Kauri Whānau Weekly Update: Term 1 Week 1

It was lovely to welcome everyone to our Intermediate Hub for 2020 yesterday. There was plenty of enthusiasm, lots of smiles and eager anticipation for the learning journey ahead. We were also very appreciative of the new air conditioning - very!

Camp: 

As we mentioned at learning conferences, we have camp coming up in week 9 of this term, March 30th - April 3rd. We are seeking offers of parent / caregiver help for joining us on camp and also for help with two fundraising projects. Please click this link to indicate how you can get involved.

Swimming Sports:

Our school swimming sports, an optional event, will be held on Thursday February 27th. Jenny has shared a google form with the children via google classroom for them to submit their entries.

Forms and Devices:

We are excited to see the large number of children who have indicated they will bring a device to school for learning this year. This morning we got a number of children set up on the school network. We really want to get this all sorted by Friday, so if your child is yet to do so please encourage them to bring their device tomorrow, Wednesday, and see Hannah before school to get it linked to our school network. Once their device is set up, it needs to come to school every day.

A reminder to get all forms signed and returned to school this week: Cyber-safety, Bus permission and BYOD. Many thanks to the large number of people who got this sorted at learning conferences.

If you missed out on a copy of our start of year newsletter (paper copy), please let me know and I will make sure one is sent home to you.

Remember to be at school before 8:30 on Tuesdays in time to catch the bus for Technology.





Supporting the cost of your child(ren)’s education in 2020

Supporting the cost of your child(ren)’s education in 2020


Kia ora e te whānau

In New Zealand we are told we have a ‘free education system’. Whilst, in theory, that sounds amazing, in reality, schools rely significantly on families’ contributions to enable them to offer a rich and broad curriculum to students.

We acknowledge these contributions have an impact on your family’s finances and really appreciate your help in funding your children’s education. In the past, we have asked you for a $60 annual donation per student at the beginning of the year, plus a contribution each time we organised activities, plus your contribution to the costs of running overnight camps. Activities include the costs of swimming, visiting speakers to the school, trips, transport for school cultural and school sports events, some software licences, and so on.

This year, the Board of Trustees have decided to try a different approach.  We are going to ask you for a flat donation of $150 per child, for all trips and activities. This approach is based on the new government scheme (2019) for Decile 1 to 7 schools which, as a Decile 8 school, we are not eligible to receive because the government believes that Decile 8-10 communities will receive this funding and more from their whānau and community.

The only other separate request we’ll be asking you (Y5-8 whānau) for, will be for overnight camps (Y5/6 every second year, and Y7/8 annually) which are impossible to fund from the $150 request and still offer all of the other rich curriculum options.

For most families, the amount we ask per year will be close to the same, or less than it was last year. The big difference will be that we will not be asking you contributions frequently during the year, activity by activity, and you will be able to budget your family’s school costs from the start of the year. It will also make it simpler for our staff to budget and account for funds coming in as well, and our administrative costs will also be significantly reduced, resulting in more savings.

You can pay in full, in instalments, or set up a regular automatic payment which would need to be:
  • weekly $3 per child = $156 /yr ($6 per Y5-8 child if you want to pay for most of camp across the year
  • fortnightly $5.75 per child = $149.50 /yr ($10-$12 per Y5-8 child if you want to pay for most of camp across the year)
  • monthly $12.50 per child = $150 /yr ($25 per Y5-8 child if you want to pay for most of camp across the year)
To set up an automatic payment, please copy the school’s bank account number:
12-3148-0131641-00 into your internet banking and use your child’s name as the reference.
Please set up a separate payment for each child.

As the costs of camps are not known until closer to the time, budgeting for $150 per camp is a good guide. More detailed cost information will be sent out closer to the time.

Please note that uniform, stationery, the take-home component of Technology (South intermediate charge), and optional activities such as mini ball, music lessons, etc have always been, and will still be, chargeable (goods and services) and need to be paid in full before the activity takes place.

You can claim your school donation from IRD as part of the 33.3% tax credit each financial year, making the real cost of the donation only $100 per child if you claim this back. These donations can be claimed for up to 3 years previous years, so please contact Sandra Rauch by emailing accounts@beckenham.school.nz if you would like a tax receipt for previous years.

Thank you all for continuing to support the education of our tamariki.

Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto Board of Trustees

Wow! What a great first day!

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

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

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