Monthly Archives: February 2023

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 24 February 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Te Matatini 2023



Today in assembly we talked about the national Kapa Haka competition that is currently happening in Aotearoa this week - "Te Matatini". This festival is the 'Olympics' of Kapa Haka. Just as our top sports people, scientists, academics and artists begin their journeys in homes and schools around our country, so do our top kapa haka performers begin their journeys in marae, homes and schools. When our tamariki learn and perform haka, they are not just learning about the performance, but about the value and importance of language and culture and we are giving effect to Te Tiriti o Waitangi. To understand more about the 'Power and purpose of Kapa Haka' you might find this article interesing.

Kiss and Drop zone

The 3min drop-off areas on Eastern Tce and Sanwich Roads have been designated, by the City Council, as a drop-off zone to help all of our whānau with drop-offs and pick-ups in the mornings and afternoons and to keep traffic flowing. Please DON'T get out of your car and go into school if you are in the 3 min zone between 8:30 and 9:30am or between 2:30 and 3:30 pm! 
We are ordering new signage to put up to help remind people! 

Thursday 2nd March - School Closes at 1pm for Teachers to attend Paid Union Meetings

If you have not yet filled in the survey to let us know your plans for your child(ren) from 1pm that day, please do that now by clicking on this link. So far we have information for 280 out of 473 children.

Property Update - the 'Water Slide!'

We share everyone's frustration at the issue we have with the 'pond' at the bottom of the green slide in our playground. We have had significant and ongoing challenge finding a contractor who will take on the work needed to create a permanent solution for this isse. We reported at the end of last year that a contract had been accepted by a contractor, however, they have withdrawn from that and we are again back to trying to find another. Simply filling in the hole is not a solution as there are associated drainage issues that need to be rectified. When the rain came againt his week, of course, the side became a 'water slide' and the water, a health hazard! Thank you very much to Temp Fence for supplying us with temporary fencing free of charge around our Junior Playground slide, while our 'haerenga drainage solution' (drainage solution journey) continues.  

Cyclone Gabrielle Fundraising


Today a non-uniform day was held to raise funds for schools in flood-impacted communities. It was a fantastic effort and demonstrated again that we  understand the importance of helping others. A total of $1424.20 was raised by our community. 

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Term 1

Mon 27 Feb - Year 5-8 Swimming Sports - Wharenui Pool 12:30-2:30pm
Thu 2 Mar - School Closes at 1pm for Teachers to attend Paid Union Meetings
Mon 6 - 10 Mar - Walk or Wheel to School week
Mon 6-Fri 10 Mar - Year 7/8 Camp - Wainui
Fri 10 Mar - South Zone Swimming Sports (Y5-8), Wharenui Pool
Wed 22 Mar - PTA Meeting - All Welcome (7:30 – 9:30pm in The Green Room)
Thu 6 Apr - Last day of Term 1
Fri 7 Apr -  School Holidays begin (School closed)

Term 2

Mon 24 Apr - Staff Only Day (School closed)
Tue 25 Apr - ANZAC Day (School closed)
Wed 26 Apr - First day of Term 2
Mon 1 - Wed 3 May - Year 5/6 Camp - Living Springs
Mon 5 Jun - King's Birthday (School closed)
Fri 30 Jun - Last day of Term 2

Citizen of the Week

Leo Cronin-Wilson - Year 8

Leo, you are such an enthusiastic and focused learner, especially in maths where you are hungry for new knowledge and challenge. You have a caring soul and show respect to all. Thanks for the sparkle you bring to the Kauri hub every day. Tino pai, Leo! 

School Notices

Request for Corflute - Real Estate Agents, Printers & Sign Makers look here!

Our fantastic Kaiako of Kapa Haka - Whaea Cath, is in need of corflute - the white corrugated plastic sheets our kapa haka words are on. In the past, recycled corflute from printers or real estate agents has been used (think House For Sale, and advertising signs). We are hoping we might have some people with access to these amongst our kura whānau. One clear side is all we need for our words, with a decent amount of width to allow for sentences to be added. If you have a surplus or are able to source these, we would appreciate receiving any sheets you may have. These can be dropped to the Office. We get there together! Thanks for your help whānau.

Example of corflute in use

Eastern Tce Upcoming Changes

Please see the plans below from SEIPP which show the traffic swaps in the area which will hopefully ease any confusion… SEIPP is nearly 70% of the way through the pipe installation side of the project so the end is in sight! 

Monday 27/02/23

Palatine Terrace will be closed across from the Malcolm Ave footbridge
The Malcolm Ave footbridge across the Heathcote river will be closed again. This will have an impact on students walking/riding from Centaurus Road, the alternate footbridge is the one at Fisher Ave. The footbridge is planned to be closed for 2 weeks.
Eastern Terrace will remain closed until 02/03/23

Friday 03/03/23

Birdwood Ave and Malcolm Ave intersection will be closed
Birdwood Ave and Martin Ave intersection will be opened
Eastern Terrace will be opened including the Malcolm Ave intersection

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Whānau Workshop - Structured Literacy across all year groups

What: Literacy Parent Education Event on Structured Literacy from Year 1 to Year 8
Presented by: Emma Nahna (Sound Foundations for Literacy)
Where: Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Hall
When: Thursday 23rd March 2023, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Who: All whānau/ caregivers across the school are invited. 

We are fortunate to have the wonderful Emma Nahna, Speech-Language Therapist and Literacy Consultant, coming to run a whānau workshop this term. Emma is extremely knowledgeable and an engaging speaker. Her mission is to support educators and parents “...to grow every child into a successful reader and writer.”

Emma will be running a whānau workshop on Thursday 23rd March at 5:30pm for our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto whānau. The first hour and a half will cover the ‘what’ and ‘why’ of structured literacy across the school and how you can support your learner at home. The last half an hour of the session will emphasise the importance of continuing to follow a structured literacy approach into the senior levels of the school, and will delve into morphology (the study of the forms of words)  and syntax (the arrangement of words to create sentences).

PTA News

Keep your eyes open for news next week regarding a delicious hot cross bun fundraiser! 


Good luck to all the tamariki participating in the weet-bix tryathalon this Sunday. Look out for the gazebo and sausage sizzle - all Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto students and whānau are welcome (even if you didn't remember to join the school group when you entered!)

Community Notices

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

EVolocity Canterbury Launch Event - locked & loaded!

EVolocity Canterbury Launch 
Saturday 4 March
11am-1:30pm
Air Force Museum @ Wigram

Here's the information you need in order to secure a free ticket as numbers are limited!
https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/evolocity-launch-day-canterbury-tickets-534184679757

Kauri Whānau Update: Week 4

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 In this post:

  • Swimming sports reminder
  • Technology at CSKI
  • Leadership Week
Swimming Sports on Monday

Our school swimming sports will be held at Whārenui Centre on Monday 27th February 12.30 to 2.30pm. Students who are participating will be leaving school by bus at 11.50am. Students have been told to have their swimwear on underneath their clothes, and will need to have their race numbers written on their hands. Please refer back to the Hero post that Sarah sent out on Tuesday for more information.

Technology at Christchurch South Karamata Intermediate School

We've had two fantastic weeks of Technology lessons at CSKI. Here are some photos from the Food & Nutrition class.



Leadership Week

We have spent the last few days developing and putting into action our understanding of the '7 habits of highly effective people' and how these impact us as leaders, and those around us as a result. While the rain did put a damper on things, we were still able to engage with a range of activities. Thanks heaps to the parents who have helped us out this week.

The Year 7s spent time in junior classrooms (Koru, Kahikatea, and Kōwhai teams) and those teachers let us know that the students were all well organised, cheerful, and excellent role models who impressed everyone with their maturity and good manners. One teacher let us know "I think the funniest moment for me was when the students realised that teaching is actually hard work."







The Year 8s spent time participating in smaller and larger group-based activities on Thursday, and had an excellent talk from Tamatea of Attitude Inc. On Friday we began with a design challenge where students were tasked with creating a castle out of newspaper and masking tape. We then watched the movie "Remember the Titans", during which we discussed the connections we could make to the 7 Habits. The kids also all enjoyed Thursday's pizza dinner and Friday's BBQ lunch.

Our guest speaker, Tamatea

Group sit activity: "Begin with the end in mind"


Sinking Islands: Put first things first

Unlock the maze: Synergize


BBQ Lunch: Sharpen the saw



Term 1 Koru Team news update

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Kia ora, ki ngā whānau,

What very busy days we're having in the Koru team. The children are really embracing our routines and expectations, and we have this week started adding our small group teaching into our days. The children are managing themselves incredibly well at these times, and are very much enjoying being 'called' to the jellybean table for their Literacy group lessons. Please see below for one or two links which we know you'll find very valuable, as far as the children's Literacy learning is concerned.

Friendship List:

Please email Georgia with your contact details by the end of next week (Friday, March 3rd), if you would like to share your contacts with the other families in the Koru team. This is helpful if you are wishing to organise playdates with your child's classmates.

Kapa haka:

Whaea Cath came to visit last Friday and took us for our first Kapa Haka session. We practised some waiata, including 'Ko au, ko au' as well as the actions which accompany each song. We'll endeavour to ensure that some videos are included in our Blog posts in the future, however in the meantime, you'll find a photo below.

Geometry and Patterning:

We began our Maths programme at the start of this year with a focus on the Maths strands of Geometry and Algebra (patterns and relationships). Our focus was on sorting shapes by their appearance, looking for similarities and differences, and continuing and creating sequential patterns. We loved the children's enthusiasm and engagement throughout these Maths sessions. You'll see evidence of both in the photos below.

Puppy visit:

The children showed wonderful care and kindness when little Paco, Elizabeth's 14 week old whippet puppy, came to visit. They were incredibly gentle and considerate, and all followed the instruction to present a fist for Paco to sniff, so that he would feel safe and secure with them.


Words of the Week (so far): 

Each week at Beckenham Te Kura, throughout our school, we have a focus Word of the Week, which we bring into every element of our programme throughout each day. Our Words of the Week so far this year have been inclusion, honesty and kindness. We have discussed with the children the meaning of each of these words and what we might see and hear when these values and qualities are being displayed. 

Inclusion means to make other people feel welcome. It is about accepting others for who they are.

Honesty means that we are truthful in what we say and do. When we are honest, the people in our lives know that they can trust us. Trust is a very important part of positive relationships with our family, friends and teachers.

Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous and considerate.

These are great qualities to discuss with your children at home. You could ask them to give you examples of what each of these qualities might look like and sound like at school, and then think of examples together for what they might look like and sound like at home.

Structured Literacy:

You will by now have seen that your child's Literacy folder has started coming home in their schoolbag each day (Monday to Thursday). We keep the folder at school on Fridays, and this is often when teachers get the chance to add to the resources in the folder, or, once books start coming home, collect the books back in.

We do trust that you'll follow the links below, which we think you'll find very helpful:

  • as background information about Structured Literacy (a link to the Literacy page on our school website and a link to a short video of Caroline Moffat, our Resource Teacher of Literacy, presenting to a parent workshop on the subjects of The Science of Reading and Structured Literacy)
  • as you start working with your children on practising their letter sounds (The Speech Sounds of New Zealand English)
We'd also like to alert you to a Structured Literacy parent information workshop, to be held here at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in our school hall, on Thursday, March 23rd, starting at 5:30 p.m. We urge you to do your best to attend this workshop - Emma Nahna is an excellent speaker and we are absolutely certain that you'll find this workshop incredibly valuable! Please click here to find out further details.

Some reminders:
  • Please do remember that our staff carpark is an area through which vehicles will be moving throughout the day, especially at the Hangere end of the carpark, where cars and vans are frequently either dropping off at or picking up from the Ferndale unit; we ask you to please enter and exit the school grounds through the gates at either Eastern Terrace near the public toilets, at the corner of Eastern Terrace and Sandwich Road or near our school flagpole on Sandwich Road. You might also come into our courtyard area from Beckenham Park. Thank you very much for supporting us with the safety of all around our school
  • Please do ensure that your child's library folder and poetry book are packed and returned to school for Fridays each week. These items can be returned earlier in the week, however if they're not at school for use on Fridays, this can be disappointing for children, especially if  they're unable to get new library books out for the weekend and the week ahead.

We do hope you enjoy the photos which follow - a snapshot of some of the activities the children have been engaging in recently. Enjoy!

One of our first Structured Literacy lessons - mīharo, tamariki. Brilliant!

Sorting shapes according to their attributes

Beautiful name collage work

...and more!

Creating 3-D models using magnetic shapes

Puppy Paco visits

Showing a closed fist for Paco to sniff

Having a big stretch

So gentle!

Well done, children - everyone is showing 'We Care'

Home base!

What a long dog!


"On your mat. Sit! Good boy, Paco!"

Singing 'Mrs Bunny'

Our first Celebration Assembly, and just look at our sitting!

Puppet time...

... and oh, what fun!

Sequential patterning, using the penguins

Focusing beautifully at poetry time

Playing one of Sonya's board games

Another one of Sonya's board games - so much fun!!

Looking at te tinana - lying perfectly still for the body outline!

What a cosy little nest you've created there!

Another perfect pattern - and what colour would come next to continue the pattern?

Well done - a perfect pattern using two colours... and what will be next in this pattern?

A zebra-like pattern here!

What impressive focus as we learn about the sound the letter 'a' makes

And how might this pattern be continued?

...and this one?

More work on the sound, /a/

Working on our poem 'Ten Little Apples'

We loved our visit from Whaea Cath!

How would you continue this pattern?

...and this pattern?

...and this one?

...and what about this pattern?

A VERY complex pattern here, created collaboratively - what colour always comes after ... (pick a colour and check)?

Another complex pattern - can you say out loud what the pattern is?

Using three different colours to create this sequential pattern

Wow - can you work this pattern out?

...and this one?

What about this one?

As you will see, we're having lots of fun at school and the tamariki are all thoroughly engaged. Their ability to participate and contribute is second to none!
Enjoy the final part of this week, and we wish you all a wonderful and relaxing weekend.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Elizabeth, Georgia and Sonya

Kahikatea News Term 1 Week 3

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Kia ora e te whānau mā,

It has been lovely to see our children continuing to settle into the new school year! 'We Love Learning' has been a value that the teachers have noticed in action, with children enthusiastically approaching their learning. Nau mai te wero, bring on the challenge!

Hats

Students are required to wear hats outside in Terms 1 and 4. Please make sure that your child has a clearly named wide-brimmed or bucket hat. We recommend leaving hats at school in your child's home group hat tub. This helps minimise the possibility of losing or forgetting hats and it supports us in ensuring smooth transitions to breaks during the day. 

Toys at School

We have noticed that some children are bringing toys (including soft toys) from home to school. We have reminded tamariki that their toys need to stay at home. We find that if children bring a toy from home it can become a distraction during learning, and sometimes these special items become lost or broken during the day. If your child needs extra support with settling into school, please speak to your child's home group teacher, and together, we will come up with a plan.

Celebration Assembly and Team Hui

We had the first Celebration Assembly and Team Hui of the year last Friday with many parents/caregivers joining us. Congratulations to Kahikatea children who received a Kete award or a certificate for showing our school values.



Sharing our Learning

We had some special visitors in the Kahikatea hub this week! It is butterfly season, so we were thrilled to get the chance to learn about the life cycle of butterflies this week when a learner brought their chrysalises in to share. Even more exciting were the obvious changes in the chrysalises throughout the day and then the appearance of butterflies.




Literacy at home


Your child's literacy teacher will send home resources to support your child's structured literacy learning at home by the end of this week. These resources align with your child's current structured literacy stage. As your child moves through the stages, these resources will be updated. Please keep an eye out for them in your child's reading folder and let your child's teacher know if you have any questions.

Maths

In Kahikatea so far this term, we have been working on an NZ Maths unit called ‘All about us’. We have explored:

  • Different ways to count groups of objects

  • Creating and interpreting picture graphs

  • Features of 2D shapes

  • The language of position

  • Ordering objects by mass (weight)

  • Creating sequential patterns


Here are some photos of some of the fabulous mathematical thinking that our tamariki have displayed...
























That's all for now! 
Team Kahikatea

quynh.nguyen@beckenham.school.nz
lisa.collier@beckenham.school.nz
krystal.hunt@beckenham.school.nz
amber.donovan@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 17 February 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Our thoughts are with the people of those North Island communities who have been devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle. I know that many of you will have whānau, friends or colleagues impacted. Expect to hear something in next week's newsletter about some action that we can take to show our support to schools in the impacted areas.

Our thoughts are also with the Turkish community as the scale of the devastation from their earthquakes continues to grow. Those of us who experienced the Canterbury earthquakes understand some of the sense of helplessness and loss that is felt when a natural disaster strikes at the heart of a community. 

Reminder: Early Finish on Thursday 2nd March - please fill in the survey link below (if you haven't already done this)

As you may be aware, the teachers' union, NZEI, are still in negotiations with the Ministry of Education around a new collective agreement. There is going to be a paid union meeting that all union members are expected to attend, on the afternoon of Thursday 2nd March. As the vast majority of our teachers belong to the union, we need to stop classes at 1pm on this day.
If you are NOT able to arrange for your children to be collected at 1pm on Thursday 2nd March, we will arrange supervision here at school. If your child normally attends BOSCO on a Thursday, we will make sure they get to BOSCO as usual.

EVERY FAMILY needs to fill in this survey, please, to let us know what your plan is for this day so that we know where every child is going to be at 1pm, and we can plan adequate supervision for those who need to stay at school.

Reminder: 2023 Whānau feedback on reporting through Hero

During 2022 student reports were provided to whānau through Hero. As this is a new process for our school community, we would appreciate your feedback as we look for ways to improve the experience.

We would appreciate it if you would be able to take a few minutes to complete this survey (click here).

If you are new to Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in 2023 there is no need to complete the survey.

We will be closing reports for viewing from Monday morning. This is to allow teachers to begin to update student records. They will be opened again when mid-year reports are ready in Week 6 of Term 2.

Request for Annual Donation

Today you will have received an email requesting your contribution in the form of an annual donation.
If you need any assistance logging into Hero to view your statement or wish to find out more about the school donation or setting up payment instalments, you can refer to our website https://www.beckenham.school.nz/ and follow the “Finances and Annual Donation” link in the “Information” dropdown menu. You will also find information on applying for Donation Tax Credits from the IRD on this page. This scheme entitles you to claim back 33% of your donation payments, if you meet the eligibility criteria. Receipts for donations payments (including camp donations) made to us before 31st March this year, can be submitted as part of your application for the financial year ended 31 March 2023.

If you have a student in Year 7 or 8, a Camp donation request will be going onto your account next week and the Year 5 & 6 Camp donation request will be added in a few weeks time. If you have chosen to pay your donations in instalments over the year, please consider increasing these to allow for the cost of camp.

We greatly appreciate all contributions you are able to make towards donations. These go a long way towards providing a rich and diverse programme for our tamariki.

Payments may be made in part or full to the school bank account -

ASB Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Board of Trustees 12 3148 0131641 000 using the child's name as a reference. The school office also has Eftpos facilities available.

If you have any queries, please email accounts@beckenham.school.nz


Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Term 1

Wed 22 Feb - PTA Meeting; All Welcome (7:30 – 9:30pm in The Green Room)
Thu 23 Feb - BOT Meeting (5.30-7.30pm- Staffroom)
Fri 24 Feb - Celebration Assembly (10.00 - 10.30am in the Hall)
Mon 27 Feb - Year 5-8 Swimming Sports - Wharenui Pool 12:30-2:30pm
Thu 2 Mar - School Closes at 1pm for Teachers to attend Paid Union Meetings
Mon 6 - 10 Mar - Walk or Wheel to School week
Mon 6-Fri 10 Mar - Year 7/8 Camp - Wainui
Fri 10 Mar - South Zone Swimming Sports (Y5-8), Wharenui Pool
Wed 22 Mar - PTA Meeting - All Welcome (7:30 – 9:30pm in The Green Room)
Thu 6 Apr - Last day of Term 1
Fri 7 Apr -  School Holidays begin (School closed)

Term 2

Mon 24 Apr - Staff Only Day (School closed)
Tue 25 Apr - ANZAC Day (School closed)
Wed 26 Apr - First day of Term 2
Mon 1 - Wed 3 May - Year 5/6 Camp - Living Springs
Mon 5 Jun - King's Birthday (School closed)
Fri 30 Jun - Last day of Term 2Continue reading→