Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Newsletter, Friday 11 September 2020

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Just a short newsletter this week as we wait to hear the next stages of our COVID-19 Alert levels on Sunday.

Whanau Hui Pātai / Invitation - Whānau Hui

We have unfortunately had to postpone our efforts to hold a proper Whānau Hui with all of the whānau and tamariki able to attend, due to the challenges of COVID-19 Alert levels.

We would like to extend an invitation to Whānau Māori to attend an adults only hui this coming Rāapa 16 Mahuru (Wednesday 16 September) from 7-8:15pm in the staffroom. The kaupapa of this hui is to share orur goals and aspirations for our tamariki Māori, so that these aspirations can be reflected in the Strategic Plan the Board are writing for the next three years.

If you are whānau of tamariki Māori, please come along and participate in this hui.

Staffing Update

We have sadly accepted the resignation of our Pōhutukawa Team Leader, Anne Batchelor this week, effective at the end of this school year. Anne has been offered a position with the RTLB service. She will be training and working as a Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour, alongside Paulette Newton and Cath Barrie and under the leadership of Michelle Maule (all of whom were also teachers at Beckenham).  

The Team Leader position for 2021 will be advertised next week in the Education Gazette.

Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori - Māori Language Week

14-20 Mahuru, 2020 - 14-20 September 2020

At school we will be joining in with others all around New Zealand at midday on Monday with the 'Māori Language Moment'. We invite all of our whānau and community to join in too. All you need to do is make a deliberate action to use some Te Reo Māori, for example you could greet someone with 'Kia ora' or 'Tēnā koe', or you could start an email with the same greeting... be part of the movement to celebrate and support the learning and reviatalisation of this language of Te Reo Māori that is unique to our country.

Everyone can contribute to te reo Māori revitalisation:
  • Make te reo welcome at work and in the community
  • Encourage others to use and learn te reo Māori
  • Wwelcome Māori language into your life
  • Pronounce Māori words correctly when speaking English
  • Learn a little, use a little
  • Learn more, and use what you know
  • Keep improving your language, and share what you know

CleanUp Week - across NZ and in Beckenham!

Next week - 14-18 September, is NZ CleanUp week and we are joining in at school...




Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal / Tumuaki

Important Dates

Upcoming Events

Wed 16 Sep - 9:15am - CSM Band Concert for whānau at Hillview Christian School
Wed 16 Sep - 3:15pm - CSM Band Concert for whānau at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Hall 
Wed 16 Sep - 7-8:15pm - Whānau Hui in the staffroom (adults only)
Fri 25 Sep - last day of Term 4
Mon 12 Oct - STAFF Only Day - SCHOOL CLOSED
Tue 13 Oct - First day of Term 4


School Notices

Peter Rabbit

It was with enormous sadness that we have had to farewell Peter Rabbit, who has been a faithful and loyal friend to hundreds of children at Beckenham te Kura over the past 9 years. Peter has been cuddled and loved by children, read to, played with, taken out to the park for time on the grass, and has helped children who have been feeling sad or upset by simply allowing them to hold him, and most children at Beckenham will know him really well. Something that Peter did incredibly well was to help children who were having trouble saying goodbye to their families at the start of the school day - Peter was worth way more than his weight in gold.
Peter Rabbit died of old age last week. In human years, he would have been about 85. He will be greatly missed, and remembered by all with enormous fondness.

Peter, aged nearly 9 years

Better Beckenham Project 

This project is funded by a $210,000 grant from the NZ Transport Agency in Wellington, aiming to use public spaces (roads and footpaths) to make better neighbourhoods. The project covers the Beckenham Loop, where its geographical limits (in a bend of the river), and low through traffic make some easy enhancements possible. river, and slower vehicle speeds, but we want your ideas too! The project is to be jointly run between the City Council and the residents, so please come along and have some input at our community parties in Beckenham School hall on the 4th September from 3:15 pm till 5pm and 6th September from 3 pm till 5pm. A few children from Beckenham School will have posters on display as they have been working as junior design consultants to produce ideas for the community. Looking forward to seeing you there! For more info email BetterBeckenham@gmail.com.

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.

Considerate Driving 

Sandwich Road can get very congested around drop off and pick up times.  Please show consideration for other drivers and ensure you are not blocking the road when you are dropping off and picking up your children.  We have a designated pick up/drop off zone - we would strongly encourage you to use this area to assist with the traffic congestion.

BOT Update: Mid-Term Elections

School Board of Trustee Mid Term Elections 2020

Nomination round

Our school will be undertaking Mid Term Elections for our Board of Trustees this year. This process will start with the issuing of nomination papers to our caregiver community by Friday 9th October 2020.
The Board of Trustees have again employed CES to undertake the election process on our behalf. This year with legislative change, our nomination forms and full instruction on how to place your nomination into our own School’s Election website will be e-mailed to you by Friday 9th October 2020.
For those that do not have access to the internet, nomination papers will be available at the school office and those nomination papers should be returned to the school office. The school will send those on to CES for processing. 
Nominations close on Sunday 1st November 2020 at 12 noon.
We look forward to your participation in this process.

Wayne Jamieson 
Returning Officer

Community Notices

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






Would you like to take your school child’s younger sibling(s) to an affordable ECE centre with high adult:child ratios, and meet local families?  Landsdowne Terrace Playcentre is a parent run Early Childhood Education Centre with a friendly and diverse group of local parents.  We believe that child led play is central to development, and recognise the value of parents as first educators.  Come and visit us in our spacious grounds at 8 Landsdowne Terrace on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday mornings 9-12, or our explorer outings on Thursdays. Email landsdowneterrace@playcentre.org.nz  or message our Facebook page. Ph: 3322140
"Whānau tupu ngātahi - families growing together"

Studio One Performing Arts

Studio One Performing Arts, your local dance school, is currently giving Ballet, Jazz and Contemporary 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

Kōwhai News Term 3 Week 8

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 Dear Kōwhai whanau, 

Another busy few weeks in the Kōwhai hub. 

Talent Quest
We have some talented kids in Kōwhai! The students have worked so hard this term, especially showing our school values of "We Love Challenge" and  "We Get there Together" to get ready for auditions. Last week, Rowe and Laura had the tough job of picking only four acts to go through to the whole school talent show. We are having a Kōwhai talent performance this Friday to showcase all the amazing acts. 

Football on Wednesdays
We have been lucky enough to have one of the footballers from Cashmere Technical Football Club come and take some lessons with students who choose to attend on a Wednesday afternoon. We will have this until the end of the term. 


Next term is a busy one! In the first few weeks of Term 4, we have the following events coming up: 

Visit to the Museum 
We will be learning more about the moon and our cultural practices in New Zealand. This is currently planned for Thursday and Friday of Week 2. If we continue to stay at Level 2 then unfortunately this trip will not happen. We will send out a letter with more information in the next week.

Kahikatea & Kowhai Water Skills for Life 
Our tamariki will be participating in a program of learning at Pioneer Pool. These lessons are based on the principles of water skills and do not replace or replicate the swimming lessons your child may already be engaged in. This is an opportunity to learn water safety.  Our students will have eight lessons starting in late October.

Athletics Day 
Athletics Day is on the community calendar for Friday the 30th of October. More information about this will come closer to the time. We would appreciate you sending your children in appropriate footwear to practice in to school and remind them to bring their drink bottles. We will be practicing for this in the first few weeks of next term.  

Pencils
We are still running short on HB pencils. It would be greatly appreciated if you could send some in with your child. Thank you so much to the people who have already sent some in. 

Have a lovely weekend.
Nga mihi, 
The Kowhai Team - Laura, Tracey, Nick and Rowe. 

Cyber safety in Pōhutukawa

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 Kia ora e te whānau,

There has been a lot of discussion among the children this morning about the viral Tik Tok video that has been in circulation online and that Sandy alluded to in her email to you this morning. Sandy came in and talked to all of the children after morning tea and reminded them of the importance of keeping safe online.  We reiterated to them that talking to their peers about this isn't a healthy thing, and that talking to their parents is important. We encouraged them to talk to you if they have any concerns about anything they may have seen, or heard other children talking about. 

We are always monitoring the searches and material that the children are accessing using their school accounts, and will continue to do so. If your child is bringing a phone to school, please remind them to drop it at the office before school starts, and to collect it again at the end of the day.

This is a timely reminder to us all that the minimum age for most of these platforms is at least 13 years old.

We know there are a number of you who have said to your children that they are too young for a phone and / or any of these online social media accounts. Please do not think that you are alone in taking a firm stand on this, many parents in the Pōhutukawa Hub have told us that their children do not have a phone or social media accounts, even though your child may tell you otherwise!

 As always, please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any concerns or would like to discuss anything further.

Ngā mihi,

Sandy and Anne

Re TikTok: IMPORTANT information for Families regarding a video currently circulating on TikTok

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IMPORTANT information for whānau re TIKTOK 

The Ministry of Education sent the email below to principals late last night - if your child has a TikTok account, it is very important that you are aware of this so you can support your child... There was also an article in the Herald about this yesterday. 



Kia ora koutou katoa

Thank you to everyone who contacted us this morning about a very disturbing clip portraying a sudden death which has gone viral on Tik Tok. We understand that some students have viewed the clip and are understandably distressed by its content. We have contacted Netsafe who are working on removing the clip from sites where possible.

Netsafe have advised the following:

For now, we recommend that students are being made aware not to share or view the footage as it can be highly distressing content. Our webpage (Netsafe) has information about helping tamariki exposed to upsetting content that you may find useful. We have also provided some support lines for students and staff if they need to reach out for support below.

·        Need to talk -. Free call or text on 1737 and there is support available 24 hours a day

·        0800 What's Up - Available Mon-Fri 12pm-11pm Sat/Sun 3pm-11pm on 0800 942 8787

·        Lifeline - call on (0800 543 354) or text HELP (4357) for confidential support.

This content can have an impact beyond those immediately engage with it. It is likely to have had a range of impacts on each person – some may be severely affected and others may not be affected at all. It is important to be aware of the need to talk with young people who have heard about it and to encourage them to express their feelings in response to the video. We recommend that having regular, open conversations at home around online safety is important to help young people navigate the myriad of digital challenges they will experience. 

You can read more on our parental control advice page here. There is an option to switch to Safe Search when using Google search or alternatively, you can consider looking into this article to block Google images without blocking Google search.

This staying safe online guide and some of our printed resources may be useful.

Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 8 (B)

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 In this post:

  • Cantamath
  • Phones
  • Sport

Cantamath

The latest victim on our current Level 2 status is Cantamath. We heard yesterday that this event will be cancelled. The children who attend maths club had been working hard towards the teams event and the creativity, precision and maths content in many of the Cantamath projects are evidence of many hours work. We know there will be lots of disappointed children. This morning we have marked all of the Cantamath projects and decided which work we would have sent through to Cantamath and what we believe would have earned a highly commended or excellence award.

Work by these children would have been sent to the Cantamath competition, had it gone ahead:

Abby, Ava, Ben, Caleb, Connor I, Cooper, Devina, Erik, Eva, Fergus, Frances, Grace H, Henry M, Holly, Ilia, Isla, James, Kate, Layla J, Layla W, Lexi, Lurandt, Mac, Mahli, Marcellus, Meara, Mia, Morgan, Rosie, Ruby, Tabea, Thomas, Walter, Zara M, Zoë C

We have given these children a highly commended award:
Holly, Meara, Henry M, Ava, Grace H, Erik, Eva and Lurandt

The projects completed by these people were of a very high standard and we have awarded them an excellence:
Devina, Ruby, Caleb, Abby, Kate, Zoë C, James, Mia and Mac

All Cantamath projects are currently on display in Sth Hangere - the building that is closest to the old dental clinic by the river. You are welcome to come in and take a look between 8:30 and 9am or 3 and 3:30pm this week. 


Phones

We are now collecting phones in a tub each morning and sending them to the office for safe-keeping during the day. Since we started doing this a week ago, there are less phones being handed in. Here is a photo of the tub today. If your child brings their phone and it is not in the tub photo, please have a conversation with them about following this rule. If you think your child would benefit from a daily reminder, please let us know.  



Sporting Events in Week 9

Volleyball

Tuesday 15th September
The three Koru Games volleyball teams will be playing in a one day tournament at Hillview Christian School.
Meet: 8:00 in the Kauri Hub
Children should be dressed in a black BTKP polo top
Children need:
  • Water bottle
  • Morning tea and lunch
  • Any personal medication such as an inhaler
  • Children may bring a book, sketchbook or small game for between games

There will be an optional after school practise on Monday next week where we will be joined by some Year 9s and 10s. This will go from 3:15 until 4:15. If children need to leave early for other after school commitments, that is fine. 

This event will go ahead in Level 2


Mixed Sports Tournament with St Martins


Wednesday 16th September
Children who wanted to participate will play in a fun focused one day tournament with St Martins in the sports of football, ultimate frisbee and touch. 
This is being held on the Beckenham Park.

This event will go ahead in Level 2, weather permitting.


Canterbury Winter Tournament - This event will only go ahead in Level 1


Jule’s hockey team and Anna’s netball team from weekly winter sport have qualified to play in the Canterbury Winter Tournament. 
Hockey - Nunweek Park
Netball - Hagley Netball Courts
Meet: at school at 9:00
Children will be travelling to these venues by car. If you are able to support by providing transport, please email Jenny. 
Children need:
  • Water bottle
  • Morning tea and lunch
  • Any personal medication such as an inhaler
  • Children may bring a book, sketchbook or small game for between games

Weekly Winter Sport


We would like to acknowledge the following children from our weekly enter sport programme. Our adult coaches were asked to select a person from their team for each of these two awards.

Most improved Player - recognising children who showed coachability by taking on feedback and putting exceptional effort into improving their skill level over the course of the season.

Mia, Mila, Tabea, Eddie, Eli, Sachit,

Sportsmanship - recognising children who showed exceptional respect for their opposition, their ref and encouragement of their team.
Henry M, Eva, Lurandt, Syesha, Olive, Layla W

All coaches commented on how difficult it was to choose three awards. We recognise the commitment and effort that all children have demonstrated over the season.