Monthly Archives: April 2026

Kōwhai News Term 2 Week 1

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Kia ora e te whānau,

Welcome back to Term 2! 

We have an action-packed term ahead, starting with our whole school Cross Country event next Friday and our annual Readathon fundraiser. The Kōwhai children have settled in really quickly to the new term with our well-established routines, enabling a smooth start.

Cross Country

Next Friday, we will be holding our whole-school cross country event, which students have been preparing for since the end of last term. Please ensure your child comes dressed in suitable clothing and footwear for the day. Thank you!

Schedule:

  • Year 4 Boys – 11:00am
  • Year 4 Girls – 11:07am
  • Ferndale – 11:14am
  • Year 3 Boys – 11:21am
  • Year 3 Girls – 11:28am

We look forward to seeing you there to support and cheer on the children!









Readathon

Next week, our annual Readathon fundraiser begins. Your child/children should have brought home their sponsorship form today. Please take some time to discuss the Readathon with your child/children. You might like to help them set a daily reading goal and encourage them to gather sponsorship from family and friends. Over the following 14 days, you can record their reading progress together.

It’s also been suggested to set aside a regular time at home to 'Stop, Drop and Read' which is a wonderful way to get the whole family involved. Thank you very much for your support!

Nut Free Zone

A reminder to all that our hub is completely nut free. This includes any spreads in sandwiches that contain nut products (nutella, peanut butter), any muesli bars containing nuts, slices or biscuits with nuts in them, and any other products that might make their way into lunch boxes that have traces of nuts within them. If you are unsure, please read the back of packets to double check the ingredients. Thank you for your support with this. 

Hand Washing

As the winter months approach, we are placing a strong emphasis on washing hands after break times and before eating morning tea and lunch. We have been discussing how this helps keep everyone healthy in the weeks ahead. Through this, we are demonstrating that We Get There Together, We Make A Difference, and We Care!

Fleeces

This is just a reminder that as it gets colder, please can you ensure that your child/children are bringing a school uniform fleece to school every day so they can enjoy learning and playing outside in the colder months. Thank you!

Team Hui

Every Friday at the end of the day in the Kōwhai hub, we come together for a celebratory Team Hui. During this time, we recognise our learning and achievements, present certificates, share any important notices, and enjoy singing together. It’s a wonderful way to wrap up the week, and the children have really loved gathering and singing as a group.

Cyber Safety

Random Chat Online

How do random chat websites work? And what are the risks for tamariki using them?
Random chat websites, like Chatroulette, pair users randomly through text or webcam conversations. The appeal is getting
to talk to someone new that the user would never meet. But these websites are designed for adults and often allow nudity
and other inappropriate content from users.
If you’re concerned that your young person might be exposed to these sites or you want to introduce parental controls, you
can find out more on Netsafe’s Random Chat Websites page. 

Have a great ANZAC holiday weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kauri News – Week 1, Term 2

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Welcome back to Term 2!

Tēnā koutou! The Team Kauri teachers have been excited to welcome back our Year 7 & 8 students. We hope you all had a restful break and are ready to get back into the swing of things for the new term.

Building Work in Kōmanawa

There was some exciting progress during the holidays: new walls and doors were installed in our Kōmanawa spaces! These additions will help our team create more learning-centered spaces, reducing noise across the hub while allowing for greater flexibility when we are working collaboratively.

Technology & Languages

The start of the term has coincided with our new technology rotations. Students have already started in their new groups, and there has been a hive of activity across the spaces with everyone keen to learn new skills.

Students also welcomed back our language teachers this week as they continue to develop their knowledge and acquisition of beginner French and Spanish.

Fundraisers

At the end of Term 1, Kahawai (Hugo’s HG) organised a school sausage sizzle fundraiser. It was a massive hit! The class sold over 300 sausages and made approximately $500 profit. A big thank you to our admin team for collecting the money and tracking orders, and to the teachers across the school who helped manage the distribution on the day. Well done to Kahawai for the hard work that made this so successful!


Quiz Night 2026

In Week 10, Team Kauri will be hosting our annual Quiz Night! Please keep an eye out for further notices regarding this event. From Week 5, we will be asking each Team Kauri family to contribute a luxury item for our hampers.

We are also looking for parent helpers both for the evening itself and to help with the lead-up. We are especially keen to find a parent coordinator to help source special prizes to be auctioned or awarded to our top quiz teams.


Upcoming Events: Term 2

Week 1

  • Friday: Welcome Assembly

Week 2

  • Monday: ANZAC Day Public Holiday (No School)

  • Wednesday: PSC Aqua-thon Event (Swim & Run)

  • Wednesday: World Vision Junior Youth Conference 2026 – Christchurch

  • Friday: Whole School Cross Country

Week 3

  • All Week: PTA Readathon
  • Monday: Winter Sport Trials (1:30 pm – 3:00 pm)
  • Tuesday: Winter Sport Trials (1:30 pm – 3:00 pm)

Pōhutukawa Team News Term 2 Week 1 2026

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Ngā mihi e te whānau,

It has been fantastic to see so many smiling faces back in the Pōhutukawa hubs as we kick off Week 1 of the new term! There is always such a great buzz in the air as students reconnect with friends and settle back into their school routines. We have spent the last few days sharing holiday stories and setting our intentions for the exciting learning ahead.

Please read on for some important updates and a look at what we have been learning over the past few days.


ANZAC Biscuits

Throughout the week, our spaces have been filled with the delicious, buttery aroma of ANZAC biscuits! As part of our wider learning about the significance of ANZAC Day and the history of our servicemen and women, homegroups have rolled up their sleeves to try their hand at this traditional recipe. It has been a wonderful way to blend practical kitchen skills with a bit of history, as the tamariki learned why these sturdy treats were so important back then.

We have included some photos below of some of our flour-dusted chefs in action.






Random Chat Online

How do random chat websites work? And what are the risks for tamariki using them?

Random chat websites, like Chatroulette, pair users randomly through text or webcam conversations. The appeal is getting to talk to someone new that the user would never meet. But these websites are designed for adults and often allow nudity and other inappropriate content from users.

If you’re concerned that your young person might be exposed to these sites or you want to introduce parental controls, you can find out more on Netsafe’s Random Chat Websites page.



Have a great weekend everybody, kia pai ngā rā whakatā!

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Nick, Kate, Rae, and Chloe.

Kahikatea News: Term 2, week 1

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 Kia ora te Whānau, 

A big welcome back to Term 2! We have heard many amazing holiday stories and hope you all have had some lovely, quality family time together. Our tamariki have been so excited to be back, and there has been much chat and reconnecting with friends and teachers this week.

We have started off the term by delving into some new and exciting learning:

Maths in Term 2

This term, our Y0-2 ākonga (learners) are using Numicon equipment to support their maths learning. Numicon uses equipment which helps make numbers visible (see) and tactile (touch/use), allowing learners to see how numbers are composed (made up of), how they fit together and how they relate to each other.

The ākonga (learners)  have been wonderfully engaged in these Numicon sessions. They have been highly motivated to complete the daily activities, explain their thinking mathematically and use their maths vocabulary.



















Literacy:
Our literacy learning is back in full swing, and the tamariki have come back from a break refreshed and ready to learn. It has not taken them long to get back into our literacy routines. 
A reminder to bring reading folders to school on Thursdays.










Inquiry Learning:
This term, our inquiry learning will be exploring the Social Sciences strand of Geography. Throughout the term, we will begin by looking at:
  • home
  • our school community
  • our wider suburb of Beckenham and the community
  • We will look at the geography and landscape features of New Zealand 
  • Then, finally, looking at where we sit globally in the big, wide world. 
There will be learning around mapping, key symbols and colours to recognise land and ocean features, knowing our immediate surroundings and where we sit in relation to the wider community and learning about simple services in our area.

We will be heading out into the community on a walk this term, and we will need parent helpers to assist. Please click HERE to fill in the form if you can assist us on this trip.

Cross Country:
Our whole school cross country is coming up next Friday, 1st May. Our year 1 and 2 students will compete from 11:30-12:00. They will run one lap of the park. We are getting out to practice when we can, so please ensure that your child is wearing appropriate footwear (sneakers) to school each day.

Kapa Haka:
We are lucky enough to have Kapa Haka sessions this term and in Term 4 with Whaia Cath, learning new waiata and tikanga. 
Talia and Sarah J homegroups had a session today. Amber and Sarah's home groups will have a session next week.



Koru Team News (24/04/2026) Term 2 Week 1

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Koru Team News - Term 2, Week 1 

Welcome to Term 2!

A warm welcome to the new tamariki and their whānau joining our Koru team this term. It’s wonderful to see our children supporting one another as they learn about school life at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. This reflects our school values of We Get There Together and We Love Challenge.

As we move into the winter months, it’s important that children come to school with a jersey or fleece, a jacket, and a change of clothes in their bags each day. On rainy days, we sometimes stay inside during break times, but whenever possible, children will still head outside to play—even when it’s cold. Please ensure they have warm clothing suitable for these conditions.

If your child would like to bring gumboots or slippers, they are welcome to do so. Please make sure all items are clearly named—we can store them by the classroom doors for easy changing.

Reminders:

  • Literacy folders: These should come to school every day. Please keep the letter cards and heart word cards in their small bags inside the folder.
  • Library folders: Our library day is Friday. Children will need their library folder at school each Friday to exchange their two books.
  • Poetry books: These will come home every Friday. Please return them in time for the new poem the following Friday.

Thank you for your ongoing support.


Whole School Cross Country:
  • Friday 1st May, 12:00 pm (Koru runners)
  • Beckenham Park (the big field next to our school)
  • Wear your House top if you have one (these can be bought at our school office)
  • Remember to wear comfortable shoes for running in
  • Koru children will be going out to the park at 11:45am. Our Koru children will be running around 12:00pm. 
  • Whānau are welcome to come and support our runners! If you can't make it, we will make sure we take lots of photos to share.
Cross Country course for Koru: 500 m

  • Racing will begin at the end of the Norwood Gate entrance to Beckenham Park (the green dot on the map below). 

  • Students will run one lap around Beckenham Park and finish at the red dot.

Maths in Term 2

This term, our Y0-2 ākonga (learners) are using Numicon equipment to support their maths learning. Numicon uses equipment which helps make numbers visible (see) and tactile (touch/use), allowing learners to see how numbers are composed (made up of), how they fit together and how they relate to each other.

The ākonga (learners) have been wonderfully engaged in these Numicon sessions. They have been highly motivated to complete the daily activities, explain their thinking mathematically and use their maths vocabulary.

Below are photos of our learners:






Ngā mihi,
Kendall, Elizabeth, Nicola and Stacey