Thank you for reading the important information below regarding our trip to Margaret Mahy Playground on Wednesday.

We hope you have been enjoying the wonderful, warm weather and lighter, brighter mornings. It's always nice to see some early signs of spring! Almost on cue, we had our last week of Winter Sports last week. A HUGE thank you to all of the parents who supported the kids with their Winter Sports. We had more than 70 students participating in the South Zone competition this year, and we simply could not have had that many kids playing without the support of parents. The non-competitive sport participants have also learned and enjoyed badminton, table tennis, chess, and Theatre Sports.  Ngā mihi e te whānau mo ō tautoko nui, we thank you for your huge support. We hope you all enjoy the photos of the sports, and a sneak peek into the vibrant Olympic-themed Keith Haring-inspired Calendar Art that is now on its way to the printers. Look out for order forms coming your way soon!

Margaret Mahy Trip Wednesday, September 4, 11:00 - 2:30 pm

The weather for our trip to Margaret Mahy Playground on Wednesday looks a little cooler than it has been, and changeable so it will be important for the children to be prepared for that by bringing a waterproof jacket with them. Thank you for your support in prepping the tamariki for a successful trip by talking about its purpose, and expectations. We have attached a Social Story to this post so you can talk through this at home.

Wednesday morning is a normal morning at school, then at 11:00 am we will be on the bus to Margaret Mahy Playground. The bus ride takes about 20  minutes.  We are primarily going to have fun! We'll enjoy being in the community together and representing our kura. As a bonus, we'll be using this trip to inform our next writing topic: writing a recount.

Everyone will need to wear their school uniform (no house tops please) and suitable shoes for playing. They will need a BIG lunch and a full drink bottle. We will be ordering some pizza to enjoy while we are there, but it probably won't be enough to sustain them. The students have filled in a form indicating their preferences. If you would prefer your child not to have pizza, please let your home group teacher know.

We will be back on the bus at 2:00 pm and students will be released from school at 3:00 pm as usual.

Please let us know if you have any questions regarding the trip.

Ngā mihi mahana,

The Pōhutukawa Team

How rawe, awesome, to see our Pōhutukawa Kapa Haka rōpu giving it heaps today at our Celebration Assembly. We were also treated to a rockin' performance from the Groovy Gooses band featuring our very own Art as their lead singer. All the best for your contest  in a couple of weeks! We hope you enjoy the photos of today's performances and a couple of short movies of the kapa haka performing the waiata Toia Mai and E Minaka Ana. Please read on for news and information about some exciting upcoming events. 2 more weeks of Winter Sports! Have a great weekend everyone, kia pai ngā rā whakata.

Spring is in the Air

It's starting to feel more and more like spring, and as is always the case at this time of the year we have had a fair bit of sickness throughout the team. Thank you for your vigilance around keeping children at home if they are unwell. Also, with the variable weather at this time of the year, it's a good time to remind everyone about the importance of noticing when it gets warm that we need to look after ourselves by drinking lots of water, and taking a layer off...(and then looking after polar fleeces!), particularly in the afternoons. As always, there are many learning opportunities about managing ourselves and looking after ourselves. Thank you for your support around this, mā tātou kātoa te waka e hoe, we're all in the waka together. 

Calendar Art

The tamariki have been busy producing their Olympics-themed Calendar Art for the PTA fundraiser this year. The art is inspired by American street artist Keith Haring, who was himself inspired by artists like Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss. Keep an eye out for order forms coming your way soon.

Maths Family Whānau Evening

Thursday, 29th August (5:30 pm – 7:30 pm)

We invite ALL our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto families (NE-Y8) to join us for a hands on workshop that will help you to support and extend your child with
Mathematics. This workshop will be facilitated by Rob Proffitt-White. His workshops are hands on, fun an The workshop will explore: d engaging.
• The mathematical practices all students must master
• What skills and processes are needed in high school
• Ways to help with number facts and mental computation
• Games to encourage mathematical discussions (You will get to play some of these on the night).

Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Margaret Mahy Playground Trip

The Pōhutukawa hub are planning a trip to Margaret Mahy on Wednesday 4th September!

If you are available to help us on the trip please email your child's home group teacher, by Wednesday 21st August.

We require 16 adults to help all children who are going. We will need you at school by 10:30 am for a debrief and we will return to school around 2:30 pm. All adults helpers will need to ride on the bus with the students.

We look forward to hearing from you if you are able to help.

Ngā mihi nui.

• Steve - steve.cooke@beckenham.school.nz
• Megan - megan.culver@beckenham.school.nz 
• Mikyla - mikyla.campbell@beckenham.school.nz
• Gayle - gayle.mcnaughton@beckenham.school.nz

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,

How lovely to see the sun this afternoon! We seem to have raced through the first 2 weeks of Term 3, and it has been great to see tamariki back at school in a positive mood, after a well-deserved break. While we have had to deal with some grotty weather after returning to school, the students have managed really well and settled into the new term nicely. Please read on for some team news, updates, and some upcoming events to put on your calendar.

Olympic Games

This term we are studying Social Sciences by learning about the Olympics and Paralympics, and more specifically the Evolution of the Olympic Movement. It has been great to launch our Paris 2024 Olympic learning site (which you can access via your tamariki's school account) on which the students can access a plethora of information and learning activities. This week we have looked briefly at the events, the countries, the mascot, and the history of the Games. We’re looking forward to learning a lot more over the next few weeks, following the progress of our athletes, and celebrating their resilience and perseverance! We love challenge, nau mai te wero.

Road Patrollers

For our Year 6's, being a member of the Road Patrol is one of the key ways they can show leadership in our senior school. It is also a wonderful way to hone time-management skills, and perform a valuable service for both our kura and the community; rain, hail or shine! It was great to have our Year 5 patrollers out completing their training with Constable Meg last week, and they are now on patrol before and after school until the end of the year. Thank you for your support in ensuring they are aware of their days on patrol.

Update on Rae, and welcome to Mikyla

As you may know, Rae Marsh is away on medical leave. After receiving a hip replacement last week, Rae is very happy to be home now and is working hard to be independent and walking again! While Rae rehabilitates, we welcome Mikyla Campbell to the teaching team. Mikyla has slotted seamlessly into our Pōhutukawa whānau and she has made some fantastic connections with the tamariki already. Please feel free to contact Mikyla at any time should you need to. She is looking forward to getting to know the tamariki and their whānau more over the coming weeks.

South Zone Basketball Tournament

Last Thursday some of our keen basketball players competed in the South Zone Basketball tournament held at Hillview Christian School. While the results didn’t go our way, it was an excellent opportunity to pit our skills against some of the best Year 5-6 basketball players in the area. The team represented our kura, school with pride and embodied our school values of We Love Challenge and We Get There Together wonderfully. Well done, team!

'Cool' Curriculum Classes

CCC classes continue with some changes for Term 3. Gayle is continuing to teach Visual Arts this term with some exciting Olympic-themed Calendar Art to look forward to - watch this space! Mikyla is covering Digital Technology and continuing with Coding. Steve is teaching Health with a look at our Wellbeing/Hauora and Social and Emotional coaching, and Megan is teaching the students financial literacy through the Banqer programme. There is always a lot of learning over the term in CCC, so we encourage you to keep chatting at home about what we cover in these courses. He taonga te ako, the treasure is learning.

Maths Family Whānau Evening

Thursday, 29th August (5:30 pm – 7:30 pm)

We invite ALL our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto families (NE-Y8) to join us for a hands on workshop that will help you to support and extend your child with
Mathematics. This workshop will be facilitated by Rob Proffitt-White. His workshops are hands on, fun an The workshop will explore: d engaging.
• The mathematical practices all students must master
• What skills and processes are needed in high school
• Ways to help with number facts and mental computation
• Games to encourage mathematical discussions (You will get to play some of these on the night).

Please see the attached flyer for more information.

Year 7-8 Open Evening for Year 6 whānau

Head Lice

We are continuing to see cases of head lice at school. We have attached some helpful information about head lice - please read this if you are unsure of how to detect and treat headlice. Thank you for your vigilance around this.

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,

What a wonderful sunny finish to the term today - made extra bright by the rainbow colours worn in support of diversity and money raised for Youthline. A wonderful way to show 'We Care' - arohaina te tangata. We hope you all enjoy some quality family time over the next 2 weeks, and that the students can take the chance to replenish with a well-earned rest after a busy and productive term. Please read on for some important updates, and we wish you a safe and relaxing term break.

Mānawatia a Matariki

It was rawe, awesome, to see so many whānau at our Matariki celebration last week, and to see the kapa haka rōpu up on stage doing their thing. Matariki is an opportunity to reflect on the past 4 seasons, celebrate the present with whanau, and look forward to what is to come as the days get longer... if not warmer quite yet! We have been learning all about Matariki over the past few weeks. Of the 9 stars we acknowledge, 2 are associated with the natural elements of wind and rain. We certainly had those elements in play over the last week or so, and a lot of learning also came with them. It would be wonderful to reflect on this learning with your tamariki over the holidays. He taonga te ako, the treasure is learning.

Stationery

As we are at the halfway point in the year, we'd really appreciate it if you could check with your tamariki about their stationery and what they need. Essential and consumable items that all students require are: HB pencils, an eraser, glue sticks, a highlighter, and a blue pen. We have gone through the students' remaining stationery , and they will be able to tell you what they need. Thanks for your support with this, mā tātou kātoa te waka e hoe.

Canterbury Cross Country

A massive congratulations to Laura, Jayme, Max, Lily and Haydn who represented both themselves and our kura so admirably at the Canterbury Cross Country last Wednesday. The conditions added and extra layer of challenge, with the runners having to battle some rainy, windy, muddy conditions. Fantastic to see so many runners from Beckenham competing, and special congratulations to Laura who finished overall in the 2nd Year 6 Girls' race, and Max who finished 6th in the Year 5 Boys' race. A stellar achievement!

Winter Sport

Thank you to the parents who offered their time to support the teams. We still have 6 more weeks of Winter Sport next term, and let's hope for some sunny weather so more sports can go ahead! Keep an eye on Hero for any cancellations, and we'll look forward to seeing many of you on the sidelines next term.

Head Lice

We are starting to see a few cases of head lice at school. We have linked some helpful information about head lice -here - please read this if you are unsure of how to detect and treat headlice.

Ngā mihi e te whānau,

It was fantastic to see so many of you at our Learning Conferences last week, we really appreciate the whanaungatanga that comes as a result of these conversations. Mā tātou te katoa te waka e hoe, we are all rowing the waka together.

A huge mihi/ thank you to those parents who supported our Food for Thought visit to New World on Wednesday, and St Martins New World for hosting us in-store. We certainly ran the gauntlet with the weather in the afternoon, and all the home groups were able to enjoy a practical lesson outside of school to consolidate what they learned during the in-class sessions. We hope you enjoy the photos, and the pānui/information about the programme below.

All the best to those tamariki who are entering the 40 Hour Challenge this weekend. Nau mai te wero - bring on the challenge! As we wind up the term, we have a few housekeeping items for you to be aware of, so thank you for reading on.

Empowering Healthier Futures Through "Food for Thought

This week we had Karli from Food for Thought visit the school to deliver three nutrition sessions to the students. Our schoolwide concept for 2024 is Identity, and we have chosen to look at this concept through the lens of Health this term.

The first two sessions saw students learn about how foods and nutrients support active and growing bodies. We also learned how to read the nutritional information on packaged foods and explored the sugar content in different drinks. We discovered that a 600ml bottle of Coca-Cola contains a staggering 16 teaspoons of sugar!

In the third session, students were given the opportunity to apply their newfound knowledge in a real-world setting. We visited St Martins New World where students analysed nutrition labels on various packaged foods to learn more about what is in our foods. Pōhutukawa are now expert food detectives! Don't hesitate to ask them to showcase their new skills to you.

At the end of the programme, each class received a $60 New World gift card to share some healthy kai. Watch this space!

It was great to have the Food for Thought team with us to give our students important lessons they can carry with them through life. If you are interested in learning more about Food for Thought, visit their website here: www.foodforthought.co.nz

Toys and Precious Items

We have noticed an increase in students bringing toys and precious items to school e.g. Rubik's Cubes. Unfortunately, due to the tendency of these things to get broken or go missing, we ask that all students not bring these to school. Thank you for your support with this.

Matariki Evening and Kapa Haka Performance

Matariki is the start of the Māori new year and a time of reflection, connection and planning for the year ahead. We would like to celebrate with you and your whānau on the 25th of June from 5pm - 7pm.  As part of the evening Whaea Cath Milio is preparing our kapa haka rōpu for a short performance on the night. The performance will be at approximately 6:40pm in Māpuna, our school hall, and will be after our Matariki activities in the Hub. It's a wonderful opportunity for our kapa haka rōpu to perform. Your child/children will need to meet in Pūkaki (opposite the Pōhutukawa Hub) at 6:15pm in order to get ready. We look forward to seeing you there!

Shoes
It has been really great to see the students 'stepping up' to show We Care for our school environment by removing their shoes during this wet and muddy season.  We are lucky to have wonderful underfloor heating in the classrooms, so feet stay nice and warm, and as an added benefit our carpet stays mud-free! In addition to this, we suggest that if your child is coming home with very muddy clothes, please consider supplying them with a spare pair of school shorts and a spare school top for them to change into once they finish their games.