Last Chance for Cheese Rolls

 Many thanks to all who have supported our cheese roll fundraiser. If you have yet to place your order, you have until 8pm tomorrow, Wednesday, to do so. Click here to place your order.

If you have ordered some cheese rolls, we would love you to provide your own container. We will leave a box outside the hall on Tuesday and Wednesday next week for you to place your named container in. Please include your child's name and hub on the label. Cheese rolls will be made and ready to take home next Thursday, September 3rd.

Thanks for supporting our Year 7 & 8 camp fundraising.

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 6

In this post:

  • Ski trip (at the end)
  • Camp fundraising
  • Wacky hair day
  • Talent quest
  • Sport
  • Speech finals
  • Cantamath

Camp fund raising

Many thanks to those who helped out with and supported our quiz night last Saturday. A huge thanks to Liz who coordinated the whole event. Despite needing to limit the number of participants, we still made a good profit. Toilet paper and paper towel orders have now been placed. 

That leaves our cheese roll fundraiser to go. Orders close tomorrow, Wednesday. Many thanks to those who offered help with equipment, supervision and collecting ingredients. I will be emailing you shortly about this. If you have placed an order, please drop your named container off outside the hall before school on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. It is great not to have to use extra packaging.

Wacky Hair Day

The student council is running a wacky hair day next Friday, September 4th to raise money for Child Cancer.  Go wild and bring a gold coin.

Talent Quest

Next week we will be holding team auditions for the school talent quest. We are looking forward to seeing the talent on show. 

Sport

This Thursday is our final round of winter sport for this season. Playing locally with schools from within our zone has provided an opportunity for participating in regular competition while also building community ties. A huge thank you to all the parents who have given their time and expertise to coach, referee and manage teams. After Thursday's games, we would like to collect as many uniforms as possible. Please ensure that your child has something to change into so that uniforms can be collected in on Thursday afternoon. 

 It is with great sadness that we pass on the news that Koru Games has been cancelled this year. This is due to them being unable to meet requirements to operate safely at Level 2. We know that the children involved will be deeply disappointed. The teams have put in lots of work preparing for the tournament and we would like to acknowledge their participation and commitment that was shown at practices thus far. Many thanks to the parents who had offered parent support for this event. 

Speech Finals

We are looking forward to our speech finals tomorrow, Wednesday. This will take place in the hall from 11am. Parents of competitors are welcome to sit, socially distanced, at the back of the hall. Congratulations to:

Year 7: Fergus, Jonty, Mila, Jalori, Zoe C, Zara M and Caleb

Year 8: Tom, Eddie, Henry M, Ben, Henry H, Max and Ruby

Cantamath

By now your child should be underway with their Cantamath project. If this is not happening at your place, please email your child's home-group teacher so that we can help get things started. 

Ski trip this Friday: August 28th

Mt Hutt can safely accommodate school groups at Level 2. Our trip on Friday is going ahead at this stage. The ‘at this stage’ is all to do with the weather. If the mountain is ‘on hold’ or closed, we will look at rescheduling the trip. The tricky bit is that the ski report (https://www.mthutt.co.nz/weather-report/) comes out at around 6am, so we could have the scenario where we arrive at school, find out the mountain is on hold and have to head home again - get changed and come back to school at the normal time. Here’s hoping that doesn’t happen! 

Departure time

Please meet in the Sandwich Rd carpark at 5:50am, dressed in ski clothing. We will be pulling out at 6am. 

Ski contract

If this has not been signed and returned to school yet, please get this back tomorrow.

Gear

We have matched children up with the gear that we have available. If your child is still short of something these can be hired from outlets in town. Snowmania rent gear at very reasonable prices: 4 Dalgety Street, Riccarton Phone: 03 961 6747. Remember that we arrange the skis, boots and helmets through Mt Hutt; you don't need to sort this equipment. 

 Being dressed for the mountain conditions makes such a difference to the enjoyment of the day. Below is a reminder of what your child will need. 

  • Several thin thermal layers are much better for keeping warm and comfortable than a bulky layer. Cotton is not great for the mountains; thermal clothing is what’s needed.
  • Polypro or woollen thermal top
  • Thermal ‘long-johns’ or tights
  • Fleece or woollen top / jersey
  • Waterproof pants
  • A warm weatherproof jacket
  • Woollen or thermal socks, not too thick. Socks need to come up to mid calf at least.
  • Weatherproof gloves or mittens
  • Either sun glasses or ski goggles
  • A scarf is optional, but must be tucked into their jacket, to avoid dangling ends.
  • Hats are not needed as all children will be given a helmet
  • Sunscreen, for the face
  • A substantial lunch, including a drink. Under Level 2 there are restrictions in the cafe, with limited options, queues and longer waits. The mountain operate a cashless payment system. We would prefer that children bring all their own food and drink.

Long hair needs to be tied up. Children who get asthma should have their inhalers with them.

If your child needs to bring their cell phone, they are responsible for it during the day. It can be used on the bus, but when out on the mountain, these are to be zipped away in pockets.

Our day:

5:50 Arrive at school, on Sandwich Rd. Buses and cars leave at 6:00

8:00 We will arrive at the ski field car park

8:15 Ski hire sorted, 9am lesson group through first 

9:00 Lessons for first timers and half of second timers. Everyone else has a short free ski

10:30 Morning tea on the deck

11:00 Lessons for everyone else. Free ski for those who had a lesson at 9.

12:30 Stop for lunch

1 - 3:30  Free ski with your friends

3:30 Return gear and back to the bus

4:00 Buses leave

6:00 ish We arrive back at school

We will send out an email late in the afternoon with a more precise time for arrival back at school. There is an air of excitement in the hub this week and we are so pleased to be able to go ahead with this trip. If you have any questions, please email Nicky, nicky.dunlop@beckenham.school.nz


Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter August 21st 2020

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Consultation on our next steps...

Thank you so much to the whānau who attended one of our two 'Community Conversation' sessions this week, to input your ideas and contribute to our way forward. 
If you did not get the chance to attend, there are still two opportunities to share your ideas.
One is by responding to this survey where you will find the questions we discussed at the conversations meetings.
The other is to come along to the Whānau Rōpū Hui, now rescheduled for  Wednesday 2nd September from 5:30pm - 7pm.
We have also sent an email today to caregivers of our 2019 Year 8 students, inviting them to come and give feedback on Thursday 27th August from 3:45pm

New Learning Spaces to be built

The Ministry of Education has advised us that we have qualified for two new learning spaces, to replace the Hangere block, that runs adjacent to the Treemendous area and parallel to Eastern Terrace. In this instance, the particular building design has been pre-determined by the Ministry, and we will work with them to ensure that the interior fit-out meets our teaching and learning needs. We have been advised that the demolition of the current block is likely to begin after this school year finishes, with completion ready for the start of Term 2 2021.

Staff Only Days - Monday 31 August & Monday 12 October

Please ensure that you add these dates to your calendar. We have received feedback from some whānau that the first day of term is not their preference for Staff Only Days and we will take this into consideration when planning these dates next year.

Ngā mihi nui 
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Sat 22 Aug - Quiz Night - Hall
Wed 26 Aug - PTA Meeting, 7:30pm - All welcome.
Thu 27 Aug - Past Y9 students afternoon tea and consultation 3:45pm 
Fri 28 Aug - Kauri Ski Trip BUS DEPARTS 6am
Mon 31 Aug - Staff only day.  SCHOOL CLOSED                                                                        
Wed 2 Sep - Whānau Rōpū Hui  5:30 - 7pm
Fri 4 Sep - Wacky Wig and Hair Day - gold coin donation please
Thu 10 Sep - BOT Meeting - Staffroom 5:30pm, All welcome

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Jain Cooper - Year 8

Jain, you are a stunning member of our team. You show a love of learning by putting a focused effort into your learning tasks. Jain, you are so reliable in the way you carry out leadership responsibilities. You demonstrate grit and teamwork on the sports field and you make us laugh every day with your dry sense of humour. 

School Notices

Mana Ake “Drop-Ins” are continuing…

A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 – 9:30am. These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here: Mana Ake booking  The code to use is 88t39. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office and she will make a booking for you.

Better Beckenham Project

Over the next six months, our students from our kura will be involved in a special project - the Better Beckenham Project. The project is part of the NZTA (New Zealand Transport Association) Innovating Streets Fund.  It is designed to help communities retrofit streets to reduce vehicle speeds and create more space for people.  This could be anything from pop-up community-led street events to pilot a new walking or cycling facility, to a low-traffic neighbourhood to re-allocating more street space for people to connect with each other.  One part of the project will be designing and making benches to be placed around the river for people to sit on and enjoy the surroundings. 

This Sunday 23 August, from 10:00, at the St Saviours building at 200 Colombo Street, a group from the Cashmere New Life Church is going to deconstruct some palettes and start to prep the wood for these park benches. Anyone is welcome to join in the fun! There will also be a working bee on this project in 2 weeks time - we will keep you posted.

A new Student???


Who is this who has arrived at Beckenham? Ask your child if they know anything about him/her... Watch this space for more news

Student Council Event

The student council are excited to announce that Wacky Hair Day will be happening on Friday, 4th September, in support of the Child Cancer Foundation.


Dress up your head with your favourite hat, wacky hairdo, or wig, and bring along a gold coin in support of the Child Cancer Foundation.

Board of Trustees Update

Casual Vacancy for an elected trustee

A casual vacancy has occurred on the board of trustees for an elected parent representative.
The board has resolved under section 105 of the Education Act 1989 to fill the vacancy by selection.
If ten percent or more of eligible voters on the school roll ask the board, within 28 days of this notice being published, to hold a by-election to fill the vacancy, then a by-election will be held.
Any eligible voter who wishes to ask the board to hold a by-election should write to:

Chairperson
Board of Trustees
Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto
71 Sandwich Road
Beckenham
Christchurch 8023

by: 12noon, 17 September 2020.

Sports News

Canterbury Schools Orienteering Festival 

Are you interested in taking part in the Canterbury Schools Orienteering Festival taking part on the weekend of 12/13 of September. The competition is open to all school children. You can compete individually or in pairs or teams. Courses to suit all range of abilities. Beginners welcome.  Contact Sarah Wright on tandswright@xtra.co.nz for more information.
More details on the competition can be found on the website http://papo.org.nz/

Community Notices

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





Cheese Rolls, Toilet Paper, Paper Towels and a Bike

 Kauri Whānau are in the midst of fundraising for our camp. We would love your support for the following.


Cheese Rolls - delicious! Orders closing next Wednesday. Click here for details and to order.


Toilet paper and paper towel sales have been extended. This is a great way to stock up on the essentials. Click here for details and to order.


Bike Raffle. This raffle is being draw on Saturday night. Click here to order your tickets.


Hamper Raffles. Tomorrow, before and after school, tickets for our hamper raffles will be on sale outside school on Sandwich Road and on the park. These hampers are packed with lots of lovely treats. Buy your $2 ticket and be in to win. Raffles will all be drawn this Saturday night.

Many thanks for your support.

Winter Sport at Level 2

 We are following Sport Canterbury's lead on our decision around winter sport for the remaining two weeks. Secondary school sport has resumed with no spectators and contact tracing.


We have been in consultation with the other schools in our zone and we feel confident that we can go ahead with this week's games. We have existing systems in place that will enable us to easily identify who was where should the need for contact tracing arise. We ask that you refrain from spectating this Thursday's game.