Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. 

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

With just over two weeks until the end of the 2017 school year left, we are in our busiest time of the year with reports being proofread, class lists being confirmed and end and start of year organisation being finalised. 

Building update

Gift giving at the end of the year.

We are aware that gift giving is one way that people often choose to show appreciation and that this is especially common at Christmas.
This year at school we have talked about the value of showing that 'We Care' through words and actions. Our teachers are talking with the children about the value of making and writing cards, and of doing or making something special to show appreciation or goodwill that doesn't involve buying 'presents' and where the focus is on the joy of giving and the kind thoughts that are being shared.
In line with this thinking, staff very much value a card or email of appreciation from parents and students and they do not expect gifts.

Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Fergus, it has been a pleasure watching you grow as a leader over the past year. You confidently lead house games and have a strong presence on stage. Fergus, you are a talented young man and this year, we have seen you strive to maximise your natural talents, go the extra mile and enjoy the successes that follow. You are insightful and perceptive; your contributions to learning discussions prove you to be a deep and critical thinker. You demonstrate a love of challenge on the sports field and show dedication to bettering your skill level over a range of sports. Fergus, we love your sense of humour and full throttle approach to life. Thank you for making our hub a fun place to be.   

Olivia, you are a diligent, deep thinker who consistently displays the school value, 'We Love Challenge'.  You give everything a go and always put in 100%. You are an incredible role model for others at school, especially in the way that you respect others and act with kindness. You are an active learner who is always willing to take on extra responsibilities, and fulfill these roles with honesty and reliability. You constantly 'make a difference' by supporting those around you, both in and out of the hub. You have a huge heart and 'care' about everyone's wellbeing. We just love having you in Pōhutukawa Whānau! Ka pai!

Sharing our Learning

Kowhai Team 

Marae Trip

On Thursday 16 November we had a wonderful visit to Rehua Marae. We were welcomed onto the marae with a formal pōwhiri. This was followed by morning tea and an opportunity to explore the wharenui and sketch the beautiful carvings and kowhaiwhai.

We were so impressed with the wonderful behaviour of the children. They showed immense respect at all times. Thank you to Sherrilee who taught us about the marae and supported us during the pōwhiri. Thank you also to the lovely parents who supported us on the trip. We hope you enjoyed the trip as much as we did.

Athletics Day

Wednesday 22nd was our annual athletics day. It was wonderful to see all the parents at school supporting their children. The Kowhai children competed in five events: High jump, Long jump, Shot Put, Discus and Sprints.

We finished off the afternoon by joining up with Koru to run house relays. Congratulations to Heathcote House for their win. It was great hearing your enthusiastic house chant.

Mandarin

A big congratulations to our star Lauren Maule, who was awarded a certificate of excellence for learning Mandarin. This was awarded at a special prize giving at St Margaret's college. Well done Lauren, you can be so proud of your achievement!

Amazing writers! 

Once upon a time there was a man called Maui, he asked his four brothers for some help to go fishing. They hopped into their waka. Maui was paddling the boat when the four brothers were plaiting some ropes for Maui. Maui stopped paddling the boat and he said “I think this is the spot to fish”. The four brothers handed over the ropes to Maui. He put some bait on and threw it into the ocean. Then a big black fish came up, Maui struggled and struggled to get the fish up. Maui’s face went so red and his hands began to slip. He almost had the big fish but it sunk back down into the ocean. He shook with fear. He said “I will never give up!”. So Maui threw the ropes back into the ocean and finally Maui got the big fish up and to his surprise it stayed there. So Maui and the four brothers got out of the boat and started cutting up the big fish. Then the fish turned into the North Island. - By Zara.

Splish splash went the paddles. Plop! Went Beckenham’s hook. Deeper and deeper the hook plunged, dodging any fish that came near until it struck the top of a whare. This wasn’t any ordinary whare, it was the whare attached to the Island under the sea. Beckenham tugged and pulled but the island knew where it’s home was so it started to fight. The island was strong but Beckenham had something it didn’t...courage! Finally the island ballooned to the surface, and what an island it was! It was one of the longest islands Beckenham had ever seen before. Beckenham couldn’t get back to her people. The birds came looking for her. They found her and Kiwi. Beckenham was the first Maori person to ever live. I don’t know what happened to Beckenham. Some say her soul didn’t go to heaven or hell but went to a place where some springs were bubbling, dug a hole and planted herself into the heart of that place. Now it is a school where I wrote this story. - By Kate

School Notices

Guitar, Bass and Ukulele Tuition 2018 with Roger Hamilton

Beginner Guitar, Bass and ukulele lessons, both group and some individual are available during school time beginning February 2018.
Roger Hamilton has been teaching these instruments for 11, 3 and 5 years respectively at our school and in 2 other South West Christchurch schools as well.
NB: Children can learn Ukulele from Year 3 onwards. To learn Guitar, you need to be at least Year 5. And bass learning is from Year 6 up. The reason for these limits is the physicality of learning the instruments. Many of my students start on Ukulele and go onto Guitar, they learn a lot of the skills for the guitar on the ukulele by that, plus they know how to play 2 instruments. The ukulele is becoming more and more popular amongst adults as well as children. I recently saw a virtuoso player from Canada on Ukulele play the ‘Jumping Flea’, which is the English translation of ‘Ukulele’. He is known as one of the best players in the world. If you are curious, go to YouTube and search “James Hill. Ukulele”.
If you would like your child to enroll in learning any of these instruments, either call or email Roger Hamilton directly on the contacts below or get a full form from the office and return the tear off section to the school office before the end of the year.
email: rbhamilt@gmail.com
cell: 027 3070466 / 9424619

School Bells

Some of you may have heard the new bell/PA system in action over the past week. The bell sound clearly has some tweeking that needs to happen as it is pretty jangly, and we are grateful to have a bell again after all this time!
We currently have the following bells happening each day:
8:30am (to let everyone know that learning spaces are able to be entered)
8:55am (to signal the start of classes)
10:50am (end of morning break)
1:20pm (end of afternoon break)
3:15pm (time for children to come to the office if they haven't been collected. Only children who are actively being supervised by their caregivers or by BOSCO should be in the school grounds after this time.)

End of Year accounts

You should have received your final end of year account and request for contributions to school activities by email at the end of October. If you didn't receive this, or are not able to locate it. please do contact Vicki in the office accounts@beckenham.school.nz and she will be happy to print or resend this out to you. Thank you to everyone who has made contributions so far. We would not be able to offer the activities that we do, without this contribution.

BOSCO Gate

This has been repaired today and will be unlocked again as normal at 3:30pm today for BOSCO access.

Canterbury District Health Board Community Dental Service - Dental Visit 2018

The Community Dental Service approached your school regarding visiting during 2017.  After discussion with your school, it was agreed that we will delay our visit due to building work on school grounds. We will be visiting Beckenham School during the 2018 school year where we will see all students who are due for their examination.
Year 8 students will receive a letter posted home to arrange their enrolment for dental care under the adolescent dental scheme. If there are urgent concerns about your child's oral health prior to our visit 2018 visit, please call for an appointment at a clinic convenient to you.
To make an appointment you can contact our call centre: 0800846983 or email commdental@cdhb.health.nz

Dental Care over the School Holidays 

The Community Dental Service will be providing emergency dental appointments on the 19th, 20th, 21st and 22nd December available at the following clinics:

Hornby Community Dental Clinic
Northcote Community Dental Clinic
Woolston Community Dental Clinic
Aranui Community Dental Clinic
and from Hillmorton Community Dental Clinic: Tuesday, 9th January – Friday, 12th January 2018 (inclusive)

This service will operate by appointment only and if we are unable to see your child, alternative options will be given. If your child has dental pain as a result of an accident please contact your dentist in the first instance.

New Year Clinic Openings

An emergency dental service will also be offered from Hillmorton Community Dental Clinic and Northcote Community Dental Clinic on the following dates:

Monday, 15th January 2018 – 19th January 2018 (inclusive) and
Monday, 22nd January 2018 – 26th January 2018 (inclusive)

You can phone and make an appointment for these clinics by ringing 0800 846 983.
Yours sincerely

Julie Denton
Service Manager
COMMUNITY DENTAL SERVICE

Lunchonline

At the start of term 1 2018 all existing account holders for Lunchonline will need to log on – click Add / Edit Members – Choose Beckenham School and relevant Year Group.  This will update your settings for 2018.
Until the end of 2017 school year you do not need to change anything

Sports News

Canterbury Schools Triathlon

The triathlon course at Pegasus is not for the faint of heart. The race begins with a rather chaotic dash into the lake for a 75 or 100 metre swim. Then the real challenge of transitioning into your bike gear while dripping wet begins. If you’ve ever tried to get soaking wet feet into shoes in a hurry, then you’ll understand how hard this is. The bike leg takes you on a 5 or 10 km trip towards the forest. Once off your bike, a 2.5 km lap of the lake brings you across the finish line, tired and happy.



Kaia Joergenson, Rosie Zinzan Dickie, Alex Braun, Ben Evans, Boyd Goldsbury, Jack Barton and Jain Copper courageously took on this challenging event and all ran a race to be proud of.

Registrations are now open for the 2017/2018 Sanitarium Weet-Bix Kid TRYathlon Series!

The world’s largest kids TRYathlon series is back.  Open to kiwi kids aged 7-15 years of all sporting abilities, the Sanitarium Weet-Bix kids TRYathlon is a fun day out for the whole family.  Swim, bike and run your way to the finish line as an individual or in a team of two, and receive your very own gold medal from top Kiwi sporting stars.  Go on give it a TRY!

Register NOW to receive the Early Bird Discount price of only $38.00 per participant.  Be sure to link your entry to Beckenham School - the school with the most entries can win LOADS of prizes!!

Congratulations to...

Juliette Gray who has been accepted into the Associates Program at the NZ School of Dance.  This is a National Program that caters for students from the age of 13 years.  Juliette will travel to Wellington once a term for a weekend and also spend time training in Wellington during the school holidays.

Congratulations also to the following students who sat music exams last term.
I am sure lots of practice has gone into the following results!

Felix Morgan - Initial grade, drums.  Merit
Charlotte O'Connor - Grade 1, Flute.  Merit
Olivia Kneale - Grade 1, Flute.  Pass
Luke Menzies - Grade 2, Drums.  Merit
Gemma York - Grade 3, Alto Sax.  Pass
Meg Macdonald - Grade 3, Flute.  Merit
Georgina Cockfield - Grade 3, Clarinet.  Merit
Lucy Gray - Grade 3, Clarinet.  Pass
Daisy York - Grade 5, Clarinet.  Merit
Jamie Bennett - Grade 6, Bass Guitar.  Merit
Sadie McLoughlin - Grade 6, Bass Guitar.  Pass

...and congratulations to these three boys who so ably demonstrated 'We Get There Together' this week when very carefully working as a well-oiled team to create a fort with the big blocks in the new courtyard!

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

What an amazing turnout we had on Saturday for the working Bee! Thank you to everyone who was able to make it, young and old, to help bring our school back to its beautiful best! We know that many who wanted to attend had other commitments and we plan on having more working bees next year, to continue this great work.

Staffing and Teams for 2018

In the last newsletter I was able to give some information about staffing appointments for 2018. I am now able to confirm the full staffing picture for 2018.

Michelle Maule, our Deputy Principal, has been invited by the Ministry of Education to join their Learning Support Team on a 6 month secondment in Terms 1 & 2 of 2018. This is a wonderful recognition for Michelle of the level of expertise and knowledge that she has developed in the area of Learning Support and an opportunity for her to both share and increase her expertise and skills. The Board and I are 100% supportive of her taking up this opportunity and wish her very well for this secondment.

Sue Leadbetter will step up into Acting Deputy Principal role for Term 1/2. During this time she will support Koru team and will take a start up NE class in Term 3 & 4 when Michelle returns.

Amber Donovan will be the Acting Team Leader of Koru team for Terms 1 & 2.

Cath Barrie will continue on part-time as SENCO (including ESOL) and will lead the Learning Support team.

Jarred Skelton has resigned his permanent full-time teaching position to pursue both his acting career and to explore business opportunities. However, he doesn't get away that easily! We have re-engaged him for 2018 for a part-time position, 2 days a week.

Amy Buick is taking a year's leave in 2018 to travel.

Teams for 2018 will be as follows:
Kauri (Y7/8): Nicky (Team Leader), Jenny, Hannah Elliott & Jarred Skelton (part-time)
Pōhutukawa (Y5/6): Tracy Inwood (Acting Team Leader), Nick Bruce, Gayle McNaughton, Katie Chapman
Kowhai (Y3/4): Paulette Newton (Team Leader), Mike Matulewicz, Anna Reid, Rebekah Stoop, Susan Walsh
Koru (New Entrants - Y3): Amber Donovan (Acting TL), Caitlyn Downing, Rowena Barker, Elizabeth Drummond, Charlotte Verity, Dorinda Hampton and Kristika Burridge (Part-time Reading recovery and Team Leader release)

I am thrilled that we are able to confirm such a strong and stable staff who are so dedicated to our school and our tamariki.

Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Citizen of the Week

Nathan Salgado - Year 8

Nathan, what a fantastic evolution you have made in the Kauri Hub over your last two years at Beckenham School. Your focused approach to learning has seen you achieve excellent results and you have harnessed your skills and passion for sports, particularly basketball, displaying outstanding teamwork. You are a caring friend to all members of the Kauri whānau. It has been such a pleasure to see your wry sense of humour surface. We celebrate your generous nature and thank you for your contributions to making our school a better place to learn. Tino pai Nathan!

Jonathan Le Comte - Year 8

Jono, you are a supportive and loyal friend within our hub. You are willing to take on risks and challenges without your friends by your side, demonstrating true dedication and real strength in character.  You have demonstrated fantastic commitment to sport over the year, showing that you love challenge on the running track and football field. You are a quiet achiever and modest, but also a deep thinker who often surprises us with your insight. The maturity you display within our learning environment makes a positive difference to others. You are a calm, effective leader and have a fun loving approach to life. We love having you as part of our Kauri Whanau. 

Sharing our Learning

Kauri Team

Kauri Whānau are loving being back at Beckenham. We had our leadership wings a little clipped when we were at Champion Street and now that we are back, we’re making up for it! We have now had two house games afternoons, run by the house captains and their deputies. After the first session, the students debriefed their experiences and were given feedback by staff. Reflective thinking was at the fore as they planned for the second event. A few wrinkles were ironed out and the second games afternoon was a roaring success, with the students in the drivers' seats, being supported by staff in roles the students had asked them to fill. The second debrief session was very buzzy, as the students enthusiastically reflected on what made positive differences. They are looking forward to the next house games event on December 1st.


We are starting to look ahead to student leadership in 2018. Earlier this term Year 7 students applied for and were then interviewed to decide who would be appointed as house captains and student council executive members in 2018. Eleven students were appointed. This happened early so that they could attend ‘Be Inspired’, a leadership afternoon put together by Christ’s College for Year 7 leaders.
Cam Calkoen, the keynote speaker for ‘Be Inspired’ talked about the importance of resilience and perseverance in leadership. Cam, who has cerebral palsy, was told as a child that he would live his life in a wheelchair. He told how his parents played a pivotal role in his upbring, always encouraging him to push his limits. As a 14 year old he decided to take part in a 100m sprint event at school, which was the start of a sporting career that took him all over the world. He said that all of us are faced with challenge in our lives, but that our attitude can enable us to turn dreams into reality. The mantra of the day: dream big, achieve more. After the presentation the children were split into groups and took part in a range of practical activities that facilitated the unpacking of various leadership skills and styles. An afternoon tea sat out on the sports field finished off the afternoon.   
In term one next year, all of our students will learn about leadership, as all have the opportunity to step up as leaders in the senior school.

The Trials of Alice in Wonderland

On Monday and Thursday afternoons this term our Year 7 & 8 hub is buzzing with activity as we work towards our performance of ‘The Trials of Alice in Wonderland’. This year we are taking a different approach, by working with a script, instead of an improvised show. Singing, acting, sewing, designing, drawing, painting, constructing ... we are immersing ourselves in creativity. We are embracing our values, ‘we get there together’ and ‘we love challenge’. Our performance hits the stage in less than a month Monday December 4th and Thursday December 7th, starting at 7pm. Mark it in your calendar, as we’d like everyone to have the chance to see this entertaining show.

Congratulations and good luck...

The Kauri Improv team 'Home Improvement' competed in heat 3 of the South Island Junior Theatre Sports Competition on Sunday 12th of November at St Bede's Performing Arts Centre. It was a fun night of improv with our team coming up against Year 7-10 students from St Margaret's, Christ College, Medbury, and Riccarton High. Our students represented Beckenham very well, displaying a high level of skill and cohesion, while supporting all of the other performers on and off the stage. They came out as the champions on the night.



This stella effort means that Beckenham will be competing in the finals on Sunday 3rd December (details yet to be announced). If you love to laugh and would like to support our team, it would be great to have lots of friendly faces in the crowd cheering them on.

Well done again to all involved and good luck in the finals!

School Notices

No Hot Chocolate in Classrooms please

If you want to buy your child(ren) hot chocolate drinks in the morning from Nic's Coffee Cart, PLEASE only do this if your child has enough time to completely finish their drink before classes begin at 8:55am. We do not want children bringing hot drinks into the classroom, nor do we want milky drinks spilt on the carpets. Many thanks for your support in this.

Lost Property

We have a 'mountain' of lost property on the verandah outside the office at the moment, all of which is un-named. This includes uniform and non-uniform items, and lunchboxes.

If these items are not claimed in the next week, they will all be either sent to charity bins, or (in the case of uniform items) given to the 2nd Hand Uniform shop.

A reminder that these can be purchased from the office and worn on Fridays or other days designated as a House Shirt day (such as athletic sports days). We have noticed a few children wearing house shirts on other days (such as today) and ask that parents reinforce the above policy please.

Sports News

Zone Athletics

Hansen Park was a hive of activity this Monday as children from our 6 local schools competed in our zone athletics event. We were so impressed by our children’s ability to self-manage and get themselves to the right place at the right time ready for their event. The children gave their heart and soul in their events and achieved some impressive results. The top two placings from each event qualify for Canterbury’s on Wednesday the 6th of December in Ashburton.

Long jump: Olivia Cochrane (1st place 13 year old girls)
High jump: Nina Callaghan (2nd place 11 year old girls) Vita Gear (1st place 12 year old girls) and Kaia Joergensen (2nd place 13 year old girls)
Discus: Shakira Radnoty (2nd place 12 year old girls)
50m sprints: Hebe Butland (1st place 9 year old girls)
80m sprints: Nadia Russell (2nd place 10 year old girls)
100m sprints: Tilly Harris (1st place 11 year old girls) and Olivia (1st place 13 year old girls)
1000m: Hebe Burland (1st place 9 year old girls) and Jesse (2nd place 9 year old boys)
1200m: Alex Braun (1st place 13 year old boys), Kaia Joergensen(1st place 13 year old girls) and Amelia Cunningham(2nd place 13 year old girls)
Relays: Kaia Joergensen, Amelia Cunningham, Olivia Cochrane and Rosie Zinzan-Dickie (1st place 13 year old girls)

Staff Profiles - Kat Cotter

Elizabeth Drummond

Community Notices

$10 First Aid for Carers

Caring for someone on a voluntary basis can be hard work.

To thank you for your dedication and to support you in your role, Red Cross is offering a $10 First Aid course for carers in the greater Christchurch area. The course includes a free First Aid kit.

Who qualifies?

Volunteers who regularly have groups of children in their care: sports coaches, pre-school volunteers, etc.
Volunteers and family members/ whānau who are caring for someone who cannot manage everyday life without help or support (a person with a disability or a long-term physical or mental illness, an elderly person, etc.)

More information

A limited number of courses are available so enquire soon. Bookings can be made until Friday 15 December 2017 and must be attended by 30 June 2018. Conditions apply. Terms & conditions available on website below.
For more information:and to book a course go to redcross.org.nz/corporate-bookings/carers10 Coupon code for bookings: PROMO2017
redcross.org.nz  0800 RED CROSS

Archer Home Market Day

There will be a variety of stalls offering exciting gift ideas for Christmas.  Pleass join us at our Leisure Centre, 166 Colombo Street, Sydenham, on Friday 24th November from 1-4pm.  Kerbside parking available on Percival Street.

Citizen of the Week

Molly Arnott - Year 4 

Amber Jaiswal - Year 6

Amber, you are an amazing, kind and caring role-model, who consistently demonstrates the values of 'We care' and 'We make a difference'. We love the way that you care deeply about helping others and about looking after the world that we live in. The positive attitude that you demonstrate towards all areas of your learning is exemplary. We really appreciate the friendliness, kindness and authenticity that you bring to our hub. Keep shining, Amber!

Sharing our Learning

Koru Team

Flexible, responsive teaching and learning spaces and collaborative practise.

Visible, supported children.   Visible, supported staff.
We are all enjoying working in our flexible and responsive teaching and learning spaces  These spaces support strength based teaching and they offer our students and teachers flexibility, openness, and access to resources.  Our spaces are used purposefully to ensure children are being supported and are learning in a way that suits their style and personality.  An example of this is the use of the New Entrant Kakariki space which provides a withdrawal space for small groups, supporting our newer children and specialist teaching.  In the West Hub our Nook and Workshop are used for targeted group work, while the makerspace provides a purpose built space for creating, cooking, growing …... (the list goes on).  Our Theatre is a welcoming area with tiered seating where the whole Koru team can gather for singing, celebrations and sharing.
As well as utilising our indoor spaces we are also able to provide opportunities for the children to learn outside.  The shaded, grassed areas and asphalt surfaces enable children to engage in activities that encourage fine and gross motor skills, problem solving and communication skills through the use of physed equipment, imaginary play, water play and creative play using natural resources.



For our staff, working in an open, flexible learning environment where inquiries are shared, planning is collaborative, and reflections are based on both self and peer observations, leads to a more robust, continuously improving community of practice.  It is inspiring to work alongside such talented teammates.

Thank you New World

We have been amazed and intrigued by the Little Gardens growing in our hubs.



We are all enjoying watching our seeds sprout and grow.  They are nearly ready to split and plant in the raised garden beds at the back of the West Wing.

Some of our children wrote letters thanking New World for their generosity and kindness.  The delightfully designed and crafted letters were delivered this week and gratefully read and shared.

School Notices

Wellbeing Focus: We Care Day

Our We Care day on the 25th October was a huge success!  Staff and students got involved, by picking a name of a peer from a box, and then doing a no-cost caring act for that person. Some students invited their ‘person’ to play, others made a bookmark, card or wrote a compliment note. Many warm smiles and high 5’s were exchanged, and there was a real buzz of gratitude across the school.
Showing you care for others is an act of gratitude, and gratitude is key for maintaining wellbeing.
Read more about how you can help you child develop a sense of gratitude
https://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-23599/5-everyday-ways-to-teach-your-kids-gratitude-and-why-its-so-important.html)

"CHAOS at the School Gate"

Staff updates

Our thoughts are with Anne Chin as she recovers from her hip replacement surgery this Tuesday. Anne is making great progress and went home from hospital today. We wish her all the best.

We congratulate Jenny Diggle on being appointed as a permanent member of our staff from the beginning of 2018.

We are delighted to welcome Hannah Elliott who has won a permanent position on our staff from the start of next year. Hannah has sent us a short bio below:

Kia ora koutou! My name is Hannah Elliott. I'm originally from Wellington, although I have been living in Auckland for the past four years. I'm really looking forward to moving - both my parents hail from the South Island and my mum grew up just a few suburbs over from Beckenham, so I have many fond childhood memories of time spent in Christchurch growing up. As a teacher, I'm really passionate about using real-world problems to hook learners into their learning and working with students to use digital technologies to create and share learning. In my spare time, I like to cook adventurously and get outdoors.
I'm excited to be joining the Beckenham community next year!

Congratulations to...

Meara Stace: On the first Sunday of the school holidays Meara competed in the South Island Primary and Secondary Schools Karate competition at Pioneer Stadium.
Meara's focus and determination along with weeks of hard training earned her a Bronze medal in Kata and a Silver medal in Kumite (combat), Year 4.
As part of their entry, each competitor had to register their school name, so Meara was stoked to win a silver and bronze for Beckenham School.

Sports News

Senior Athletics Day

Our senior students demonstrated their love of challenge as they competed in a range of field and track events last week. Through competition we strive for our best and encourage others to push their own personal limits. It was fantastic to have our juniors come out and support the children in the sprint finals at the end of the day. The standard of competition was very high with many extremely close and sometimes indecipherable finishes. Luckily we had an ipad on the finish line to allow for close examination of the photo finishes.


We look forward to our Zones Athletics on Monday the 13th of November.

Congratulations to our Athletics Champions:

9 Year Old Girl - Hebe Butland
9 Year Old Boy - Jesse Ferguson
10 Year Old Girl - Samantha Maule
10 Year Old Boy -  Thomas Lyall
11 Year Old Girl - Tilly Harris
11 Year Old Boy - Jimmy Middleditch
12 Year Old Girl - Vita Gear
12 Year Old Boy - Joe Flynn
13 Year Old Girl - Kaia Joergensen
13 Year Old Boy - Fergus Knowles

Girls On Dirt Enduro

Hebe Butland was a force to be reckoned with at last weekend’s mountain bike enduro at Halswell Quarry. She raced down trails that many an adult would balk at to secure first place in the Little Shredders category. Congratulations, Hebe!

Boulder Bay Classic

Despite low cloud, Sunday morning proved to be a beautiful day for a run around the picturesque Godley Head and it was great to see several Beckenham families out enjoying the event. Emma and Freya had a great run in the Children’s Dash.

PTA News...

Staff Profile - Rowena Barker

Kia ora !  Although I have taught overseas and in other schools my passion has always been for Beckenham School and the Community. !  I look forward to teaching our delightful New Entrants every day . There are so many surprises and many opportunities to have fun ! I am married to Stephen and have 3  adult children.I also have 2 beautiful grandchildren who I adore and spoil !  Rugby  and music are my passions.In the weekends we love walking the Harry Ell track and whenever we can spend happy times over on the West Coast.I feel very lucky to teach with such a wonderful bunch of people in a great environment !

Mike Matulewicz

Community Notices

Steiner School

Due to unprecedented interest in our school for year 9 next year, we are opening a 2 nd year 9
stream for 2018. This means we can offer places for students who missed the opportunity for
enrolling earlier in the year. If you are interested to join our successful and integrated whole person
school, please ring the office and make an appointment to visit and chat. Ph 3370514.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Thomas Proctor
Principal
Christchurch Rudolf Steiner School

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

What a celebration it was on Monday to finally have all of our school family back together again on one site! We had a fabulous 'Welcome assembly' to welcome back our seniors and to welcome all of the students who have started since our last welcome assembly in Week 1 of the year! Over 50 students!

Now we are in the final term of the building process, we can really start to see the way that the school is taking shape and the light at the end of the proverbial tunnel!

Our Year 5-8 students are settling quickly into their new learning spaces in the East and West Hubs and our NE - Y4 students are really enjoying having the seniors back on site. We had our first 'house games' on Friday and the children met on the park, in their house groups, and played games led by our senior house leaders.

Planning ahead for 2018
We are at that time of the year when we are doing significant planning for 2018. I don't anticipate that there will be many staff changes or movements of staff between teams for next year.
We will shortly be starting to put together the learning groups for 2018.  If you have any specific considerations that you would like me to be aware of around your child's needs for 2018, please email me at principal@beckenham.school.nz

Future enrolments - 2018 and beyond
If you live in-zone and have a child who is a pre-schooler and not yet enrolled, please get an enrolment form in for them - it is never too early to do this! It helps us immensely with our planning and it ensures that we can invite your child to be part of the transition to school programme when that time comes around. We would expect that by now, we have received all of the enrolment forms for children who are starting in Term 1 next year, and most of those for the rest of the year.
If you have friends or neighbours who have a pre-schooler whom they want to enrol, please encourage them to also make contact with the school office and begin that process sooner rather than later.
Out of zone enrolments for Term 1 2018 have closed. The next Out of Zone ballot closes on Wed 28th February for Term 2 2018.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Citizen of the Week

Vita Gear - Year 8

Vita, you embody our kete value ‘We Care’ in the knowledge and passion you hold for environmental matters. You are a critical and deep thinker and clearly articulate your knowledge views and opinions on a range of world matters. You strive for excellence across the curriculum demonstrating your love for learning.You are a loyal friend to others and your maturity shines through in way you carry out your leadership responsibilities. School Notices

School Notices

Christchurch Schools Music Festival - this coming Friday

Arriving late to school

The school day starts at 8:55am.  If you arrive after this time please come to the office to sign in on vistab.  When children are marked as absent on the roll texts are sent out to parents and phone calls made as we try and establish where a child is.  We now have our entire school community back on site and it is a learning curve for staff, students and families to get used to the new, and sometimes reacquaint with the old, processes so that the school community can work together as a whole.  Please assist us in streamlining student attendance by getting your child to sign in at the office if they are late.

Absences

When your child is absent please ALWAYS let the OFFICE know. It is not enough to tell, email or text teaching staff, as they may not be the person who takes the roll on the day when your child is absent.  Please make the office your first port of call when your child is absent or going to be absent NOT teaching staff.
There are three easy options for advising the office that your child will be absent:

• email: office@beckenham.school.nz, 
• phone : 03 337 1404 
• text: 021 027 94107

Lost Property

PTA News

Congratulations to Kaia Joergensen who was part of the Canterbury primary school hockey team who won the national hockey tournament in Tauranga during the holidays.

They finished top of their pool with wins against Central Otago (2-0), Taranaki (11-0), Horowhenua (9-0), Auckland B (7-1) and Northland (3-0) before following this up with a comfortable quarter final 6-0 victory against South Canterbury, a nail-biting  2-1 win against North Harbour in their semi-final, before finishing off a fantastic week in Tauranga by beating Auckland 2-0 in the final.

Congratulations to Joel Kingham who played in the South Island football tournament for the Canterbury 12th grade team. Joel was awarded the Golden Gloves award, as voted by the referees, as the best Goalkeeper of the tournament.

Staff Profiles

Pip Wareing

Susan Walsh

Community Notices

Kids Fun Golf Event

DIVA RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS