Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Newsletter #1 2020

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Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto PTA Beginning of the Year Bulletin 2020

Who is the PTA?

We are a group of caregivers and teachers who meet on the 4th Wednesday every month. Our main
purpose is to support the school. We try to do this not only by fundraising, so we can financially
support the school, but also by organising events that bring us together as a school community. We
have an extraordinary community at Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto and because of this, the PTA can
do a great job at supporting the school.
We would love new people to come along & see how we work. Why not pop along to our first
meeting in 2020: Wednesday 26th February at 7:30 pm in the staffroom & check the PTA out? You do not have to be a PTA member to attend and there is no pressure to feel like you need to join just because you attend a meeting (There is often good food and always good chat!).
If you do want to help, rest assured you only have to do as little or as much as you have capacity for.
We are all busy parents with other commitments: jobs, preschoolers, our own sports (even partners
get a look in sometimes), and if we all do a little bit, it is amazing what can be achieved. Having a
broad range of skills and ideas is key to making the PTA work, so don’t be shy, come and say hi :).
Please click on the link Meet your PTA for a breakdown on who we are & what we do. We have a variety of roles, some that can even be done at home.

How does our PTA work?

Each event has a ‘coordinator’ who manages that event with the assistance from other PTA
members & volunteers from our school community. Volunteers are sourced either via the PTA
Survey (which gets sent out at least once a term via the newsletter) or from Google forms sent out
via social media. Please click on the link if you would like to complete the survey: PTA Survey.

How do we decide what to fundraise for?

We listen to your suggestions made via the PTA Survey. We also ask the staff to create a “Wish List”.
This year PTA is organising its largest fundraiser - The Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Twilight Fair,
which will be held on Fri 20th March 2020. Money raised from the Twilight Fair will be used to
replenish our school sports uniform collection (which is badly needed for the smaller students at
school!) and for funds the school can use to update our digital technology. A new digital curriculum
has been introduced nationwide: children need to learn coding concepts and how to program robots
so that they can become creators of digital technology, not just users. To do this requires expensive
equipment. As a PTA and a community, we are striving to assist the school with this expense.
Planning for the Fair is well underway and we would love new people to join the Fair Team and help us crack the $20k mark!!

What did we get up to last year?

Last year we enjoyed hosting the New Whānau Morning Tea each term, the Kids Masquerade Disco
& co-hosting, with the Student Council, the Shared Breakfast on the Shortest Day.
We ran the Clubbercise classes, which were a huge success – “whoop whoop”!

We organised a Cheese Roll-a-thon and sold some scrumptious Cheese Rolls!
On the last Sunday of each month, the PTA hosted a car boot sale in the school car park, the
Beckenham Booty. This was a great way to clear out cupboards and meet new members of the
community as people hawked their wares.


We co-ordinated our annual fundraisers the Read-a-thon, Calendar Art & the Back in 1969 Quiz.
Our last event of the year was the Annual Leavers lunch, a beautiful way to send off the year 8’s on
their next adventure!
With the money we raised last year, a new Beckenham Te Kura o Puroto Gazebo was purchased to
be used at community events where our tamariki are participating. Another exciting item bought
with fundraising money was the very flash Outdoor Portable Sound System, which was just fantastic
to see in use at athletic sports - goodbye squeaky bullhorn!
As well as this we funded each child to go on a class trip and contributed to the annual Kauri ski trip.
A real highlight has been seeing the new Outdoor Spaces take shape, as all the money generously
given by the community has enabled the Outdoor Spaces Committee to finalise the design stage and
begin to build some fabulous play spaces for our tamariki.

What is coming up in 2020?

As usual we have lots of things planned for the year ahead! There is no expectation for families to
participate in all the events we provide, anything contributed is always gratefully received. We aim
to offer our families a variety of events to participate in & hope you can enjoy some of them this
year.
Besides our main event the Twilight Fair, we will bring you back the Kids Disco, the Read-a-thon,
Calendar Art, the Quiz, a Top Team Family Fun Day and more!
One of our less known activities is mobilising pastoral care for families who need it. (We always keep
the family anonymous). A helping hand when a family is having a tough time is always so
appreciated. If you think you could cook a meal or bake a cake when we put a shout out, fill in the
PTA survey link.

We Care Range
We love our ‘We Care’ range, products that help us care for our environment & provide practical
assistance in our daily lives. We have Jute Bags, String Veggie Bags & Beeswax Wraps to assist you with your war on plastic. We also have a few Beckenham Tea Towels & Aprons left along with the Beckenham Grid A2 Canvas.


We are excited to be working in conjunction with our local Eatery, The Birdwood, to offer the
following Deal – purchase a $17 Reusable Takeaway Cup from The Birdwood & your first coffee is free. Every time you refill that cup you will receive an 80c discount. Let’s help keep those disposable cups out of the Landfill. These ‘Ideal Cups’ are NZ Made, BPA Free, Leak-Proof, Robust & Barista- friendly.
Contact us to order from our We Care Range at pta@beckenham.school.nz.


Thank you!
Thank you for your ongoing support
Remember to always check the PTA Facebook Page & the PTA Website for up to date information.
Regards
Jody Smith and Liz May (Co Chairs) and the PTA team
https://www.facebook.com/ptabeckenhamschool/
https://sites.google.com/view/beckenham-school-pta-nz/home


Welcome to Koru for 2020!

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Kia ora whānau,

Welcome to the 2020 school year. It is wonderful to see so many familiar faces and to welcome our 'newbies'.

Our focus for the first three weeks is on building relationships, establishing routines, expectations and focusing on the Kete Values, We Care and We Get There Together.

We are so incredibly proud of how our tamariki are going with these values.  They are using kind words, helping each other out, offering to share and working as a team at tidy up time.









Bucket Fillers

We have been focusing on how we can fill our own buckets and those of others. We have read a book called 'Have you filled a bucket today?'. A bucket filler acts and speaks with We Care towards others and themselves. When they do these things they are filling buckets. Ask your child what filling a bucket might look and sound like.





Outside play

We are making the most of the outdoors for our learning. We are enjoying the play space, Treemendous and using sports gear.



















Maths Exploration

We have had great fun being mathematicians exploring patterns, reading and writing numbers, counting forwards and backwards, and learning to use the equipment in a variety of mathematical ways.












Ngā mihi mahana koutou,
Elizabeth and Jo

Kahikatea News Week 2 Term 1 2020

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Learning Conferences
What a pleasure to have had the opportunity to meet with all of you over our two days of learning conferences. Thank you for taking the time to come along. We appreciate this is a valuable time to share information and to build familiarity with you and your child/children.
If you were not able to make a time please contact your child's homegroup teacher.

Playground Development
The junior playground is currently under construction. There is an amazing team working on this and we are looking forward to seeing the final product!
Because of this our veranda area can be very congested at drop off and pick up time. You can support your child's/children's independence by waiting to meet them by the hall steps or the library veranda or by the flag pole at the end of the day. This will really help to reduce the number of people waiting near our entry and exit points.

Drop-off's and Morning Routines
As the new year starts and our tamariki are forming new relationships with their teachers and getting to know new friends we understand that your child/children may experience some difficulty saying goodbye in the morning. To support you and your child we encourage you to: 
  • Be at school between 8.30 and 8.45. This will allow time for your child to complete their morning jobs and to settle into an activity or task
  • Make contact with your child's home group teacher if you need support to farewell your child
  • Support your child to find something to do. Often doing the same thing each morning with your child (e.g. a puzzle or reading a book together) is very reassuring
  • Let your child know when you will say goodbye (e.g. in 2 minutes I am going to say goodbye, or after I have read a story, or when you've put your bag into the cubby. Sometimes a quick, positive "Have a nice day and I will see you after school" is a good way to share that presupposition and I know you will be fine.   
  • Our tamariki appreciate routine and consistency. Establishing these routines and expectations early on is super helpful for everyone! The hub is often very busy with people coming and going and we appreciate you being mindful of the extra noise so many extra people in this space can make. 


Discovery Time
In team Kahikatea we run our discovery time slightly differently to Team Koru. During the first few weeks of school, we will be exploring learning through discovery most mornings and some afternoons.

Collaboration is an important feature of our teaching and learning programs. Your child's home group will often be working collaboratively with other home groups across the day and the week. We use the hub spaces flexibly and we encourage and support our tamariki to enjoy learning across the hub.






Proposed Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Enrolment Zone Amendment

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Friday 14th February 2020

For Parents/Community/Schools/ECEs

Proposed Enrolment Scheme changes for Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto

Tēnā koutou,

The Ministry of Education has requested under section 11H of the Education Act 1989 that Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto changes its enrolment home zone to manage our growing school roll and our building capacity.

The reason for this is to ensure that schools can manage the numbers of students attending our kura and ensure an equitable spread of students between schools. Before amending our enrolment zone we are required to consult with our students, parents and local community, with parents of prospective students of Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto and with the Boards of other local schools that may be affected by the amendment.

Because of the significant crossover of our current enrolment home zones, we are working collaboratively with St Martins School and Thorrington School to develop our proposed amendments to our enrolment home zones. This will allow our schools and the Ministry of Education to effectively manage the capacity of our schools, both for now and the future.

With the support of a Ministry appointed liaison and after some discussions with the boards of other impacted schools, we have drafted a proposed amendment based on student data supplied by the Ministry of Education. A description and map of the proposed amendment can be accessed on our website. In the description are details of the proposed interim arrangements for families whose address is currently in the home zone but is sitting outside of the proposed new home zone.

Please note that ALL children currently enrolled at the school will continue to have the right of ongoing enrolment.

  • To help us develop our submission to the Ministry of Education, we specifically invite your feedback on:
  • Whether you are supportive of the boundaries in the proposed amendment;
  • Suggested changes you may have to the proposed amendment boundaries;
  • The reason(s) for your suggested change(s);
  • Any other comments

Please note that the Ministry of Education has determined that our enrolment home zone does need to be reduced as a result of this process, so that our school can adequately meet in-zone growth,  therefore leaving the boundaries as they currently are is not a viable option.

We invite your feedback on our proposed enrolment home zone amendment (attached) by Friday, 3 rd April 2020. Please send your written feedback to our liaison person, Tom Scollard, c/o Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto, 71 Sandwich Road, Beckenham, Christchurch 8023 or email him at  tom@tomscollard.co.nz. If you have any questions you can contact Tom via email, or speak with Sandy or Ester at school.

We will carefully consider all responses, before submitting our final proposed amendment to the Ministry of Education for their consideration and processing.

An estimated timeline for implementation of the amended enrolment scheme would likely be for the beginning of Term 1, 2021.

Ngā mihi,

Ester Vallero
Board Chair

Sandy Hastings
Principal - Tumuaki

On behalf of Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Board of Trustees

To access the maps, description of the proposed enrolment zone changes, and FAQs, visit our school website.

Year 5 to 8 Sport

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Parent Help

Please, follow this link to indicate if you are able to help out with sport this term.  



The aim of our sports programme is to provide exposure to a range of different sporting pursuits. This allows the children to develop movement skills and sequences in a range of contexts while broadening their horizons and discovering their passions. There are a range of events throughout the year. Some of these involve all the children and there are many additional optional opportunities for those who want to extend themselves. Children who enjoy the competitive element of sport can strive to qualify for zone and Canterbury level competition through Primary School Sport Canterbury. If your child is not able to compete for any reason, there are a myriad of alternative ways to be involved. Inclusive practise is always at the heart of what we do. If there is anything that we can do to make an event more accessible for your child, please get in contact with Jenny or your child’s homeroom teacher.




For some optional events, children interested in competing should enter using a Google form, which is accessed through Google Classroom. We aim for the children to develop independence in entering events and we acknowledge that some children may need support with this. Conversations at home about upcoming optional events that may be of interest, and checking in to ensure that they have entered events you would expect them to, is advisable. I have attached the link to entry forms for both swimming and duathlon so that you can go through the process together if needed.
Term 1

Swimming Sports Thursday 27th February
This is an optional event, which takes place at Wharenui Pool. Children may enter one distance per stroke and as many different strokes as they wish. For example, they may enter 25m freestyle and 50m backstroke, but may not enter the 25m and 50m backstroke. The children enter this event via a Google form. This form has been made available to them through Google Classroom. Follow this link to get to the entry form.
Duathlon
Participating in the school duathlon is a fantastic way of showing our school value, ‘We love challenge’. It involves a run around the block, a bike around the park (2 slalom laps for Year 7/8), followed by a second lap of running around the block. The sense of achievement when crossing the finish line makes the hard work worth while. Children need to provide their own bike for this event. Here is the link to the Google form for entries.
Extra-Curricular Sports - Mountain Biking
There are two mountain biking relays that have been very popular in previous years. While these events are promoted by Beckenham te Kura O Pūroto and we are proud for the children to represent our kura, the responsibility of the transport and supervision of children at both events is with the caregiver. Entry for both of these events is done by the caregiver on the event’s website. Follow the link below. Please contact Jenny if you have any questions about either of these events. Email confirmation of your entry to Jenny.




Huxster Mountain Bike Relay - 4th March

Held at Mclean’s Island, this event is a super fun event where children strive to complete as many laps of the course as they can in the time, (1.5 hours for Year 5/6 and 3 hours for Year 7/8). Year 5/6 children must compete in a team of two, while Year 7/8 have the option of doing the event as an individual or in a pair. Children should be confident controlling the speed and direction of their bike on beginner level single track.




Note: This event is much earlier in the term than it previously has been.

Due to its popularity, this event is now being held over two days. Children from Beckenham should enter the South and Mid Canterbury zoned event on the 4th of March.




Hanmer 4 Hour Mountain Bike Relay - 21st March
This event features a variety of options for many age groups. The Super Juniors (6 to 11 years) do a very friendly course through the Heritage Forest. This incorporates a green level single track. Every child must have their own tail end charlie, (an adult riding with them) on every lap. This is a fantastic entry into mountain bike racing for those children who are comfortable controlling their speed and direction on trails similar to those at McLean’s Island and Bottle Lake. Children aged 11 years plus ride the same course as the adults, (and at the same time). This course has more climbing and more technical riding, (think Loess Rider or an easy blue level trail). Children should be confident mountain bikers on easy blue trails. Children compete in a team of up to 4 children.