Below is IMPORTANT INFORMATION about two upcoming events for the Year 3/4 students. Both of these events require parent help so please read through all the information and respond to the survey.
Please make sure you fill in the form at the end about the Noho Kura - EVERY family needs to fill this out, whether you plan for your child to attend or not.
Rapaki Marae Trip - Monday 30th November/Tuesday 1st December
We are excited to be able to provide our students with the opportunity to visit Rāpaki Marae in Week 8 of Term 4. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about te reo Māori language, customs (tikanga), games (kēmu) and songs (waiata), the history of Rāpaki Marae and the ecology of Horomaka, Banks Peninsula. We will explore both the Marae and the surrounding stone beach, banks and rocky areas.
The key dates are as follows:
Monday 30th November: Laura and Rowe’s homegroups
Tuesday 1st December: Nick and Tracey’s homegroups and Kahikatea Yr 3 students
We are currently seeking parent helpers for these two dates. Parent helpers are welcome to join us on the bus or take their own car. You do need to be available for the day. No preschoolers, please. If you are available to assist, please email your home room teacher asap.
We are also seeking someone who would be willing to be our Kaikaranga and Kaikorero during the pōwhiri at the marae. In the past, we have had a parent who is versed in the protocols around this and who is happy to take on this responsibility for us. We would love it if you felt you could do this for us.
For the trip, your child will need to wear and/or have:
school uniform
sturdy, comfortable footwear
a windproof jacket which they can carry in their bag
healthy, substantial morning tea and lunch
named water bottle
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.
Noho Kura - Friday 4th December 5:30pm - Saturday 5th December 9-9:30am
We are excited to be able to provide our students with the chance to have an optional Noho Kura (school sleepover) on Friday the 4th of December 2020.
Please read the information below and then fill in this form. EVERY family will need to fill this in whether your child will attend or not.
There will be school as usual on that Friday, but then at 5:30 p.m. children can all return to school with what they need for the night. We will have a BBQ dinner, play some games, have supper and then settle down to sleep in the Tahaki Hub. In the morning we will all have breakfast together, after which you need to take your child home - between 9-9.30am. If your child has specific dietary requirements, please note that on the reply form.
Here are some details of our noho kura:
Please collect your child after school, and bring them back to school at 5:30 p.m.
Children won’t need a change of clothes - when they get up on Saturday morning they can put their Friday clothes back on.
What to bring:
Pyjamas
Slippers or socks
Sleeping bag and/or duvet
Pillow
Teddy bear, cuddly or favourite soft toy
Facecloth, hairbrush/comb
Toothbrush and toothpaste
Something to sleep on (a small mattress/camping bed etc)
We would love you to help us – it’s going to be lots of fun!! We will need some parent volunteers to come early to organise the BBQ and help get the hub organised for sleeping. Please indicate on the response form if you are able to help. If you offer to help overnight, we will be making contact closer to the sleepover night to organise a meeting and discuss possible areas of responsibility (for example, organising supper).
We are also seeking someone who would be willing to give a karakia on the Friday evening, including welcoming everyone and blessing our event. In the past, we have had a parent who is versed in the protocols around holding a noho and who is happy to take on this responsibility for us. We would love it if you felt you could do this for us. Please fill in the form to let us know if you are able to help – please don’t be offended if you offer and we have already filled the role!
If you child would like to come along for dinner and games and then go home then they are more than welcome. Please indicate that on the form. Be assured that we shall be prepared for every contingency. If you would like to discuss any concerns you or your child may have, please do talk to your child’s teacher.
Please remember to fill in this form with information about your child attending the Noho Kura.
Sir Peter Blake believed in the incredible potential of young people to achieve great things.
The BLAKE Young Leader Awards aim to recognise our young New Zealanders who show commitment to leading positive change in their community that leads to a sustainable future for Aotearoa.
Each year, one senior student from Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto is nominated to receive this prestigious award. At our Celebration Assembly today, we welcomed Hinewai and Hiria from the Westpac Bank, to present this award to Ruby McNiven. Congratulations, Ruby. This is a wonderful acknowledgement of your quietly confident and reliable leadership that has grown and developed throughout your time in the school.
Hinewai (Wespac),, Ruby, Heria (Westpac) and Sandy
SwimSafe Programme
Our Kahikatea and Kōwhai students have been travelling by bus to Pioneer Pool most days (8 sessions) over the past two weeks, to participate in quite a different type of aquatic programme to anything we have done before. In the past, our aquatic programmes have tried to focus on developing swimming skills. After the swimming programme last year, we consulted with whānau and staff, and the general agreement was that this focus was no longer meeting the needs of our children. We are required, under the New Zealand curriculum, to provide aquatic education for children, so we spent the first half of this year working with staff from the council to make sure that what we did this year would provide better outcomes for all of our children. This year, all of our Kahkiatea and Kōwhai students (Y1-4) participated in an 8 session SwimSafe programme.
The focus of this programme was all about water safety and staying alive in the water.
As you can see from the photos below, all children were able to participate fully, regardless of their swimming ability.
Being SwimSafe @ Pioneer Pool!
The organisation for this programme was significant, and wouldn't have been possible without the generous help of many parents and caregivers who supported at the pool, and from the extra work put in by the staff, in particular the team leaders, Laura Williamson and Amber Donovan.
Below is an email received yesterday from one of the parents who were helping supervise at the pool...
"I just wanted to say a huge thanks for the past two weeks of swimming. It is obviously quite a huge undertaking to get it all organised and a lot of planning clearly took place to get all the kids there.
I thought you must be all quite exhausted after the two weeks!
It was a really fun and useful programme and watching from the side of the pool was useful for me to revise some key things about water safety.
Other parents I talked to also felt the teachers had done an amazing effort getting the nearly 200 kids to the pool each day, and that it was a really valuable opportunity for them."
Te Whānau Mahi Tahi at the Christchurch Schools' Cultural Festival
Last week saw our senior kapa haka group, Te Whānau Mahi Tahi, perform at the very final Christchurch Schools Cultural Festival. The Festival has been wound up, after the organising committee had been unable, for the past 7 years, to get any new members onto the committee.
We were immensly proud of our tamariki. Huge thanks to our (new this year) kapa haka tutor - Whaea Cath Milio for her commitment to getting our children to the festival and writing a special waiata for them to sing (to the tune of 'Peace Train'). Thanks also to Hannah Elliott for her support of Te Whānau throughout the year.
You can watch their performance on the YouTube clip below:
Staffing Update
It is that time of the year, when staff changes through schools across the country are announced in preparation for the new school year. As schools appoint teachers, new vacancies are created and a domino effect sometimes happens!
Therefore, we have reluctantly accepted the resignation of Hannah Elliott, who has won a new position at Lemonwood Grove School in Rolleston. This is a great move for Hannah, who lives in the Selwyn district so will now be living much closer to her workplace. We acknowledge and thank Hannah for the contribution that she has made to our school, and in particular to the Kauri Team, over the past three years.
Hannah Elliott
We have been very busy this past week with interviewing for new teachers for 2021, and should be able to have those appointments in the newsletter next week.
We have also been pleased to welcome Rachel Higginson to our staff this week. Rachel has taken over the accounts and payroll position that Sandra Rauch has been in for the past 19months. Rachel was in this last week for handover from Sandra, who finished today. Rachel officially starts on Monday. For any queries regarding accounts or donations, you can contact her on the same email address: accounts@beckenham.school.nz
Rachel Higginson
New vacancy in the Office
We will shortly be advertising a third, administration position for the school. This new position will be a combination of support for Jacky in the office, and a PA to the leadership team and Board. The person specifications will include needing a high level of general organisation, familiarity and confidence with technology, and minute-taking experience. The role will be between 20-25 hours a week, mostly within school hours, and term-time only. We will post the vacancy on the school website by Monday 9 November and will advertise it through the school and neighbourhood Facebook pages.
Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki
Important Dates
Upcoming Events
Mon 9th Nov: Zone Athletics, Hansen Park. 9am - 3pm
Thu 12 Nov: Celebration Assembly, 12:10pm
Fri 13th Nov:Canterbury Anniversary Day - school closed.Wed 18 Nov: Rāpaki Marae visit Koru, Year 0 and 1. Wed 25th Nov: Pohutukawa Camp at Living Springs Mon 30th Nov & Tue 1st Dec: Kōwhai Rapaki Marae visit Wed 2nd Dec: Canterbury Primary School's athletics, Nga Puna Wai Park
Holly, you have certainly come out of your shell this year! You demonstrated "We Get There Together" by performing beautifully at the Cultural Festival and helping the group shine. You are kind, caring and lend a helping hand when needed. You have shown an increase in confidence which has enabled you to share your ideas more during your learning. You listen attentively and can always be relied on to make positive choices throughout the school day.
School Notices
Kauri Theatre Sports
The Kauri Hub Theatre Sports team aka ‘Mission Improvable’ competed last Sunday 1st November at Rangi Ruru Ruru Girls School. There were 4 teams in the heat and even though they didn’t place for the finals, they did an awesome job entertaining the audience with their clever and humorous improv skills. The team has worked hard all year with weekly practices and workshops at the Court Theatre in town. Well done team!
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.
PTA News
Art Auction
After discussions last week, the PTA has decided to bring the SALE of the CLASSROOM ART from the NON EVENT FAIR forward.
The Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Art Auction will be starting soon. It started on November 06, 2020 at 09:00 AM and will end on November 19, 2020 at 09:00PM.
You can come and view the art in the school reception area from 2.45pm till 3.30pm on 11th November.
Here's your auction link to start bidding on your child's classes art work:
Just over 3 weeks to go for Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto TOP TEAM and community picnic. We have had an odd Year so far so let's end it with a fun afternoon with the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Whanau.
Top Team competition from 2 till 3.30, come along and support the teams.
For those not participating we will have fair games, a bouncy castle, sausage sizzle, cake stall, coffee cart and ice creams!
Make sure you book your team in soon as we have limited spots, click on the link and sign up ASAP
Cost is $10 per team, this has been kindly subsidised by Smyth & Co Barristers and Solicitors
The ideal team size is 6, but you can have more or less
Teams must include at least 1 adult with a maximum of 2 adults
It is recommended that participants are Year 4 or above (but if you have someone younger who wants to have a go then that's fine, just be aware they may not be able to complete every station)
Teams need to arrive at 1PM for registration / warm up / team briefing
To run a successful event we will need helpers, please complete the link below if you can help for a short period of time or for the whole event.
If you are able to help in any way, run a stall, help out on a top team station, make a cake or slice, or if you have a musical talent please complete the link below. Top Team helpers
The more people that can help the more time everyone has to enjoy the event.
Board of Trustees - Election Update
Nominations for the three Parent Trustee Vacancies closed on Sunday 1st November at midday. Only two nominations were received meaning no election was required and those nominees have been declared duly elected by our Returning Officer.
Our thanks, and congratulations go to Suran Dickson and Richard Scott (bios below) for their willingness to contribute to the governance of our school through this process. The Board will now meet to determine a process for dealing with the vacancy that will remain on the board, through the third position not being filled through the election.
Suran Dickson
I am interested in serving on the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Board of Trustees. Currently I am the Director of Flipside Consulting, a Diversity and Inclusion consultancy which works with leaders and organisations to ensure their culture is one which enables happy, innovative staff who bring their whole selves to work. Recent clients include the Crusaders, Christ’s College, Meridian, Orion, Connetics, Hohepa Homes and the Police. The work is a great privilege as we are able to challenge some of the innate structural and personal biases which prevent Māori and Pasifika having equitable opportunities in life, as well as overcoming the social barriers which can hold restrict both young men and women from achieving happiness and success.
Having trained as a teacher and taught at Lincoln High School, I then moved to the UK in 2002 and taught there for a number of years across secondary, primary and special educational needs schools. I was deeply moved by a number of suicides of young people and left my teaching job to set up the anti-bullying charity, Diversity Role Models (DRM), which became a national leader in tackling bullying by encouraging empathy and critical thinking in young people. As CEO of this organisation I was heavily involved in building corporate relationships, fundraising, scaling the charity up at rapid pace and providing thought leadership around inclusion and diversity issues to the Department of Education, media, businesses and wider political arenas. After leading DRM for 6 years, I had my son, Sonny, and moved back to New Zealand in 2016 to absorb cleaner air, more space and to give him a taste of the Kiwi childhood I was lucky enough to have. Sonny has now happily joined Koru class and we are loving being part of the Beckenham community.
I also sit on the South Canterbury District Health Board to offer an inclusion and equity lens to the health landscape; a less than dull role in the era of Covid. My spare time (surely a paradox as a working parent!) is spent training for half-ironman, marathons and anything else time-consuming to escape doing the housework.
Richard Scott
My name is Richard Scott and I am standing for the Beckenham Te Kura O Pūroto School Board. I am a father of three with two children currently at Beckenham in years 1 and 3. My youngest will start at Beckenham mid-2021. Along with my wife, Christy, we have lived locally for five years, and prior to that not far away in Hillsborough, Christchurch. I am a keen runner, skier and mountain biker. Professionally I am a Principal Mechanical Engineer employed part-time by AECOM NZ Ltd. In this role, I provide design, analysis, technical leadership, project management and construction contract management in the power and utility industries mainly across New Zealand and Australia. I have not been nominated or held a board position previously, however, I consider myself to have useful skills to offer the board in order to further develop strong values and leadership. I am particularly interested in academic performance, cultural activities and sporting opportunities.
We have had a lovely 2 weeks of swimming and water safety lessons at Pioneer Pool. Ngā tamariki have had developed confidence and water safety skills, as well as strengthening their swimming strokes and breathing techniques. This would not have been possible without the fantastic help from our wonderful parent community. Thank you for all that do to assist us and tatou tamariki to have the best experiences possible. Also a huge thank you to our amazing tamariki who were fantastic throughout, shining through putting our Kete Values into action.
Rapaki Marae Trip
Please see our latest blog post dedicated to the upcoming trips to Rapaki Marae. Again, these rich learning experiences would not be possible without the support of whānau, thank you.
Athletics Day
The date to hold this event will be finalised over the next week, and we will let you know as soon as it has been confirmed.
Kete Value Awards
This week the Kahikatea Kete Awards were given to:
Sofia Frei for We Love Challenge
Jensen Spence for We Love Learning
Leo van Eysden-Grice for We Love Learning
Merit Award
This week's merit award went to Shikani Powell for Being a Great Friend
Book returns
It is reaching that time of the year when we have a larger amount of books to be returned and sorted into the correct boxes in our resource room. We would really appreciate assistance with this if you have a spare hour or 2 over the coming weeks. Please let your child's home group teacher know what days you would be able to assist us with this, thank you.
Kia ora mo o awhina, kia pai ou mūtunga o te wiki (thank you for all your support, enjoy your weekend).
All tamariki will need to be at school by 8.45am on Wednesday.
Please, no lunch orders on this day.
Parent helpers- please make your way to Rapaki in your own vehicle.
The children will arrive at approximately 9.25am and we will walk our tamariki down to the top carpark (just above the marae) so please meet us there by 9.25am.
IF you are planning to stay the day please bring your lunch.
IF you can only stay for some of the day, please let your child's teacher know.
The powhiri (welcome) will begin at 9.30am.
After the powhiri we will split into 2 groups. One will remain at the marae and the other will make their way down to the beach. Then we will swap over.
Our waiata (song) will be E Tu Kahikatea.
Our Kaikorero (speaker) will be Steve Cooke (from Pohutukawa team).
Because our trip includes half of us spending it down at the beach, it is weather dependent. If the weather is too inclement we will let whanau know by 8am Wednesday morning.
Year 3 & 4 Visit to Rapaki Marae/ Noho Kura
These visits to Rapaki Marae will take place on 30th of November and 1st of December. Due to a variety of factors out of our control, the sleepover part of the marae will no longer go ahead.
We know that many of the children were looking forward to the sleepover part of our marae visit so we have decided instead to have a Noho Kura (sleepover at school) on the night of Friday the 4th of December.
This will involve the Year 3 and 4 students spending the night at school, having a BBQ dinner here and sleeping either in the hall or in our hubs. We will have breakfast the next day and your children will be ready to pick up by 9.30 in the morning.
We will be needing parent volunteers to help us cook a BBQ and organise dinner on the night and will send out more information about the organisation around the Noho Kura in the next week.
We have had a wonderful two weeks of learning Swimsafe skills at Pioneer Pools. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning new skills, and it has been great to watch their confidence in the water grow. Thanks again to those parents who have helped us over these last two weeks.
Marae Visit and Sleepover - update and slight change of plans
We are still planning on visiting the Rapaki Marae on 30th of November and 1st of December during the day. Due to a variety of factors out of our control, the sleepover part of the marae will no longer go ahead.
We know that many of the children were looking forward to the sleepover part of our marae visit so we have decided instead to have a Noho Kura (sleepover at school) on the night of Friday the 4th of December. This will involve the Year 3 and 4 students spending the night at school, having a BBQ dinner here and sleeping either in the hall or in our hubs. We will have breakfast the next day and your children will be ready to pick up by 9.30 in the morning.
We will be needing parent volunteers to help us cook a BBQ and organise dinner on the night and will send out more information about the organisation around the Noho Kura in the next week.
Kete Awards
Our kete awards from last week went to Chavi, Korell, Vincent and Harshit. Well done for showing our school values in many different ways.
Athletics Day
We are still deciding on a day for Junior Athletics to happen. We will let you know next week when this will be.
