Kahikatea Team News: Term 1, Week 9

Posted on 30 March, 202530 March, 2025 by https://www.beckenham.school.nz/index.php/category/kauri

Kia ora whānau,

A lot of exciting learning to share in this week's blogpost. We cannot believe we are nearly at the end of the term. The kids have been working so hard and they are also very tired.

Literacy:

A reminder that book and reading folders will go home on Monday and need to be brought back on Mondays so that books can be changed over.

Picasso Art:

We have been learning about abstract art and looking at the work of Picasso. The children have learned about his use of shape and how the emotions he was feeling influenced his colour choices. They have been so engaged and excited by these sessions, and we are creating some cool art! Watch this space!

Mathematics:

In keeping with Picasso, we have been looking at geometry and 2D shapes in math. We have been creating a lot of artworks using different 2D shapes. Come and have a look in our classes to check out our designs.

House Games Afternoon:

What a huge success! The first House Games afternoon was very well run by our senior house captains and deputies. Thanks for such a fun afternoon!

Koru Team Blog – Term 1 Week 9

Posted on 29 March, 202529 March, 2025 by Katie McFarlane

Kia ora e te whānau,

It is incredible to think that we are nearing the end of our first term together, and what a fantastic term it has been!

Today was our school's 'Celebration of Culture' day. This week, the school has focused on diversity, and the Koru team has been learning about what 'culture' means.

Kiss and Drop

As more children are starting in the Koru team, our hub can feel a little overwhelming for some tamariki in the morning. Please aim to "kiss and drop" your child off at the door rather than entering the hub with them. This will help set your child up for a calm, quiet, and successful transition in the morning. We also have separate doors for our two homegroups to use when entering in the morning, as well as separate lunchbox/drink bottle shelves. Thank you for your support with this!

Mathematics:

Measurement Learning

Last week, during mathematics, we focused on measurement. This involved children exploring estimation, measuring using non-standard units, and ordering from shortest to tallest using gingerbread people. On Friday, to celebrate our awesome learning, we baked gingerbread teddies. They were DELICIOUS!

Learning Through Play

Box construction continues to be a popular activity in the Koru team. If you have any boxes that you would usually put in recycling, please send them our way! Our children love to stick, colour, shape, cut, paint, and decorate. So far, we have had skyscrapers, a house for a hamster, and a treasure box. Who knows what will be created next!

Playground Boundaries

We frequently revisit the playground boundaries with our children to ensure that they have happy and safe break times. Here is where the Koru children play. Each space has a teacher on active supervision at all times to help your child if they need it. Koru children do not use the park area during break times.

We look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

The Koru team

katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz

stacey.mclachlan@beckenham.school.nz

elizabeth.drummond@beckenham.school.nz

Week 9

Posted on 28 March, 202528 March, 2025 by Sarah Angelo

Term One, Week 9 in Kauri

Farewells

This week we say goodbye to Macie and her family who are returning to the U.S. Thank you for showing our School Values and demonstrating We Make a Difference | Nā mātou he rerekē Macie. You will be missed!

Last week we also said goodbye to Mikyla who has gone on maternity leave. Thank you for your mahi over this year Mikyla.

House Games

A big thank you to our leaders who led the whole school in House Games on Tuesday. What a fun afternoon we had out on the field. Our younger tamariki had huge smiles on their faces as they got to know their House Captains and Deputies. Great job!

Inquiry

We have been digging into the '7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens'.

This learning was re-enforced by our Leadership Speakers.

Habit #6:Synergise - working together and valuing each other in a team.

Gem Macky emphasised this in the rowing team when she spoke about your actions making the boat go faster.

Adam Whitlock expanded on this by discussing the hefty financial fine you pay if you are late to practice and play for The Crusaders.

Our next focus is on Leaders who inspire us and how they demonstrate the 'The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People'

Students choose their own leader from a variety of backgrounds science, sports, politics, arts and culture.

Positive Behaviour for Learning- PB4L

What is a friend, what is an acquaintance?

This has been further discussed in Kauri Team Hui when we look at how we treat people around us.

Passions

In 'Passions' we really see our school values in action.

Check out some of the things we have been doing:

CYBERSAFETY

Awareness of Online Harm

Many parents didn’t grow up with the internet, so it can be hard to imagine how tamariki may use it. But these days, digital technology is a key part of our young people’s lives. They use it for learning, communicating and entertainment.

Netsafe has released research that looked into parental awareness of children’s experiences of online risks and harm. The research found a mismatch between parents’ awareness and their children’s experiences of upsetting online content.

To check out the research, and other Netsafe resources, visit this link.

Pōhutukawa News Term 1 Week 9 2025

Posted on 28 March, 202528 March, 2025 by Nick Bruce

Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all

Camp

On Wednesday next week, we are going to Living Springs Camp. Now is a good time to make sure your child has all the equipment needed for camp. Please check the previous camp notices for a list of what to bring.

On Wednesday morning, please remember to bring the following into the hub:

a backpack that will be worn during the 1 hour+ walk in which contains their lunch, a drink, a coat and any medication they need for the walk in (e.g., an inhaler).
a clearly name zip-lock bag/container containing your any other medication your child may have. Please make sure it has clear instructions on how and when to administer it. We will have a lot of medication to give out so please make the instructions really clear and simple to follow. Please hand the medication to your child's teacher on Wednesday morning.
a suitcase/large bag containing their clothing and other items that will be delivered directly to the camp.

AI Art

During CCC (Cool Curriculum Classes), the children have been creating some AI-enhanced artwork. Here are some of their creations:

We are all very excited about camp next week. Thank you for all your support and aroha.

Warm regards

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Rae, Gayle, Megan, Nick, Georgie, Stacy and Laura

Kōwhai News Term 1 Week 9

Posted on 28 March, 202528 March, 2025 by Georgia

Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome to our week 9 blog. What a busy term it has been so far!

This week, our school-wide PB4L focus has been on Tidying, as well as our words of the week, Co-operation and Responsibility. It has been great seeing our tamariki working together during learning times and at break times, and we are also seeing tamariki taking responsibility for their things and our equipment within the hub. Ka pai koutou!

Library Reminders

We would just like to send out a reminder about library folders. In order to take reading books and library books home, your child/children will need to have a reading folder OR a library folder to put these books into. It is important that your child/children put these folders back into their bags every day after using them at home.

We visit the library in our literacy groups, and our library times are as follows:

Rowe's Literacy: Monday

Hazel's Literacy: Monday

Anna M's Literacy: Tuesday

Georgia's Literacy: Tuesday

Anna R's Literacy: Wednesday

Thank you for your help and support with this!

Construction Boxes

A plea - if you have any boxes that you would like to donate for our tamariki to use for box construction during Discovery time, this would be greatly appreciated!

Police Officer Visit

On Friday of week 8, the tamariki and kaiako of Kōwhai were fortunate enough to have Police Officer Jo come in and visit. Jo was incredible and answered all questions the tamariki had. Jo showed us the ins and outs of what a police officer carries and needs, as well as letting all tamariki have a look inside the police car. They were also fortunate enough to sit inside! Thank you so much for coming in, Jo. Your visit was absolutely fantastic! Some photos of the visit are below: