Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto School Newsletter Friday 2 June, 2023

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Thank you all for your support of our teachers on Wednesday this week, so that they could attend their union meeting. We do appreciate that this was a very late notice request, and would have been quite tricky for some of you to organise with work commitments. Our teachers will be voting on their new offer in the next few days, and we will keep you updated as to the outcome.

Reports are now live on HERO

Mid-year reports are now available through the Hero portal. The mid-year report reflects aspects of your child's learning so far this year and their next steps in Reading, Writing and Maths. 
 
Please take the time to sit with your child and share their report with them, celebrating their learning and reflecting on their next steps.
 
To find your child's report open Hero, click on their name and then click '2023 report'. 


There is a document attached to the report that you can click through to get a broad understanding of how our reporting works.



If you need any help accessing the report through Hero please contact your child's Home Group teacher or come into the office for assistance.

A reminder that Learning Conferences will provide an opportunity for you, your child and the teacher to talk about your child's learning and other aspects of school relevant to your child.

Learning Conferences

These are coming up in Week 8 of the term, on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th June. 

Reports go live on HERO today, and these conferences will be an important opportunity to learn more about your child's learning progress and achievement.

The school will close at the earlier time of 2pm on both days. Children who are usually booked into BOSCO on those days will be able to attend from 2pm. We will provide supervision for children between 2-3pm IF NEEDED... 

Each family needs to fill out BOTH forms below, please:
First, if you haven't already done this, please book a Learning Conference for each of your children by clicking on this link. (The code you might need is 8f6xx)
Then, please fill out this form, to let us know what you want to happen for your child at 2pm. We need this form filled out by EVERY family, please.

If you need any assistance to book a conference, please contact Jacky in the office on 03 337 1404

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Mon 5 Jun - School Closed - Kings Birthday Weekend Public Holiday
Thu 8 Jun - Cashmere High Open Day 12noon - 4pm
Wed 14 Jun - Learning Conferences - School Closes at 2pm
Thu 15 Jun - Learning Conferences - School Closes at 2pm
Fri 16 Jun - Celebration Assembly 10am, All welcome
Wed 21 Jun - Whānau Matariki Hui, followed by PTA Hāngi
Wed 28 Jun - PTA Mtg, 7:30pm Staffroom

Citizen of the Week

Harriet Scott - Year 4

Harriet, you are a superstar in our team. You are extremely positive, kind, caring and thoughtful. You are a highly motivated learner and have outstanding self-management skills. Thank you for always demonstrating our school values in all that you do. Well done, Harriet!

School Notices

Dogs at school

Please would you remember that dogs should not be brought onto the school site between 8:30am and 3:15pm without prior arrangement. We are noticing a number of dogs in the school grounds at drop-off and pick-up time, and this is causing some anxiety for some of our tamariki and whānau. Thank you all for supporting us in this.

Cashmere High School Open Afternoon - Thu 8th June from 1pm

Usually Cashmere High hold their Open time after school hours, in the evening. Due to the threat of industrial action this year, they have made the call to hold their Open day during the school afternoon.
We understand that many of our Year 7/8 students will want to attend this, and therefore, we have requested a 'bye' in the Winter Sport round for that afternoon.

If you want to take your child to the Open afternoon, please make sure that you come into school and sign them out. If they are attending with someone else's parent, please let the office know in advance. We will NOT be allowing children to leave school unless their primary caregiver is signing them out, or we have been advised who is taking them and they are here to sign them out. Thanks for your support!

Scholastic Book Club

The latest issue (Edition 4)of the Scholastic Book Club is now online. You can use this link to order. Orders close Friday 7 July.



Upcoming Road Works



Student Council News

40 Hour Challenge - World Vision



It's simple: every child deserves clean water.

We are signed up as a school to support the World Vision 40 Hour Challenge 2023 to help raise money that will go towards ensuring every child in the world has access to clean drinking water.

Children from Year 5-8 can join up - either by coming to the Kauri hub and asking for a challenge booklet, or by clicking this link, and signing up through the website. When you get asked to 'Find your team' start typing in 'Beckenham' and our school Team will come up.

Our goal is to raise as much as we can to support this awesome cause.

If you have any questions, please email Bridie bridie.zarifeh@beckenham.school.nz

Fun Run - So much Run and so much Fun!!!

Today at midday we had over 100 students and their whānau participate in a Student Council-organised Fun Run to raise money for Trees for Canterbury.
Trees for Canterbury are a local charity who have been operating for 33 years, focussing on supplying community groups and organisations with the native trees they need, primarily using volunteer labour.
Our school has been the recipient of many trees over the past and it was a lot of fun to be able to give back to this important local organisation.
We will let you know how much money was raised once all the funds have been brought into school next week.
If you are collecting sponsorship funds, please try and have these all back to the office by next Friday 9th June.

Staff Profiles

Anna Reid (Team Leader, Anna McNeill, Nick Bruce
Rowena Barker, Charlotte Verity, Kathryn Moore, Megan Harris

Anna Reid started working at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto over 10 years ago, starting out teaching a New Entrants class. Since then she has been teaching in Kahikatea, Kōwhai and Pōhutukawa at various different times and last year, she took on the role of Team Lead in Kōwhai. Anna loves getting to know all the children and having lots of fun along the way. She is passionate about learning about other cultures and their languages and speaks Danish herself. In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading and walking in the hills.

Anna McNeill began teaching at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in 2022 in the Pōhutukawa hub and is now based in the Kōwhai hub. Anna has enjoyed being a part of the wonderful community that is Beckenham Te Kura and supporting her students as they grow to become curious, confident learners. 

Nick Bruce has been at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto for over a decade. He has taught in the Kōwhai, Pōhutukawa and Kauri teams. Nick is especially passionate about integrating digital technologies into learning programmes. Nick is also the director of a company specialising in the development of educational software.

Rowe Barker returned to teaching at BTKP in 2002 after spending time at home raising her children. She is passionate about fostering a love of learning and has a particular interest in the teaching of reading. As well as being a classroom teacher Rowe trained as a Recovery teacher. She has taught in the Koru and Kowhai teams.
In her spare time, Rowe likes biking, table tennis and spending time with her family and friends.

Charlotte Verity has been teaching at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto for ten years. Before that, she taught and lived in Melbourne and London for many years. When she isn't at work, you will find her in her garden, at the pool or on her bike. She also loves learning and has done lots of further study, including a science course this year. 

Kathryn Moore joined the Kōwhai team at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in Term 2 of 2023, teaching literacy and maths four mornings a week. She is passionate about reading, and sharing great books with children is one of her favourite things to do. When not at work, Kathryn is often found walking, reading, knitting, gardening, or having coffee and a chat with her family and friends. 

Megan Harris returned to Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in 2022 in a relieving capacity, having spent the last six years teaching in Dunedin. As a trained Drama teacher, she is passionate about facilitating individual creativity and expression in every child. In her spare time, she loves reading, going to the theatre and caring for her menagerie of animals.

Sports News

Winter Sport

Winter sport began last Thursday for our Year 5-8 students! We have 130 students who have chosen to play competitively this year and who have joined either a Hockey, Netball or Football team.
Those students who have decided to opt for a non-competitive option participated in either a Korfball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Dance or Chess back at Kura.
The tamariki looked great in their sports' uniforms as they set off with their coaches to various local schools/grounds.
We are proud of the way everyone represented our school and all of the feedback received has been positive.

South Zone Cross Country

Last week on Tuesday 23rd May, Gayle and Sarah took 47 students to the South Zone Cross Country race at Hansen's Park. It was a beautiful day, which was matched by our student's attitudes and amazing effort they put into their races. We were so proud of all of them.



Congratulations to the following who have made it through to the next round. The Canterbury's are
to be held at Nga Puna Wai on Wednesday 21st June.
Ben Stoney
Laura Stoney
Lily Miller
Bianca Ashworth
Harriet Parawa
Isabella Guise
Jack Sayer
Rowan Cameron
Finn Breitmeyer (reserve)
Zoe Colville 
Ella Coleman

PTA News

Matariki Hāngī



As part of the the upcoming Matariki Hāngi, Whānau Hui on the 21 June 2023, the PTA are going to be doing Hangi for our Whānau,  numbers will be limited to 80, so order quickly, so as not  miss out !

The hāngī will be cooked in individual trays in the same kai cooker and will be ready for pick up at 6.30pm from the hall kitchen on that night. The trays are $16 each - Please deposit money into the PTA account. Thank you!

Use the following link to order your hangi. Here you will also find the account details for payment.

Congratulations to...

Mirren and Coleman Leitch who travelled up to Blenheim last weekend for the Marlborough Championships for Brazilian Jiu jitsu in which they competed in and both won gold for the first time. 


They have both been training 4-5 times a week for the past wee while as well as doing other activities and cross country at school. 
It was Mirren's very first competition and for her to win her weight and belt division really was incredible. They are heading to the Gold Coast Australia in November for her 2nd comp and Coleman's 3rd which is very exciting.  

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Carpenter needed

Waltham School are looking for a carpenter/builder to construct a large rectangular built-up sandpit for our fenced junior area. If anyone had any contacts for quotes, it would be greatly appreciated. Finding someone is providing a bit of a challenge. We are hoping to get one that has built-up sides so the tamariki or teachers can sit around the edge as well.
Please contact Tim Evers, Principal - principal@waltham.school.nz


"Write Like an Author" and "Draw Like an Artist" are school holiday programs for young writers and illustrators.

They will be held during the school holidays, starting on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 and running until Thursday, July 13, 2023 at St Andrew's College.

There will be a three day camp for children aged 9 to 14 and a one day workshop for children aged 7 to 10.

Young writers will learn:
* How to come up with story ideas
* How to plan and outline a story
* How to come up with interesting, sympathetic characters
* The writing process, how to put it all down on paper

Young artists will learn:
* How to draw a cool character
* Different media and techniques
* How to create storyboards
* How to create a multi layered artwork

Plus they'll make new friends and have heaps of fun!

The location of the camp is:
St Andrew's College
347 Papanui Road, Bryndwr, Christchurch

Young writers (or their parents) can register here: http://www.writelikeanauthor.com/CampListing.asp?wc_id=409

Young illustrators (or their parents) can register here: http://www.drawlikeanartist.com/CampListing.asp?wc_id=415

If you'd like more details about the camp please email me and I will be happy to answer any questions or send you some further information.
Regards
Brian Falkner
Coordinator

Kauri Whānau Update: Term 2, Weeks 5 & 6

In this post:

  • Cashmere High Open Afternoon
  • Winter Sports
  • Learning Conferences
  • Te Whanau Mahitahi performance
  • Technology

Cashmere High School Open Afternoon

Usually Cashmere High hold their Open time after school hours, in the evening. Due to the threat of industrial action this year, they have made the call to hold their Open Day during the school afternoon on Thursday June 8th.

We understand that many of our Year 7/8 students will want to attend this, and therefore, we have requested a 'bye' in the Winter Sport round for that afternoon.

If you want to take your child to the Open afternoon, please make sure that you come into school and sign them out. If they are attending with someone else's parent, please let the office know in advance. We will NOT be allowing children to leave school unless their primary caregiver is signing them out, or we have been advised who is taking them and they are here to sign them out. Thanks for your support!


Winter Sports

Winter sports has been going for two weeks now, and all teams have been outstanding in demonstrating our school values and getting a few wins along the way too! Please remember that there is no Winter Sport next week due to Cashmere High Open Afternoon, and in Week 8 because of Learning Conferences.


Learning Conferences 14 & 15 June

These are coming up in Week 8 of the term, on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th June. 

Reports are live on Hero, and these conferences will be an important opportunity to learn more about your child's learning progress and achievement.

The school will close at the earlier time of 2pm on both days. Children who are usually booked into BOSCO on those days will be able to attend from 2pm. We will provide supervision for children between 2-3pm IF NEEDED... 

Each family needs to fill out BOTH forms below, please:
First, please book a Learning Conference for each of your children by clicking on this link.
Then, please fill out this form, to let us know what you want to happen for your child at 2pm. We need this form filled out by EVERY family, please.

Missing Senior Jacket

A brand new senior jacket (size large) has gone missing.  Please check if you child is bringing the correct jacket home. This was recently purchased and has no badges or leadership awards on it. If found could you please return to the school office.


Te Whānau Mahitahi Performance

Our Year 7 & 8 Kapa Haka group, Te Whānau Mahitahi, performed on Sunday afternoon as part of a performance by the Garden City Orchestra. By all accounts, the children were outstanding at representing themselves and our school. Kia ora Whaea Cath for all you to to make this group so outstanding, and thanks as well to all the parents for their support leading up to and on the day.



Technology photos

Some photos from our Year 7 group learning about Fabrics Technology at Christchurch South.










Kahikatea News Term 2 Week 5

Kia ora e te whānau,

We have had a great week of learning in the Kahikatea hub. Unfortunately, we have had a lot of illness in our team, and many staff and students have been away sick. We wish you all a speedy recovery! We are so thankful to our amazing relievers for stepping in to ensure that our programmes have continued to run, our children have remained engaged, and we have kept smiles on our faces! 'We Get There Together'! 


Strike for Schools

What a show! It was wonderful seeing the professionals show their talent at last Monday's Strike for Schools performance. It was a great motivator to complete our own musical instruments!









Literacy in action...













Have a wonderful weekend!

Team Kahikatea

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

Koru Team News, Week 5

 Kia ora, e te whānau,

We are halfway through term 2, and oh what fun we are having!

We welcome Thomas and Ryland, who began school this week. You have settled really well into our routines, and have done a great job at making friends, following instructions and trying new things. Ka pai, tamariki!

Cross Country:
On Tuesday, May 16th, we had our Junior School Cross Country. It was an awesome event where we saw our tamariki trying their best, giving it a go, and smiling faces when they crossed the finish line! They were superstars at demonstrating our school kete value "We Love Challenge". Below are some photos of the day, and during our practises.








Friday Afternoons with Kauri Buddies:
On Friday afternoons, we do a wide range of activities including Digitech, Yoga, outside play, making creations at the table in the kitchen space, and sometimes completing puzzles.  We are also fortunate on a Friday afternoon to have some Year 7 and 8 students come in and be our big buddies. We do lot of different activities with them, such as: reading books together, playing inside games, doing art, completing puzzles, and playing games outside. It is such a fun time! Some photos below of what we get up to:

Yoga!

Digitech - practising our coding!

Outside play!

Listening to an awesome story!


A few reminders:

Library:
Our Library day this year is on a Friday. Please support your child in ensuring their Library folders and Poetry books are brought back to school either on Friday, or beforehand so they can receive a new poem and can issue out new Library books. 

Literacy Folders:
A reminder to practise reading the sounds, heart words, and books (if your child has been given one) at home, and to bring these in every day so we can use them in our Literacy sessions. 

Carpark: 
To keep everyone safe when arriving and leaving school, do not walk through the carpark. This area is for staff cars, taxis and accessibility parking only. Thanks to everyone who is using the pedestrian gates onto the park, near the flagpole, on Sandwich Road by the PTA uniform room, or onto Eastern Terrace.

Sickness at school: 
We still have a few cases of Covid-19 in the school, among staff, students and the wider whānau. Please do keep children away if they are feeling unwell and do test if Covid symptoms are present. At school, we remind tamariki to cough/sneeze into their elbow and wash their hands regularly, especially after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing and using the toilet.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend, and we will see you back on Monday!

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Elizabeth, Stacey, Georgia and Sonya

School Newsletter, Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto – Fri 26 May

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

We are looking forward to a warm weekend after some cold and grey weather earlier this week. 

Supporting all of our community to stay well and healthy continues to be a challenge. We still have COVID and influenza in our school community, and this week, we have had two cases of chickenpox confirmed.



The Ministry of Education have also asked us to check that our immunization records are up to date, with the threat of measles also on the horizon at a national level. If you have had children vaccinated in the past couple of years and haven't updated us, please send updated records to office@beckenham.school.nz

Staff Only Days confirmed for Term 3 and Term 4

The Ministry of Education has allocated two days this year for schools to close in order for teachers to engage with professional learning around the Curriculum Refresh that is currently happening. This is extremely important time for our teachers to be given to engage with the curriculum changes and ensure we understand the new expectations.
At our Board of Trustees meeting last night, the Board confirmed that the two dates that will be taken for these Staff Only days will be:
  • Friday 18 August
  • Thursday 16 November (Friday 17 November is Canterbury Anniversary Weekend, making this a four-day weekend)

Learning Conferences 14 & 15 June

These are coming up in Week 8 of the term, on Wednesday 14th and Thursday 15th June. 

Reports will go live on HERO at the end of Week 6, and these conferences will be an important opportunity to learn more about your child's learning progress and achievement.

The school will close at the earlier time of 2pm on both days. Children who are usually booked into BOSCO on those days will be able to attend from 2pm. We will provide supervision for children between 2-3pm IF NEEDED... 

Each family needs to fill out BOTH forms below, please:
First, please book a Learning Conference for each of your children by clicking on this link.
Then, please fill out this form, to let us know what you want to happen for your child at 2pm. We need this form filled out by EVERY family, please.

Possibility of Industrial Action (strike) by teachers next Wednesday, 31 May

Teachers are waiting to hear from their union, NZEI, for an update on the current negotiations on their collective agreement. They are expecting to have notice on Sunday as to whether they have an improved offer on the table, OR whether they will be moving to take strike action on Wednesday next week. We will put a notice out to you all, through HERO on Sunday to let you know the outcome of this process. If the decision to strike is made, the Board will have no alternative but to close the school as we will not have sufficient teachers on site to safely open.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Fri 2 Jun - Celebration Assembly 10am, All welcome
Mon 5 Jun - School Closed - Kings Birthday Weekend Public Holiday
Thu 8 Jun - Cashmere High Open Day 12noon - 4pm
Wed 14 Jun - Learning Conferences - School Closes at 2pm
Thu 15 Jun - Learning Conferences - School Closes at 2pm
Fri 16 Jun - Celebration Assembly 10am, All welcome
Wed 21 Jun - Whānau Matariki Hui, followed by PTA Hāngi
Wed 28 Jun - PTA Mtg, 7:30pm Staffroom

Term Dates

Citizen of the Week

Isabelle Parrett - Year 8

Isabelle, you are such an organised and switched on learner who loves to make a difference by helping others. As an assertive and confident leader, you use your initiative to get things done. You love a challenge, grabbing new opportunities with both hands and also support others to give new things a go. Tino pai, Isabelle!

School Notices

Free Workshops from Mana Ake

Mana Ake supports children who are experiencing circumstances that impact on their wellbeing or mental health. The Mana Ake team works alongside schools, whānau and general practice when they have noticed a concern about a child’s wellbeing or mental health. 
Children can be referred to Mana Ake via their GP or their school. Whānau are able to access phone drop in service to provide guidance about next steps for their child. 
Mana Ake also offer free workshops to parents and whānau to support positive parenting and information around current issues, e.g. digital safety, anxiety, friendships.

Please take some time to fill in this survey if you have suggestions for workshops that Mana Ake could offer that would support you in your parenting journey.

Elmer has arrived!



On Monday we were excited to unwrap a new special friend. It was Elmer! Many Elmers have been sent to schools around Christchurch from the Laura Ferguson Brain Injury Trust. This trust makes a difference to younger people with disabilities in Christchurch. 

In a couple of weeks our senior art leaders with be visiting hubs to talk about Elmer and gather ideas for how we could paint them. The art leaders will decide on a design from the ideas they gather, select colours and start getting creative. Children from across the school will help to paint Elmer. 

Later in the year our Elmer will be part of an art trail around the city. We can’t wait to get started.

Help needed - Grant Funding Applications

The Board are keen to explore opportunities for applying for Grant Funding to supplement our budget which is always extremely tight. Grants can provide funding for items and opportunities that are outside of our budget capacity.
If you have a little bit of time, and would be interested in supporting Rachel (our accounts officer) with making some grant applications, please email accounts@beckenham.school.nz. No previous experience is necessary.

Sports News

Cross Country

On Tuesday 9th May we held our Whole School Cross Country, which due to the weather ended up being our Senior School Cross Country. As the first race started the skies opened up and it poured. This did not put our student's off, they showed 'we love challenge' with their grit and determination to keep going. There was a huge vibe of 'we get there together' with student's supporting one another, cheering each other on and running together. 


There were many vibrant, smiling faces and all in all it was a great event! Well done to everyone who participated and to our first place champions' below:

Year 5-Ben Stoney
Year 5-Laura Stoney
Year 6-Lily Miller
Year 6-Kawariki Taylor
Year7-Jack Sayer
Year 7-Harriet Parawa
Year 8-Cahlen Stace
Year 8-Zoe Colville
Year 8-Ella Colman

 Gayle and Sarah took 48 Students to the South Zone Cross Country event on Tuesday 23rd-results to follow.

Community Notices

(Notices placed here are contingent on space and do not reflect the views or opinions of the school.)

Dear whānau, 

We are supporting Stats NZ to encourage everyone to complete the 2023 Census.  

So, this is a reminder that you need to return your census forms if you have not done so already.  

Census data is used to make important decisions that affect us all. The census is the official count of people living in Aotearoa New Zealand, and everyone who was in the country on Census Day, 7 March 2023, is required by law to complete a census form.  

Your participation will help ensure that our community receives funding for services for the number of people that live in our community. That includes education, health, and social services. 

To complete the census, you can do it online at www.census.govt.nz using one of the access codes provided in the letters sent to your household. Or you can fill out paper census forms if you have them. To request a new access code or paper forms, freephone 0800 236 787 (0800 CENSUS) or order online at www.census.govt.nz

The 2023 Census closes on 30 June, so you should do them online now or as soon as practicable. Ensure your paper forms are posted so they arrive with Stats NZ by 30 June. 

Census collectors are no longer visiting households providing help to complete census forms (except in the cyclone-impacted areas of the Far North, Te Tairāwhiti, and Hawke’s Bay). If you need assistance or more information: 

You can attend a census support event and get face-to-face help to complete forms (for more information go to www.census.govt.nz/census-support). 

We encourage you to help whānau, friends, and neighbours complete their forms.  

There is information in New Zealand Sign Language, Braille, Easy Read, Large Print, and Audio formats, as well as in 29 different languages  at www.census.govt.nz. 

The 0800 CENSUS (0800 236 787) helpline will be open until 30 June. 

Thank you for your support in making sure our community is accurately represented in the census.  

 

AUDITIONS!! 

Luminaires presents Beauty Within the Beast



For anyone aged 8 and over who loves to sing, act or dance.
No experience needed.
Click on this link below to find out more. Or find Luminaires on social media.