Koru Team news: Term 1 Week 3

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Kia ora, e te whanau,

We have had an amazingly busy and productive fortnight - it's been SO much fun, and in amongst all of the fun, the children have very quickly shown fantastic gains in their independence and their confidence.

We have:

  • made ice cream
  • started visiting the library
  • started exploring simple programming using the Beebots
  • made tiger handprints
  • been exploring the Maths equipment
  • made tiger masks
  • worked with the Year 7 students, participating in activities planned and organised by the older children
  • set up a tank for our tadpoles 
  • practised our core strength exercises, in preparation for the start of our handwriting programme.
Carefully pouring the first ingredient for the ice cream (cream itself).

Stirring in the second ingredient (condensed milk).

Whipping the cream.

Sprinkling in the chocolate.

Stirring in the chocolate.

Eating the ice cream.

Mmmmmmm!

Yum...

yum...

YUM!!

Learning about the library.

Programming the Beebots to move through a maze.

Working together to problem solve.

Will this Beebot make it safely to the other end of the maze?

Oopsy daisy!

We take very good care of the Beebots.

Decorating a tiger cupcake with the help of a Year 7 friend.

Decorating a Rainbow Fish with the help of a Year 7 friend.

Listening to The Rainbow Fish.

We really enjoyed this story!

Working together with a Year 7 buddy to create a set up involving the castle and the blocks.

Painting with our Year 7 buddies.

Adding the stripes to a tiger handprint.

Exploring with Oobleck.

Learning how to make a leaf rubbing.

An expert at 'planking' - working on developing core strength.

Keeping a VERY close eye on our new tadpoles, and making sure they're safe and happy in their new home.

What a lot of great times we've been having at school over the past fortnight!

Parents, a request ... are you able to help us out, please? We are searching for the following items for our Learning Through Play:

  • any old baking equipment you no longer need (suitable for a 'mud' kitchen) 
  • baby clothes ('prem' size best) to fit 41 cm. dolls
  • old bits of downpipe or other plumbing 'parts'
  • old sandpit toys (preferably in quite good condition), including dump trucks and diggers, as well as buckets and spades
  • an old children's size pop up tent
  • old toy cars to add to our somewhat depleted collection
We'd be very grateful if you have any of the above items which you'd be willing to donate to us. Please just touch base with Nicola or Elizabeth if you do.

Our Library time has now been confirmed as being on Fridays, and you will have noticed your child's library folder in your child's bag today. The books can be kept at home until Friday next week, but need to be returned by then, if your child is to have new books issued.
You will also have noticed that your child's poetry book is coming home now too. Please read the new poem, as well as the previous weeks' poems, with your child. Any colouring that hasn't been completed can be finished off at home. Your child could also colour in the title page at the front of their book. Please ensure that your child's poetry book is returned to their school bag and comes back to school each Monday.

We have also learnt some new songs, which we have added links to here (if you would like your child to teach you at home!):

Your children are doing a fantastic job at school! We hope you all have a wonderful, warm and relaxing weekend, and look forward to seeing all of those happy, smiling, little faces back at school on Monday.

Ngā mihi mahana ki a koutou,
Nicola, Jo and Elizabeth





Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter 19 February 2021

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora e te whānau

We are thrilled to be back at Alert Level 1 again after a week where we were sharply reminded that we are not through this pandemic yet. Thank you to all of you for supporting the Alert Level 2 practices of staying off our school site during this time. Yet again, our children showed us that, with positive messaging and support from the adults around them, they are often ready to manage more independence than we give them credit for. I encourage you all to foster that independence, particularly around morning drop-offs. We particularly notice that the younger children come into the hubs and settle more easily without a lot of caregivers and pre-schoolers present. We will continue having a teacher outside the NE, Y1/2 and Y3/4 hubs in the morning so that you can touch base with a teacher if you need to.

I have had the honour of being in Wellington yesterday and today for the New Zealand Principals Federation Executive meeting. Among other topics, we have today been talking about the exciting new Aotearoa New Zealand Histories curriculum that was recently announced and is currently in draft form. 
Many young people leave school without being fully aware of Aotearoa New Zealand’s histories. They haven’t learned where we have come from or the way people have experienced our histories differently.
Our histories are important to us all because they have shaped our present-day lives. Understanding the past will help to shape the way we move forward into the future.


You can watch a short video about it here: Introduction to Aotearoa NZ Histories

The public can give feedback on the draft - to find out about how to do that, please follow this link.
Our staff will be giving feedback on the draft curriculum this term also.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Tumuaki - Principal

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Wed 24 Feb - Kahikatea trip to Ferrymead

Wed 24 Feb - PTA Meeting, Green Room, 7:30pm

Thu 25 Feb - School Swimming sports for Years 5 - 8 - Wharenui Pool 12:45pm

Thu 25 Feb - BOT Meeting, Staffroom 5:30pm

Fri 26 Feb - Celebration Assembly  12 - 12:30pm in the hall.  All Welcome.

Mon 1 - Fri 5 Mar - Kauri camp at Wainui YMCA

Term Dates

Click here to view 2021 term dates.

Citizen of the Week

Lily Mclachlan - Year 4

Lily, you are such a fantastic role model in the Kōwhai hub. You show 'We Get There Together' always by lending helping hand to both your peers and the teachers. Lily, your enthusiasm knows no bounds and you are always willing to show that you care by offering your help to others. You use initiative in your learning and you are a fantastic communicator. Tino pai Lily! 

Haile Harmer-Campbell - Year 6

Haile, you embrace our kete value, 'We Love Challenge'! We see you growing so much as a leader in our hub, always enthusiastically encouraging and supporting your peers in their learning. You demonstrate grit, team work and good sportsmanship on the field, showing the 'We Get There Together' kete beautifully. It is wonderful to see your passion! We appreciate that you make us laugh with your witty sense of humour each day. Tino pai Haile! 

School Notices

Christchurch Schools Music Festival - Applications for special groups now open


Talented singers and musicians from Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto can now apply for an audition to join a Representative Group - Junior & Senior Choir, Concert Band, Orchestra - for the 2021 Music Festival.

We want to encourage and support any students in Years 5-8 who are confident singers, and/or instrumentalists to apply for an audition. This is particularly the case in 2021 given the cancellation of the 2020 Music Festival.

Applications are made online on the Festival website here.

This is a chance to not only participate in a life-changing learning opportunity but also to represent Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto while doing it.

Being selected for a Representative Group for the Music Festival is the artistic equivalent of being selected for a Canterbury level sports team; let's make sure the opportunity is not overlooked.
If you have any questions about this, please speak with Jody Keenan (CSM Band tutor), your music teacher, or email Sandy principal@beckenham.school.nz

Our Literacy Programme

Kia ora whānau,
We are very excited to be continuing the implementation of a structured literacy programme across the school this year. Structured literacy is based on the science and research behind how we learn to read and write. You may have seen information surrounding this, through the media and Ministry of Education over the last few months. This structured approach involves a stronger focus on the teaching of phonological awareness (identifying and manipulating units of spoken language), letter/sound knowledge and learning the spelling patterns of English. Please check out the following links for further information around the science of reading, and evidence for this:

During the first 3 full weeks of school the teachers and children will be sitting down together and going through some literacy assessments.  Assessing our tamariki’s phonological awareness, letter/sound knowledge and knowledge of spelling patterns gives our teachers solid data that informs our planning for the individual needs of each learner and helps monitor progress. It is also an opportunity to talk with the children about their learning and possible next steps. 

During the next few weeks you can help by reading to and with your child each night, enjoying and discussing texts / books from the library (both school and city council libraries have books for children to borrow) or that you have at home.  Older children may wish to read their own book and share the story line with you.  Remember also, no one is ever too old to be read to.

Teams will be in touch with information about how you can support your child with literacy learning at home, in the coming weeks.  
Lisa Collier, Literacy Lead Teacher.

Lunchonline


Lunchonline is a lunch delivery service that our families are able to access for their children, which is available on Wednesdays (Subway) and Fridays (Sushi Factory). Please ensure that you update your child's details on their database so lunches can be matched up with your child more easily when they are delivered.
To access this, you will need to set up an account with LunchOnline here.

Hats

We have a small number of children across the school who do not yet have sunhats at school each day. Please would you check that your child has a hat every day. Please also ensure that hats are named in an easily visible place INSIDE (not on the outside) of the hat. Named uniform items that are found are always returned to hubs, rather than being put into the lost property.

Sports News

Miniball for Year 3 - 4 starting in Week 3

We have four teams entered into this league. It was fantastic to see so many children interested in this opportunity. There will be another chance to play in Term 4 and if children missed out this term, they will have priority to play in Term 4. Thank you to all the whānau who have volunteered their time to support the children at games. 

Hanmer 4 Hour Mountain Bike Relay

We would like to promote the above event to keen mountain bikers. Children compete as a team to complete as many laps of the course as they can in 4 hours. Children 11 years old and younger ride a mellow loop that goes through the Heritage Forest. Children 12 years and older ride an intermediate level track, (it’s worth noting that this course is the same one that adults compete on and so it is a little busier). Whānau are responsible for entries and for supervising children at the event. There are already a number of children entered and we will have a Beckenham Te Kura O Pūroto base area set up for all our teams to use. If you enter this event, please let Jenny know so that we can share information and coordinate plans for race day. 

BOT Update

The Board of Trustees have their first meeting of the year this Thursday 25th February, from 5:30pm in the staffroom. We welcome our new trustees to the Board: Richard Scott, Suran Dickson, Nicole Forster and Anna Reid (newly elected Staff Trustee). We welcome back returning Trustees: Matthew Macdonald, Jude Clarke, Sampson Karst, Lisa Taylor and Marcel Frie.
Board of Trustee meetings are 'Meetings held in Public', as opposed to 'Public Meetings'. This means that anyone is welcome to come and sit in on the meeting. It does not, however, give visitors the right to speak at a meeting, unless this has been pre-organised and agreed to by the Chair.

Community Notices

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



Christchurch Pride & Qtopia Pride Ball

March is Christchurch Pride month! We’re so excited to be supporting the youth programming, and to be throwing our very own ball! It’s all ages and pay what you can - celebrate your high school formal the way you always wanted to - wear what you feel most you in, bring the date you want, and celebrate with other beautiful rainbow folk.
For more information and to book your ticket, click here!
All the events below are suitable for young people to attend. We can’t wait to see you there!



St Andrew's College Open Day

St Andrew’s College are holding their Secondary School Open Day on Wednesday 17 March 9am - 12pm.  visit stac.school.nz for further information

Kōwhai News Term 1 Week 3 2021

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Kia ora Kōwhai whānau, 

We have had a great Week 3 in the Kōwhai Hub - our first full five day week! The students have been enjoying continuing with the water play (when the weather has allowed!) and the students who chose not to participate in water play have had a fun time enjoying various art activities. 

Today was the last day of water play as we start our new inquiry unit topic next week. Our inquiry focus this year is Change and we are starting explore this by looking at historical changes around Canterbury - from the first waka to our shores, to today. 

To start off our inquiry learning journey about historical Canterbury… Next Thursday, Kōwhai children will be boarding the Kōwhai Hub Ship, recreating the 1800’s immigration from Europe to Aotearoa New Zealand. Please bring any blankets, pillows, pegs, and ropes that you have to help build the ship’s cabins. Please make sure everything is named. 

We have started our Kapa Haka lessons for the year with Whaea Cath. We have also been learning about rakau (stick) games in the hub. The students will be creating their own rakau over the coming weeks. We are still looking for newspapers and magazines to help create these - so if you have any spare at home, please send them in with your child. 



We have added a doll house into our learning through play activity. If you have any spare toys at home that you no longer use and that would suit imagination play in a doll house, please send them in with your child. 

Here are some pictures of our learning though play activities this week. 















Have a lovely weekend. 

Ngā mihi, 

The Kōwhai Team - Laura, Quynh, Nick, Meagan and Rowe

Kauri Whānau: Wainui Camp Info

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What you need to know:

  • We are off to Wainui on Monday, March 1st, until Friday, March 5th.
  • Children need to be at school by 8:15am on Monday. We will be back by 3pm on Friday.
  • Below is important information about camp cost, gear and food. Please read it carefully and let us know urgently if you need help with any gear for your child.
  • We will have a paper gear list for the children to take home on Friday.
  • On Monday and Tuesday, we will be sharing a camp social story with the children. This will have information about a wide range of things, including our programme and menu. We will share this with you early next week.
  • We are currently busy allocating activities to each child. We hope to be able to give the children their activity groups early next week. 

Camp Cost:

We have set an achievable target of $5000 for fundraising, which will take place after camp. Taking this into consideration, we are requesting your contribution of  $165 per child to cover the costs of camp.  This will be added to your next account. This can be paid on a small weekly payment basis if that better suits your family. Please contact Rachael in accounts if you want to arrange a drip payment.

Camp Gear List (supplied by Wainui)

Please ensure all of the items below are named. Gear needs to be packed into a sturdy bag.

 Warm Sleeping Bag or Bedding

 Fitted sheet

 Pillow

 Pyjamas

 Toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap,  deodorant (not spray), shampoo etc.

 3 towels

 Tea towel

 Raincoat

 Warm waterproof jacket

 2 warm jerseys

 6 T-shirts

 3 pairs of shorts

 3 pairs of trousers

 Socks and underwear

 Thermals longs and tops

 Swimming togs

 Warm hat / beanie

 Sunscreen

 Sun hat (and a spare if you have one)

 2 pairs of lace up shoes

 If doing coasteering - an old pair of lace-up shoes that can be worn in the water

 If doing raft building or kayaking - water shoes or old lace-ups that can be worn in water

 Gumboots or jandals

 Torch

 Small Backpack

 Water Bottle

 Any Required Medication

 Plastic bags for transporting wet clothes and shoes home

 Lunch for the first day

 A book


Optional Items

 extra clothes, bedding, toiletries, cards, diary, wetsuit, camera etc


Do not bring

 Money or valuables

 Spray deodorant

 Pocket knives

 Sweets or energy drinks (stipulated by Wainui)

 Electronic equipment*

* We would prefer that cell-phones are left at home. As the road is windy, we do not want devices for use on the bus. If you would like to make contact with your child, we can arrange for them to call you on a teacher's phone. If you really want your child to bring their cellphone, please email your child's teacher. We will look after their phone and they can use it in the evening to make contact with you. We will be taking plenty of photos and will aim to put together a photobook after camp.

Camp Food

We will be self-catering at Wainui to help keep costs down and would like your help with the following.

  • Jenny and Nicky's homegroup - a bag of fruit (10 -12 portions)
  • Caitlin and Megan's homegroup - some baking. We would love to get more nutritious and less sugary baking, lots of oats, etc would be great. We are going totally nut-free on camp, so please avoid putting any nuts in baking.
If you can help by preparing a cottage pie for our first night, please click this link.

We are also in need of freezer space to store food we are purchasing for camp. Please email Nicola if you can help. One more thing we need is a heavy duty camping chilly bin that would keep frozen goods frozen on the way to Wainui. Also contact Nic if you can help.

We are looking for someone who has a contact for cheap fruit and vegetables. Please contact Caitlin if you have a contact.



Kauri Whānau: reminders for tomorrow

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 We had an awesome leadership day with Year 7 today. Below are reminders for the next two days of our leadership adventure!

Year 7

Either tomorrow or Friday the Year 7s will have their day as a leader in a junior hub. They need to come prepared with any equipment and materials for their activity. It is great to see that some have already brought what they need to school. Children should go to their homegroups at the start of the day and from there they will be dispersed to where they need to be. 

Year 8

  • Please check our last post for the detailed gear list
  • Bring bedding and overnight bag into the Nook on arrival at school tomorrow
  • Take medication in a labelled bag to home-group teacher
  • Remember $2.40 for bus fare, or a metro card
  • Thanks for all the food donations! If you are yet to bring yours, please have it tomorrow
  • We stay at school all day and night tomorrow. 
  • Bring lunch for tomorrow. We have the dinner, breakfast and lunch for Friday sorted
  • Any problems, call Nicky on 0276229403
Watch out for another post from me in the weekend with lots of details about Wainui Camp, which is just around the corner!