Monthly Archives: September 2023

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 15 Sep 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

A huge thank you to the team from Camera and Digital (16 Colombo St) who were at school from 7:30am this morning, setting up for a full day of homegroup and individual photographs. We are grateful to them for rebooking this date, after our first try in Term 2 was called off due to so many staff and students being away sick.
We look forward to seeing the photos when they have them ready, early next term.

Next week we are expecting the SmartGrass contractors in, to begin putting down the SmartGrass on the grass areas of our junior playground and pathways. Much as we would prefer to have real grass, unless we put a permanent "Keep off the grass" sign on it, we just can't grow real grass with the volume of happy children who want to play on it! It will be exciting to see this go in, and it should be completed by the start of Term 4.

Next week, a large proportion of our Year 7/8 students will be at the Koru Games with other Year 7/8 students from Canterbury, on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  On Friday, our Year 7/8 team will be going to Technology (usually this is a Tuesday morning). So this means that next week, Celebration Assembly will be on Monday at 10am, not Friday!

One more week of school to go next week, before we head into the Sep/Oct holidays. Have a safe weekend, everyone!

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

NB: You can find our Community Calendar on our school website. You can embed this calendar into your own digital calendar and stay up-to-date with events and information.
 
Mon 18 Sep - 10am Celebration Assembly  
Wed 20 Sep - 7:30pm - PTA Meeting
Thu 21 Sep - 5:30pm - BOT Meeting - Staffroom
Fri 22 Sep - Final day for PTA Calendar Art orders
Fri 22 Sep - 1:45pm Beckenham's Got Talent!
Fri 22 Sep - Final day of Term 3
Mon 9 Oct - First day of Term 4

Term Dates: Click here to view 2023 & 2024 term dates

Citizen of the Week

Ruby Marsh-Crates  - Year 8

Ruby, your friendliness and positivity is appreciated by all in the Kauri team. You bring enthusiasm to the team and your positive nature brightens up the day for others. You are an engaged learner who has been making progress in all areas. Keep on shining!

School Notices

Lost Property

Please check out the Lost Property before the end of term. We have a number of uniform and other items waiting for their owners to claim them. Please also take the time to ensure your childs items are all label, and readable to others, so we can return these to your children directly!

Congratulations! Innovation Expo - Overall Winners!

On Sunday, September 10th, three teams of four Kauri students participated in the Build Ōtautahi: Minecraft Build Challenge at Te Pae's Innovation Expo. One of our teams was the overall winner of their group. Their task was to use Minecraft to design sustainable structures for vacant city centre lots, all within a 60-minute timeframe. Leading up to the competition, our students learned about sustainable design principles and practiced their building skills. On the event day, it drew a large crowd, with 13 schools and 48 teams, involving over 200 students across multiple sessions.


Te Whānau Kapa Haka Performance

Our senior Kapa Haka Group, Te Whānau Mahi Tahi delivered a stunning performance at the South Library as part of Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori on Tuesday evening. 

Thank you to Whaea Cath for her mahi (work) with this rōpū (group).

Community Dental Service Term 3 School Holiday Closure

Sunscreen, Hats and Drink Bottles

Term 4 is incoming and this is a reminder that in Term 4 all children need to come to school each day with a school hat and their drink bottle, it is also recommended that children come to school with sunscreen applied. We welcome children to begin bringing their hats now!

Sports News

Year 4 Touch Rugby

We are looking for a couple more players to join so we can make a team. Games are Thursday Term 4 and Term 1, at Centennial Park. Please contact Jaime, jaime_mcguinness@hotmail.com if your child is interested in joining.

PTA News

Calendar Art

Don’t forget to get your calendar art orders in! They make great Christmas presents as handy cards and notebooks to use all year. Orders close on 22nd September. 
Go to https://www.kidsartworks.com/ and enter your child’s code to order. 

Weetbix TRYathlon

The Weetbix TRYathlon is coming around again and we have created a School Group. Click on the link below to join the Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto Group when you enter the TRYathlon.  You can also join our School Group, without the link, by using the School Group search functionality when entering online.

Community Picnic

And don’t forget the Community Picnic, on Friday 24th November from 5pm.  We’ll have a Sausage Sizzle, Bouncy Castle and ice blocks.  Looking forward to seeing you all there!

BOT Update

Policy Review

  1. Visit the website https://beckenham.schooldocs.co.nz/1893.htm
  2. Enter the username (beckenham) and password (pride).
  3. Follow the link to the relevant policy as listed.
  4. Read the policy.
  5. Click the Start your review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
  6. Select the reviewer type.
  7. Enter your name (optional).
  8. Follow the prompts to show that you've read the topic and enter your feedback if you'd like to comment.
  9. Agree to the privacy statement and click “Submit review”.
If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

Community Notices

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

Draft Equity and Inclusion Policy - consultation open!


We’d like to hear what you think about Draft Equity and Inclusion Policy.
We’re committed to building inclusive, safe, resilient, and connected communities.

You can find out more about this Policy and tell us what you think online until Tuesday 3 October 2023.

Ngā mihi nui
Engagement Team




Action Indoor Sports Hornby - Junior Term 4 & 1 Indoor Sports Competition

Action Indoor Sports Hornby is looking for sporting superstars to register teams in our junior competition league during Terms 4 and 1.

The competition starts on Friday 13th October and we have spaces available for teams to register in indoor netball (7 aside), football (5 aside), and basketball (3x3).

Game times range from 4:00pm onwards every Friday with the younger age groups playing first. Teams will also be placed in grades to match their sporting ability; 9-11 years, 12-14 years, 14-16 years, and 16-18 years old.

You don’t need to enter as a school and If you are interested in entering teams, contact Action Indoor Sports Hornby on 03 342 6800 for more details or register your team online at www.actionindoorsports.com

FINANCIAL LITERACY - THE ART OF MAKING CHOICES


The Cashmere Parents Group (CPG) are hosting a free evening talk for parents on Financial Literacy. 

What IS Financial Literacy and why is it so important? What are our young people learning at school to prepare them for the future financially? Why do parents + caregivers need to know this?

Parents have requested to learn more about this extremely valuable topic, so we've enlisted a great team led by Cashmere High School's Commerce HOD Rasha Magdy. This panel talk will also benefit your students as well, they are most welcome to attend.

The evening will consist of a panel of presenters from the following groups. They will share their knowledge and answer questions to help parents gain skills, tools and understand concepts not only for themselves but to support their whanau.

Commerce Department at Cashmere High school - https://www.cashmere.school.nz/Faculties-1/Social-Sciences/Commerce
Banqer - Building life skills for students through an online platform. https://banqer.co/nz/high
University of Canterbury Business School - https://www.canterbury.ac.nz/business/
MYOB – Business Management Platform. https://www.myob.com/nz 
Chartered Accountants Association - https://www.charteredaccountantsanz.com

Date: Tuesday 17 October: 7pm - 8.30pm
6.30-7pm Hot drink, 'Brain Teaser' and kōrero in the foyer.

Venue: Cashmere High School, Performing Arts Centre (PAC)
Entry off Barrington Street, 2 car parks onsite.

Please REGISTER HERE and we look forward to seeing you from 6.30pm at the Performing Arts Centre on Tuesday 17th October.

Cashmere Parents Group
E cpg@cashmere.school.nz

Art Classes for Children

Is your child passionate about art? Would they like to extend their creativity through learning a range of new art skills and techniques? Maybe Kat's holiday painting workshops or after-school art classes are just what you've been looking for. Kat's Art Studio is located at 171 Waltham Rd. Art tutor Katrina is a professional artist and tutor who has over 10yrs experience teaching children art. For more details, please visit www.katsartstudio.co.nz

Southern Districts Cricket Club

At Beckenham Park, We not only deliver cricket for all ages but a quality, engaging sport and physical activity program that we deliver through play, using our natural environment and varied equipment. We aim to improve the physical literacy of our community and encourage them to stay physically active. We would love to see more of our Beckenham Whānau join us for a Summer of cricket. 

We have teams from Friday afternoon Smashies, Year 1-2 Cricket through to Year 6 Hardball, and then for our female-only players we have teams from Year 3-4 through to Year 8-10.

Canterbury Rams & Mainland Pouākai Basketball Camp Registrations Now Open

The Canterbury Rams & Mainland Pouākai Basketball Camp registrations for the September School holidays have now been released.

Our camps are the perfect opportunity for basketball enthusiast to learn training techniques from our Canterbury Rams and Mainland Pouākai professional players. The camps are fun, energetic and will support players with their development for their school & club seasons.

Spots are limited, get in quick and sign up today.

Book Rams Basketball Camp

Book Pouākai Basketball Camp

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 9

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Kia ora whānau,

We are now nearing the end of Term 3 and we are so happy to be enjoying the lovely Spring weather!

Talent Quest

Over the past few weeks, Kathryn has been auditioning the Kōwhai talent quest hopefuls and it was great to see so many Kōwhai children take part! Kathryn was very impressed with everyone's different talents. This week, we held our own Kōwhai Talent Quest and 3 finalists were chosen to take part in the whole school Talent Quest next Friday afternoon. Congratulations to comedian, Leo Hynes; gymnasts, Chloe Sayer, Lucy Lee and Vienna Aldridge and singer, Meera Verma, also known as Cupcake. Everyone who took part was outstanding so well done to all of you!



Writing

We are currently focusing on writing information reports. The children are learning about the structure of an information report and how to present the information they gather in a clear and organised manner, making it easy for the reader to understand. This will be our focus until the end of term. Please do take the opportunity to ask your child what topic they have been writing about.




Technology

We are approaching the end of our technology inquiry and have been incredibly engaged in designing and creating balloon racers. Students have been testing out their models and making modifications to see if they can get them to travel even further. It has been really interesting to see which features on our balloon racers help or hinder their progress, and how this relates to the key science ideas we covered in our ramps and marbles learning earlier this year. 

Big ideas: 
  • Environmental factors can change how an object moves (e.g. wind, moving down a ramp or rough surface etc.), as can changing the materials or shape of an object.

  • Forces include pushes, pulls and twists.

  • Air can be used to create a push (e.g., a leaf blower) or pull (e.g., a vacuum) force.

  • Friction is another force that can slow things down. Wheels help overcome friction. 

  • Scientists complete more than one test of a design or experiment to make sure their findings are accurate and can be trusted. Scientists record their results.



PB4L

Our PB4L focus this week is LEARNING and we are particularly focusing on being in the right place at the right time, actively listening and taking pride in our work, making sure we do our best every single time. Our word of the week is CO-OPERATION and the children have been watching various videos on teamwork. We have been talking about how cooperation means working together to get things done. 


Some of the Kōwhai children demonstrating co-operation:



Fleeces/Jumpers

We are experiencing difficulty in returning fleeces and jumpers to their rightful owners as the names are not always legible and sometimes the name of the previous owner is still written on the label. We would love your support with naming all of them clearly. If they are second hand fleeces or jumpers, please score the previous names out and clearly write your child's name in. We also have students who are missing their fleeces and jumpers. Please can you also check that your child hasn't inadvertently taken the wrong fleece or jumper home. We really appreciate your help with this.

Hats

We are now starting to prepare for Term 4 and we are back to wearing hats outside at all times. Please could you ensure that your child has a named hat ready for the first day of Term 4 as they will not be able to participate in outdoor activities without it. Thank you so much for your support with this.

Library Visits Next Term

We are currently organising visits to the South Library next term to learn about our local community, explore the Canterbury Stories exhibit and to hear the story of the South Library, from the days of the Māori up until the upcoming rebuild and the effect this has had on Beckenham as a community. It will be a very interesting and informative experience. 

We would love some parent help for this so we wanted to give you a heads up regarding the dates involved. Each homegroup will be going on a different day. Please see below for the different dates involved:
  • Monday 16th October 1:25-2:50pm = Anna R

  • Tuesday 17th October 1:25-2:50pm = Anna M

  • Wednesday 18th October 1:25-2:50pm = Rowe

  • Tuesday 24th October 1:25-2:50pm = Charlotte

  • Wednesday 25th October 1:25-2:50pm = Nick


If you are interested in coming, please let your child's homegroup teacher know. We only have a certain amount of spaces so we will get back to you at the beginning of next term to confirm if you will be needed or not. Thank you! N.B. This trip is not suitable for pre-schoolers.

Athletics Day

On Thursday 26th October next term (Week 3) we will be running a whole school Athletics Day to which you are welcome to come and support your child/children. There will be more information to follow next term.


Structured Literacy Books

Finally, we are needing all the structured literacy books that have been sent home to be handed back by the end of this term. Please make sure that all of them are returned as soon as you can. 

Thank You

We would like to take the opportunity to thank your children for all their hard work this term. It has been a busy time but there has been a lot of fantastic learning along the way. Thank you to you as parents and caregivers for all you do to support us and your children. We get there together!

Koru Team News: Term 3, Week 9

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 Kia ora, e te whānau,

It's been a very busy couple of weeks for us all in the Koru team, as we come close to the end of Term 3. We have had new children start throughout the last couple of weeks, and they have settled in beautifully! Over the last few weeks, we have had some exciting opportunities for our Koru children, including a cricket awareness session, Keeping Ourselves Safe sessions with Constable Meg, and Te Wiki o te reo Māori (Māori Language Week). We have our Beckenham's Got Talent Show coming up on Friday Week 10, and have some of our children performing. The tamariki did an awesome job showcasing their talents at our mini Koru Talent Showcase. 

Mini Koru Talent Showcase highlights:

Three bananas performing...

The bananas escape from the ravenous dinosaur!

Why is 6 scared of 7?

Take a bow!

The 'second hand' shop joke!

Our flexible friends!

Bridges and handstands...



Tricks with hula hoops.


Great spinning skills!


Te Wiki o te reo Māori:

Last week was Māori language week. We have included some cool activities for the tamariki based on different aspects of te reo Māori. This included learning the names of colours and colouring in a rainbow, singing waiata, making bookmarks that had kowhaiwhai patterns on them, and learning new kupu. It has been an awesome week!!


Cricket:

On Thursday 7th September, each home group had an awesome 25 minute cricket awareness session with Cat, from Southern Districts Cricket Club. This was a great opportunity for our tamariki to participate in, and they all enjoyed themselves enormously. The children learnt different skills based on throwing, catching and batting. All the children were engaged and had such a great time! We will be sending out more information soon about skills sessions that are held on Saturdays at the club. 


Keeping Ourselves Safe:

This term as part of our Health Curriculum, teams are teaching the programme called Keeping Ourselves Safe, in Years 0 - 6. In the units, our Koru children have been looking at: 

- describing where they live; identifying things that make them special and explaining when they feel safe and unsafe

- learning to use the correct names for body parts and describing whether a touch is one they like, one they don’t like, or one that is confusing

- learning to say ‘no’ to touch, behaviour and words that worry or confuse them and talking about moving away and seeking help

- identifying the difference between good surprises and bad secrets

- identifying people they trust and understanding family safety rules. 

We have been working with the children these last 2 weeks on our Keeping Ourselves Safe programme and you may have noticed the children have brought home some homework sheets to complete. A reminder that these sheets can stay at home once completed. It has been really awesome to have discussions with the children about their address, their phone numbers, different feelings we may have, and what to do if they get lost. We were also lucky to have 2 sessions with Constable Meg where we discussed what a police officer is, the different body parts, and talking about good touch, bad touch and confusing touch.  If you have any questions about any of this programme, please come and chat to one of the kaiako. 

Reminders:

  • A reminder that we are a water bottle school, and prefer it if the children drink water throughout the day, rather than flavoured milk or juice.
  • Next week is the last week of Term 3. 
  • Calendar Art: We have sent home the information sheets with the code you need to use if you wish to order your child's calendar art. This is only for Elizabeth, Stacey and Georgia's home groups. Please check the photos on the windows to see the awesome work your child has done. 

Some helpful links:
  • Click on these links and join in as your children sing one of their favourite songs, Sprinkle a Little Sunshine (here with the lyrics, and here, without, but with very cute images instead!)
  • For those new families to the Koru team, a link through to the National Anthem which we sing each morning - your children are doing an awesome job with this, participating and trying their very best each morning
  • Clicking here will take you to a variety of links for those of you who would like to read more about The Science of Reading and Structured Literacy.
All best for a lovely last week of term!
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Georgia, Sarah, Elizabeth and Stacey



Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Rāmere (Friday) 8 Sep 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori Next Week

Kapa Haka
Christchurch South Library has invited our Te Whānau Kapa Haka Rōpū to perform as part of their programme of events celebrating Te Wiki o te Reo Māori next week. 

We have a performance slot starting at 5p.m. on Tuesday the 12th. 

We would love to see some of our Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto whānau there to support our tamariki.

The performance will last between 15 and 20 minutes and will be a diverse showcase of the waiata and haka that the group has been practising. 

Strum Strike Blow

On Wednesday night Beckenham Ukelele and Recorder students took part in the amazing "Strum, Strike, Blow" performance at the Wolfbrook Arena, along with over 800 other students from Canterbury schools.

A special thanks to those whānau who helped make this a success with transport support for rehearsals, and to Roger and Josie, who have put a lot of time and effort into supporting musical opportunity and talent within our kura.

I will be away at the annual New Zealand Principals' Conference from Monday to Wednesday this coming week. 
Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

NB: You can find our Community Calendar on our school website. You can embed this calendar into your own digital calendar and stay up-to-date with events and information.

Tue 12 Sep - Te Whānau Kapa Haka Performance at Christchurch South Library, 5pm
Wed 13 Sep - Year 5-8 Choir - Music Festival Rehearsal
Wed 13 Sep- Year 8 Student and Parent Evening at Cashmere High, 6-7pm
Thu 14 Sep - am - Year 8 entrance testing at Cashmere High
Fri 15 Sep - School Photos
Wed 20 Sep - 7:30pm - PTA Meeting
Thu 21 Sep - 5:30pm - BOT Meeting - Staffroom
Fri 22 Sep - Final day for PTA Calendar Art orders
Fri 22 Sep - 10am Celebration Assembly
Fri 22 Sep - 1:45pm Beckenham's Got Talent!
Fri 22 Sep - Final day of Term 3
Mon 9 Oct - First day of Term 4

Term Dates: Click here to view 2023 & 2024 term dates

Citizen of the Week

Clara Shaw - Year 4

Clara, the positivity and enthusiasm that you bring to Kōwhai Hub every day is infectious! You are someone who leads by example, displaying our school Kete in all that you do. Your caring nature, sense of humour, and willingness to help out whenever you see a need makes a difference to our hub. Tēnā rawa atu koe Clara, keep shining!

School Notices

Keep New Zealand Beautiful Clean up Week; 11th - 15th September 2023

Who wants to be a Plogger?
Plogging is a combination of 'jogging' with 'picking up litter', merging the Swedish verbs 'plocka upp' (pick up) and 'jogga' (jog) gives the new Swedish verb 'plogga', from which the word plogging derives.

Everyone will get a chance to plog next week when it is Keep New Zealand Beautiful Clean Up week.
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at lunchtime there will be buckets and tongs available for any and all ākonga and kaimahi (students and staff) who want to plog and get Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto 100% litter free!
See you by the flagpole!

Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori - Māori Language Moment

Te Āo Māori is celebrated and embraced every week within our kura, from waiata to karakia in the mornings, the way our tamariki embrace Mātauranga Māori each day is truly inspiring. Here are some new and exciting opportunities happening at kura, and some ideas for your whānau to explore together.

Tapu Ae!

We have a freshly painted Tapu Ae court in the Parenga/Pūkaki courtyard. Thank you so much to Gayle and Jenny for the organisation. 

This game is a hit with the kids, and relatively easy to teach and learn. 

We are just waiting on the middle path (te ara) to be painted, but the game can definitely still be played on the court as it is. 

Here is a link to a clip about how to play:


Resources

There are many different ways to upskill and embrace learning in ways that suit the way you learn, below are some great resources with different ideas for you and your whānau to explore together. Thanks to Steve for sharing these resources, and Tapu Ae details with us. We Get There Together, and this includes our learning journeys!
A simple yet great resource is Te Aka (The Māori Dictionary), where you can find the translation and meaning of a word by entering it in English or te reo Māori. Te reo Māori is a spoken language, and Te Aka offers a button to hear how a word is pronounced. This is a great way to learn the correct pronunciation of a word if you are unsure. Try it out using our hub, or kura names!


Cashmere High School Q&A Evening 

Please remember to RSVP here if you are a whānau with a Year 8 student headed for Cashmere High School in 2024, and plan to attend the Q&A session with CHS Principal, Joe Eccleton.

If you have any queries please contact Bianca Edmonds, Principal's PA - pa@cashmere.school.nz

Staff Profiles

Nau mai haere mai ki te Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto kaimahi... Anita Baker

We have welcomed another new face to our Beckenham Staff, and we are very excited to introduce Anita Baker who joins us on our Teaching Assistant team, supporting ākonga across our kura.


I’m Anita, a mum of 2 young boys. I love running, baking, coffee, and keeping fit. I’m looking forward to supporting the kids at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto.

Sports News

School Duathlon Results

All children who participated in our school duathlon deserve to be very proud of their achievements. The course is a test of endurance and requires competitors to show perseverance and a love of challenge. It was really impressive to see how competitors supported and encouraged each other throughout the race. 

Year 5 Champions: Ben Stoney and Laura Stoney 

Year 6 Champions: Lily Miller and Kawa Taylor

Year 7 Champions: Jack Sayer and Isabella Guise

Year 8 Champions: Ella Coleman and Cahlen Stace

Canterbury Duathlon

On Monday, a group of children represented our kura at the Canterbury Duathlon. This course is even more challenging than the school duathlon with a 3km run and a bike of up to 9 km. The highlight for many is riding their bike along the Ruapuna Raceway.

I think this might have been our most successful Canterbury Duathlon yet!

For context, there are around 100 competitors in each race. We are super proud of all our competitors. Here are the results from the top 30. 

Lily Miller - 1st in Year 6 girls
Ben Stoney - 4th in Year 5 open
Laura Stoney - 6th in Year 5 girls
Izzy Clarke - 15th in Year 5 girls
Ella Coleman - 16th in Year 8 girls
Zach Guise - 20th in Year 5 open
Isabella Guise - 20th in Year 6 girls
Annabelle Smith - 21st in Year 7 girls
Kawariki Taylor - 26th in Year 6 open

Huxter Mountain Bike Relay Race


This event has been a very popular event in previous years for children who love biking. It is open to Year 5 to 8 children. Transport to this event and supervision during the event needs to be organised by caregivers. There will not be a teacher from kura at this event. 

If you wish for your child to be entered in this event, please fill out the following form linked here. The entry fee of  $25 for a team or $15 for an individual needs to be paid to the office upon registering your child.

PTA News

Readathon Fundraiser

A big thank you to everyone for the fabulous reading, costumes, and support for the annual Readathon.  We raised a magnificent $5160!  We will be able to buy lots of new books for the library, as well as some new games for the hubs. 

Upcoming Events

Don’t forget the Community Picnic, on Friday 24th November from 5pm.  We’ll have a Sausage Sizzle, Bouncy Castle, and ice blocks.  Looking forward to seeing you all there!

The Weetbix TRYathlon is coming around again and we have created a School Group. Click on this link to join the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto group when you enter the TRYathlon.  You can also join our School Group, without the link, by using the School Group search functionality when entering online.


Notes from the organisers:
Sign up now for the OPENING WEEK SPECIAL, be sure you use the code ‘GIVEITATRY’ to unlock this VERY SPECIAL $25 discounted price. Limited entries, ONLY 100 entries per event at this price will be available so make sure you get in quick!

If someone you know requires financial assistance to enter the TRYathlon, should it be subsidised entry fees or funding for necessary equipment, then you can apply to the Weet-Bix TRYathlon Foundation for assistance. Visit www.tryathlon.co.nz/foundation for details.

BOT Update

Please note the next Board of Trustees meeting date has changed from Wednesday the 20th September, to Thursday the 21st of September. To be held in the Staff Room at 5:30p.m.

Community Notices

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


Cashmere High School Music presents Off to Oz a farewell concert for the Music tour to Sydney.

Tickets available from eventbrite

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 7

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Kia ora whānau,

It has been another busy fortnight in the Kōwhai Team.


Keeping Ourselves Safe

Over the last two weeks, most homegroups have had a Keeping Ourselves Safe lesson with Constable Meg Moynihan, our local Police School Community Officer. The children were excited to see a police officer in the hub and had many questions for her.

Our current Keeping Ourselves Safe focuses are:

Focus area 2: My body is my own, Nōku tōku tinana 

In this focus area, students learn the names of body parts and that no one should touch their genitals unless it is for health reasons. They consider touch that they like, touch that hurts and touch that is confusing. 

Focus area 3: Unwanted behaviour and touch, Kore e hiahiatia te whanonga me te pā kino

In this focus area, students learn about saying “no” confidently, moving away, and reporting what has happened to an adult they trust. They also learn the difference between good secrets and bad secrets.

Balloon Racers

The children have been busy using the design process to plan and construct balloon-powered racing cars. Here are the steps of the design process that the children are following:
  1. Define the problem/need.
  2. Research your problem and come up with ideas you have for solving it. 
  3. Create a prototype. 
  4. Trial and improve the prototype.
  5. Reflect.
Here are some photos of their progress:





Reading Books

If your child is in a reading group that takes a reading book home, please support them to return their book to school on time. One easy way to help with this at home is to coach your child to always put their reading folder and book back in their bag as soon as they have finished reading their book. This way their book should always come back to school. Thanks for your support in this.


Positive Behaviour For Learning - Friendship

As part of our Positive Behaviour For Learning (PB4L) programme, the children learn different strategies for maintaining positive behaviour, improving their well-being and increasing their educational achievement.

We have a different PB4L focus each week. This week's focus has been on friendship. As part of this, the children have been learning about what a good friend looks like, sounds like and feels like.

Have a lovely weekend. 

Ngā mihi, 

The Kōwhai Team