Last week for cheese roll orders



Orders for cheese rolls close this coming Thursday, June 22. Many thanks to those who have already ordered your cheesy snacks. With the orders we have received so far, we have covered our J-Rock fundraising and all remaining proceeds will go towards the outdoor spaces at school. Year 1- 4 classes will receive their cheese rolls on Thursday of week 9 (June 29) and Year 5 - 8 on Wednesday of week 10 (July 5).

Please go to this link to order your cheese rolls.


Hooray! Our First New Building is finished!

Very exciting days ahead - our first new building is finished!

How long have we been waiting for this moment! The cleaners have worked their magic on the new West Hub as part of the final preparation for us to begin to move in and use the new learning spaces. The underfloor heating is working and the internet is on. Security and fire alarms are working along with power and water. Now it needs people!


The final step, before we can move in, is to get a Certificate of Public Use (CPU) which needs to be issued by the City Council. The inspection has happened this week, and now we are just waiting for the paperwork to be reviewed and the certificate issued... and the time that will take is the unknown factor! You can be sure that we will let you know AS SOON as we have this!

Opening Ceremony - keep a very close eye on your emails!

When the CPU is obtained, we would like to have an Opening Ceremony the very next school day, so that we can begin moving in and using the space. PLEASE keep an eye on your emails - the opening ceremony will be at VERY short notice. It will be an 8am ceremony on a school day, with an opportunity to have a walk through the building immediately afterwards. This will allow the senior students to attend, and then to get on their buses to Champion St.

Tentative plans - first steps for the last three weeks of this term

Hub 5/6 - first to move

Our primary goal will be to move Hub 5/6 (Mike and Paulette's learning groups) into the Sandwich Road end of the new West Hub, as a temporary step (before they move to their final space in the East Hub. which will happen during the July school holidays.) Moving into the West Hub will allow them an opportunity to spread their wings a little. They have been working superbly well in the confined space of the old staff room and they are well and truly ready for a change. They are prepared to shift at a moment's notice and excited about being the first group in the new building.
Following the opening ceremony, we will be asking parents of that hub who are there (and any others who can lend a strong arm for half an hour) to go to Hub 5/6 and help carry over a piece of furniture, or a box of resources. We think that we can have the physical shift completed by 9:30am and then we can leave the teachers and children to explore how they will use the space for learning for the remainder of the term.

Hubs 1,2,3 & 4 moving gradually this term

During the last weeks of this term, the children and teachers of Hubs 1-4 will slowly move into their new teaching and learning space in the new West Hub at the north (Beckenham Park) end. They will keep you posted about the details of that move as they come to hand, and will ask for parent help as they need it.

During the July Holidays... lots more action will be happening

We are expecting to have possession of the new East Hub in the second week of the July holidays. There will be a call for volunteers to help move boxes and furniture on the Monday and Tuesday of that second week of the holidays.

Year 3/4 Kowhai team (Hubs 5/6/7/8 & 9)

...will all be moved into the new East Hub ready for the start of Term 3

New Entrants in Hub 10/11 

...will start Term 3 in their new location of the building that is currently Hub 8/9, over by the big adventure playground near the park. Elizabeth, Rowe and Gail will be packing up their space, and reassembling it in their new location during the holidays.

Ferndale School satellite class from Room 20 

... will be moving into their space in the new East Hub, ready to start teaching and learning there in Term 3

Sandy,  Michelle and Cath

...will be moving out of the Admin Building and will take up temporary lodgings for Term 3 in the East Hub, adjacent to the Year 3/4 team..

Jacky, Vicki and the Office

... will move into the West Hub at the Sandwich Road end, adjacent to the Y1/2 team.

Teacher Aides and Tony

...will move with the flow and go to where they are needed, as they always do! They will form part of the glue that helps to keep us all together as we navigate our way through this exciting time of change! Tony's garage stays where it is for Term 3

October Holidays

During the October holidays we will be undertaking the big shift of our Year 5-8 students, teachers and all of their resources, back to Beckenham from Champion St. The Year 5/6 Pōhutukawa team will move into the West Hub (at the Sandwich Road end) and the Year 7/8 Kauri team will move into the East Hub at the river end.
We expect to have the hall back in use again in Term 4 which will be fantastic! It will be amazing to have everyone back on site again!

More details about the October moves and Term 4 will be available once we get Term 3 underway!

Preparing for New Learning Spaces 3 June 2017

Preparing for New Learning Spaces

(from school newsletter 3 June 2017)

Our teachers are continuing to develop their practice and processes around collaboration as we work towards moving into our new learning spaces. Last week, the 5 teachers from the Y3/4 Kowai team spent a day together, visiting another school that has recently moved into learning spaces very similar to ours, spending time in our new building and then meeting to develop the systems and processes that will be important to have for the successful transition from our current spaces to our new spaces. They are considering the ways that our children learn, and ensuring that there will be consistency from all the members of the teaching team in the expectations and messages that are given to the children.

The West Hub continues to progress with lighting, plumbing, wall and floor coverings and joinery nearly all in. The underfloor heating system is being commissioned this coming week.

Our Year 1/2 teachers from Hub 10/11 had a similar day on Thursday, and the Koru teachers from Hubs 1-4 will have a similar day coming in the next couple of weeks. We appreciate that having a reliever in the class for day is not quite the same as having the teacher with whom the children are familiar, and we believe that giving the teachers sufficient time for this preparation is very important and will result in the best outcomes as we move forward.

Building Update 20 May 2017

Building Update

(from school newsletter 20 May 2017)

As you will have probably noticed, our West Hub is looking very close to being ready. I was fortunate to have a look inside again this week and the ceiling tiles and wall coverings were nearly all in. The joinery units are mostly in, and carpet is due to go down this coming week. The last major pieces of work will be the installation and commissioning of the underfloor heating system and the final landscaping pathway work around the outside of the building.



The East Hub is also moving along quickly and both are on track to be ready for our Y1-4 classes to move into them for the start of Term 3.

The new Bike Stand are is working well. Special thanks Fahey Fencing who have loaned us the temporary fencing for no charge. When we get the permanent fencing installed, we will be looking to have two gates, an 'in' and an 'out' gate, to improve the flow of traffic at peak times.

Building Update 5 May 2017

Building Update

(from school newsletter 5 May, 2017)

Our building work continues at great pace and we have been advised that they are making good progress and are well within their completion deadline for the full project. During the school holidays a stormwater retention system was installed. This involved digging a pit in the junior grass area where a network of interlocking plastic 'crates' were placed, then covered back over with topsoil. This is designed to take the stormwater from the roof of the West building, and prevent future flooding. We now have to wait for the grass to regrow before we will be able to utilise that space. We haven't had a chance to go into the West Building for a few weeks, but we are told that it is only 3-4 weeks from completion. The East Building is on track for completion by the middle of the July holidays.

HRS have begun work on the hall and foyer. The hall is getting some exterior recladding work done and the foyer is getting a new frontage, deck and roof. In the past couple of days a small amount of asbestos was found under the hall foyer so on Monday you may notice asbestos removal work happening in this area. The asbestos removal company have provided this information to confirm that this work presents no health and safety concern for our children, parents or staff:

ACM (asbestos contaminated material) located in small section of soil, stones and gravel. This has been immediately isolated / contained awaiting removal of contaminated material to be undertaken on Monday 8 th May.
Air monitoring has been conducted within the isolated area. Work in progress air quality monitoring will be performed as a control measure during the removal and disposal on Monday.

The small area of concern possess no associated health risks and has no potential for accidental airborne fibre release throughout removal works on Monday.
Suspect material is thoroughly wetted and damp and has been isolated under current regulations with 200 um plastic.
Hazardous containing material labels have been affixed to the small stock pile / area of concern.
A COC license holder from AQARL will oversee the removal of this material for immediate disposal on Monday.

New Bike storage area

If your children bring bikes or scooters to school, you will be aware that we have created a new bike stand on the Sandwich Road side of the old verandah block. This area will be our permanent new home for the bikes and will be locked during the school day. We plan to install security cameras when the new cabling has been installed. We are very grateful to one of our parents, Hamish Denny (Drainworkz), for carrying out the the groundwork for this area and donating all of the labour costs. We have temporary fencing in place at the moment, and plan to put permanent, pool-style fencing along this boundary when the fencing for the other part of that area is done. The PTA are currently fundraising for this and other landscaping work which will need doing as the building project progresses.