Monthly Archives: August 2020

Kahikatea Newsletter, Term 3, Week 4

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Level 2 in Team Kahikatea

Kia ora whānau, 
Thank you for keeping up with all the information coming at short notice to your inboxes. It is a changeable situation so we appreciate that you make time to remain aware of the information school is sharing. The school Facebook page is an excellent way to keep up to date. 
Our hand washing, sanitizing and surface cleaning routines will be stepped back up to the gold standard again, immediately.
Unless it is an emergency, we are asking everyone who is not staff, itinerant teachers or students to stay off site - this means a return to dropping off and picking up at the gate. We will have teachers at the gates to support children to transition into school.

If you do have to come on site for any reason, please visit the office FIRST and sign in using either our digital sign-in register or the paper register. Please ALSO use the national COVID Tracer App to register by scanning a QR code on one of our entry doors. If your child is unwell, please keep them at home.

Assembly will be cancelled, however BOOK CHARACTER DAY on Friday will still go ahead. If you have a meeting booked with a member of staff, they will be in contact with you to either reschedule this, or book it via a ZOOM.
As we did at Alert Level 2 last time, the CSM Outreach music lessons and band program will continue at school, with distancing as required.


Recent Highlights in Team Kahikatea

Wellbeing 
We have spent this week learning about some of the key elements of wellbeing, and practised some new strategies to help us stay well. Teachers used a beautiful range of new books purchased by Anne, our librarian. The books cover the following areas, and children enjoyed reading and then practising the following: 
* Mindfulness - a mindfulness grounding activity, with Charlotte & Lisa
* Yoga - learning some new animal and other poses with Amber and Lisa
* Emotions - discussing and drawing about different emotions with Katie
* Resilience and recovery with Jules


Readathon
We are thrilled to see so many of our tamariki reading everyday and supporting this fundraising event for our PTA. Forms and money are due next Friday 21st August. Thanks so much for your support!
Thanks to all of you who are supporting children with reading and completing their regular book logs. We've had an extra focus on this, with certificates and celebrations for number of books or nights a child reads. The children have shown greater engagement and eagerness to read, which is helping them cement their learning. 


Beckenham's 'Got Talent' Talent Quest 
We have some students who have shown "We Love Challenge" by putting themselves forward to audition a variety of acts for Beckenham's Got Talent. Please check with your children, they can tell you if they are planning to participate in this. 

Star Writing 
The Sea by Hannah 
The sea is very beautiful, but if we put rubbish in the sea the animals will die and they will run out of food. And plants will die too. Then the sea won't be so beautiful. And the worst thing is that animals will also get sick and we do not want that. So we need to save the earth. We are the ones to do it. Let's save the sea and have fun too. The earth can be cared for too. We can try to help the environment and to save our home and our land for you and me. Everyone can help by telling people to do small things and it will make a big difference and soon a lot of people will be helping too. Stop littering so that animals don't have to die and the planet will be in peace. We should tidy up the beaches and planet so that it will be easier to save our home and land for the Earth so that we are safe. We need to be kind to animals.

Discovery - We Get There Together!


























Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 4

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 Kia ora Kōwhai whanau, 

It's been another busy week in our Kōwhai hub. 

Level 2 in Kōwhai Hub. 

Thank you for keeping up with all the information being sent at short notice to your inbox. It is a rapidly changing situation so we appreciate that you remain aware of the information the school is sharing at this time. The school Facebook page is an excellent way to keep up to date. 

Our hand washing, sanitizing and surface cleaning routines will be stepped back up to the gold standard again immediately.We have lots of sanitizer around the school, but if your child needs their own sanitizer, please send it into school with them and let their teacher know. 

Unless it is an emergency, we are asking everyone who are not staff, itinerant teachers or students to stay off site - this means a return to dropping off and picking up at the gate. We will have teachers at the gates to support children to transition into school.

If you do have to come on site for any reason, please visit the office FIRST and sign in using either our digital sign-in register or the paper register. Please ALSO use the national COVID Tracer App to register by scanning a QR code on one of our entry doors.

If your child is unwell, please keep them at home.

Assembly will be cancelled, however BOOK CHARACTER DAY on Friday will still go ahead. We look forward to seeing all the children dressed up as a character from a book in the hub tomorrow. 

If you have a meeting booked with a member of staff, they will be in contact with you to either reschedule this, or book it via a ZOOM.

As we did at Alert Level 2 last time, the CSM Outreach music lessons and band program will continue at school, with distancing as required.

Readathon

We have so many keen readers in Kōwhai - it is great to see! The Readathon forms and money are due back at school next Friday on the 21st of August. 

Maths 

We have started to focus again on Multiplication this week in Maths. Here is a picture of some different ways we are learning to solve Multiplication questions. In the next few weeks we will begin to use our multiplication knowledge to start learning more about Division. 


Beckenham's Got Talent

We have some students who have shown "We love Challenge" by putting themselves forward to audition in a variety of acts for Beckenham's Got Talent. We have been practicing during Discovery time and next week will start some break time practices as well. Auditions will be held in Week 7.

Planet Earth and Beyond

Next week we are starting a new topic focused around Planet Earth and Beyond. We will be learning about Earth and our Solar System. If you or someone you know has a particular interest in this, please contact your child's teacher as we would love you to come into the hub and share some of your expertise. 

We will be ending this area of learning with a visit to the museum "Our Moon' exhibit in early Term 4. More details will come at a later date. 

Nga mihi, 

The Kōwhai Team - Nick, Rowe, Tracey and Laura. 



COVID-19 Alert Level 2 update Tuesday 11 August 2020

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Kia ora e te whānau


Following the Prime Minister's announcement late this evening about the confirmed cases of community transmission of COVID-19 in NZ, we are required to move to Alert Level 2 tomorrow (Wednesday 12th August) and remain at that alert level for the rest of this week.

I have spoken with Ester, our Board Chair this evening and we have synthesised the available information from the various communications from Health, Education and the Prime Minister's messaging.

What this will mean for you and your children tomorrow, and for the rest of this week is:

  • School is open and functioning (pretty much) as normal!
  • The MOE website (updated tonight) states: 
    • It is safe for all children and students to be onsite (some children vulnerable to illness may choose to remain at home).
    • Anyone self-isolating, waiting for a test result or who is ill, must remain at home.
  • Our handwashing, sanitising and surface cleaning routines will be stepped back up to the gold standard again immediately
  • Unless it is an emergency, we are asking everyone who are not staff, itinerant teachers or students to stay off site - this means a return to dropping off and picking up at the gate. We will have teachers at the gates to support children to transition into school.
  • If you do have to come on site for any reason, please visit the office FIRST and sign in using either our digital sign-in register or the paper register. Please ALSO use the national COVID Tracer App to register by scanning a QR code on one of our entry doors.
  • If your child is unwell, please keep them at home.
  • Assembly will be cancelled, however BOOK CHARACTER DAY on Friday will still go ahead.
  • If you have a meeting booked with a member of staff, they will be in contact with you to either reschedule this, or book it via a ZOOM.
  • As we did at Alert Level 2 last time, the CSM Outreach music lessons and band programme will continue at school, with distancing as required.
As always, please keep sick children at home, AND remember to let the office know you are doing this. (We purchased a new cellphone this week for our text messaging so the issues that we have had around receiving text messages from parents last week should now be resolved.)
The school cellphone number is 021 027 94107 or you can email office@beckenham.school.nz

At this stage, there has been no public health message suggesting that we should adopt the wearing of masks. We are aware that New Zealanders have been asked to prepare for this possibility over the past week. We are expecting that this may become a public health recommendation going forward and encourage you to prepare your family for this possibility. 

If you have any questions or worries, please contact us by phone or email and we will respond as quickly as we can.

We've got this!

Sandy and the team


Kauri Whānau Week Update: Term 3 Week 4

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This blog contains information about:

  • Fundraising update
  • Speeches
  • Cantamath Projects
  • Congratulations
  • Ski Trip (lots of important info)

Plates of food needed for Quiz Night

Thanks to the 10 people who have volunteered to provide plates of food for supper at our Quiz Night on August 22nd. We still need 20 more plates. Please click here to let us know if you can help. These can be dropped at the hall on Saturday afternoon or just before the quiz in the evening.

Cheese Rolls

There was a problem with the order form that went out in the weekend - which has now been fixed. We will also send paper order forms home, as these are handy for collecting multiple orders. 

Bike Raffle

We would love a couple of families offer to spend an hour at New World supermarket over this coming weekend selling tickets for our bike raffle. If you think you could do this, please email Megan.

Story telling speeches

The children know that their story telling speech needs to be finished by this Friday. They then have until Thursday the 20th to practise the delivery of their story. Stories will be shared on Thursday and Friday of next week. The more practise they get at reading their story aloud, adding gesture, pauses and using eye-contact - the better. Please encourage your child to be working on this at home. 

Cantamath

The Cantamath competition is coming up on September 16th. This is a Canterbury maths competition for Years 7 -10. It has two sections - problem solving teams (which will be selected in a couple of weeks) and a maths project display competition. On Monday next week, we will send home information about the display competition. All children are expected to create something (maths artwork, model, written project, game/puzzle, photography, publicity motif) and this is mainly done at home. There will be three weeks to work on their project. We will talk through ideas at school and are very happy to talk with individuals and provide some guidance to support them with this home learning. 

Congratulations

We had a number of Year 8 students apply for leadership and sports scholarships at Cashmere High School recently. We were thrilled to hear that Thomas Lyall has been awarded a leadership scholarship. Tu meke Thomas!

Ski Trip: Friday August 28th

Departure time

Because Mt Hutt are operating with reduced numbers of ski instructors this year, we have needed to split the times for our ski lessons. The majority of our children will have their lessons at 11am. These children will travel by bus to Mt Hutt, and will need to be at school by 7:15am. The other 30 children (the more experienced skiers) will be having their lessons at 9am. This group will be travelling by private 4WD cars (with drivers who are experienced on mountain roads) and will need to be at school by 6am. We will all be back at school by 6pm. We will be sending out emails later this week confirming which group your child will be in. 

Ski contract

Later this week a paper copy of our ski contract will be coming home. This needs to be read and signed by the child and a parent / caregiver. Please make sure these are returned to school by Monday August 23rd. The contract outlines our expectations of children on the day, so we can ensure everyone is safe on the mountain.

Gear

Many thanks to everyone for filling in student information for our upcoming ski trip. We are currently matching children up with clothing (for those who requested this help) and hope to have got through everyone by Friday. If you offered to loan clothing - I will contact you if we need it. Eye protection is something that all children must have. This can be either sunglasses or googles. We do not have enough to loan to children who have requested goggles or sunglasses. These can be hired, as can ski clothing, 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 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. The mountain cafe is very expensive. Children may bring some money for a hot drink or snack, but please also pack a lunch. They are responsible for looking after any money they bring.
  • Long hair needs to be tied up. Children who get asthma should have their inhalers with them.


Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, Cheese Rolls and a Mountain Bike

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Year 7 & 8 are heading to Dunedin for a week in term 4. Please support our fundraising.

Toilet Paper and Paper Towels

Many thanks to those who have already placed orders for toilet paper and paper towels. Orders close and payment is due by this Monday, August 10th. If you have yet to place your order, please click here.


Cheese Rolls are back by popular demand!

We are making cheese rolls again. Feedback was extremely positive in term one, so make sure you don't miss out this time around. We will also have paper forms available at the office and in Kauri hub; these are useful when getting multiple orders from family, friends and neighbours. Click here to order yours. 


Bike Raffle

We are raffling a beautiful 21 speed mountain bike. The bike will be on display and tickets available for sale, for $2, before and after school each day for the next two weeks, or until 500 tickets are sold. 


Many thanks for supporting Kauri camp fundraising!