Monthly Archives: September 2019

Kahikatea Newseltter Wk 8 Term 3

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South Library Visit
We are off to the South Library and Learning Center on the 18th and 20th of September.
We depart school at 12.30 and return by 3pm. Anna and Jules are going on Friday and Charlotte and Amber are going on Wednesday.
If you are able to assist help please let your child's teacher know.
Te Wiki o te Reo Maori 
Our tamariki enjoyed a busy week full of activities to support learning through the Maori language. 
Our Korero Corner this week.
  Games, books and activities 
Can you recognize these shapes? Can you name them in Maori? Can you name the parts of your tinana (body)? 


Bee Boots...are so much fun! 
Check out these clever tamariki programming their Bee Bots












Phonics and Reading
We are currently working with our Resource Teacher of Literacy to best target the reading needs of a number of our students. Through observations, we have noticed that some of our readers have not yet made the firm connection between letters and sounds (the alphabetic code).
This is an essential skill for learning to read. We are therefore strongly focusing on letter-sound relationships during reading lessons with some of our children who need it. In order to reinforce the connection we are using decodable texts. Almost every word in these books can be sounded out if unknown. As the books are not rich in vocabulary or sentence structure, it would be very beneficial if you could read to your child to continue to expose them to age appropriate language.
If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask.
Other games and activities that would help your child make letter-sound connections are: 
I-Spy (using the letter sound and the letter name)
Snap or Memory using the words from the books on small cards
Play 'name 3 things' that start with/end with...
GLUE STICKS
Our glue stick supply is running very low. If you have a glue stick at home please send to school for our tamariki to use. These will be gratefully received!
Talent Show 
We have been super impressed by the amazing performances by our tamariki. Look at these gorgeous kids...





















Kauri Whānau Ski day Reminders

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Our ski day is this coming Monday - September 16.

If the mountain is open we are going! Check the Mt Hutt Ski Report around 6am to confirm things at all go.

Be at school by 7:20am. Meet by the Sandwich Rd school carpark. Children must check in with their homegroup teacher and then they can board a bus, or go to the driver of the car they are assigned to.

Gear Check:

  • thermals - at least two layers on top half and one layer on bottom half
  • long socks
  • weatherproof pants
  • warm weatherproof jacket
  • lace-up shoes
  • gloves or mittens
  • goggles or sun-glasses
  • sunscreen
  • optional neck muff or scarf
  • long hair tied up 
  • water bottle
  • hearty lunch
Optional:
  • The journey each way is 2 hours so a book, small game or small device to play on can be brought. All devices will stay on the locked bus during the day.
  • Money for a hot drink or snack at the cafe. Children take responsibility for money. The cafe is expensive, so bring lunch.
  • Own ski gear if you have it

Plan for the day:


  • 7:20 arrive at school, on Sandwich Rd. Buses and cars leave at 7:30am. 
  • 9:30 - 9:45 we will arrive at the ski field car park
  • 10:00 morning tea on the deck
  • 10:15 ski hire sorted (those with their own gear will meet a parent for a short ski)
  • 11:00 lessons start. Everyone has a lesson, even the experienced skiers.
  • 12:30 lunch on the deck or in the cafe
  • 12:45 - 3:30 Have fun skiing with your friends.
  • 3:30 return gear and back to the bus
  • 4:00 buses leave
  • 6:00 - 6:30 we arrive back at school

Parent Helpers:

Many thanks to the following people who have offered to help out on the mountain.

Skiers: Matt Cowie, Stu Clarke, Joe Evans, Tony Sice, Liz May, Brett Cooper, Mami Mori, Stuart Gray, Paula Winsor, Simon Elphick, Brett Sutherland, Matt Cornfoot, Dave McLoughlin, Adam Cooper, Matthew Reid

Non-skiers: Naska Borlase,  Kellyanne Bullen, Kate Packer

Many thanks to those who have sorted their $58 for this trip. We would appreciate the rest of the money in ASAP. 


Kauri Speech Finals

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True to form, we were entertained and educated by an outstanding group of speakers at our speech final this afternoon. Unfortunately, we went overtime and the audience for our final speakers was rather diminished. A big thanks to Alice and Clara from the English Dept at Cashmere High who were our judges.

The results:

Year 7

1st:  Henry Hood
2nd: Thomas Lyall
3rd:  Ruby McNiven

Year 8

1st:   Maddi McIvor
2nd:  Ben Evans
3rd=  Morvern McDaid and Meg Macdonald







T3 W8 in Pōhutukawa

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Orana Park trips on Monday 16 and Tuesday 17 September

On Monday Tracy’s home group, Rae’s home group and half of Steve’s home group will be visiting Orana Park. On Tuesday Katie’s home group, Gayle’s home group and the other half of Steve’s home group will visit the park. Steve's home group know which day they are going to the park.

Thank you to all of the adults who offered to help. To those adults who are assisting us with adult supervision, could you please be at school on the day your child is going on the trip by 9:10am, so that we can brief you on the Safety Action Plan.

The students should be at school at the usual time. We are leaving at 9:30am. The students will need to be in comfortable footwear and in school uniform. They should bring a jacket in case of inclement weather. If your child suffers from asthma, please ensure they have their medication with them in a named plastic bag, with instructions about administration. Your child needs to give this to their class teacher prior to departure. The students will need to wear school uniform and bring: 
A water bottle 
A substantial morning tea and lunch 
A warm layer of clothing (especially a windproof jacket) 

Please note there will be no postponement day if the weather is unsuitable. An email  message will be sent out at 8am on the day, if the trip is being cancelled. 

Please return....

  • readathon cards and money, to the office
  • sports uniform, washed and dried, to the box outside the library

Cultural Festival

Good luck to Te Whānau Mahi Tahi who are performing at the Christchurch Primary Schools Cultural Festival at Horncastle Arena on Thursday 12 September night! The show starts at 6:45pm. 

The instructions from Sherrilee are:

ENTRANCE: Side door/performers special entrance to the far far left of the arena. Meet Nicky and Steve there.
WEAR: Easy to put on shoes, warm zip-up top/jacket, stage make up if allowed to. 
BRING: Your best smile, wonderful manners and fabulous Beckenham Te kura o Pūroto behaviour.
ARRIVE: Around between 6:15pm-6:30pm, staff will guide you to our seating area.
PICK UP AFTER SHOW FROM: We will move as a group and meet all parents/whānau downstairs in the main foyer,  just look for our costumes.

Whānau Rōpū Hui - Monday 16 September 5:30pm

Tēnā koutou e te whānau,
We would again like to offer you a hearty welcome to our Whānau Rōpū hui in the school staff room.
We are looking forward to getting together again for another great evening to celebrate Te Ao Māori with our local whānau, cook and share some kai and talk about upcoming events as we continue to develop our Whānau Rōpū together.
Nau mai haere mai! Come along, this is a great opportunity to get to know other tamariki and whānau, enjoy a cuppa and some kai, and get involved in this important aspect of our kura.
Ngā manaakitanga noho ora mai,
Steve Cooke and Sampson Karst

Keeping Ourselves Safe

At the moment the whole school has the pleasure of hosting Constable Ross Mitchell, who is conducting some lessons for every class from the Keeping Ourselves Safe learning that we are doing. Keeping Ourselves Safe [KOS] consists of a comprehensive range of child protection resources to help students learn and apply a range of safety skills that they can use when interacting with others. 
The school is able to access these from the NZ Police website. Keeping Ourselves Safe enables children and young people to learn and apply a range of safety skills that they can use when interacting with others. Students recognise the differences between healthy and unhealthy relationships, and those who have been or are being abused are encouraged to seek help.
Discussing what your child has been learning at school will be a great way to reinforce the safety messages being delivered.

Back in 1969 Quiz: Saturday 14th September

So many amazing things happened "Back in 1969". Let's celebrate some of these 50-year milestones with a quiz.
The quiz will follow the usual format & one category will be focused on all things 1969.
Tickets are $20 each, max. of 6 per team. Supper provided, bar available & prizes galore.
This event is an adult-only event (R18). Doors open at 7pm.
Dress up is optional but sooooo encouraged!!! Prizes for the "Best Dressed".
Profits raised from this event will be used to purchase a Portable Outdoor Sound System.

Many thanks to our PTA for supplying entertainment for the community and funds to the school!

Year 4 – Keeping Ourselves Safe Egg Challenge

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As part of our Keeping Ourselves Safe Unit, the Year 4 children are going to become chief babysitters for an egg! Yes an egg! The children will be responsible for the egg for up to four days and will have to take care of the egg at all times. The children can name their egg and create a bed or house for their egg. If the children want to leave their egg, they have to engage another person to egg-sit!

The aim of this activity is for the children to learn to look after themselves and others – a theme that comes through the KOS programme.

The children will hopefully get an appreciation of the hard work you do as parents!

This will be an egg-citing challenge, and an egg-ceptional week. I am looking forward to watching your children become responsible and egg-tremely great parents!

Thank-you for your co-operation!