Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter Friday 7th May

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Welcome back. It has been so good to see everyone back this term, and to be amazed at how much some of our children have grown over just the two weeks of the holidays!

A special welcome to all of the new students and families who have joined our school this week. We had 10 New Entrants start this week, with more to come over the term ahead. We love welcoming our new staff, students and their families at our Welcome Assembly each term, and this morning was no exception.

New Building

We can see lots of progress happening on our new classroom block with the roof going on during this week. We are advised that HRS are currently on track to hand over on the agreed date of Thursday 22nd July, ready for the start of Term 3. This is very exciting news as our New Entrant numbers continue to grow. 





Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Week 2: 
Tue 11 May - Whole School Cross Country
Thu 13 May - Cross Country (postponement date)
Fri 14 May - Celebration Assembly

Week 3:
Mon 17 May - Show Quest Year 7 & 8
Wed 19 May - School Photos
Fri 21 May - Staff Only Day (School Closed)

Week 4:
Mon 24 May - Kahikatea City Excursion (Amber/Charlotte HG)
Tue 25 May - Kahikatea City Excursion (Katie/Lisa HG)
Wed 26 May - PTA Meeting 7.30 - 9.30pm
Fri 28 May - Celebration Assembly

and for your forward planning...

Week 6
Tue 8 Jun - Staff Only Day (School Closed)

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Alex Scott - Year 4

Alex, you have been a wonderful member of our hub. You always seek to help other people and be a good role model. You are kind and caring, and encourage others to do the right thing. It has been lovely to see you embracing challenges in your learning and showing such great teamwork spirit. Ka mau te wehi, Alex!

School Notices

Food Allergy Guidelines

Across our school, we have a number of children with different food allergies.
To support the wellbeing of these students we have the following guidelines in place which we ask you to follow:
  • Whenever children bring food to school for shared kai occasions, please follow the guidelines provided by the teachers for that event. 
We will inform you during the year if specific guidelines for your child’s hub change.  Our full allergy policy and guidelines in this booklet, are also available on the Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto website under “Information - Policies - SchoolDocs” then search ‘allergy’.  If you have any questions or concerns, please discuss them in the first instance with your child’s point of contact teacher.

School Cross Country

Our whole school cross country is next Tuesday afternoon, May 11th. 
We would love to invite whānau to spectate this event. 

Senior school races kick off the afternoon with the Year 8s starting shortly after 1:30. We then work down the year groups.  
Junior races will not start before 2:15. 

The children have been out practising this week and are becoming familiar with the course they will run. We are also having conversations around developing a positive mindset around participation in cross country. Success can look like many different things depending on the individual. We encourage the children to set goals for themselves based on running their own best race. This is something that you might like to discuss at home. Some potential goals could be:
- finishing the course
- maintaining a run for the whole way round
- pacing themselves so that can finish feeling strong

Children can wear their housetop on this day or may race in their red school polo. Wearing shoes that are comfortable to run in will be beneficial.

After their race, the children can see you for a quick celebration of their efforts and then should head back to their team's area to be supervised by a teacher. We would appreciate it if you can support the children in remembering this step. 

If you are coming to spectate, please leave dogs at home as some children may be afraid of dogs.   

ESOL 

This week we were very pleased to welcome Charmaine, our new Teacher Aide, to our first ESOL lessons. Charmaine is taking over from Pip and Elizabeth. 


Students worked on prepositions (under, over, between, across, in front, behind) and made paper helicopters to practise science concepts (flying, floating, falling etc)


BOSCO 

With the upcoming Staff Only Days that will be happening on Friday 21st May and Tuesday 8th June, BOSCO can now be booked online on Aimy Plus for those dates, or they can contact Juanita at office@bosco.org.nz   

A reminder that the school is closed to students on these dates.

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.



PTA News

SAVE the DATE!

The Annual school disco will be held Friday 11th June. We will run three sessions - times and year groups to follow.

We are on the hunt for helpers to do a short 1-2 hour shift to help it run smoothly- so please look out for the PTA Survey which will land in your inbox this week, or click here to complete the form.

Community Notices

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

The Envirokids Programme

Envirokids is an exciting new initiative to connect Christchurch kiwi kids to our Environmental Community.

Every Saturday after launch (15 May) activities available 10am - 3pm at the Kiosk in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens  
 
Activities for all primary and intermediate aged children 

Every week we will showcase a different organisation in our network. There are so many organisations in our networks with activities for children. This is an opportunity to get passionate children together and connect them with these organisations. If you would like your organisations to be involved please email us at envirokids@chchenvirohub.org. Any suitably qualified Envirokids facilitator will be available to help as much or as little as you need. They will be available on the Saturday and they can help organisations plan activities if required.

Thinking about Hagley for Year 9 2022? 10 key points about us:

  1. We're a Designated Character School. To join us, you must agree to engage with our culture and our values of Whakamarumaru (Responsibility), Mana (Respect), Whakawhirinaki (Trust) and Tika (Integrity). We also need to be confident that Hagley has the resources to support you in your learning, that there is a programme that will meet your needs, and that there is a place for you in that programme. 
  2. We are a restorative school. 
  3. We have an inclusive and diverse learning environment. 
  4. We offer a connected curriculum. 
  5. All Year 9 students have two hours of Te Reo Māori, three hours of Health, and two hours of PE each week. They also all take English, Maths, Social Sciences and Science. Students also choose from a wide range of Kete Wana courses to complete their programmes. 
  6. Social action and student leadership are actively promoted and celebrated. 
  7. Our Targeted Learning class is very small. Only 2-3 places will be available for new students in 2022 due to returning students. 
  8. GATE students are able to excel in their specialty fields. 
  9. Enrolment for Year 9 2022 opens on 10 May 2021 and closes on 25 June 2021 at midday. It is essential to apply during this time. 
  10. There are only 125 places available in Year 9 for 2022. A ballot is usually required and will occur on 8 July 2021. Notifications re places occurs by 16 July 2021. Criteria for priority enrolment for those with family/whānau links to Hagley is on our website. 

Our website has more information: https://www.hagley.school.nz/enrolment/year-9-enrolment/

We also have an open night coming up on Thursday 27 May with rolling starts at either 4.30 pm or 5.30 pm.

Open Christchurch

The free festival celebrating architectural excellence and our special places has launched its programme for 15/16 May. With 46 buildings open to the public, two guided walks and dozens of activities - from children's workshops to expert talks - the programme is packed. 

Highlights include the CSO's dress rehearsal in the internationally acclaimed auditorium at the Town Hall, a cardboard city-making workshop for children, and one-off access to private residences of architectural significance. 

There are several events aimed at children and many family-friendly buildings.

Event organisers encourage residents and visitors alike to participate in Open Christchurch and to study the programme and website to create their own itinerary of highlights so that they can discover or connect with the city in a new way.

Activities for children

Open Christchurch is a Public Learning Destination for Te Mātāpuna Mātātahi Children’s University, which allows members to earn hours in their passport for completing an activity sheet at Open Christchurch venues. Members can access the portal and download an activity sheet. Once they complete the visit and worksheet, they will receive a stamp from their school.
  • CSO dress rehearsal at the Town Hall, Sat 15 May: 10am-12.30pm
  • Q & A with elected members at Christchurch Civic Offices Te Hononga, Sat 15 May: 10am-12pm
  • What’s behind the door? Architecture at The Arts Centre, Saturday 15 May: 10-11am; 12-1pm; 2-3pm. Sunday: 10-11am; 12-1pm
  • Cardboard City Building with Annabel Cropper and Yvonne Hall, Saturday 15 May: 1.30 – 4 pm
Check out their full programme here: https://openchch.nz/
Join their FB event here for updates: https://www.facebook.com/events/830309760849631

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Survey 2021

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Hello to all our Beckenham School Families,

Well where on earth did Term 1 go?  We hope you all had a wonderfully relaxing term break with your families and friends and are ready for another term ahead.

Here at Beckenham School, our families and wider community are really quite extraordinary.  Because of this, the PTA are able to do a really good job supporting our school through a variety of events, activities, practical support and fundraising. 

In this ever changing world, we are aware that peoples' circumstances change.  For the PTA to best support the school community, we keep up to date details for those wonderful helpers or 'friends of the PTA' so we can reach out to them in time of need, when we need that extra little support.

We have around 350+ families within the school so we ask that if everyone could find a way of giving a little of their time or energy to help, the success and support that the PTA offers to its school and its families would be even more amazing, and shared by so many.  Many hands really do make light work.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the following few questions. 
To access the form please click here.

Kind Regards
Jody Smith, Nicola Arnott and the PTA team

Cross Country Times

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 Kia ora e te whānau,

We have received the timetable for the Cross Country next Tuesday from Jenny, who has given us the approximate times that each race will be starting. The first race will be the Year 8 race from 1:35pm and the races will on a staggered start at 10 minutes from that point.

For us in Pōhutukawa the races are expected to start as follows:

Year 6 - 1:55pm

Year 5 - 2:05pm

Please note that the time is different than that on the Community Calendar. Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

School Cross Country

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Our whole school cross country is next Tuesday afternoon, May 11th. 

We would love to invite whānau to spectate this event. 

Senior school races kick off the afternoon with the Year 8s starting shortly after 1:30. We then work down the year groups.  
Junior races will not start before 2:15. 

The children have been out practising this week and are becoming familiar with the course they will run. We are also having conversations around developing a positive mindset around participation in cross country. Success can look like many different things depending on the individual. We encourage the children to set goals for themselves based on running their own best race. This is something that you might like to discuss at home. Some potential goals could be:
- finishing the course
- maintaining a run for the whole way round
- pacing themselves so that can finish feeling strong

Children can wear their housetop on this day or may race in their red school polo. Wearing shoes that are comfortable to run in will be beneficial.

After their race, the children can see you for a quick celebration of their efforts and then should head back to their team's area to be supervised by a teacher. We would appreciate it if you can support the children in remembering this step. 

If you are coming to spectate, please leave dogs at home as some children may be afraid of dogs.   

Welcome Back/ Important Dates

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Ngā mihi e te whānau, warm greetings to you all.

We hope everyone was able to enjoy some extra family time over the holidays. The tamariki have come back looking rested and revitalised, and we are ready for another fantastic term in Pōhutukawa. 

Wellbeing/Hauora

We have also started the term with some stunning weather -very chilly mornings and very warm afternoons! With some similar weather forecast, our message to the children is around the importance of drinking plenty of water and taking off jackets and polar fleeces in the afternoon as we are noticing a big variance in temperatures through the day.

In saying that, the colder weather is ahead, and with it comes the inevitable surge in coughs and sniffles.  We will be vigilant (particularly at the start of the term) in promoting good hygiene practices. Reminders about regular hand washing, sneezing into elbows and using and discarding tissues are all good discussions we will be having at school and would be great to have reinforced at home, as well. Mā tātou kātoa te waka e hoe, we are all in the waka together.

"Cool Curriculum Classes"

We love alliteration in Pōhutukawa, and our "cool curriculum classes" are continuing with some changes this term. Anna will still be teaching Social Sciences and investigating World Cultures, incorporating this with our concept of Change as the term progresses. Rae is delving into Te Ao Māori with a look at comparing and contrasting Myths and Legends, as well as learning Te Reo Māori. Steve is continuing the Science investigation we started last year with the Urban Eel Project/Te Tuna Tāone and looking at how we can use the findings to make a difference to the health of the Heathcote/Ōpāwaho te awa. Finally, Gayle is covering Digital Technologies and working with the tamariki on coding. There is a lot of learning that will be happening over the term in CCC, so we encourage you to keep chatting about what we are covering in these courses with your tamariki. He taonga te ako, the treasure is learning.

Cross Country - Tuesday May 11th

More alliteration, this time our whole school cross country, which is coming up next week. It was so great to see many of the tamariki hit the ground running - literally - and come back to school having done some training over the holidays. We are gearing up for the event by having daily training on the park, which the students are tracking on their cross country training goal sheet. Nau mai te wero, bring on the challenge! We are also encouraging the students to think about some of these goals, depending on their level of confidence, as we lead up to Cross Country next Tuesday:

  • I can run until I get too puffed and then 'walk a cone, run a cone' until time is up.
  • I can jog for the whole time without stopping.
  • I feel more comfortable running 
  • I feel great doing regular exercise
  • I feel great challenging myself
  • I feel great achieving my goals
  • I have shown a positive attitude towards cross country training

Winter Sport

Winter sport starts in Week 5 of this term. We would love to be able to provide every child who wants to participate in competitive winter sport a place in a sports team. To make this possible, we are still looking for adults to accompany teams. Ideally, this adult would be comfortable having a go at refereeing a game. This is something we can support you in learning how to do if you are new to it. If you are not comfortable refereeing but would be available to support a team, please do still get in touch. The most important thing we need is for the children to be adequately supervised.  

At the moment we do not have enough adults for competitive winter sport to go ahead this year. 

Currently, we are still looking for:

Netball: 2 x year 5/6 and 2 x year 7/8

Hockey: 2 x year 5/6 and 1 x year 7/8

Football: 1 x year 5/6 and 1 x year 7/8 

Important Dates

Tuesday, May 11 - School Cross Country, 11:45 am 

Friday, May 21 - Staff Only Day

Monday, June 7 - Queen's Birthday (School closed)

Tuesday, June 8 - Staff Only Day