidays? Have your children active and imaginative in the great outdoors. Think huts, ropes, tools, paint with space & trees! We have a great mix of planned experiences and play throughout our programmes. A great counter balance to all any additional screen time this year! Multi-day and short events offered for children aged 3-7rs and 5-13yrs.
Titles like ‘Knights & Castles’, ‘Wild Adventures’, ‘Farm & Fire’ and ‘Magic &Spells’ in a range of Canterbury locations.
See our website elements website  or facebook page elements facebook page  to see what we get up to.
Bookings are through Element bookings.
For more info email elementsprogrammes@gmail.com.





Talk Together - July School Holiday Programmes

1 WEEK LEFT TO ENROL!
Talk Together Social Skills & Anxiety Management Groups
July School Holiday Programmes

2 LOCATIONS! Rangiora & On-Line (Attend from anywhere! Even if you are away!). Limited spaces. Come and join us!

Reserve a space HERE https://zfrmz.com/AhEPYUF1zKRN2T9ML7X2
5-10 & 11-16 year old groups.
4 day programmes on-line in the first week of the holidays.
3 day programmes in Rangiora in the second week of the holidays.
Reserve a space in one of the groups- Click on the link HERE https://zfrmz.com/AhEPYUF1zKRN2T9ML7X2

Pricing
All of Talk Together's specialist groups are run AT COST!
Online 4 day programme $80 per child
Rangiora 3 day programme $99 per child
Sibling discounts available.
Please have a chat to us about our payment plans.
Currently we have a subsidy available thanks to the amazing work of the Selwyn Parenting Network for families that need it in Selwyn. This can be accessed for our on-line programmers for eligible families.

How do I enroll my child/ren?!
Spaces are limited in each group!
Reserve a space now by clicking on this link https://zfrmz.com/AhEPYUF1zKRN2T9ML7X2
Still have some questions? Please reach out to us info@talktogether.co.nz or 0273009368
Why are we still running some groups ON-LINE?!
We have received lots of positive feedback from those involved in our term 2 online groups. We want to continue to provide this alternative to families.
Attend from anywhere in New Zealand!
More convenient for busy families. We often have kids attending from the car or another sibling's after school activity.
Shorter sessions means the programme is even more cost effective for families.
Tele-Intervention is JUST AS GOOD!
Everything else stays the same! Two professional facilitators with a maximum of 10 students, delivering a real-time, interactive (the children are involved the whole session- very different to your online meetings!) & fun programme tailored to the children attending.
More information about Talk Together and our Social Skills & Anxiety Management Groups

Check out our Facebook Live to hear more about our Social Skills & Anxiety Management Groups
https://www.facebook.com/talktogetherspeechtherapy/videos/623826954873905/

The benefits of Talk Together
Talk Together has made the commitment to provide this specialist service at cost, within communities & on-line, to be as accessible to families as possible.
Small supportive groups with two professional facilitators. Find out more about the facilitators here: https://www.talktogether.co.nz/about-us
Groups tailored to the children attending so individual goals can be focused on- no standard 'one size fits all' programme.
Personalised summaries for each child at the conclusion of the programme with follow up ideas. These are great to share with your child's wider team to help generalise skills.
Perfect for returning and new students- activities are always changing.
The overarching areas we focus on include:
Theory of mind development
Emotional intelligence
Conflict resolution
Communication skills
Strategies for managing anxious feelings & 'big' emotions
Emotional regulation
How to form friendships and maintain them.
All while having lots of fun!

You can find out more about Talk Together here: www.talktogether.co.nz or like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/talktogetherspeechtherapy

We can't wait to see you soon!
Talk Together
0273009368

New Zealand Garden Bird Survey

Tēnā koe,
At the end of June, we begin our 14th national Garden Bird Survey, New Zealand's longest running citizen science project, and we’d like your help!
The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey is an annual citizen science project organised by Manaaki Whenua –Landcare Research. It takes place over nine days between June 27 and July 5. People count the birds they see in their backyards. Here is a quick video for more information.
Last year, more than 4,000 people took part nationwide. Our goal this year is for substantially more people to share what birds they can see, so we would love the support of our country’s school communities.
Here's how people can get involved:

Visit the NZ Garden Bird Survey website to get started.
Select a garden, or a local park or school grounds.
Choose any ONE day between June 27 and July 5, 2020.
Look and listen for birds on that day for ONE hour.
For each species, record the HIGHEST number seen or heard at one time.
Submit the results online at the NZ Garden Bird Survey website (a link to the survey form will go live on the home page, June 27th)
Why the survey is important

Garden birds are important to study as they act as an environmental indicator for the health of our ecosystems, so every sighting matters. The information we gather from this survey helps inform conservation decisions and further research, not just in New Zealand but worldwide.

Available on the NZ Garden Bird Survey website: garden bird survey

Frequently Asked Questions
Bird identification tips
Other resources
Follow us and join the conversation on social media
Activity will start to ramp up from mid June.

Join the Facebook group: NZ Garden Bird Survey
Contribute to the conversation #NZGardenBirdSurvey

And finally, in case anyone asks ...why do we do this in winter?
It may seem odd – but in fact it makes sense. We are more likely to see birds in our gardens in winter, because they’re attracted in when there’s less food for them in the wider environment. This means that we get better results, showing the true state of our garden birds.














Attachments area

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Friday 12 June

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Now that we are at Alert Level 1, we are seeing the return of much more normality in the events that we are used to having at school and as part of our curriculum. It was with great excitement today, that we held our first full school Celebration Assembly since Friday 13th March. This week also saw the start of a different and more localised winter sport programme between our sports zone schools for our Year 5-8 students.  Next week we have more events back on the calendar.

The first of these events will be the school Cross Country which will be held on Beckenham Park this coming Tuesday, 16th June from 2-3pm.
The order of running will start with Year 8s and conclude with Year 3s.
All children in Years 5-8 are expected to participate unless there has been a prior notification to their teacher. Year 3/4 participation is optional.
Children are encouraged to wear their house shirt if they have one, otherwise wear their school polo shirt. Trainers are essential.
Adults who are available to help out - please meet Jenny on the field at 1:45pm.

Also,  next Friday will be the Mid-Winter Bring-A-Can Breakfast, and the following Friday will be the annual school Disco! Please scroll down for further information about both of these exciting events!

We had exciting news today that the Cultural Festival has not been cancelled, as was originally thought might happen. This year will be the final year of the Cultural Festival, so we are thrilled that it will happen, in the third week of Term 4 (27-30 October). Hannah Elliott will be sending important information home next week to the whānau of our Senior Kapa Haka group, Te Whānau Mahi Tahi, about this event. We will be asking for a commitment from you to ensure your tamariki attending the extra practices that they will need to commit to so that they can perform with confidence and pride.

Potentially Concerning Behaviour

We were advised by the Ministry of Education that there was an incident in Christchurch this week where school students were approached by a stranger asking for help to find his dog. See the Stuff article. There was also an incident yesterday where a man was behaving in an inappropriate way at the Beckenham Ponds, prior to school finishing at 3pm. Police arrested him, and anyone who has any information about that incident should contact the police.
Please do regularly speak to your children about staying safe on the way to school and remind them of stranger danger rules. It is also a good idea to organise for children to walk to and from school in pairs or groups whenever possible.

Reminder: Learning Conferences - last week of Term 2

During the last week of Term 2, we will be having Learning Conferences. This will provide an opportunity for you to talk with your child and their home group teacher about their learning and wellbeing at school.
If you haven't yet done this, please book a learning conference time for each child you have at school.
The learning conference bookings are for 15 minutes each (NOTE that in Year 7/8, even though you will be booking for 15mins, the conference will take 30 mins as your child has a bigger role in the discussion at the intermediate year level.) If you have more than one child to book for, please do not book back to back time slots, as you will lose some of your time in moving from one conference to the other.

The conferences can be booked by going to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code yseec

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events


Tuesday 16 June - Cross Country for years 3 - 8.  2pm - 3pm in Beckenham Park
Friday 19 June - PTA/Student Council Mid-Winter Breakfast from 8am in the hall
Friday 26 June - Celebration Assembly 2:20 - 2:50pm in the hall.  Everyone Welcome
Friday 26 June - School Discos - see below for specific times
Monday 29 June - Zones Cross Country event at Halswell Quarry.  9am - 12:45pm
Tuesday 30 June - Learning Conferences - School closes 2pm
Thursday 2 July - Learning Conferences - School closes 2pm

Friday 3 July - Final day of Term 2.  School closes at 3pm

Term 3 begins TUESDAY 21 July

Term Dates

Click here to view 2020 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Emma Elphick - Year 6

Emma, your enthusiastic and positive approach to everything you do is contagious! All activities are confidently given a go and you persist until they are your very best work. You bring a bright smile and warm friendliness to our hub every day which is appreciated by everyone around you. We love having you in our team! Tino pai.

Kate Breitmeyer - Year 6

Kate, you are a joy to be around. Your enthusiasm for learning is second to none and indeed, you are a student who shows all of our kete values on a daily basis. Your creativity is an inspiration to many others, as is your desire to continue to add to your knowledge and skills. This will stand you in good stead for your future.

Congratulations to...


... Henry for placing First in the Sustainable Ōtautahi Christchurch Year 7/8 Category of the 'Speaking 4 the Planet" Speech competition.
Listen to his speech here:


... Otis (Year 7) who has been taken on as an illustrator for Toitoi, a NZ magazine that publishes the writing and art of young people. Over 1000 submissions were entered for the upcoming issue. What a fantastic achievement!

... Rosie (Year 7) has been awarded 2nd place in the School for Young Writers monologue competition. Grace H (Year 7) achieved a Highly Commended for her monologue.

School Notices

Canterbury District Health Board Community Dental Service

Free Dental Care for Children - including special information regarding Year 8 students
One of our Community Dental Service vans will be making a visit to our 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

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 alternate 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.

Thinking ahead.

Many of the children really enjoy playing in the sandpit areas at school. It would be really helpful for our younger tamariki if they came to school with a spare set of clothes for those occasions when they have made wonderful creations in the sandpit and have fully immersed themselves in the process!

PTA News


The PTA and the School Council are excited to bring you the Mid-Winter, Bring-A-Can Breakfast this coming Friday, 19th June from 8am - 8:40am in the hall. Porridge or weetbix (incl gluten free weetbix).



Disco!

The annual school PTA disco is also ON!

Friday 26th June



4:30 - 5:30pm NE - Year 3 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

6:00 - 7:00pm Year 3 - Year 6 (Year 3 students can choose which Disco they want to attend so they can be with their friends)

7:30 - 8:30pm - Year 7/8

Bring a gold coin for entry, your water bottle, and a more gold coins if you want to buy popcorn or other snacks.

Rainbow Theme - Be Bright, Be Bold, Be a Rainbow!




Community Notices

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

Christchurch Bird Club Bird Sale and Show

93 Orbell Street, Sydenham 11th July 12:30 - 4pm  Admission $2 per person or $10 for a family pass.

Cook up a Storm This Winter School Holiday

Give your budding chef the confidence to learn new skills and grow
their love of all things culinary with our Winter School Holiday or
Baking & Cooking Programme. A fun and interactive way to get
cooking from home, using common ingredients, and everyday
kitchen equipment. Submit your finished products online to get
feedback from our Chef Instructor.

International Culinary Studio 

Winter School Holiday Programme
Normally $49 now $30
https://www.internationalculinarystudio.com/product/junior-chef-
winter-holiday-programme/

To enrol, simply click on the link above, add to cart and use Coupon
Code Schoolswinter2020

Baking & Cooking Programme
Normally $80 now $40

https://www.internationalculinarystudio.com/product/junior-chef-
combo/

To enrol, simply click on the link above, add to cart and use Coupon
Code Schoolsb&c2020
We have been blown away with the level of skill on our
Facebook Kids Creative Cooking page during lockdown
and invite you to post your holiday programme results
here – at the end of the school holidays one lucky winner
will receive 2 x movie passes!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/KidsCreativeCooking/

Kōwhai Caregiver Meeting Monday 15 June

Kia ora Kōwhai team whānau

Since we went into lockdown on 25th March, the Kōwhai teaching team has had some significant changes made to it. Paulette, who was the Team Leader, has moved on to a new position, and Tracey Maloney has started as the teacher of that home-group of learners. I have moved into the position of Team Leader, and Rob Proffitt-White has joined the team in a part-time capacity as our release teacher. He is working with each home group as that teacher takes their release time.

Now that we have come out of Lockdown and moved to Alert Level 1, we want to give the Kōwhai caregivers an opportunity to come into the hub and meet the new team. 

We will be holding an open afternoon in the Kōwhai hub for caregivers from 3pm - 4pm this coming Monday, 15th June.

All five of our Kōwhai teaching team will be there and we will spend some time introducing ourselves, then we'll be available for time for informal chats, and time for your children to show you anything in the hub that they want you to see.

Sue and Sandy will provide supervision on the playground (if fine) or in the Kahikatea theatre (if wet) for the children so you can engage with us. If you then want to collect them and go back into the hub with them so look at anything, you can do that too.

We look forward to re-connecting with you on Monday.

Ngā mihi nui

Laura Williamson and the Kōwhai Team

Moving to Level 1 at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

Kia ora e te whānau

Congratulations to us all!

...for the work that we have done as a country, and as a school community, working our way calmly through the various requirements of the different COVID-19 Alert Levels. 

As we move into  Alert Level 1 tonight, we don't want to lose some of the gains that have been made. 

Many caregivers and staff have noted that our Alert Level 2 'kiss and drop' routine has had significant positive outcomes both at home and at school. Some children taking more responsibility for getting themselves organised at home, many caregivers report gaining back 20minutes in the morning drop-off routine and staff have observed the 3min parking drop-off on Sandwich Road finally working exactly the way it was designed to work in the mornings!

A key difference to why we think this routine has worked so well, is that our new way of working requires the children to do the leaving, rather than the adults... The old way of adults bringing children into the hubs meant that eventually, the adult needed to leave, and this sometimes caused anxiety, resulting in clinginess and tears from the children. Whether you drop the children at the gate, the crossing, the corner, or wave them goodbye from your front door, it is the child who has the requirement to be self-managing and to control their moving forward - which they have been doing in an incredibly successful way!

In the hubs, the difference has also been astounding. From 8:30 - 9:00am, teachers are able to focus on children 100%, and on preparing them for the day of learning. This involves time to 'catch up' and have important 1:1 conversations with children about their day, their weekend, and to build those relationships. It involves teachers supporting children to independently unpack their bags, including drink bottles, lunch boxes, reading folders etc, without doing it for them. Teachers have commented that in four weeks, the gains in independence by all learners has been significant. In fact, teachers and principals across the country have been commenting on forums about how significant the difference (in junior classrooms in particular) has been without caregivers coming into the hubs in the mornings.

As a school, we are very keen to continue the start of school routine that children come into school by themselves. We would like to continue with this going forward. 
 
For the next two days, we will continue to bring the children out to the gate at 2:45pm and 3pm as we have done through Alert Level 2 then, from Thursday, we will all return to finishing at 3pm.

From Thursday, at the end of the day, pick up time, parents and whānau are most welcome to come into the school and meet up with children, connect with friends and, if needed,  catch up with the teacher. This means we can keep the early morning gains but still have a daily opportunity for connecting with everyone.

Our new outdoor spaces playground is looking amazing, and your children will be keen to show it to you one afternoon later this week. We will continue the 3:15pm bell as a reminder for everyone that its time to clear the playground, and for children who haven't been collected to come to the office so we can contact caregivers. We are asking children NOT to go on the playground in the mornings, but to go into the hubs and start getting ready for their learning day.

Your children have demonstrated that they can be strong and independent and we are all very proud of the way they have adapted. Thank you for your positive parenting, ensuring your children enter school with confidence and a great big smile! This ‘get on with it’ approach is transferring into the rest of the school day and we are seeing the benefits for learning as well as independence.

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy and the team

Beckenhm Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter 5th June 2020

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Learning Conferences - last week of Term 2

During the last week of Term 2, we will be having Learning Conferences. This will provide an opportunity for you to talk with your child and their home group teacher about their learning and wellbeing at school. 
We need you to book a learning conference time for each child you have at school. 
The learning conference bookings are for 15 minutes each (NOTE that in Year 7/8, even though you will be booking for 15mins, the conference will take 30 mins as your child has a bigger role in the discussion at the intermediate year level.) If you have more than one child to book for, please do not book back to back time slots, as you will lose some of your time in moving from one conference to the other.
The conferences can be booked by going to www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and entering the code yseec

Do you need an internet connection at home?

As part of their goal to have all New Zealand students digitally connected at home, the Ministry of Education are rolling out a programme to support those families in the community who do not have an internet connection at their home address. The Ministry will be providing modems and 6 months of free internet to families who do not currently have the internet at their home address.
The Ministry have provided me with a list of families who they believe do not have internet, and we have the opportunity to add you to this (or check that you are on it if you need to be). If you do NOT have internet at home (having a data plan on your phone does not count as internet connected to your address), please let us know by emailing Jacky your name and your child's name, and we will make sure that you are added to the list. I have to have this data to send to the Ministry by next Thursday, 11th June. email: office@beckenham.school.nz

Playground opening!

We had a fabulous day on Tuesday afternoon, in spite of the misty, damp day, as the sun broke through the clouds for the opening of our our new outdoor spaces play area. Due to being at Level 2, we had only a very small number of guests present, and the whole school assembled around the play area to watch the proceedings.
Our thanks go to the PTA for funding $73,729.00 of the cost of the playground, from their Outdoor Spaces Fund. This fund was built up over many years of strenuous fundraising by many PTA members and we are so grateful to have been able to utilise this money for this wonderful explorative play space for our children.
The Outdoor Spaces Team, comprising original members of Carmel Wade (BOT), Amanda Wolt (PTA) and current members Nigel Easson, Paulette Newton, Matthew Macdonald (BOT), Nathalie Doering and Nicola Reddecliffe (PTA), have been the driving force for three years in getting the playground from concept to reality.
Our thanks also to the Greenscapes Landscaping team who have taken the design and brought it to life so successfully.
Our final thanks go to Carol and Graham Palmer who donated the money needed for the Ready-Lawn which was laid and will mean that the children should be able to access the grassed areas from the start of Term 3.
We were fortunate to also have Ministry of Education property funding become available in December 2019, which has contributed to this and meant that the PTA still has some Outdoor Spaces funding to use for further projects.
The playground was opened officially by two students - our oldest and youngest students at school on Tuesday - Lucky (Y8) and Ivy (on her very first day at school!).


After the opening, we took the opportunity of having both Paulette Newton and Nigel Easson present, to formally farewell them with all of our students. Nigel has started his new role as Principal at Sheffield School and Paulette has begun her new role as a Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour. We do wish them both all the very best and we will still see them around from time to time.

The children have been making the most of the playground, even in this cold and wet weather, and have been having an amazing time!





Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal/Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Friday 19 June - PTA/Student Council Mid-Winter Breakfast
Tuesday 30 June - Learning Conferences - School closes 2pm
Thursday 2 July - Learning Conferences - School closes 2pm

Friday 3 July - Final day of Term 2

Term 3 begins TUESDAY 21 July

Term Dates

Click here to view 2020 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Benjamin Cross - Year 3

Ben, your kind, caring and thoughtful nature shines in all that you do. You have a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards all areas of learning and you are a fantastic role model to other students. You are self-motivated and you constantly strive to be the best you can be. Thank you for living our school values each and every day!

School Notices

PTA/Student Council - Mid-Winter Breakfast

The annual mid-winter breakfast is back! On Friday 19th June, the PTA and the Student Council are collaborating to bring our students the annual 'mid-winter breakfast' and PJ/Onsie day. 
Children need to bring their own bowl and spoon, and come to the hall at 8am with an item of canned food to donate, in return for a bowl of porridge and bananas for breakfast! The canned food items will be collected and delivered to the City Mission for their foodbank.



Community Notices

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

Piano and Singing lessons

Piano and singing lessons $30 per half-hour lesson. Available at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto.
Margot Holcroft
0211782418
mjholcroft@outlook.com