Kia ora e te whānau,
A warm welcome to this fortnight’s Koru Team blog post. Although it’s been a quieter couple of weeks in terms of events, our tamariki have been busy with rich learning across all areas of the curriculum. It has been lovely to see their growing independence and engagement throughout all the activities and classroom routines.
Pathways, Direction, and Matariki – Our Maths Learning
As a start to our learning about Matariki, we shared the story Little Kiwi’s Matariki, which you can watch again at home here:
👉 Little Kiwi’s Matariki - YouTube
This story inspired some wonderful cross-curricular learning. We created Matariki stars through art and craft, and used directional language (such as forward, turn left, turn right) to help Little Kiwi find the stars. We also used Bee Bots to practise our coding skills by programming them to follow a pathway towards the Matariki star cluster. This learning has supported our development of spatial awareness, early coding, and mathematical language, all while celebrating the Māori New Year.
Kiss and Drop:
As the number of children in our Koru Team grows, 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 children up for a calm, quiet, and successful transition in the morning. Thank you so much for your support with this!
Learning Conferences – Tuesday 10th & Wednesday 11th June
Our Learning Conferences are happening next week on Tuesday and Wednesday (June 10 & 11). Please note that school will finish early on both days at 1:00pm. Supervision will be available until 3pm for a small group of children who are unable to be collected at 1pm.
We need EVERY FAMILY to fill in this form (click here) to let us know your plans for your child(ren) on Tuesday 10th and Wednesday 11th June. This includes letting us know if you need your child supervised at school on one or both of the Learning Conference days from 1:00-3pm.
These conferences are a great opportunity to celebrate your child’s progress and talk about next steps in their learning journey.
If you haven’t yet made a booking, please do so as soon as possible:
https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code - use the code: r3wt9
Literacy Folders:
Please continue to send Literacy folders to school each day, and remind your child to unpack them into their group’s box each morning. These folders contain important learning materials used during our Literacy lessons. Thank you for your support in keeping this routine running smoothly.
Matariki Evening – Tuesday 17th June at 5pm - 7pm
We are looking forward to celebrating the Māori New Year with our school community at our upcoming Matariki Evening!
📅 Tuesday 17th June | 5:00–7:00pm
Here’s what to expect:
✨ Welcome in the hall at 5:00pm
✨ Kapa Haka performances
✨ Workshops and activities throughout the evening
✨ PTA Sausage Sizzle – please bring a koha (donation)
It will be a special evening of culture, community, and celebration. We hope to see you there!
We wish you a restful weekend and look forward to another fun and engaging fortnight ahead.
Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Niquita, Stacey, Katie and Elizabeth
niquita.dalley@beckenham.school.nz
stacey.mclachlan@beckenham.school.nz
katie.mcfarlane@beckenham.school.nz
elizabeth.drummond@beckenham.school.nz