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In the Pōhutukawa team this year we are thrilled to have some budding journalists, Billy, Chester, Jensen, and Tom.
These keen reporters have created a news site, that they keep regularly updated with news articles about latest comings and goings at kura. We're really pleased to be able to share their mahi with you here. https://sites.google.com/beckenham.nz/kuranews/home
Well done, team, you are really living our Kete values with your contributions to school life. Tau ke, awesome!
Ngā mihi o te ahiahi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,
It's been a wonderful start to the term as we settle back into our routines. Term 4 is a very busy term, and we have some exciting events coming up that require your attention, and parent help. Please read the information below. Thank you as always for your support, and for speaking with your tamariki about these events to prepare for, and look ahead to what will be a busy, active, and fun-filled end to the year!
Athletics Day Tomorrow
We have enjoyed the warm weather of the first 2 weeks and have been busy preparing for our school Athletics Day tomorrow. The students have been learning and practising 4 events: high jump, sprints, shotput, and discus. All the students have had 2 sessions of each discipline to ready them for the big day tomorrow.
It looks like it will be a very hot day, so thank you for remembering to prepare your child to be out in the sun for most of the day. We look forward to seeing many of you here to cheer them on. The schedule for tomorrow is as follows:
| TIME | YEAR 5 | YEAR 6 |
| 9:20 | Mid-Distance Race (optional) | Mid-Distance Race (optional) |
| 10:00 | High Jump | Shotput |
| 11:00 | Sprints | High Jump |
| 11:50 | Discus | Sprints |
| 1:20 | Shotput | Discus |
| 2:00 | Sprint Finals and House Relay | Sprint Finals and House Relay |
Cycle Safe (Year 6 Only)
During weeks 6 and 7 of this term our Year 6 students will be involved in the Cycle Safe Programme provided by the Christchurch City Council. Cycle Safe is a cycle skills education programme for schools. Students learn the benefits of cycling and how to ride with confidence and be road-wise. All Year 6 students will participate in this course and the instructors cater to all cycling abilities.
You can find out more information about the programme here https://ccc.govt.nz/transport/getting-around/getting-to-school/resources-for-schools/cyclesafe/
If your child is in Year 6, they will be coming home with a permission slip today to be returned to school by Monday 30th October.
If you have any questions about the programme, please get in touch with your homegroup teacher.
Kōtuitui Football Programme
Starting next week and running on Monday and Tuesday afternoons for the next 3 weeks we are excited to be offering the students a football programme coordinated by New Zealand Football. Kōtuitui is an integrated unit of work that supports ākonga (students) to use the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ as a context for connecting to others in our bicultural and multicultural society. The programme will provide ākonga with the skills and knowledge to connect to cultures other than their own, both in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the globe. There is no preparation needed for this, and the students will just have to wear their normal school uniform and running shoes. If students would like to bring along their football boots and shin pads, they are welcome to do so, however, the programme will be delivered as an introduction to the 'beautiful game' with no experience or special gear required.
MASH Tough Kid - Delivered by Primary Sports Canterbury
On Wednesday 6th December from 12 pm - 3 pm, the Pōhutukawa team will be traveling to South Brighton Domain to take part in a fun-filled obstacle course along with other schools from all around the Canterbury region. MASH Tough Kid is an urban-style obstacle course for primary & intermediate-aged students. Obstacles include tire runs, hurdle jumps, water slides, hay bale climbs, and more. This will be a fantastic way to celebrate the end of a wonderful year with the tamariki. Our focus for the trip will be on participation and will be doing everything we can to support all the tamariki to partake in the course up to wherever their point of challenge lies. Here is a short introductory video that we watched with the tamariki today to whet their appetite.
In order for this trip to go ahead, we will need the support of whānau. If you are able to come along and help us on the day, (or would even fancy taking part with your tamariki in the race itself!) please email your home group teacher. Thank you in advance for the tautoko, support to ensure this is an awesome end-of-year celebration for all. We look forward to hearing from you!
Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,
In the past two weeks, the Pōhutukawa team has had: planting at ngā pūroto, the ponds with the Christchurch City Council, our Speech Competition and finals, amazing Talent show auditions, and our Beckenham's Got Talent Show, as well as our 'Create a Culture' Inquiry projects and exhibition... that's not to mention our usual end of term assessments. Whew!
Needless to say, the tamariki have had an incredibly busy end to the term, and are very deserving of a well-earned rest! We hope you enjoy the photos we are sharing today of all of the above, and that you all enjoy a wonderful term break with your tamariki.
We're looking forward to seeing everyone in 2 weeks refreshed, revitalised, and ready for the final term.
Ngā manaakitanga,
The Pōhutukawa team
Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all,
Last week we finished our Keeping Ourselves Safe programme with a look at "Why should I tell?", where students learn to stop inappropriate touch or behaviour, say “no” confidently, move away, and report what has happened.
Overall, we have been really impressed with the thoughtfulness and maturity of the students during this programme. Children need abuse prevention education throughout their schooling, as their needs and experiences change. They need to have the opportunity to practise skills and to have the learning reinforced. Thank you for continuing these conversations and discussions at home. The final homework activity to do with your tamariki is below.
Coming up in the next 3 weeks we have a planting day (this Wednesday), a speech competition, Inquiry presentations, and a talent show to finish another busy term. There is some important information about all of this below, so please thank you for taking the time to read on.
Planting Day with the Christchurch City Council
We have some more planting to do! As part of our ongoing kaitiakitanga/guardianship of our Beckenham Ponds, the Pōhutukawa students will again have the opportunity to work alongside Christchurch City Council and plant some native trees and shrubs down at the ponds. This is our 4th year of planting down at ngā pūroto, and it is a tangible opportunity to show our school kete value We Care - Arohaina te tangata me te taiao, we care for people and the environment they live in which is inclusive of community.
We plan to do the planting this Wednesday 6 September from 9:00 am - 12:30 pm. We'd like to request that the tamariki bring their gumboots, or a pair of old shoes that they don't mind getting muddy. If the weather is wet, we will postpone.
Create a Culture - Resources from Home
This term as part of our inquiry into the concept of 'Innovation', we are investigating how to create a unique culture by naming and designing the following: physical features of their country, flag, food, language, clothing, holidays, government, Laws and Consequences, sport, school, and artworks. Our next step is to display their 'Create a Culture' project. Students have been given the task of choosing a non-digital form of presentation, such as (but not limited to) a poster, diorama, mobile, or brochure. This week we are inviting students to bring in whatever resources they may need from home in order to work on their presentations. Thank you for your support with this.
Pōhutukawa Speech Competition and 'Beckenham's Got Talent'
As some of you will no doubt be aware, the students have been working very hard on their speeches over the past 3 weeks. The students have been able to choose whether they would like to present their speech to the home group, or a smaller group if they would prefer. It's been wonderful to see the students diligently planning and crafting their speeches, with many also putting in some extra mahi, work at home too.
Next week they will be presenting their speeches, and we will conduct a Speech Final to award the Megan McLachlan Year 5 - 6 Speech Cup. Nau mai te wero, embrace the challenge!
Also, there are a number of students ready to show us their hidden (or not-so-hidden) talents at the end-of-term talent show. We are holding auditions this week for the illustrious privilege of representing our team at the whole-school 'Beckenham's Got Talent' extravaganza which will be held on the last day of term.
Thank you for supporting our budding performers in their preparations for both of these competitions.
Keeping Ourselves Safe Homework Activity
In Keeping Ourselves Safe we have been talking about who children can go to for help if they feel
unsafe or worried. Reinforce the following messages with your child.
● You must tell someone if other people make you feel unsafe, worried or scared.
● If the first person doesn’t help, go on telling until someone listens and takes action.
● You can always come to me and I will listen and help you.
Work with your child to complete a drawing similar to the harakeke drawing attached. Give
specific names and contact details where you can.
Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all
We hope you all had a lovely weekend. Please read on for more very important information regarding our Keeping Ourselves Safe Programme, and some updates from the Pōhutukawa team. Have a great week, everyone, kia pai te wiki.
Keeping Ourselves Safe
Thank you for the feedback about the Keeping Ourselves Safe activities that we sent home last week. These are such important topics to be discussed at home, too. We are continuing with the programme at kura this week, having our final session with Constable Meg today and having further lessons throughout the week.
One of the main messages of the programme is to encourage children to first identify and then take action in unsafe situations. The more conversations that the tamariki can have with trusted adults about this, the more confident they can be if they do find themselves in an unsafe or uncomfortable situation. Please find below 2 more 'homework activities' from the Keeping Ourselves Programme to do at home as a family. The first is a checklist from the 'Confident Me' lesson, and the second is a list of situations in which they could use the 'stop, walk, talk', strategy.
Homework Activity: Confident Me
As part of Keeping Ourselves Safe, your child has been learning to value themselves and to be
confident. We have also talked about our feelings and how we can express these safely.
These skills help to keep children safe because:
● people who want to harm children are less likely to target a confident, assertive child
● being able to identify their feelings and tell people how they feel can help children to keep
safe and ask for help.
Please help your child to complete the following checklist. Ask them questions about what they have learned.
Confident Me Checklist:
I feel confident talking to my teacher
I feel confident answering the phone
I can say how I'm feeling
I can say 2 positive things about myself
I know how to make safe decisions
I know who to ring in an emergency
Homework Activity: Safe or Unsafe
As part of Keeping Ourselves Safe we talked in the classroom about how to identify potentially
unsafe situations involving people.
● This could be people that children are with all the time, those they meet in the real world, or
people that they meet online in the digital world.
Your child learnt how to use Stop, Walk, Talk when they feel unsafe.
● Talk to your child about situations that make them feel unsafe.
● Respect your child’s right to say no to touch or behaviour that they don’t like.
● Help them keep safe online.
Consider making a rule that children’s cell phones are stored/charged in your bedroom overnight.
This means children cannot be contacted, coerced into meeting someone outside, or bullied, at night.
Please help your child with the following activities.
1. Ask them to explain Stop, Walk, Talk to you and to tell you when they might use it.
2. Ask them to demonstrate how they would use Stop, Walk, Talk in each of the following
situations:
● Someone pushes you out of a line at school.
● Someone you have just met online asks for your address and a photo.
● A family friend kisses you on the mouth.
● You get a friend request from someone you don’t know.
Create a Culture Inquiry
As part of this year's concept of Innovation, students have been investigating how to create a unique culture by naming and designing the following: physical features of their country, flag, food, language, clothing, holidays, government, Laws and Consequences, sport, school, and artworks. It's proving to be a very popular project, with students even asking to work on their 'Create a Culture' booklets during wet break times. The next step will be for them to choose a way to display their 'Create a Culture' project. They have been given the task of choosing a non-digital form of presentation, such as (but not limited to) a poster, diorama, mobile, or brochure. Students are more than welcome to bring in any resources from home that may help them with their projects. Thank you for your support with this.
Winter Sports
Finally, we just wanted to once again express our sincere gratitude to all the parents who have helped make our Winter Sports Programme a success again this year - it simply couldn't happen without your support! We were fortunate to have some lovely weather over the past 2 Thursday afternoons, and the smiles on the faces of the tamariki at the end were ka rawe, awesome.