Principal's Patch

Kia ora e te whānau

Today's rain and cold was a reminder that we are nearly at the end of the summer term, with daylight saving ending this weekend.

Our Year 7&8 team head away to camp at Wainui on Monday morning. We have seen vanloads of food delivered in the past couple of days, and know that they will have an amazing 5 days of learning together in the outdoors.

I will be away for all of Term 2 and Nigel and Sue will be Acting Principal collaboratively in my absence. Paulette Newton will step out of the Year 3/4 hub for the term and act up as Deputy Principal. She will still retain the leadership and oversight of the Year 3/4 Team. Dorinda Hampton will be teaching full-time in Paulette's place.

Congratulations to our intrepid mountain bikers who participated in the Huxter Mountain Bike Challenge today... I haven't caught up with the confirmed results yet, but this picture certainly paints a story of true commitment to the cause!


Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Citizen of the Week

Maria Silva Souza - Year 8

Maria, your smile is contagious! You approach everything with a positive, can do attitude and do everything you can to pass this on to others. You make a difference by using your initiative to look for opportunities where you can lend a hand. Tino pai!

Mac Evans - Year 6

Mac, you are a conscientious, hard working student. You are an active listener and a loyal friend. You can always be relied upon to be doing the right thing at the right place at the right time. Tino pai!

School Notices

Please remember that you need to dismount from bikes, scooters, and skateboards in the school grounds before, during and after school. This applies to adults, as well as children. These are times when there are many people around, and we have seen some close calls from both children and adults who have nearly taken someone out as they have ridden through.

Mobile Phone Collection

It would be great if you could rummage around in your drawers and toy boxes and bring into the office any unwanted mobile phones you may have.
Phones collected help our school gain valuable rewards and the environment also benefits by keeping our landfills free of mobile phones their array of hazardous toxic substances.

Measles Vaccination update from the CDBH

To help contain Canterbury’s measles outbreak a wider group of people are now eligible to receive a second MMR vaccination.
As well continuing to provide the vaccine to those aged 12 months to 28 years old who have never been vaccinated, Canterbury DHB is extending the availability of a second dose of MMR vaccine to:

• all those aged 12 months – 28 years
• caregivers of infants aged up to 12 months
• those between 29 and 50 who work with children.

Extending the second dose to these groups recognises the importance of stopping the transmission of measles amongst young people.

Please don’t export measles these school holidays. The measles virus is incredibly infectious. If you are travelling these holiday’s please make sure your tamariki are fully vaccinated before departing.  It takes two weeks for a person to be fully immune after a vaccination, so please contact your GP team about vaccination as soon as you can.

More information on the measles can be found at www.cph.co.nz/news-events

School Trustees Association

Tēnā koe,
My name is Leigh Kennedy and I am a Governance Advisor with New Zealand School Trustees Association. We have school board of trustees elections approaching this year. To that end, we have scheduled Kōrari (aspiring trustees) community information evenings for Christchurch. These are free and informal information sharing sessions for anyone interested in learning more about the role of a school trustee.

We warmly invite current and prospective members of Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto board to attend the session closest to your school. We hope that by attending, you will be able to chat to prospective trustees about your own school, and personalise their queries.
So we can capture the attendance numbers, we ask interested attendees to RSVP to  lshelley@nzsta.org.nz
We hope to see you there.

Sports News

Canterbury Duathlon

Race report by Daniel Smith

On Monday the 25th of March, the Canterbury Duathlon was held at Ruapuna Raceway and I competed for the 2nd time. When we got there we put our bikes into the transition zone and all of our bags into our allocated area and then waited to be marshalled for our races. The starting 2km run was a bit tiring, but surprisingly the 9km bike was the toughest part for me because I was on a mountain bike rather than a road bike, and having a road bike is a huge advantage, so I was passed by a lot of people on the bike. Then there was the last 1km run where your legs feel like jelly, but my training helped me and I managed to run the whole thing and pass a lot of people who just couldn't make it. I really enjoyed the day and it was a great experience. All of the Beckenham students did amazing and it was an awesome time.

Special congratulation to
Petra Cooper - 5th place in Year 5 Girls
James Stoney - 9th place in Year 5 Boys

South Island Mountain Bike Championships 

Well done to Winni and Boyd Goldsbury, who represented Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto at the South Island Mountain Bike Championships last weekend. Both children took on the enduro, downhill and cross country events in three days of racing at Mount Hutt bike park. Winni came first in both the enduro and cross country and, was on her way to securing a third first placing in the downhill, when a flat tyre prevented her from finishing the race. Boyd placed really well in his division, ensuring to get in lots of gnarly jumps along the way.

Kiwi Volleyball League

For the past term, three teams from Kauri have been developing their volleyball skills each Wednesday after school with coaches from Volleyball Canterbury. It was fantastic to see many children trying out this super fun sport for the first time and the coaches commented on the children’s perseverance and improvement.

PTA News

BECKENHAM BOOTY- Car Boot Sale: What a huge success this was- we were FULL.

Thanks to all those that came for a shop or booked a spot!

The NEXT car boot sale will be on SUNDAY 28th APRIL, 9am-11am. (LAST Sunday of the school holidays)

Whether you are a 'Marie Kondo' wanabee & want to set free those items that no longer "spark joy"

OR love searching for those treasures amongst other people's "loot in their boot"

Make sure you are at the next  BECKENHAM BOOTY & let's Re-cycle, Re-use and Re-wear

BOOK in your car boot NOW- $25, spaces are limited.
To keep in the loop on all things Beckenham Booty LIKE the  Beckenham Booty Facebook page.  https://www.facebook.com/beckenhambooty

PTA SURVEY

It’s that magical time again when we ask YOU for your thoughts & ideas. How, when & if you can assist when any of our planned events for 2019. And most importantly, how you would like those raised funds spent. Thanks to everyone who has already completed the survey.

The PTA SURVEY 2019 is out NOW. Thanks in advance for answering our questions

Community Notices

April Holiday Spanish Immersion Programme 

Ages 5 to 12 years old.
Options for children with or without knowledge in Spanish.
Small & personalised groups: ratio is 10 children per teacher.
Affordable options: Early Bird (before 31st March) & Sibling Discount

For more information please visit our website: https://enrolmy.com/speak-spanish/activity/88-April_Holiday_Immersion_Programme

Antarctic Centre Holiday Programme

“Experience Antarctica” $69.00 (6 – 12yrs)
Do your children like adventure and having fun then during the holidays have them join the explorers at the Antarctic Centre! They will discover the Little Blue Penguins, chill out in the snow and ice room, ride the awesome Hagglund, find out how to survive in Antarctica, play games and much much more…!
The adventures will be running Mon 15th – Thurs 18th April 2019 from 9.00am  – 4.30pm during the first week of the holidays, and as each day is different book for one day or more!.


“Be a Penguin Keeper for a Day” $79.00 (10 -13yrs)
Join our penguin keepers and assist them in their daily routine to look after the Little Blue and White Flippered Penguins. Includes an exclusive back stage access to other areas including the vet room and penguin feeding pulpit. Other activities include the 4D and Hagglund Ride.
This programme will be running Mon 15th – Thurs 18th April 2019 from 9.00am – 4.30pm during first week of the school holidays.

Limited number of places each day.
All the information is in the attachment and please feel free to forward this onto any friends/family who may be interested in our holiday programmes.
All bookings are now via our website - https://www.iceberg.co.nz/our-experiences/school-holiday-programmes/

Please remember to complete the additional medical information.
For enquiries email Education: education@iceberg.co.nz

The Patricia Paul School of Dance

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

Sunshine Football

Since 2009, Sunshine Football has provided an inclusive safe, fun and rewarding football programme designed for children and young adult players with developmental delays. We have a ratio of 1 Coach to 3 players, and can consider options for those with higher needs.

We run 1 ¼ -hour long sessions for children and young adults on Mondays from 4.15-5.30pm during school Terms.  Terms 1 and 4, are 6 weeks of sessions outdoors at Christchurch Football Centre on Yaldhurst Rd. For Term 2 and 3, 8 weeks of sessions at Action Indoor Sports, Iversen Tce.

We currently have 45 players of varying ages..

We are volunteers based, coaches and trustees. Our coaches range from youth to adult, all with compassion for the game and the players.

Players are provided with a uniform for games. There is no charge to be part of Sunshine Football. We ask for an annual donation of $50. We are predominantly funded by the efforts of passionate Trust members.

Sarah Stewart
Sunshine Football Administration
Mobile: 027 2002651
Email: sunshinefootball@xtra.co.nz

https://www.facebook.com/sunshinefootballchristchurch

Friday 22nd March was a day where, across our nation, each of us paused at some point and recalled the change that has happened in our country since the previous Friday.

Thousands of people gathered in Hagley Park, to show their respect for those who lost their lives and their loved ones just one week ago. Around the country, people paused and showed their respect in different ways.

Out of this dark event in our history, we need to find a way to move forward, both for ourselves, for our children and for those in our community who have been singled out in this act.

In our schools we have as our guiding document, the New Zealand Curriculum. This curriculum is underpinned by a Vision, Principles and Values.

An event such as happened last Friday, forces us as individuals, as a community, and as a nation, to deeply question and explore our values and the way that our actions demonstrate these values on a day to day basis.

At school we often talk with children about being a 'bystander' - someone who watches an event without getting involved, even when they know that what is happening is wrong and doesn't align with their values. As a nation this last week, we have seen many examples of being an 'upstander' - someone who steps forward and says 'this is wrong and I will support you'. Our challenge, as individuals, as a community, and as a nation, is to carry this behaviour forward into the future and not let it be something that we do just to make ourselves feel better, but to truly act on our values and show courage and integrity by always stepping forward and being an upstander.

Whilst we are not specifically talking with the children about Friday's events, we always try take opportunities to talk with them about showing respect, tolerance, empathy and understanding for others.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to all of the families who have been impacted by the events of 15th March.  

He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Citizen of the Week

Jayda Taylor - Year 6

Jayda, you have displayed amazing engagement so far this year and it is clear that You Love Learning. You show tremendous initiative and your eagerness to learn and contribute ideas is a great example for everyone in the team. Ka rawe tō mahi!

Zone Swimming Sports

We had an amazing day at Zone Swimming with 28 students from Pōhutukawa and Kauri. The students' demonstration of sportsmanship was exceptional. My favourite moment was hearing them cheering like crazy for Toby, (I had to do a quick mental check as I was sure that we didn't have a Toby with us - we didn't). A child from another school had fallen behind the pack. The children had found out his name and were chanting 'Let's go Toby! Let's go' all the way home. They did this a lot, cheering for every competitor.

Results:

Freestyle
Year 8 Girls: 1st Charlotte O'Connor
Year 6 Girls: 1st Zoe Clarke
Year 5 Girls: 2nd Stella Gillman

Breaststroke:
Year 8 Girls: 3rd Gemma York
Year 8 Boys: 2nd Ben Evans
Year 7 Boys: 1st Thomas Lyall
Year 6 Boys: 2nd Fergus McMillan
Year 5 boys: 2nd William Pooch

Breaststroke
Year 8 Girls: 1st Charlotte O'Connor
Year 7 Boys: 3rd Ben Newton
Year 6 Boys: 1st Cooper Reddecliffe, 2nd Connor Ingram

Butterfly
Open Boys: 2nd Thomas Lyall

The top two go through to Canterburys in Week 9.

Hanmer 4 Hour Mountain Bike Race 

On Saturday, March 16th, teams from all over the school put their bikes on their cars and drove over to Hamner to compete in a four-hour bike race. The aim was to get in as many laps as you could. There were two categories that we had entered: the super juniors and juniors. The super junior teams,(aged 6 to 11) raced one course, whereas the juniors, whos ages went up to 18, raced another. Both teams raced on laps of 6 ks. Although it was a competition the atmosphere was very friendly. Everybody was very cheerful and encouraging, no matter the age or team.

Race report by Paolo Reid

Huxter Mountain Bike Relay

We are promoting the Huxter Mountain Bike Relay again this year. This fun, team event is being held on the 5th of April at Mclean’s Island and is open to years 5 - 8. Children complete laps of a non-technical, single-track course with the aim of completing as many laps as they can within the allotted time. Children may compete as a team, (two children) or as an individual. While we encourage and support children to participate in this event, a teacher will not be present at the event. Therefore, transport and supervision of the children participating is the responsibility of the caregiver.

The cost is $25 for a team or $15 for an individual.

This year entries are being made through the school. To enter, please email Jenny with the child’s name and year level. Payment of entry fees should be made to the office at the time of registering your entry. Entries close on the 29th of March.

For more information visit the Huxter Mountain Bike facebook page or email Jenny on jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz.

PTA News

TOP TEAM: 

It is with great pleasure to announce Beckenham's Top Team for 2019 is "The Reddies"

It was a close competition with only 2 points between 1st & 2nd

2nd Place- "Bad As Dads"

3rd Place- "The ABs"

Best Dressed - "The Black Cats" ( who had the highest tower Sports Canterbury have ever seen-1.2m)

Thanks to all the competitors who braved the drizzle & cold. Take a LOOK  at ALL the Action shots of the day....TOP TEAM CHALLENGE 2019 Again thanks to our roving photographer, Gail Harris from Platform Design Ltd 

A HUGE shout out to ALL the helpers- whether you sizzled a sausage, donated baking, set up/ packed up or scored on a top team station, today could not have happened without your contribution.

Thanks again to Cory Harris, from www.peaktraining.co.nz , for leading the energetic warm up!! Finally thanks to Sarah, from Sport Canterbury for your expertise & patience.

BECKENHAM BOOTY:

 We are proud to announce the launch of BECKENHAM BOOTY - a Car Boot Sale located in the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto car park every LAST SUNDAY of the month

The first car boot sale will be on SUNDAY 31st MARCH, 9am-11am.

Whether you are a 'Marie Kondo' wanabee & want to set free those items that no longer "spark joy"

OR love searching for those treasures amongst other people's "loot in their boot"

Make sure you are there for the first ever BECKENHAM BOOTY & let's Re-cycle, Re-use and Re-wear

A HUGE shout out to Platform Design Ltd for supporting the PTA with another amazing design. We really appreciate all the wonderful work you do

BOOK in your car boot NOW- $25, spaces are limited.

PTA SURVEY:

 It’s that magical time again when we ask YOU for your thoughts & ideas. How, when & if you can assist with any of our planned events for 2019. And most importantly, how you would like those raised funds spent.

The PTA SURVEY 2019 is out NOW. Thanks in advance for answering our questions

Jennian Homes Fun Run - Mother's Day

Sunday 12th May 2019.  South Hagley Park, Deavs Avenue, chCh.  9:00am.  Join us for a run, walk or stroll this Mother's Day.
It'll be a great start to the day and you'll be doing your bit to help beat heart disease.
Register online at jennianmothersdat.com

Bookings for the April Holiday Program
are now open!
Monday 15th April – Thursday 18th April
Closed Friday 19th April (Good Friday)
$52 for the week.
Email: info@starfishswimschool.co.nz
Or phone us at: 03 3381795
2 Nash Road, Aidanfield


Free Bouncy Castles, free face painting, sausage sizzle, waffles, clothes, books, white elephant, lucky bottle, live entertainment, baking and much more.

Host Families needed

OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO EXPERIENCE A NEW CULTURE AT HOME, IMPROVE THEIR LANGUAGE STUDIES, MAKE NEW FRIENDS, REDISCOVER AND SHARE THE BEAUTY OF NEW ZEALAND

In April, May, June and July we will be receiving exchange students from France, Denmark, Finland and Germany. Our new arrivals will live with a host family and attend a local school for 3, 5 or 10 months. As we plan for their arrival, we are keen to hear from suitable families who might be interested to host a student.

Host families come in all shapes and sizes, backgrounds and ages.

Hosting an exchange student can be a truly rewarding experience. It allows a family to experience a foreign culture first hand, be exposed to a new language and pass on a bit of our own culture. They might even make a friend for life!

All students have at least basic levels of English, would attend a school in your local area and live the life of a local.
If you have any questions about hosting an exchange student or would like to view profiles of students arriving from other countries, they can call our office on 0800 440 079 or visit our website. Our staff members will be happy to discuss which student might be best suited to their family. No obligation.

Kia ora koutou

Thank you all for the support you gave to our staff during the extremely challenging afternoon that last Friday developed into. Whilst we practice lockdowns at school with staff and children, we became very conscious that we have not ever really communicated to whānau what your role in a lockdown is, and so we appreciate that you trusted our messaging and the processes that we were asked to follow by the Police. This made our job of looking after all 470 of our children, much easier to do.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to everyone in our wider community who has been impacted in some way by the acts of violence that took place in our city on Friday. That such a thing could happen to people in our city is beyond our comprehension.

We know, as adults, how challenging and confronting it has been over the past 48 hours to process and to try and make sense of what has happened.

How challenging might this be for our children?
How do we ensure that they continue to feel safe?

These are the questions that are on all of our minds, as we head back to school tomorrow.

Our leadership team met for two hours this afternoon, to ensure that we have a plan that will support our staff, our children and you, our community, over the days ahead.
I would like to share this with you below.

Flag:

The New Zealand flag will be flying at half mast tomorrow, to pay our respects to those who have passed, and to their families and communities.

We encourage you to set your children up for as normal a day as possible tomorrow. When the doors to hubs open at 8:30am, you being able to leave them with a smile and a 'see you at 3pm' wave will reassure them that you are confident that they will be safe. One of the things we will be saying to children who might be looking anxious, is to reassure them that school is a very safe place, and that you are confident of that too. 

We know that when you catch up with other parents in the morning, possibly for the first time since the events on Friday, you may want to talk with them about your experiences and your feelings. To enable you to do this without worrying the children, we would like to make the staffroom available for any parents who would like to take their coffee in (or make a coffee in the staffroom) and to sit and chat there, away from children's ears.

We know as adults, it can help to talk to process, so please feel welcome to use this space if you would like to. 

We know that each family will have had different levels of conversations with their children about Friday's events. We would ask you to caution your children about talking with other children about the details of the events as not all children will be as aware of the details as others. We will be actively trying to monitor conversations and direct them to positive discussions, and we cannot be ears in every conversation children have during the day.

Our focus at school will be on reassuring all of the children that school is a safe place to be. We will be following the guidelines sent to us today by Dr Kathleen Liberty which I will also send to you as a separate attachment in another email immediately after this. Dr Liberty is the researcher whom we have worked with for the past 5 years on understanding the effect of trauma on children entering school. She has spent her weekend putting this resource of evidence-based strategies together especially for teachers and parents in Christchurch.

We have brought in relievers tomorrow so that we have an additional staff member in each team , to support both our staff and our children. We are very conscious that our staff are also processing their own responses to this tragedy, some are supporting their own children, and some will also be attending funerals in the coming days.

We will have rooms set up where children can be brought to during the day if they need 'time out' or support with anxiety or feelings that are overwhelming. We will be encouraging them to talk about small, positive steps that they can take to focus on the reliable and constant positive areas of their lives.

Our team of Kaimahi (staff) who provide support to us through Mana Ake (mental health and wellbeing for Canterbury Children) will be on standby this week as schools return and will be available for our most pressing needs. If you have concerns about how your child is managing, please contact Sue Leadbetter or myself and we will be able to make a referral for support.

Please note that the union meetings scheduled for Wednesday this week have been postponed, so we will not need to finish early.

We look forward to seeing all of the children back at school tomorrow.

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Tomorrow's Schools Review - Have your say!

The report addresses 8 Key Issues and makes 31 recommendations for change to our current education system. Read the full report here, or the summary of the recommendations here.
You can watch a short video about the recommendations here

I have been fortunate to have spent the last three days of this week in Wellington, at a meeting of the New Zealand Principals Federation. On Friday, that meeting included principals from all around the country who met to discuss hear from Minister Hipkins and from Bali Haque and Cathy Wylie from the Taskforce, about the Tomorrows Schools Report recommendations. There was much debate, and an increasing sense of urgency around the need to change our current system which is not serving all children and communities throughout the country in an equitable or successful manner.
I urge you to have a look at the report, or some of the supplementary material that is available about it and send in your feedback.

Have your say
An online survey is now open for you to provide feedback on the key issues and recommendations, click here to have your say.

Written submissions or queries can be emailed to tomorrows.schools@education.govt.nz

Annual Plan for 2019

Each year, we develop an annual plan to progress our three year strategic plan.
Competition for time in a school is fierce, and we always run a very tight line between managing many areas of focus, and having too many balls in the air!
This year, we have a number of significant areas of focus across our school.
I have summarised them below, and you can read about them in more detail by looking at the Annual Plan (which will be part of our Charter) on our website.

The following are key areas of focus:

• Student Wellbeing - 
• Understanding of Diverse Learners (with a particular focus on understanding how to support students on the Autistic Spectrum and with support from our Resource Teachers of Learning and Behaviour)
• Developing Mathematical Inquiry Communities (2nd year of focus and working with Professor Bobbi Hunter and her team from Massey University)

(The above three areas are a focus across the schools in our Community of Learning - St Martins, St Marks, Waltham, Ōpāwa, Diamond Harbour, and Cashmere High School)

• Positive Behaviour 4 Learning (PB4L) - this is a research-based, whole school initiative from the Ministry of Education. 
• Improving our use of Te Reo Māori across the school (students, staff and in the community)
• Professional development for staff to understand and implement the new Digital Technologies Curriculum (released in 2017)
• Continuing our development of pedagogy around Learning through Play

Principal Sabbatical - Term Two

I have been very fortunate to have been awarded a 14-week sabbatical from the Ministry of Education. Principals can apply for a sabbatical after every 5 years of service, however, the timing for me has previously never been quite right, so now, after 13 years of principalship, I have applied and been successful. The sabbatical starts at the end of Term 1 and goes through to the end of the Term 2 holidays. I will be spending some of that time researching and preparing a report on how schools support students, staff and whānau who are gender diverse or questioning. This is an area that an increasing number of primary schools are navigating and the supports are currently quite limited.
My husband and I will also be spending time taking a holiday to the UK and Europe, where we first met in 1991! Sue Leadbetter and Nigel Easson will be sharing the Acting Principal role during that time.

Reminder - School closing early on Wednesday 20th March

This is to allow the teachers (100% union members) to attend the Paid Union Meeting and discuss the latest offer on their collective agreement from the Ministry of Education. We offered our hall for the local meeting, so that our teachers wouldn't have to travel and to enable us to stay open for as long as possible that day. Thank you for your understanding.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Citizen of the Week

Florence Gerard - Year 8

Florence, we love the energy, depth of thinking and honesty you bring to our Kauri Whānau. Your creativity in writing, art and all that you turn your hand to is inspiring. Making a difference to our planet is a passion that you display each and every day.  Tu meke Florence.

Rose Bethwaite - Year 3

Rose, you display a positive attitude to all aspects of learning with your persistence and enthusiasm. 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. This helps to make our hub a wonderful place to be. Teno pai, Rose!

School Notices

Scholastic Book Club

Issue 2 catalogue of the Schoalstic Book Club will be arriving home this week.  When ordering books through Scholastic Book Club you will be asked for class number.
At Beckenham we do not use class numbers, we use Hub Names.
Here are the Hub names your child will be familiar with.

Hub KORU - New Entrants and Year 1
Hub KAHIKATEA Years 1-3
Hub KOWHAI Years 3-4
Hub POHUTUKAWA Years 5-6
Hub KAURI Years 7-8.

Using the correct Hub name will speed up the processing of your order.

Scholastic recommend you submit your orders by Friday 22 March.
The final closing date is April 19.

Your feedback on the Scholastic Lucky Book Club system is requested (survey will stay open until Monday 18th March)

We have traditionally participated in the distribution of the Scholastic Lucky Book Club catalogues so that whānau can order books and associated toys, through our school. The managing of this scheme takes some time and attention on the part of Anne, our school librarian, and the  'reward' for the school, comes in the form of a small return of vouchers for the library that we then spend on purchasing more books through Scholastic for the school library.

We do get feedback from time-to-time from whānau that they do not put high value on the Scholastic Book Club catalogue and ordering system. Some whānau have said that they find the items in the catalogue are frequently not focused on the books, but on the additional 'toy' items, and that the pressure put on them when the catalogues come home, is pressure they would prefer not to have. Not surprisingly, we don't usually hear from the people who do place orders.

Please would you take a moment to respond to this survey, and we will then make a decision regarding what we do in the future with Scholastic.
As a school - we don't have a strong view either way - we do this primarily as a service to whānau and this is a 'checking in' to find out if this is still necessary and valued.
There is a very brief survey attached - please take 1 minute to complete it. We will be guided by the results, in determining whether to continue with the Scholastic ordering system.

Measles - Canterbury District Health Board

Since 26 February 2019, the number of cases in the latest Canterbury measles outbreak has been steadily climbing and as of 10th March, 20 cases noted, with more likely to be confirmed over the next days and weeks. Some are children who have yet to complete their MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccinations, and some are adults aged between 27 and 50 who have had only one measles vaccination, which was standard practice between 1969 and 1990. Cases have now spread throughout Christchurch.

Measles is a serious and highly contagious, viral disease where up to 30 percent of those who catch it will develop complications – usually children under 5 and adults over the age of 20. Measles during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage, premature labour and low birth-weight in babies. Measles is spread through droplets in the air and through contact, so that anyone unprotected who has been in the same room as someone with measles will likely get it.

The surest protection is for people to have had both of their MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccinations, scheduled to be given to children at 15 months and at four years. As long as children of school age are up-to-date with their vaccinations they should be protected against measles. People vaccinated between 1969 and 1990 should contact their GP team who will provide a booster vaccination. People born before 1969 will have been exposed to measles and will be immune.

Family members who aren’t sure if they have been immunised with two doses of MMR vaccine should talk to their GP team who will be able to provide a vaccination if they need it. An extra vaccination will not cause any harm.

Measles symptoms include:

• A respiratory type of illness with dry cough, runny nose, headache
• Temperature over 38.5 C and feeling very unwell
• A red blotchy rash starts on day 4-5 of the illness usually on the face and moves to the chest and arms.

More information about measles is available at http://www.immune.org.nz

If you think a child at your school has measles, keep them away from other children until they can be
collected and taken home. If they are already sick they should stay home for at least five days after
symptoms such as a rash appeared. Once measles has been in your school, parents of any children
who are not fully immune (2 doses of MMR) are advised to keep them home for 14 days from the likely date of exposure.

Comedy Bingo Evening

Get a group of friends together and come along for a great night out at our Comedy Bingo Evening on March 23rd. This is a fundraising project for the Year 7 & 8 camp to Wainui. Jarred is coming back to share his comedy talent with us all. Click here to book your tickets:
https://goo.gl/forms/B4jJ1goqKepQdgSm1
Many thanks to Platform Design for their poster design.

Welcome to the Green Team 

We have started a Green Team this year, so student volunteers can share their ideas and help us look after, or act as Kaitiaki for our environment.  The team has already started a weekly rubbish race, collecting litter from the playground and park. Check out how much we collected in 10mins last week!

Sports News

Years 5-8 Duathlon Results

The years 5-8 Duathlon was held this week in Beckenham Park.  Congratulations to all of the students who participated in what turned out to be a very warm day.
Students who placed in the top three of each year group are listed below.

Year 5
Petra Cooper - 1st
Torun Joergensen - 2nd
Freya Braun - 3rd
Billy Murfin - 1st
James Stoney - 2nd
Quinn Clarke - 3rd

Year 6
Zoe Clarke - 1st
Mahli Boreham - 2nd
Zara McIvor - 3rd
Josh Breitmeyer - 1st
Jonty Mitchell -2nd
Max van Tongeren - 3rd

Year 7
Jain Cooper - 1st
Mia Aramowicz - 2nd
Ruby McNiven - 3rd
Ben Newton 1st
Eric Cassels-Brown - 2nd
Thomas Lyall - 3rd

Year 8
Sophie Brown - 1st
Charlotte Grey - 2nd
Morven McDaid - 3rd
Ben Evans - 1st
Paolo Reid - 2nd
Daniel Smith - 3rd

Huxter Mountain Bike Relay

We are promoting the Huxter Mountain Bike Relay again this year. This fun, team event is being held on the 5th of March at Mclean’s Island and is open to years 5 - 8. Children complete laps of a non-technical, single-track course with the aim of completing as many laps as they can within the allotted time. Children may compete as a team, (two children) or as an individual. While we encourage and support children to participate in this event, a teacher will not be present at the event. Therefore, transport and supervision of the children participating is the responsibility of the caregiver.

The cost is $25 for a team or $15 for an individual.

This year entries are being made through the school. To enter, please email Jenny with the child’s name and year level. Payment of entry fees should be made to the office at the time of registering your entry. Entries close on the 29th of March.

For more information visit the Huxter Mountain Bike facebook page or email Jenny on jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz

Board of Trustee Elections - Your board needs you!


Board of Trustee elections will be coming up during Term 2. If you are interested in finding out what being a Trustee involves, the NZ School Trustees Association are running free evening workshops you can attend to find out more.

Kōrari - a programme that provides you with governance training to help you understand the role of school boards of trustees.

Haeata Community Campus, Tuesday 9 April - 6pm
or
Hornby High School, Thursday 11 April - 6pm

To register, email: LShelley@nzsta.org.nz

Community Notices

Magic the Gathering

Magic: The Gathering, is the world’s most popular collectible card game. It’s fun and it makes reading, maths, logic and decision making fun as well.

An independent Magic: The Gathering club is running Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in the Green room every Monday evening. Entry is open to all Year 5, 6, 7 and 8 students and their parents.

No prior knowledge of the game is required and players don’t need to bring any of their own cards (and if they already have some they can).

Game nights run on Monday from 6.30-8.30pm. Entry by gold coin koha.
If you or your kids would like to join in, please feel free to rock up on the night.
Any questions or ideas can go through to Cameronjamestaffs@gmail.com

Help Tamariki in your Community

Can you provide a safe, stable home for tamariki until it's safe for them to return home?

All children need a place where they can feel at home, with their wider whānau or caregivers who can give them aroha, a place of belonging and connection with family, whakapapa, and culture.

Come along to our Oranga Tamariki Christchurch Information Session to find out more about the different ways you can care for tamariki.

Our next session is on: Tuesday, 12 March 6 - 8pm, Grand Central Building, 161 Cashel Street, ChCh

Or get in touch anytime on 0508CARERS (0508227377)

www.orangatamariki.govt.nz

McDonalds Youth Duathlon organised by Garden City Rotary

Registrations open now.
The 2019 McDonald's Duathlon to be held at Hagley Park on Sunday, 7 April 2019. This event is run by volunteers from Garden City Rotary Club.
Entries are open to 7 -15 year olds and the duathlon includes a run, bike and run. Entrants can look forward to receiving a Competition Medal, Gift Pack of sponsors’ products and a competition T-shirt.
7 - 10 Years - Run 1km, Cycle 4km, Run 500m
11 - 15 Years - Run 2km, Cycle 8km, Run 1km
This community event is held by Garden City Rotary Club. To enter go to www.gardencityrotary.org.nz 

Beginner Youth Aerial Circus class

Learn Trapeze, Silks, Lyra and more.
Saturday mornings  9am -10am
Starts March 9th - April 13th
Roy Stokes Hall, New Brighton
for ages 9yrs - 13yrs.
$100
enrol: circustrust@gmail.com

Registrations are Open Cashmere Technical Football Club (CTFC)

Please visit www.ctfc.co.nz and click on 'registrations'
Every year we have many late registrations from the families of younger grades/first time players (we start from 4 years of age) who have not realised registrations are open/closed...this makes our grade managers volunteer jobs very difficult to organise teams and cater to the many friend request we get.  The sooner you register the more chance we can cater to your friend requests.
Please register NOW if you want your child to play football at CTFC this season
Registration closes March 17th...there is a registration day on at Woolston on this day- but you can also register NOW online with an earlybird discount