Category Archives: Weekly Newsletters

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto NewsletterFriday 22 May 2020

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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

Upcoming Events

Term Dates: Click here to view 2020 term 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!

School Notices

Lunchonline

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

It was great to see our children turning up with their instruments and hearing the bands practising again (with suitable distancing in place!).  Many tutors commented on how well their students had managed during the zoom lessons and the great progress they had made.

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.


PTA News

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.

Community Notices

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

Circus Quirkus

As you are aware the live performance of Circus Quirkus NZ 2020 had to be cancelled due to the unique situation we are all experiencing.
Here are Links for both Episode 1 and Episode 2 of Circus Quirkus NZ - 2020 Online. Viewing is currently available.
Episode 1  (Password  - Rotary)
Episode 2  (Password  - Rotary)
Episode 3  (Password - Rotary)

This has all been made possible by the Christchurch Sunrise Rotary Club, our local Business Community, and Individuals to allow your clients and their families to enjoy our wonderful online show from the comfort of their own bubble.
Please share with all your clients as soon as you can.
If you choose, you can put it on your organisation’s FaceBook page or share to your entire community through your website.   
Episode 3 will be released next week.
Stay safe and healthy.

Shirley Boys' High School

Scholarships now open:
CV Gallagher Academic - Creative Shirley - Spartan Sports
Registrations close 19th June

ENROLMENTS FOR 2021 NOW OPEN
Visit shirley.school.nz/parents/enrolment/for more information
ENROLMENTS CLOSE 31ST JULY




Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto First Day back – Fine-tuning for tomorrow…

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Kia ora koutou

Thank you all so much for getting the children so well prepared for school today! We could absolutely see the work that you had done, when the children arrived this morning and were able to transition so successfully into school!

Thank you all for understanding the need to stay off the school site. The drop-off this morning worked very well

End of Day Pick-up:
The end of the day pick-up was always going to be the trickier time, with 476 children all leaving at 3pm.

Today we had the children from Koru and Kahikatea teams coming out to the gate at 2:45pm. This was a partial success, however, some of you ended up having to wait another 15 mins for your older children to come out.

From tomorrow, at 2:45pm, the teachers will ONLY bring out the Koru and Kahikatea children who do NOT have older siblings in Kōwhai, Pōhutukawa or Kauri. They will bring them to the Sandwich Road main entrance.

The children who have older siblings in the school will WAIT in their hub with a teacher, until 3pm, and they will be brought out then.

This will mean that those of you with older children and young children can just arrive at 3pm as usual. This will also mean that the younger children and their parents can move away from the front gate, before the rest of the school start to come out.

Thanks again
Sandy, Jo and Amber

Returning to school on Monday – Important information

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Kia ora e te whānau


We are in Alert Level 2 and preparing for school restarting again on Monday.

Thank you to the 280 families who have completed the 'Returning to school at Alert Level 2 Survey". We are still waiting to hear from around 50 families, so if you haven't yet completed this survey, there is still time to do this.

Today we had ALL of our staff back on site for the first time since 23rd March! What a lot of happy faces and excitement about getting out of their Lockdown bubbles, and seeing one another in person again. We all spent the day working very hard on planning and preparing for the return of children on Monday.

We were excited to welcome Sophie Mulligan who joined our staff today. Sophie will be our newest teacher in the New Entrant, Koru Team, with Jo, Elizabeth and Stacey.

We have had more information from the Ministry of Education since I last communicated with you on Monday. They have clarified that ALL visitors past our front gates MUST sign a contact tracing register every time they come on, including whānau. This means that we are going to be asking you to drop your children at the gate from Monday. Please watch the two videos below, one just for caregivers, and the other for you to watch with your children, about getting ready for school starting on Monday.

At this stage, we have not heard from LunchOnline, so there will be no lunch orders next week.

As our Drinking Fountains will be shut off during Alert Level 2, please ensure your child has a full water bottle at school each day. We will be sending them home for cleaning every day. 

We would love you to sit down with your child(ren) and watch this video together, to help prepare them for the return to school on Monday.

Special thanks to Shirley Serban, Principal at Lake Brunner School, for the 'Moist Breath Song' featured in this video.


Caregivers, we encourage you to watch this shorter video yourselves, about how our arriving and leaving school will work at Alert Level 2:



Please remember that we will be operating at Alert Level 2, which is not 'back to normal'.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki


Returning to School – Please read and respond

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Kia ora e te whānau

As the Prime Minister has just announced, schools across the country will be re-opening on Monday 18th May.

Hooray!

We are all very excited about the prospect of seeing all of the children again, and returning to some level of routine at school. We hope you are looking forward to being able to send them back!

What will ‘school being open’ look like at Alert Level 2?

  • Everyone will go back to learning in their usual learning groups and teams
  • Everyone is expected to stay apart i.e. ‘not touching, or getting into another person’s ‘moist breath zone’
  • Playtime and lunch breaks will happen at the normal times
  • Regular handwashing and hand sanitising.
  • Playgrounds and sports equipment will be able to be used. 
  • Caregivers can come on site but not go into learning spaces. Please keep away from entrance areas and maintain 1m physical distancing from one another. 
  • Children should be dropped at school after 8:30am and collected by 3:15pm, as usual
  • Office on site will be OPEN. 
  • All staff will be working on site.
  • We will have LOTS of education in place for our children around safe distancing and healthy hygiene practices.
  • We will be allowing time throughout the day for handwashing and hand sanitising. Sports equipment will be cleaned after each use. 
More detailed information will also come out later this week.

The big question for you all is - Should we be sending our child(ren) to school?

The Ministries of Education and Health have given us excellent guidance on the health and safety measures we need to take to ensure that our school is a healthy place for your children to be.

Their overarching message is: "Schools are open for all students to attend, and it is safe to do so."

Here is a flow chart to help you with this decision:



Please complete this survey below as soon as possible, so that we have a clear picture of our numbers for starting school again on Monday. This has implications for us on our staffing and our planning, and your support is very much appreciated.

Please click on this: Survey Link for ALL Families to complete 

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the team.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter May 8th 2020

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Congratulations for making it to the end of Week 3 of Term 2, in Lockdown at Alert Level 3.

Below is our Celebration Assembly video for this week and, as you can tell just by the cover shot, lots of fun was had in the making of this! (When you click on the link, you may find that the option of watching it in YouTube gives a better viewing experience).


The celebration assembly video is a great example of the progress that both our staff and our learners have made over the past weeks in terms of their confidence in using new technology for both teaching and learning, and communication. No doubt many of you have had similar experiences in your bubbles, learning to use new technologies to connect with other bubbles, with workplaces, and with services that we are used to dealing with in face-to-face situations.

The good news this week is that we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel, and yesterday's descriptions of 'life at Alert Level 2' are particularly encouraging for us in Education.

After we hear the Prime Minister's announcement on Monday about 'when' we will be moving to Level 2, we will email you all again with more detailed information about what that will look like at school.

In the meantime, here are some key principles about what we know already:

  • Schools will restart properly for all children on the first Monday after we return to Level 2
  • Schools and Early Childhood Centres are safe environments for children, young people and staff. 
  • Additional public health measures are in place to prevent the spread of disease, and at school, this will include
    • ensuring those who are sick stay at home
    • maintaining physical distance (in schools this means children, young people and staff maintain a physical distance so they are not breathing on or touching each other)
    • focus on teaching children to practice healthy handwashing, coughing and sneezing
    • frequent use of soap & water, and hand sanitiser
    • keeping track of visitors to the school to support contact tracing
We are all very excited about the prospect of getting back to school, and look forward to giving you more information on Monday once we know when school will re-start.

Ka kite anō

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Citizen of the Week

Devina Dev - Year 8

Devina, you are such a self-motivated and responsible learner. This has been even more evident during our time of learning at home. You seek feedback on your next steps, you ask clarifying questions and you are always polite and appreciative. You are seizing learning opportunities and making the most of this time to further your knowledge and skills across the curriculum. He taonga te ako.

Ella Newton - Year 8

Ella, we have seen such positive growth in you as a learner. You put thought and effort into all of your work and you are showing more confidence in sharing your ideas with others. You are a kind and caring person and it's obvious that you enjoy being with your circle of friends. Your writing skills are shining through and the Kauri teachers look forward to seeing you blossom even more this year. You are a star Ella! Ka pai!

Community Notices

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

Forest Run Fest: Frost Edition 2020 

The Forest Run Fest is a morning for all levels of walkers and runners to get out there, compete and breathe in the fresh winter forest air with your family and friends. It's a fantastic opportunity for families to set goals and work towards a challenge to achieve together!
There's a distance to cater for all abilities and ages!

Half Marathon
10KM
5KM
Kids 2KM (10 years old and under)
When: Sunday 5th July
Where: Bottle Lake Forest, Christchurch
For more information and to register click here

See you at the start line!

Circus Quirkus

The live performance of Circus Quirkus NZ 2020 had to be cancelled due to the unique situation we are all experiencing.
Here is the Link for Episode 1 of 3 of Circus Quirkus NZ - 2020 Online.

https://vimeo.com/415323817 - (Password = Rotary)

This has all been made possible by the Rotary Club of Christchurch Sunrise, our local Business Community, and Individuals to allow your clients and their families to enjoy our wonderful online show from the comfort of their own bubble.

Viewing is currently available.