Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Schoolwide Newsletter, Rāmere (Friday) 21st November 2025

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Principal's Update

Kia ora koutou

What an incredible end to our Colour Run fundraising campaign! Thanks to the enthusiasm and generosity of our community, we not only reached our fundraising goal - we exceeded it. Together, we raised over $16,000 to support the new sports turf project. This is an outstanding achievement and a testament to the strength of our school whānau.


A huge acknowledgement goes to our amazing PTA, whose organisation, commitment, and energy brought this event to life. From planning and preparation to creating a vibrant and joyful atmosphere on the day, their work ensured the Colour Run was a highlight of the year for our tamariki.


It’s also important to recognise the cultural roots of this celebration. Colour runs around the world draw inspiration from the Indian festival of Holi, a joyful celebration of colour, renewal, and community. At its heart, Holi is about togetherness, and we are grateful for the opportunity to participate in an event inspired by such a rich cultural tradition. Our Colour Run reflected that same spirit - a sense of collective joy, belonging, and celebration.


And of course… reaching the fundraising goal meant I had to uphold my end of the deal! The students were absolutely delighted to see me slimed at Assembly, and I’m not sure who enjoyed it more - the crowd or the students holding the buckets. It was a messy, memorable moment and a fun way to acknowledge the community effort behind the fundraising success.


Thank you once again to everyone who contributed, whether through donations, volunteering, cheering from the sidelines, or helping your children get involved. This was a true community effort, and the positive impact will be felt by our learners for years to come.

Ngā mihi

Cade

Principal / Tumuaki

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

Important Dates

Upcoming Events - Term 4

WEEK 8 

Wed 26 Nov - PTA Meeting (7:30-9:30pm)

Thu 27 Nov - Board of Trustees Meeting (5:30-7:30pm)

Fri 28 Nov - Whānau and Volunteers Thank you (8:15-9:00am)

Fri 28 Nov - Celebration Assembly (10:00-10:30am)


WEEK 9

Wed 3 Dec - Kauri Production (1:30-3:00pm Matinee & 4:30-6:30pm Evening)

Thu 4 Dec - Kōwhai Production (11:30-12:30pm)

Fri 5 Dec - Celebration Assembly (10:00-10:30am)


WEEK 10

Mon 8 Dec - Kauri Victoria Park Walk & Waltham Pool Party

Wed 10 Dec - Kauri Cass Bay Trip

Fri 12 Dec - Final Celebration Assembly (9:45am-10:30am)


WEEK 11

Tue 16 Dec - Year 8 Graduation Assembly (11:00-12:00pm, Leavers Lunch: 12:00-1:00pm)

Wed 17 Dec - Last Day of the Year, School finishes at 12:30pm


2026 Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Thalia - Year 4

Thalia, you are an outstanding role model in the Kōwhai hub. You always work hard on your learning and take pride in producing quality work. You are a kind and caring friend, looking out for others' well-being and showing great empathy. You are also an amazing helper, helping others with their learning and carrying out responsibilities around the hub. You are a star!


Lexi - Year 5

Lexi, you are an absolutely amazing citizen in our team. You are extremely kind, caring, helpful, and positive. You are a hardworking learner and a stunning role model who always demonstrates our school values. Keep up the outstanding work, Lexi!

School Notices

Reminder - Sunhat and Drink Bottles

As we enter into the warmer weather, every child must attend school with a named sunhat and water bottle. Sunhats are compulsory when outside during Terms 1 and 4. Please remember to send your child to school each day with sunscreen applied as well.


Birth Notice - Our School Chickens!

Some wonderful news! Our Chinese Silkie chickens were born last week - we welcomed 19 chicks in total! Their future coop is currently under construction on the school grounds and will be ready for them to move in at the beginning of the new school year - 'egg-citing!'

Whānau & Volunteers Thank You ~ Please RSVP

2026 Team Locations

The Sports Corner

Kia ora koutou,

This section of our newsletter is dedicated to highlighting the successes and challenges our students are experiencing in sports outside of school. It’s fantastic to already have three Kauri students sharing how they are embracing We Love Challenge - Nau Mai Te Wero beyond the classroom and pursuing their passions. If your child has had a sporting success that you’d like to share with our community, please email me with a short blurb and photo to: kate.mcgregor@beckenham.school.nz - We’d love to feature it in our next newsletter!


Ngā mihi nui,

Kate McGregor

Sports Coordinator


Violet & Harper - Boulder Bay Classic

Violet and Harper (Year 3, Kōwhai) took on the 1km kids’ dash at the Boulder Bay Classic on Sunday, 2nd November. After cheering on their Mum’s race, the twins decided to enter on the spot - and what a decision! The off-road course started on the sand at Taylor’s Mistake Beach and wound through gravel tracks and grassy areas. In true twin fashion, Violet and Harper crossed the finish line together, claiming joint 1st place for the girls!


Matthew - Tennis Success!

Congratulations to Matthew (Year 5, Pōhutukawa), who placed runner-up in the Primary Boys Singles at the Canterbury Primary and Intermediate School Tennis Championships over the weekend. He was also the top-performing Year 5 boy in the competition. Matthew has now qualified for the South Island Championships in Timaru next week - we look forward to sharing how he gets on!


Outstanding Results at the Huxster Mountain Bike Race!

The Huxster Mountain Bike Race is a fun and challenging off-road event designed to encourage young riders to give mountain biking a go. Students raced in teams or as individuals over a mix of trails, grass, and gravel - testing their stamina, skill, and teamwork.


Our Year 5–6 students did incredibly well, with Mietta and Jayme, and Lexi and Laurien placing 2nd and 3rd in the female team race. Maximus and Lucas also rode strongly, finishing 3rd in the open team category.



In the Year 7–8 category, Ben and Zach took out 1st place in the open team event, while Laura claimed 1st place in the solo female race. Abigail followed closely behind in 2nd, and Daniel placed 3rd in the solo male division. Congratulations also to Archie and Alex, who achieved an impressive 8th place in the Year 7–8 open team category, rounding out a fantastic day for our riders.


It was a fantastic day celebrating the skill, determination, and teamwork of all our riders - an achievement to be proud of!

Celebrating Our School Athletics Champions!
In-House School Athletics - Overall Champions and Commendable Runner-Ups
It was a fantastic day of skill, determination, and sportsmanship at our School Athletics Day! Students gave their best in every event, showing great teamwork, perseverance, and school spirit. We are thrilled to celebrate our in-school champions and runners-up - a huge congratulations to all who competed and made the day so memorable.

Here are this year’s results:

  • Year 5 Girls Overall Champions: Cora & Ruby

    • Year 5 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Laurien

  • Year 5 Open Overall Champions: Laurence & Simon

    • Year 5 Open Overall Runner-Up: Matthew

  • Year 6 Girls Overall Champion: Clara

    • Year 6 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Isabelle

  • Year 6 Open  Overall Champion: Maximus

    • Year 6 Open Overall Runner-Up: Jack

  • Year 7 Girls Overall Champion: Laura

    • Year 7 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Zaria

  • Year 7 Open Champion: Zach

    • Year 7 Open Overall Runner-Up: Daniel

  • Year 8 Girls Overall Champion: Lily

    • Year 8 Girls Overall Runner-Up: Hanna

  • Year 8 Open Overall Champion: Kawariki

    • Year 8 Open Overall Runner-Up: Oscar

Winning House: Waimea

South Zones Athletics Success!
Our students had an incredible day at the South Zones Athletics event, giving their best in every race and field event. We are excited to share that the top two finishers in solo events and the winning team from each relay will go on to represent the South Zone at the Canterbury Athletics Championships. Congratulations to all our students for their hard work, determination, and school spirit!

Here are our students' results from the South Zone event, and those in bold will be representing the South Zone at the Canterbury Event on Wednesday, 26th November:

  • Long Jump:

    • Year 7 Open: Zach (2nd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Florence (3rd)

    • Year 7 Girls: Laura (2nd)

  • High Jump:

    • Year 7 Open: Zach (3rd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Laurien (2nd)

    • Year 6 Girls: Isabelle (2nd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Lena (2nd) & Abigail (3rd)

  • Discus:

    • Year 5 Open: Simon (1st)

    • Year 6 Open: Hamish (2nd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Tilly (2nd)

  • Shot Put:

    • Year 6 Open: Harvey (3rd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Lily (2nd)

  • 800 m:

    • Year 6 Open: Haydn (2nd) & Maximus (3rd)

    • Year 6 Girls: Jayme (2nd)

  • 1500 m:

    • Year 7 Open: Zach (1st)

    • Year 7 Girls: Laura (1st)

  • 60 m Sprint:

    • Year 7 Open: Jensen (1st)

    • Year 8 Open: Oscar (3rd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Ruby (1st)

    • Year 6 Girls: Isabelle (2nd)

  • 80 m Sprint:

    • Year 6 Open: Emerson (1st)

    • Year 5 Girls: Cora (2nd)

  • 100 m Sprint:

    • Year 7 Girls: Laura (1st)

  • 4 x 100 Relay:

    • Year 6 Boys: Cormac, Jack & Maximus (2nd)

    • Year 7 Boys: Dylan, Jensen, Tom & Zach (2nd)

    • Year 5 Girls: Chloe, Cora, Mia & Ruby (2nd)

    • Year 6 Girls: Clara, Isabelle, Jayme & Pippa (3rd)

    • Year 8 Girls: Abigail, Hanna, Lily & Lottie (3rd)

PTA News

HELP NEEDED - Year 8 Leavers' Lunch!

Each year, the PTA puts on a lunch for all of our lovely Year 8s and their caregivers, to help give them a great send-off from Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto. This is usually highly anticipated by the senior students!

We need your help (provided you are not a parent/caregiver of a Year 8 student!) to prepare the lunch (just a bit of chopping) and serve the lunch (plating up, heating savouries, and helping with clearing up).

Lunch will be served after the Leavers' Assembly, in the late morning, on Tuesday, 16th December.

If you can and would like to help anytime on Tuesday morning, please complete this form.
Your support is really appreciated!

BOT Update

Term 4 Policy Review - SchoolDocs

    1. Visit the website linked here.

    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, the 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.)

Luminaires Summer Theatre Camp!

For Ages 10-15

Auditions November 29th & 30th

Rehearsals December 7th & 14th

Camp Dates January 12th -17th

Successful participants will stay at a local camp venue for a week, during which they will sing, dance, act, create props, design costumes, and apply makeup, among other activities. 

Culminating in public performances of ZOOM! By Craig Hawes

Follow the link here for more information and to sign up!

general@luminairescharitabletrust.org




Win the Ultimate Australian Open Experience!

Your child could win the tennis trip of a lifetime with Tennis Hot Shots and Tennis New Zealand, plus win tennis equipment for our school!

The prize includes:

  • Return flights from your nearest international airport to Melbourne for one child and one adult

  • Australian Open tickets

  • Two nights’ accommodation

  • The chance to perform the official coin toss before a big match on Rod Laver Arena and grab a photo with the star players

  • A $500 tennis equipment pack for the winner’s school

The competition is open to all children aged 8-13 across New Zealand — no tennis experience required!

Enter now at: www.tennis.kiwi/win

Entries close 8th December!

Koru News Term 4 Week 6

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Kia ora e te whānau,

We have had a busy couple of weeks in the Koru team! Our values focus for the past fortnight has been 'We Make a Difference'. Here are some ideas that the children shared about how we can show this value:

We Make a Difference is when we:
  • include others
  • share our toys
  • help our friends when they are hurt
  • show 5
  • try our best
  • are a good friend
  • use our walking feet inside
  • say please and thank you
  • show good teamwork.

We are Mathematicians in the Koru Team!

We have had a big focus on basic facts in the past two weeks. We know that learning our basic facts takes a few steps:
1. Conceptual understanding: Knowing what operations like addition and subtraction mean.
2. Strategy use: Applying strategies such as counting on.
3. Mastery: Recall through practice.

This week, we focused on learning our number combinations to 5, 6, and 7. Tamariki learned that if they know these combinations, they can easily solve bigger number problems. For example, if we know that 2 + 3 = 5, we also know that 20 + 30 = 50, and 200 + 300 = 500 and so on!

Our Wednesday activity focused on 7. We shared all the things we knew about the number 7, e.g., 7 in te reo is whitu, some children have a sibling who is 7, 7 is 3 less than 10, 7 is one more than 6, etc. We also discovered that there are eight addition facts for 7.

0 + 7 = 7         7 + 0 = 7
1 + 6 = 7         6 + 1 + 7
2 + 5 = 7         5 + 2 = 7
3 + 4 = 7         4 + 3 = 7

Children had two icebergs and seven penguins, and their job was to show the combinations of seven by grouping the penguins. It was great to hear the mathematical language as tamariki worked with their buddy.











Chickens!

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been excitedly awaiting the arrival of our baby chicks. An incubator with eggs arrived in the office, and we were really lucky to go and visit. Sue explained the incubation process and what to expect next...



Then, on Tuesday, the 11th of November, staff received an early morning birth notice from Cade. Our clever chicks had begun to hatch!


Once they had some time to adapt to the real world, they were transferred to their new home. Mama Sue taught the chicks how to eat and drink by tapping a pencil on their food and water bowl.


Then, on Wednesday, we had the chance to go and meet the chicks, up close and personal. Each child gave the chicks a gentle, one-finger pat. The looks of joy were delightful!






Learning Through Play

We love Learning Through Play in the Koru hub! It is incredible to see the types of play that children come up with. During these sessions, one teacher is the intentional teacher, talking with children, prompting thinking, encouraging pro-social skills, and supporting the learning, while two teachers take small-group literacy sessions. It is so much fun!









Wishing you a happy and safe long weekend ahead,

The Koru team,

Katie, Stacey, Elizabeth & Niquita

Kōwhai News Term 4 Week 6

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Kia ora everyone!

Welcome to the Kōwhai blog for Term 4, Week 6! The term is rapidly disappearing and while we have achieved so much already, there is still much to do.

Production

Over the next few weeks, we will be very focused on putting our production together. We have been busy rehearsing our dances and preparing props and costumes and it is now time to put it all together into one big extravaganza!

This is a reminder that you are all invited to come and see our performance on Thursday 4th December at 11:30am in the hall.

Ukulele

Everyone is continuing to enjoy their dance and ukulele lessons every Tuesday. In our ukulele sessions, the children have been helping to make up a song about the school, contributing lots of great ideas. We look forward to hearing the end result!

Chicks Hatching

As you may have already heard, we have some chick eggs incubating in our very own school office! They have been carefully guarded by Sue, Jo and Cade over the last weeks. We have all had the opportunity to visit and see the eggs and Sue has been telling us all about the kind of chickens that will hatch and what we are going to do with them. Thank you, Sue! 

And now the chicks have started hatching and it is very exciting! We have starting thinking about names for them all. What do you think? Can you think of any good ones?



Colour Run

The PTA have organised a Colour Run event to take place next Friday afternoon. So far, the PTA have raised around $9,000 which is absolutely amazing! If you would like to help raise money for this fundraising event, just click on the following link and hit the red “Set Up a Fundraising Page” tab: 

In order to drum up some more support for this event, we are also sliming teachers, one teacher per $1,000 raised. Yesterday, at the end of the school day, we slimed 8 teachers in total with Chris getting slimed twice! The children absoltuely loved witnessing this and are looking forward to seeing more teachers get slimed next Wednesday. We will have to see if any Kōwhai teachers get included next time round! 






Have a great long weekend!

From the Kōwhai team

Kahikatea News: Term 4, Week 6

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Term 4, Week 6 


What a whirlwind week we've had with just three days! We are zooming through our final term of the year, and there is some great learning going on in the hub. The arrival of our first school chicks has been very exciting. All of the children have had a chance to pop in and see them in the office. We got to pet the wee chicks and feel how soft they are. 


Paired Reading 

This week, we began using a new strategy during our reading sessions. The "Paired Reading, Paragraph Shrinking" strategy focuses on reading fluency and comprehension. The children work in pairs to read through passages of text. We have practiced how to help each other when the reading gets tricky. The children are settling into the new routine, and we hope to hear smoother, more fluent reading in the coming weeks. 









Kapa Haka

Our children have been working really hard to learn a haka with Whaia Cath during our Friday Kapa Haka sessions. We are ready to share this with you and will be performing in the assembly on Friday, 21st November. Assembly starts at 10am and is usually finished around 10.30am. We hope to see you there. 

We hope you all have a lovely long weekend!

Kendall, Amber, Sarah and Talia

Pōhutukawa News Term 4 Week 6 2025

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Pōhutukawa Team News Term 4 Week 6 2025 

Ngā mihi e te whānau, welcome all to what has been happening in the Pōhutukawa Team for Weeks 5 and 6 of Term 4 for 2025, kia pai ngā rā whakata.

Transition Visits

As busy as it is at the end of the year, we are also preparing our students for next year with 'Transition Visits'. Next week we will be giving the 2025 Year 6's a chance to be with our incoming 2025 Year 5's as a cohort and have a Learning Through Play session together. As well as this, our outgoing Year 6's will be spending a morning in the Kauri team to learn about their programme and will spend a morning with next year's Year 8 students. These visits are a valuable chance for the tamariki to reconnect with some of their friends, and ask some questions they may have about 2026. We encourage you to talk with your tamariki about these visits and start the conversations about 2026 if you feel they're ready. Any momentum we can build now to set everyone up for a successful start to next year is gold. Mā tātou katoa te waka e hoe, we are all rowing the waka together.

Navigating the Journey

Our Navigating the Journey programme continues to roll along next week, we are into Growing and Changing - Te tipu me te huri o te tangata now, and our key concepts. Thanks as always for your continued support in continuing the discussions we have at school at home, too.


St Johns in Schools 

In Week 6 we had Nikki from St Johns come to deliver a course aimed at up-skill students in possible emergency situations! We had a great time and thanks to Nikki for delivering a fun, interactive and information packed seminar to the Pōhutukawa home groups. 

















Beckenham's Silkie Chickens! 


As of Tuesday 11th of November we have 8 Silkie Chickens hatch! Super exciting! Many children have been over to the office to see the new arrivals and even experience some chicks emerging from their shells! We look forward to the hub visits over the next couple of weeks and of course the naming process! 


Pōhutukawa Team Year 5 and 6 Summer Tournament 

Wednesday 5th November 2025

Futsal

Results

GOLD Team 4th place. (by count back, 1 goal away from 3rd!)

Sportsmanship Award: Louis English

  • Game 1 V Avonhead Black: W 4-2
  • Game 2 V Avonhead Red: L 6-2
  • Game 3 V Paparoa Street Blue: D 3-3
  • Game 4 V St Martins Kickers: L5-1
  • Game 5 V St Martine Strikers: W 4-2


RED Team 9th place

Sportsmanship Award: Jayme Scott

  • Game 1 V St Michaels Girls: L 4-2
  • Game 2 V Paparoa Street Green: L 7-2
  • Game 3 V Emmanuel: L 7-1
  • Game 4 V Paparoa Street Red: L 9-1
  • Game 5 V Ao Tawhiti 2: L 4-2










Orienteering 

Results

Open Grade - Rogaine (Mixed Team) 
1st: Lucy Lee, Sedas Muthukumarana, Aubrey Gardiner, Sam Hudson

Open Grade - Boys Team
1st: Laurence Blane, Leo Davies, Ethan Sayer, Eli Gardyne

Open Grade - Boys Team 
2nd: Toby Johnston, Woody Hayes, Joseph Wright, Corben Blackburn

Open Grade - Mixed Team 

2nd: Terence Lee, Rosi Barta, Nina Simpson, 

Open Grade - Mixed Team
3rd: Sam Hudson, Sedas Muthukumarana, Lucy Lee, Aubrey Gardiner









Special Mention




Well done to Lucy and Aubrey for demonstrating all the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto kete values during the orienteering competition at the 2025 Summer Tournament. 

Mid-race, these outstanding students stopped their own competition to help a student from a different school who was having an asthma attack. Showing courage, they quickly assessed the situation: one stayed with the student while the other ran back tot he start line to fetch a teacher. They communicated clearly, executed a sensible plan, and then guided the teachers directly to the student in need. 

Well done, Lucy and Aubrey! Your actions were brave and show true leadership in keeping yourselves and others safe. Tino Pai! 



AVAILLL (Audio Visual Achievement In Literacy, Language and Learning) Programme.

Pōhutukawa Team Reading Programme for weeks 7-10, term 4


We are excited to be able to offer our students the AVAILLL (Audio Visual Achievement In Literacy, Language and Learning) Programme.


“It taps into the student’s enjoyment and comprehension of popular media in order to advance reading ability.  …….. In the programme, many of the activities include the technique of what is termed to “ReadWatch” a movie. This is often followed by reading sections of the movie’s novel which are not included in the film. The programme is oriented to the key skills of reading comprehension, fluency, vocabulary and spelling.”


All movies are rated G or PG.


"You’ve READ the movie, now SEE the book!"



Top Team Challenge: Parent Volunteers


Kia ora e te whānau,

Team Pōhutukawa and Kauri will be participating in the Top Team Challenge in Week 8.

Students across both teams will be split into groups of approximately eight and will take part in activities that encourage cooperation, physical skills, and problem-solving.

To make this event successful, we need the support of our community through parent volunteers to help explain the activities to students and ensure fair play.

When: Monday, 24 November, 1:00–3:00 p.m.
Where: Beckenham Park.
What: Act as a parent helper running a station, providing instructions, and ensuring fair play (no special skills required).

Please email your child's home group teacher if you are able to help

Ngā mihi nui,
Team Pōhutukawa and Kauri Staff


All You Need to Know About TikTok


Tiktok is one of the fastest growing social media apps. It’s a platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos – and many young people love it! From new dance crazes to funny clips to animal videos, Tiktok can inspire creativity and bring joy.


But it’s important that parents and whānau help their tamariki navigate Tiktok safely. Today we’re sharing the Netsafe Tiktok Family Safety Toolkit so you can help guide your whānau to a fun and safe digital experience.


Ngā mihi o ngā rā whakatā, enjoy your weekend everyone!

The Pōhutukawa Teaching Team

Chris, Gayle, Nick, Megan, Rae, Georgie, Viv, Stacey, Lucy and Laura