News – Page 107 – Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

Kia ora,

Can you believe we have just finished Week 9 of the term and only have one more week until the July winter break starts. I'm sure everyone will be looking forward to some relaxing family time over the break.

This week in the Koru team we have been learning about Matariki. The children have been busy engaging in some Matariki activities and learning about the 9 Matariki stars. It was great to see many of our children and their whanau gathering for our Rōpū Hui on Wednesday night to celebrate Matariki. We hope you enjoyed your night participating in the fun range of activities available.

We have been enjoying hearing about all the practise children are involved in with their Structured Literacy at home. Thank you so much for your support with this, it is making a huge difference to their progress throughout the stages. Just a reminder that children who are just starting their Structured Literacy journey will be bringing home a few letter sounds to practise at home and these will be added to as they progress. These can be used to practise the pure sounds the letters make and then can be blended together to form words. Heart words, these are words that cannot be sounded out, will also start coming home for children to practise. Once they are proficient in segmenting and blending the first 8 sounds together, and know the heart words, they will start bringing home decodable books to read with you at home. The ability to segment and blend sounds together is paramount to their success at decoding words, so this stage may take longer for some learners. It is exciting to see their progress take off once they have accomplished this skill. The next step is for the learner to be able to write the sounds they hear in words and we do lots of practise with this within our lessons. This would be a great home learning activity once they are secure in the sounds they are bringing home.

In our maths programme over the past week we have been using frogs and ponds to create number sentences. We started with 5 frogs, and increased the numbers during the week, and looked at how many different ways the frogs could be in and out of the pond and recorded our findings.

In Kōmanawa we have been enjoying exploring the different equipment and activities on offer during Learning Through Play.

The lego has been very popular.

We loved seeing this team work together to create this construction.

The playdough table has also been very busy.

We love how our 'golden oldies' help to settle our new students in.

The puppy school still has lots of puppy students.

Well done to those children who participated in the fun run on Friday to support the student council in raising funds for the charity KidsCan. You all put in an incredible amount of energy! Ka pai!

We hope you have all had a relaxing and fun weekend with your tamariki.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,

Elizabeth, Jo, Stacey, Chelsea, Tracey and Nicola

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Extra Staff Only Day in Term 4

The Board has approved an additional Staff Only day during Term 4 which will happen on Tuesday, 26th October. This is the day after Labour weekend, giving you the opportunity to make a four-day weekend for your family if your work commitments allow.

This day will count as one of the eight days, over three years (2020 - 2022) that were allocated to schools to use through the Collective Agreement negotiations between the teachers' union and the Ministry of Education last year. Last year we only used one collective agreemet day, this year we will have used four days, leaving us three days to use in 2022.

BOSCO have advised us that they will be OPEN on this date, and they will provide more details soon for whānau who want to take advantage of their services.

Karakia Kai from our Hāngī

What a great evening everyone had at the Whānau Hui and Hāngī on Wednesday evening. Thank you to all who were able to attend and participate.

As part of the hāngī, we learned the karakia kai 'E Rongo E Rongo'. Some families have asked for the link and the words... they are here if you would like to listen and learn this with your whānau.

E Rongo, e Rongo (Rongo - guardian of cultivated foods)
Homai ngā tipu (Provide us with your fruits)
Hei whakakī te tīnana (To sustain our bodies & provide)
Hei oranga (wellbeing)
Au eke au eke
Hui e, taiki e (Unified, connected and blessed)

We are looking forward to holding more hāngī in the future, and to being able to cater for more participants.

Teaching our young people to be respectful

As part of our daily learning activities, both explicitly and informally, we focus on the ways that we can show respect to one another, both at school and in the wider world we live in. The recent news around the issues being faced by teenagers at Christchurch Girls High School regarding sexual harassment has highlighted again the importance of teaching our young people to ask for help if they are experiencing any kind of targetted behaviour that makes them feel unsafe or uncomfortable. It is important that our young people do not accept this kind of behaviour as 'normal'.

At a day-to-day level at school, we have been talking more about the negative impact on others of swearing.

Swearing at people and using a raised, aggressive voice, is a form of put-down and intimidation. We are calling out this behaviour and appreciate you talking about this at home with your children.

New Building Opening

We are expecting to have the handover of our new building in the next week. This means that it will be available for our children to use from the beginning of next Term.

We will be holding the official opening of the new 'Hangere' building at 9:10am on Monday 26th July, the first day of Term 3. Please ensure that your children are at school before the 8:55am bell, and that they go to their hubs first so that they can be marked present on the roll. Teachers will bring everyone over to the new building as soon as their rolls are done. All whānau are most welcome to join us for this special celebration!

Ngā mihi nui

Sandy Hastings

Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Week 10:
Thu 8 Jul - South Zone Winter Sport
Fri 9 Jul - Celebration Assembly & Band Concert (11:50am -12:40pm)
Fri 9 Jul - Last Day of Term

School Holidays

Term 3, Week 1:

Mon 26 Jul - First day back at School
Mon 26 Jul - New Building Opening (9:10am)
Wed 28 Jul - PTA Meeting (7.30-9.30pm)
Thu 29 Jul - South Zone Winter Sport (12.00 - 3.00pm)
Fri 30 Jul - Welcome Assembly (9.15 - 9.30am)

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Josh Cornfoot - Year 4

Josh, your kind, caring and thoughtful nature shines in all that you do. You have a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards all areas of learning and you are a fantastic role model to other students. You are self-motivated and you constantly strive to be the best you can be. Kia ora mo tō mahi!

School Notices

Sushi Meets Dumplings - Lunch orders

Next term, we will be trialling a new lunch provider on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays (the days Lunchonline doesn't deliver). It is "Sushi Meets Dumplings" which is based at Beckenham Central shops. The cut-off for placing orders will be 9:00am on the day. More info to come!

HERO - School Accounts & Donations

Thank you to all of you who have logged onto our new app "HERO" and have paid, or part-paid your accounts and donations. We really do appreciate every bit that you are able to contribute towards enriching the experiences that we are able to offer the children.

(Click here if you haven’t yet set up HERO on your phone, and download the app)

To see your current statement, log onto HERO and click on Finance

If you need more detailed information on how to log in, click here.

Whānau Rōpū Hui

We had a fantastic turn out for our first Whānau Rōpū Hui this year. Thank you to everyone who came and celebrated Matariki with us. It was great to see tamariki of all ages, whānau, and friends socialising and having fun together. We enjoyed making harakeke weaving and Matariki stars, learning about māhinga kai and the Matariki macarena, and practising poi skills and chalk drawing. We hope to see you at our next Whānau Rōpū Hui, later this year!

Parking in the 3min area on Sandwich Road

A reminder please, that the stretch of road adjacent to the Admin building on Sandwich Road is a 3min drop-off zone from 8:30-9:30am and 2:30-3:30pm on school days. This means drivers are not able to sit in their cars from 2:30pm waiting for children, or to park cars in this area and go into school. If you arrive early and wait for children, or if you need to get out of your car and come into school, please find an alternative place to park. Having this area just for drop-offs means that the traffic on Sandwich Road moves smoothly before and after school, and this is much safer for our children.

Headlice

We have had head lice reported in Koru, Kahikatea, and Kōwhai hubs. Please take a moment to check your child's head for eggs and lice, and treat accordingly. If you find any evidence of head lice please treat your child before sending them to school, to prevent spread - and make it more comfortable for them!

Gastro bug in Christchurch

Community and Public Health have noted an increase in the number of gastrointestinal illness cases reported in schools and Early Childhood Education centres.

There is currently an increased possibility of children and teachers developing symptoms. Children and teachers who develop vomiting and/or diarrhoea should not attend school and can return once they have been symptom free for 48 hours.

Dental Care during the School Holidays

The Community Dental Service will be providing dental care for children enrolled with our service during the upcoming school holidays. The clinics will offer check-ups, treatment and relief of pain sessions by appointment only. To make an appointment please call/email our Contact Centre which operates between the hours of 8am and 4.30pm, Monday to Friday throughout the holidays.

The following Dental Clinics will be open during these school holidays:

Aranui Clinic, 240 Breezes Road, Aranui,

Burnside Clinic, 96A Memorial Avenue, Burnside,

Timaru Clinic, Level 1, 18 Woollcombe Street, Timaru

The clinics will offer appointments between 8.15am and 4.45pm for school-age and preschool children. If your child has dental pain because of an accident, please contact your dentist in the first instance.

To book an appointment at one of our clinics please call, 0800 846 983, or email commdental@cdhb.health.nz

Maka Ake

Mana Ake “Drop-Ins” are continuing…

A number of whānau have already made great use of the Mana Ake “drop-ins” that are available on Wednesday mornings from 8:30 – 9:30am. These drop-in sessions are here to provide parents with an opportunity to have a private, informal conversation around the well being of their child with one of our Mana Ake workers (kaimahi). If you feel like you would like to attend a drop-in session, please book in a time via the link here: Mana Ake booking The code to use is 88t39. Alternatively, you can contact Jacky in the office and she will make a booking for you.

Staff Profiles

Sports News

Cross Country Challenge at Hillview Christian School

Our top cross country runners from the junior school competed in an interschool cross country challenge at Hillview Christian School on Thursday this week. The team was buzzing with energy and enthusiasm as we set off. Everyone lived our school values, taking on the challenge and running as hard and as fast as their legs could carry them, and caring for and supporting each other. Thanks to the awesome team of parent helpers, as well as Otis and Layla, our Year 8 students, who did an amazing job of helping and caring for our team throughout the event.

A special congratulations to the following children on their results:

Maximus Olykan (Year 2 boys) - 2nd

Ben Stoney (Year 3 boys) - 5th

Laura Stoney (Year 3 girls) - 1st

Bianca Ashworth (Year 4 girls) - 4th

KidsCan Funrun

Wow! What an amazing effort by around 100 of our children, from our newest of new entrants through to our Year 8s, today at the student organised FunRun for KidsCan.

Thank you to the Year 8 students who came up with this amazing idea to support KidsCan, and to everyone who got behind the idea and supported them by either running or sponsoring.

Please help your child get their sponsorship money into school this week, either by bringing it to the office or by paying it into the school bank account with both your child's name and 'FunRun' as reference.

Bank account number: 12-3148-0131641-00

Community Notices

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

Whānau/Family support

Qtopia offers support and education for whānau with LGBTQIA+ children and young people under 16 years of age. This group is peer support based and gives parents a chance to talk through everything that is happening for their young person and whānau. Click here to find out more about what support is available for you, and your young people.

Imagination Station will be running heaps of epic LEGO classes at Tūranga this July holidays, AND visiting Upper Riccarton, Fendalton and Aranui Libraries with heaps of LEGO classes! We’ll be running basic LEGO Technic Starter classes, remote controlled race cars, an introduction to robotics with LEGO WeDo2.0, an exciting battlebots class with our new LEGO SPIKE Prime robotics and our famous LEGO movie making workshops. If you’re interested, find more info and reserve your space at imagination-station.org.nz or give us a call on 027 438 2106.

Studio One Performing Arts, your local dance school, is currently giving Ballet, Jazz, Contemporary and Acro lessons in your area. The school’s director is teacher, choreographer & ex-ballet dancer Patricia Paul A.R.A.D. (London). Ballet lessons from 3 years through to Advanced, and all levels in Jazz and Contemporary starting from age 7. For all enquiries please phone 372-9191 or email info@studioone.co.nz

30H Huntsbury Ave (03) 332 6001 www.huntsbury-preschool.org.nz

Now open Monday to Friday 8.30 PM - 2:30 PM for children aged 2 to 5 years.

An inspiring, unique, caring, unrushed community-based preschool.

High adult to child ratios. Fully qualified, experienced teachers. Individual learning programmes. Exciting natural outdoor garden.

Visitors are always welcome.

Art Classes for Children

Is your child passionate about art? Would they like to extend their creativity through learning a range of new art skills and techniques? Maybe Kat's holiday painting workshops or after-school art classes are just what you've been looking for. Kat's Art Studio is located at 171 Waltham Rd. Art tutor Katrina is a professional artist and tutor who has over 10yrs experience teaching children art. For more details, please visit www.katsartstudio.co.nz

Family Fest Christchurch - 23-25 July 2021

Event Hire is very proud to be hosting Family Fest Christchurch again this year, however we have decided to go bigger and better this year since we SOLD OUT last year! We are holding the event at Pioneer Recreation Centre this year, allowing us a bit more space than last year. There will be two, three hour sessions each day. 9am-12pm and then 1pm-4pm for each of the three days.

Ticket prices will be;

Children (under 1's) - FREE

Children (1-5 years) - $10

Children/Student (6-17 years) - $15

Adult (18+) - $5

Family Pass (2x Adults & 3x Children) - $50

Mates Rates (4x Children/Students/Adults) - $55