Monthly Archives: May 2018

Term 2 Week 4 in Pōhutukawa

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Kia ora koutou

We are well into the swing of term 2 now, and for a winter term we have been pretty lucky with the weather so far. On wet days we ask the students to remove their footwear before they enter the hub to ensure the carpet stays dry for them to sit and work on. Bringing slippers on those wet days is a great idea to keep tootsies warm and preserve socks!

We have had three football sessions with Futa from Cashmere Technical AFC. On a Monday Futa takes half the class for a skill session while the teacher supervises a game and then the groups swap over. As the grass is often wet first thing in the morning, it's a good idea to bring either football boots to wear, or a spare pair of socks and shoes to change into after the football session. The students are learning lots and having fun.






After our very successful writing motivation, the students have been working on an information report on a country of their choice. These reports can be viewed at home through your child's school Google account. The children have been very motivated and are producing some excellent writing.

After the roll call at lunchtime the students are read to. They have two choices of novels to listen to: 'Kaspar Prince of Cats' by Michael Murpurgo and 'The Witches' by Roald Dahl. The children listen attentively, enjoying the quiet time after a busy lunch time.



Winter sport on a Friday afternoon began last Friday. This is often a highlight of the year for the Y5-8 children. We have children going to Hagley Park playing football, hockey, rugby and netball. One football team plays at Carlton Corner. It was great to see excited, enthusiastic students board the buses to Hagley, ready to work as a team and to try their best. To be prepared the children are required to bring to school on Fridays their sports uniform (handed out by the school), any appropriate gear (boots, shin guards, mouth guards, hockey sticks), a water bottle (this is very important) and warm clothes to put on after the game if it's a cold day, as the wind often whistles around the park, making it freezing. This week both of the football teams have a bye, and will still be travelling to the park to support the other teams and to have a training session. The children at school participate in an alternative sport programme. The options at the moment are table tennis, tapuaue and hall battle.

Today 43 students from Y 5-8 participated in the South Zone Cross Country at Halswell Quarry. As always, the students represented our school admirably, behaving beautifully on and off the course. The rain we had last night softened the ground and filled the creek, but the quarry wasn't as boggy as it has been in previous years, so the children came away only splattered in mud, rather than drenched. Our children did exceptionally well, and the official results will be in the school newsletter.








This term we have been doing art on Wednesday afternoons. The children had four choices to opt into. These were kowhaiwhai patterns, digi art, papier mache mask making and pop art (Andy Warhol). The teachers are very impressed at the art the children are producing, and are pleased with the perseverance, attention to detail and creativity being displayed by the students.









Next week each class will be vising the South Learning Centre to participate in a Matariki session.
The session will introduce students to the key concepts of Te Iwa o Matariki with a focus on Mahinga Kai, the two earth stars, Tupu-a-nuku, Tupu-a-rangi and the wind star, Ururangi.  The session is interactive and include a range of fun activities, both digital and craft based. There is an interactive Matariki learning experience using Nearpod on iPads, along with a craft activity.  Students will also explore Te Whata Raki (which is Christchurch City Libraries’ Te Reo app about a virtual marae and whare) on the iPads  The sessions will end with a story.

Classes are booked in for their sessions as follows:
  • Tuesday 29 May, 9.15 am – 10.30 am Tracy - leaving 9:00 am and returning 10:45 am
  • Wednesday 30 May, 9.15 am – 10.30 am Nick - leaving 9:00 am and returning 10:45 am
  • Thursday 31 May, 9.15 am – 10.30 am Katie - leaving 9:00 am and returning 10:45 am      
  • Thursday 31 May, 11.00 am – 12.15 pm Gayle - leaving 10:45 am and returning 12:30 pm
There is no cost for your child to go on this trip. If the weather, on the day of your child’s outing, is looking inclement, children will be asked to bring a rain jacket with them, as we will be walking to the South Learning Centre. Thank you to the parents who have offered to accompany us on these learning excursions.
Let's hope this lovely weather lasts for Friday sport this week, and on into the weekend.
Tracy, Nick, Katie and Gayle







Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsetter Friday 18 May

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

This week saw the start of the Winter Sport programme at Hagley Park for Year 5-8 students. Huge thanks to Jenny Diggle for the amazing organisation that goes into to setting this up and the smooth weekly running of our participation in this. Thanks also to the other teachers and many parents and caregivers who are giving up their time to support this. We have 125 children participating in 14 teams across the disciplines of Rugby, Football, Hockey and Netball. Each team requires a coach, has had trials and needs weekly training and organisation.
With 125 children going to Hagley each week, there are 71 children remaining at school who will be participating in an alternate sport programme. One of the rotations available as part of this programme is table tennis. The students who took part in this today were very enthusiastic about learning to control a very bouncy, small ball with a mind of its own!


Bullying Free NZ week

This week was the national Bully-Free New Zealand Week. At Beckenham we have decided not to focus so much attention on the 'week' but to focus attention all the time on being conscious of how we can be caring and make a difference in our relationships with one another.
The Ministry of Education published a very useful digital book that we will be sharing with our children at school about how to support someone who you see being bullied rather than joining in, or walking away and doing nothing.


The resource is called "Oat the Goat" and you can read and discuss it with your children by clicking on the link.

Safer streets around Beckenham

This week we have been approached by the Beckenham Neighbourhood Association (BNA) about the wider community concerns for the safety of our community, especially our children, when crossing Beckenham streets. Particular concern has been raised about Tennyson St, along with Centaurus Road, Birdwood Ave and the corner of Sandwich and Norwood Streets.
At the same time, on Thursday evening, one of our school families had a very close brush with tragedy when their four year old was hit by a car on Tennyson St. He is safe at home now with a broken leg, but was extremely lucky not to have suffered much more serious injuries.
Beckenham parents, Liz O'Connor and Ester Vallero, have previously lobbied the Community Board on this issue and our Board of Trustees are committed to supporting the BNA on this issue. 

Treemendous Makeover - Saturday 16 June 9-12noon

The excitement is really building for the big Tremendous Makeover Day on Sat June 16th. The Mazda Foundation have selected this day and time for them to come and work with us on this big makeover.
Teams of children, parents and supporters have been working now since early in the year on the preparations for the big, final makeover day when we will be doing mass planting of this area and there will be lots of special publicity, a sausage sizzle and celebrity guests including Ruud Kleinpaste - the Bugman who works with the Mazda Foundation and Project Crimson to help promote and make the Treemendous Makeovers such exciting events.


To ensure that we are ready for the big day on the 16th June, we need to have another small working bee this coming Saturday 26th May from 1pm - 3pm to build the second wooden nest, and some other preparations. If you are able to help, please contact Matthew Macdonald at matthew@odab.co.nz

Home Learning Review

Yesterday we sent home a link to all our families for your feedback on Home Learning. At the time of writing this, we have already received 70 responses! Thank you. 

We would like to get feedback from our parent community, on the direction we take with home learning.

Families need to carefully consider what they value when it comes to home learning. Our home learning options need to fit with your values and the time your family wants to put towards this compared with the other valuable family activities you may be involved in.

We know that parents have a diverse range of views on home learning. We also know that each family context is very different and many families already have competing priorities on their time after school.

We regularly hear from parents about the challenge and stress that 'getting children to do home learning' creates for families.

As primary school educators we see importance in children building and maintaining good reading habits through daily opportunities to read in both home and school environments. 

There is plenty of research that will argue both for and against other forms of home learning at the primary level. 

Your homes present opportunities for your children to develop oral language skills, social skills and values that will enable them to contribute positively to their own future learning, and to the society that they are growing up in. To that end, we prefer to 'offer' home learning opportunities that are flexible and give each student and their family agency to select an approach that will meet the needs of your child. For some families, that selection may be "We are already doing so much - we don't need any more home learning." For others, there will be the ability to choose to engage with the activities that you believe are valuable. 

Please click on this link, to give us your feedback on this topic.

The link will close for accepting feedback on Monday 4th June.

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Sat 19 May - Comedy Night - Beckenham Hall
Wed 23 May - Zones Cross Country at Halswell Quarry Park
Sat 26 May - Treemendous working bee - 1pm - 3pm
Mon 28 May - School Photos
Tues 29 May - ICAS Science

Looking ahead:

Sat 16 Jun - TREEMENDOUS MAKEOVER DAY 9-12 noon
Tue 26 Jun - teachers paid union meeting in the afternoon - please collect children at 12:30pm.
Mon 2 Jul - Staff Only Day - school closed.

Term Dates

Click here to view 2018 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Savanna Groom - Year 6

Savanna, you have really come into your own this year showing what a positive role model you are. You consistently work hard at whatever task you do and do your best to complete it to a high standard. You also show great caring for your friends, always looking out for others and showing a great maturity. You should be very proud of yourself. Tino pai, Savanna.

Bonnie Brookland - Year

Bonnie, you embrace our kete, we love learning, in your fabulous focus and your determination to give of your best in all that that you do. You are respectful, interested and engaging when working with others. Being a loyal and caring friend is something that you value, and something that others value in you. Thank you for the responsible and thoughtful contributions you make to our whānau on a daily basis. Tu meke Bonnie!

School Notices

Allergies

During Term 4 last year, and in Term 1 this year we carried out an extensive review of our Allergies Policy and Guidelines. Many thanks to Michelle Maule, Sue Leadbetter and parent, Lisa Taylor for the work that they did to pull all of this information together.

Across our school we have a number of children with different food allergies.

To support the wellbeing of these students we have the following guidelines in place which we ask you to follow:

For 2018, we ask that there are no peanuts in the Kauri (Year 7/8) or Kowhai (Year 3/4) teams please, due to the extreme anaphylaxis risk for one of our students who learns in that building -  Parenga.

Whenever children bring food to school for shared kai occasions, please follow the guidelines provided by the teachers for that event.

We will inform you during the year if specific guidelines for your child’s hub change.  Our full allergy policy and guidelines are available on the Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto website and search the Policies portal for ‘allergy’.  If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss them in the first instance with your child’s point of contact teacher.

13 Reasons Why

You may recall the public discussion generated by last year’s Netflix series "13 Reasons Why".

Season two will be released worldwide on Friday 18 May (today). This show was widely watched by teenagers last year. Themes of suicide, sexual assault, consent, bullying and other issues made some viewers feel distressed and in need of support. Similar and equally confronting themes will be present in season two. In the lead-up to the release, some young people may re-watch the first season, or watch it for the first time.

Many young people say they feel the show represents the issues they face. Banning or recommending a ban on viewing it can be harmful, as young people will still watch it but feel they have to hide that from adults. The issues raised in the series are significant and offer a good opportunity to talk to our young people about these difficult life events – but it is important that those conversations are safe ones. We are working with other agencies to ensure information is available to support and encourage safe conversations between young people and their parents, or another trusted adult, if they view this series.

Some of this information is already available on the resource hub on the Mental Health Foundation website. Additional support material will be added to this hub prior to 18 May.

13 Reasons Why is not the only challenging series young people are watching but it is one of the most talked about. The Office of Film and Literature Classification has released a guide for parents: Talking with young people about what they’re watching.

If you or other members of your whānau, are concerned about a young person, please reach out for help. The Mental Health Foundation have a list of contacts, or phone your local DHBs Mental Health Crisis Team. Support is also available from a trained counsellor anytime by calling or texting 1737.

Ministry of Health - Measles Alert

As students return from the Term 1 holidays, the Ministry of Health is reminding schools to be
aware of the risks of measles.

Over the past month, measles cases have been reported in Canterbury, the Southern District
Health Board region, Nelson-Marlborough, Hamilton and Auckland.
Immunisation – the best protection against measles and it is free!
To be effective, people need to have two measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccinations.
Anyone who is unsure if they are fully immunised against measles can be vaccinated for free at
their GP.
What can you do?
As a precautionary measure, school leaders are encouraged to confirm the immunisation status
of staff and students. Anyone who is not immunised and gets exposed to a confirmed case of
measles will need to stay home for at least 14 days to ensure the virus doesn’t spread.
General advice
Anyone who suspects they may have measles should avoid contact with other people, especially
those who aren’t fully immunised, and should phone their GP before visiting. It is important to call
first because measles is highly infectious, and people with measles can infect others in the waiting
room.
Further information and advice is available from:

Thanks to JMW Electrical

There was great excitement in the school last week. This was all due to the kindness of a local business, JMW Electrical Services who at the end of 2017 held a competition where the school won a $500 Rebel Sport voucher.


After a school wide student driven survey, the students decided the wanted a Junior Adjustable Basketball Hoop. Last week the Spalding NBA Highlight Basketball System arrived much to the delight of the Kōwhai Mini Ball Team
A HUGE THANKS to JMW Electrical Services for your patience & generosity- the big smiles on our children faces say it all.

Wellbeing  

Created by the Prime Minister’s Youth Mental Health Project, SPARX (https://sparx.org.nz) is a fantastic, interactive website for youth struggling with feeling low, anxious or depressed. Participants take a short quiz then work through a series of games and animations to learn about strategies such as keeping active, dealing with problems and recognising unhelpful thoughts. It is ideal for tweens/teens and their families. 

PTA News

Hi to all our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Families,

We have an extraordinary community at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto.
Because of this amazing community the PTA can do a really great job to support our school through a variety of events, activities, practical support and fundraising.
Please take a moment to complete our annual survey
https://bit.ly/2KZgpSf

LAST CHANCE

We have had an opportunity open up for a lucky business out there.

Looking to advertise your business/service to an audience of over 450+ on a daily basis over two years for a mere $750?
Well Beckenham School PTA have an opportunity for you that would be silly to miss! We are offering a “cog space” on our new bike/scooter fence which faces Sandwich Road.


A BIG thanks to all those local businesses that have already come on board. Payment can be split over several payments for your convenience.

Your business/service will not only be viewed by the school families but will also be viewed by other community groups that use the school facilities before, after school & in the weekends.
Promote your business/service’s BRAND for TWO years & support Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto children to bike/scooter to their school. As a parent I know I will be supporting those businesses that give back to their community & encourage healthy habits in our children.

For further detailed information on this opportunity click on this link.

To discuss further contact Rachel at pta@beckenham.school.nz OR ph 027 246 3511 if you have any queries.

DEADLINE for purchasing a COG is Friday 25th May. LAST CHANCE before the COGS are off to the printer!





Comedy Night, last chance!

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A big thanks to everyone who has brought Comedy Night tickets for tomorrow night. We have not sent any tickets home; these will be collected when you arrive at 7pm. Please bring money for drinks (we plan to have eftpos operating). Also bring loose change for our hamper raffles. We should be wrapped up by 9:30, so you can get home for the royal wedding.

If you have yet to book a ticket, we have a few left. Click this link.

Home Learning Review, Term 2, 2018

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Home Learning Review, Term 2, 2018

We would like to get feedback from our parent community, on the direction we take with home learning.

Families need to carefully consider what they value when it comes to home learning. Our home learning options need to fit with your values and the time your family wants to put towards this compared with the other valuable family activities you may be involved in.

We know that parents have a diverse range of views on home learning. We also know that each family context is very different and many families already have competing priorities on their time after school.

We regularly hear from parents about the challenge and stress that 'getting children to do home learning' creates for families.

As primary school educators we see importance in children building and maintaining good reading habits through daily opportunities to read in both home and school environments. 

There is plenty of research that will argue both for and against other forms of home learning at the primary level. 

Your homes present opportunities for your children to develop oral language skills, social skills and values that will enable them to contribute positively to their own future learning, and to the society that they are growing up in. To that end, we prefer to 'offer' home learning opportunities that are flexible and give each student and their family agency to select an approach that will meet the needs of your child. For some families, that selection may be "We are already doing so much - we don't need any more home learning." For others, there will be the ability to choose to engage with the activities that you believe are valuable. 

We would like to hear your views on this topic.

Please click on this link, to give us your feedback on this topic.

The link will close for accepting feedback on Monday 4th June