Monthly Archives: March 2021

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 1 Week 6

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 In this post:

  • Triathlon sign-up
  • Science
  • Camp

    Triathlon

    If your child is keen for a physical challenge, the Canterbury Triathlon might be of interest. Click here for details and sign up.

    Science

    On Thursday this coming week, we have a Science Roadshow from Canterbury University visiting us at school. Each class will get an hour-long session of science. Our timetable and break times will be altered that day.

    Wainui Wrap-up

    No doubt your child came home on Friday full of stories from our fabulous week away. What a time we had! This camp was made all the more special by the amazing group of parent helpers who worked tirelessly for five days, creating nutritious and delicious meals and snacks, helping out at activities and supporting the children. We are currently gathering photos together and plan to create a camp photo-book that you can purchase as a memory of our week away. We have a collection of lost property and a number of chilly-bins to collect at school. Below is a small selection of camp pics.





























    2021 Canterbury Triathlon Entries

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    Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all.

    The Canterbury Triathlon is an awesome event for children who have a good level of fitness and are after a challenge.  We are restricted to the number of entries that we can make and these will be done on a first come first-served basis. Entries close on the 10th March at 5pm.

    This year, the event has a new venue at a private property close to Clarkville and will be held on Tuesday 23rd of March. Please note, the swim component is in a lake therefore it is very important that children are confident and capable swimmers. 

    Due to the small numbers of children who compete in this event, we are unable to send a teacher to this event. Transportation and supervision of the children need to be arranged by each whānau. 

    We are also required to provide an adult for set up or pack down in addition to marshaling duties. This person must be free of any responsibility to children at the event.  

    Please fill out his Google Form if you are interested in entering your child/ren for this event:

    https://forms.gle/E4PBaJZKMsQ9quVJ6

    More information on this event can be found on the following link: 

    https://www.sporty.co.nz/asset/downloadasset?id=948bff1b-3529-4668-a41b-29f5e1a434a8


    Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Friday 5 March 2021

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    Principal's Patch

    Kia ora koutou

    It certainly does seem that our value of 'We Love Challenge' is being tested as today our country had to deal with not just changing COVID Alert Levels, but a series of significant earthquakes, followed by Tsunami warnings. My thoughts were with principal colleagues in Whangarei and Whakatane who had to evacuate their entire schools, some walking many kilometres to get children out of possible tsunami zones. We contacted our Year 7/8 camp team at Wainui who were well away from the water today, packing up their camp and making ready to head home after a fabulous week of outdoor challenge and adventure.
    Events such as these serve as a very real reminder of the need for us to be well prepared and planned for the possibility of an emergency. To that end, Jo Smith and I spent the day on Wednesday at a workshop run by the Ministry of Education and NZ Police that focused on just that - planning and preparing for emergencies. We will be sharing some of our planning with you through upcoming newsletters. We all have specific roles to play to help keep our children safe in unexpected or emergency situations. 

    Fire Evacuation Drill

    On Tuesday this week we had our first Fire Evacuation Drill of the year. It is a great chance to practise what to do if there was a fire alarm triggered at school. The fire alarm sounded and everyone on site, staff, children and visitors, walked to the assembly point on the field. You may like to talk with your child about the drill and what they had to do. This will reinforce the emergency procedure with them. They did a great job!

    Thank you... Y7/8 Camp adults

    Thank you to the staff and whānau who supported our Year 7/8 camp to Wainui this week. Taking over 100 young people on an outdoor education camp for 5 days takes an extraordinary amount of planning and organisation. We acknowledge your support and appreciate everyone who put in time and energy to make this camp so successful.

    Ngā mihi nui
    Sandy Hastings
    Tumuaki - Principal

    Important Dates

    Upcoming Events

    Week 6:
    Wed 10 Mar - 4.15 - 5.45 Kiwi Volleyball at Hillview Christian School
    Thu 11 Mar - 3.15 - 6.00 Miniball Grade C at Pioneer Stadium
    Fri 12 Mar - 12.00 - 12.30 Celebration Assembly

    Week 7:
    Wed 17 Mar - 4.15 - 5.45 Kiwi Volleyball at Hillview Christian School
    Thu 18 Mar - 9.00 - 1.15 Zone Swimming Sports at Jellie Park

    Week 8:
    Tue 23 Mar - 9.00 - 2.00 Canterbury Triathlon at Eyrewell Forest, South Eyre Road.
    Wed 24 Mar - 7.30 - 9.30pm PTA Meeting
    Fri 26 Mar - 12.00 - 12.30 Celebration Assembly

    Term Dates

    Click here to view 2021 term dates.

    Citizen of the Week

    Zach Guise - Year 3

    Zach, you have made an outstanding start to the year. You consistently focus on doing the right thing and are an extremely caring and helpful member of the team. You work enthusiastically in all areas of school and are a fantastic role model to others. You are an absolute star, Zach. Tino pai!

    School Notices

    Christchurch Schools Music Festival - Representative group auditions still open...



    A reminder that talented singers and musicians from Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto can now apply for an audition to join a Representative Group - Junior & Senior Choir, Concert Band, Orchestra - for the 2021 Music Festival.

    We want to encourage and support any students in Years 5-8 who are confident singers, and/or instrumentalists to apply for an audition. This is particularly the case in 2021 given the cancellation of the 2020 Music Festival.

    Applications are made online on the Festival website here.

    This is a chance to not only participate in a life-changing learning opportunity but also to represent Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto while doing it.

    Being selected for a Representative Group for the Music Festival is the artistic equivalent of being selected for a Canterbury level sports team; let's make sure the opportunity is not overlooked.
    If you have any questions about this, please speak with Jody Keenan (CSM Band tutor), your music teacher, or email Sandy principal@beckenham.school.nz

    Te Mana Raupo Kahui Ako

    Parent Workshop - Parenting to Establish Safety, Connection and Engagement

    The workshop will provide an overview of children’s challenging behaviours and how parents/caregivers can better understand the causes and possible ways to prevent and respond.
    The overview covers:
    • Understanding challenging behaviours
    • Understanding Window of Tolerance and Arousal and how this contributes to challenging behaviours
    • Understanding how co-regulation & attunement can enhance moments of shared joy
    • Learn a number of useful activities to respond to various behaviours.
    This presentation is grounded in relational attachment based principles and philosophies.
    This presentation is open to all families in our wider community and is free of charge.

    Presented by: 
    Dr Petria Thoresen, PhD, a fully certified Theraplay® Therapist and Theraplay®
    Maria Lui, SWRB & MNZAC, a fully certified Group Theraplay® Practitioner and Theraplay®

    St Martins School Hall
    Tuesday 30th March
    5:30-6:30pm

    To attend, please RSVP to - reihana.dougherty@beckenham.schoool.nz

    Parent Playground Roster

    A big thank you to Katherine Christensen for offering to organise our parent playground roster. It will be wonderful to have extra adults out in the playground during lunch play to ensure that our tamariki are safe and happy.

    Lunch play runs from 12.40 - 1.20 each day. Being on the parent playground roster is a wonderful opportunity to observe the dynamics of your own and other children playing in the playground, as well as being involved in the school community.

    If you are interested, please contact Katie with the following information:
    • Your full name
    • Contact number
    • The names of your child/ren
    • Day/s of the week available
    katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

    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.

    Children’s Day - a plant for every family to collect this coming Monday...

    Children’s day was donated 2700 plants from Trees for Canterbury to give away to children at the event to plant at home following the event. Unfortunately due to the change in alert levels Children’s Day has been cancelled and changed to be an online event only. (See the community section for details)  As a  result, we have been given enough native plants to give one to every family within our school community.



    These will be placed outside the hall on Monday after school for caregivers to collect. If we remain at alert level 2 children will be able to collect one plant per family to take home.

    Community Notices

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

    Cashmere Club would love to get some more players for their Future Ferns competition.
    We are looking for players from Year 3-6 to join our family-friendly club, everyone welcome.
    Email us at cashmerenetball@hotmail.com, or visit our website www.sporty.co.nz/cashmerenc


    Mega Mates Social Skills Holiday Programme is coming to Christchurch!

    We are excited to be running this great programme finally in Christchurch - we have had wonderful feedback from the previous Mega Mates run in Otago and Southland!
    This programme is run by our great Christchurch based Speech Language Therapist - Ellie Bloxham 
    She will be working on real social skill development in a small, fun group.

    Don't miss out - numbers are strictly limited and there is an early bird booking special 
    We are focusing on 5 to 7 year old's for this programme.
    The course runs over 3 mornings - 3 mornings  28th, 29th & 30 April 2021

    Beckenham, Somerfield, Spreydon and Waltham

    We’ve already looked at the condition of roads and footpaths in your area and have picked up some things like potholes, damaged kerbs and areas where water is pooling. We’ve also completed safety assessments. To get the full picture, we’re keen to hear further information from local people about roads that may need things like safer crossings, slower speeds, or improved lighting.

    Let us know what will make a difference in your neighborhood.
    We’re seeking community input until 12 March 2021.

    Make a comment on our map of your local neighborhood.
    Email us at waybetter@ccc.govt.nz.
    Or, submit your comments at have your say.

    Kōwhai News Term 1 Week 5

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     Kia ora whānau, 

    We have been a busy hub this week, starting into our new inquiry unit - exploring Canterbury historical life and how it has changed over time. Over the next few weeks the students will learn about the first waka to come to Aotearoa, changes in technology, fashion, school, animals, plants, housing and transport in Canterbury
    . We will also be visiting Ferrymead for a day in Week 8. A notice about this will come out next week. 

    We now have our library days set in stone for this term and they are as follows:

    Nick and Rowe's homegroup - Monday

    Laura's home group - Tuesday

    Quynh and Meagan's homegroup - Wednesday. 

    Please help your child by reminding them they need to bring their library folder with their books to return on their day of the week. 

    During our Team Hui this week we had a discussion with the tamariki about our hub toilets, and making sure we keep them nice and tidy. We have had some instances of urine on the floor and around the toilet. Please help us by having a chat to your child about their toilet etiquette at school. Thank you! 

    We have been busy in Discovery this week: 












    We have been asked to pass on the following notice from the Southern Districts Cricket Club about Year 3/4 Girls Cricket. Please see the information below. 

    Have a great weekend! 

    The Kōwhai Team - Laura, Meagan, Rowe, Quynh and Nick 


    Kahikatea Newsletter Week 5 Term 1

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    Tena koutou,

    It has been a fun-filled couple of weeks in the Kahikatea Team. We have really enjoyed continuing to build relationships with your wonderful tamariki.

    Here is an overview of our weekly timetable: 


    Kahikatea Treaty

    We have developed our Kahikatea treaty for 2021. We have been discussing each point with our home groups. Please feel free to read this with your child/ren!


    Literacy

    Teachers have been busy completing key assessments in preparation for beginning our new structured literacy programs.  We appreciate that many of our parents are keen to see books and materials coming home and will let you know very soon when you can expect to see reading folders and materials  coming home. 

    During these first school weeks we have been exploring fundamental literacy activities and developing phonological awareness (skills in identifying and manipulating units of spoken language). We have been exploring oral language and the structure of writing through creating shared texts. In addition, we have enjoyed a variety of texts, including non-fiction and poetry. We have explored The Treaty of Waitangi, Chinese New Year, and the history of toys, through texts and hands-on experiences. We have also been loving our library time! 

    Here are some pictures showing our learning: 















    Request for materials

    Many of the tamariki enjoy making masterpieces during our learning through playtime. If you have any of the following items, please send them along to school, and we will make good use of them!

    - Small boxes, e.g., cereal, muesli bar, toothpaste, washing powder

    - Plastic containers (clean), e.g., shampoo, washing liquid, soap

    - Corks

    - Buttons

    - Fabric


    Ferrymead Heritage Park 

    The sun shone for us last Wednesday as we set off for Ferrymead Heritage Park. We had an amazing day of exploration and learning. Each group had the opportunity to learn about the following:

    • Heritage games
    • Homemade toys
    • Science of toys
    • Maori toys and games
    We even got to have a ride on the tram! 

    For our inquiry, the tamariki have been making connections between old and new toys, how toys work, the use of different materials, and have had many oral language opportunities to share about their favourite toys. 

    A huge thanks to our wonderful parent helpers. It is because of your generous support that we can do such fun, engaging and memorable trips.




































    Wellbeing

    We have weekly wellbeing sessions in all teams. Over the last few weeks in Kahikatea, we have been learning about the importance of:

    • Making new friends
    • Self-confidence
    • Teamwork skills/co-operation
    We have been reading stories, watching info clips, and also sharing our own stories about the importance of these competencies.

    You might like to talk with your child about these things, and share your own stories about how you have made friends, challenges or benefits of teamwork, or what you say to yourself to feel confident in tricky situations.

    Useful guides to help Christchurch parents to support their children with emotions and wellbeing: https://www.allright.org.nz/tools/parenting-guides


    Library

    Each home group has the opportunity to visit the library once per week. Our library day is MONDAY. Please ensure that your child has their library folder at school every Monday. Children are allowed to issue two books and must have their library folder to transport these home. 


    Sunhats at School

    We have been noticing that many children in our team often don't have a hat at school. In Kahikatea, all children keep their hats in their home group hat tub at the end of the day. This is to ensure that every child has a hat during Term 1. If you would like to wash your child's hat, please do this over the weekend, and return it back to school on Monday. We prefer that hats do not go home at any other time.

    Parent Playground Roster

    A big thank you to Katherine Christensen for offering to organise our parent playground roster. It will be wonderful to have extra adults out in the playground during lunch play to ensure that our tamariki are safe and happy.

    Lunch play runs from 12.40 - 1.20 each day. Being on the parent playground roster is a wonderful opportunity to observe the dynamics of your own and other children playing in the playground, as well as being involved in the school community.

    If you are interested, please contact Katie with the following information:

    • Your full name
    • Contact number
    • The names of your child/ren
    • Day/s of the week available

    katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz


    That's all for now! Katie, Amber, Charlotte and Lisa

    katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

    amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz

    charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz

    lisacollier@beckenham.school.nz