Quick update – moving to Level 3

Kia ora e te whānau

We hope you all had a lovely weekend and managed to get out in the fabulous weather that we are currently having.

Please do not come into the school grounds between 9am and 3pm, Mon-Fri, during Alert Level 3

As we re-open school tomorrow, for the small number of children who need to attend, please can I remind everyone that the school grounds will be off-limits for everyone else between 9am and 3pm Monday to Friday. This is important to keep the integrity of the bubbles we have created here at school for our school attendees.

Using Zoom for Learning meetings with students

We have today opened up Zoom to our Google Suite for students. Our teachers have been using Zoom for their meetings, and find this platform to be far superior to the similar option of Google Meet which they have been using with the children.

Please be aware that your child's security is a top priority for us. To that end, we have the following procedures in place, and we ask you to monitor (as always) what your child is using their school account for at home.
  • All Zoom meetings with staff and students will be recorded by the staff member. 
  • Staff have enabled Zoom 'waiting rooms' meaning that students cannot begin a meeting without the teacher who created the meeting being in the room.
  • Students should ideally be in a room where you can at least see them, when they are in a zoom conference. (Bedrooms and bathrooms are not appropriate places for children to be when using social / meeting platforms.
  • Please remind your child that their google accounts are for school and learning use only. This means that they should not be using their student accounts to engage in Zoom or Google Meets with one another for social purposes. 

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the team

Kauri Whānau: Term 2 Week 2/3 in Lockdown Update

Kia ora everyone,

We are aware, from our phone calls with you over the past fortnight, that being in Level 4 is playing out in many different ways for our Kauri families. Some families are loving the opportunity to spend more time together and their children are thriving under the self-direction of learning at home and others are at their wit's end and can't wait for it to be a distant memory. And then there is everyone in-between.

We have enjoyed touching base with you and being able to do our bit to support the learning at home. This is looking different in different homes and that is just fine. The phone calls from us will taper off now, as we focus more on providing feedback and support so that our tamariki can get the most out of the learning we are putting on-line. This said, please do not hesitate to contact us (via email) if you have questions or need support with your child's learning. We can then give you a call as required. Keeping lines of communication open is very important to the success of this 'at home learning' approach.

Connecting

A number of children have been joining us at 11am each school day for a social catch-up. We now have a sizeable bunch of 'regulars', showing that this form of connecting is making a difference. If your child would like to join the fun, they just need to send Hannah an email sometime between 8am and 10:45 to join with 11am catch-up.



Show-time

We are looking forward to our 'camp' concert via Zoom on this coming Thursday at 4pm. Entries for items are dribbling in. We know there is lots of great talent out there. If your child would like to perform (and anyone in your bubble is welcome to join them) please encourage them to fill in the form on the Kauri Google Classroom by the end of Tuesday. 

Level 3 Changes

A small group of Kauri children will be part of the two school 'bubbles' when we hit Level 3 on Tuesday. Those families will be getting information from Sandy. Jenny is one of the 'bubble' teachers. This will mean that some of the children in Te Tai home-group will be getting learning feedback and support from either Hannah, Megan or Nicky, instead of Jenny. We will be sorting this out on Tuesday, our teacher only day, and letting you know of any changes in arrangements. 

Daily Routines for Learning at Home

In order to be getting the most out of our learning at home programme, your children should be:

  • Going to our 'learning at home' page (via school website or google classroom) each morning to view the daily video and scan through any page updates
  • Checking their emails every day
  • Accessing learning via Google Classroom
  • Emailing their teacher if they have questions about anything

Video Conferencing

We are using video conferencing to connect with children socially (11am each school day) and to support individuals and small groups with their learning. We have found these learning conferences can make a big difference and we are more than happy to arrange these. Please email us (or your child can) if you think your child needs a video conference to support their learning. We are currently using a mix of Google Meet and Zoom. 

A different way of giving feedback

One of the gems that we have uncovered over the past fortnight is using screencasts to give students feedback. The students get their feedback in the form of a video of their work on screen, with the teacher giving feedback and suggestions. This is proving to be much more powerful than feedback that is typed. If a child has difficulty opening the link to their screencast, they need to email us. Not every child will have got a screencast, yet. This is definitely something we will continue to do when we get back to school.

Dave, our 24/7 youth worker, is keen to make contact with any children who would like to chat.

Blogging about our school values 

A number of our children are reflecting on how our school values are being lived at the moment and writing about this on their blogs. Below is a lovely example of 'We get there together' from Zara M.

Finding Bears

Lots of people around the Beckenham neighbourhood are putting teddy bears on their balcony, in their windows or in their garden. So when people are going for a walk they can look for bears. People love this and when they're walking they can sing "we're going on a bear hunt". This will encourage more people to go for walks and stay fit during lockdown. 

There is also a map you can put your teddy bear on. So when people are walking around the neighbourhood they can see that you have one at your house. People are walking around competing against people see who can find the most bears. We put one at our house and I got some chalk and wrote look for the bear. It was fantastic seeing people walk past and read it and smile when they saw our bear in the living room window with hippy sunglasses on. 

One person wrote 'look for the beers' and they had 2 beer bottles in their window.  

I think this is an awesome idea as it will encourage people to go for more walks. But just remember if you're doing for a walk, run, like or scooter stay local so no one spreads Covid 19. 

Thanks for reading and start searching for bears. Or even just put a teddy bear somewhere on your property that people will be able to see from street view. 



All the best for the next couple of weeks and please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if needed.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter April 24th 2020

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn;
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Stones painted by Sandy's sister, and donated to veterans at Rannerdale Veterans Rest Home

What a strange, and busy term this has been so far!

Some very exciting news this week was the starting of five New Entrant students! Avery special lockdown welcome to them! What a story they will have to tell their children about how they started school without leaving their front doors! We send out a very warm Beckenham welcome to these new students and their whānau and look forward to welcoming you on-site in person once school begins again.

We'd like to send huge congratulations to you all at home, juggling the challenges of being in lockdown and supporting your children with online learning. We absolutely take our hats off to you all for the extra time that you are giving your children with their learning and we have loved seeing and hearing about all the different ways that families have chosen to take on board the different learning possibilities over the past couple of weeks.

With the long weekend coming up, and a move to Alert Level 3 on Tuesday, we are all shifting gear again and will be adapting to the adjusted requirements on us all in this new level.

As you have probably heard, via various sources, Monday is the public holiday associated with ANZAC Day, and on Tuesday, schools across the country have been given a Staff Only Day for preparation for moving to Level 3.

Whilst our staff won't be setting new learning challenges for Tuesday or commenting on children's learning, we know that some of you will want your children to continue on with selecting from the learning options that are available through our website, through Google classroom (seniors) and through Seesaw (juniors).

New learning challenges and videos from staff will be posted ready for Wednesday morning.

What will school and learning look like next week, under Alert Level 3?

Online learning and connection with teachers will continue throughout Level 3 for all children.

From Wednesday 29th April, we will have a skeleton staff on-site during normal school hours and we will be operating two separate school bubbles of learning for children who have no adults at home to support them. Thank you to everyone for responding to our survey and for letting us know about your particular circumstances and needs. We have been able to limit the number of bubbles of children at school to two bubbles. This shifts 4 teaching staff from the online role that they have had so far, to a school-based role. This means that through Level 3, your children may be being supported by a teacher who is different from their usual home group teacher, as their home group teacher may be at school.

From next week, teachers will be focussing on giving feedback to, and engaging with the children in their learning, and won't be making as much contact with caregivers, unless you request it. If you would like to talk with a teacher, please DO get in touch via email or through phoning Jacky on 03 337 1404 and requesting that the teacher calls you back.

We understand that this next two weeks puts new challenges onto some families with workplaces expecting more of people turning up to work in person or online. We do want all caregivers to remember that you have complete say over how much, or how little you decide for your children to engage with the online learning... so that your family can continue to function successfully. Our staff are completely here to support you and will provide more or less support, as you need and request it.

As we will have children on-site during school hours next week, please do not come onto the school grounds during school hours if you are out for a walk. We will be working extremely hard to maintain the small school bubbles that we are creating, and thank you for staying away during this time to keep everyone safe.

On Monday or Tuesday, there will be a special email going out to the families of children who will be at school during Level 3, including more detail about school bubbles and how they will operate, drop-off and pick-up times, emergency contact information and procedures, and what children need to bring with them.

The office will not be open during Alert Level 3. Inquiries can be made by phone 03 337 1404 or by emailing office@beckenham.school.nz and Jacky (from her virtual office at home) will answer those calls and respond to emails during normal school hours.


Welcome Assembly this coming Friday, 1 May

We are very excited to be planning our first 'virtual' Welcome Assembly! Staff are secret-squirrelling away to create something new and special, which will be posted in Google Classroom and Seesaw on Friday 1st May so keep a lookout for that!

Thank you all again for your support through this pandemic.
Our thoughts are with you all, and we wish you all a safe ANZAC weekend.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the team

PTA News

Hello from our bubbles to your bubble. Not much PTA action this term, but we do have a few thank yous to give. Firstly, we wanted to take this opportunity to say a massive thanks for all the wonderful support from our school whānau in the lead up to the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Twilight Fair. We were blown away by the kind and generous donations of time, service and prizes. It was so disappointing that it couldn’t happen when we had done all the hard work - and almost all we had left to do was enjoy it, but given the clusters that were brewing all over NZ, we are glad the Fair wasn’t one of them!!

We also wanted to give a massive shout out to all the staff at school, who are working super hard getting the online “school” up and running so that learning opportunities and connection with teachers can continue despite our lockdown.

We want to acknowledge as well you, the parents and caregivers! We are all dealing with unique challenges: managing work, preschoolers, school children, high school children, grandparents, supermarket shopping, all while we are juggling massive amounts of uncertainty: some days with more success than others. Thank you for your patience, your time and your kindness. Like everything else our community has dealt with, we will get through this together. Kia kaha - keep up the awesome work!

Lastly for a wee bit of fun, visit our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Facebook page to have a look at the Guess the Baby Competition. Click the link - Guess the Baby and check out how cute our lovely teachers were as babies! We have a few spot prizes to give away to random guessers - so it may be worth your while :). Competition is closing on 29 April 2020.

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Mainland Uniforms

Following the Prime Minister's announcement, at Alert Level 3 Mainland Uniforms will only run through contactless shopping. Though our physical stores are closed, we will be able to process and courier online orders and orders through phone or by email daily from 28th April 2020.
 Online shopping as usual. https://www.mainlanduniforms.nz/
 Ordering through phone or email and payment by Credit Card
City Store: 03 3776771 Email: City@mainlanduniforms.co.nz
All orders are delivered via courier. Free delivery for over $50.00 purchase.
$5.00 delivery fee for purchase under $50.00.
Thank you very much for your understanding and your support.
Stay safe.
Best regards,
Mainland Uniforms Team
21042020

Please respond to this survey today

Kia ora e te whānau

We need you to carefully consider the information sent out yesterday, and attached again below, and then to complete this questionnaire, to ensure we know where your child(ren) will be learning from next Wednesday when we shift into Alert Level 3.

If you have any questions, please phone Jacky in the (virtual) office in the first instance, on 03 337 1404.

Thank you
Sandy and the team







Moving to Alert Level 3 next week…

Please find below information about what it will look like at school as we move, with you, into Alert Level 3.

Tomorrow (Wednesday 22nd April) you will receive a brief questionnaire that will ask you to confirm if you are keeping your child(ren) at home during Alert Level 3, or if you need to register them to attend school.

This email is to give you the information you may need to help you make that decision.

Ngā mihi
Sandy and the team.