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

...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. 

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy and the team

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

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Celebration Assembly!

Outdoor Spaces

Excitement has really been building this week as the Greenscapes Team have been putting the final touches to our new outdoor playspace. It will be formally opened on Tuesday, and will be available for the children to play on from Wednesday.

Our huge thanks go to the Outdoor Spaces Team who have driven this project from the very beginning. They have included Carmel Wade (BOT) and Amanda Wolt (PTA) currently consist of Nigel Easson, Paulette Newton, Nathalie Doering, Nicola Reddecliffe (PTA) and Matthew Macdonald (BOT). We wouldn't have got to this stage without their amazing dedication and commitment.

Morning Drop-offs and Afternoon Pick-ups

Thank you all for the support you are giving at the school gates!
We are really appreciative of the way that our families and children are managing the new drop-off and pick-up procedures.
What has been interesting is the positive feedback from many parents, and from teachers too, about the benefits of children independently coming into the hubs in the mornings. Numerous caregivers have reported to staff about how they are enjoying having the extra 20mins or so each morning. The teachers have noted how much calmer the hubs are in the morning when they can focus on your children as they settle into the day.
We are also aware that caregivers do need time to maintain relationships with teachers. Many of you are making great use of email, in the first instance, and we know that face-to-face conversations are important too so we are considering how morning drop-offs might look going forward.

New Signage!

We are very excited to have new signage at our front entrance area. We have a large sign now at the front gate, and a sign showing our school values, next to the hall.

Learning Conferences - final week of Term 2

Due to the lockdown, we have had to reschedule our Learning Conferences for this term. We are now working towards these happening in the final week of term, on Tuesday 30 June and Thursday 2nd July. School will close at 2pm both days, to allow the learning conferences to take place. More information about booking a learning conference will come out next week.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the team

Scooters

Have you lost a scooter?  These two are sitting in office area.  Please come and claim them if they are yours.

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Thank you all for the amazing way that you have adapted to our new way of being for Alert Level 2. The drop-offs and pick-ups have been going extremely well and many of the children have also had the opportunity to demonstrate new levels of independence a result.

It has been wonderful to see the learning happening again across the school.

A happy face back learning at school! Outdoor Play Space redevelopment It has been very exciting this week to see some key elements in the new outdoor play space be fitted including the slide, balance beams, bark areas and today, trees! The Greenscapes team will be in tomorrow morning to do some final planting and we are getting VERY close to being able to open up this space!

Staff Only Days - during Term 3:

We had planned to have a staff only day in Term 2, and another in Term 3, however, due to lockdown, these dates have been reviewed. We will now be having two staff only days during Term 3. These dates will be:

• Monday 20 July (meaning that Term 3 will now begin on Tuesday 21 July)
• Monday 31 August

It is important for families to be aware that these days are built into our calendar and result in the school staying open for two days longer at the end of the year than we would be doing if we didn't take them. They are not days that are taken at our discretion and not made up.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal

Important Dates

Citizen of the Week

Annabel Aitken - Year 3

Annabelle, you display a positive attitude to all aspects of learning. You are a role model in our hub who naturally demonstrates our school values and this has seen you always willing to lend a hand or help others who need it. You regularly take on extra responsibilities and can be relied upon to fulfil these a high standard, with a smile on your face. You are a star, Annabelle, and we are so proud of you. Tino pai!

Orders for Lunchonline will recommence on Wednesday 25th May.
To place an order, visit the Lunchonline website, click on the button on the top right-hand corner of the page that says "Place an Order" and then either log in or create an account.

School Photo Orders

The order forms for the school photos taken last term have been handed out to the children.  These are due back this coming Thursday, 28th May.  Please return them to the office,  Please ensure that the name of your child and their teacher's name are written in, on the details part of the envelope.
No late orders are able to be accepted.

CSM Bands in Action

Training Band

Concert Band

Lost Property

At the end of school today, we had two items of lost property in the Sandwich Road Bike area...

We think that the owner of the pink scooter below has taken home another pink scooter that is the same make and model - but with identifiable difference in the handgrips... if this looks like yours, it has been taken home by the student who was missing hers, and will be returned to school on Monday to be swapped over!


There was also a very nice pushchair left in the bike area after school today, thankfully without any child in it! This has been brought into the office and will be there on Monday morning for the owner to collect.

It’s been a very quiet few weeks for the PTA. Along with the rest of the world we are rethinking our schedule for the rest of the year. Many of what we had planned won't be able to happen, but we are hoping to still do some fun things to support the school community where we can, so watch this space, and our Facebook page to see what we manage to get up to.
If you need some uniform items, The PTA Second Hand Uniform shop will be open again from 25th May, every Monday and Friday, 2.30 - 3.30, but to keep things safe we have to open by appointment only. The easiest way to get in touch is to fill in this PTA google form with your name and number.   You can also call the school (3371404) and leave your details with reception. We will be in touch to arrange a time and let you know the details of where to go.

Next PTA meeting: Wednesday 27th May. 730pm.This is likely to be a zoom meeting - details will be sent out when details are finalised.

It’s great to have the kids back at school, we are looking forward to catching up with everyone soon.