Wow! What a great first day!

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Welcome back, everyone.

Firstly, thank you to all the families who came along to learning conferences last week. It was great to have the opportunity to learn more about your family and how we, as a teaching team, can best meet the needs of your child this year. This time is incredibly valuable for us as a team.

We had a wonderful day today and it was heartwarming to see the children reconnecting with old friends and new friendships being formed. Can you please make sure your child has their HAT, swimming gear (if they are wanting to do water play) and a drink bottle at school tomorrow? Keep the stationery coming in too as we will be beginning to use this tomorrow. Thanks.

At the end of the day, we wonder if someone took Rune's black shoes home by accident. These black and pink shoes were left at school, so maybe an accidental swap?


Here are some of the children today.










Kōwhai Teaching Team

Beckenham te Kura o Pūroto Start of Year Newsletter Monday 3rd February 2020

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Principal's Patch

Kia ora koutou

How lovely it has been to see everyone back at school today!

There are a couple of important events happening this week that we needed to let you know about, hence the brief newsletter today.

There will also be a fuller newsletter coming out this Friday.

Please remember to contact your child's home group teacher, in the first instance, if you have any questions or wonderings about anything that is happening with your child's learning.

Our staff had a very full and exciting week last week with three days of Professional learning and then the two days of learning conferences. All of which was part of our preparation for the start of the school year, and for the children to arrive today.

Remember all children need a named school hat at school every day, please

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the team

Important Dates for this week

CSM Blow Test - Tuesday (tomorrow) 4th February 2:30-3:45pm
This is the final opportunity to bring your child along to try out an instrument to learn this year as part of CSM Training Band programme. This is for students from Year 5-8 and there are still places available for students who want to learn Trumpet, Trombone, Saxophone, Flute and Clarinet.

Thursday 6th February - Waitangi Day - School Closed.

Welcome Assembly and Morning Tea - Friday 7th Feb 9:15 - 9:30am
Come to the foyer for a cuppa and a snack either before or after the Welcome Assembly and meet other families in the school. This is a great opportunity for new families to make contact with other parents too.

Term Dates

Click here to view 2020 term dates.

Novel Coronavirus 

A reminder that if you or any member of your household has been in China during the holidays, you need to keep your child at home for the next 14 days. Please contact me immediately if you need to discuss this or have any queries about this. 

The latest update from the Ministry of Education (2/2/2020)

You will have seen that the Prime Minister has made an announcement this afternoon. https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-zealand-restrict-travel-china-protect-against-coronavirus.  It includes the following information concerning all foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through mainland China:

“The Government is placing temporary entry restrictions into New Zealand on all foreign nationals travelling from, or transiting through mainland China to assist with the containment of the novel coronavirus and to protect New Zealand and the Pacific Islands from the disease.

This will take effect from tomorrow and will be in place for up to 14 days. This position will be reviewed every 48 hours.

Any foreign travellers who leave or transit through mainland China after 2 February 2020 (NZ time) will be refused entry to New Zealand. 

Any foreign travellers in transit to New Zealand on 2 February 2020 will be subject to enhanced screening on arrival but, pending clearance, will be granted entry to New Zealand.

New Zealand citizens and permanent residents returning to New Zealand will still be able to enter, as will their immediate family members, but will be required to self-isolate for 14 days on arrival back in the country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has also raised its travel advice to New Zealanders for all of mainland China to “Do not travel”, the highest level.”

The Ministry of Education, TEC, and NZQA are working together and we will provide you with information over the next couple of days regarding the Government’s announcement.  In the meantime please contact TEC, NZQA or the Ministry of Education with any questions or concerns.  We will keep our websites updated.

Please continue to refer to the Ministry of Health website for health advice and the latest information:


Everyone’s health and wellbeing, including international students’, is important to us.  While there are no confirmed or suspected cases in New Zealand at the moment, the Ministry of Health continues to encourage a precautionary approach and a focus on good hygiene.  Please err on the side of caution and be alert, not alarmed.

BOT Update

There will be a separate information sheet coming out later today from the Board about our new requests for school donations process.

Community Notices

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

Play Football throughout 2020 at Halswell United AFC.

The registrations for the Winter Season 2020 are OPEN
Club Trials are underway. Make sure you don’t miss out being selected for a team!
Just head to our website for more information and to register: http://www.hawkfootball.org.nz/Register

SUMMER FOOTBALL

Skills Centre+ Registrations (for kids aged 8-12) & First Kicks/Fun Football Registrations (for kids aged 4-8) are open for Summer Term 1
http://www.hawkfootball.org.nz/Programmes/Summer-Programmes

Governors Bay Annual Fete

Sunday 29th March 2020 12-4pm

Allandale Domain

Gold Coin Entry

"Focus on kids" - heaps of activities including a mobile farm where children can get "hands on experience". A special demonstration by GB volunteer Fire Brigade as well as music, food, cream teas and a variety of stalls and exhibitions.

Proceeds to Governors Bay Jetty Restoration Trust





Coronavirus Message to Whānau at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

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Coronavirus statement Thursday 30 January


Given recent developments, associated media coverage and the return of students to school, it is important to convey accurate information to our school community. We are guided by both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health.

For those of you concerned about possible infection, the Ministry of Health has provided practical information on their website which we encourage you to read
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov

If you are interested, you can also check in with the information being provided by the Ministry of Education here: http://www.education.govt.nz/school/health-safety-and-wellbeing/student-and-staff-health/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov/

Beckenham Actions:


Any staff member or student who may be at risk of exposure because they or a member of their household has recently been to China or has been in close contact with someone confirmed with the virus, the staff member or the student is to delay the start of their school year for 14 days and stay away until 12 February, or two weeks after the date of their arrival into New Zealand.

Anyone who is unwell should not be at school. Please contact Healthline at 0800 611 116 or your GP for medical advice. Healthline has translators and interpreters available 24/7 in 150 languages. They have Mandarin and Cantonese speaking staff available.

We will keep you updated if and when further information comes to hand.

Sandy Hastings - Principal/Tumuaki
Ester Vallero - Board Chair

Cyber Safety and BYOD Agreements

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Kia ora koutou


Last Friday, we sent out a Learning Conference newsletter that did not have the links to the cyber safety agreements. Here is the cyber safety section of that newsletter with the links attached.

Cyber safety Agreements (all students) and BYOD Agreements (Y5-8 students)

You are encouraged to take some time before the Learning Conferences to read through our cyber safety agreements so that you can bring any questions you might have about them to the Learning Conference. At the Learning Conference, you will be given a copy of these agreements to sign. 

Welcome to 2020

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Nau mai, Haere Mai

Welcome to 2020 at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto!

Kia ora koutou

I trust that you all have had some time to relax over the summer with your whānau.

Important Dates

Learning Conferences - Thursday 30 and Friday 31 January
Classes begin, Monday 3 February, 8:55am
School Closed - Thursday 6 February - Waitangi Day

Learning Conferences next Thursday and Friday, 30/31 January

All of our staff are looking forward to seeing you and your children next Thursday and Friday during our start of year Learning Conferences.

If you have not yet booked your learning conference for next Thursday or Friday, NOW is the time to still do this.
To book, go to https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/

Click on "Make a Booking" and enter the event code "sa3zp"

Then you will be asked to enter your details, and after that you will be able to select the teacher who you need to make a Learning Conference time with.

If you have any trouble making a booking, please phone the office on Monday (337 1404) and Jacky will be able to help you.

Questions to think about before the Learning Conference:

 At the learning conference, your child's teacher will go through the following questions with you and your child. It would be great if you have thought about these questions, and discussed them with your child before the meeting.

Parents:

What are your child’s strengths?
What specific goals you would like your child to achieve this year?
Do you see any challenges for your child this year? 
Is there anything about your culture/religion/family that would be useful for us to know as we get to know your child?
Do you have any other questions?

Children:

I am good at…
I would like to get better at…
I like to play ...
I learn best when I … (e.g.  where I sit, people I work with, need for exercise / food / noise level)
I am wondering about…
I am involved in ....... activities after school.

Cybersafety Agreements (all students) and BYOD Agreements (Y5-8 students)

You are encouraged to take some time before the Learning Conferences to read through our Cybersafety Agreements so that you can bring any questions you might have about them to the Learning Conference. At the Learning Conference, you will be given a copy of these agreements to sign. 

Stationery

You should have received a stationery list with your child's class placement letter at the end of last year. If you need to access another copy, you can do that from the school website.
We would prefer that you DO NOT cover exercise books as the additional plastic is not necessary for the environment. You are welcome to bring your child's stationery to the Learning Conference.

Uniform and Hats

Please make sure that you have all the uniform items that you require before classes begin on Monday 3rd February. Hats are still available from the school office ($10). House Shirts are also available from the office ($25)

We look forward to seeing you all next week!

Ngā mihi nui
Sandy and the team