Monthly Archives: October 2023

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter, Friday 28 October, 2023

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Our thoughts have been and continue to be with all of those involved with the Coronial Inquiry into the Mosque shooting that started in Christchurch this week. We know that this will be impacting many families in our community and we send our support and aroha to you all.

Thank you to our PTA!

We want to send an enormous shout-out of thanks to our PTA, both present and past, who worked over many years to fundraise for our outdoor spaces. The final part of the funds that they raised, contributed to the funding for our two new turf areas. Our children are enjoying these new surfaces so much, and we are extremely grateful for the funding that made this possible.

Considerations for home-group placement for 2024

As we start to put together home groups for 2024, we know that you may hold particular information or insight that you want to share that will support the placement of your child for next year.
While our teachers hold a lot of knowledge and understanding around the needs of our children, we are keen to also know if there is anything particular you think we should be aware of as we make these decisions.
As you will appreciate, putting home groups together is a hugely complex puzzle where the needs of all children need to be carefully considered. This means that we are not asking for 'requests' for teachers or for friendship groups as we would never be able to meet all of those. What we are seeking, is to be made aware of anything important you think we need to consider that we might not be aware of. We will add your thoughts to ours, and do the best we can to make sure that everyone's needs have been considered in our process.
If you have anything you want us to know, please email me (not the teachers) so that I have all the information in one place. I will need this information by the end of Week 4 - Friday 3rd November.
email: principal@beckenham.school.nz

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

Important Dates

(you can also find the Community Calendar on our website here)

Fri 3 Nov - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Fri 3 Nov - 9:30-12:30, Y5-8 Choir at Chch Schools Music Festival Rehearsal
Fri 3 Nov - CHCH Schools Music Festival Beckenham Performance Night
Wed 8 Nov - BOT Meeting, 5.30pm, Staffroom
Fri 10 Nov - Zones Athletics, Hansen Park
Fri 10 Nov - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Wed 15 Nov - 4pm Voting Closes - Board Elections
Thu 16 Nov - School Closed, Staff Only Day
Fri 17 Nov - School Closed, Canterbury Anniversary Day
Mon 20 Nov - Mon 27 Nov - Year 6 Beckenham Cycle Safe
Wed 22 Nov - PTA Meeting, 7.30pm
Fri 24 Nov - Celebration Assembly, 9:10-9:50am, in the Hall
Fri 24 Nov - PTA School Community Picnic, 5.00-7.30pm, Beckenham Park
Fri 1 Dec - Student Council - Celebrating Diversity and Culture Day (non-uniform)
Fri 1 Dec - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Thu 7 Dec - BOT Meeting, 5.30pm, Staffroom
Fri 8 Dec - Celebration Assembly, 10am, in the Hall
Fri 8 Dec - 12:15-3pm, Kahikatea Team trip to Isaac Theatre Royal, Southern Ballet
Mon 11 Dec - 7-8pm Kauri Production, in the Hall
Tue 12 Dec - 7-8pm Kauri Production, in the Hall
Fri 15 Dec - Final Celebration Assembly, 9:45am, in the Hall
Mon 18 Dec - Year 8 Graduation, 11am-12pm
Mon 18 Dec - Year 8 Leavers' Lunch 12:30-1:30pm
Tue 19 Dec - Last Day of Term 4, School finishes at 12.30pm

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

Citizen of the Week

Cian Scott - Year 8

Cian, you are a natural leader in our Kauri whānau. You look out for those around you and are proactive in stepping in when you see an opportunity to help or support others. We see this on the sports field when you come alongside others to offer advice and encouragement. We see this in the loyalty that you show your friends and the artful way that you are able to use humour to brighten someone’s spirits. Thank you for all you bring to our Kauri whānau. 

School Notices

Board Parent Mid-Term Election 2023 - 3 Vacancies

Instruction on how you vote electronically has been distributed by email to eligible whānau. If you have any problems with this process, please contact our Liaison Officer for the Board Election at reihana.dougherty@beckenham.school.nz

Please take the time to read the candidate statements, and cast your vote. Your participation in this process is hugely appreciated, and essential in the appointment of our representatives to our Board, that represent our school community.

Voting closes at 4:00 PM Wednesday, November 15th.

Attendance

Thank you for continuing to be proactive in communicating if your child will not be at school. After the process of marking the morning roll takes place, text messages will be sent out to primary contacts for all students marked as not here ("?").

We appreciate your prompt response to these messages so we can mark your child, or follow up accordingly.

Please remember the roll is taken by teachers at 8:55 a.m., and any students who arrive in class after this time will need to be signed in at the Office.

Sports News

School Athletics Day

It was awesome to see our tamariki out on the park embracing challenge and supporting each other at our school athletics this week. This event celebrates the P.E. learning that our ākonga have been doing over the past few weeks. There were lots of impressive performances of skill and sportsmanship throughout the day from all ages. 

Thank you to the senior students who helped with set up and pack down and to whānau who helped run events or allowed themselves to be roped into our house relay. 

The final school event for our Year 5 to 8 tamariki is long jump, which is an optional event and takes place at Hillview Christian School. Children have signed up for this event through a Google form at school. 

Years 5 and 6 will do long jump next Tuesday morning from 9:00.
Years 7 and 8 will do long jump next Tuesday afternoon after lunch.

We are looking for a couple of adult help to support us with walking the children to Hillview Christian School and running the event. If you are able to support us, please send an email to Steve or Jenny. 

steve.cooke@beckenham.school.nz
jenny.diggle@beckenham.school.nz

Huxster

On Wednesday, a group of children from Years 5 to 8 competed at the Huxster Mountain Bike Relay at McLean's Island. At this event, children work in a team of two to complete as many laps of the course as they can within the allotted time. The sun was shining and the stoke level was high as the children took on this challenge. A huge congratulations to all who took part. 

All the children deserve to feel very proud of their achievements.

Ben and Zach - Third Place Year 5/6 Boys Team
Isabella and Annabelle - First Place Year 7/8 Girls Team

BOT Update

Term 4 Policy Review

Thank you to everyone who submitted their reviews and feedback on our Term 3 policies. Your feedback helps generate quality discussion with Staff, and the Board when looking at the policies and practices within our kura. Your voices and experiences are incredibly appreciated in this process.

This Term, the below policies are up for review:


If a link is inactive on SchoolDocs, our school doesn't have the topic.

How to 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.

Example of Policy Review questions
Feedback

You can send feedback on a topic to the school at any time using the green feedback button at the top of the page.
While only a certain number of topics are available for review each term, SchoolDocs users can send feedback about any topic, at any time, directly to the school. Members of the school community can submit feedback to the school to request a change, query information in the policy, or provide implementation feedback.

Koru Team News: Term 4, Week 3

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Kia ora, e te whānau,

It has been a busy first three weeks of term in the Koru hub! We have had our Junior Park Explorers trip, our whole school Athletics day, and our tamariki have been working really hard in their Literacy and Maths groups. We are so proud of the amazing job they have all done in returning to their school day routines, and we thank you for helping to support your children in settling into their mornings, with your quick goodbyes, at least five minutes before the bell rings.

Some important dates for this term are as follows:

  • Staff Only Day - Thursday, 16th November (school is closed)
  • Canterbury Anniversary Day - Friday, 17th November (school is closed)
  • Reports go live - Week 6
  • Celebrate Diversity and Culture Dress up day - Friday, 1st December
  • Tamariki meet their 2024 teacher and final day of school for the year- Tuesday, 19th December

Junior Park Explorers Trip:

On Friday, 13th October, we were fortunate enough to finally go on our Junior Park Explorers trip down at the Beckenham Ponds, after two previous postponements, due to inclement weather. Thank you once again to all the amazing parent helpers we had on the day, for dedicating your time to be with us. We couldn't have done it without your help!

We had the privilege of having educators from the Christchurch City Council, Celia and Jen, come in and talk to us about being park explorers, and teaching us some of the ways we might explore the area around the Beckenham Ponds. We learnt and experienced many new things: different bird calls; going on a bird walk, where we noticed and listened to the surrounding birdlife; how birds help the process of pollination and seed dispersal; the different insects that could be living around the pond and the use of magnifying glasses to see what insects we could find; and playing a game known as 'Tumble Tree Forest' where our tamariki were challenged to think about and come up with solutions as to what would happen for our birdlife and insects, when too many trees are cut down.




























Reminders:

  • Sun hats need to be brought to school every day. These will stay in your child's bag whenever the children are indoors. No hat, no play.
  • If you use the sandpit at the end of the day after school, can you please make sure to put the cover back in before you leave. We really appreciate seeing that you are already helping us with this. Thank you!
  • Literacy folders need to be brought back to school and unpacked from schoolbags every day, so that they can be used during our Literacy sessions.
  • Library folders and poetry books need to be brought back on or before Fridays, so your child can get a new poem for their poetry books and some new books from the library. 
We hope you all have a fabulous week ahead, and we look forward to seeing you at drop off and pick up times!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Georgia, Sarah, Elizabeth and Stacey

Kahikatea News Term 4 Week 3

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Kia ora e te whānau,

It has been a lovely week back after the long weekend. We have been enjoying the lovely Spring weather!


Athletics

A highlight of our week was athletics day. Kahikatea children showed 'We Love Challenge' and 'We Get There Together' as they participated in long jump, hurdles, shotput, and relays. Here are some photos taken during our training and on the day.





























Toys

A quick reminder that toys are not allowed at school. If you have any questions, please let your child's homegroup teacher know.


That's all for this week. We hope that you are having a fabulous weekend!

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


Kauri Whānau Update: Term 4, Week 3

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 In this post:

  • House Games
  • Memories
  • Year 7 Leadership
  • Athletics Day
  • Whale Rider
  • Uniform
  • Sexuality Education
  • Music Festival
  • Fairy Doors

House Games

This Monday afternoon we have House Games. Students are encouraged to wear their house shirts for this. We're looking forward to seeing what the House Captains and Deputies have organised!

Year 8 Photos and Memories

We are missing at least 15 five-year-old photos which need to be sent through to Nicky this weekend. There are also a few memories that need to be written. Please remind tamariki to check whether they have a friend memory to write and if they've written it. If these are not done over the weekend it is likely that they will unfortunately be missed out of the Yearbook.

Year 7 Leadership

We talked through the google form application for Leadership positions in 2024. This is due at the end of next week (Friday Nov. 3rd), but if ākonga are interested in any of the positions, they will should chat with whānau as part of their application process.

Athletics Day

We had a fantastic day on Thursday with tamariki engaging with the challenge and fun that comes with Athletics Day. Our awesome seniors, alongside whānau, efficiently helped with the setup and packdown and we appreciate the extra time and effort put in to support this day. 

The final event for our Year 5 to 8 students is Long Jump, which is optional and will take place at Hillview Christian School after lunch this Tuesday afternoon. If you are able to help run this event, please get in touch with Jenny.

We are underway for our Term 4 Passions. Here are some photos from the fairy doors passion where they are using tiles to mosaic doors. 

Whale Rider

We are coming to the end of a novel study of Witi Ihimaera's The Whale Rider for three of our Literacy classes have been working through, and to wrap it up we will be watching the 2002 movie which is based on the book. If you have any questions or concerns, please email Thomas in the first instance. You can see more about the movie via the Common Sense Media page.

Uniform Reminder

Over the weekend and through the next week, please check you child's uniform as uniform that is defaced is no longer correct uniform. This particularly seems to be an issue with hats. We will be keeping an eye out and will email whānau if needed.

Sexuality Education

In lieu of the parent information evening planned for after school on Tuesday which did not go ahead, please see the attached slideshow. If you have any questions about the teaching and learning that will take place over the next few weeks as part of this curriculum, please get in touch with your child's homegroup teacher in the first instance.

Music Festival

On Friday evening next week our Year 5 to 8 choir will be performing in the Town Hall as part of the Christchurch School's Music Festival. We wish them all the best for this, and are sure they will do an excellent job given all the hard work they've put in during practices. Extra  best wishes to Isabelle P and Freyja S who will be performing every evening of the festival as part of the Concert Band and Senior Representative Choir, respectively.

Fairy Doors

We were thrilled that the men from the St Martins Menzshed cut, sanded, painted, and hinged the basis for our fairy doors, which is one of our current Friday afternoon passions groups. Many thanks to the people who supplied baking for our thank you gift. While it all looked delicious, we can assure you that it did end up in the right hands! You can see some of the work that has begun on the fairy doors in the photos below.








Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 3

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Kia ora whānau,

Here is an update on what we have been doing in the Kōwhai hub over the past two weeks.

Christchurch South Library Visits

Over the past two weeks, all the homegroups in Kōwhai have been on a trip to South Christchurch Library to learn about the history of the library and what the new build will look like after the earthquake irreparably damaged the current building. We were shown a slideshow on how the library evolved over the years and we ended up seeing an architect's drawing of the new library which is yet to be built. It was a really interesting experience and the children were fascinated!

        

The children then went on a scavenger hunt round the library to learn about the different areas in the library and what they are for. They also had to look for information and answer various questions. It was a fun activity while being educational at the same time.

We would just like to thank all the parent helpers who came along on the trip. We could not have done this without you. We would also like to thank Kerilea, our teacher aide, who came to support us on all of our visits.








Athletics Day

This week we held our whole school Athletics Day and it was great to see everyone out on the park participating in their various events and disciplines. In the Kōwhai team, all the homegroups had 5 rotations: high jump, long jump, discus, shot put and sprints. It was amazing to see everyone give it a go and doing their very best. Congratulations to you all!











Being SunSmart

It has been great to see so many children remembering to wear their hats at school, especially with all these sunny days we have been experiencing. Please do continue to make sure that your child has a hat at school every day and that it is clearly named. There is always the option of keeping hats at school, either in tote trays or in an allocated hat tub. We also encourage everyone to have sunscreen on. This can be applied before coming to school and we also have sunscreen at school if anyone needs to top up or they forget to put sunscreen on. Thank you so much for your support with this.

Have a great weekend!