Do you need an internet connection at home?

As part of their goal to have all New Zealand students digitally connected at home, the Ministry of Education are rolling out a programme to support those families in the community who do not have an internet connection at their home address. The Ministry will be providing modems and 6 months of free internet to families who do not currently have the internet at their home address.
The Ministry have provided me with a list of families who they believe do not have internet, and we have the opportunity to add you to this (or check that you are on it if you need to be). If you do NOT have internet at home (having a data plan on your phone does not count as internet connected to your address), please let us know by emailing Jacky your name and your child's name, and we will make sure that you are added to the list. I have to have this data to send to the Ministry by next Thursday, 11th June. email: office@beckenham.school.nz

Playground opening!

We had a fabulous day on Tuesday afternoon, in spite of the misty, damp day, as the sun broke through the clouds for the opening of our our new outdoor spaces play area. Due to being at Level 2, we had only a very small number of guests present, and the whole school assembled around the play area to watch the proceedings.
Our thanks go to the PTA for funding $73,729.00 of the cost of the playground, from their Outdoor Spaces Fund. This fund was built up over many years of strenuous fundraising by many PTA members and we are so grateful to have been able to utilise this money for this wonderful explorative play space for our children.
The Outdoor Spaces Team, comprising original members of Carmel Wade (BOT), Amanda Wolt (PTA) and current members Nigel Easson, Paulette Newton, Matthew Macdonald (BOT), Nathalie Doering and Nicola Reddecliffe (PTA), have been the driving force for three years in getting the playground from concept to reality.
Our thanks also to the Greenscapes Landscaping team who have taken the design and brought it to life so successfully.
Our final thanks go to Carol and Graham Palmer who donated the money needed for the Ready-Lawn which was laid and will mean that the children should be able to access the grassed areas from the start of Term 3.
We were fortunate to also have Ministry of Education property funding become available in December 2019, which has contributed to this and meant that the PTA still has some Outdoor Spaces funding to use for further projects.
The playground was opened officially by two students - our oldest and youngest students at school on Tuesday - Lucky (Y8) and Ivy (on her very first day at school!).


After the opening, we took the opportunity of having both Paulette Newton and Nigel Easson present, to formally farewell them with all of our students. Nigel has started his new role as Principal at Sheffield School and Paulette has begun her new role as a Resource Teacher of Learning and Behaviour. We do wish them both all the very best and we will still see them around from time to time.

The children have been making the most of the playground, even in this cold and wet weather, and have been having an amazing time!





Ngā mihi nui
Sandy Hastings
Principal/Tumuaki

Important Dates

Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

Celebration Assembly!

Outdoor Spaces

Excitement has really been building this week as the Greenscapes Team have been putting the final touches to our new outdoor playspace. It will be formally opened on Tuesday, and will be available for the children to play on from Wednesday.

Our huge thanks go to the Outdoor Spaces Team who have driven this project from the very beginning. They have included Carmel Wade (BOT) and Amanda Wolt (PTA) currently consist of Nigel Easson, Paulette Newton, Nathalie Doering, Nicola Reddecliffe (PTA) and Matthew Macdonald (BOT). We wouldn't have got to this stage without their amazing dedication and commitment.

Morning Drop-offs and Afternoon Pick-ups

Thank you all for the support you are giving at the school gates!
We are really appreciative of the way that our families and children are managing the new drop-off and pick-up procedures.
What has been interesting is the positive feedback from many parents, and from teachers too, about the benefits of children independently coming into the hubs in the mornings. Numerous caregivers have reported to staff about how they are enjoying having the extra 20mins or so each morning. The teachers have noted how much calmer the hubs are in the morning when they can focus on your children as they settle into the day.
We are also aware that caregivers do need time to maintain relationships with teachers. Many of you are making great use of email, in the first instance, and we know that face-to-face conversations are important too so we are considering how morning drop-offs might look going forward.

New Signage!

We are very excited to have new signage at our front entrance area. We have a large sign now at the front gate, and a sign showing our school values, next to the hall.

Learning Conferences - final week of Term 2

Due to the lockdown, we have had to reschedule our Learning Conferences for this term. We are now working towards these happening in the final week of term, on Tuesday 30 June and Thursday 2nd July. School will close at 2pm both days, to allow the learning conferences to take place. More information about booking a learning conference will come out next week.

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the team

Scooters

Have you lost a scooter?  These two are sitting in office area.  Please come and claim them if they are yours.