Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

It was lovely to see the range of flags paraded in our Welcome Assembly yesterday to welcome our newest students and their families to our school.
The term is well underway and it is great to see children at both sites settling into their new routines.
I was fortunate to spend most of today at the Champion St site. Our learners there were highly engaged in learning and having a lot of fun at the same time.


Building work continues to progress, with more concrete being poured on the East Hub today for the verandahs.

Enjoy the weekend.
Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings; Principal - Tumuaki

Sharing our Learning

Koru Team

What an exciting time we have had!  In Hub 1-4, the year 1-2 children have been playing games to get to know each other, which has helped us learn each other’s names and find out about what we enjoy. We have taken part in many pair and small group activities, to really get to know each other.
We have also been collecting ‘me bags’ with family photos and special stories about our family history. We will be sharing these over the coming weeks, and learning more about the cultures at Beckenham School. We will also be sharing our passions or areas of expertise, such as a love for reading, gym, drawing, scootering etc….and we are looking forward to teaching our skills to each other in class! Not only the teachers can teach - we can too! Peers play an important role in developing children’s confidence, social understanding and learning about the world.


The children in Hub 10/11 have made a wonderful start (back) to school. All have settled beautifully and easily to the new spaces and routines. Throughout the Junior school our focus at the start of each day is on learning through engaging in Discovery Station activities. The learning that is taking place at this time is complex and multi-layered, involving not only academic learning, but also learning within the New Zealand curriculum’s Key Competencies: Thinking; Relating to Others; Understanding Language, Symbols and Texts; Managing Self; and Participating and Contributing.
Vygotsky (a developmental psychologist who developed a sociocultural theory of child development designed to account for the influence of culture on a child's growth and development) tells us:
“Play is a powerful vehicle for learning, thinking, generating ideas and communicating. Play thus creates potential spaces in which ‘a child always behaves beyond his (or her) average age, above his (or her) daily behaviour; in play it is as though he (or she) were a head taller than him/her-self.’

Staff Profiles

Caitlyn Downing

Community Notices

CHRISTCHURCH SCHOOL OF MUSIC OPEN DAY
SATURDAY 18 FEBRUARY 9.00am-12.30pm
62 FERRY RD (CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL COLLEGE)

Whether you are 2 or 92, the CSM has something for you-foundation classes, lessons, orchestral, wind, jazz and rock instrumental ensembles, choirs and theory classes.

Come and see the school in action any time between 9am and 12.30pm.
Check out our website for specific ensemble times
http://www.csm.org.nz/ensemble-timetable

Rugby Club

2017 Junior Registration Dates

Junior registrations Boys and Girls (Under 6 to Under 18) will be held in the Sydenham Lounge at the Cashmere Club, 88 Hunter Terrace, Cashmere.

Wednesday 1 March 2017 from 4pm to 8.00pm
Sunday 5th March 2017 from 10am to 2pm

Please complete a new registration or update your existing online registration information and pay your subscription at www.sydenhamrugby.co.nz
Birth certificates are required for all new members..
Jackets and jerseys will be fitted on registrations days and shorts and socks will be available to purchase at this time.

Also this year the CRFU is looking at running Girls only grades
8 and under all girls Rippa Rugby
10 and under all girl’s tackle grade
If you are interested in playing Girls Rugby we can arrange for one of the Sydenham Senior Women’s players to come and talk to the children. Please contact the club to arrange a time.

Act2 Drama Group

Registrations are now being taken for  your child aged 6-13, or yourself aged 13 and over for our 2017 Drama Stars Program.
This course commences Friday 17th February and runs weekly for six weeks.
Juniors 5-5.50pm, Seniors 6-6.50pm.
Venue is the St Albans Community Centre, 1047 Colombo St, St Albans, Christchurch
This program teaches all the essential skills, techniques and tips of drama.  It involves our students in all on-stage and back stage elements of a production, where they run the show!
Auditions are held during week 3 for the Drama Stars for their very own 4 performance production.
Every student who auditions gets a role.
They will then attend twice-weekly rehearsals, culminating in a well polished production at the end of the April school holidays.  Cost is $75.
For registrations or query’s please call Fay on 0210431108 or email act2dramagroup@gmail.com

14th CHCH Boys’ Brigade:

BB is an action packed programme geared for Young Kiwi guys.
Boys’ Brigade is a fun filled Christian based programme for boys aged 5-19 yrs old.  We operate in three sections, Anchor 5-7 years, Team Adventure 8-10 years and Company Xtreme 11-19 years old.  Activities include Crafts, games, camps, outdoor pursuits, leadership training, life skills and lots more. We meet on a Friday night at Beckenham Methodist Church Hall, 52 Martin Ave, Beckenham. New members welcome for 2017, interested contact Stephen 337 2296, admin@14thbb.org.nz or visit www.14thbb.org.nz  Accept  the Challenge.

O'Callahan Dance Studio 

Boutique school nurturing and developing young dancers.
Now taking enrolments for 2017!  Classes in Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary Lyrical and Acro.
Medal test, exam and performance opportunities.
Contact Ciara for more information on 027 335 2759 or  ocdancestudio@hotmail.co.nz
Find us on Facebook - O'Callahan Dance Studio

School Notices

Building Updates:

Catch up with the latest building news through the Building Blog, and see the new timelapse video of the East Hub so far.

School Road Patrol:

We are looking for some adult volunteers to operate our morning road patrol.  You would need to be at school by 8:30am, the patrol closes at about 8:55am.  This is a great way to meet the school community and helps keep our children safe travelling to school.  If you think you might be interested in being part of the team, please contact Michelle Maule and she will give you more details.
deputy.principal@beckenham.school.nz

School Hats - required for Term 1
Please remember that hats are required for children when they are playing or participating in outside activities during Term 1.
Hats should be plain black or plain red in the bucket or wide-brimmed style. Red or Black bucket hats can be purchased at the office for $10 each. As we now have EFTPOS at the office, we will not be putting hats on accounts.

Social Media Accounts - Be aware!

At the end of last year there was some discussion among students and some parents about a new social media app called COCO. It seems that some of the children are using this app to communicate with each other and this led to some misunderstandings and inappropriate comments being sent back and forth. We strongly encourage families to closely monitor their children’s use of any social media accounts such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or COCO as the minimum age for these apps is usually 13.  Whilst COCO doesn’t appear to have an age restriction when one logs in as a new user, however, hidden in the ‘Terms and Conditions’ are the following which all parents need to be extremely aware of:

6. Warranty Disclaimer
You must be 18 years of age or older to visit or use “Meet Someone New” in any manner. By using “Meet Someone New”, you represent and warrant to Coco that you are 18 years of age or older, and that you have the right, authority and capacity to agree to and abide by the Terms of Use. You also represent and warrant to Coco that you will use “Meet Someone New” in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws and regulations. ... You agree that “Meet Someone New” may expose you to Content that may be objectionable or offensive. We shall not be responsible to you in any way for the Content that appears on the Coco Service....

9. Ability to Accept Terms of Service
... you affirm that you are at least 13 years old as the Coco Service is not intended for children under 13. If you are under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to use the Coco Service.

Parents are responsible for monitoring their children’s use of devices and internet services out of school hours. It is critical that you do monitor this on a regular basis, including being aware of apps and related passwords that your child has on their device and monitoring the content of what they are doing on their device.

As part of our school cyber safety agreement children are not permitted to subscribe to any social media accounts or non using their school email account.

Public Health Nurses (PHN)

Public Health Nurses are Registered Nurses who specialise in child and family health. They are employed by the Canterbury District Health Board and provide a free and confidential health service for children aged 5 – 18 years. All schools in Canterbury have a PHN assigned to their school to assist children, parents/caregivers and teachers with health concerns, resources and/or information.  Your designated Public Health Nurse is Natasha Graham.

If you are worried about your child’s health you can contact the PHN Service yourself or a referral can be made (with your permission) by school staff or your GP. Common referrals to the PHN service may include - allergies and anaphylaxis, wetting, soiling, head lice, uncontrolled medical conditions (e.g. epilepsy, diabetes, medication, asthma), eating/nutrition, hygiene, skin conditions (e.g. eczema, scabies), puberty/sexuality/sexual health, and emotional issues (e.g. significant changes in behaviour at home, grief and loss, friendships/relationships).

Public Health Nurses are able to meet with parents/caregivers at home, school or work to provide health support, assessment, advice and to coordinate family health, school or support services if required.

You can contact the Public Health Nursing Service through your school or phone Natasha on (03) 3836877 or email natasha.graham@cdhb.health.nz. If you’d like to refer direct to the Public Health Nursing Service you can find the referral form online: http://www.cdhb.health.nz/Hospitals-Services/Community-Rural-Health-Services/phns/Pages/Referrals-PHNS-Service.aspx.

Community Notices

HALSWELL UNITED FOOTBALL CLUB

SUMMER FOOTBALL - Online registrations are OPEN for TERM 1, 2017.
First Kicks/Fun Football (ages 4-8). Skill Centres (ages 8-16). Girls Only HUB (ages 5-12).
Please visit our website for more information: www.hawkfootball.org.nz/summer
WINTER SEASON – Online registrations OPEN 30th January 2017. For ALL players aged 4 to 70+
The season starts 1st April to end of August (early bird fees before end of March).
Grading days for 9th-14th Grades are Sunday 12th & 19th February 2017.
For more information please visit our website at: www.hawkfootball.org.nz/register
Senior Men & Women – Casual Kick arounds from end January on Wednesdays, 6.30pm (Halswell Domain)
Any questions/queries please email Sam Bunn (General Manager): huafcGM@gmail.com

Children's Day:

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

So the end of the 2016 school year has arrived!

Yesterday we had our very special Year 8 Graduation Assembly. What an honour it was to be able to farewell these stunning young people who are our Year 8 graduates for 2016. Thank you to everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this day so special.


Thanks to Don Ferguson for this video montage he put together from the ceremony yesterday...

You can view it through Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/195739199

We wish all of our leavers, both from Year 8, and from other levels in the school who are moving to other schools for 2017, all the very best for their futures. We are always sad to say goodbye and we encourage you all to stay in contact with the school in the future.

Learning Conferences

If you have not yet booked your learning conference for the start of 2017, please do that as soon as possible.
www.schoolinterviews.co.nz
Code: 6h5xw
If you need childcare on either of the two learning conference days, you can book this through BOSCO at no charge by emailing manager@bosco.org.nz.

Once again, I would like to thank all of our amazing staff for their commitment and dedication to our children and our school.  It has been a very big year for our school with the rebuild and working from two sites and their continued adaptability and positivity has been unwavering.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to wish all of our school community a very Happy Christmas, and a safe and relaxing holiday. Your continued support of us all is very much appreciated.


Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

The Community Dental Service will operate an emergency service over the school holidays.
This service is to provide relief of pain only and will not undertake ‘routine’ treatment. The
service will be available each working day from 8:30am until 12:30pm from the Hillmorton
Hospital site.
Tuesday, 10 th January to Friday, 13 th January 2017 (excluding weekends)
Monday, 16 th January to Friday, 20 th January 2017 (excluding weekends)
Monday, 23 rd January to Friday, 27 th January 2017 (excluding weekends)
And
Monday, 30 th January 2017
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.
You can phone and make an appointment for the emergency clinic by ringing 0800 846 983

Citizen of the Week

William Day Year - 4

William, the Kowhai whānau have been immensely proud of your progress this year.  You have consistently made great choices for your learning as the year has progressed.  You have shown focus and determination and have challenged yourself when learning about topics that are of great importance to you.  You have increasingly participated and contributed alongside your peers, demonstrating growth and maturity and the ability to monitor your own interactions.  We have seen more of your lovely, empathetic nature when you have supported your team mates using kind words and actions, on many occasions. Tino pai William.

Updates for 2017:

By now you will have received notification of which hub your child will be in for 2017. Please take a moment to visit www.lunchonline and update your child's details so that lunches get delivered to the correct hub and more particularly the correct site in 2017. Only do this when you're sure you will not be ordering any more lunches this year!!

Learning Conferences - 31 January and 1 February

As usual, we will begin the year with learning conferences on the first two days of term. Please ensure that you have booked a learning conference before you go on holiday! Book it now if you haven't already done this!
www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and use the code 6h5xw

Help with one-off uniform and stationery costs:

Since 25 October, changes made to the Ministry of Social Development’s online service MyMSD allow some MSD clients to apply online for assistance with school uniform and stationery costs. Applicants can upload and send verification of the cost, which will likely be a quote from the supplier. If the payment is approved, they will receive notification by text or by email and the approved amount will be loaded to their payment card. The card can only be used for the amount and supplier for which it was approved. Many of the applications that MSD approves for help with school uniforms and stationery are paid to schools. General information for suppliers is available here on the MSD website

Schools are asked to draw the following to parents’ attention: Can you claim a tax credit for donations? If you’ve made a donation, you may be able to claim a tax credit. To be eligible, you need to have made a receipted donation of $5 or more to: • an approved donee organisation • an approved New Zealand religious or educational organisation • approved overseas aid funds • kindergartens • state schools, state integrated schools, other schools who have been approved as a donee organisation, school boards of trustees or parent teacher associations. Find out more about tax credits for donations

Year 8 Leavers' Book

It is a tradition for our year 8 leavers to receive a Beckenham School Year 8 Leavers book, at their graduation ceremony, which contains photos of each student, their memories and memories from staff who knew them well.  For the past three years, this has been fully funded by Debbie Pettigrew from Grenadier Harcourts.  We really appreciate her generosity for supporting this wonderful memento for our students.

PTA News

Beckenham School PTA organises the ordering of the senior jackets.  These can only be worn by year 7 & 8 students.  The jacket is aimed at giving the students both pride in themselves and pride in their school.  Please note the jacket is not a compulsory item of uniform.
Jackets cost $70 and are available in various sizes.
To try a jacket on and for an order form, please come to the office.
Payment can be made by cash, internet banking or cheque. Please note - Eftpos will be available for this item in the new year, when the PTA account has been registered to the school eftpos machine.

Community Notices

In the grounds of Beckenham School
Tuesday 13th December 2016 5.00-7.00pm
FREE FAMILY EVENT
Free BBQ and/or bring a picnic.
Come and join the Choir, join in or just listen to some community carol singing.
Come in Christmas dress-ups
Organised by Beckenham locals for the Beckenham community. BBQ provided by Beckenham Neighbourhood Association and cooked and served by local Cub Scouts. Music provided by local choirs and other keen folk.

Guitar, Bass and Ukulele Tuition 2017

Beginner Guitar, Bass and ukulele lessons, both group and some individual are available during
school time beginning February 2017.
Roger Hamilton has been teaching these instruments for 10, 2 and 4 years respectively and does
so in 2 other South West Christchurch schools as well.
For further information, contact Roger directly on the address or phone number below.
email: rbhamilt@gmail.com
cell: 027 3070466 / 9424619

SURFKIDS

Childrens Surfing  Programme.
Learn the skills of Surfing in a fun, safe environment. All equipment provided and professional instruction from Aaron Lock and team. For kids 8 - 14 years.
 December : 19 to 23 Dec. and 27 to 31 Dec.
January : 9 to 13 Jan. and 16 to 20 Jan.  plus 23 to 27 Jan.
Cost $30 per day or $135 for five. Bookings essential.
Venue :Sumner.
Call Aaron on 0800 80 SURF (7873) or register online at www.surfcoach.co.nz

The School for Young Writers

For Year 4-9
Bookings essential
Ideal for young writers wishing to sharpen their writing skills before school starts.
Ideal for parents looking for worthwhile holiday activities.
Easily affordable thanks to Creative Communities partial funding.
Bookings now open: youngwriters@xtra.co.nz

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

You may recall that last week I shared that our children had written cards and letters to be sent to the children at Kaikoura Primary School. I had a call this week from Nigel Easson, the principal, expressing his thanks to our community for this support. He said that the letters and cards had been spread around the tables at school and, when the children and their parents and grandparents had arrived at school this Wednesday, there had been lots of reading, tears, laughing and appreciation as the letters were read and reread. For those of you who didn't catch the segment on TVNZ One News on Wednesday evening, we have managed to capture it below for you to view.

Mandarin learning continues

Our Kahikatea team have been enjoying working with Felicia from the Confucius Institute, having an introduction to Mandarin.
The teachers were asked to nominate 5 children for excellence awards which were given out at a special ceremony in mid November.


We are grateful to Felicia who has offered to continue working with two small extension groups of Year 1/2 students on Friday afternoons to the end of the term.

Ngā mihi
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Citizen of the Week

Adam Barton - Year 6

Adam you are a diligent and self-motivated learner. You embrace all learning opportunities with enthusiasm and creativity. You reflect carefully on your learning and regularly seek and respond to feedback. You have a great sense of humour and we have all enjoyed your ready wit and unique view on events and ideas. You are very responsible and have  undertaken leadership roles to the best of your ability. You are also a very sensitive and supportive friend. We can always rely on you to focus on your learning and be a great role model for other children. Thank you for making Beckenham School a better place!

Sharing our Learning

Pohutukawa Camp at Living Springs

Last week the Pohutukawa Whanau spent three days and two nights at Living Springs. Over the three days we experienced three very different seasons but this did not slow us down one bit. The children (and adults!) had a fantastic time on the first day; orienteering around the site, going on the monorail, bouncing on the tramps, racing around the track on the balance bikes, and taking a refreshing dip in the pool. To add to all the excitement, two of our children, Declan and Ruby, were also celebrating their birthdays on this day!



On the second day we enjoyed walking up to Don’s Shed to complete Initiatives, a series of team building exercises that challenged the children both mentally and physically. We also walked down to the outdoor camping area and played Animal Survival, a very complex game that has elements of both tag and a treasure hunt. One of the highlights of this game was watching the adults join in, especially Katie as the huntress! During the night we had an epic dance party where our jump jammers took the stage and motivated all the children to get their groove on.

On the third day we packed up all our gear and headed down to the farm. There we were split into two groups. In the first group we went on a tractor ride around the farm and learned how to communicate with horses and ride them. In the second group we learned about cows and how to milk them. After a sausage sizzle lunch and feeding the animals we all hopped back on the bus and headed back to Beckenham to reunite with our loved ones.


It was a fantastic trip where all the children did our school proud by demonstrating our school values ‘We get there together’. A huge thank you to all the parents who supported us on camp and an even bigger thank you to Nick Bruce who organised and led the camp. We are now counting down the days to our next camp in 2018!

Christchurch Schools’ Music Festival

Video of Music Festival now available
A video of any/all of the three nights of the 2016 Music Festival is now available.  The video has been compiled by Armedia NZ Ltd, the good people who provided the live feed of video to the screens in the venue each night of the festival.
For details and orders, just go to http://www.armedianz.co.nz/csmf

PTA News

PTA Co-Chairperson

We are looking for someone to assist with leading a supportive group of PTA members for 2017. If you are interested please contact us at pta@beckenham.school.nz
We are also wanting new members to join our friendly team. If you are interested and have any questions please contact the PTA.

Bingo Night Update

The Bingo profit is in & we have raised $3435.85!!!
Thanks to all the people who attended & the businesses that donated prizes, we couldn’t have done it without your support.
The PTA has pledged $3500 to the school towards restoring the sound board that is currently not working.
Here’s looking forward to being able to hear better in the Hall!

Community Notices

HELP SUPPORT SUSTAINABLE COASTLINES

MOBILE PHONE APPEAL IN OUR SCHOOL
It would be great if you could rummage around in your drawers and toy boxes and bring into School any unwanted mobile phones you may have.  Phones collected help our School gain valuable rewards and the environment benefits too by keeping our landfills free of mobile phones and their array of hazardous toxic substances.  
Please drop any unwanted mobile phones you may have in the collection box in the reception area at School.

Aquagym

459 Cashel St, Ph: 3810299.  Learn to swim & Coaching.  Aquagym & Sumner Pool. Book now for January holidays and Term1

Mainland Football Outdoor Holiday Programmes

DECEMBER:-
Age:        7-14 year olds.
Dates:    20th, 21st and 22nd December 2016
Times:    9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue:  English Park
Cost:     $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days) 10% discount of second child when registering two or more siblings.
JANUARY:-
Age:        7-14 year olds.
Dates:    25th, 26th and 27th January 2017
Times:    9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue:  English Park
Cost:     $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days)

Mainland Futsal Indoor Holiday Programmes

JANUARY:
Age:        6-12 year olds.
Dates:    23rd, 24th and 25th January 2017
Times:    9.00am - 3.00pm
Venue:  Pioneer Stadium
Cost:     $37.50 per day ($112.50 for three consecutive days)

Canterbury Ballet 

Canterbury Ballet is holding its end of year production ‘Sleeping Beauty’ on 8 and 9 December 7pm at the Isaac Theatre Royal. The performance includes the school’s full-time professional programme students, with two students (including the male lead) already having secured professional contracts overseas for next year. Friday performance includes ex-Beckenham School students Ayiana and Chumani Lo-Fo-Wong in the lead female role of Aurora and Bluebird pas de deux/solo respectively. For tickets please contact Jaimita de Jongh on 021 0592328 or jaimita.dejongh@gmail.com.

Science Alive Summer Holiday Programmes

For information and bookings please go to:  Tinkerlab