Monthly Archives: June 2020

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 9

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Kia ora whānau,

We are now nicely settled back into our routines in the Kōwhai hub. This week we have been enjoying creating our Miro inspired sculptures, reflecting on them and getting ready to show them to you at our learning snapshots.

During Discovery this week, we have seen many children start to learn some new skills with Pip as they learn how to make vegetable soup. This included cutting vegetables up, learning how to prepare for cooking and cleaning up after we have completed our cooking. These are great self-management skills for the children to learn and bring home!





The children have also been taking the opportunity to take part in a variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) activities. These have included using Lego to create their own rainbows and using paper folding skills to create boats and see how long/far the boat will float for.



There have been many other creative activities being completed during Discovery as usual as well.



Cross Country Update
Now that we are at Level, 1 we are happy to announce that some children will be taking part in the school Cross Country event next Tuesday, the 16th of June. This year for Kōwhai is an optional event. The children chose whether they wanted to sign up and have been training throughout the week. The details of when the Cross Country are as follows:

When: Tuesday 16th June
Time: 2:30 for Kōwhai kids
Course: Two laps around the field and by the ponds. 

Please ask your child if they have signed up. If they have, please help with their training by reminding them to wear their sneakers/trainers, rather than school shoes or boots to school.
We look forward to seeing you there!

Headphones in the Hub
We have a limited number of headphones in the hub. Theses are in high demand, especially during our reading rotations when many devices are used. If your child would like to bring their own set of headphones in to use with our devices, then please do. They will be kept in their tray and will need to be named. We recommend that they have a case or named bag to keep these in. It will be the children's responsibility to look after their headphones and take care of them.

Parents Volunteers for Reading
We are looking for some parents to volunteer to help with reading with students during the day and putting reading books away. Putting reading books away can be done before school, during school or after school. If you would like to help out, please email Laura: laura.williamson@beckenham.school.nz

We look forward to catching up with you over the few weeks.

Ngā mihi,
The Kōwhai Team
Nick, Rowe, Tracey and Laura

Kōwhai Caregiver Meeting Monday 15 June

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Kia ora Kōwhai team whānau

Since we went into lockdown on 25th March, the Kōwhai teaching team has had some significant changes made to it. Paulette, who was the Team Leader, has moved on to a new position, and Tracey Maloney has started as the teacher of that home-group of learners. I have moved into the position of Team Leader, and Rob Proffitt-White has joined the team in a part-time capacity as our release teacher. He is working with each home group as that teacher takes their release time.

Now that we have come out of Lockdown and moved to Alert Level 1, we want to give the Kōwhai caregivers an opportunity to come into the hub and meet the new team. 

We will be holding an open afternoon in the Kōwhai hub for caregivers from 3pm - 4pm this coming Monday, 15th June.

All five of our Kōwhai teaching team will be there and we will spend some time introducing ourselves, then we'll be available for time for informal chats, and time for your children to show you anything in the hub that they want you to see.

Sue and Sandy will provide supervision on the playground (if fine) or in the Kahikatea theatre (if wet) for the children so you can engage with us. If you then want to collect them and go back into the hub with them so look at anything, you can do that too.

We look forward to re-connecting with you on Monday.

Ngā mihi nui

Laura Williamson and the Kōwhai Team

Term 2 Week 9 update from the Koru team

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Kia ora e te whanau,

A very warm welcome to those families whose children have started school over the last few weeks. The children are to be congratulated for the very happy and smooth way that they have transitioned (back) into school life. Congratulations to all for showing such amazing resilience and independence!

Learning Conferences
Please note that we will be holding Learning Conferences here at school in Week 12 of this term. In the Koru team:
  • for those children who started school prior to and including March 6th, parents please make a Learning Conference booking (at which time we will be discussing your child's literacy and numeracy goals in particular)
  • for those children who started school on or after March 9th, parents please also book a Learning Conference time, and this time will be used for a transition to school meeting with your child's teacher (at which time we will discuss your child's transition, also getting your perspective, along with initial goals)
  • please note that children attend these meetings with you.
For more information and instructions on how to book a time with your child's Home Group teacher, please refer back to last Friday's school newsletter.

Morning Routine
You will have all read Sandy's newsletter about Level 1 at school and the morning routine. We continue to be so very proud of the tamariki, in how they are starting each day at school. They are confidently walking from the gate to the hub and are independently unpacking their bags and sorting out their belongings, ready for the day. They are spending that first part of the day before the bell, connecting with their teachers and classmates, and settling calmly into the school day. Over the coming days, we shall continue to have a teacher at the gate to welcome the tamariki and support the drop off. Please feel free to pass on any messages to the person at the gate, and they will then pass the message on to your child's Home Group teacher.

Just a reminder that reading folders need to be returned with the reading books every day, while library folders and poetry books need to be returned by the following Friday morning, as Friday is the day we visit the school library and focus on poetry during our Literacy time.

Learning Through Play
Our current Learning Through Play 'theme' is Space, and this theme the children are finding highly motivating. This theme also ties in with what the children have been writing about last week, and again this week.

















Sight Word and Alphabet Practice
It is really valuable to put regular time aside to support your child with their alphabet and sight word practice. For our new children, parents please check this link which will take you to some resources on our school website: New Entrant Resource Pack. Please print off the alphabet and number resources which will be of most value for your child. Feel free to contact your child's Home Group teacher if you are unable to access a printer. We hope you have fun with your child as they learn, using these resources. And remember... praise, praise, praise. It's crucial that these learning times are kept positive.

Have a wonderful week, everyone, and keep warm!
Ngā mihi mahana,
Jo, Stacey, Sophie and Elizabeth






Moving to Level 1 at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

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Kia ora e te whānau

Congratulations to us all!

...for the work that we have done as a country, and as a school community, working our way calmly through the various requirements of the different COVID-19 Alert Levels. 

As we move into  Alert Level 1 tonight, we don't want to lose some of the gains that have been made. 

Many caregivers and staff have noted that our Alert Level 2 'kiss and drop' routine has had significant positive outcomes both at home and at school. Some children taking more responsibility for getting themselves organised at home, many caregivers report gaining back 20minutes in the morning drop-off routine and staff have observed the 3min parking drop-off on Sandwich Road finally working exactly the way it was designed to work in the mornings!

A key difference to why we think this routine has worked so well, is that our new way of working requires the children to do the leaving, rather than the adults... The old way of adults bringing children into the hubs meant that eventually, the adult needed to leave, and this sometimes caused anxiety, resulting in clinginess and tears from the children. Whether you drop the children at the gate, the crossing, the corner, or wave them goodbye from your front door, it is the child who has the requirement to be self-managing and to control their moving forward - which they have been doing in an incredibly successful way!

In the hubs, the difference has also been astounding. From 8:30 - 9:00am, teachers are able to focus on children 100%, and on preparing them for the day of learning. This involves time to 'catch up' and have important 1:1 conversations with children about their day, their weekend, and to build those relationships. It involves teachers supporting children to independently unpack their bags, including drink bottles, lunch boxes, reading folders etc, without doing it for them. Teachers have commented that in four weeks, the gains in independence by all learners has been significant. In fact, teachers and principals across the country have been commenting on forums about how significant the difference (in junior classrooms in particular) has been without caregivers coming into the hubs in the mornings.

As a school, we are very keen to continue the start of school routine that children come into school by themselves. We would like to continue with this going forward. 
 
For the next two days, we will continue to bring the children out to the gate at 2:45pm and 3pm as we have done through Alert Level 2 then, from Thursday, we will all return to finishing at 3pm.

From Thursday, at the end of the day, pick up time, parents and whānau are most welcome to come into the school and meet up with children, connect with friends and, if needed,  catch up with the teacher. This means we can keep the early morning gains but still have a daily opportunity for connecting with everyone.

Our new outdoor spaces playground is looking amazing, and your children will be keen to show it to you one afternoon later this week. We will continue the 3:15pm bell as a reminder for everyone that its time to clear the playground, and for children who haven't been collected to come to the office so we can contact caregivers. We are asking children NOT to go on the playground in the mornings, but to go into the hubs and start getting ready for their learning day.

Your children have demonstrated that they can be strong and independent and we are all very proud of the way they have adapted. Thank you for your positive parenting, ensuring your children enter school with confidence and a great big smile! This ‘get on with it’ approach is transferring into the rest of the school day and we are seeing the benefits for learning as well as independence.

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy and the team

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 2 Week 8/9

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Things are ticking along nicely in our Intermediate Hub. The children have settled well into the routine of self-directed learning at the start of each day. It is great to see so many BYOD devices coming to school each day. On Friday Sandy sent out a newsletter with details of learning conferences in the last week of term. Please note that you need to allow 30 mins for a Year 7 & 8 conference.

Congratulations

Otis has been taken on as an illustrator for Toitoi, a magazine that publishes the work of young people. Over 1000 submissions were entered for the upcoming issue. What a fantastic achievement.

Henry H has been awarded 1st place in the Year 7/8 category in the Speaking 4 the Planet competition for his speech on increasing biodiversity in farming practises.

https://sustainablechristchurch.org.nz/speaking-4-the-planet-2020/results/

Rosie has been awarded 2nd place in the School for Young Writers monologue competition. Grace H achieved a Highly Commended for her monologue.

It is fantastic to see so many children showing a love of learning and challenge and putting their work out there. What great courage this shows.

Uniform

With colder days we want the children to be warm at school. The hub is very cosy and they also need to be warm when outside. School uniform jackets and polar fleeces rather than non-uniform items need to be worn. A back thermal under their red shirt is a great way to add a layer of warmth. Hoodies should not be worn to school.

Sport starts this Thursday

Our zone winter sport competition starts this Thursday. Many thanks to the parents who are taking/supporting teams; we couldn't do this without you. It will be exciting to be underway with this new local competition. If your child is involved in this competition, please read the important info from Jenny at the end of this post.

Cross Country

Yes, it is that time again - cross country training. A chance to get out around our beautiful neighborhood for a light jog, to get the heart rate up and do the body lots of good! We encourage all children to give their best effort, with the baseline being - run a lamp-post, walk a lamp-post, run a lamp-post, etc. One teacher runs with the children and we also power-walk at the back, encouraging the children at the end of the pack. If for any reason your child is medically unfit to run, please send a note or email your child's teacher. Please also make sure your child brings suitable shoes for running. The school cross country is on June 16th.

If you are available to help Marshal on the 16th, please email Jenny.

Early start on Tuesdays

Just a quick reminder that all Year 7 & 8s need to be at school by 8:30am on Tuesday to catch the bus to technology. We will no longer be dropping children, who turn up late, off by car. If they miss the bus, they will spend the morning at Beckenham.

Ski Day

Our team ski day is all booked in for Friday August 28th. With a lesson time of 11:30, we will need to leave school by 7:30am and should return close to 6pm. As part of the schools deal the children get skis, boots, poles and a helmet. Soon we will be sending home a form that explains clothing requirements and how we can support families to get the clothing their child needs. At this stage, we need to know who can come along on the day as a parent helper. Please read and complete this form if you can help us out.


High Schools Information: Shirley Boys' High School

Scholarships now open:
CV Gallagher Academic - Creative Shirley - Spartan Sports
Registrations close 19th June

ENROLMENTS FOR 2021 NOW OPEN
Visit shirley.school.nz/parents/enrolment/for more information
ENROLMENTS CLOSE 31ST JULY

Information for Competitive Winter Sport players

Thank you for your patience as we work through a competitive winter sport option for Years 5 - 8.

Competitive winter sport starts this Thursday and will run for three weeks.

Development Players

Children who are not in a competitive team will have a training session and fun games on a Thursday afternoon at school. The options available for these children are netball, hockey, football, table tennis, badminton and chess.

Game Locations


  • All hockey games will be at Beckenham Park.
  • All football games will be at Hansens Park 
  • Netball games will be held at local schools, including Beckenham, Thorrington, St Martins, Hillview and Steiner. Each team will likely go to a different venue each week. 


All travelling teams will be walking to their game. They will be accompanied by teaching staff and/or parents. A huge thank you to the parents who have volunteered their time for this. If you have offered your time as children supervision, it is looking highly likely that we will need your support. I will be in touch soon with the finer details.

Games start at 1:50. This means that, unlike our usual winter sports programme, the morning learning time will not be affected.

Covid- 19 Guidelines

We will be recording names of all children and adults that are at each venue to allow for contact tracing if necessary. If you wish to spectate a game, please ensure that you check in with the Beckenham adult at that venue.

Safety Gear and uniforms

Uniforms will be issued by Anne Chin at the library this week. Instructions will be given via the daily notices.

Essential safety gear

  • Hockey - mouth guard and shin guards are essential
  • Football - shin guards and football boot
  • Netball - short nails and no jewellery


If your child needs, shin guards or football boots, please ask them to see me as soon as possible next week. Hockey players will also be able to borrow a hockey stick if needed.

ALL CHILDREN WHO CARRY PERSONAL MEDICATION, SUCH AS AN ASMTHA INHALER MUST CARRY THIS WITH THEM TO THEIR GAME. ANY MEDICATION USUALLY HELD AT THE OFFICE WILL BE COLLECTED BY A TEACHER.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email Jenny. 

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