Year 5-8 Swimming Sports: Change of time and final reminders

 This message is only for whānau with children at swimming sports.

Swimming Start Time and Reminders for Tomorrow

There is a chance that we will be able to have access to the pool earlier than initially indicated. If we can use this time, we will. Therefore, please be advised that we may be able to access the pool from 12:30 and start very soon after. 

If you are a parent help for this event please arrive at 12:30 if you are able. 

Reminders

  • Togs should be on under the children's school uniform.
  • Any children with personal medication such as inhalers should have these with them poolside.
  • Children need a towel, water bottle and enough lunch to have an afternoon snack on poolside, and underwear to change into after the event.
  • If you want to take your child home after the event, please sign them out with Jo. 

Kauri Whānau Wainui Camp: Social Story

 Kia ora everyone,

Camp is now just around the corner. Today the children saw which activities they will be doing on camp. We have also shared the camp social story, which is below, with the children. It would be great to view this again at home. We are very close to being able to share bunkroom groups. All children should now have a paper copy of their gear list at home. Please email your child's homegroup teacher if you need help sourcing anything on the gearlist.

PTA Update 23rd February 2021

Welcome to 2021.


It was great to see so many people at the picnic the other day – for once the weather was on our side 😊 Hopefully we can make this a regular event and get the whole school and their families on the field! 

Our first PTA meeting in Wednesday 24th of February at 7:30 in the Green Room just off the hall. We would love to see some new faces there! 

Who are we?

The PTA committee is a small group of parents who want to support the school and strengthen our school community. You don’t have to come to every meeting to be a member and you certainly don’t even have to be a member to help if we put a call out! 

What do we do?

We meet up every month during the school term for about a 1.5 hour meeting. Its a good chance to connect with other parents and hear what is happening at school.

Events we run include: the disco, the welcome morning teas and some key fundraising events like the Readathon, Calendar Art and some kind of fun evening event. We quietly organise support for families when they need it, for example a serious medical diagnosis. We also run the uniform room. 

What do we do with the money we raise?

Every year we make a $10,000 donation to school for the bus trips that all the students go on at the end of the year. Last year we also funded new sports uniforms and contributed to the purchase of software for home learning. Other years we bought the sound system for sports days and a gazebo to keep the children dry at events. If we didn’t raise the money children would miss out, or our school fees would be higher as these extras are not funded by the Ministry of Education.
 

Please don’t be shy, come and join us – its a lot of fun, we usually have excellent sweet treats to munch on and the chat is great! 

See you soon

 
The PTA

Ferrymead Heritage Park – Final Reminders

 Kia ora whanau, 

We are all very excited to be going on our trip tomorrow! 

There has been a lot of organization going on behind the scenes by all our teacher to help make sure we have a safe and happy trip. 

Please take a look at this Social Story with your child BEFORE tomorrow. It has been shared with them at school already, however it would be helpful for them to take another look! 

Ferrymead Trip Social Story

ALSO: 

Please apply sunblock before sending your child to school tomorrow. 

Everyone needs to have a drink bottle filled with water. 

Parent helpers: meet Lisa in our theatre at 8.30am. 

Thanks everyone! 


Year 5-8 Swimming Sports Info

 This post is just for whānau with children involved in swimming sports.


Kia ora koutou,

Swimming Sports is this Thursday afternoon at Wharenui Pool. 

All children attending Swimming Sports will be having an early lunch at school on Thursday before boarding the bus at 12.15. In addition to our competitors, we have a few of our House Captains and deputy house Captains attending Swimming Sports to assist with the running of the event. There will be a Beckenham School staff member onboard each bus to supervise the children. 

  • Children should go to swimming sports with their swimmers on underneath their school uniform. There is no time to get changed when we arrive at the pool. 
  • Please ensure that your child has a packed lunch, a water bottle and a towel. 
  • Children who carry personal medication, such as inhalers should have these on them. 
  • We welcome you to join us and support our swimmers. We will have a space for spectators opposite the children, who will be sitting in house groups on the bleachers. To support us in running this event, we ask that you stay on the side allocated for spectators.  
  • Should you wish to collect your child from Wharenui Pool, you must sign out your child with a Beckenham teacher. All other children will return to Sandwich Road by bus. We expect to be back by 3pm. 

We will start with freestyle, followed by backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and then the medley. The 25 m races will be done before the 50 m races. We will finish with a house relay. All races are straight finals with the exception of a few where the number of entries requires heats. There are also some occasions when multiple races of the same stroke and distance will be occurring at the same time. In this instance, the children will still be judged and placings recorded for their age. 

We are a little shorter on time than we usually are due to the pool not being available earlier. We will aim to be as efficient as we can and if necessary we may need to cancel the medley races if time does not allow. 

Here are some answers to frequently asked questions. 

  • Between races, children must stay seated on the bleachers. As they will have had an earlier lunch than what they are used to, they may eat while seated. 
  • Children may start in the pool, or may dive from the poolside or the starting blocks. Children who are not confident in performing a shallow dive are advised to start in the water. All backstroke competitors must start in the water. 
  • The starting procedure is as follows:

Whistle - enter the pool, step up to the side of the pool or step onto the blocks

“On your marks” - Get into starting position and then stay still

Clap - Swim

  • A false start will be indicated by two more claps and the dropping of a rope. Swimmers should then immediately return to the start.  
  • If a child gets into difficulty, they should grab onto the lane ropes from where they will be assisted by the lifeguard. 
  • Children can stop and stand if they need to (where depth allows). 
  • 25 m races are one length, 50 m are two lengths and the medley is three lengths
  • Children should do a one-handed turn/finish for freestyle and backstroke and a two-handed turn/finish for breaststroke and butterfly
  • No disqualifications will be made.
  • On completion of their race, they will be handed a token that represents their placing, which they then take to the recorders. Children should then go back to their seat.
  • Children should get changed after their last event and return to the bleachers to cheer on their peers. 

We look forward to seeing many of you there!